Watching The Geese Grow

We have just had a week in Mid Wales with no rain!  Hard to believe I know and even the locals are scratching their heads trying to think if this has ever happened before.  A couple of days were coolish, on Thursday we had something like a high fog until mid afternoon then the sun broke through.  Until then it was quite chilly, but it did not rain. So we did spend some of our days this week just being around the property and enjoying it.

We got our chores done as usual on Monday morning and since it was such a lovely spring day we headed to Cardiff.  We did our usual routine and used the park and ride then spent a few hours walking about 8km around the city – Cardiff Bay, pedestrian precinct, Cardiff Castle, etc.  It was a very enjoyable day.

On Tuesday we did something completely out of left field – we went to the ewe sale at the Brecon Livestock Market.  I was hoping the place itself was going to have a bit of character and offer me some interesting photo opportunities.  There were some characters in attendance alright but the facility is relatively new so it is all concrete and galvanised pipework and under a corrugated iron roof which made the lighting extremely difficult.  But I tried.  The whole exercise was quite amusing.  Ideally I would like to have been invisible but in fact I could not have been more conspicuous.  There I was in clean clothes, not wearing a check patterned brushed cotton shirt, not wearing gumboots (wellingtons), not wearing drover’s pants and carrying a substantial camera.  Hmmmm.  Halfway through the auction the auctioneer stopped and told everyone to behave and smile nicely because there was a bloke with a camera!  Now everyone is looking at me and the banter and laughter interrupted affairs for a couple of minutes.  And I could not understand a word of it.  I couldn’t understand more than a few words from the auctioneer either due to the speed and accent combined.  Near the end of the auction there was another amusing moment.  One of the larger than life local identities who had been mixing up banter throughout the proceedings interrupted the auctioneer with, “Hey, that bloke down the end hasn’t bought anything yet!”  That had the place in fits for a few moments.  All in all a fun visit.  We also walked around the town of Brecon spending more time than planned at the Brecon Cathedral.   They were in the midst of a visit by a school group so there were 100 or so 10 to 12 year-olds working in groups.  It was good to see the place well used.  At home again we set up a section of netting so the three goslings could spend some time out on the grass.  What a time waster, sitting there watching their antics.  Hence the title of this week’s post.  We did also get Gwen, the border collie, up the hill for a little photo shoot and that was fun too.

Friday was another cracker day so we left home at 09h00 for a drive.  Leanne wanted to get me back to Hay-on-Wye in this better weather to see if I could avoid permanently relegating it to the unfortunate category of shit hole after our last visit.  It worked.  The place looks much more appealing on a sunny day and we even had one bar of cellphone reception!   We then drove through Talgarth and on to the Common area around Black Mountain where we chanced upon a gliding club so stopped and took photos.  In their hangar there was a large framed picture of an amazing cloud formation over some hills… Middlemarch, Otago, NZ.  Turned out that their chief gliding instructor spends the northern winter working as an instructor at Omarama.  Such a small world.  Next stop was Crickhowell.  Rather nice village with the usual ruined castle etc.  The general store was some family name followed by “& Sons & Daughters & Grandsons & Granddaughters”.  Took up most of the window!  We were home for lunch by 14h00 and then spent more time being amused by the geese, cats and dogs.

On Saturday it was time to get the laundry up to date, organise our stuff and start packing it back into the car.  I am writing this on Saturday afternoon.  Lisa is due home in a couple of hours.  Sunday sees us leaving Wern Fawr after a fun two weeks and heading firstly to Bristol to meet up with Leanne’s Mum & Dad.  After our time with them we will end next week on Islay so it is going to be busy.  With that in mind I am going to post this early with the idea of squaring everything up next week.  Enjoy the photos.

I believe these mountains near Brecon are the Black Mountains, not to be confused with Black Mountain (singular) about ten miles away. Between the two lay the Brecon Beacons.

Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). The centre has hosted performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy and musicals.
Locally nicknamed “the Armadillo”, the Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts organisations in residence. The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,897 seats, the BBC Hoddinott Hall 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre 250.

Wales Millennium Centre viewed from the pier.

Detail of the terracotta work on The Pierhead Building.

The Pierhead Building stands as one of the city of Cardiff’s most familiar landmarks and was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company. The clock on the building is unofficially known as the “Baby Big Ben” or the “Big Ben of Wales”, and also serves as a Welsh history museum. The Pierhead Building is part of the estate of the National Assembly for Wales, which also includes the Senedd and Ty Hywel. It was a replacement for the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company which burnt down in 1892. Frame’s mentor was William Burges, with whom Frame worked on the rebuilding of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch until Burges’s death in 1881.

The Animal Wall was designed by William Burges in 1866, but it was not built until 1890, after Burges’s death in 1881. The work of the restoration of Cardiff Castle and the building of the Animal Wall for the Marquess of Bute, was continued by his former assistant William Frame. The original nine animal figures were sculptured by Thomas Nicholls, they were the hyena, wolf, apes, seal, bear, lioness, lynx, and 2 different lions. They were painted in naturalistic colours, although since then the paint work on the sculptures has been removed. The wall was moved about 50 metres (160 ft) from outside Cardiff Castle to its present location outside Bute Park in 1922, due to road widening in front of the castle in Duke Street and Castle Street (now the A4161). In 1931 a further six animals were added; the pelican, ant-eater, raccoons, leopard, beaver and vulture. They were all sculptured by Alexander Carrick.

Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff. In 1947, the Bute South Wales estates having all been sold, the castle, and surrounding park, was gifted to the City of Cardiff by the fifth Marquis. It is now a popular tourist attraction, and houses a regimental museum in addition to the ruins of the old castle and the Victorian reconstruction. It sits in the expansive grounds of Bute Park.

Another glimpse of Cardiff Castle taken over the animal wall.

The new Cardiff Library with a sculpture in the foreground.

This was on Monday. The goslings still had some of their down.

Cliff was one of our neighbours at Wern Fawr. He celebrated his 70th birthday last week but is still out working before 07h00 every day. Very nice guy too!

This was the scene just after 09h00 at the ewe sale (because it was Tuesday) at the Brecon Livestock Market.

The grounds of Christ College in Brecon looked so good as we walked by I just had to slip in for a better look.

Here is the man on his 10 year old, £40,000, five cutting head mower. That’s why Christ College in Brecon has such nice lawns.

I don’t see many Reliant Robins around so I had to have this photo. Mr Bean wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

It seems that towns around here don’t have a traditional town square – they have a town triangle.

Line of cottages in Brecon.

Another streetscape in Brecon.

Getting away from the main street in Brecon we came across this delightful scene. To quote the local website… This landlocked canal runs for 35 miles (56km) from the old market town of Brecon to Five Locks, Cwmbran, following the scenic Usk Valley. It offers glorious views of the Brecon Beacons and passes through fascinating villages including Talybont-on-Usk, Llangynidr, Llangattock, Gilwern, Govilon and Llanfoist. Unlike many others, this canal has trees along much of its length, an array of wildflowers on its banks and is home to mallards, moorhens, carp and bream, kingfishers, herons, dragonflies and butterflies. http://www.breconbeacons.org/visit-us/things-to-do-and-see/special-places-to-visit/monmouthshire-and-brecon-canal

A narrowboat in the terminus area of the Brecon Canal.

Another steeetscape in Brecon.

A partial view of Brecon Cathedral. To again quote… The Cathedral was, until the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923, first the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, founded by the Normans in 1093, then the Parish Church of St John from 1538 at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. It is highly likely that the Norman Priory was built on the site of a much older, possibly Celtic, church. http://www.breconcathedral.org.uk

Some more of Brecon Cathedral.

This is just wrong! A Toyota van with a Kombi front. What were they thinking?!

Brecon Castle is mainly a hotel now and we could not see where the public could access it.

This is the view from Lisa’s place, Wern Fawr. Just to emphasise how nice the weather has been during our stay. This was at 14h41 on Tuesday.

A shot of Gwen on the move. You might notice the barn compost all over the ground behind her. The two paddocks east of the house on Thursday last week. Since then the breeze has been from the east! Smelly indeed. Thankfully with the dry conditions the smell subsided in a few days and we can still run the dogs without it getting stuck to us and them.

Gwen’s white side.

She is excitable!

View of the house from part way up the hill. Barn on the left, carport on the right with the glasshouse just visible.

There are two hens – a red one and a black one. Guess which one this is?

Martha coming in to view.

A rather scruffy looking Blue Tit. A pair were nesting in the wall of the barn and using the digger as a perch.

This is Simba, the suspected bunny catcher from last week’s post.

The clock tower at Hay-on-Wye, again, located on a triangle rather than square.

A streetscape in Hay-on-Wye.

Scenery in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The Brecon Beacons in the background. (The camera was level – the landscape is sloping!)

A punter about to take a trial flight at the Brecon Beacons Gliding Club.

We have lift off!

The Piper Pawnee tug plane pulling the K13 in to the air.

The Piper Pawnee passing over the field to drop the tow rope, which landed practically at the feet of the guy waiting for it.

Piper Pawnee on landing.

This house in Crickhowell had a pretty impressive front fence!

The main street of the market town of Crickhowell located on the River Usk, on the southern edge of the Black Mountains and in the eastern part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Crickhowell castle was initially a motte and bailey castle built from 1121. It has a colourful history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crickhowell

We have started shutting the three young ones in the run once the others are out in the paddock. It was nice an sunny so we put them in this water tub – they were not too sure about it and clambered out fairly quickly.

Friday evening at Wern Fawr.

Saturday morning and we are invaded by John Jones! There is no escape.

 

 

 

Living With The Jones’s

As I sat down to write this today I noticed Simba, Lisa’s Norwegian Forest Cat, taking a lot of interest in the couch.  Or more specifically, some noises coming from behind the couch.  On investigation I found a small rabbit staying well out of the way of Simba whose bulk prohibited him from going in after it.  Lucky for the rabbit I managed to poke him into a corner with a broom and reach down and grab him.  He did not appear injured but he was very shaky on his feet when I put him out in the paddock.  I have no idea how he ended up inside.

The bunny just before release.

Now back to what I sat down to write.  We have been here just over a week and we have a good routine with all our co-residents – the two dogs, Fennel and Gwen; the two cats Martha and Simba; and the ten geese.  Part of that routine is having to get up at 06h00 everyday to take Gwen for a walk, let the hens out (since the automatic door on their box went on the fritz) and let the geese out of their box and feed them.  I guess I am most pleased with how the geese have accepted having me around.  They are friendly and look just hilarious when they come running across the paddock in response to a call to dinner.

The sun doesn’t set until nearly 21h30 now so it is light until after 22h00 which is a trap that I fall into every day not realising how late it is, especially after a relatively early start.  So I do admit to taking a few afternoon naps of 90 minutes or so.

Monday was a Bank Holiday, not that these things usually affect us very much.   So we went to the International Book Festival at Hay-on-Wye.  The only ‘event’ we got in to was a presentation on the art of Titian – Diana and Callisto, Diana and Actaeon, The Death of Actaeon.  Perhaps I was having and off day, but overall I found the festival to be underwhelming and Hay to be a dull town without much in the way of interesting architecture or nice streetscapes or squares. Besides, how can they be serious when they are a medium sized town and they have thousands of visitors for the week and they don’t even have basic cellphone coverage in the centre of the town or the festival site?  Let alone 3G data.  It is just a joke.  We were relying on using cellphones to meet up with some people but we had to drive halfway back to Crickadarn before we could make a call.  If the locals are too apathetic to push the network operators for a decent service then the festival organisers should at least get a temporary base station in place to service the site for the week.  My conclusion is don’t go to the festival, they don’t deserve your patronage.

The weather has had its moments.  Tuesday was a bit miserable and I ended up spending  big chunk of the day sorting out my Flickr accounts.  Long story, two accounts, bit of a mess.  It’s much better now, I just have to get brave enough to delete the old account.

We stopped at the Wheelwright’s Arms in Erwood on our way home from a drive on Thursday.  Half a dozen locals in there were entertaining to listen to.  A couple of them were the same guys we had see here each time we’ve been in.  One of the regulars walks up to the bar, “Dave, I better get home but I’ll just have another pint for the ditch before I go.”  The Welsh version of ‘one for the road’?  This is the same guy who pronounced, “I come here for a few pints after work to quench my thirst and so I don’t cry when I get home!”

The weather on Friday was great – sunny and warm, without much wind.  We sorted things at the house and set out for a drive ending up on a big Common on the other side of the River Wye.  It was a very nice day out.

Saturday was pretty quiet and on Sunday we went for a visit to Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells, some photos are included.

This is the sort of countryside we are surrounded by – gorgeous when the sun is on it!

The three goslings from the second clutch on the morning after we arrived aged 5~6 days.

Out walking the dogs. Gwen is on the lead and Fennel is standing behind.

The sunny side of the cottage, south facing.

Thankfully there is an English translation. All these Welsh signs and place names is making French look pretty comprehensible.

For me this was the highlight of the Hay-on-Wye Festival – some overpriced asparagus. I am afraid I could glean no inspiration from the event at all really. Leanne mildly enjoyed what we saw but was not terribly excited about it either.

On Wednesday the little goslings graduated from the laundry to the glasshouse and they seemed chuffed with the move. I cut a piece out of the end of their box and put a tray in place as a doorstep and they took themselves to bed under the heat lamp at night.

Crickadarn is our nearest village, only about a mile away. It has roughly 6 houses, two churches, two cemeteries and a telephone box. This was apparently the ideal qualification to be used for some scenes in the movie ‘An American Werewolf in London’.

Just to the left of the church, two of the six houses in the village. By the way, what’s the difference between a hamlet and a village? In Britain a hamlet is defined as generally smaller than a village and it does not have a church.

View to Wern Fawr from across the valley (on the other side of the River Wye). It is the 6-acre block in the centre of the photo, including the paler paddock and the two small woods above the house.

Llanbedr Hill was the closest landmark I could identify on the Ordnance Survey map. This walk was across the Common that occupies this entire plateau across the Wye River from our housesit at Wern Fawr.

The Common is quite swampy in places with small lakes dotted all over.

Plenty of horses and sheep roaming. Not sure if these horses are wild or just free range domestic. The sheep were certainly farmed – they were ear-tagged and most had blue or red raddle markings.

The vegetation on Llanbedr Hill Common was mainly less that 300mm high and was mostly a mixture of heather and this berried bush. The berries are about 6-8mm in diameter.

The route of our walk on Friday on the Llanbedr Hill Common.

It was just a beautiful day for such a walk – warm sunshine and a cool breeze.

The road down from the Llanbedr Hill Common which is on the right in this photo.

Being elevated, the road down from the Llanbedr Hill Common gave some great views over the farmland.

This 1922 suspension bridge just east of Erwood crosses the River Wye.

I was too slow to notice these few sheep being driven along the road past the house and they were almost gone by the time I got outside.

This row of houses is at Erwood and just looked cute in the late afternoon (i.e. 19h32!) sunshine.

The first clutch of goslings are really growing fast now… well, except one who has been named ‘Mini’ and is one week younger than the other four (31 days cf. 38 days).

This is the goose – she came and sat right against my leg when I sat down after leading them out of the run and into the paddock for the day. She sat with me for ten minutes or so while the gander and the goslings all sat about 2m away.

This is the largest of the three goslings in the second clutch, now ~14 days old. They usually squawk vociferously when picked up but this time he was quiet – Leanne was feeding them dandelion and he had a mouthful that he didn’t want to lose!

According to the local we meet on the path, the tower is 10th century and is much older than the church itself. I don’t know how many churches there were in this small Victorian spa town but from where this was taken I could see four. Builth Wells is also an ancient market town.

Bridge across the River Wye at Builth Wells.

The River Wye in a scene looking very much like summer.

There were a lot of interesting buildings lining the high street.

Llandrindod Wells is only a few miles from Builth Wells and has an even better collection of Victorian buildings. It was also a spa town.

Built in 1882-4 as the rectory of the nearby Holy Trinity Church for the newly appointed Archdeacon de Winton. It was set in two acres of gardens with stables and a coach house. After being used by the Army during WWII, it was refurbished and opened as The Commodore Hotel. The style of the house is Arts & Crafts a movement which flourished from 1880 to 1910. The exterior is fish scale terracotta tiling. Other features include Elizabethan chimneys and on the second floor, the fine example of protruding windows under small hoods, called oriel windows.

Streetscape in Llandrindod Wells.

Another streets cape in Llandrindod Wells.

We have seen telephone boxes in the most unlikely places in Wales. Miles up country lanes half hidden in hedges and the like. This one was in a ‘normal’ location in Llandrindod Wells but it was unique for another reason – there was somebody using it. This we had never seen before. In fact, who does not have a cellphone these days. Or perhaps they do but coverage is so bad they can’t often use them (see my venting about Hay-on-Wye).

The Jones reference in the title was twofold in meaning.  The obvious Welsh connection but also around here we keep seeing heavy machinery and vehicles emblazoned with “John Jones”.  He seems to be everywhere and his equipment all seems very modern.  He must be the surviving transport and heavy haulage contractor.  I guess quantitative easing has to be good for some folks, at least in the short term.

I am starting to toy with the idea of making another change to how I present this blog.  My thinking is to perhaps post the photos on to Flickr instead of on this blog site and just do a brief diary here with perhaps only one or two photos.  My logic is that the main thing I use this blog for is to ‘show’ people some of my pictures.  That is just what Flickr is for.  Or maybe I should still put the pictures in the postings but also upload them all to Flickr (I have been uploading a selection there already as a trial)?

I would be interested to hear some feedback.  Just jot your thoughts in a comment below.  Thanks and see you next week.

Sailing, Taking Bath, Wales

It has been another busy and interesting week and after giving an overview I will let the photos tell the story.

On Monday morning I was up at 05h00 with a cunning plan to get some photos while the water was still calm incorporating some nice reflections.  It was not to be – the breeze was already up and I returned home an hour later with only 6 photos, none of which were very good.

We had another early start on Tuesday this time to catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight [IOW] for the day.  We were booked to cross at 07h45 but we arrived in the nick of time to be pushed on to the 06h45 sailing.  This meant that even by the time we got to Carisbrooke Castle it was too early.  We ended up at Osborne House, one of the main things we wanted to see, just before opening time at 10am.   It was magnificent, no photos inside without a letter from the Queen.  The interior was intricate and everything was practically perfect.  Spent ages in the grounds as well and walked down to the beach.   Finally left there at 13h00 after eating our sandwiches and headed for East Cowes.  Arrived just in time to drive straight on to the chain ferry for the £2 trip to the other side. Parked the car near the centre of Cowes and walked it for a while.  Time was going by so we next headed directly to The Needles arriving at 14h30 after a 40 minute drive.  It was a 1500m walk from the car park to the Old Battery.  Good views and an interesting site.   They had a replica ship spotting sight that you could use and it would give a map location of the sighted object all mechanically.  By the time we came out to go to the Rocket Lab up the top of the hill the sign said it was closed.  We went up there smartly and the lady looking after it let us in – it was two minutes before its 16h00 closing time (last entries at the places are typically 30 minutes before closing).  We spent a quick ten minutes looking at the displays then walked down to the test area.  There was another good lookout point there with views side on to The Needles.  When we got back to the car we drove to Freshwater Bay to look at the Thatched Church before heading back to Yarmouth.  Although the weather had been grey and cool it didn’t rain all day and we had a very full schedule of sightseeing.  Got home and met Marc and Lesley at the Ship Inn for a drink and just outside on the quay there was a group of Morris Dancers.  A great day.

Wednesday started as a quiet day spent around the house and in Lymington.  We did the housework in preparation for leaving tomorrow.  Then we got in touch with Marc and he was keen to go for a sail so it was all on.  He had all the gear and he rolled the dingy down from his shed to the slipway so he could row the 50m to where Sailfish was moored.  Marc’s sailing skills are impressive.  He collected us from the pier and negotiated the narrow lanes, other boats and the ferry, with an unfavourable wind direction and variable strength, all under sail.  No motor used.  Nice!  Sailfish has a vintage Seagull motor, Kingfisher model I think.  We used it on the way back to the mooring and it runs like a clock.  It was a great experience to have and we are very grateful to Marc for making it possible.

We left Lymington at 10h00 on Thursday and head up through the New Forest and via Ringwood to Stonehenge again.   Got to Stonehenge and it was arctic cold, blowing and spotting rain.  Next stop was Bath where we spent a couple of hours wandering.  The Georgian architecture is beautiful, not just in its own right but because it is so consistent throughout the town.

We finally arrived at our house sitting assignment in Wales at 17h30 and were met by a very busy Lisa!  She had a guy measuring up for a new bathroom, contractors finishing installation of gutters on the barn and preparation for her trip all going on at once and in addition to the normal demands of dogs, cats and geese.  We slotted in quietly and got to know the residents as well as the workings of the place in time for Lisa’s departure at 09h00 on Friday morning.

Friday started out cold but by the evening it was arctic.  We were all dressed up and had the fire going.  Thankfully it is a good fire box and we were able to keep the living area comfortable.

Saturday was a lot warmer and we stayed here most of the day doing exciting things like cleaning the goose box.  We also went to the supermarket in Brecon to stock up on food for the bank holiday weekend.

Sunday was a cracker of a day as you will see in one of the photos in particular.  We spent a good part of it outdoors, walking with the dogs and we met one of the locals who called in while walking her dog to see how the goslings were getting on.  This lady told us how to get up on to the common where we would get a fabulous view of the sunset and the entire district.  So we left the house at 20h15 and drove along some of the narrowest lanes we have seen yet and ended up on the top of the common as described.  There was a strong breeze and it was absolutely freezing even though we had on all our warmest clothing except thermal underwear.  I got a few photos but nothing stunning – there was very little cloud for the light to play on.

So that is the week in words, now here are the photos…

Boats along the Lymington River at 06h51 on the ferry to Isle of Wight.

More boats.

The approach to Yarmouth. The George Hotel directly ahead and Yarmouth Castle just to the right of it.

Winkle Street is a cute strip of stone and thatched cottages beside a stream in a small village in the middle of nowhere.

Carisbrooke Castle, on the outskirts of Newport, didn’t open till 10h00 so this was as close as we got.

Anti Climb Paint, yeah right!

I can still remember when it was called barbed wire.

Osborne House, the summer residence of Victoria and Albert. Spring flowers looking good too.

Looking down the avenue towards to beach access.

And looking back the other way.

We did stop in at Cowes but it was a dreary sort of a day and there was not much going on.

I have my suspicions that it might quite often be windy here.

The Needles at the western tip of IOW.

I thought they were quite photogenic!

Back in the corner where the red and white meet is where the car park was situated, about 1.2km from the Old Battery and observation point.

The Needles again with a glimpse of the Old Battery buildings.

The thin chalky line towards the bottom left of this photo is the top of the track we walked up – no barriers and only a short grassy slope before the vertical drop of ~200ft to the rocky coastline.

The Thatched Church, only built in 1905 but on land donated by the family of Lord Tennyson and using stone from the farm cottage where Sir Robert Hooke grew up (you know the guy, Hooke’s Law F=k*x).

Yarmouth Pier is the only remaining working wooden pier in the British Isles, so the story goes. We meet some guys who were just setting up for some fishing (it was 18h00) and they were planning to be there all night. It was already too cold for me.

A nice pub for a beer and some food before catching the ferry back to Lymington.

After the 2012 Olympics a post box in the town of each gold medal winner was painted gold. Ben Ainsley lives in the house in the background but getting this one painted involved a pillar of the local community being handcuffed and spending a night in a police cell. It is a sad legend of bureaucratic stupidity of the highest order by the Police and the Post Office.

This is our captain, Marc, who took us for a leisurely sail down the Lymington River to the Solent half way to Hurst Castle.

This is one of Marc’s own photos and he introduces his boat… “This is Sailfish, our old Sandpiper, designed and built locally 1930. She is moored by the Ship Inn on the Quay; 4 minutes and we are sailing down the river and 4 minutes on our return and there’s a pint waiting for us!!”

Leanne enjoyed being in command for most of the epic voyage.

The Solent was busy with different classes of club competition in full swing and IOW ferries still running.

Marc taking Sailfish to her mooring opposite the Ship Inn.

This is the same field as the sunset shot last week on a different day with different weather. All the rapeseed fields seemed to glow under the grey sky.

We got back to Stonehenge en route to Wales and managed to make it in opening hours so we could walk a little closer this time.

Coming down the steep hill into Bath we were struck by the rows of houses. The photo does not do it justice.

The Royal Crescent in Bath. I used the wisteria to hide all the parked cars and big white vans on the road.

Pulteney Bridge crosses the River Avon in Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the newly built Georgian town of Bathwick. Designed by Robert Adam in a Palladian style, it is one of only four bridges in the world with shops across its full span on both sides. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulteney_Bridge

We are now looking after Lisa’s place while she is away touring for two weeks.

The Astonish car cleaner was not working very well so Leanne went out and showed it what to do. Maybe next time it will be OK.

This is the adult pair of Brecon Buff geese. They are quite placid and easy to handle.

These are the 5 goslings from the first clutch. They are about five weeks old in this photo.

These lambs were taking a little too much interest in the geese so soon after this shot the gander gave them a lesson in what is a polite distance to keep.

One of the two laying hens basking in the sunshine.

The garden is looking great. The spring flowers are a little bit later here and many of the trees are only just breaking into leaf.

The late afternoon view from ‘Banc y Celyn’ common with the Brecon Beacons in the background.

Sunset from ‘Banc y Celyn’ common – 40 seconds before the published time for this location.

A Great Week In The South Of England

Already late with another post!  I just don’t know where the time goes.  I certainly haven’t got time to work at this rate.  I have already written about 1800 words into the captions (well I did copy/paste some of it) so I will try to keep the rest brief.  So here is a quick rundown.

On Monday  I went for a photo walk along the Solent River.  After watching for a while and taking some photos of birds near the town slipway I got talking to a guy who was feeding swans and ducks.  One thing led to another and next thing I am back at his house for a coffee.  Only just behind the apartments along the river he showed me his amazing third of an acre garden full of fruit trees, berries, veges of all sorts.  We ended up having dinner with Marc and Lesley later in the week.

Tuesday was a quiet day -  windy, cold, overcast with spots of rain in the morning.  The news warned of heavy rain and road problems in this area so we cancelled our plans to go up in to the New Forest.  We wandered up to the high street and found the 99p store . Our car has not been washed for nine months so I bought a bottle of car wash and wax – I am hoping it works as well as the WD-40 did for the indicators and that the car gets clean without me even opening the bottle.  It hasn’t worked yet but that could be because it is in the house and not in the car like the WD-40 was.  I’ll move it soon.   The brand name is ‘Astonish’ so my hopes are high that some morning when I walk outside the car will be shiny and clean.

It was raining again on Wednesday morning but it did clear in the afternoon to we took advantage and went for a walk even though it was very windy.

Thursday was an epic day out and good weather.  We took the road through the New Forest and spent the day in Salisbury.  Once again we used the park and ride and found this service to be excellent – £3.50 for the day including the bus to and from town for both of us.  You can’t buy much parking in these old towns for that money.  In the evening we met Ray and Kathy at the East End Inn for dinner which is about 5km from the Sail Loft.  they are just starting their holiday over here and we shared some notes.

Friday was another big day with good weather – we left the Sail Loft about 09h00 and didn’t get back till 21h45.  In that time we went to Old Sarum, Stockbridge, Silbury Hill, Avebury Henge, West Kennet Long Barrow, Lacock and Stonehenge.  Makes me tired thinking about it again!

Saturday is market day in Lymington so we had a wander and a coffee before heading out for a drive around the local area.  We ended up at Keyhaven late in the day and walked out to Hurst Castle.

We started a bit later on Sunday and visited Mottisfont, near Romsey.  After that we swung home via Southampton.

So it was a busy week and we are now in recharge mode – the weather is a bit dodgy today anyway.  Now on with the photos…

The Ship Inn beside the slipway in Lymington. A nice place for a pint and a meal.

Some children were feeding them and this guy was doing a helicopter impression waiting for the next throw. This is one of a sequence of seven shots. BTW, these gulls are the standard issue around here, more or less the same as the NZ gull except for the chocolate brown (black) head. Hence their name ‘black-headed gull’.

This is ‘The Cobbles’ in Lymington. At the end and left is The Sail Loft; at the end to the right is Town Quay.

My 99p car wash and wax.

After a few days of inclement weather we had to go for a walk. In the other direction, this path led out of town and along the sea wall around the salt marshes.

The ferry company plying the route to Isle of Wight has three vessels. They have awfully corny names – Wight Sun, Wight Sky and Wight Light.

The view from the top balcony of the Sail Loft across the boat yard and to the Solent.

Leanne was showing off her new iPhone cover – and taking photos.

Roof in the process of being re-thatched. Most of them seem to have chicken wire over them as can just be seen on the old face to the left.

I saw them running towards the road as we drove through The New Forest so I pulled over just in time to see them pause and check for cars (seriously, they did!) and then cross the road, posing for this shot on the way.

It is that time of year – foals everywhere. Plenty of gorse too!

Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, and is considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture. The main body was completed in only 38 years, from 1220 to 1258. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (123m/404 ft). The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain (80 acres (32ha)). The cathedral contains the world’s oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of the Magna Carta (all four original copies are in England). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Cathedral#Chapter_house_and_the_Magna_Carta

For a cathedral it is quite light inside and definitely on the big side.

This water feature is right in the centre of the main aisle.

The Salisbury Cathedral clock is a large iron-framed clock without a dial located in the aisle of Salisbury Cathedral. Supposedly dating from about 1386, it is claimed to be the oldest working clock in the world. The clock has no face because all clocks of that date rang out the hours on a bell. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_cathedral_clock

One of four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta. This copy is one of two held at the British Library. It came from the collection of Sir Robert Cotton, who died in 1631. In 1731, a fire at Ashburnam House in Westminster, where his library was then housed, destroyed or damaged many of the rare manuscripts, which is why this copy is burnt. The copy we saw in the Chapter House at Salisbury Cathedral was firstly in portrait format and secondly was in much better condition with finer, tidier writing than this version.

The close around Salisbury Cathedral is about 80 acres (32Ha) and includes a perimeter of houses.

A little cluttered with modern junk but this is one of the four gates to The Close surrounding Salisbury Cathedral.

Crane Bridge was built at the end of the 15th century and has been extended since its original construction but retains most of its original features

It is always a pleasant challenge to find an old pub and then sample the ale on tap. To quote from the plaque outside…”Known in 1756 as the Red Lion and Cross Keys, the inn was famous for a regular daily stage coach service. It is a fine example of an 18th century coaching inn with the high arch and spacious courtyard. The southern medieval wing was built between 1280-1320 as a hostel for draughtsmen constructing the cathedral.”

I don’t know anything about this building in Salisbury but it looked the part!

The market square is flanked by some very nice buildings.

The modern bridge across the ancient defensive ditch leading to Old Sarum. William The Conqueror erected a fort and palace here also but there are only foundations remaining.

Old Sarum was the precursor to Salisbury, the site being occupied from 300BC until early in the 13th century. It was eventually abandoned due to a lack of space. The former cathedral was partially demolished by a storm soon after it was built in the 1090s. Some storm!

Salisbury seen from Old Sarum.

A field of Rapeseed (Brassica napus) in flower. Apparently 80% of the EU crop is used for bio-diesel. The solid byproduct becomes a protein rich cattle feed.

Stockbridge was a lunch stop town that was recommended to us. It sits on the River Test and has trout stocked streams crossing the high street. And this couple on a horse-drawn carriage.

Silbury Hill is a man-made hill from the neolithic period. From Wikipedia, “Composed mainly of chalk and clay excavated from the surrounding area, the mound stands 40 metres (131 ft) high and covers about 5 acres (2 ha). It is a display of immense technical skill and prolonged control over labour and resources. Archaeologists calculate that Silbury Hill was built about 4,750 years ago and that it took 18 million man-hours, or 500 men working for 15 years (Atkinson 1974:128) to deposit and shape 248,000 cubic metres (324,000 cu yd) of earth and fill on top of a natural hill.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silbury_Hill

The main reason for visiting Avebury was to see the henge but this National Trust house was in the village.

Walled gardens attached to the house.

This is an unusual NT property. It was renovated by the BBC as part of a documentary. Each room is in a different period style and visitors are encouraged to try the beds, sit on chairs & couches and handle the paraphernalia in the kitchen.

There was some heavy duty topiary in the grounds.

The Avebury stone circles.

The village church at Avebury.

Do I need a reason?

Still in the vicinity of Avebury Henge and Silbury Hill is the West Kennet Long Barrow. The path leads up through a farmer’s crop to the top of the ridge. The barrow is just over the summit.

Looking back to Silbury Hill from the track up to the West Kennet Long Barrow.

At the front approach to the West Kennet Long Barrow. The construction of the West Kennet Long Barrow commenced about 3600 BC, which is some 400 years before the first stage of Stonehenge, and it was in use until around 2500 BC. The mound has been damaged by indiscriminate digging, but archaeological excavations in 1859 and 1955-56 found at least 46 burials, ranging from babies to elderly persons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Kennet_Long_Barrow

The large stones are 2m high and were used to close the entrance.

Looking in from behind the entrance stones. It has two pairs of opposing transept chambers and a single terminal chamber used for burial. The stone burial chambers are located at one end of one of the longest barrows in Britain at 100 m: in total it is estimated that 15,700 man-hours were expended in its construction.

And looking out again.

View towards to entrance. It is thought that this tomb was in use for as long as 1,000 years and at the end of this period the passage and chamber were filled to the roof by the Beaker people with earth and stones, among which were found pieces of Grooved ware, Peterborough ware and Beaker pottery,[1] charcoal, bone tools, and beads.

The whole village of Lacock is under the management of the National Trust who own almost the entire village. Most of the surviving houses are 18th-century or earlier in construction. There is a 14th-century tithe barn, a medieval church, and an inn dating from the 15th century and an 18th-century lock-up.

Lacock

Lacock

Lacock

Lacock

Lacock

The George Inn, established in 1361.

Should be ‘no introduction needed’ except to note that these photos were taken between 7:55pm and 8:15pm. Hence the warm glow!

Stonehenge

Stonehenge

After leaving Stonehenge we spotted this large field with the sun quickly disappearing behind it. I only just caught it. This was taken at 20h40m48s, handheld, ISO400, 35mm, f/8, 1/80th-second with a medium graduated ND filter. Post processing in Aperture.

Hurst Castle is on a spit 2.5km walk long. This view shows Isle of Wight in the background, the castle in the mid-ground and boats in the channel to Keyhaven in the foreground.

Closer to the castle which was used as a military defence facility during WWII with the addition of huge gun emplacements.

Just because I was there!

As we walked back at least 10 guys loaded with fishing gear trudged past us. These ones were already set up for the evening. It was already 6:20pm and the wind off the sea was pretty cold. We never spotted anyone with a fish, the fishermen we saw returning seemed to be only carrying large chunks of driftwood.

People have lived here for 800 years, from the Augustinian Canons in 1201 to sparkling 20th-century society hostess Maud Russell. The house contains several rooms of contemporary art.

The Mottisfont grounds were also splendid with blossom still around. But we were a couple of weeks too early for their huge collections of roses – they were heavily budded and not too far off opening.

These Wagtails were feeding over a stream in the gardens at Mottisfont. I was trying to get them on the wing but they were too fast for me. They fly much like a fantail with constant direction changes.

This one has lunch already.

We stopped to ‘stand upon Southampton dock 
With our handkerchief 
And summer frock’ (with apologies to Roger Waters) but we couldn’t access anywhere with iconic value. So we resorted to a pub and you will just have to take my word that it was in Southampton.

Tulips Triumph

4am on Monday was when our alarm went off signalling the start of a very busy and enjoyable week. We were staying near Stansted Airport and had to check in by 5am for our 7am EasyJet flight to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Han was there to meet us when we arrived and soon we were back at their house in Santpoort-Noord. It was so good to see both Han and Rens again and they were in great spirits.

The weather was also very good with a forecast of rain later in the week so Han’s clever plan was to have an early lunch and go immediately to the tulip gardens at Keukenhof before anything changed. What a brilliant idea that was! The gardens were looking their absolute best and they were complemented by perfect weather conditions and not too many crowds. We just could not believe our good fortune. Our first plan had been to visit Han & Rens and see the tulips in early April while en route to the UK but because the start of Spring was delayed by 3~4 weeks, Han suggested waiting. That turned out to be exactly the right advice. We were delighted.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Han and Leanne posing in front of a bed of Han’s favourite tulips, Queen Of The Night, in a mixed bed with Fritillaria.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Keukenhof Gardens.

Neighbouring commercial production tulip fields.

Neighbouring commercial production tulip fields.

Neighbouring commercial production tulip fields.

Neighbouring commercial production tulip fields.

Neighbouring commercial production tulip fields.

Back home after the gardens Han cooked us a special treat of white asparagus for dinner and we enjoyed good food, wine and conversation until our early start determined that bed was the place to be.

On Tuesday Han took us on his tour of Amsterdam. We caught the train to Central Station and got straight on to a canal boat for a one hour tour.

This is the route of the canal tour, starting at the green pin and going clockwise. The red pin should be closer to the green one but I forgot to stop the recording until after we had walked a couple of hundred metres.

If I remember correctly, NEMO was the Maritime Museum. It was on the canal tour route.

Seven bridges in a row…

Houseboats along one of the canals. Also, being still early Spring the leaves on the trees are light in colour and not very dense making the viewing from the canal boat even better.

The Eye only opened recently and is directly across the North Sea Canal from the train station.

After the canal boat we went exploring on foot with Han showing us lots of things that would normally go unseen. We covered another 7km by the time we got on the 16h34 train back to Santpoort-Noord.

A streetscape Amsterdam style.

Leanne and Han outside one of those special Amsterdam coffee shops discussing what to buy.

The Royal Palace on Dam Square. This has been a busy place recently with last week’s coronation of King Wilhem Alexander.

Still in Dam Square, the National Monument.

A modern version of the traditional organ grinder.

We were not the only ones thinking that the Museumcafé Mokum would be a nice place to have lunch.

Hidden in the middle of the city is the Begijnhof. It is no longer a strictly religious community but the residents are still all required to be women.

A statue to Rembrandt.

Another streetscape showing the benefit of being here early in the Spring.

I couldn’t let this opportunity go begging.

When I got closer I asked if exams had finished already. “No, they start next week.” Great preparation!

Because it was there.

There is currently a lot of civil work going on around it to build an underground terminal so the scene looks cluttered from every angle. However, the Central Station is still a majestic building.

By late afternoon the weather was turning as forecast but we had promised ourselves a beer at The Eye. So we boarded the free ‘Pont’ that shuttles from the Central Station to the other side of the North Sea Canal. I say ‘boarded’ but it was more like being swept on together with all the other foot traffic, bicycles and scooters.

The Ponts are the same front and back – they drive into the dock, lower the ramp, disgorge their passengers, reload and return to the other side to do it all again at the other end.

We saw a few of these around. Really small and funny looking. Very narrow too.

On our return trip we had to make a diversion to go around this barge. The sky was now looking very ominous.

Back at the tulip fields near Han and Rens house my eye was attracted by a young lady getting undressed. This is as far as they got while I was watching!

A little further along – now the afternoon of 7th May 2013, this is the reference tulip field that Han had sent photos of before we arrived. It is always photographed with a train in that position because it obscures an ugly graffiti covered building. There are eight trains every hour.

The was the reference tulip field on the afternoon of 3rd April 2013.

Again we had a lovely meal and went to bed very contented.

On Wednesday Leanne and I went into Amsterdam again by ourselves and explored further including the Jewish Quarter. When we walked to the station in the morning the so-called reference tulip field was looking splendid again. When we returned home at 7:15pm there was not a single pink flower remaining. It had been harvested. So we had seen it at its best.

Once we saw the 200m long queues at the newly re-opened Rijksmuseum all our ideas of getting some serious culture evaporated.

In the park adjacent to the Rijksmuseum.

Also in the park adjacent to the Rijksmuseum.

Huh?! It is a clothing brand.

On the other side of the park near the Van Gogh Museum was a stand of cherry trees so heavy with blossom that the breeze was blowing petals around like snowflakes.

Spotted on the street. The Artega GT is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive 2-seat sports car produced by German manufacturer Artega between 2009 and 2012. The GT was Artega’s first and only model. The two seater has an aluminium space frame and carbon fibre reinforced body for a light kerb weight of 1,116 kg (2,460 lb). The engine is a Volkswagen-sourced direct injection 3.6 L V6 producing 296 bhp (221 kW; 300 PS) and 350 N·m (260 lb·ft) mated to a 6-speed DSG transmission. Acceleration from 0–100 km/h is tested to be at 4.8 seconds, with top speed estimated to be over 270 km/h. After the Artega company filed for bankruptcy in July 2012, production has ceased and the company has been bought by German automotive supplier firm Paragon AG. On September 30, 2012 the production of the Artega GT was halted. There are currently no plans to resume production.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artega_GT

Plenty of the canal tourist boats plying their trade.

I waited for a while but it didn’t slump forward any further. I wouldn’t park my car there though!

The Auschwitz Memorial.

The different building contractors must have had different calibration standards for their levels when they worked here too.

On Thursday morning we packed our bags ready for the afternoon departure and then Han took us on a drive to the port and the locks where the North Sea Canal opens to the sea. Very interesting and lots of information here.

This is the largest of the three locks at the end of the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam. The gate was just closing behind this vessel. It is 400m x 50m x 15m and it was completed in 1929. Apparently it would take 38 years to fill this lock from a kitchen tap – in case you were wondering.

Our last lunch with Han and Rens before we had to leave for the flight back to the UK.

At Schiphol Airport – open how many hours?

Up and away!

We were sad to say goodbye to Han and Rens, they had been perfect hosts and their pride and passion for their country is contagious. But we had to get back to the UK to continue our travels.

Back at Stansted Airport we caught the shuttle bus to the mid-stay parking area where we had left the car. The only trouble was that at 4:15am last Monday neither of us had taken much notice of where we had parked. The place is big and we were not recognising anything as the bus drove through area after area. We remembered seeing a bus at the stop up a slope from where we parked and running to catch it. It was also the last pick up. But was this bus following the same route? Anyway I told the driver that I was having trouble remembering where I left the car and he radioed our ticket number to the control room and they came straight back with the location of the car. Pretty slick. I haven’t decided how they might have done that yet but I have a couple of ideas (they have automatic number plate recognition [ANR] cameras all over the place in the UK). Do you know how they would do this in a huge carpark?

We finally arrived about 20h30 at the same basic hotel we had stayed at earlier near the airport. On Friday morning we hit the road towards Lymington taking the north side of the M25 so we could call in at North Mimms on the way to have a chat and a coffee with Dave and Carolyn. That done we set the coordinates for Lymington and pressed on arriving at 16h15 with time to take a stroll along the High Street before going to The Sail Loft, James and Lavinia’s place, where we will be staying for the next 12 days.

Lymington is a very nice town by the look of it and James and Lavinia are both very well. Lavinia cooked a delicious seafood pasta for us all and we got acquainted with the place. James, Leanne and I polished off two more bottles of wine before midnight and in the process solved most problems known to modern man. One popular idea was to sell up and retreat to the Bahamas on account of their very agreeable climate, low entry barriers, modest cost of living and favourable tax regime! I am not so sure our respective families would completely support a decision on our part to exercise such a complete retreat… although it does have its attractions.

Anyway, snapping back to the very real world, James and Lavinia got away on time on Saturday morning at 10:30am and at 2:15pm I got an SMS from Lavinia to say they were in France already.

The Sail Loft is a really lovely place. The weather has been a bit patchy this weekend but after a couple of weeks on the move we were more inclined to have a rest day or two so we will start exploring the area properly next week.

Very cute streets in Lymingtion.

Saturday was market day and it look a little like Lorgues.

More cute terrace houses.

Really?! I am going to have to try this to find out how it works.

Blooming Beautiful

It is probably easiest to start with an overview of the logistics for the week and let the photos do their work plus a few added comments.

The week started on Monday 29th April with us checking out of Kitley House and heading towards Woolacombe on the North Devon coast.  On the way we visited Buckland Abbey, Tavistock and Sticklepath.  We were again relying solely on the iPhone and Apple maps to get us from place to place and it did not let us down.  There are no options available like ‘only use main highways’ so at times the routes are more interesting than anticipated.  On the last 40 miles towards Woolacombe we wove our way through some country lanes that you might have thought would lead to a deserted clearing and a chainsaw murderer.  But it all worked out fine and added to the adventure, you just need to have faith, and sometimes a reasonable amount of it!

The reason for venturing to this corner of Devon was to find some of Leanne’s family history.   We had a family history book describing some places that we wanted to find, namely Bradwell Mill and the graveyard at West Down.  So that was Tuesday’s task plus a visit to Arlington Court which is also the site of the National Trust Carriage Museum.  On Wednesday we left Devon and drove through Somerset, crossing Exmoor National Park, to an overnight stay in Redditch.  On Thursday we got to Radcliffe, near Manchester, where we had some more graveyard work to do on Leanne’s family history, following up information in a Kay Family History book we obtained last year.

On Friday we visited Lyme Park on the edge of the Peak District National Park and ended the day in Barnsley.  On Saturday we visited York electing to use the park and ride from outside the city and that worked out well.  After York we returned to Barnsley for the night via the King’s Arms on Heath Common and Hemsworth (more about that later).

On Sunday night we needed to end up near Bishop’s Stortford ready to catch a 7am flight on Monday morning.  We left Barnsley about 9am and were in Cambridge before noon.  And what a difference three weeks and some nice weather makes!  Spring has transformed the city and it looks crisp and vibrant.  We got to Bishop’s Stortford by 5pm and met Dave and Carolyn for a beer before disappearing to our hotel to re-pack and get an early night.

When we first entered the grounds of Buckland Abbey we though this was the side of the old church. Turned out to be the barn. Seems that the monks only had one way to built things.

This is the front entrance to the house that is built inside what was once a church. It was the home of Sir Francis Drake once he had become reasonably wealthy from his expeditions (he was born into a poor family so inherited nothing).

The weather was great and the rhododendrons were looking magnificent.

Our route took us along the edge of Dartmoor National Park. We could see the wild horses from the road and when we pulled in at a picnic spot this little guy was grazing with his mother. Not too shy either.

Tavistock is a market town on the border of the Dartmoor National Park. Not especially remarkable but a nice place to stop for refreshments.

Looking quite similar to National Park in New Zealand or Central Otago, this is just one view of Dartmoor.

Turning 90˚ this was the view – a ruined mill and farm land.

I did walk a couple of hundred metres along the inside of this fence line looking for that elusive ‘perfect shot’. The ground underfoot was very spongey and uneven.

Finch Foundry, its given name, is a National Trust property in the village of Sticklepath that is the oldest water driven forge still operating in England. In fact its name is a misnomer since it is actually a forge rather than a foundry. This is a snapshot of one of the guys who operated the forge for visitors. I got talking to his colleague afterwards, a guy who was born in the village and spent his entire life farming about a mile from the village and at 83 years old had not been more than 5 miles in any direction!

Woolacombe in North Devon is a family beach holiday town. This was the view from our room – a long way from the beach but a nice view.

This is the beach complete with everything a holidaying Englishman needs – sand to lay on and turn lobster coloured and a van from which to buy beer and hot chips. All while under the supervision of a Union Flag.

This is the mill house that was bought by Leanne’s Great-great-great-great-grandfather in 1825 in the village of Bradwell in North Devon. It appears to be in the process of some renovation work.

The church cemetery at West Down was home to the graves of a number of Leanne’s ancestors on her mother’s side of the family.

Arlington Court is a National Trust Property in North Devon that was once the home of the Chichester family. This part of the house was remodelled in the late 19th century.

Also at Arlington Court was the National Trust Carriage Museum. It housed the golden ‘Speaker’s Coach’ but no photos were allowed.

So courtesy of Google, here is the Speaker’s State Coach on exhibition at Arlington Court’s Carriage Museum in North Devon, UK. The coach which has been used for state occasions since the early 18th century was last used at the Royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and is seen as a symbol of power and status of the Speaker of the House Of Commons. The gold painted and gilded coach is believed to have been made in 1698 for King William III and will be on display for 6 years at the National Trust property.

This controversial sculpture called Verity is on the harbour entrance at Ilfracombe in the North Devon coast. The light was impossible but you can find out more about it here: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/17/whats-20m-high-pregnant-and-wields-a-sword-damien-hirsts-latest-masterpiece/

On the edge of Exmoor National Park I was struck by the red colour of the soil. Reminiscent of Provence.

Another churchyard cemetery, this time in Radcliffe. Here we located several headstones belonging to ancestors of Leanne’s on her father’s side.

I also had to take a few shots of this squirrel posing on a tree.

Lyme Park, in the Peak District National Park, is another property that was only used as a retreat during the summer and a hunting lodge a few times a year with its 1,300 acre estate.

We crossed the Peak District National Park en route from Radcliffe to Barnsley. The sky was darkening, it was cold and the wind was about 70kph. Not a place to hang around.

I realised at last that I had not taken any pictures of the row houses so common in the UK. So here is my first step at putting that right.

The reason for stopping in Barnsley was to visit York and Hemsworth the next day. The weather was on the dull side but York was still charming, even if a little challenging to photograph – bright glary skies with dark buildings and alleys.

A view along the Shambles.

Streetscape.

York Minster. Because the leaves were not yet out on the trees I could get views of things that would usually be obscured. This was also a big plus when driving around the countryside – we could see through the hedgerows and across the landscape. Even a week later this view has become more filtered.

The Treasurer’s House a few metres from York Minster was the home of a Frank Green whose grandfather patented ‘Green’s Economiser’, a method of recovering energy from exhaust gases to pre-heat the boiler feed water. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economizer

Frank Green also funded the restoration of this building, St Williams College, and…

the adjacent Gate House which now houses the National Trust Gift Shop.

The walls around York are open for walking and the daffodil displays were vibrant.

Alan and I visited the King’s Arms on Heath Common near Wakefield in 1982 and I wanted to track it down again. Here is an extract from their own website: Hidden away on the outskirts of Wakefield, the village of Heath is a living monument to a bygone age. The village consists entirely of buildings dating from the 15th to 19th centuries. Inside the Grade II listed pub you will find a delightful maze of cosy rooms, and still entirely lit by gas lamps. A fully working Yorkshire range is another wonderful reminder of days of old

The other mission I had in this area was to take a look at the house where Alan had grown up and I had stayed with him and his parents in 1982.  As soon as we parked in the street near number 8 there were folk watching us!   One of the neighbours approached me as I walked about with my camera and asked if he could help me.  We got talking and then his wife joined us.  I couldn’t get away for 45 minutes.  The first couple then called out another neighbour and stories started to be told.  If there had been a beer keg handy I would probably still be there!  On a sad note, it turned out that the new owner of number 8, an elderly lady, had fallen about 30 minutes before we arrived and broken her ankle. The ambulance was coming along the main road as we left.

Great St. Mary’s Church. The last time we visited Cambridge the weather chased us home early. Not this time and now the Spring flowers added to the scene.

A sneak peak in through the main entrance to King’s College.

Looking form ‘The Backs’ towards King’s College. In the mid-ground of the picture, in the grass, you might see some people. They are not walking along a path but punting on the River Cam.

Fairies in the meadow at Cambridge, The Backs.

Another view of the back of King’s College showing the punters more clearly.

Mathematical Bridge on the River Cam. Here we watched with amusement as the amateur punters tangled with the pros who were trying to run their tourist routes. We waited for a while but were not rewarded with an involuntary dismount into the river.

The gates of Trinity College.

The main gates of St. John’s College.

None of these beautiful blossoms were here three weeks ago. It was wonderful to see.

Do you remember my story about the car and its cruise control/indicator foible?  Well I bought the WD-40 as planned and it is amazing stuff.  It worked perfectly.  I didn’t even have to open it from the blister pack.  There has not been any misbehaviour since.  If the problem does come back I might even open the WD-40 and see if that fixes it again.  Here’s hoping.

The End Of The World

Well, the end as it was once known – Lands End.  While we were not too far away we decided to go there so we could ‘tick it off the list’.

Once again the weather has been very kind to us.  Not hot by any stretch but but no appreciable rain either.  Nippy breeze when out of the sun.  Generally great weather for what we are doing.

Our week started at Sara and Richard’s place in Hertfordshire.  On Tuesday said farewell to Sara, Richard and the four cats after a very enjoyable stay.  We went to Dani’s place in Sevenoaks for two nights before starting our journey to the southeast of England.  On Thursday we stayed at Broadmayne in Dorset.  Friday night was at Carbis Bay in Cornwall, very near St.Ives and Saturday was the first of two nights spent at Kitley House also in Cornwall.

While we were staying with Dani in Sevenoaks she became a Grandmother for the first time so there was much excitement.  It is always a delight to catch up with Dani but this time will be remembered especially because of the birth of Stanley Louis, 6lb and healthy on 24th April.

We drove through 15km of roadworks on the M25 on our journey southeast that was under a 50mph speed limit.  It was amazing, nobody would do more than the 50mph!  In France or Italy when you slow down to such a speed about 30~50% of the traffic will be going past you at the open limit and more.  But not here.

On Saturday we were near Bodmin which is not far from the location of The Eden Project (you may have seen it on TV) and we had an hour or so available so we sought it out.  At £47 for us to get in we decided to flag it away.  They only have one entry fee – £23.50 per adult and you can come as often as you like for a year.  Too bad if you are a tourist passing through with an hour or so available.

The B&B at Carbis Bay was nice and the owner dropped us right down at the middle of St.Ives at dinner time and gave us instructions for getting the bus back.  This is because parking in St.Ives is impossible.  It worked out very well.  We had a walk and a good pub dinner with no concerns about needing to drive and got home without any bother.

On our travels this week we have visited six National Trust [NT] properties:

1. Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country house in Kent
2. We tried to visit Quebec House in Kent but it was closed on Tuesdays and we could not get back another day
3. Ightham Mote in Kent
4. Knole Park and House in Kent
5. The Vyne in Hampshire
6. Lanhydrock in Cornwall
7. Saltram House in Devon

All the NT properties are outstanding and the volunteers who attend the different rooms are always well informed and passionate about their heritage.  We always end up taking ages to get through them but it is so worth it.  And on the subject of value – that list of properties would have cost us about £120 in entrance fees except for our £35 membership of the NZ Historical Society.  And that is just one week of visits.  With our NZ membership we get free entry to all NT properties.

For details on any of these properties either visit the NT website or try Google.

Chartwell was the country home of Winston Churchill. Not as grand as some, more homely. Sadly, no photos allowed inside.

The main frontage of Knole House.

Once through the outer perimeter of buildings at Knole House there is another layer and then another. This place is huge. It is also another one that does not allow photography inside the house.

Not a usual view of Knole, taken from the back, but it shows a little of the size of the place. The National Trust is in the process of repairing the roofs of the complex, a project that will £17 million.

The deer in Knole Park are very docile – I was only 10m from this one and it didn’t seem to be at all concerned.

Deer as far as you can see! There is also a golf course in the midst of all these deer as well.

Ightham Mote was the subject of a Time Team episode during a £10 million conservation effort that was completed in 2004. The DVD of the program playing in one of the rooms so it was excellent to be able to see what was done and then see how it is in reality. This conservation project was apparently the first under a new policy that even details that are never going to be seen are restored to original condition. An example was an ornate scotia that was reproduced and fitted even though it would end up behind a panel that was part of a later modification to the building. NT want to not only preserve the outward appearance but also the underlying details for future generations.

The buildings are laid out in a rectangle with the moat surrounding them but it was not all built at the same time. Consequently there are many styles represented as you look around the yard.

Ightham Mote’s moat!

Just one of the splendid rooms at Ightham Mote. Note the doorway to the left of the fireplace, it has a stone surround and is not very tall.

Outside the moated main buildings and across a lawn are the stables and other service buildings.

In the gardens at Ightham Mote – no idea what these are but they looked great. Anyone got any ideas.

A blend of styles from Tudor onwards, this was the grand front entrance to The Vyne.

The is the summer house in the gardens at The Vyne.

By the time we got to The Vyne at Basingstoke we finally saw tulips that were brave enough to bloom.

Some of the interiors were pristine. This ceiling was said to be moulded in papier-mâché and painted. Unusual when they are normally casted in plaster.

This was the better of two rooms with wall ‘linenfold’ carved wooden wall panels. Each panel has a space top and bottom for heraldic symbols and they were filled with the emblems of families the owners wanted to win favour with.

Thatched roof in the village of Broadmayne where we spent the night. You can see that this roof is about knackered but also looking at the ridge line there is new straw. So they must have been in the process of replacing it.

Also in Broadmayne.

Leanne loves these wood panelled Morris vans.

Rolling Dorset countryside with the sea in the background.

Another wonderful National Trust property – this time Lanhydrock in Cornwall.

Lanhydrock from inside the front gatehouse.

Just one of the rooms in Lanhydrock.

It was cold and windy but we had to tick it off the list. The tee shirt belongs to the University of Auckland Meat Club, of which Steven is the president. It is called ‘Dark Side Of The Moo’ but it is not sponsored by Pink Floyd – the sponsor is The Mad Butcher.

The sun just lit Saint Michael’s Mount at the right time on an otherwise dull afternoon.

The harbour at St.Ives in the very late afternoon. The next day was forecast to be raining so we made a quick run down there to take a look.

St.Ives from the same place but looking the other direction.

Cornwall countryside.

Cornwall countryside.

Cornwall countryside.

Cornwall countryside.

Cornwall countryside.

The view from our room in the servants quarters at Kitley House.

Kitley House front view.

Saltram House in Devon was just a quick stop, relative to others we have been to.

Careful readers will recognise this room immediately. It was designed by Robert Adam, c.1760. It has the same attention to detail as Osterley House near London. In particular the motif on the ceiling is repeated in the carpet.

Another detail that I did not get a photo of at Osterley, but which was there also, was the chamber pot cupboard and screen. During meals, if a gentleman got ‘caught short’ as it were, he would disappear behind the screen and make use of one of the pots hidden in the cupboard under the vase stand.

Looking out to sea from the top of The Hoe in Plymouth

Birds

I have been managing to catch the odd photo of local birdlife and since they didn’t really fit elsewhere, here they are…

This perch was at least 5m high – I didn’t know geese ever perched high above the ground. At Knole Park in Sevenoaks.

Nuthatch? Not 100% sure yet. This was spotted while walking a path through some woods in the grounds of Kitley.

Blue Tit. Also on the woodland path at Kitley.

Pheasant. There were several of these in the grounds around Kitley.

Duckling. And another near the main entrance to Saltram.

Pheasant.

Goose. At Kitley.

Don’t know what this one is. Also near the main entrance to Saltram.

Car

In general our ‘little French sports car’, a Renault Clio 1.5L Diesel, 2-door commercial version, has served us well.  We refer to it as the sports car because it only has two seats – that is how they are made with a cargo/luggage space instead of the other seats.  Anyway, it has occasionally skipped a beat on the motorways on a longer trip when on cruise control but I had put it down to gusts of wind when overtaking large trucks.  That was the only time it seemed to happen.  This week, while on cruise control on the motorway I noticed a correlation between the left indicator and the engine seeming to ‘miss’. It would seem that there is perhaps an earth problem back-feeding through the cruise control electronics. It doesn’t do anything odd when not on cruise control. Heads lights on/off makes no difference.  Since the first observation I have felt it happen sometimes when using the right indicator as well.  The effect is often subtle and could easily be caused by a gust of wind from a large truck except that now I have proven that I can start and stop the effect using the indicators.  Just to make it more interesting, it doesn’t always do it either.  So I will start by taking apart all the indicator assemblies and spraying the contacts, especially the earth, with WD-40.  Unless somebody out there has a better idea.

Computer

I have been having  some minor issues on the MacBook Pro with the wrong cursor (one I can’t see) appearing when on certain parts of the screen.  I had this at home on the iMac in February and a call to AppleCare got it fixed.  The cure is to reset PRAM (CMD-OPT-R-P).  So I did this and it rebooted straight into ‘Internet Recovery’. That was not the expected outcome!  I aborted that after 10 minutes and thankfully it rebooted normally. Scared the crap out of me!  This needs to be looked at in August when we get home and I can contact AppleCare.  Until then I will just have to put up with it.