Saturday, January 31, 2009

York

Last Wednesday saw me travelling up th A1 to York for a couple of days with Meriel. The A1 has been improved so much over the last few years that it was a joy to drive on! Gone are the hideous roundabouts and somehow it seems less frenetic than driving up the M1.



It was lovely to see Grandma, we spent many hours (literally!) watching recordings of the kiddies when they were little - I was transferring them from the camcorder, via Meriel's new magic machine, onto dvd. We laughed a lot!


A drip, drip, drip woke Meriel up early on Thursday morning...




... and this was her bedroom ceiling! We started collecting the drips in a bucket!



We explored possible causes and decided that it's likely to be the roof - it should be sorted soon, but until then the bucket has to do!



Today I went out for some more 'training', with a bit more in the rucksac...




and found these wonderful grasses...



... it was cold and snow is forecast for tomorrow and Monday! YAY!!!!



Katy joined me for half of the walk before trialing the new design red nose for Red Nose Day


Friday, January 23, 2009

A hole in one...

I've seen them on tv but never thought I'd see one for real, but yesterday I did! (Not mine unfortunately!) We were playing a pairs match - Jill and I.The 6th hole at Pavenham is about 140 yards,
hitting across a little pond fringed by rocks and with the occasional coot swimming about.
It was windy and we were drying out after persistent rain. I hit a lovely 6 iron on to the green, about 20feet from the hole, and was very pleased with myself - (I'm often in the water or just plain wayward here).
Jill hit a short shot ready for a second to go across the water - then up stepped Anne (one of our opposition).
She hit an amazing shot, we watched it bounce on the green, rise up and hit the flag pole, and drop down the hole. Amazing! Great celebrations!
Needless to say we lost the match, but we kept up the fight till the 16th hole so we were quite pleased.
On a different note, I walked today, (training for The Big Walk), along muddy tracks
and saw my first signs of Spring, Aconites and Snowdrops... lovely!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Keith's Birthday

This evening Phil took Keith and I out to his favourite eatery... The Swan in Olney, where we enjoyed a birthday meal... had intended taking a pic of the food... but forgot I had the camera till I left! So the only record is the 'boys' outside the pub!

The food was excellent... field mushrooms with garlic and cheese, smoked salmon on potato cakes...barbecued ribs, lasagne, skampi... all yummy!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Last day in Wales

Our final day in Wales was a mountain walk which took us to the top of a local mountain and back through a huge slate quarry. The weather was wet and windy but we saw some fascinating sights and great views.

slate terraces
a hole known as Mordor


views across the Dinorwig Quarry


I thought this wall was amazing...


this derelict building is the old cutting shed.
All in all a fantastic week...

and to finish with...

this little railway station with a big name!




Home again

I'm sitting at the dining table, a roast is in the oven and I thought I'd write an update. Wales was fantastic. Going with older children meant the activities were far more challenging than on previous trips and we had exciting weather.

The day after the trip to the lighthouse was also spent on Anglesey, but in the north west of the island at a place called Porth Ruffydd (referred to as The Range). Sea-cliff traversing was the order of the day - sea-cliff reversing as the kids said it - and what a day we chose. A huge storm was brewing and we were catching the beginnings of it with massive waves and strong winds. Climbing around the cliffs attached to ropes in bitter conditions, with wet feet and numb fingers was a huge challenge. The kids rose to it amazingly - this is what they did...

Firstly across this gully...


... then around the corner where the waves were being funnelled through...


..then across here..

... and finally this!

This took the whole day with a lot of waiting to move on, fingers and toes growing colder and colder. The last picture was taken after we'd lunched, huddling for shelter out of the wind. The kids were all keen to go back to the centre to get warm and dry but were faced with another traverse, more dramatic than any of the others and despite being freezing, and scared, they did it - it was amazing!

The following day we were climbing, first outside on massive boulders and then inside on a great climbing wall called The Beacon. It has three main 'rooms' with climbs of all difficulty... just one pic to give you the idea..

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Learning

I haven't got the hang of this yet... I haven't worked out how to post pictures where I want them... and I'm too tired to try and learn tonight!
I'll try again soon ...

Pathways

The light was amazing with sun and hail showers sweeping through... it was a fantastic day!
I loved the way the sun came through the trees...

North Wales

Left Bedfordshire early on Monday morning, arriving in Wales during the afternoon. Last night saw us out doing a 'night walk', treking through old slate quarries in pitch black.

Today we were on Anglesey, building shelters that were capable of withstanding the elements... (and 'bears'); then we walked through the extensive woodland to the beach and out to a lighthouse. The weather was fantastic... sun and hail showers... with amazing views. I'm going to try and insert a couple of pictures for you to enjoy!

Friday, January 9, 2009

First steps...

Christmas cake all eaten, so a new year with new challenges... these are my tottering first steps at blogging!
Plans for the South West Coast Path Walk (SWCPW or 'The Big Walk') are proceeding... we set off, Uncle Tim and I, on the 10th Feb, meeting up at Taunton and staying the first night at the YHA in Minehead. Beyond that, it is all in the air at the moment!
New walking boots are being broken in, rucksac and warm clothes are being made ready... and I need to learn to use Bridgie's camera. I shall practise next week in North Wales so watch this space!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The beginning...

I'm putting this blog together for Ruthie so that, hopefully, she can keep us posted on her upcoming adventures, be they in the garden, the kitchen, or all across the Cornish Coast!

Hopefully there won't be too many teething problems, but I'm sure there will be a few (most likely created by me)

Welcome to the blogsphere!