Holiday – Page 12 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Day one at Port Gaverne

Mr T was dropped off early at Wadebridge, as part of his marathon training he was going to run to Padstow, which is about 18 miles. The st of us got upfairly early and had a leisureley breakfast, toast for me. The plan was to drive to Rock and pick up T from the ferry from Padstow.

We parked up at the far end of Rock (£1.50 for two hours) and had a wander along the beach front. It was not long before Mr T texted me to say he was on the ferry. The tide was out and the ferry was having to do a big loop round to get to the quai, in fact T had got the last ferry before the drop off was changed to the alternative quai further out of of town towards the sea. T had taken 2:35 to do 17 miles.

Back at the hut I set up the GoPro to da a time lapse looking out to sea from the house while we had lunch, then we planned to do a local circular walk taking in Port Gaverne and Port Quin.

The walk took us from the hut via the steep road down into Port Gaverne, then up the hill out again. You can probably see a pattern emerging here, we are in Cornwall and there is no such ting as a flat walk.

At the top of the hill, you guessed it, we went down again, into Port Isaac where Dr Martin is filmed. We watch a bit of road rage as someone going down the hill got frustrated by the drivers coming up and not giving way. The walk continued on round the headland eventually getting to Port Quin after much up and down of steep stepped hills. In one cove we saw in the distance a baby seal calling for its mother, the calling seemed as if the seal was suffering but it seemed quite active and we all agreed it was most likely just calling for it’s mother who was in the want just in the bay.

At port Quin there was a very welcome coffee establishment in an old Citroen corrugated van. We stopped for a double cappuccino and a piece of cake before heading back to Port Gaverne this time in land, and more directly. It was surprising how quickly it took to get back compared to the up and down walk round the headland.

Once back at the hut we Cajun stew cooked by Helen’s dad.

Doc Martin country

We are off for a week to Port Gaverne just a stones throw from Port Isaac which is we’re the TV series Doc Martin is set. I have to admit I have never watched the program but I am aware of its existence and the fact that Martin Clunes plays the main part.

We were up early and soon finished the packing, before picking Helen’s dads Telegraph and then picking Helen’s parents, this was going to be the annual gathering of Helen’s family for fun and frolics by the sea.

We headed off to the M25 traffic was moving a a good lick, Helen started the general knowledge crossword and had us all engrossed so much so that we missed he turn off for the M4. Turns out that it did not matter we went the M3 A303 route instead. Turns out that the A303 is a much more scenic route than the M4/M route. Traffic queued at times when the road went from dual to single carriage way.

Just after half way we stopped at Mantacute House National trust property, which has well maintained gardens. The house is fairly normal for properties of that era. One more recent owner of the house was a collector of samplers and we purchased three for Helen and her sister s to do during the weeks holiday. I created a panorama http://neilbaldwin.netpanorama-cornwall/montacute-house-national-trust/

We arrived at the property and everyone else was already there we had take more or less 5 hours for the journey which was pretty reasonable. the property is about 3 hundred yards from the cliff edge with views of the sea from the raised decking . The views in land are also rural and elevated.

We had taken a batch of my pasta sauce for the evening meal and it was easily prepared, despite having to deal with an electric hob.

Three buses to Holkham nudist beach

After a hot night we were up and ready for breakfast at 08:10, I had scrambled eggs and mushroom had Helen had beans and hash browns, the toast was lovely made from home made bread. We gathered our stuff and walked down the road to the Stiffkey bus stop to get the bus to Burnham Deepdale, only to find the next bus was not for another fifty minutes! What should we do? We decide to get the bus going the other way and have a coffee at the Cley NWT cafe. On the way to Cley we realised that we would not have enough time for a coffee so we got off at Cley village stores, and waited for the bus going the way we wanted.

After a five minute wait we were on the right bus going to our chosen destination, we wanted to walk from Burnham Deepdale to Wells next to sea about 10 miles. We passed though Burnham Market on the way which had a craft fair going on around the village green, it looked interesting but the place was heaving and it was only 10. When we got off the bus we realised how hot the day was, the weather man had promised 30 degrees. As we headed out along the sea wall we both began to realise that the whole walk may not be managed. When you get close Burnham Overy Staithe you hit a kind of false summit, the sea wall heads back on it self, which was very disheartening to Helen and a few expletives were heard.

At the quay of Burnham Overy Staithe there is a chandlers/general store which sold cold drinks, it was very welcome. Inside it seemed to be air conditioned, we lingered deciding what drink to purchase. We sat on a railway sleeper in the shade outside, a woman was trying to find some where to tie up her small terrier Helen offered to hold on to the lead but the offer was turned down on the basis that the dog would probably go for us so could we warn passersby not to get too close! While the lady was a way the dog snarled a lot at the passing people.

The quay is a popular spot as there is a free car park and you can cross a shallow creek and then get out to a lovely cut off beach, seems every man and his dog was heading out there, it looked like a scene from war of the worlds when everyone leaves town in a mass exodus. We contemplated getting the bus to Holkham but in the end continued on our walk. After another couple of miles we were in the sand dunes, next stop was a paddle in the sea. It is surprising how cooling a paddle is, I think the cold temperature on your feet combined with the stiff sea breeze, just hits the spot.

Holkham beach is vast, and we were walking at the sea edge for over an hour. We can across some some very trusting Sanderlings and Ringed Plovers. At one point we stopped and sat down to have some lunch we had purchased some cheese and onion pasties the day before. Our choice of spots was not interesting, we were at the far edge of the nudist area, and every so often a nude man would make circuit strutting his stuff. Helen &I have have some experience of nudists beaches, not as nudists you understand, we just have this uncanny knack of coming across them when out of walks. Male couples tend to gather at the fringes of them and the Holkham one was no different. We walked on and slowly the nudists dissolved away and clothed beach users took over. The beach was tough on bare feet so we decided to head inland to the pine forest to continue the walk in the shade.

On one side of the forest there was a lovely breeze which combined with the shade of the trees was bearable but as we got deeper in to the forest the breeze went and the heat took over. We were starting to discuss the ice creams we were going to order when we got to the Wells ice cream shop. When we got to the ice cream the queue was massive so we walked on to the town along the sea wall, when we got there we had just about had enough. I popped in to a shop while Helen checked out the bus times. The buses seemed to be running late, but we made good use of the time downing two 7 Ups and two bottles of water between us.

Eventually the bus came 40 minutes late it turns out there was a bad accident around Holkham and the traffic was being sent round the Holkham estate. We purchased our tickets and requested being dropped off at the Red Lion in Stiffkey, one of the services offered by the coast hoppers is that you can be dropped off anywhere safe on their route. After 10 minutes in a very hot bus we were dropped off outside the pub. We rested a while before a shower and then went down to the bar, Helen had veggie lasagne and I had wild mushroom and pea risotto, both dishes got the thumbs up. For desert we had another drink, then retired to our room well replete.

Beaten by the Stiffkey potatoes

We’re off to Stiffkey for the weekend and apparently if you are in the know you pronounce it stew’key. Stiffkey is a long village on the north Norfolk coast between Wells-next-to-sea and Blakeney. We had popped over to my parents about half way there on Thursday night, and were up early so we could leave before the cleaners got there. We hit the road at 08:50 headed though Peterborough and on past Kings Lynn and stopped of at Fat Birds cycling shop at Hunstanton to see if we could Helen some cycling waterproofs for her commute to work.

We didn’t find the perfect water proofs but got some ideas, but Helen did come away with some new cycling gloves. We then headed off up the coast road to our first port of call Titchwell Marsh RSPB reserve, where we would be getting our first go in their newly opened Parrinder Hide. The RSPB have decided that they can’t win the battle with global warming and sea rising so have built a new sea wall a bit further in land than the existing one and they have build a brand new hide on top. They will let the sea breach the existing one but preserve the habitats for marsh birds slight further inland. Despite being the peak of the holiday season the reserve was not too busy, there was no queue for a coffee.

After a welcome coffee we headed out on the footpath to the beach where we sat on the collapsed pill box that is visible when the tide is out. It was very windy and sand got into everything. I left my new GoPro Hero2 taking some time lapse pictures for 10 minutes at one picture per two seconds, should result in a 10 to 20 second video. We headed back up the path and stopped off at the new Parrinder hide, which I must say is excellent, it has the same big glass windows that they have at Island mere at Minsmere RSPB, you can wind the bottom part down and pull the top part up giving you a great open air view, which was handy for another time lapse session.

We stopped off at the other hide for a quick look and another set of pictures, then headed back to the cafe for some lunch. The highlights included 15 Spoonbill, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Grey, Golden and Ringed Plover, Ruff and Avocet. At the cafe I had a Stilton and mushroom hot baguette and Helen had the largest beans and baked potato I have ever seen served at an RSPB establishment, there was at least a tin of beans with the rugby ball of a potato. It turned out to be too much for Helen, and some was left.

We then headed on up the coast road and stopped at Burnham Deepdale for some retail therapy. Thee is a new shop that sells all sorts of wildlife gear including Microscopes, tempting as it was I passed up the opportunity to walk out with a stereoscopic one. Helen was tempted by some bags and managed to purchase some much needed greeting cards, I think our stocks must be getting a bit low!

Then it was back in the car for a short drive to The Red Lion in Stiffkey. We had a swift half (Woodforde’s Wherry and IPA Gold) at the bar then unpacked car freshened up. The beer was good the menu looked good, and the rooms were well appointed, clean and smart. We headed out up the main road then took a left up a footpath towards the sea. After about half a mile we came across some farm building and a band of trees which for a drop down to the marsh. We took a left and then a right hoping to get down to the sand beyond the marsh. It was very muddy all around but the footpath was pretty dry and solid. At the beach we sat and looked at the distant seals on Blakeney Point and the birds out on the beach, there were quite a few calls from Curlews.

Back at the pub I had a shower and then headed down to the bar for something to eat, but not before leaving all the gadgets on charge for the next day, we only bought two chargers with us so some juggling would be required. To eat I had salmon on crushed garlic potatoes and spinach, and Helen had a goats cheese salad with some chips. Mine was really nice and Helen was once again defeated by potatoes. We had couple of pints and then retired to bed we had really enjoyed our first day in North Norfolk.

Wet and windy walk to Boulmer and back

We knew from the weather forecast it was going to be bad, there were storm force winds battering the south west of the country and the tail of the anti-cyclone was going to be right over the north east.

We set out at about 10:30, after N made scrambled eggs on toast, it was grey and windy but dry.

We headed south and in land towards Howick hall where we hoped to follow a sheltered valley back to the coast, in the hall grounds, then walk down to Boulmer on the coast. We passed through a farm and spied the farmer butchering and lamb.

There was not much bird action going on, I guess the weather wind and rain was keeping them hunkered down.

We reached Howick Hall entrance and walked down the road past it in the hope of getting onto a path in the grounds called the long walk. When we found it was all fenced up and gated with a lock. A sign suggested we now needed to pay the entrance fee of £6 to be able to use the path. They did mention an arrangement with dog walkers, keys and locks, but we didn’t have keys or dogs. We turned round and headed towards the sea, then it started to rain so the wet weather gear came out.

The aim now was to get to the Fish Inn at Boulmer, then evaluate our plans over a pint. By the time we got to the pub it was raining quite hard my poncho was letting in water, and my shorts were getting damp. The pub was a welcome site being on the side of the village we arrived from. There was a bus stop outside a possible escape route.

Inside the pub there was a small seating area of 4 tables and then there was a restaurant area out the back, with views over the bay rocks and the sea beyond.

Once our wet outer (and some we inner layers) had been removed and hung near the radiator, we grabbed a table from a couple who were leaving. We decided we may as well have some lunch and then have a salad and home made pizzas for dinner.

We sampled 2 broccoli bakes, a cucumber baguette and chips, and I had crab cakes and chips. I could have done with more chips. We then all went for a pudding, 2 chocolate mousses, toffee and vanilla cheese cake, and I had apple crumble and custard which was lovely. We tried phoning for a taxi but there was no answer, and investigations into buses on my phone and a feeble signal revealed only one bus per day. We had no choice but to walk back to the hut at Craster.

The rain had eased off, and continued to, and eventually stopped as we headed north up the coast. We crossed a nice looking beach on the way, and with the rain stopped it became quite pleasant. At one point we passed a nice house on an exposed point, apparently it was build as a bathing house by the owners of Howick Hall.

Just as we were about a half mile for Craster it started to lash down with rain again. In Craster we got some bread from the smokehouse. Once back at the hut I put some dry jeans on and headed, out to get enough bits to finish off the pizzas. I had no luck getting olives, from the local small Londis, which stocked essentials!

Despite the weather we had got out for a walk, and had been out the best part of the day.

Lindisfarne Holy Island

The plan for Thursday was to visit Lindisfarne and have a look round the Holy Island. I was up earlier than the rest of the house and took the opportunity to take a walk down the coast to Dunstanburgh, to take a couple of panorama sets. The weather was really quite warm, I set out with a T-shirt and fleece on but the fleece had to be removed halfway there.

Whilst down there I looked to see if the end of a lobster trap was still there after we hid it earlier in the week, it was not so I picked up another wreck, of one for H.

We made sandwiches for the day I had Nutella, Helen had Marmite. Then headed up the A1 to Lindisfarne, it made a change to be travelling at the national speed limit. To get to the Holy Island you have to cross a causeway that is covered for about 5 hours on the high tide. We had checked out the tables and were OK till about 16:15. We parked just before the official car park with plenty of others and so avoided the £4 fee.

Looking at the map we decided a loop round the island was the best, option as the weather was probably going to deteriorate later in the day.

There were lots of Northern Marsh Orchids in bloom, and many other flowers to photograph. Highlights included Butterwort and Large Thyme. When we got to the northern end of the island we turned east at the beach and did some rock pooling, was saw the usual molluscs and a few crabs. There was also some interesting geology , with many layers often wavy, some of the layers containing fossils that looked like they were once worms.

We came across and interesting well build hut, it had seats built into the wall round the base, and windows built into the stone, supported by driftwood. Inside there was lots of stuff hanging from the beams built into the roof. Turns out it was a geocache, the most intricate and well built one I have ever seen.

Next we headed south towards the castle and stopped off at the bird hide overlooking the Lough. There were many starlings feeding young on a fence, other birds included Reed Bunting, Wheatear, Pochard, Swans with signets, and a Willow Warbler. We took the opportunity to eat our sandwiches.

Next stop was the Castle, a national trust property so we were able to claw back some of the money spent on National Trust membership. Whilst in the entrance we checked with the staff about the tides, good job too, we needed to be of the causeway by 15:30, or stay till 21:45! That did not leave us much time, we had about an hour to get to the car, Helen then went into route march mode.

It was like the was a mass exodus going as everyone seemed, to be heading back to the car parks, to get off the island. We got back to our car in good time but the tide seemed miles away, perhaps it comes in really quickly over the sands where the causeways is? Anyway we got off the island and across the causeway safely and in good time.

Next we stopped off in Seahouses for some gifts to take back and to stock up on food for dinner. Then it was back to the hut. The weather was just on the turn and a big storm is promised in the south west, and we may see the tail end of it tomorrow. We had had a lucky weather window again, it is a slight shame we miss judged the tides, as we may have timed the trips differently if we had know what the correct tide times were.

Cragside on a rainy day

We were not up early the weather forecast was rain so we took our time and had a cooked breakfast. We left the house just after 11:30 destination Cragside National trust property, originally owned by the Armstrong family. Armstrong seemed to have invented hydraulics, the house was the first to be fitted with electricity, and many things to do with water for example fire hydrants.

The house is also impressive built in to the steep hillside. The whole world had the same idea as us and were visiting the house, when it rained the house became even more packed. The tour of the house was full of the usual victorian paraphernalia, paintings, shell collections etc.

After the house we had a look at the engineering bits in the power house which is a bit of a trek up and down hill, we saw a Bullfinch pair on the way. The formal gardens seemed to be a work in progress or were between seasonal display.

Later in the day the sun came out and I managed a few pictures. We stopped off at the tea room the Buttery lemon cake was great accompanied by a cappuccino.

The women went to look round the shop whilst N and I went to look at the pump house and iron bridge, then see if we could join up to the NT as with the discount on offer we only needed to make one for property visit to be in pocket. We regretted not joining on the Farnes as there was an extra 10 quid on offer. We spent the refund at Lidl on the way home.

Alnwick parkland walk

We were up early to get on the boat trip we had booked, but after we had parked up and paid £4 to park we were told it was too rough, to land and the trips were cancelled, pending a decision later. Rather than waste more of the day we went back to the hut had coffee changed bags and equipment then headed to Alnwick for a walk round the parkland.

Alnwick was busy there was an event on at the famous gardens, we parked up (£2 for the day) then headed through town following the instructions for the walk. We stopped at Greggs and got 4 cheese and coleslaw stotties, for lunch.

The parkland made a change from the usual walks we do in that it was managed landscape but there were big sections of woodland. There was three loops of the park we went for the 5 miler which took in the Priory.

After the walk we stocked up at Sainsbury’s then headed back to the hut and N made Couscous with roast vegetables.

Walk to the the Ship Inn Newton Pool

We were up as at a reasonable hour, had breakfast whilst watching London get ready in the rain for the Queens jubilee boat parade, the weather in Craster looked good the sun was shining, there were clouds, the weather man said there may be showers.

We headed North up the coast towards the remains of Dunstanburgh Castle which sits very proud on a slight rise about a mile and a bit from Craster. We didn’t bother paying the £4 to have a look round, but walked on past. Just pass the castle we came across a good view of a cliff with nesting sea birds, we spotted Razorbill, Guillimots, and Fulmar. It started to rain so we had to get the wet weather gear out. The rain soon stopped and we walked along a wide open beach towards Low-Newton by the sea where we stopped at the Ship Inn for some lunch. They had a wide selection of real ale, and the food was local, the ploughman’s was excellent. The pub and adjoining properties are owned by the National Trust.

Suitably sustained we headed back via Newton Pool where there is a hide. We spotted what we thought was probably a willow warbler and got great views. Then it was on the Embleton to see if we could pick up some pasta to eat later.

The path to Embleton was quite a challenge, we found the footpath we wanted but it soon disappeared into a field of rape taller than all of us, so we chose to go off piste round the field. At the next junction we were debating whether to run the gauntlet of either the field edge or through the field when a party of about twenty walkers came along, we followed into the field of rape, after a lot a laughing we emerged yellow at the other side of the field.

On the road into Embleton we came a cross a small petrol station and managed to get some pasta and a dozen eggs from the farm yard next door. At the Londis we found H some mint tea. Round the corner we stopped for pint at Grays Inn, and booked up an all day bird watching trip to the Farne islands.

West to East via Scotland

We were up and ready to leave the Lakeland hut at 09:45, so we did. Whilst packing I discovered what the petroleum smell we had been smelling was caused by, the spare oil in the boot pack was slightly leaking, luckily contained within the bag, so I wasted some time wiping down the air pump, triangle and fire extinguisher.

We headed off past Whitehaven, then onto the A7 and through Carlisle, the roads are quite rural long and straight. Eventually we turned off towards Kielder Forest and water, where we though a good lunch stop would be the Osprey Watch point. The road in was pretty empty, but was a good surface a a dream to drive on. The houses were sparse along thje route and you get a real sense of the size of the forest it is massive.

We got to the Osprey watch point (part of a Kielder complex campsite, pub etc) and parked up £1.40 for an hours parking. The osprey watch point was an area round the back of the pub where the local Nature Trust had set up camp with their telescopes, including a quite powerful astronomical one. We had a look you could just about make out the platform, but that was about it, even if the birds were not hunkered down due to freezing weather you could not have seen them. I guess the idea is to catch a view when the fly out hunting for fish over the lake, but it was too cold to be standing around, and we only had an hours parking!

Back on the road we had our packed lunch, and headed into the Northumbria National Park, where the landscape changed from forest to moorland, very open and bleak rolling countryside. The roads were straight only turning when we got to human habitation or followed a valley river. We passed through Otterburn where there once was a battle.

Alnwick was our planned stop to get supplies, and as we drove through looking for Sainsbury’s, I spotted Barbers book shop “one of the largest in England”, and what a lot of books they have. The shop is in the old railway station and it is full of book shelves, most of them open but the rarer books are in cabinets. Helen bout a couple of books while I took some photo’s.

We found Sainsbury’s on the edge of town, and it seemed like everyone from Alnwick was there shopping like the shops were going to be shut for the next month, we checked and they are not closing at all over the Jubilee weekend.

Then it was off to find Craster even after TomTom put us onto the A1 heading south when we needed to go North, but after a U-turn we were back on track and soon in Craster. The cottage was easy to find and had coned off parking directly opposite. The accomodation looked great two bedrooms both en suite, one with a view over the harbour. The lounge was comfortable with plenty of soft furnishings, kitchen well equipped, but no dish washer.

Helen and I settle in to wait for H&N to turn up.

They arrive before 18:00, after a reasonable journey, up the A1. We sat around and caught up, them had some Pizzas that they bought with them before going over the harbour to the Jolly Fisherman.

The beer is good we had Black Sheep Brewery Bitter and Golden Sheep. Tomorrow we have planned a circular walk from the hut.