The annual family holiday is due this year at Thorpeness in Suffolk, which by all accounts is a strange place. We could get into the rental at 16:00 so there was no rush to leave the house, the plan was to stop at the national Trust property Anglesey Abbey over near Cambridge. We were away at 11:15 and after a pretty uneventful journey via mainly motorway and dual carriage way we arrived at the abbey at 12:00.
Anglesey Abbey was mediaeval priory which was eventually owned by Lord Fairhaven who turns it into a family home. He was find of Dahlias and they feature a lot around the house and grounds. There is also an annual Dahlia festival featuring the best Dahlias you’re ever likely to see on one place.
We walked around the grounds then had a look at the working mill, followed by the main house and then some other of the grounds before having lunch in the visitors centre. The house was one or the more interesting houses in that the contents were relatively modern compared to other National Trust properties. There were also quite a few paintings mainly of Windsor castle. Lord Fairhaven seemed to be a collector of things I noted pictures of birds, jewellery crosses, paintings of Windsor castle, and Chinese stone carvings. After lunch we headed back on the road to the twilight zone that is Thorpeness.
We took the tourist route which is a pleasant drive but not suitable for the VW cruise control as there are too many bends and you have to keep adjusting the speed and it is not so bad when you have some one to follow as when they break so does the Golf, but the road was very quiet so no one to follow.
Thorpeness Suffolk view
When we got to Thorpeneas it took a tour of the village MD a mobile phone call to find the rental cottage which was very nice. Plenty of rooms down stairs and more than one TV to save any arguments over which channel to watch. WiFi was soon found and connected to but the speed was a bit rural at 1.6mb down and 1.2mb up.
Rooms were soon allocated, bags unpacked, food stored away and we could begin to relax. A short walk via the beach and the shallow boating lake was in order. It became clear that Thorpeness was a weird place a subject that I will entire to in a later blog entry. By the time we got back it was time to eat. We had come prepared with Waitrose prepared salads so it took no time at all to take the lids off of the products and get stuck in. We also bought a selection of cheeses amongst which was a wedge of Bleu D’Affinois my favourite new cheese, and it was the only one that was completely demolished.
After a game of Scrabble I went to bed looking forward to a walk on Sunday.
We had a plan for the weekend we went to the cinema to see a film Friday then home for an early night. We were up pretty early giving me the chance to go and get my haircut. Suitably shorn I came back had a coffee and we left house at 1020 destination Kent for a night in a pub followed by some Segwaying at Leeds Castle.
The journey was pretty uneventful round the M25, then over the Thames, then down the M2. At around Sittingbourne I got bored of the motorway so we left it to take the A roads to Faversham, then onto Oare marshes for a spot of bird watching.
We stopped off in Faversham a town with some very old buildings, a market, antique shops and charity shops, for some lunch at a pub in an old building, I had crab and rocket sandwich and Helen had local cheese and pickle sandwich. After a walk around the town and its market we headed to Oare marshes and we were pleasantly surprised to see lots of bird watchers and even better lots of waders out on the marsh. Parking was a struggle but we found a spot and headed back to where there was a good view of the marsh. We had got there at the right time the tide was in s the birds had all left the estuary and were waiting on the marsh area till the tide went out again revealing the mud where their food could be found. We finished off with a walk around the reserve taking in the hides, Helen insisted that the sea wall was where a scene from the TV drama Southcliffe was filmed, I said that it could be anywhere on the sea wall but after some research that evening Helen proved beyond reasonable doubt that she was quite correct. We got back in the car and ignoring the sat nav’s request to take the motorway took the A roads to our pub The Black Horse in Thurnham, needs Leeds Castle.
Segway experience at Leeds Castle in Kent
The pub was unusual in that from the front it just looked like a country pub on the edge of a hill, but behind it had a whole complex of rooms 30 in total, spreading out down the hill behind. We got our room keys and found our room “asylum” sorry they were all named after plants Alyssum. The room was very clean, and seemed recently decorated, the bed was soft and comfortable.
We rested for a while and then went out grabbed a map from reception and headed up the hill to look at the local castle ruins, which were very ruined. Back at the pub we had a half and then headed back to our room to get ready for our meal. Helen put on some makeup and I changed my T shirt. The meal was great we were in the restaurant just before 7pm so in time for me to have the fish and chips not served after 7. Helen at risotto and we both had desert Helen sticky toffee pudding and me the apricot cheese cake. Suitably replete we headed back to our room and tucked up in bed by 9pm!
The early night meant we got an early start, breakfast was and 08:20 and we left the pub soon after 09:00, our plan was to go and have a look around Leeds castle before our Segway session at 11:30. We arrived at the venue in time so join the earlier session but unfortunately they could not get us on that session. We decided that the entry fee of £21 per person for the Castle was a little bit steep if you had a day to spend there we only had about and hour and a half to waste, so we decided to go take a look at Chatham which is only 20 minutes drive away.
At the historic docks there was a Military memorabilia fair on, and what a strange event that turned out to be. We paid £4 entrance fee and entered a whole world that we did not realise existed, it seemed anything with a vague military theme could be purchased. At the extreme was firearms from Pistols through rifles, to heavy duty machine guns, as well as daggers and bayonets. Then there were the stalls selling everything you could imagine you unearthing from an army stores, including instruments, wound dressings, medals and ribbons, manuals and log books etc etc. The die hard enthusiast came all dressed up in authentic uniforms, I saw Nazi SS, talking to home guards, Russians and French Foreign Legions, as well as a small child in full sniper gear. Unexpectedly we did find an interesting book to purchase at a book stall, war related books obviously.
Leeds Castle in Kent
Suitably confused by the memorabilia fair we drove back to Leeds Castle for a coffee before the main event. It started to really rain whilst we had our coffee but started to clear up as we gathered to be issued with helmets and Segways. After the safety lecture and what seemed like more than enough theory on how they worked we were allowed on the machines while we proved that we could control them. It was surprisingly easy to master you just lean forwards or back to move then use the handle bars to steer. Eventually we were all issued with our own machines and we left the training area for a spin around the grounds. We stopped every so often for a chance to view the Castle in the distance while the guide filled our heads with facts about the history of the Castle and it surroundings. Personally I would have paid extra just to have been able to ride the Segway without all the stopping and starting for another “interesting” fact. We did get the chance to get the Segways up to their maximum speed of 12.5 mph, but the whole experience was over too soon I could have spent a couple of hours whizzing around the park land, if they had let me.
We headed straight back after as we wanted to stop off at Decathlon at Thurrock, shopping is not something that Helen and I really enjoy but we made the most of the situation, Helen bought some gloves and I a merino wool top for Decathlon, then we raided the M&S outlet store and TKMax where I got a pair of Levis for half price. We had soon had enough bargain hunting and left Thurrock for the M25, passing under the river then round to the A41 and home for 16:00 ish.
A&C invited to spend a couple of days at the beginning of their holiday in Burnham Overy Staithe, we jumped at the chance, for some walking and bird watching on he North Norfolk coast. I when home at lunch time to get our luggage and then left work at 16:00 and picked Helen up from work. We had a pretty good journey considering hat it was a Friday and the weekend weather looked like being fine. Apart from the odd stretch of slow traffic, we really never got in a traffic jam except of at Brandon but we expected hat because there is always a queue of traffic stretching out to the edge of the town, caused by the traffic lights at the centre.
About 30 minutes away from the coast we got a all from A they had failed to get to the shops of time to get everything they needed, so we did a quick raid on the Waitrose at Swaffham for some cheese (including some of that Bleu Affinois), bread, salad and coffee. We arrived at the cottage a about 19:30. A&C did us proud with some lovely roast butternut squash soup, with foccacia and Bleu Affinois! We sat around and chatted, and went to bed about 23:00 pretty late for us, even on a Friday.
Holkham Beach Panorama
I was awake early the sun was shining which made it difficult to get back to sleep but I snoozed until about 08:00. We had breakfast while we put together a vague plan of action. We planned to walk from the house heading out on the coastal path towards Holkham, which is one of Helen’s all time favourite walks.
We headed out along the sea defences it was surprising how cold the wind was and I had just about got enough layers with me. The sea defences lead to a board walk that takes you over the dunes, and onto the main beach. We walked along the beach checking out the flotsam to be found at the tide line, then headed back over the dunes about halfway to the gap, and not the pine wooded area, for a change of scenery. It was surprising how much warmer it was n the shelter of the wind. We eventually found the hide and had a rest, watching out over the marshy field area, where at one point we saw a Marsh Harrier being harassed by lapwings as it searched out presumably lapwing chicks wandering around on the meadow areas.
Holkham Victoria Little planet
We took a slight detour at the gap to look at the area behind the beach where the samphire grows, then headed over to the cafe at the entrance to the Holkham estate, where we had a light lunch. We had some time spare before the next bus so we took a look at the tutt in the Adnams shop, and the supposed outdoor shop that just sold clothes. We did take a look at the shopped called Bring The Outdoors In which had a mix of genuine old stuff, hand made flotsam things and manufactured goods, even I was impressed by some of the goods. However I did not purchase anything.
Next it was the coast hopper to Burnham Deepale, where I just had to drop into the One Stop Nature to have a look at the stuff they sell. Everything you could ever want in terms of looking at nature, from books to binoculars through stealth camera to microscopes. As much as I liked the stereo microscopes they would not have fitted into my ruck sack as it was full of camera gear.
The next leg of the journey was to be the short walk along the sea defences back to Burham Overy Staithe, or so we thought. The weather was starting to close it and there seemed to be rain showers all around, however we managed to keep out of all of them. Our destination seemed to get quite close but then we realised and Helen and I remembered that there is a significant dog log in the defences which adds about a third to what the length of the walk looks like. We eventually got close to the village, and the path leads off across the field towards the wind mill but I thought I knew better, I spotted a foot path that lead in land rather than along the road.
Woodland Walk from Cley Spy
Eventually the pat ran out and we were stuck between private property notices and water/mud. We did not fancy retracing our steps so started looking for ways out of our predicament. Whilst looking for exits from a filed we heard a voice asking us if we were lost, we explained we were, and the nice lady rather than being angry to find us trespassing, offered us the opportunity to walk up her drive to the road. What a kind person.
We were soon back at the hut, it was about 17:30 we had been out for 7 and a hlaf hours and had probably covered 8-9 miles. However there is no rest for the wicked we had a table booked for 19:00 at The Hero we had time for a cup of tea, a freshen up, and a cheeky glass of champagne and we had to leave the hut again.
The Hero is a pub that does good quality pub grub, the staff are really great, and the beer is good to. We had a bit of a potential mishap in that the wrong order came out, but it turned up the wrong plate had been picked up and all ended well. We had for starters chicken liver parfait, vegetable spring rolls, goats cheese tart, and mackerel pate, for mains two Dover sole, spring vegetable risotto, and duck. Everyone agreed the food was great. Back at the house we chatted away the rest of the evening.
A’s crab collection
No one was up early on Sunday, and we had a leisurely breakfast of muesli, yoghurt, strawberries and toast washed down with tea and coffee. We formulated a plan, we would take two cars to Cley Spy the binocular shop for a quick perusal then we would do Bayfield Bird Walk which Helen and I had done a few times before but always enjoy.
We did not spot many birds on the way round but we did enjoy the early summer lushness of the woods, the weather was overcast but quite warm so it made for a very enjoyable walk, and we did have a laugh amoungst ourselves and we went round. At the Wild flower center we stopped off for coffee and cakes, then finished off the last leg of the walk back to Cley Spy, where unfortunately Helen and I had to leave for home, leaving A&C to enjoy the rest of their week. We pointed them in the direction of Cley marshes and the local delicatessen, and said our good byes we had had a great weekend.
Our journey home was pretty uneventful and took the regulation 3 hours. We were very jealous of A&C who had managed to get out on the marshes at Cley and had seen a Bluethroat a bird neither I not Helen had ever seen, it would be a good start to A&C’s holiday bird list.
The plans for today were centred around visiting Horsey Wind pump at Horsey, so following a leisurely breakfast we left the hut, and headed off. We are staying only about 10 minutes form the pump, which is run by the National Trust our plan was to do a circular walk, so see some seals by the sea and possible take in a boat trip from the mill, however just as we arrived outside Horsey I had a spontaneous change of plan, and we parked up at a beach car park. The car park was pay and display but the pay and display machine was locked up inside a mini container, so we saved ourselves a couple of quid.
The beach is accessed via a gap in the dunes which run along this part of the coast. The weather was great for taking photos as the haze of the last few days had cleared and the blue skies were covered in fluffy clouds. The weather forecast for most of the country was gales and rain but there was a chance that we were in a corner that would just miss all the bad weather. On the beach the wind was increasing but the sun was out and it was pleasant enough. The tide was going out and there was a stretch near the surf that was solid thus making walking easier. We headed south which was where we were told by Helen’s colleague the seals hang out. We soon started to spot waders on the beach ; Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, and also Little Tern hunting over the sea. We walked for about a mile and spotted plenty of seals in the sea popping their heads out of the water to keep their eyes on us, then we came across probably about 200 seals lying on the beach between two break waters.
View from top Horsey Wind Pump NT Norfolk
We headed up into the dunes so as not to disturb them, where we found somewhere to site down and watch them and have a snack of Christmas cake. I took the opportunity to take some time lapse photos with the GoPro. Next we headed back to the car the weather was still holding out but the wind was building as forecast. We drove the mill itself and parked up at the NT car park , another free be as we are members. The nice man at the cafe invited us in and explained about the mill, told us to get on the boat trip you need to put your name on the “automatic” booking system and was happy for us to us the cafe to eat our sandwiches. Helen when off to put our names on the booking system while I went and got her binoculars form the car, then we went had had a look at the Mill/Pump, which if you don’t mind steep steps gives a great view from a platform at the top. Back at the cafe we got a coffee and the man tempted Helen with a box a bargain cards, how did he know that Helen is a sucker for a card? We took our coffee’s outside and sat in the lee of the building and had lunch.
Ross’s boat trips from Horsey Wind Pump
We took a stroll round the broad for a bit to kill the 30 minutes before the boat trip. It turned into a private boat trip, as we were the only people booked on it. Ross Warrell who runs Ross’ Norfolk Broads River Trips it turns out has a connection, I mentioned that I went school fairly locally and he said did I know his borther Adrian turns out he was in the class below me, what a small world we live in. The boat trip was great Ross really like bird watching and essentially the trip turned into a bird watching trip. We saw loads of Marsh Harriers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, as you would expect but we also had a fly past by a Cuckoo and great views of two Hobby’s. We both really enjoyed the trip and would thoroughly recommend it, Ross is really the star of the boat with his knowledge of birds and his relaxed attitude to the whole tour of the broad.
Back on dry land we went back to car to decide what to do, we had probably an hour to do something but could not see anything on the map that took our fancy. We had been out in the wind all day and wanted something a bit more sheltered. We headed to Winterton-on-sea to see if we could get a coffee and found a gem of a cafe called Dunes Cafe just off the beach car park.We went in expecting nothing special, but inside it clearly was not you usual beach cafe, they had an expresso machine, a great collection of cakes, and the menu looked great too. On the wall there was evidence that it had featured in the press, with framed articles.We opted for the homemade red velvet cake which was a chocolate cake with beetroot and a butter cream icing, it was lush.
Coast watch tower at Winterton Norfolk
Whilst we had coffee I noticed there was a coast watch hut and a couple had been invited in to take a look, so after we left the cafe I wandered over to see if I could have a guided tour too. The man in the watch tower was just packing up as his shift finished at 16:00 but he very kindly agreed to show me around and tell me what he was up to. The watch is run form 08:00 to 16:00 each day and concentrates on smaller craft i.e. those not on the AIS system. Apparently the one at Winteron is covered by only 8 volunteers. I noticed on the table he had a note about a dead dolphin being reported on the beach to the south, backing up his comments that public treated them a lot like to the place to report anything from lost keys to lost children. We talked about local pubs and he recommended the Nelson Head at Horsey.
We got home we checked out the website for the Nelsons Head it looked good and promised to yo accommodate any diet, Helen gave then a call and checked that they did veggie food and booked a table. The pub is a strange place in the back next to the var park there was a car van with a staffie at the window. In the pub it was like your tradition establishment with all sorts of brick a brac hanging from the walls including, a very large shot gun with a six foot barrel with a gauge of about an inch and a half, apparently it was used to shot many ducks with one shot. The food was average but the beer was great. I had Brain’s Bitter and Helen had Nelsons Revenge.
We were up early (well I was) in anticipation of going on holiday, to Hickling Green for a week. We had booked a cottage, and my parents were joining us for the first couple of nights. The cottage would be ours from 16:00 so we had plenty of time to get there, and had left the packing to the morning of the day of departure, however as usual we were all packed and ready to go by 10:00, we had 6 hours to do a 3 hour journey.
The plan was to stop off at RSPB Sandy to buy some binoculars that Helen had promised me for my birthday. It took only just over the hour to get to Sandy the RSPB headquarters. We parked up and it started to chuck it down with rain so we ran to the shop and visitors centre, however we did not stay for long, there was no cafe and the optics selection was not that great and no one seemed interested in selling, I would wait till we are next at Minsmere where they have a bigger selection and knowledgeable staff on hand.
Now we had a dilemma where to stop off next? There were a few options, we fancied making the most of our National Trust membership, Wimpole Hall and Anglesey Abbey were near, too close in fact, but we had visited previously. We settled on Ickworth Hall which would take us via Bury St Edmunds thus avoiding Thetford which I feared would be busy as there was a 40mph long stretch of road which was being widened. Thetford has always been a bit of a bottle neck and we have experienced delays passing through on the way to the North Norfolk coast in the past.
Primroses at Ickworth Hall NT
We stopped for a paper to distract Helen from my driving, and arrived at Ickworth Hall at about 12:30. The weather was warm with blue skies and white fluffy clouds, perfect spring weather for taking photo’s, although we would have to be wary of possible down pours. The main feature f Ickworth Hall is the massive rotunda building that forms the middle of the hall which had two impressive wings as well, one of which was an up market hotel.
First things first we used the facilities then headed for the restaurant, which was not the usual queue up with a tray and choose your fare variety but a wait here for a table and the be waited on variety. We stood by the wait here sign and despite catching the eye of one of the waitresses stood about dong nothing, it was not until two further groups of people had turned up that we got some attention! We ordered spring vegetable gnocchi (Helen) and smoked salmon and bread (Neil) from a waitress who called Alune who quickly came over and took our order when we looked up from our menu, excellent service. The food tasted great and the coffee was great, the next challenge was to pay, we went over to til,and again despite being noticed by a couple of waitresses no one came over to take our money, until we had waited a few minutes!
We exited via the shop, but Helen forewent the shopping delaying it till later in our visit. Next we went out to the sunny side of the building to get some pictures. There were plenty of Cowslips and Primroses under some Magnolia bushes which kept me distracted while Helen smoked the evil weed. The gardens were well maintained, and manicured around the back of the house, and around the front the landscape was more parkland but there were thousands of daffodils in flower to add some foreground to my pictures.
Magnolia at Ickworth Hall NT
The house was quite interesting it seems that it had been built in phases over the generations as each generation fell on good and bad times. The rotunda must have cost a bit with all the curved components required to build it. Helen and I speculated how they might of done the floor boards were the cut curved or cuts straight then bent to shape. I reckon they were bent to shape it would have been very difficult to get the curve correct and I guess you would have ended up bending them a bit anyway to make them fit with the others.
We left the hall at just after 14:00 and the sat nav was predicting and arrival at Hickling Green at 15:57 perfect. The drive was pleasant especially with the Golfs adaptive cruise control dealing with the throttle pedal. We passed through territory that was familiar to me as we got closer to and passed Norwich. We were soon following signs for the broads and arrived at Hickling Green at 15:58 not a bad prediction by the sat nav.
View of field from Hickling village
The cottage we had rented from Norfolk Country Cottages was well appointed and equipped, we would be very comfortable for our week. After settling in we took a stroll down to the broad at Hickling itself and took in the area on the way. We decided that many of the houses were weekend cottages but there also seemed to be a really good sense of community, with many notices for clubs and society meetings and events going on.
That evening we went to the Greyhound Pub to eat, we had booked a table but judging but we probably had not needed to. The fare was pub food mainly fried but that suited me fine, Helen and I had veggie burgers dad had seafood medley and mum had some chicken dish which to her surprise came in a bun. Helen and I decided not to have a dessert but I ended up eating half of dads lemon meringue sundae which was really tasty, you really can’t go wrong with cream, ice cream and meringue with a lemon sauce.
The weekend we are away with Helen’s cousins for what they describe as a cousins weekend. The venue was to be Winchcombe, a small town in the north west of the Cotswold. I picked Helen up from work at about 17:20 and we headed out following the sat nav in the new Golf MK 7, delivered only on Tuesday if this week. The car is the 2.0 GT Diesel, and is full of gizmos in the standard spec. For a gadget man like me it is great : auto head lights which come on when it is dark and switch of main beam when another car approaches, cruise control that adjusts the speed to keep you from getting too close to the car in front, sat nav, reversing front and back beepers. The journey was in the dark, so although we could not see the scenery as the sat nav took us on the scenic route we were able to test out all the features.
We got to the hut just before 19:00 and dinner was soon prepared by N a lovely vegetarian chilli with rice, followed by a choice of cakes. The cottage is well equipped most rooms have en suites and downs stairs there is plenty of room to lounge about. All for £80 per person for the whole weekend. The owners are really friendly and keen to please, A had mentioned that a TV was not working and the guy came round offering to get a TV engineer out the next day, we said it was not a problem there were more than one TV working, including the one in the lounge, and we had 4 iPads with us, and the broadband was pretty fast, at 17mb.
Cotswold vista
Went to bed at a sensible time and woke up to a sunny but chilly morning, thought about doing a time lapse but there were no clouds in the sky so, thought I would wait and see if any of the promised showers came through later. We all had a leisurely breakfast the plan was to take a look around town in the morning them when P arrived in the afternoon we planned a walk to have a look at the country side.
Eventually we were ready to go up to the centre of town to see what Winchcombe had to offer. Basically it has a T shaped layout with plenty of tut shops to browse. I left them to it and went for a walk round town. The sun seemed to be in the wrong position to take any decent photos being low and top the south east. I took a look round the church rose claim to fame is Catherine of Aragon’s autograph, a tapestry claimed to have been stitched by the lady herself. The stats of the church gave me this the whole run down of it history and insisted I take a photo of it, so I obliged.
We met up for coffee in an establishment called Wesley House, which serve red a great coffee and complimentary petit four, which were two thin circles of sugared flaky pastry with thing sliced banana and cream in the middle. It cost us £3.50 each which although expensive was worth it for the great tasting coffee and petit fours. We then went back for some lunch and wait for P to arrive so we could go for a walk.
Cotswold Sunset
We left Mr T in the house watching the rugby and after some discussion we headed outside to walk a circular walk taking in the local abbey ruins. The walk started on a gravel track but after about half a mile we hit the fields, which to out surprise were very muddy. A times we had to climb over fences to avoid the quagmire around the kissing gates and stiles. We were glad to get to the Abbey as it seems the abbots were wise and built it in an area which was not boggy, from there we headed up a hill which had orchards on the south facing slope, we got great views in the low winter light across the valley below, which Whinchcombe in the distance.
At the top of the hill it was time to turn around, so we headed down through an orchard the up the slope the other side. There was much slipping and sliding for someone behind especially when we cam a cross a very extensive land slip, where the earth ahead been twisted and mud bought to the surface. At one point we got lost but by following our nose we really were following the right route, it goes to show that you should trust your instincts a bit more. We got back to the hut at about 17:20 but not before experiencing a stunning sunset.
We had a table booked for 18:45 at a local hostelry called The White Hart, we had a good meal, slightly spoiled by someone’s toad in the hole being burnt then the replacement Fish & Chips being not really up to scratch. In fairness to the restaurant the service was very good and they knocked the bad dishes off the bill and did not charge for the 4 deserts we had, that said I would go back again.
Mary Magdalene’s autograph
We woke up at a reasonable 09:00 and had a leisurely breakfast. Then we lounged around for a few hours watching winter sports on Eurosport. Finally we got our selves together and went for a walk via pavements, to avoid the mud, into town and then on to Studley Castle just outside the town. It was closed but we got some fresh air. On the way back we stopped off at The Plaisterers arms for a coffee or beer, then we headed back to the hut said our farewells and we were off.
On the way home I tested out the Adaptive cruise Control on the Golf it is like cruise control but it will not let you get too close to any car in front, it makes driving on A roads really easy you just set the speed to 60 mph then if a car slows down in front the Golf slows down to keep a safe distance (adjustable) then speeds up if the car in front does, but it still stays within the 60 mph. We were back by 17:00 and ready to take out Tesco delivery before and evening in front of the telly before an early night.
I have not posted for a few weeks so I thought I would do a catch up post. Last weekend I went on what seems to have become an annual trip to the Outdoor, Bike and Boat show at ExCel exhibition center in east London. I am interested in all three so it is really good value for money, three exhibitions at one venue all on one £20 ticket. You can save money by booking online early but although they advertise a £4 saving it turns out that there is a £2 booking fee.
It had snowed recently so I was not sure whether I could get there so I did not bother with the paltry £2 saving. As it happened the roads were clear once I got to the A41, and the roads were quiet I think the snow had scared everyone off. I got to the venue by 11am and parked up which cost me £20 for the day, quite steep if you are the only person attending.
Snow Wendover Woods in Black and White
The halls were quite quiet whilst I was there I think most people waited to see what the weather and road reports had to say before heading out. However by the end of the day it was very busy. The exhibition was not quite as good as last year where I enjoyed the cycle polo, which this year had been replaced with an evening criterium race. The highlights of the day were a talk by Charley Boorman about his new vehicular adventure, and the launch of the Madison cycle team, who were all going to use steel bikes!
This weekend started with a film, Django Unchained on Friday evening. Helen and I really do like to start the weekend with a film. I gave the film a 4/5 but Helen gave it 4/5 for the first two hours but only 1/5 for he last hour, which I have to admit was a bit violent. It was classic Tarantino, and one I enjoyed especially the first 2 hours.
On Saturday Helen was busy with her visiting sister, so I took the opportunity to head to the hills with my camera, it was probably the first opportunity to get pictures of the snow without it either snowing or there being a grey sky. I parked up at Dancersend, and headed up to the Ridgeway above Tring park, then across to the Cafe in the Woods in Wendover Woods. The sun shone the whole time and it was great to be back out in the fresh air after having spent the past two weeks cooped up either in the office or at home.
Snowy view from Dancersend
Saturday evening was a real treat we went to a talk at the local church in Aston Clinton, St Michael and all Angels, for a talk by one of the curates Carole Peters. Carole had in a previous life been an investigative journalist starting off in newspapers then progressing into television. She told us about her adventures in Africa investigating war lords, and in Haiti too. It was very interesting. Everyone bought finger food and there were drinks for sale. I was quite unusual to be drinking beer and wine in a Church, without the vicar handing it to you in a silver chalice with a dry wafer.
On Sunday we went to see another film, Hero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama Bin laden. It was a well made film which confused me at first. I give it 4/5. That was the end of an action packed weekend.
We are off to the Eels Foot pub in Eastbridge Suffolk for New Year. The plan was to spend three nights there and leave on News Years day. We left the house at a reasonable time and stopped off on route to visit my aunt. We arrived at Minsmere by 14:30 and did a quick route towards the wooded area and island mere before heading of to Adleburgh for a quick look round the shops.
We got to the pub at 17:30 and checked in, this time we were in room 3 on the first floor with a view over the pub garden. N&H arrived early evening and we had something to eat and caught up over a few beers.
We are up at a reasonable 08:30 for breakfast, then we headed out for a day on foot H had a bad tooth so we weren’t sure how far we would get,but we headed towards Dunwich heath, on the inland path because we had heard that the path to the sluice bushes was water logged and wellington boots were needed.
The Ship Inn Dunwich Suffolk
The weather was gorgeous and it was great to be out in the sun after the recent bad weather that had kept us indoors. The chip hut at Dunwich was shut for the winter so we went to the Ship Inn which was packed to the gunnels (did you see what I did there?) So we had to take a table in the garden which was not ideal on a sunny but cold and windy day. There was a queue at the bar, we got drinks and ordered for bowls of chips which considering how busy the pub was came fairly quickly.
After a rest we headed back towards coastguards cottages for a coffee then we headed through the reserve of Minsmere the through the reed beds to the Island Mere hide, by which time it was getting dark, and all you could see were the Moorhens and Coots. The walk back from there to the pub was dark but even so we passed two or three sets of people walking the other way. We had another quiet evening in the pub.
The weather the next day promised to be wet and windy but when the day dawned the forecasts were good up until midday so rather than shopping we walked to Dunwich Heath and then back through the reserve, but where possible we tried to keep on different paths. We tried to get to the north east hide but the path was flooded and Wellingtons would have been needed, so we went to the north hide. There was not much to see other than the usual ducks. Helen thought she had seen a Smew and it was confirmed when we asked at the visitors centre. At the cafe we all had a coffee and something to eat, then we headed straight back as it was getting late and H&N wanted to pop to the Yoxford Antique centre, as it was not open on the 1st January.
Grey and windy North Sea view
New Years Eve in the pub started quiet, we hit the bar at 18:30 to ensure a table for something to eat, I suspected that I would not last till midnight. We had some more great pub grub, then chewed the cud for a few hours. I retired at 23:00 the others stayed till just after midnight. I did not get much sleep for a bit as our room was on the pub side of the building. There were fireworks at 00:00.
The next morning we had agreed with Julian the landlord to have breakfast at 09:30, as it happens he had been up since 07:30 and had not got to bed until 05:00, we did not envy him having to push on through, the pub was open all day and they expected it to be busy as the sun was out and it looked like it would be a great day weather wise.
Helen and I had to head off as we were meeting up with my brother and parents as we had not managed to get together over Christmas. The drive using the tourist route to Haverhill was great. We met up and swapped presents then Helen and I headed home.
We both agreed a pub is a great place to spend a few days at New Year especially the Eels Foot Inn in Eastbridge in Suffolk.
I spent the morning Christmas shopping, only two websites were involved, one of them does not pay tax in the UK but is very convenient and needs must. Christmas shopping done Helen was writing Christmas cards so I thought now is a good time to go for a walk. I was going to go up to Wendover woods but Helen wanted something from the shops to Wendover was now the chosen venue. The car park was pretty busy with Christmas shoppers, but after some patience I slotted the car into a parking space, purchased a parking ticket and headed up the high street towards Coombe Hill.
Wendover is a convenient place for a walk, you can park in the high street which means on the way back to the car you can stop off for a drink in a pub (Shoulder of Mutton and the Red Lion are both good) or a coffee at Rumseys. It is also popular with people from London because the railway station make the country side easily accessible. I usually walk to the top of Coombe Hill and back again, there is a main route up and down but there are plenty of alternaive routes to extend the walk and make it circular.
Gorse flowers on Coombe Hill Buckinghamshire
I headed up past the station and over the by pass, then forewent the left hand fork over the fields, for the direct route, which starts at the first bend in the road out of the town. The path flows the edge of the hill providing great views of Aylesbury Vale. Today the view was great with the vales bathed in low Autumn sun light, but the sun was the other side of the hill so I was in the cold shade. In the way up some birds flew over probably Goldfinch, but one solitary fly over had me intrigued, it had a very bright, almost fluorescent, rear I could not figure what it was. Bullfinch crossed my my mind but it was the wrong red and it was the rear not the chest. I referred to the internet when I got home and I reckon it was a Waxwing, I would not call it a definite ID but I’m now fairly sure it was. It makes sense as there has been a big influx in recent weeks, and they are being reported in flocks everywhere,even as far south as Kent.
At the top of the hill there is a monument, and took some time there to take some photos and admire the view. There were quite a few people out for such a cold day. I took a slightly different route back to the right of the way up but popped out almost at the bottom back on the path I had taken up. Down in Wendover I both some crisps for this evening and a lottery tick in the vain hope that I can stop work and live the life of Riley.
The bird we could not identify yesterday turned out to be a varied tit which is quite a common in Japan.
For the last day we were to make the most of our short time left. The plan was to take in some shrines, a market, a park, and possibly some shopping. The shrines were close to the hotel so we walked, Yushima Suido, looked quite old and was dark and just a little run down, the next one, Kanda Miyojin Sama, was one of the famous ones, very old but had been rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1923, after an earthquake, it is very colorful and is linked to the famous fish market, and other markets. It also has a small horse in a pen. We saw a couple of nannies caring for six toddlers who they were pushing around in a wheeled play pen that looked well engineered. It was standing room only for the kids who all looked to be enjoying themselves. From there we headed towards the market on foot and by a stroke of luck we ended up in Akihabara and had to endure looking at camera and technology shops this holiday lark can sometimes be very hard work, in fact we needed an early coffee break.
Tokyo City skyline from the the imperial palace
The Ameyoko market was easy to find, it sells just about everything from fresh fruit and veg, through fish, died goods, watches clothes you name it they sell it. We wandered around taking it all in without being tempted to purchase then jumped on a train to Tokyo station to have a look at the International Forum, building.
The forum building is an impressive piece of architechture all glass and metal beams all built into the shape of a boat. It’s main reason for being is conferences, concerts, some shops and place for tourist to look at. It must have been quite an extravagance as in the vast atrium the is a lot of space that could have been used for offices in such a populous city. Next we went and had a sit down in a park before heading into Ginza to find the Tokyo metropolitan police museum, which although all the exhibits were in Japanese was quite interesting. In the foyer they had some how managed to get a helicopter, which I sat in while Helen took my picture. It was getting cold so Helen decided we needed something to eat so we headed deeper into Ginza to find something. We chanced upon an Italian that sold picollo pizzas which went down well with a small beer, whilst Helen looked for a department store in the guide book. The department stored turned out to the equivalent of Harrods or Selfridges quality goods no doubt but also over priced. Helen purchased a couple of presents in the traditional Japanese department, then we headed of to have another look at Asakusa, we had liked the shops there an the shrine is the most impressive we have seen albeit a little bit touristy, but then that it’s a what we are.
A local shrine in Tokyo
From the shrines we walked through some shopping arcades and then came across a area we had only touched on during the week it is a whole district devoted to kitchen ware. The shops don’t just specialise in kitchen ware they tend to specialise in one aspect for example we looked around knife shops, bamboo goods, metal good, cookers, plastic goods, it seemed that there were no general kitchen shops. I overheard a western looking shop assistant explaining the different types of knives in French, which was very interesting. By now we were all shopped out, so we headed back to the hotel one Metro and a JR East train. We went to our favourite noodle restaurant and I had a dish with tempura prawns and the obligatory noodles in broth, and Helen had fried tofu and noodles.
Back at the hotel we packed and got an early night alarm set for just after 06:00.
