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.
Late start again, I think it is the jet lag, in the middle of the night we wake up then fall asleep only to wake up at 09:00 feeling tired. That would be late evening at home, so our body is saying time for bed but we need to get up. Helen insisted on some fruit and veg in our diet so last night we bought a couple of bananas at one pound each for breakfast, as well as a small jar of instant coffee.
We headed off at about 10:30 the plan to go to a kite museum, and then play it by ear from there. When we got to the station it was a bit more challenging, we could not figure out which way to go turn put we were true trying to navigate with two different maps one for the Metro and the other for JR East train company. We spotted that we could get to the electronics district from the station so we jumped on the train and got off at Akihabara, which is the Tottenham court road of Tokyo, but multiplied up about 100 times, shop after shop with separate floors devoted to different kit, computers, cameras, peripherals, tablets, phones etc etc. We choose one store and did all the floors officers were reasonable bit not out and out bargains the main thing was the choice. We popped thorough a short of bazaar shop which had lots of small stories selling specialist products, plugs, chips, radios, transformers, wires etc etc. Helen soon got bored, but did make a purchase of some more headphones for the flight back. We spotted a coffee shop for a rest and a fag break for Helen then headed back to the station to find the more museum, it had started to rain.
Tokyo stock exchange
We figured out the train to a station near the kite museum, but spent some time walking in heavy rain try to find the museum, which is located on the fifth floor of a building which had a restaurant on the ground floor which was owned by the guy who put together the collection. The museum is full of kites with little explanation but there was kit collectables from all over the world, and it only cost 200 yen to get in. Whilst in the warmth of the museum we consulted the guide book the nearest attraction was the Tokyo stock exchange, where for free you could have a look around the exchange and the museum. We arrived dripping wet from the rain we were the only people without an umbrella. We passed through security with even though we set off the metal detectors. The museum was small and explained the history of the exchange. We passed through the actual exchange observation deck, then Helen spotted a coffee room with a smoking area a coffee to have a fag, I had a coffee from the vending machines which offered a wide choice .
We bought some souvenirs from the reception then left. It was raining stop we consulted the guide book an decided the next destination should be the communication museum in the NTT offices, it was shut on Mondays like many of the museums, so we went to the Tokyo station. At the station we figured out the best way to experience Japanese food. They have food halls which serve all shoes of different specialties we went to an soba noodles restaurant and had a lovely bowl of noodles in a broth came with tempura prawns. We decided that on future nights we would head out to a similar place to eat, lots of choice an they are used to foreigners. When we had finished eating Helen noticed some people smoking so asked for an ashtray, she was disappointed to find we had been sat in the no smoking area, foiled yet again!
As we had eaten well and it was early evening we went to a large building with shops and bars for a look round and a beer heading back to the hotel. Turns out to be a building full of posh shops selling stuff we neither like r could afford, so we want back to the station to get the train back. We jumped on a rapid train which did not stop at our station of choice, se we got off two stops later and crossed the platform onto the more local train for another stop then got off at our station, or so we thought. We are sure we got the name right but it was not the station a quick lookout the map outside and we figured there was only a five minute walk to the hotel. We went through another interesting district with more food establishments, it seems there is no shortage of restaurants in Japan. We stopped off at the seven eleven for some breakfast bits then retired to our room with the hope of getting u a bit earlier and a bit less tired.
Helen was away at the weekend and I am off to Belfast this morning so you will be treated to a blog post of my busy weekend. I dropped Helen off at the train station of Friday evening then settled in for an evening in front of the TV, followed by going to bed early, as I had plans.
I was up at a reasonable time grabbed some breakfast and a strong coffee and headed out to the woods at Ashridge, the rut had started so I might be able to get some pictures. The weather was perfect for photography a clear atmosphere and a few whit fluffy clouds against a deep blue sky. I parked up in a car park which is close to a large open field where the stags tend to congregate and do their strutting about.
Walking through the woods I spotted the odd deer and a couple of stags, but they are hard to get pictures of in the shaded woods. 100th of a second at ISO 800 is about all you can hope for, still the new 40D I’d slightly better at high ISO’s than the old 20D. I did a circuit of the field and took a few landscape shots of the trees which were just starting to turn autumnal. The deer were gathering but there was not a lot of action, and I had other things planned.
Thames view around Little Wittenham
On the way back through Tring I called in at R’s but I got know answer, so I went home and had some lunch then headed over to Wendover for a haircut, which was more eventful than usual when the guy having his haircut in the chair next to me had his ear snipped with the scissors. He got a free haircut and I thanked my luck stars I was not their 5minutes earlier is I might have been in that seat. I grabbed a paper and went home.
I gave R another call and got hold of him, and popped round for a coffee, it was good to catch up. Then I was back to the woods to have another crack at the rut. I was not disappointed. Two stags were on the rise in the field and occasionally challenges came from the edge of the field, which drew the stags down closer to where I had positioned myself and within lens shot. At one point I saw charging and crashes as their antlers clashed. I left at about 17:30 clearly sunset is the best time of day.
I grabbed an M&S curry on the way through Tring then went home to watch Hard Candy on Netflix, which although got good reviews was rubbish, I lasted 30 minutes in. Again I had a fairly early night as I was going to give the deers another chance in the morning. There was not much action in the morning at 08:30, but it was nice to be out in the woods when it is quiet, on such a nice morning. Next it was back to the house to make Tumbet for a quick Sunday evening meal, you can make it ready to put in the oven for later. This time I used new potatoes which I boiled and skinned red peppers for a jar, which made it easier to prepare and tasted great.
Ewelme view
I was due to pick Helen up at 1600 from Didcot so as the weather was again great I headed out early to Little Wittenham to get some pictures around the river Thames. I grabbed my 10-22mm lens and polarising filter, it was to be one of those days. Over and around Little Wittenham there is some thing called Earth Trust, which I must find out some more about, it looks like they have been planting trees and putting up walks and generally doing stuff for nature conservation.
Helen’s train was on time and the Tumbet was great we watched the film Tyranosaur, which although very hard hitting was very well made, a great story and well acted. That’s what I call making the most of a weekend.
It turns out that Port Gaverne should be pronounced Port Gay Verne, according to Ben our Kayaking guide, aparently if you pronounce it Port Gav Urn in front of a local fisherman you should expect a wet fish in the face. I digress! Wednesday morning we had arranged a Sea Kayaking trip. We had to be up early to start out at high tide, we went down to Polzeath beach our rendez-vous point at 08:15. They were not quite ready for us so we went for a welcome coffee for 10 minutes. Down on the beach there are quite a few surfing/coasteering/kayaking businesses selling their wares. The weather was grey and winding with the threat of rain, but out ovewr the sea it looked like the clouds were clearing. We finished our coffee and went back down onto the beach to be kitted out. Each of us got a wet-suit boots, buoyancy aid and a helmet. Then we all got in our cars and followed their van up the coast to Post Gaverne where the waves were not breaking on the beach to launch the Kayaks.
North Cornwall sea view
We parked up at the derelict Headland Hotel, and got into our wetsuits, which is not easy. I managed to out it half on twice before on the third attempt got it right. First time I got it back to front and the second it was the right way round but inside out, other people were having similar problems. As it was cold some of us put on raincoats under our buoyancy aids, to help protect us from the wind. Once we were all ready we headed down the steep hill past the pub and down to the boat store just over the road from the beach. We ported the kayaks down to the beach and Ben gave us a quick lesson in kayak and a safety briefing on what we should do when out on the ocean.
Next we got on with the main show actually getting on the water. The kayaks were pretty stable at no point did I feel that the boat was going to tip over. Each boat takes two people and I was paired up with Jim, who had done some kayaking before. First we did some basic maneuvers around the shallow end going round two buoys and turning on the spot to ensure that we all knew what we were doing, then we headed out a bit further. The more distance we put between us and the shelter of the cover, the bigger the waves got. Helen and C decided they did not fancy going out on to the ocean and round to Port Isaac so Helen’s dad swapped boats and went with T, which left three boats. When we got to the edge of the cave Ben announced that it was too rough to go round the coast so we would have to make do with paddling round the sheltered area of water. It was disappointing but you have to respect the sea and the people who have a better knowledge of it, we certainly experienced what to me looked like big waves, particularly when you are low down on the surface they were big enough to on occasions lose sight of other kayaks, but they were not breaking so it was mainly a case of bobbing up and down and keeping the kayak square to the direction of the wave. One couple also had had enough due to feeling a bit seasick and headed back to the beach while we bobbed about for the rest of the session.
We beached the boats and carried them back up the beach which was now much longer as the tide had been going out while we were at sea. Ben came across a broken bottle probably lobbed from the road onto the beach he cleared up the glass. The we slogged our way back up the hill to the car park and were able to get out of our wet-suits and into some warm dry clothes, which was very welcome. Then we drove back the 500 yards or so back to the holiday hut, for a shower and some lunch.
Sea view from Port Gaverne
Helen’s dad and I decided to go for a short circular walk from the hut, in land the fields then down into Port Gaverne. The path stared from the road at a farm near the hut, but it was not sign posted at all. I popped back to get the map to show us the way. We walked through the farm yard past the chained up dog, then into a field with a warning about the bull on the gate. We crossed the field following the map and when we got to the field edge we had to fight our way through gorse and brambles. A couple of men chopping down a tree clearly knew that there was a pat there but claimed that it was the postman’s path and that us Englishmen are all the same walking on their land. We continued on our way and into Post Gaverne.
The route back back was via the coastal path the weather had improved and the sun was shining, I striped down to just my T shirt it was so warm. After a couple of descents and ascents we found the pah inland back to the road that the hut was on. We met a couple who explained that they had walked from Boscastle but wanted to get to Port Isaac the quickest way because they had almost run out of water. We gave them all the water we had as we were only a few hundred yards from home. It turns out that the guy was doing the southern leg of a mission to walk the coast of Britain, he had already done Gravesend to and round Scotland, then Wales now he was doing the final stretch round from Bristol along the south coast back to Gravesend.
We ate at the local pub which was followed by a quiz we came second!
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.
Headland view near Port Quin
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.
Helen and I spent the weekend at my brothers up north. We left in good time on Friday after work and had a good journey up the M1 and arrived early evening. Kev and Ron had made a chickpea curry and home made naan, which was lovely accompanied by a couple of glasses of wine.
We were up early with the kids the next day, a walk was planned on Marsden Moor. The weather outside was grey but the BBC and the Met office promised that it would brighten up later in the morning. We put together a pack lunch then headed out all in one car and parked up at the NT Visitors centre near the railway station in Marsden. After trouble finding 50p for the map vending machine we had map in hand and a planned 4 mile circular route taking in the famous moor.
According to Wikipedia :
The Marsden Moor Estate is a large expanse of moorland situated in the Pennines, between the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester in the north of England. It is named after the adjacent small town of Marsden, and is owned and administered by the National Trust to whom it was conveyed in 1955 by the Radcliffe family in lieu of death duties.
Caterpillar on Dock Leaf on Marsden Moor
The estate covers some 2,429 ha (5,685 acres) of unenclosed common moorland and almost surrounds Marsden. It forms the most northerly section of the Peak District National Park. The landscape is made up of valleys, peaks and crags and has long been modified by man. The fact that Marsden forms the eastern gateway to the important Standedge crossing of the moors has resulted in the presence of transport related archaeological remains dating from pre-Roman times to the great engineering structures of the canal and railway ages. The moors have also been used as a water catchment area since the Victorian era, and several reservoirs are present, along with their associated catchwaters.
The landscape supports large numbers of moorland birds such as the Golden Plover, Red Grouse, Curlew and Twite. The estate is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, forms part of an Special Protection Area and is a candidate Special Area of Conservation.
The estate is managed from a base in the old goods yard, adjacent to Marsden railway station, and the old goods shed has been converted into a public exhibition, entitled Welcome to Marsden, which gives an overview of the estate and its history.
House on Marsden Moor
From the car park we headed up Marsden high street, then through a park where there was a memorial to the poet Samuel Laycock who was born and lived in Marsden. Once out of the park we headed up a steep path towards the moor. After a hard slog we were glad to be out on the moor and away from the dog poo you find on foot paths near towns. The sun was shining but there was a strong wind luckily from the south so the not unpleasant. The kids were soon whining about being hungry so we found a few rocks on which to eat our sandwiches.
Up the moor are quite a few channels which serve as water courses transferring water between the local reservoirs, we played Pooh stocks with one where a bridge went over. We soon got to the zenith of the walk and started our descent, and had great views over the valley and reservoir there in. We were soon back in the town and stopped off for supplies for pizza topping later.
We got back to the house late after noon and after a cup of tea went for a swim, where I was able to test out the new GoPro Hero2 video camera, and perform well it did.
For dinner we had home made pizza followed by an excellent sticky toffee pudding. This was followed by a Wii session and then bed.
The next day we were up early again, and headed home after a coffee and a smoothie video, which involved a carpet race round the kitchen.
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.
Burnham Deepdale church
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.
Hoklham beach view
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.
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.
Norfolk sea wall view I
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.
Today I am off to London to do a couple of things, a trip on the Dangleway which opened in June, and hopefully a look around a Royal Navy boat which has been moored up near Greenwich since Friday. The boat is part of the Olympic build up, it will be used by helicopters. I found out about the boat from the Ian visits web site which is always worth a look of you are planning a trip to London and want something to do whilst there.
I anticipated that the boat tour would be popular so o got the 08:39 train from Berkhamsted, then the southbound northern line to Bank, make sure you get the right platform, then the docklands light railway to Greenwich.
The queue for the Tour round HMS Ocean was about 400m long but I decided it was worth the wait, as the ropes were only available for the one day, and I had arrived early enough at 10:05.
Whilst waiting I checked out Wikipedia to find out a bit more about HMS Ocean, HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an amphibious assault ship (or landing platform helicopter) and is the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force.
HMS Ocean and river boat
She was constructed in the mid 1990s by Kvaerner Govan Ltd on the Clyde and fitted out by VSEL at Barrow-in-Furness prior to first of class trials and subsequent acceptance in service. She was commissioned in September 1998 at her home port HMNB Devonport, Plymouth.
The queue went through a couple of tents the first was filled with chairs and was showing a Royal Navy promotional film, however no one day down they just stayed in the queue we didn’t want to join the navy we all wanted to have a look round the big boat!
I reached the front of the queue a surprising 30 minutes later, and it soon became clear why, the 2 boats ferrying us to the vessel were quite big. We looped round the back of the vessel before pulling along side so we could disembark. Once on board we were ushered up a stairway and into a large area within the heart of the boat, there were demonstrations going on you could, put on an army pack, or learn about reasons and guns. Took the opportunity to climb up the ramp to get some pictures of the helicopters on the deck, then went back in to follow the Tour round the rest of the boat. We were told all about the landing craft that they had strung up on the side then we ended up in an even bigger hangar arts on the bowels of the vessel, where there were more demonstrations and helicopters. I took as many pictures as I could buy the light was very poor.
In the bowels of HMS Ocean
Then it was time to get back on the little boat and go back to the Greenwich quayside, where I took a few pictures of the Cutty Sark, before heading off along the Thames path towards the dome. The path is a bit in a state of disrepair and in one place I even saw someone lose a show in the mud, o think the whole thing needs some money thrown at it to bring it up to the standard of the path on the other side of the river. Once at the Dome I stopped off to have some lunch, a humous sandwich which because it was a cafe rouge came with French fries, and welcome it was too. Next stop was the dangleway.
You might be wondering what I am talking about well it seems that the Dangleway is what people have started to call the Emirates Air Line, which is a cable car which goes over the Thames.
Emirates Air Line (also known as the Thames Cable Car) is a Transport for London (TfL) gondola lift cable car link across the River Thames in London built with sponsorship from the air carrier Emirates. The service opened on the 28 June 2012.
On 4 July 2010, TfL announced plans to develop a cable car crossing over the River Thames. It is the first urban cable car in the United Kingdom. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, it crosses the river at a height up to 90 metres (300 ft), higher than that of the Millennium Dome. The cable car provides a crossing every 15 seconds carrying up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, equivalent to the capacity of 50 buses. The cable car can also convey bicycles and passengers are able to use Oyster Cards to pay for their journeys.
Southbank of the Thames
A planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Newham in October 2010 for the “erection of a cable car for the length of 1,100 metres [3,600 ft] over the River Thames from North Woolwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock at a minimum clearance of 54.1 metres [177 ft] above mean high water springs”. The application listed the structures planned for the service on the north side of the Thames as an 87-metre (285 ft) north main tower at Clyde Wharf, a 66-metre (217 ft) north intermediate tower south of the Docklands Light Railway tracks roughly mid-way between Canning Town and West Silvertown stations, a two-storey gondola station and “boat impact protection” in Royal Victoria Dock. South of the river there is a 60-metre (200 ft) main support tower and a boarding station within the O2 Arena car park.
When the project was announced, TfL initially budgeted that it would cost £25 million and announced this would be entirely funded by private finance. This figure was revised to £45 million, and by September 2011 the budget had more than doubled to £60 million, reportedly because TfL had not taken account of the costs of legal advice, project management, land acquisition and other costs. TfL planned to make up the shortfall by paying for the project out of the London Rail budget, applying for funding from the European Regional Development Fund and seeking commercial sponsorship.
In January 2011, News International were planning to sponsor the project but subsequently withdrew its offer. In October 2011, it was announced that the Dubai-based airline Emirates would provide £36 million in a 10-year sponsorship deal which included branding of the cable car service with the airline’s name.
The Dangleway, Emirates Air Line London Greenwich end
Construction began in August 2011 with Mace as the lead contractor.[13] Mace built the cable car for £45 million and will operate it for the first three years for a further £5.5 million. TfL stated that the initial construction funding and Emirates sponsorship will cover £36 million of the cost; the rest will be funded from fares. The cable car will be the most expensive cable system ever built.
In May 2012, TfL said that the cable car would be ready for people to use by summer 2012, and that while there were originally no plans to have it open before the 2012 Olympics, there would be plans in place in case it was opened in time. The public opening took place at 12:00 BST on 28 June 2012. TfL reports that the total cost of the project was about £60 million of which £45 million went towards construction. TfL estimates that the service can carry 2,500 people per hour.
The queues were long and there was some confusion, first you needed to join a younger queue of which there were two, one for humans and one for the ticket machines, I did not realize at first and ended up in the human queue but soon transferred to the ticket machines queue when it became obvious it was shorter and quicker. In all it took me about 45 minute to get a ticket, then I was able to join the boarding queue!
The Dangleway, Emirates Air Line London in flight
Once there it was all over in a flash, we were ushered up the stairs and into a pod then at 8.6 miles per hour we were up and over the river and disembarked on the other side. The journey is really smooth apart from when you go over a pylon, and the view is great liking down on the Dome.
Next it was back on the docklands light railway to head back home. I quite enjoy the DLR as most of it is over ground, do you get to see where you are going a bit like when you take the bus in London. Anyway the journey home went well all train waits were about a minute or two and then when I got to Euston the next train was in five minutes so I was was back to see the end of the days stage of Le Tour.
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.
Big wet rock
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.
A foot bridge
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.
Stormy weather
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.
