[J wrote this] Local awesomeness trumped the food today. 30 cranes, no less. (That’s 15% of the UK population I reckon.) I said ‘ooh look at those geese.’ R said ‘they’re cranes’. They were squarking away to each other and landing in a field with flocks of starlings swirling all around, and roe deer ambling …
[J wrote this] OK so let’s get to the important bit first. Food. Luscious lunch at the Sheppey Inn in Godney. Big diner of a pub with a performance stage. They’re looking for musicians to perform apparently – hmmm – do we know any? Dinner at the Devonshire Arms in Long Sutton. Venison to die …
Drove to Totnes. The satnav took us down some windy lanes, in the middle of one of which was a Buzzard eating a rabbit. At Totnes, we had a look around. Got a paper and a coffee. On the high street, we bumped into friend Nick J from Bristol who had been doing sound for …
We went for a walk. Up to Hay Tor, then along the old granite tramway for a bit and through the remains of a 14th Century village. Lots of Pipits, Stonechats and Wheatears. Buzzard, Kestrel, Ravens. Up to Hound Tor, then along the road to the grave of Kitty Jay, guarded today by cows. Up …
Stopped at Topsham for a wander around and a coffee, then on then to the RSPB Exminster Marshes car park. We walked a mile and crossed the Exeter canal at the lock at the Turf Hotel and had a nice lunch there, sandwiched between the canal and the Exe estuary. Walked back along the canal. …
We drove 10 minutes to Talybont-on-Usk and from there did a nice walk. Along the river – saw a pair of Mandarin Ducks – then climbed up through fields and old Oak woods. Up on the hill we found a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest hole with chicks in it. We couldn’t see the chicks, but …
We checked out of the cottage. It was a nice place to stay. A part of some old farm buildings, set in a square around a central yard. Very thick walls. There were a few apartments of various sizes in the block but all were empty so we had the place to ourselves. The owners, …
We went to St Davids and bought some pasties for lunch, had a coffee and then drove down the lane and parked at St Justinians. We got on the 12pm boat. It was a fast rib, with 10 other passengers, and it only took a few minutes to cross the sound to Ramsey Island. We …
We drove 45 mins to a layby and parked and then did a walk. We climbed up to the top of the Preseli Hills then followed the ridge along and went up to Foel Cwmcerwyn, the highest point in Pembrokeshire, stunning views all round. We descended through a timber plantation and passed a disused slate …
We got the boat from St Martins Haven at 09:45 and did a tour around Skomer and Skokholm islands and out to the Gannet colony at Grassholm. We had lunch at Runwayskiln cafe, just 5 minutes away from the St Martins Haven car park – very nice. After lunch we drove 15 minutes to St …