[{"content":"We scraped ice off the car and drove to Brecon to get some sandwiches for lunch from the Co Op. Then to the Taf Fechan Forest car park.\nRoute We walked up the lane to the drained Upper Neuadd Reservoir, emptied of water in 2016. We went up to what would have been the wet side of the dam and had a look around.\nUpper Neuadd dam From the dam, Pen y Fan Then we went off the beaten track up to the path running up to the peaks. We followed the path up – it was quite busy. There were Ravens at the top and spectacular views.\nRidge walkers Raven Raven Raven Raven We came back down the same way past the dam and then diverted via the abandoned filter house and workings and along the river through the woods back to the car park.\nComing down Old reservoir outlet Woods After dinner we played scrabble. J won.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/10/17/sat-17th-october-reservoir-climb/","summary":"We scraped ice off the car and drove to Brecon to get some sandwiches for lunch from the Co Op. Then to the Taf Fechan Forest car park. We walked up the lane to the drained Upper Neuadd Reservoir, emptied of water in 2016. We went up to what would have been the wet side … Read more “Sat 17th October: Reservoir climb”","title":"Sat 17th October: Reservoir climb"},{"content":" Breakfast: cockles and lava bread We went up a narrow lane to the Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre.\nWe walked across the moorland to the old hill fort at Twyn y Gaer (trig point at the top).\nRoute Bales of bracken, Red Kites, Mistle Thrushes, Skylarks.\nSkylark Raven To the hill fort Alpacas Red Kite Trig point Walking Pen y Fan Then back round the nature reserve and lunch at the visitor centre cafe.\nAfter lunch we went to Talybont reservoir. We walked across the dam and along the trail through the woods and back.\nTalybont reservoir After dinner we played scrabble. J won.\nScrabble ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/10/16/fri-16th-oct-mynydd-illtud/","summary":"We went up a narrow lane to the Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre. We walked across the moorland to the old hill fort at Twyn y Gaer (trig point at the top). Bales of bracken, Red Kites, Mistle Thrushes, Skylarks. Then back round the nature reserve and lunch at the visitor centre cafe. After lunch we … Read more “Fri 16th Oct: Mynydd Illtud”","title":"Fri 16th Oct: Mynydd Illtud"},{"content":" Scrabble. R won. ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/10/16/peterstone-court/","summary":"\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55634817612/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55634817612_2feb6f9a66_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55634817612_2feb6f9a66_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55634817612_2feb6f9a66_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55634817612_2feb6f9a66_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"599\"\n      alt=\"Scrabble. R won.\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eScrabble. R won.\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Thur 15th Oct: Peterstone Court"},{"content":" Accommodation We departed The Old Blacksmith’s around 9am and drove an hour to Grime’s Graves. We hadn’t planned this, but it was on the way so we stopped and had a look at the 4500-year old flint mines. There are around 430 filled-in mine shafts, making hollows in the landscape.\nGrime’s Graves We went down Mine Shaft Number 1.\nDescending In the flint mine In the flint mine Ascending Then, it only being 10 minutes away, we went to Weeting Heath nature reserve to look for Stone-Curlews. We found one.\nStone-Curlew We had lunch in a cafe in Mildenhall and then went to RSPB Fowlmere nature reserve. We walked around the reserve: woods and reedbeds and crystal-clear chalk streams with Trout and Water Voles. Also, Muntjac deer and Greylags, plus the usual birds.\nWater Vole Greylag Gosling Greylags Muntjac Water Vole The Red Cow at Chrishall tonight.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/18/mon-may-18-grimes-graves-stone-curlews-water-voles/","summary":"We departed The Old Blacksmith’s around 9am and drove an hour to Grime’s Graves. We hadn’t planned this, but it was on the way so we stopped and had a look at the 4500-year old flint mines. There are around 430 filled-in mine shafts, making hollows in the landscape. We went down Mine Shaft Number … Read more “Mon May 18: Grime’s Graves, Stone-Curlews, Water Voles”","title":"Mon May 18: Grime’s Graves, Stone-Curlews, Water Voles"},{"content":" Walk We walked from the accommodation through lanes and fields to the coast, then through marshes to Burnham Overy Staithe, where we had lunch in The Hero pub.\nSaw: Hares, Greenfinches, Yellowhammers plus the usual wetland birds on the marshes. Heard Tawny Owls calling in the trees.\nThree Hares Yellowhammer Burnham Overy Windmill Another Hare When we got back we went to Titchwell again.\nTitchwell Great Tits Titchwell Great Tit Titchwell Goldcrest Robins’ nest, Titchwell, in the eaves of the cafe at head-height We went for dinner at the swanky No. Twenty 9 Restaurant in Burnham Market, 3 minutes’ walk away. It was OK, nice Oysters, Sea Trout, English fizz.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/17/sun-may-17-burnham-walk-titchwell/","summary":"We walked from the accommodation through lanes and fields to the coast, then through marshes to Burnham Overy Staithe, where we had lunch in The Hero pub. Saw: Hares, Greenfinches, Yellowhammers plus the usual wetland birds on the marshes. Heard Tawny Owls calling in the trees. When we got back we went to Titchwell again. … Read more “Sun May 17: Burnham walk, Titchwell”","title":"Sun May 17: Burnham walk, Titchwell"},{"content":"At Titchwell at 8am.\nMallards Shoveller Black-headed Gull Reed Warbler Linnet An RSPB guide pointed out a distant Cuckoo in a dead tree. He told us that small numbers of Brent Geese typically stay here until late May.\nOn the beach There were Southern Marsh Orchids.\nOrchids Moorhens Common Tern We got a sandwich in the cafe and then drove to Holkham. We walked through the Oak trees in the park. Lots of Song Thrushes, Barnacle Geese and Fallow Deer. We met a nice couple from Lowestoft.\nDeer Goose Geese Then we went to Morston and parked in the car park on the quay. We’d booked a 4:45 Seal-watching boat trip. We had a coffee while we waited.\nOur boat The boat went out of Blakeney Harbour to Blakeney Point, where we saw some Grey Seals.\nOn the boat Seals ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/16/sat-may-16-titchwell-holkham-seals/","summary":"At Titchwell at 8am. An RSPB guide pointed out a distant Cuckoo in a dead tree. He told us that small numbers of Brent Geese typically stay here until late May. There were Southern Marsh Orchids. We got a sandwich in the cafe and then drove to Holkham. We walked through the Oak trees in … Read more “Sat May 16: Titchwell, Holkham, Seals”","title":"Sat May 16: Titchwell, Holkham, Seals"},{"content":"First thing, walked the few paces into Burnham Market and bought some fish and shrimps from the fishmonger and some lamb chops from the butcher, then got a coffee.\nThen we went to Titchwell and saw lots of birds.\nYoung Long-tailed Tit Actually saw a Cetti’s Warbler Then to the White Horse at Brancaster Staithe for lunch: oysters, crab, salad, nice. There were Brent Geese flying about, though they should have returned to the Arctic north by now. It is still pretty cold here, though.\nThen we drove to Blakeney and walked out over the marshes. Lots more Brent Geese, Harriers, Little Terns, plus the usual waders.\nMarshes Brent Geese Buzzard Brent Geese Roasted cod loin and shrimps for tea.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/15/fri-may-15-birds-etc/","summary":"First thing, walked the few paces into Burnham Market and bought some fish and shrimps from the fishmonger and some lamb chops from the butcher, then got a coffee. Then we went to Titchwell and saw lots of birds. Then to the White Horse at Brancaster Staithe for lunch: oysters, crab, salad, nice. There were … Read more “Fri May 15: Birds, etc”","title":"Fri May 15: Birds, etc"},{"content":"R went to Minsmere early: in the Island Mere hide shortly after 6am. It was cold: 3.5 degrees C on arrival. Bitterns, Terns, Harriers, Sedge Warblers. Water Rails calling.\nGreat-Crested Grebe We checked out of the Eel’s Foot (great location, nice beer, friendly people, food a bit dodgy this time) and drove two hours to Cley Marshes reserve. Coffee, then walked around the reed beds. Swallows were nesting in all three of the close-proximity hides and were whizzing in and out around our heads. Lunch in the visitor centre, then out to the beach. Marsh Harriers, lots of Sedge Warblers, etc.\nReed Warbler On the beach at Cley Stopped at Cley to get some hot smoked salmon and other provisions for tea (cheese, beer, vegetables, etc), then checked in to self-catering in Burnham Market.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/14/thu-may-14-to-norfolk/","summary":"R went to Minsmere early: in the Island Mere hide shortly after 6am. It was cold: 3.5 degrees C on arrival. Bitterns, Terns, Harriers, Sedge Warblers. Water Rails calling. We checked out of the Eel’s Foot (great location, nice beer, friendly people, food a bit dodgy this time) and drove two hours to Cley Marshes … Read more “Thu May 14: to Norfolk”","title":"Thu May 14: to Norfolk"},{"content":"Total bird species seen at Minsmere in two days: 66. Heard not seen: 4. Today, most of the Terns, including Roseate. Also, among other things, Bitterns. Marsh Harriers passing food, Tree Creeper nest.\nBittern Tree Creeper Tree Creeper nest hole Terns Lizard Marsh Harrier Another Bittern ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/13/wed-may-13-minsmere-2/","summary":"Total bird species seen at Minsmere in two days: 66. Heard not seen: 4. Today, most of the Terns, including Roseate. Also, among other things, Bitterns. Marsh Harriers passing food, Tree Creeper nest.","title":"Wed May 13: Minsmere 2"},{"content":"We checked out of the Brudenell and drove half an hour up to Walberswick. We parked over the narrow bridge by the beach.\nMorning walk We walked alongside the River Blyth, and then back inland past the derelict cottage called Tinker’s House on the map.\nWalberswick Curlew on a post Dead Adder Tinker’s House Peacock We had lunch at the Anchor in Walberswick. Oysters and ploughman’s.\nLunch Beach Beach Old windmill Then we walked south through the reedbeds and back through the woods.\nTea and cake in the tea shop in Walberswick. We couldn’t check in to the Eel’s Foot until 6pm, so we stopped at Minsmere on the way. Saw a Bittern and various other Minsmere specialities.\nAfter dinner, bats and owls and a single Nightjar down the lane.\nToday was supposed to be an easy day, but we’d walked 13 miles by the end.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/12/tue-may-12-walberswick/","summary":"We checked out of the Brudenell and drove half an hour up to Walberswick. We parked over the narrow bridge by the beach. We walked alongside the River Blyth, and then back inland past the derelict cottage called Tinker’s House on the map. We had lunch at the Anchor in Walberswick. Oysters and ploughman’s. Then … Read more “Tue May 12: Walberswick”","title":"Tue May 12: Walberswick"},{"content":" Bearded Reedling (male) Bearded Reedling (female) Sedge Warbler Avocet Avocets Avocets Mediterranean Gull Bittern Bittern Hobby Hobby ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/11/mon-may-11-minsmere/","summary":"\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636289795/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636289795_aa212be776_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636289795_aa212be776_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636289795_aa212be776_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636289795_aa212be776_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\"\n      alt=\"Bearded Reedling (male)\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eBearded Reedling (male)\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55635870106/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870106_401ab8835a_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870106_401ab8835a_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870106_401ab8835a_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870106_401ab8835a_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\"\n      alt=\"Bearded Reedling (female)\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eBearded Reedling (female)\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636078494/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636078494_b58479a4a9_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636078494_b58479a4a9_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636078494_b58479a4a9_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636078494_b58479a4a9_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\"\n      alt=\"Sedge Warbler\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eSedge Warbler\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55635870256/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870256_52b6cc7114_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870256_52b6cc7114_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870256_52b6cc7114_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870256_52b6cc7114_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\"\n      alt=\"Avocet\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eAvocet\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55635870436/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870436_9de5133a52_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870436_9de5133a52_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870436_9de5133a52_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55635870436_9de5133a52_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\"\n      alt=\"Avocets\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eAvocets\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636015953/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636015953_be3068e140_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636015953_be3068e140_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636015953_be3068e140_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636015953_be3068e140_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\n      alt=\"Avocets\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eAvocets\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636290105/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636290105_45b9c58269_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636290105_45b9c58269_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636290105_45b9c58269_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636290105_45b9c58269_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\"\n      alt=\"Mediterranean Gull\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eMediterranean Gull\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636016163/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016163_b7cec3ce24_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016163_b7cec3ce24_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016163_b7cec3ce24_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016163_b7cec3ce24_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\"\n      alt=\"Bittern\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eBittern\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636079064/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636079064_63551ff73f_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636079064_63551ff73f_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636079064_63551ff73f_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636079064_63551ff73f_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"494\"\n      alt=\"Bittern\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eBittern\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636016063/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016063_65b7b29f50_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016063_65b7b29f50_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016063_65b7b29f50_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016063_65b7b29f50_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\n      alt=\"Hobby\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eHobby\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"flickr-image\"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtoller/55636016248/\" title=\"View on Flickr\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016248_480c842718_c.jpg\" srcset=\"https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016248_480c842718_z.jpg 640w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016248_480c842718_c.jpg 800w, https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55636016248_480c842718_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" width=\"800\" height=\"495\"\n      alt=\"Hobby\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003eHobby\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Mon May 11: Minsmere"},{"content":"We checked out of the Miller’s Arms and took about three hours to drive to Aldeburgh with a stop for coffee. At Aldeburgh there was a cold North-East wind whistling down the seafront and high street and we couldn’t find anything we fancied for lunch, so we drove 10 minutes to Snape Maltings.\nLunch in the cafe, then a brief sighting of Bearded Tits above the windy reedbeds.\nThen we went to Captain’s Wood nature reserve. Old mixed woodland, Oak, Hazel, Birch, Pines. Very many Bluebells. We saw Fallow Deer (lots), Muntjac, and a Hare. A few Linnets. Heard a Cuckoo.\nFallow Deer Muntjac In the woods Bluebells On a log ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/10/sun-may-10-to-aldeburgh/","summary":"We checked out of the Miller’s Arms and took about three hours to drive to Aldeburgh with a stop for coffee. At Aldeburgh there was a cold North-East wind whistling down the seafront and high street and we couldn’t find anything we fancied for lunch, so we drove 10 minutes to Snape Maltings. Lunch in … Read more “Sun May 10: to Aldeburgh”","title":"Sun May 10: to Aldeburgh"},{"content":"We drove 20 minutes and parked on the road verge just west of Seasalter. We walked a few miles along the coast path and back, alongside the sea wall. Inland was Cleve Marshes and a bit further on, a solar farm. Lots of Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings, plus Corn Buntings, Pipits, Stonechats, Skylarks.\nCorn Bunting Then we went to Whitstable. We’d booked a 3pm boat trip, so worked out where the boat would be leaving from and then went for lunch at the Whitstable Oyster Company. Very good meal, with Oysters, Scallops, Plaice, Crab, Almond cake.\n6 x Rock Oysters, 1 x Native Oyster Crab Then on the boat, a big catamaran, out to the Red Sands Towers Maunsell Forts.\nThe boat Peregrine Falcon At the forts On the way back we went to look at the Kentish Flats wind farm, the boat pulling up right under one of the turbines.\nWind Turbines After dinner we walked along the river a bit and saw a Beaver.\nBeaver It came right up close to us.\nBeaver, bit blurred ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/09/sat-9-may-whitstable-boat-trip-beaver/","summary":"We drove 20 minutes and parked on the road verge just west of Seasalter. We walked a few miles along the coast path and back, alongside the sea wall. Inland was Cleve Marshes and a bit further on, a solar farm. Lots of Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings, plus Corn Buntings, Pipits, Stonechats, … Read more “Sat May 9: Whitstable, boat trip, Beaver”","title":"Sat May 9: Whitstable, boat trip, Beaver"},{"content":"Opposite the pub was once a large flour mill, long since burnt down. We walked across the sluice and alongside the old mill race on the crystal clear River Stour and into Canterbury centre.\nDuck Wonky building Got a coffee, and then had a look round the cathedral.\nCathedral Site of the murder of Thomas Becket, 1170 Up In St Gabriel’s Chapel Tomb of Edward the Black Prince, 1376 Black Prince’s gear From the street Above the gate Then we had a look around the Beaney House museum, which housed an interesting assortment of paintings, taxidermy and miscellaneous items.\nLunch at the Foundry brewpub.\nBrewpub After lunch, because it was just round the corner, we went on a 45-minute punt tour on the River Stour. Our punter, Anthony, gave an informative and funny narrative as he punted.\nIn the punt There were several very low bridges.\nMedieval cat’s paw print in a brick The pub where we’re staying, from the punt Mayflies were hatching from the river. Sparrows, impersonating Flycatchers, were darting out from the banks to gobble them up.\nA different punt Mayfly ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/08/fri-may-8-canterbury/","summary":"Opposite the pub was once a large flour mill, long since burnt down. We walked across the sluice and alongside the old mill race on the crystal clear River Stour and into Canterbury centre. Got a coffee, and then had a look round the cathedral. Then we had a look around the Beaney House museum, … Read more “Fri May 8: Canterbury”","title":"Fri May 8: Canterbury"},{"content":"A few hours to Dungeness, where we drove a mile down a shingle track to the RSPB nature reserve visitor centre. We walked around some of the reserve. It was full of birds, insects and interesting plants. Warblers, Reed Buntings, Little Terns, Egrets, Ducks, Geese, Gulls, Lizards, etc.\nReed Bunting Reed Warbler Bee Then down the road a bit to the Snack Shack, where we had very nice fish baps.\nSnack Shack Lunch Dungeness is a vast shingle spit. There’s a disused nuclear power station, and Prospect Cottage, Derek Jarman’s house. Lots of Sea Kale.\nSea Kale Prospect Cottage Prospect Cottage Kestrel We walked down to the sea. A fisherman caught a dogfish.\nFish Then up the road a mile or so, parked and we walked out across the shingle into the nature reserve to have a look at the sound mirrors, built in the 1920s-30s to listen for incoming attack planes.\nSound Mirrors Great Crested Grebe Sound Mirrors Then drove an hour to Canterbury and checked into the Miller’s Arms.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/07/thu-7-may-dungeness/","summary":"A few hours to Dungeness, where we drove a mile down a shingle track to the RSPB nature reserve visitor centre. We walked around some of the reserve. It was full of birds, insects and interesting plants. Warblers, Reed Buntings, Little Terns, Egrets, Ducks, Geese, Gulls, Lizards, etc. Then down the road a bit to … Read more “Thu May 7: Dungeness”","title":"Thu May 7: Dungeness"},{"content":"We arrived at Yattendon around 5pm and checked into the Royal Oak.\nWe walked along to the church and then followed a footpath through some trees. Lots of birds singing.\nWoods /wp:post-content\nwp:paragraph\n/wp:paragraph\nwp:paragraph\n/wp:paragraph\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/05/06/wed-may-6-set-off/","summary":"We arrived at Yattendon around 5pm and checked into the Royal Oak. We walked along to the church and then followed a footpath through some trees. Lots of birds singing.","title":"Wed May 6: Set off"},{"content":" 14 miles, apparently We drove to Yatesbury, down a dead-end road and parked at the very small village hall. We walked up a track through some trees and then across fields. Kites, Buzzards and Corn Buntings.\nPuddle Corn Buntings We went up to Windmill Hill Neolithic camp. There were two mounds on the top of the hill. It rained a bit here.\nWindmill Hill Windmill Hill Then down towards Avebury. It got very wet underfoot for a bit. R went barefoot and paddled, J got wet boots. The water was knee-deep in places. We met a woman who’d walked from Wroughton and had 13 miles to go back, now with wet feet.\nKnee-deep Silbury Hill, coming into Avebury The Red Lion pub in Avebury was full, so we went and had a look at the stone circle and walked down the Avenue.\nStones Back in Avebury we had lunch in the community-run cafe. Then back past some more stones and along a bit of the Ridgeway.\nLong Stones Ridgeway On the way back into Yatesbury we passed an abandoned WW2 hangar. J’s grandpa worked at Yatesbury Camp during the war, repairing aircraft. There’s an old airstrip nearby.\nHangar Yatesbury bus shelter Caviar taster plate as a starter for dinner.\nCaviar ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/02/07/avebury-walk/","summary":"We drove to Yatesbury, down a dead-end road and parked at the very small village hall. We walked up a track through some trees and then across fields. Kites, Buzzards and Corn Buntings. We went up to Windmill Hill Neolithic camp. There were two mounds on the top of the hill. It rained a bit … Read more “Avebury walk”","title":"Avebury walk"},{"content":"On the way to Silbury Hill we stopped at Avebury Trusloe to see the house where J’s mum lived during the war.\nFarm house We had a look at 4000-year-old Silbury Hill.\nSilbury Hill It was surrounded with water, with ducks swimming. We were going to walk around the hill to West Kennet Long Barrow but the track was flooded, so we drove down the road a bit and parked in the layby and walked up to the barrow.\nWater It was a bit wet in places, because it’s been raining since Christmas.\nWest Kennet Long Barrow It’s a Neolithic burial chamber, nearly 6000 years old.\nIn the barrow Hillock Hillock We stayed in the Duke Hotel, Hilmarton. Very nice.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2026/02/06/silbury-hill-etc/","summary":"On the way to Silbury Hill we stopped at Avebury Trusloe to see the house where J’s mum lived during the war. We had a look at 4000-year-old Silbury Hill. It was surrounded with water, with ducks swimming. We were going to walk around the hill to West Kennet Long Barrow but the track was … Read more “Silbury Hill etc”","title":"Silbury Hill etc"},{"content":"[J wrote this]\nWalk. 9 miles. Local awesomeness trumped the food today.\n30 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 by. Glorious.\nCranes Cranes, deer Walk Nice project, river views Then on the afternoon leg of our walk we met the nicest retired professional French horn player you could ever wish to meet. Scouting out a walk for his group next week. Apparently they don’t like mud. ‘Good luck!’ I called out cheerfully before we parted. (He told us the locals are rather proud of the local crane population.)\nAnd then the cutest bumbliest stoat you could wish for lolloping along the path to suss us out. And back and forth, and then popped its head out of the hedgerow.\nStoat Ok yes the food. Pretty good again. The Halfway House pub (either terminus being Somerton and Langport) is possibly (definitely according to at least one competition) the best pub in England. Pretty perfect in most ways. And then a little teensy weensy pastel de nata afternoon snack in Somerton – ooh get us. And the Devonshire Arms served up a pretty good dinner as we’ve come to expect.\nStarlings, in the pub garden And the sun shone and the green glowed and no kingfisher to be seen but we got a bit spoilt yesterday on that score.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/11/08/saturday-the-locals-are-ace/","summary":"[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 … Read more “Saturday: the locals are ace”","title":"Saturday: the locals are ace"},{"content":"[J wrote this]\nOK so let’s get to the important bit first.\nFood.\nLuscious 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?\nlunch Dinner at the Devonshire Arms in Long Sutton. Venison to die for. Well some poor deer did.\nAnd in between the eating. Birding quite a lot of the time in the rain. At Westhay Moor and Shapwick Heath nature reserves. Actually sitting in an empty hide in the rain watching ducks doing their thing isn’t so bad. Especially when punctuated by the ghostly apparition of a great white egret on the wing and the darting turquoise of a kingfisher.\nEgret Kingfisher LTT But nature appreciation only goes so far. Didn’t stay long in the hide at Westhay occupied by a hornet’s nest. They are mighty big for sure.\nHornets’ nest in hide Hornets’ nest Nice room at the Devonshire but they only made it up for one person. Are we going to share a bath towel and a bottle of water? I think not!!!\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/11/07/friday-food-food-rain-and-hornets/","summary":"[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 … Read more “Friday: food, food, rain (and hornets)”","title":"Friday: food, food, rain (and hornets)"},{"content":"Drove to Totnes. The satnav took us down some windy lanes, in the middle of one of which was a Buzzard eating a rabbit.\nBuzzard 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 a band at Buckfastleigh last night.\nThen we went to Aveton Gifford and walked from the village car park to the South Efford Marsh nature reserve. From the hide we saw a distant Kingfisher and had close-up views of a Grey Wagtail.\nHide Grey Wagtail In the reserve Lunch at the Sloop Inn at Bantham (very nice mussels, cheese sandwich), and then walked around the beach and dunes.\nBeach Bantham Dinner After dinner we played scrabble twice. J won. It’s mostly luck.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/09/27/saturday-totnes-aveton-gifford-bantham/","summary":"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 … Read more “Saturday: Totnes, Aveton Gifford, Bantham”","title":"Saturday: Totnes, Aveton Gifford, Bantham"},{"content":"We went for a walk.\n13 and a bit miles. Steep in places. 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 to Great Hound Tor (and Bowerman’s Nose), then down to the Kestor Inn at Manaton. Nice beer and sandwiches. Then down through tall Sycamore and Hazel woodland to follow the crystal-clear River Bovey for a few miles. We stopped to watch a Dipper and J got stung by a wasp. Lots of red berries on the way (Hawthorn, Rowan, Holly) and fungi, including Fly Agaric. Back at the Rock Inn, nice dinner.\nHay Tor From on high In the sun Tramway In the woods a Frog by the path Medieval village below Hound Tor Hound Tor Sheep The (haunted) grave of Kitty Jay with a cow Scenery The rock formation called Bowerman’s Nose Clam bridge On the Clam bridge Mushrooms Mushrooms More mushrooms ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/09/26/friday-tor-tour/","summary":"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 … Read more “Friday: Tor Tour”","title":"Friday: Tor Tour"},{"content":"Stopped at Topsham for a wander around and a coffee, then on then to the RSPB Exminster Marshes car park.\nTopsham Marina 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.\nExminster Green Lacewing Before lunch Lunch After lunch Walked back along the canal. Stopped at an overlook and saw: 1 x Peregrine, 2 x Buzzard, 2 x Hobby, 1 x Kestrel, 2 x Marsh Harrier, 1 x Kingfisher. Also Cattle Egrets.\nMarsh Harrier, Teal Swans Then through a ramshackle reclamation yard trying to find the entrance to Powderham Marshes – the entrance wasn’t there. We found the entrance, and walked through the reserve.\nDragonfly New car Half an hour drive to the Rock Inn. Nice pint of Jail Ale. Nice dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/09/25/thursday-topsham-exminster-marshes/","summary":"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. … Read more “Thursday: Topsham, Exminster Marshes”","title":"Thursday: Topsham, Exminster Marshes"},{"content":"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.\n7 miles Duck Walking Up on the hill we found a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest hole with chicks in it. We couldn’t see the chicks, but they were making a lot of noise as were the adults up in the canopy. Then down into Pencelli. Lunch and a pint in the excellent Royal Oak pub and then back along the canal. About half way along the towpath we met an Osprey group volunteer with a couple of telescopes keeping watch on a nest in the top of an oak tree about a mile away. She told us that the female was on eggs – we could just make out the bird through the ‘scope. The nest was built last year, but this year is the first year the birds have bred.\nDistant Osprey on nest Tow path Then we went to Llangors Lake. First we parked on the north side and had a wander. We couldn’t get very close to the lake from here, but we did hear and see a Garden Warbler.\nGarden Warbler On the south side we parked by the church at Llangasty-Talyllyn and walked along the trail to a hide overlooking the reed bed and lake. The hide had a stained glass window.\nIn the hide Hide Back at the hotel, we watched a Red Kite over the sheep field from the bedroom window.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/20/tuesday-talybont-walk-etc/","summary":"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 … Read more “Tuesday: Talybont walk, etc”","title":"Tuesday: Talybont walk, etc"},{"content":"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, Dawn and Ian, lived in the house opposite.\nOurs was the last on the left We drove a couple of hours to Pontarddulais where we stopped for a coffee and to buy some lunch. The on to the Comin Y Rhos car park.\nWe followed the trail for the Waterfalls Walk.\nWelsh Oggie lunch On the way down to the Sgwd yr Eire falls we heard Redstarts and a Wood Warbler singing.\nWe climbed down a lot (170) of steep steps to the falls. There were a few people down there. We walked behind the falls.\nWaterfall Behind the falls Behind the falls There were Dippers, and young Dippers.\nDippers Feeding Juvenile Goosander (perhaps?) On the way back we stopped and looked at the Wood Warbler.\nWood Warbler Willow Warbler Then over the Brecon Beacons to Peterstone Court Hotel.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/19/monday-waterfall/","summary":"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, … Read more “Monday: waterfall”","title":"Monday: waterfall"},{"content":"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.\nCockchafer, St Justinians Old lifeboat station, where we got on and off the boat 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.\nOn the boat We walked round the island. Lots of Choughs, Wheatears. Also Ravens, House Martins, Buzzard, Seals, Red Deer, lots of Rabbits.\nChoughs There was a distant Peregrine on her nest.\nPeregrine Scenery Thrift Our boat back We walked down to Porthgain for another nice meal at The Shed. Sea Bass and Lobster.\nLobster Porthgain sunset On the way back ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/18/sunday-ramsey-island/","summary":"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 … Read more “Sunday: Ramsey Island”","title":"Sunday: Ramsey Island"},{"content":" 12.3 miles 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.\nRocks Highest point We descended through a timber plantation and passed a disused slate quarry, and then had lunch in the Tafarn Sinc, a corrugated zinc-roofed community-owned pub. Very nice.\nTafarn Sinc In the Tafarn. Hams hanging from the ceiling Then back up over a hill and along a quiet lane back to the car.\nOn the road Stopped on the way home to get some tomatoes and beer and Welsh whisky.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/17/saturday-preseli-hills/","summary":"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 … Read more “Saturday: Preseli Hills”","title":"Saturday: Preseli Hills"},{"content":"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.\nThe boat Gannet Puffin Approaching Grassholm Grassholm Common Dolphin Gannet On the boat 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 Brides Haven where R went snorkelling. Bit choppy, but clear water and lots of fish and crabs, etc.\nSpider Crab Crab Snorkelling In the evening we walked down across the fields to Porthgain. We had a drink in the Sloop and then a nice meal in the Shed restaurant.\nWe had to deal with some frisky cows on the way back.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/16/friday-boat-trip-snorkel-nice-meal/","summary":"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 … Read more “Friday: boat trip, snorkel, nice meal”","title":"Friday: boat trip, snorkel, nice meal"},{"content":" nearly 12 miles We walked from the cottage through fields to Abereiddy Bay and then took the coast path west.\nCoast path Coast path Great views of Choughs and Ravens.\nChough Ravens Wren There was an old hill fort. Just before Castell Coch we turned inland and went back to Abereiddy. There we heard and briefly glimpsed a Cuckoo. Then we took the coast path to Porthgain, passed the Blue Lagoon, an old slate quarry. People were jumping into the water from on high.\nAt Porthgain we had a good lunch in the Sloop Inn and then went further along the coast path. We spent some time with another Raven family, and then headed back inland to the cottage. There was a stone circle.\nRaven Stone circle ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/15/thursday-a-very-nice-walk/","summary":"We walked from the cottage through fields to Abereiddy Bay and then took the coast path west. Great views of Choughs and Ravens. There was an old hill fort. Just before Castell Coch we turned inland and went back to Abereiddy. There we heard and briefly glimpsed a Cuckoo. Then we took the coast path … Read more “Thursday: a very nice walk”","title":"Thursday: a very nice walk"},{"content":"We checked out of Twr Y Felin and parked in the car park in St Davids. We looked round the Cathedral. The floor is sloping and the columns are on the slant – though you don’t notice it in the photo.\nCathedral Misericords Had a coffee in the Cathedral cafe. We bought sandwiches for lunch in a deli in St Davids.\nThen we caught the 11:45 bus to Solva.\nFrom Solva we walked out along the estuary and followed the coast path back to St Davids.\nSolva Glorious sunny day, clear skies, blue seas, cliffs, Skomer and guano-topped Grassholm in the distance. Ate lunch on the cliff. Lots of Stonechats. Some Choughs.\nView Choughs Looking At St Non’s chapel, birthplace of St David Back at St Davids we bought some provisions at the butchers and had a cup of tea / beer in a cafe. R bought some fins from a surf shop as he’d forgotten to bring his (snorkelling planned for Friday). Then we went to the supermarket to get some more provisions and drove to our Ynys Barry self-catering place.\nTraffic jam on the way.\nIt’s nice, there are a few cottages but we’re the only people here. Venison sausages for tea.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/14/wednesday-st-davids-solva/","summary":"We checked out of Twr Y Felin and parked in the car park in St Davids. We looked round the Cathedral. The floor is sloping and the columns are on the slant – though you don’t notice it in the photo. Had a coffee in the Cathedral cafe. We bought sandwiches for lunch in a … Read more “Wednesday: St Davids, Solva”","title":"Wednesday: St Davids, Solva"},{"content":"We checked out of the St Davids Cross Hotel and drove for an hour up to Poppit Sands and then took a narrow lane that turned into a gravel track and parked next to an unoccupied Yurt campsite. We walked around Cemaes Head: blue skies, dramatic cliffs, wild flowers, butterflies (inc Painted Ladies), Choughs. Hardly any wind and the sea was calm so it was quiet on the top apart from the twittering of Pipits and Skylarks and the Chough calls.\nCemaes Head Choughs More Choughs Another Chough Then to Cardigan where we had lunch in a cafe and then went to the Teifi Marshes wildlife trust reserve. Parked there. The visitor centre was shut, like most things here on Monday and Tuesday. We walked around the reserve trails and looked in the hides. Hazel and Oak woodland, marshes, estuary.\nLittle Grebe, Brook Lamprey Willow trees had catkins issuing downy seeds which filled the air and lay in drifts on the ground. We probably inhaled a few thousand.\nSpider web with Willow seeds Egg Back at St Davids we checked in to the Twr Y Felin hotel. It’s an old windmill, quite fancy, best meal we’ve had in ages. Crab, terrine, lamb, venison, lemon thing, cheese, nice wine.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/13/tuesday-cemaes-head-cardigan-teifi-marshes/","summary":"We checked out of the St Davids Cross Hotel and drove for an hour up to Poppit Sands and then took a narrow lane that turned into a gravel track and parked next to an unoccupied Yurt campsite. We walked around Cemaes Head: blue skies, dramatic cliffs, wild flowers, butterflies (inc Painted Ladies), Choughs. Hardly … Read more “Tuesday: Cemaes Head, Cardigan, Teifi Marshes”","title":"Tuesday: Cemaes Head, Cardigan, Teifi Marshes"},{"content":"We walked from the hotel down past the cathedral and ruined Bishop’s Palace.\n14 miles, almost Cathedral Then down quiet lanes to the headland at Tregennis. At the headland we joined the coast path. There were the remains of an old copper mine.\nOld mine, Ramsey Island in the background We followed the coast path round to the lifeboat station at St Justinian’s, then headed inland for a bit before joining the coast path again at Whitesands Bay. We saw Dolphins (maybe Porpoises) in the bay. We watched a Pipit doing its parachuting display flight. We had fish goujons in a bap for lunch at the Whitesands Beach House.\nPath Beach Then out to St David’s Head where there was a burial chamber. On the way there were a few Choughs.\nChough At the burial chamber We climbed up between Carn Hen and Carn Twic and then down, past the youth hostel and back along the lanes to St Davids.\nStonechat Sedge Warbler on Hemlock Water Dropwort Lots of birds and flowers: Choughs, Whitethroats, Stonechats, Wheatears, Red Kite, Buzzards, Gannets. Thrift, Spring Squill, Bluebells, Bladder Campions, Vetch.\nWe had dinner in the hotel and then played Scrabble. J won.\nR lost ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/12/monday-a-good-walk/","summary":"We walked from the hotel down past the cathedral and ruined Bishop’s Palace. Then down quiet lanes to the headland at Tregennis. At the headland we joined the coast path. There were the remains of an old copper mine. We followed the coast path round to the lifeboat station at St Justinian’s, then headed inland … Read more “Monday: a good walk”","title":"Monday: a good walk"},{"content":"We stopped at the WWT Llanelli reserve on the way. Got there about 10:30. Nice sunny day, lots of ducks and warblers (Whitethroat, Blackcap, Cetti’s, Reed, Sedge, Chiffchaff, Garden). Found the rear end of a snake (probably an Adder) under a corrugated iron section.\nBlack-headed Gulls on nests Whitethroat Sedge Warbler Greylag Greylag gosling At St Davids we checked into the St Davids Cross hotel.\nHotel Dinner just round the corner at St Davids Gin and Kitchen. It wasn’t bad: Oysters, Cockles, Sea Trout, Lobster, cheese.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/05/11/sunday-st-davids-via-wwt-llanelli/","summary":"We stopped at the WWT Llanelli reserve on the way. Got there about 10:30. Nice sunny day, lots of ducks and warblers (Whitethroat, Blackcap, Cetti’s, Reed, Sedge, Chiffchaff, Garden). Found the rear end of a snake (probably an Adder) under a corrugated iron section. At St Davids we checked into the St Davids Cross hotel. … Read more “Sunday: St Davids via WWT Llanelli”","title":"Sunday: St Davids via WWT Llanelli"},{"content":" Route We walked down the road out of the village and took a footpath past the sewage works. A road bridge crosses the Dulas Brook and the River Dore just where the two rivers meet. There, when we stopped to watch a Dipper, a Mink swam across the River Dore below us and away upstream along the edge of the river.\nWe walked along a lane for a mile or so and then across muddy fields. It was hard-going through the sticky mud. We saw some Red-Legged Partridges.\nPartridge Field Down through some woods, all churned up by pigs, and at the bottom some pigs in a pen.\nWoods Pigs The sky was still and clear and full of Buzzards, mewling and flying courtship displays.\nAt Grosmont we looked around the castle.\nGrosmont Castle Then we had lunch in the excellent Angel Inn. Cauliflower and Per Las soup.\nAngel Inn Back across lanes and muddy fields to Ewyas Harold.\nWe had a look at Ewyas Harold castle – it was just a steep mound with trees and goats on it.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/02/22/saturday-walking-with-buzzards/","summary":"We walked down the road out of the village and took a footpath past the sewage works. A road bridge crosses the Dulas Brook and the River Dore just where the two rivers meet. There, when we stopped to watch a Dipper, a Mink swam across the River Dore below us and away upstream along … Read more “Saturday: walking with Buzzards”","title":"Saturday: walking with Buzzards"},{"content":"Bristol to Abergavenny took 2 hours due to Friday traffic and roadworks on the Severn Bridge. At Abergavenny we had a quick look round the castle and a quicker look round the museum on account of arriving at ten to four and the museum closing at four.\nOld shoe We had a wander around the town and then a 20-minute drive to the Temple Bar Inn at Ewyas Harold.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2025/02/21/friday-abergavenny/","summary":"Bristol to Abergavenny took 2 hours due to Friday traffic and roadworks on the Severn Bridge. At Abergavenny we had a quick look round the castle and a quicker look round the museum on account of arriving at ten to four and the museum closing at four. We had a wander around the town and … Read more “Friday: Abergavenny”","title":"Friday: Abergavenny"},{"content":"We did a 10-mile circular walk from the hotel. Up the combe to the top of the Quantocks, then past Halsway Post and Bicknoller Post and down to Kilve where we had lunch in the Hood Arms. Back up the lane and across the damp and foggy fields to the hotel.\nHalsway Post Fogbow After dinner, scrabble. J won.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/12/28/boxing-day-walk/","summary":"We did a 10-mile circular walk from the hotel. Up the combe to the top of the Quantocks, then past Halsway Post and Bicknoller Post and down to Kilve where we had lunch in the Hood Arms. Back up the lane and across the damp and foggy fields to the hotel. After dinner, scrabble. J … Read more “Boxing Day: walk”","title":"Boxing Day: walk"},{"content":"We drove to Kilve and parked. Walked down to the beach and then turned left along the coast path for a bit before looping back inland to the car. Nice bright sunny day, despite the murky weather forecast. Stopped at the Hood Arms on the way back for a pint (on the house).\nLunch at the hotel, then walked down the lane and back before it got dark.\nAfter dinner scrabble x 2. R won.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/12/28/christmas-day-walk-meal-walk/","summary":"We drove to Kilve and parked. Walked down to the beach and then turned left along the coast path for a bit before looping back inland to the car. Nice bright sunny day, despite the murky weather forecast. Stopped at the Hood Arms on the way back for a pint (on the house). Lunch at … Read more “Christmas Day: walk, meal, walk”","title":"Christmas Day: walk, meal, walk"},{"content":"Went to Shapwick Heath and Ham Wall. Whooper Swans, Egrets, Herons, male and female Marsh Harriers, lots of ducks including Pintails. Good views of Lapwings and a Snipe just as we were about to leave.\nMarsh Harrier Then lunch at the pub in Cannington and on to Steart Marshes. Lots more ducks and Golden Plovers. No Spoonbills.\nDrove to Combe House Hotel and checked in. Nice dinner.\nScrabble after dinner. R won.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/12/24/tuesday-24th-shapwick-ham-wall-steart-holford-scrabble/","summary":"Went to Shapwick Heath and Ham Wall. Whooper Swans, Egrets, Herons, male and female Marsh Harriers, lots of ducks including Pintails. Good views of Lapwings and a Snipe just as we were about to leave. Then lunch at the pub in Cannington and on to Steart Marshes. Lots more ducks and Golden Plovers. No Spoonbills. … Read more “Tuesday 24th: Shapwick, Ham Wall, Steart, Holford, Scrabble”","title":"Tuesday 24th: Shapwick, Ham Wall, Steart, Holford, Scrabble"},{"content":"Checked into the thatched and thick-walled Mason’s Arms at 5pm, quickly ate some food we’d brought with us, and then headed off down the lanes to the village hall at Upper Odcombe. We were due to meet the other Odcombe carollers there at 5:45pm. R had met one of them, Steve C, at Sidmouth festival in August this year where Steve was involved in a presentation on the Odcombe carols.\nIn 1860 the church at Odcombe kicked the carol-singers out and they convened in the Methodist chapel in the village. From there the tradition of Odcombe village carol singing began. The repertoire is 12 songs, and they are sung every year to every house in the village.\nWe met Steve, and a few other singers, at the village hall. At around 6pm we set off, maybe 10-12 of us. Two lads from the village were with us, and they’d run on ahead knocking at doors. We sang a carol at each place we stopped at in Lower Odcombe. After each carol, the older lad from the village shouted out a personal greeting, naming each individual in the house we were at and wishing them a happy and prosperous new year.\nWe did each of the 12 carols three times, so 36 in total, plus a few extra While Shepherds, one of which was in the Maon’s Arms. We finished about 9pm, and then went back to the pub for a pint. Very good.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/12/24/monday-23rd-odcombe/","summary":"Checked into the thatched and thick-walled Mason’s Arms at 5pm, quickly ate some food we’d brought with us, and then headed off down the lanes to the village hall at Upper Odcombe. We were due to meet the other Odcombe carollers there at 5:45pm. R had met one of them, Steve C, at Sidmouth festival … Read more “Monday 23rd: Odcombe”","title":"Monday 23rd: Odcombe"},{"content":" We set off from the hotel and had to scramble up a hill through brambles and holly and cross some barbed-wire fences to get to the path proper. Then down to Three Cliffs Bay.\nPath to Three Cliffs Bay From there along the cliff path to Oxwich Bay and then inland a bit through Nicholaston Woods.\nCliff path Oxwich Bay It was hard-going for a bit here, the rocky path steep and slippery with wet Sycamore and Beech leaves.\nSlippery path In the woods Spindle berries Then it levelled off and once out of the woods we went up the road a bit and then into the Penrice Estate. There was a grand Manor House and a ruined castle.\nPenrice estate The house looked down onto well-kept grounds with a long lake sweeping out towards the sea. Out in the estate we followed a track through Mill Wood and then took the lane up the hill into Reynoldston. There were lots of Ravens and some Stonechats. We had a good lunch in the King Arthur Hotel. There was a wedding on, but they didn’t mind us with our muddy boots in the bar.\nLeaving the King Arthur Hotel After lunch we climbed up to the top of the ridge, heading for Arthur’s Stone. The path we were on dissolved after a bit and R ended up knee-deep in the bog, so we had to retrace our steps to find a drier route, squelching.\nAt the stone a woman was sat in quiet contemplation. She was originally from here and said she had a photo of herself aged three at this stone, but she now lived in Scotland. She reckoned it was a magical place.\nArthur’s Stone Beyond the stone was a cairn, with cows.\nCairn, cows Cow, cairn There were ponies, too.\nPonies We followed the long line of the ridge, called Cefn Bryn, back towards the hotel. Great panoramic views of the Gower all round.\nOn the ridge Trig point Dropped down off the ridge and then through wet woods again to the hotel. 14.2 miles.\nPint in the lounge, nice dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/10/19/saturday-a-very-good-walk/","summary":"We set off from the hotel and had to scramble up a hill through brambles and holly and cross some barbed-wire fences to get to the path proper. Then down to Three Cliffs Bay. From there along the cliff path to Oxwich Bay and then inland a bit through Nicholaston Woods. It was hard-going for … Read more “Saturday: a very good walk”","title":"Saturday: a very good walk"},{"content":" Room view Welsh breakfast of oatcake with laver bread and leeks, bacon, cockles.\nBreakfast Parc le Breos WWT LLanelli: walked around the trails and saw lots of ducks, Heron, Spoonbills, etc.\nCaptive Eider Watching Heron Marsh Little Grebe, Eel Spoonbills While we were having lunch in the WWT cafe it started raining, and continued to rain until we got to the car park at Oxwich Bay.\nDon’t Cockle Oxwich Bay We went down to the beach and then walked up to St Illtyd’s church. The church appeared to be open so we went in but were met by the vicar and an elderly female who were there preparing for a wedding tomorrow – the church wasn’t really open. The vicar gave us a non-stop commentary on the church’s history and that of a number of other Gower churches, plus wildlife in the area. Otters are around nearby, and Adders, and Horseshoe Bats roost up in the top of the church. We were encouraged to go to the service on Sunday.\nWe followed the footpath past the church and climbed the 300 (according to the vicar) steps and then walked back down the hill to Oxwich.\nWe went among the dunes behind Oxwich Bay. There were ponies. A boardwalk meandered between reedbeds on one side and flooded woodland on the other.\nDunes Wetlands Back at the hotel, dinner: Lobster, mushrooms, venison, St Emilion.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/10/18/friday-wwt-llanelli-and-oxwich-bay/","summary":"Welsh breakfast of oatcake with laver bread and leeks, bacon, cockles. WWT LLanelli: walked around the trails and saw lots of ducks, Heron, Spoonbills, etc. While we were having lunch in the WWT cafe it started raining, and continued to rain until we got to the car park at Oxwich Bay. We went down to … Read more “Friday: WWT Llanelli and Oxwich Bay”","title":"Friday: WWT Llanelli and Oxwich Bay"},{"content":"Lots of traffic up to Cardiff, but clear after. Through Swansea and then, at the Gower Heritage Centre, we took a narrow lane for a mile up through the woods. At the top of the hill was park land and Parc le Breos country house hotel. We pushed open the heavy oak door and dinged the bell on the sideboard.\nFriendly staff – the barman came from Berkeley, so we chatted about that for a bit. Food OK.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/10/18/thursday-drive-to-gower/","summary":"Lots of traffic up to Cardiff, but clear after. Through Swansea and then, at the Gower Heritage Centre, we took a narrow lane for a mile up through the woods. At the top of the hill was park land and Parc le Breos country house hotel. We pushed open the heavy oak door and dinged … Read more “Thursday: drive to Gower”","title":"Thursday: drive to Gower"},{"content":"Nant Ddu Lodge was disappointing, so last night we booked one night at Peterstone Court, 20 minutes drive away, where we’ve stayed before. We checked out of Nant Ddu and as there was no duty manager present we’d have to contact them separately to get a refund for our second night. Never mind, it was good to be out of that dump.\nWe went to the Garwnant Visitor Centre and walked around the trails by the river and through the woods. Saw Redstart, Bullfinch, etc.\nGoldfinches Jay In the woods Bulfinch We had lunch in the cafe, chips and salad. Then we went 10 minutes up the road and parked in the lay-by at Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. We walked up the path for a mile or so and then just sat for an hour in the sunshine. We had a nice view of a Whinchat, singing in a small Birch tree.\nWatching the Whinchat Bluebells, Pen y Fan in the background Then we went to Peterstone Court where we can’t quite believe how large and luxurious and immaculate our room is, and the bar is quiet and the beer is nice and the whole place is very classy. (And somehow, it’s cheaper then Nant Ddu Lodge.)\nLovely meal.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/12/sunday-nice-day-much-nicer-hotel/","summary":"Nant Ddu Lodge was disappointing, so last night we booked one night at Peterstone Court, 20 minutes drive away, where we’ve stayed before. We checked out of Nant Ddu and as there was no duty manager present we’d have to contact them separately to get a refund for our second night. Never mind, it was … Read more “Sunday: nice day, much nicer hotel”","title":"Sunday: nice day, much nicer hotel"},{"content":"We left the cottage and went to Plas Glyn y Weddw (where we’d been on Wednesday and had had a coffee and seen the tin man sculpture).\nLeaving Nefyn We had a look round the gallery and had a coffee. Then we drove through picturesque sunlit Snowdonia and Cambrian Mountains to Llanidloes, where we had Welsh Rarebit for lunch in a tea shop. Had a look round the town then headed off. Just before Rhayader we passed a sign for Gilfach Farm nature reserve. We doubled back, and walked up the valley along the Afon Marteg. There was a hide, from where we watched a Dipper and Tree Creepers and a Nuthatch, and Pied Flycatchers coming in and out of a nest box.\nPied Flycatcher Hide Nuthatch Further on, at the old farm buildings, we saw a Redstart, Garden Warblers, Bullfinches.\nRedstart Robin Back through the woods We drove to the Nant Ddu Lodge, about an hour down the road. It wasn’t very good so we made a booking for Peterstone Court for tomorrow night. More on this tomorrow.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/11/saturday-drive-to-brecon-beacons/","summary":"We left the cottage and went to Plas Glyn y Weddw (where we’d been on Wednesday and had had a coffee and seen the tin man sculpture). We had a look round the gallery and had a coffee. Then we drove through picturesque sunlit Snowdonia and Cambrian Mountains to Llanidloes, where we had Welsh Rarebit … Read more “Saturday: drive to Brecon Beacons”","title":"Saturday: drive to Brecon Beacons"},{"content":" Nearly 12 miles We set off from the cottage following the first section of the “Mariners’ Trail” which connects Nefyn with Abersoch. We walked through fields and quiet lanes.\nFields In one place, alongside a stream, it was very muddy.\nMud Mud We saw a Sparrowhawk. We stopped to watch and listen to a Sedge Warbler singing.\nSedge Warbler We joined the coast path at Bryn Gwydd.\nSpring Squill We walked around the edge of the golf course out to the lookout station at Trwyn Porth Dinllaen. J put some coins in the collection box at the lookout station and the sound alerted the volunteer lookout upstairs, who then invited us up. We climbed up the steep ladder to the lookout room, where there was a chart and some electronic navigation equipment. The volunteer, in her seventies, told us about how the lookouts were organised and the activities with the lifeboat that morning. She seemed to enjoy having some company.\nThe lookout station We went down a narrow path and followed it around the headland past the modern lifeboat station, the path clinging to the side of the cliff not much above sea level.\nThen we arrived at Porth Dinllaen and the Ty Coch Inn.\nThe pub from above In the pub Outside the pub The only way to access the pub is on foot (Porthdinllaen vehicles are for residents only), and it’s a 20-minute walk from the golf club car park. A nice pub, good lunch and beer.\nAfter lunch we walked across the beach and then rejoined the cliff path for a bit, then down onto the beach again.\nRusty boat On the beach On the beach Coast path ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/10/friday-a-nice-walk/","summary":"We set off from the cottage following the first section of the “Mariners’ Trail” which connects Nefyn with Abersoch. We walked through fields and quiet lanes. In one place, alongside a stream, it was very muddy. We saw a Sparrowhawk. We stopped to watch and listen to a Sedge Warbler singing. We joined the coast … Read more “Friday: a nice walk”","title":"Friday: a nice walk"},{"content":"First thing, we drove 20 minutes to Porth Ysgaden. A rough bumpy track for half a km then space to park at the top of the bay. R went snorkelling. Not great visibility but fun, and one big spider crab.\nThen we walked along the coast path. Lots of sheep. We watched some Sandwich Terns diving into the sea.\nOn the coast path There were some Sand Martins.\nSand Martin We had lunch in the Lion Hotel at Tudweiliog, with a pint of elderflower beer. Then back across the fields and we drove half an hour up the road and parked in a lay-by on the B4417. We followed the footpath up the hill to the Tre’r Ceiri Iron Age hill fort.\nIt was hot and steep and involved scrambling over scree. We saw Ravens close-by and heard Choughs calling and a distant Cuckoo. The views from the top were pretty stunning. Iron age stonework is still present in the encircling wall and inside the fort. You can see the walls of round houses which would have had turf roofs. 2000 years old.\nTre’r Ceiri Back at Nefyn we walked down to the sea front and looked at the huge sandy beach.\nOne side of Nefyn beach We walked back via the shop, where we got some lamb chops for tea.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/09/thursday-a-snorkel-a-walk-a-climb/","summary":"First thing, we drove 20 minutes to Porth Ysgaden. A rough bumpy track for half a km then space to park at the top of the bay. R went snorkelling. Not great visibility but fun, and one big spider crab. Then we walked along the coast path. Lots of sheep. We watched some Sandwich Terns … Read more “Thursday: a snorkel, a walk, a climb”","title":"Thursday: a snorkel, a walk, a climb"},{"content":"We were a bit sad to leave the Ship at Aberdaron. Proprietor Alun was an excellent chap. He’s 52 and having taken over running the hotel from his mother in 1992 he’s the last of the line. A small, uncomfortable bed and a toilet cistern that leaked continuously, but still, a great place to stay for a few days.\nWe set off to look for Choughs at Mynydd Mawr, but en route it was apparent that the top of the hill was shrouded in cloud, so we decided to head towards Abersoch where we had a table booked for lunch at 1pm. Cows held us up.\nCows Having time to spare, we went past Abersoch to Llanbedrog and walked up Mynydd Tir-y-Cwmwd. On the way up was an Arts Centre with some sculptures and an open air theatre.\nTheatrics There was a statue/sculpture high up. It’s the third instalment after the first, a ship’s figurehead installed in the 1920s was torched by vandals in the 1970s. A 1980s replacement rusted away.\nStatue On the path Further on, there was a trig point. Lots of Stonechats.\nTrig point On the way back we had a coffee at the arts centre cafe.\nCoffee at the cafe Abersoch had a harbour full of boats and a big beach and lots of the kind of shops selling inessentials that you find in up-market coastal resorts.\nAbersoch We went to the Potted Lobster for lunch, hoping for lobster and chips. Lobster was off. Never mind, ordered dressed crab. Turned out crab was off too. Moules marinieres was disappointing and over-priced.\nWe went to Asda at Pwllheli to get some supplies for the next three days of self-catering. On the way to Nefyn we had a call from Alaw, owner of our self-catering cottage. She said the immersion heater was broken and the electrician may be there when we arrived. So to buy some time we did a bit of a diversion to check out a potential snorkelling site at Porth Ysgaden. Looked good.\nAt the cottage – an old thick-walled mid-terrace half way up a hill out of Nefyn – Alaw and the electrician were there. After we’d unloaded our stuff from the car the heater had been fixed. Hot water is working. Cottage is nice. Had dinner. Got some Welsh whisky in Asda. Very nice.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/08/wednesday-aberdaron-to-nefyn/","summary":"We were a bit sad to leave the Ship at Aberdaron. Proprietor Alun was an excellent chap. He’s 52 and having taken over running the hotel from his mother in 1992 he’s the last of the line. A small, uncomfortable bed and a toilet cistern that leaked continuously, but still, a great place to stay … Read more “Wednesday: Aberdaron to Nefyn”","title":"Wednesday: Aberdaron to Nefyn"},{"content":"Last night we messaged Colin via Whatsapp to book the 12:30 ferry crossing to Bardsey Island. After breakfast, we went to the Spar and bought lunch (pork pie, crisps, apple). The we drove ten minutes to the Whistling Sands at Porthor, on the north coast.\nThe bay was deserted apart from a lone fisherman on the rocks.\nPorthor The sands make a squeaking sound when you walk on them. Apparently there’s only one other place in Europe where this happens. It’s due to the shear stress on the grains of sand.\nThere were lots of Mermaid’s Purses on the tide line.\nMermaid’s Purse There was a Sedge Warbler at the car park, nice view, in the reeds.\nThen we drove up to Porth Colman and walked along the coast path for a bit before heading to the car park at the top of the lane at Porth Meudwy.\nWe walked down the lane ten minutes to the small cove we’d passed through on our walk yesterday. When Colin arrived we got on the boat, sat on a trolley on the beach. The boat could take twelve people max and there were eleven of us. We waited until 12:30 for Lucy, who had booked, but she didn’t turn up. Colin thought that was odd as Lucy was a sensible name.\nColin towed the boat into the water with a rusty old tractor, then clambered back onto the boat.\nPorth Meudwy Boat Among the people in the boat were two Dutch birdwatchers, two Panamanian women and a young RSPB staff member, there with her mother, who worked at exotic-sounding island locations in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.\nWe stopped for a bit at the eastern edge of Bardsey Island to look at the Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Kittiwakes, etc, up on the cliffs and in the water.\nBirds Razorbills Then we docked and a tractor pulled us up the slipway and we disembarked.\nWe walked out around the lighthouse.\nLighthouse Lots of Wheatears, Linnets, Oystercatchers, Whimbrel. And lots of seals.\nWheatear Whimbrel Grey Seal A friendly resident dog kept us company for a bit. It trotted ahead and kept checking back to make sure we were coming. When we stopped, the dog stopped.\nFriendly dog Then we walked up to the ruined abbey, once a destination for pilgrimages, and then round the western side of the island.\nAbbey We saw a couple of solitary Choughs (or one Chough, twice).\nBack near the boat, a Corncrake was calling from a patch of reeds. J glimpsed it flying (probably).\nAbout to board the boat back On the boat (with some Dutch people) Bardsey Island from the boat The table next to us at dinner had four Canadian couples celebrating a 60th birthday. They were staying in the restaurant-less gwesty across the road. After dinner we were sat in the bar and two of them came up to us separately to apologise for the noise they had been making, though it wasn’t loud and hadn’t bothered us at all. It was interesting to chat to each of them, though, about British Columbia and the weather, etc. They were going to Bardsey Island tomorrow.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/07/tuesday-bardsey-island-corncrake/","summary":"Last night we messaged Colin via Whatsapp to book the 12:30 ferry crossing to Bardsey Island. After breakfast, we went to the Spar and bought lunch (pork pie, crisps, apple). The we drove ten minutes to the Whistling Sands at Porthor, on the north coast. The bay was deserted apart from a lone fisherman on … Read more “Tuesday: Bardsey Island, Corncrake”","title":"Tuesday: Bardsey Island, Corncrake"},{"content":"At the car, putting our boots on, a man came over for a chat. He was doing the coast path and had done our planned route yesterday, said it was very nice, but he hadn’t seen any Choughs. He hadn’t seen any for years, he said. He went off to catch his bus to Llanengan, then walk the 10 miles back, then drive 4 hours back to Swansea tonight.\nWe walked along the coast path around the southern end of the Llyn peninsula.\nLooking back at Aberdaron We disturbed a nice big silvery-grey and black Adder basking in the sun in the path. It headed for cover in the bracken before we could get a photo. Further on there were some Common Lizards.\nCommon Lizard Linnet Three Red Kites were flying about, being bothered by a crow.\nCove Loads of flowers lined the path. Bluebells, Primroses, Red Campions, Vetch, some Early Purple Orchids.\nEarly Purple Orchid At the southern end of the peninsular at the headland called Pen y Cil we heard the sound of Choughs. A large flock was doing their thing, showing off by flying acrobatically about all over the place and also feeding in the fields. We sat and watched them for a while and they whizzed and cavorted past our heads swooping down from the hill behind.\nChoughs Choughs are hard to photograph We walked a bit further round the headland and saw Bardsey Island (destination for tomorrow).\nLooking at Bardsey Bardsey backdrop High up on the cliff was a pond full of frogspawn.\nPond We walked back inland and had lunch at a campsite cafe.\nContemplating soup After lunch, footpaths on the map didn’t seem to exist in the real world so we walked along a lane for a mile or two and then followed a footpath alongside a stream back to Aberdaron.\nOn the road An odd shelter By the stream About 8.5 miles.\nNice dinner: mussels, steak, lasagne, claret. Much quieter in Aberdaron tonight.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/06/monday-a-good-walk-with-choughs/","summary":"At the car, putting our boots on, a man came over for a chat. He was doing the coast path and had done our planned route yesterday, said it was very nice, but he hadn’t seen any Choughs. He hadn’t seen any for years, he said. He went off to catch his bus to Llanengan, … Read more “Monday: a good walk with Choughs”","title":"Monday: a good walk with Choughs"},{"content":"We checked out at 9am. A bright morning, the lake like a mirror from the balcony.\nMorning balcony view We drove to the northern edge of Lake Vyrnwy and then took a tiny road north through woods and valleys and spectacular mountain scenery. The sky was clear blue and had white woolly clouds and the surroundings were green and had white woolly sheep.\nSheep We were aiming to get to Porthmadog in time for the 10:40 mountain railway train to Blaenau Ffestiniog. We got to the station at around 10:25 but then had to find somewhere to park. We didn’t put enough money into the nearest short-stay meter and legged it to the station just in time to get on the train.\nLeaving Porthmadog The train ambled up through the mountains. There were enthusiasts with cameras at some of the stations on the way.\nIn the mountains At Blaenau Ffestiniog we had about 45 minutes to look around the town, which was surrounded by mountains and mounds of slate from earlier quarryings.\nBlaenau Ffestiniog Caffi Back on the train.\nSteam train On the train Train Back at Porthmadog we discovered we’d avoided a parking ticket, but set off sharpish nonetheless. Criccieth was busy so we carried on and stopped at Pwllheli. We parked at a small nature reserve car park just out of the town centre. We walked up the road alongside a reedbed and watched and listened to Reed Warblers singing to defend their territories.\nReed Warbler Then out around the harbour. Stonechats, Linnets, Shelducks, Heron, etc.\nStonechat At Aberdaron it was busy. We parked in the village car park by the sea. We checked into the Ship Hotel. Very friendly. The bar was busy, with people spilling out onto the street. We went out onto the sandy beach for a bit. Lots of people. Speaking Welsh. Small tattoos, colourful clothes, nylon dogs (something like that). Food was nice at the hotel.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/05/sunday-trains/","summary":"We checked out at 9am. A bright morning, the lake like a mirror from the balcony. We drove to the northern edge of Lake Vyrnwy and then took a tiny road north through woods and valleys and spectacular mountain scenery. The sky was clear blue and had white woolly clouds and the surroundings were green … Read more “Sunday: trains”","title":"Sunday: trains"},{"content":"We drove the mile to the car park at the southern end of Lake Vyrnwy. There was a hide with feeders and flocks of Siskins and assorted other small birds.\nSiskin squabble Siskin We walked the ‘blue’ trail through mixed woodland and only got slightly lost.\nWalking We saw a Tree Pipit for the first time.\nTree Pipit (exciting) Scenery selfie Back at the reservoir dam we had a coffee and then walked up the road alongside the lake. We stopped to watch Pied Flycatchers and Goldcrests.\nWe heard a Redstart (identified with the Merlin app) but didn’t spot it.\nA mile up the road and back, then we drove to the northern end of the lake and followed the tumbling river upstream to the waterfalls. We had to cross on stepping stones.\nRiver crossing Torrent A bit further round the lake we parked and walked through Bluebell woods to a lakeside hide. We stopped for a bit and watched Pied Flycatchers going to and fro from a nest box.\nBluebells Pied Flycatcher at nest box Next stop, having nearly circumnavigated the lake, was the “giant hand”.\nGiant hand 33 bird species today, some only heard and not seen: Cuckoo, Wood Warbler, Garden Warbler, Redstart.\nDrink in the bar, There’s lots of taxidermy, in various states of disrepair, on the walls. A glass-fronted case contains a fascinating collection of all of the shotgun cartridges.\nTaxidermy Nice dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/04/saturday-lake-vyrnwy/","summary":"We drove the mile to the car park at the southern end of Lake Vyrnwy. There was a hide with feeders and flocks of Siskins and assorted other small birds. We walked the ‘blue’ trail through mixed woodland and only got slightly lost. We saw a Tree Pipit for the first time. Back at the … Read more “Saturday: Lake Vyrnwy”","title":"Saturday: Lake Vyrnwy"},{"content":"Up the M5 to Gloucester then along winding A- and B- roads through the scenic Shropshire hills to Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. We explored the grounds and walked down a track to a chapel. Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush. Heard woodpeckers laughing and a distant cuckoo.\nOur comfortable room has a balcony overlooking the woods and lake.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/05/04/friday-drive-to-lake-vyrnwy/","summary":"Up the M5 to Gloucester then along winding A- and B- roads through the scenic Shropshire hills to Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. We explored the grounds and walked down a track to a chapel. Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush. Heard woodpeckers laughing and a distant cuckoo. Our comfortable room has a balcony overlooking the woods and lake.","title":"Friday: drive to Lake Vyrnwy"},{"content":" Route We set off up Holford Combe, crossing the stream several times.\nHolford Combe Hippy At the top of the combe we climbed up to Dowsborough Fort. The woods were damp. Birds were singing. Oak trees were packed together, trunks cork-screwing up towards the daylight.\nOaks According to local oddball folklorist and song “collector” Ruth Tongue, Dowsborough was a lookout camp that was taken over by Danish invaders. The Danes pillaged local villages, stealing their women. One fateful day, though, the women turned on the Danes and attacked them while they were feasting. There was a great massacre. The only survivor was a small Danish boy. Today, apparently, at Dowsborough Fort you can still hear the sounds of the feast and the massacre and the plaintive lonely song of the Danish boy.\nWe didn’t see or hear any ghosts.\nLichen We walked through the woods a bit more, then down through some fields to Nether Stowey.\nWoods Hinkley Point in the distance We went up to Nether Stowey Castle.\nNether Stowey Castle We had lunch in the Ancient Mariner pub, opposite a house where Samuel Taylor Coleridge had lived. Pint of Jail Ale, baguette with cheese and onion and chips, nothing special.\nColeridge’s house Back across fields and down quiet lanes. We saw some Red Deer, lots of Redwings.\nMuddy field Stopped at the Plough in Holford for a pint/coffee, and then as it was only 3:15pm we walked a bit further up into Holford Keating nature reserve, the path following the river high up the side of its steep-sided wooded valley.\nThen back to the hotel. We finally got a bit damp, having escaped the forecasted showers for most of the day.\nBack at the hotel ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/03/09/saturday-haunted-castle-walk/","summary":"We set off up Holford Combe, crossing the stream several times. At the top of the combe we climbed up to Dowsborough Fort. The woods were damp. Birds were singing. Oak trees were packed together, trunks cork-screwing up towards the daylight. According to local oddball folklorist and song “collector” Ruth Tongue, Dowsborough was a lookout … Read more “Saturday: haunted castle walk”","title":"Saturday: haunted castle walk"},{"content":"We stopped at Steart Marshes on the way to Holford. No Spoonbills this time, just the usual ducks, etc.\nWe went in a couple of the hides and then did the 4km loop.\nin a hide by the river It was windy on the bank of the Parrett river. The wind made the pylons hum. The note they hummed was B-flat.\npylons pylons pylon Then a 20-minute drive to the Combe House Hotel.\nDrink, dinner, bottle of wine, nice.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/03/08/friday-the-usual-ducks/","summary":"We stopped at Steart Marshes on the way to Holford. No Spoonbills this time, just the usual ducks, etc. We went in a couple of the hides and then did the 4km loop. It was windy on the bank of the Parrett river. The wind made the pylons hum. The note they hummed was B-flat. … Read more “Friday: the usual ducks”","title":"Friday: the usual ducks"},{"content":"On Christmas Eve (Sunday) we stopped at Stroud, en route to the Malverns, to experience the carols at the Prince Albert pub. For 23 years they’ve been singing traditional carols in the pub on every Sunday in December. It was quiet when we arrived at about 12pm, but it soon got very busy. We were going to get lunch in the pub, but in the end it was too busy, and we were too engrossed in singing the carols. There were three singing sessions of about half an hour each, with the songs for each session put up on a chalk board. The pub website has the song music and words as a download, with the song numbers, so we’d come prepared.\nIt was great. Few hundred people singing in harmony, a piano player doing the intros and instrumental breaks. It was good to see some of our friends there. Jan S was there when we arrived. Also Cathy B, and Sid G. And Sam S was there too. And Jeff G.\nWhen the carols had finished Jan S offered to give us lunch so we went back to her house and had welcome cheese and biscuits and coffee.\nThen we drove to the Cottage in the Wood hotel, just south of Malvern.\nNice hotel, nice food.\nOn Christmas Day, after breakfast, we walked up the hill from the hotel to Worcestershire Beacon. Weather was fine, luckily, given the recent persistent rain. Down the hill and we found a pub in Malvern for a pint, then back to the hotel for a late Christmas lunch.\nOn Boxing Day we drove to the car park on the southern edge of the hills and walked up to British Camp, an old hill fort,\nViews were good, we could see Pen y Fan and the Black Mountains in the distance. We did a circular route and had lunch in a the Yew Tree Inn at Colwall.\nIt was quite muddy.\nAbout 7-8 miles each day.\nBack at the hotel for a nice dinner. After dinner we played scrabble and D won twice, to everyone’s surprise. Maybe he’ll be more inclined to play in future.\nWe’d go there again.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2024/01/01/christmas-2023/","summary":"On Christmas Eve (Sunday) we stopped at Stroud, en route to the Malverns, to experience the carols at the Prince Albert pub. For 23 years they’ve been singing traditional carols in the pub on every Sunday in December. It was quiet when we arrived at about 12pm, but it soon got very busy. We were … Read more “Christmas 2023”","title":"Christmas 2023"},{"content":"In the morning, rain being forecast, we went to the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury. It was quite interesting.\nMuseum Museum 2 Ouch Farmer with no arms Old hats We drove to the Avalon Marshes centre and got lunch from the cafe there, then spent the afternoon at Shapwick Heath reserve. Lots of Marsh Harriers. A Kingfisher. Swans and ducks.\nDucks Marsh Harrier Swans Hide Then we went across the road to Ham Wall and had great views of a Starling murmuration.\nStarlings Starlings ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/11/04/saturday-starlings/","summary":"In the morning, rain being forecast, we went to the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury. It was quite interesting. We drove to the Avalon Marshes centre and got lunch from the cafe there, then spent the afternoon at Shapwick Heath reserve. Lots of Marsh Harriers. A Kingfisher. Swans and ducks. Then we went across … Read more “Saturday: Starlings”","title":"Saturday: Starlings"},{"content":" We drove to Shapwick Heath reserve car park. The plan was to do a circular route including lunch at Glastonbury and back through Ham Wall reserve, but the fields alongside the road were so flooded we decided to change the plan. We walked through Ham Wall reserve along the raised path.\nSome of the reserve trails were under water.\nWet walk Birds seen included Snipe, Marsh Harriers, Peregrine Falcon, the usual ducks. Exiting the reserve, we started down a footpath but two dayglo-jacketed old cyclists in succession, one riding one-handed and brandishing a saw in the other hand, warned us that the path ahead was blocked by fallen trees and flood-water deeper than they’d ever known. (They were each, apparently, lucky to be alive.) So we took the road instead.\nIt rained a bit In places the road was flooded. We walked past peat works and came into Glastonbury through a timber yard and scrap merchant.\nIn Glastonbury we stopped for a coffee, then went up the Tor.\nTowards the Tor Towards the Tor Two Climbing Tor View We had a nice lunch in an ancient hostelry and then returned back the way we came.\nTwo different approaches to traversing the flood:\nPheasant schnitzel for dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/11/03/friday-waterblog/","summary":"We drove to Shapwick Heath reserve car park. The plan was to do a circular route including lunch at Glastonbury and back through Ham Wall reserve, but the fields alongside the road were so flooded we decided to change the plan. We walked through Ham Wall reserve along the raised path. Some of the reserve … Read more “Friday: waterblog”","title":"Friday: waterblog"},{"content":"Nice pub, great food.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/11/02/thursday-drove-to-the-lion-at-west-pennard/","summary":"Nice pub, great food.","title":"Thursday: drove to The Lion at West Pennard"},{"content":"We set off unusually early, having got into a habit of rising late. It was just after 8am when we left Goathland.\nLuggage in wheelbarrow We got to Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park around 12:30 and had lunch in the cafe and then had a look around the “Making Mischief Folk Costume in Britain” exhibition. It was interesting.\nCompton Verney Exhibition Mari Llywds and Minehead Hobby Horse Exhibition Got home just after 5pm. Total number of bird species seen: 111. Miles driven: 1100.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/26/friday-drive-home-and-compton-verney-exhibition/","summary":"We set off unusually early, having got into a habit of rising late. It was just after 8am when we left Goathland. We got to Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park around 12:30 and had lunch in the cafe and then had a look around the “Making Mischief Folk Costume in Britain” exhibition. It was … Read more “Friday: drive home and Compton Verney exhibition”","title":"Friday: drive home and Compton Verney exhibition"},{"content":" Route: just over 6 miles (phone gets it wrong) We parked near the old railway station at Cloughton and walked along the disused railway line for a bit, then went along the coast path.\nRailway line Coast path Some birds: Yellowhammer.\nYellowhammer Then down through the woods to the waterfall at Hayburn Wyke.\nWoods Waterfall Had lunch on the beach, nice left-over pie from Tuesday. That’s pies for lunch three days in a row.\nLovely pie by the sea We went back up through the woods and got slightly lost, then we had a coffee at the Hayburn Wyke Inn. We took the footpath rather than the railway track back, walking through meadows and coming across a pool that wasn’t on the OS map.\nMeadows Pool, with geese and ducks Chiffchaffs and Chaffinches were making a right din, we saw Long-tailed Tits and Bullfinches and a bit further on we sat for half an hour and watched Great Tits coming to and from their nest hole in an old tree stump.\nLong-tailed Tit Great Tit We drove back. Approaching the front door we came across a family of Tree-Creepers, four young and the adults coming to and fro to feed them.\nTree-creeper (baby) Young Tree-creepers We packed some stuff up and then walked the half-mile to the Homestead Kitchen for another very nice meal.\nCurlew calling on the way out.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/25/thursday-walk-with-waterfall-and-pies-also-tree-creepers/","summary":"We parked near the old railway station at Cloughton and walked along the disused railway line for a bit, then went along the coast path. Some birds: Yellowhammer. Then down through the woods to the waterfall at Hayburn Wyke. Had lunch on the beach, nice left-over pie from Tuesday. That’s pies for lunch three days … Read more “Thursday: walk with waterfall and pies, also Tree-creepers”","title":"Thursday: walk with waterfall and pies, also Tree-creepers"},{"content":" Route, about 9 miles We set off from here and stopped at the Mallyan Spout hotel for coffee, then went down the steep path to the waterfall.\nWaterfall We walked alongside the river until we came to a sign which directed us up onto the moor, as the path we intended to follow was suffering from erosion.\nRed-and-Black Frog-hoppers The moor gave way to upland sheep farming fields,\nLambs We had good views of Curlews making a right racket, they must have had young nearby.\nCurlew We descended through some woodland\nWoodland Woodland and across the river to the Birch Hall Inn, where we had two nice pints of local brew Bekswatter / lime and soda and 3 pork pies and a packet of crisps for lunch. Very nice.\nPies The pub was next to and part of the village stores. The bar room was tiny, with service from a small hatch. We sat in the garden out the back next to the river.\nBirch Hall Inn Back at Goathland we did another short loop and saw another Curlew. Back at Goathland again we went to the tea shop, which sold beer, unlike many lesser examples of its type.\nTea shop Goathland Village Green Gate 1 coming into our place Gate 2 There was some evening Barn Owl Activity.\nBarn Owl ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/24/wednesday-walking-with-curlews/","summary":"We set off from here and stopped at the Mallyan Spout hotel for coffee, then went down the steep path to the waterfall. We walked alongside the river until we came to a sign which directed us up onto the moor, as the path we intended to follow was suffering from erosion. The moor gave … Read more “Wednesday: walking with Curlews”","title":"Wednesday: walking with Curlews"},{"content":"We drove to Jugger Howe on Fylingdales Moor, the walk we’d aborted a couple of days ago. We followed the path up across the moor following a track laid down by the military in WW2 – they used this area for practice – and down into a valley where there was small tree-lined stream.\nSkylark Down the hill to the stream Over the stream and up the hill and across the moor opposite, then back the same way. Lots of Tiger Beetles and some Common Lizards.\nCommon Lizard We walked alongside the stream for a bit. There was a Whinchat.\nWhinchat We had half of a nice layered pie for lunch (bought at the butchers yesterday) on top of the moor.\nWe saw a Snipe.\nSnipe In the afternoon we drove to Ravenscar on the coast. Nice sea views across to Robin Hood’s Bay.\nNice sea view We did a short loop taking in the remains of the alum works, a pond with Newts and came back along an old railway line.\nPond with Newts Newt After dinner we walked down to the Barn Owl box and sat by the pond and watched the Barn Owl coming and going.\nBarn Owl box is in the tree Barn Owl plus one ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/23/tuesday-moors-sea-lizards/","summary":"We drove to Jugger Howe on Fylingdales Moor, the walk we’d aborted a couple of days ago. We followed the path up across the moor following a track laid down by the military in WW2 – they used this area for practice – and down into a valley where there was small tree-lined stream. Over … Read more “Tuesday: moors, sea, Lizards”","title":"Tuesday: moors, sea, Lizards"},{"content":"On the way out we startled a deer in the herb garden. It scampered around for a bit and then jumped over the gate.\nStartled deer We went to Whitby. Parked at the Abbey car park. It was £14 (each) to get in to see a building which didn’t even have a roof so we had a look around the outside and then went down the steps into the town.\nThe abbey, from the churchyard Down the steps (199 of them) Mostly tat all around. Shops selling jet and rock and fish and chips.\nSculpture Top quality tat Good lunch, though: crab salad and chips at The Fisherman’s Wife.\nLunch We went to see the whalebone arch and the Captain Cook statue.\nWhalebone arch We bought some Halibut for dinner at the fishmonger.\nWe walked along the cliffs, sheer drops, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes and Fulmars flying up.\nJ went back to the tea rooms and R went on to Saltwick Bay. Fossils in the slate. Stonechats.\nSaltwick Bay We stopped at the butchers at Sleights on the way back and bought a large pie and some stuff for dinner later in the week.\nHalibut was nice.\nOn the way to the pond, Clare was approaching with a hypodermic syringe and Chris was standing next to a fat ewe ready to give birth. Antibiotics were needed, it seemed.\nBarn Owl came out again.\nBarn Owl Barn Owl with snack On the way back the ewe was with her new lamb.\nEwe with lamb ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/23/monday-whitby/","summary":"On the way out we startled a deer in the herb garden. It scampered around for a bit and then jumped over the gate. We went to Whitby. Parked at the Abbey car park. It was £14 (each) to get in to see a building which didn’t even have a roof so we had a … Read more “Monday: Whitby”","title":"Monday: Whitby"},{"content":"We made sandwiches and drove to the raptor viewpoint at Highwood Brow at the south end of the North York Moors. A 5 minute walk from the car park through the trees brought us to a ridge with two wooden benches.\nWykeham Forest There were a couple of birders set up for the day there with scopes and camp chairs. They were hoping to spot the first Honey Buzzards of the year, but there were only Common Buzzards to be seen thus far. Five Crossbills had been over earlier. We said we were hoping to see some Turtle Doves. For sure, some years ago our man had seen a few in the garden of pub whose name he couldn’t remember in a nearby village whose name he couldn’t remember. One option would have been to visit all of the pubs in the area, but we didn’t do that.\nTree Pipit? We walked along the road as far as a Forestry Commission tree nursery, but no Turtle Doves.\nLunch spot We ate our lunch on bench at another overlook and then drove to Hackness village and parked next to the bridge. We walked along the river for a bit, saw Grey and Pied Wagtails, Kestrel, possible Peregrine.\nPied Wagtail Then on the way back we stopped at the car park at Jugger Howe on Fylingdale moor. We walked down the trail for a bit but decided the whole loop was too far for today, so went to the Spar shop at Sleights to get some provisions for dinner.\nAfter dinner we walked down to the bench next to the pond and watched the Barn Owl box in the field opposite. The Barn Owl appeared.\nBarn Owl in tree Barn Owl in flight ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/22/sunday-barn-owl/","summary":"We made sandwiches and drove to the raptor viewpoint at Highwood Brow at the south end of the North York Moors. A 5 minute walk from the car park through the trees brought us to a ridge with two wooden benches. There were a couple of birders set up for the day there with scopes … Read more “Sunday: Barn Owl”","title":"Sunday: Barn Owl"},{"content":" Walk: just over 10 miles We walked into Goathland village and across the railway line.\nGoathland Station Our route followed the railway line pretty closely and we heard steam trains chuffing and hooting while we walked.\nOn the moor we saw a Common Lizard. Curlews were calling and flying about.\nOn the moor Tiger Beetle Wild Garlic Oak tree Oak Apple Photographing an Orchid At Grosmont there was a bustle of activity with lots of people watching the steam and diesel trains.\nSteam train We had lunch in a cafe next to the railway line.\nSteam train Lunch After lunch we saw a Dipper and a Red Deer jumped over a gate.\nDeer Dippers There was a small Slow Worm.\nSlow Worm We went back past the Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole, supposedly (one of many of) the smallest pub(s) in England, hoping for a pint, but it was shut. So we went to the Mallyan Spout Hotel in Goathland and had a pint there sat outside.\nIn the evening we went for dinner at The Homestead Kitchen in the village. Smoked Eel, Asparagus, Pork, Souffle, all very good and unexpectedly posh and expensive. We’ve booked to go back on Thursday.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/20/saturday-nice-walk/","summary":"We walked into Goathland village and across the railway line. Our route followed the railway line pretty closely and we heard steam trains chuffing and hooting while we walked. On the moor we saw a Common Lizard. Curlews were calling and flying about. At Grosmont there was a bustle of activity with lots of people … Read more “Saturday: nice walk”","title":"Saturday: nice walk"},{"content":"We went to Scarborough and climbed up to the castle walls.\nCastle Then came across Anne Bronte’s grave (d. 1849, aged 29) in the churchyard.\nThe grave of Anne Bronte We looked around the town, Victorian grandeur and a lot of tat, but not too shabby, had a coffee, spent a while in a labyrinthine second-hand bookshop and then wandered along the beach in front of the ranks of amusement arcades and candy-floss sellers.\nDown to the beach, Victorian tram to the right Scarborough beach We drove towards Robin Hood’s Bay, and just before we got there we stopped for a sandwich at the Fylingdales Inn at Fylingthorpe.\nRobin Hood’s Bay was steep streets and narrow alleys down to the sea. It was high tide, so no beach.\nRobin Hood’s Bay There were a few walkers about. It’s the end point for the 190-mile Wainwright Coast-to-Coast walking route. A couple arrived while we were reading an info board about the walk, having just finished the walk in 12 days. They asked us to take a photo of them next to the board. It was hard work, they said, especially the 26-mile day, and the boring bits over the moor.\nRobin Hood’s Bay To the Sainsbury’s at Whitby for supplies, then to our self-catering place. Met by Clare, who showed us around, and then Chris. Wheel barrow to carry our stuff from the car up the path through the herb garden. It’s very nice, immaculately done-out, on the edge of a farm about half a mile from Goathland village. Herb garden provided Marjoram for dinner. There’s a Barn Owl who might be out later. And deer.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/19/friday-seaside-towns-and-villages/","summary":"We went to Scarborough and climbed up to the castle walls. Then came across Anne Bronte’s grave (d. 1849, aged 29) in the churchyard. We looked around the town, Victorian grandeur and a lot of tat, but not too shabby, had a coffee, spent a while in a labyrinthine second-hand bookshop and then wandered along … Read more “Friday: seaside towns and villages”","title":"Friday: seaside towns and villages"},{"content":"Breakfast took ages, but eventually we made it to Flamborough Head Light House car park. We walked along the cliffs and looked at the teeming hordes of Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes. Dolphins were jumping about out at sea.,\nGuillemots Guillemots Dolphins Clifftop meadow Pipit We drove to the Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve. It was busy, we had to park in the second overflow car park. Tree Sparrows on the way to the visitor centre, where we bought sandwiches for lunch.\nTree Sparrow Then out on the cliffs for lots of Gannets, Guillemots, Razorbills, a few Puffins.\nGannets On the clifftop Gannet Puffin There was excitement among some of the birdwatchers on the cliff as they’d recently seen a Peregrine Falcon catch a Puffin in flight. The female Peregrine was now perched on the cliff.\nPeregrine Falcon Herring Gull with Guillemot egg On the way back we stopped at Filey Dams reserve. We drove through a bungalow estate and stopped in the small car park. A big pond with three hides. More bird boxes than anywhere else in the world. Heron, Geese, Ducks, divers water fowl, Tree Sparrows, LT Tits.\nHeron Back at the hotel the portly proprietor came to take our dinner order, after a long chat, and revealed that he’d received fresh crabs and lobster today. The young waitress, though apparently happy to eat a burger at MacDonalds, didn’t like the thought of cooking the lobsters which were still “wriggling under a towel” in the fridge. We’ been dreading dinner, assuming it would be a rehash of last night’s disappointing menu, but he made us crab thermidor followed by two whole lobsters with salad and boiled potatoes. Delicious. We were the only people in the restaurant. We had control of the music in the dining room by shouting “Alexa, play …” to the Alexa in the corner.\nDining room, no one else here Nice Lobster ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/19/thursday-birds-birds-birds-birds/","summary":"Breakfast took ages, but eventually we made it to Flamborough Head Light House car park. We walked along the cliffs and looked at the teeming hordes of Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes. Dolphins were jumping about out at sea., We drove to the Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve. It was busy, we had to park in the second … Read more “Thursday: birds birds birds birds”","title":"Thursday: birds birds birds birds"},{"content":"Mostly driving today. We left The Eel’s Foot a bit after 9am.\nEel’s Foot at breakfast Stopped for lunch at Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre cafe, just north of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Looked around Caistor after lunch. That took about 5 minutes.\nAround 4:30pm we arrived at Bridlington, thinking to have a walk along the sea front before carrying on to the hotel in Hunmanby, near Filey. Bridlington is a working harbour and the biggest Lobster-landing fishery in Europe.\nBoat returning The quayside was lined with hot-dog sellers, burger bars and seafood stalls (mussels, cockles, whelks, crab claws, fish and chips).\nJust off the quay a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins were leaping about.\nDolphin Watching Dolphins Good Time Emporium Twenty minutes later, after ringing the reception bell, we were checked into the Wrangham House hotel by the jovial proprietor, a portly Belgian wearing shorts, an apron and compression socks.\nThe hotel is a grand old vicarage. There’s a four-poster bed.\nDinner was a bit old-fashioned and the service was comically bad with three failed attempts to order a bottle from the wine list, the first two of which proved to be unavailable, and third successful in that the waiter arrived with a choice of two bottles, one our second choice and one our third.\nLounge After dinner in the lounge the proprietor, who had been on his own all day, regaled us for at least half an hour. We learned all sorts about his life, his family, his staff, his old gardener who’d left before his own retirement do, about running an hotel business in these difficult times, and about his new neighbour (whose wife liked to sunbathe) who had poisoned two trees on the edge of his property by drilling holes in them and funnelling weedkiller in and also driving copper nails into the trunks, and how the trees had a preservation order on them and would now have to be felled, but he (the proprietor) had to ask for planning permission just to prune a branch, and the council wouldn’t do anything about any of it.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/17/wednesday-driving-with-dolphins/","summary":"Mostly driving today. We left The Eel’s Foot a bit after 9am. Stopped for lunch at Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre cafe, just north of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Looked around Caistor after lunch. That took about 5 minutes. Around 4:30pm we arrived at Bridlington, thinking to have a walk along the sea front before carrying … Read more “Wednesday: driving with Dolphins”","title":"Wednesday: driving with Dolphins"},{"content":"In lieu of today’s breakfast we’d opted last night for a packed lunch, which was delivered to our door in a cool box. Consequently, we were at Minsmere at 8am. We saw Red Deer from the Bittern hide, plus the usual Marsh Harriers and so on.\nRed Deer from hide We did the route to the Island Mere hide and on the way spotted a Tree Creeper coming in and out of its nest in a dead tree.\nTree Creeper at nest After a coffee at the visitor centre we drove to Westleton Heath in search of Dartford Warblers. A couple of Yorkshire gents at breakfast yesterday had recommended it as a good spot. We parked in the Wildlife Trust car park and walked around the heath and through the woods. A few fleeting glimpses of Dartford Warblers. Cuckoos calling. Several Kestrels.\nKestrel Westleton woods Ate lunch in the car, then back to Minsmere.\nWe walked out of the reserve and up to Dunwich Heath.\nOn the way to the heath Sea Kale and Sizewell B On the heath we had good views of a Dartford Warbler, Stonechats, Linnets.\nWarbler Back through the reserve. Lots of flies, plus all the usual birds.\nReed Warbler Stonechat A Bittern flew over, Bearded Tits flitting about, a Red Deer approached us up a cut in the reeds.\nRed Deer Squirrels.\nSquirrel ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/16/tuesday-mostly-minsmere/","summary":"In lieu of today’s breakfast we’d opted last night for a packed lunch, which was delivered to our door in a cool box. Consequently, we were at Minsmere at 8am. We saw Red Deer from the Bittern hide, plus the usual Marsh Harriers and so on. We did the route to the Island Mere hide … Read more “Tuesday: mostly Minsmere”","title":"Tuesday: mostly Minsmere"},{"content":"We did a good walk. Blustery north winds, very occasional light rain, sunny spells.\nWalk, phone got confused in the pub, it was 11.5 miles We followed an overgrown path alongside a drainage channel, lots of nettles and sedge and reed warblers all the way.\nOvergrown path Then across Westleton Heath.\nWestleton Heath, Sand Martin nest holes Westleton Heath Good lunch in the Ship Inn at Dunwich, a ploughman’s sharing platter that would have served four but we managed most of it.\nBig lunch Outside Dunwich we had a look at the ruins of Greyfriars Friary.\nThen across Dunwich Heath and through the woodlands on the edge of Minsmere reserve.\nRabbit Dinner in the pub, then walked along the lane. Bitterns booming, Nightjars calling, Cuckoos seen and heard, bats.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/15/monday-walk/","summary":"We did a good walk. Blustery north winds, very occasional light rain, sunny spells. We followed an overgrown path alongside a drainage channel, lots of nettles and sedge and reed warblers all the way. Then across Westleton Heath.   Good lunch in the Ship Inn at Dunwich, a ploughman’s sharing platter that would have served … Read more “Monday: walk”","title":"Monday: walk"},{"content":"Kippers for breakfast, then spent the day at Minsmere.\nKippers Lots of birds: Cuckoo, Bitterns, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harriers, Garden Warblers, Hobbys, etc.\nCuckoo Bearded Tit Bearded Tit Bittern In the hide Sand Martins Stonechat Hobby Crane Canopy hide Checked into the Eel’s Foot Inn.\nAfter dinner we walked down the lane. Bitterns booming, midges, bats.\nBat ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/14/sunday-minsmere/","summary":"Kippers for breakfast, then spent the day at Minsmere. Lots of birds: Cuckoo, Bitterns, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harriers, Garden Warblers, Hobbys, etc. Checked into the Eel’s Foot Inn. After dinner we walked down the lane. Bitterns booming, midges, bats.","title":"Sunday: Minsmere"},{"content":"We bought some food for lunch in Aldeburgh and then drove to Orford Quay and caught the 10am ferry, which we’d pre-booked, to Orford Ness.\nOn the ferry Orford Ness is an approximately 7-mile by 1-mile shingle spit, one of the largest in the world. It’s now owned by the National Trust, but for many years was used for military research. Radar was invented here and a lot of tests were done on bombs. Optimum bomb-drop strategies and trajectories were developed, and work was done on nuclear bomb detonators for vibration and temperature and humidity resilience to ensure the bombs didn’t explode in transit.\nThe place was teeming with birds, including: Spoonbill, Avocets on nests, Marsh Harrier, Lapwings, Linnets, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings.\nBrown-tail Moth caterpillars, derelict building Linnet on rusty cable We walked past wetland pools and across a transporter bridge to the vast expanse of shingle.\nDerelict bomb buildings Some of the derelict buildings were open. One building had information panels and another had exhibits.\nNuclear bomb Much of the work done here is still covered by the official secrets act so some of what went on is still a mystery.\nNo one who can tell about it knows what this structure was for Shingle The buildings where they tested the bomb detonators have thick tapered walls and weak roofs designed to funnel any blast upwards. Apparently there were no accidental detonations.\nBomb testing lab Bomb testing lab Inside the bomb testing lab Nice lunch Looking out of a window Careful Black tower Hares were loping about in the shingle.\nBrown Hare We got the ferry back\nFerry back We had a look around Orford. There was a nice castle.\nOrford castle Good dinner: sardines, aubergines, crab thermidor, lemon sole, cheese, bottle of Albarino.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/13/saturday-orford-ness/","summary":"We bought some food for lunch in Aldeburgh and then drove to Orford Quay and caught the 10am ferry, which we’d pre-booked, to Orford Ness. Orford Ness is an approximately 7-mile by 1-mile shingle spit, one of the largest in the world. It’s now owned by the National Trust, but for many years was used … Read more “Saturday: Orford Ness”","title":"Saturday: Orford Ness"},{"content":"We went back to Weeting Heath nature reserve first thing and watched the Stone Curlews and chicks again. Lapwings, normal Curlews, lots of Rabbits and Hares.\nStone Curlew A couple came into the hide with a telescope (“Birdwatching for 50 years, been coming here every year since before they built the hide, there’s a Cuckoo likes to sit in that tree, and a Little Owl…”) and we had good views of a Stone Curlew through their telescope.\nThen we went to Sutton Hoo. Overpriced and a little underwhelming. There were some Anglo Saxon burial mounds and a dimly-lit exhibition. Had lunch in the cafe.\nAnglo-Saxon burial mounds Then we drove to a small car park in the woods near Blaxhall Heath.\nThe heath We walked across the heath to the Blaxhall Ship pub, famous in traditional music circles.\n1955 video\nBlaxhall Ship The only other customer in the pub was on his phone when we arrived, but chatted to us after he’d finished his conversation. He did the sound for some of the bands that played in the pub. Tonight, we discovered after some enquiry with the barman, it’s Otter’s Pocket, a 6-piece jazz and blues outfit who will somehow squeeze into the small end of the pub. Some other, less memorable, chat ensued.\nBlaxhall Ship Blaxhall Ship At Aldeburgh we checked in to the Brudenell and then walked along the shingle beach, blustery wind and a high tide.\nBlustery beach Nice dinner of oysters, crab, hake, sole, cheese.\nOysters ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/12/friday-stone-curlews-2/","summary":"We went back to Weeting Heath nature reserve first thing and watched the Stone Curlews and chicks again. Lapwings, normal Curlews, lots of Rabbits and Hares. A couple came into the hide with a telescope (“Birdwatching for 50 years, been coming here every year since before they built the hide, there’s a Cuckoo likes to … Read more “Friday: Stone Curlews 2”","title":"Friday: Stone Curlews 2"},{"content":"We set off at 1pm and drove for 4 hours to Weeting Heath nature reserve in Norfolk, near the Suffolk border. We watched a distant pair of Stone Curlews with two chicks.\nWe walked through the woods for a bit, then checked in to the Crown and Mundford, a few miles down the road. Nice pint of Wherry, Sea Bass, bottle of Picpoul, not bad.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/05/12/thursday-stone-curlews-1/","summary":"We set off at 1pm and drove for 4 hours to Weeting Heath nature reserve in Norfolk, near the Suffolk border. We watched a distant pair of Stone Curlews with two chicks. We walked through the woods for a bit, then checked in to the Crown and Mundford, a few miles down the road. Nice … Read more “Thursday: Stone Curlews 1”","title":"Thursday: Stone Curlews 1"},{"content":" Walk, about 10 miles We did a similar walk to the walk we did when we last stayed here four years ago almost to the day. Up Gallox hill behind Dunster, but by a different route this time, through mixed woodland with birdsong, Squirrels, Roe Deer, Exmoor Ponies.\nTrees Hill On the top of the hill was Bat’s Castle, the remnants a 2000-year old settlement.\nCastle Bat’s Castle information panel Then down the other side of the hill through Withycombe\nand on to Blue Anchor, where we had sandwiches and a pint in the Smugglers Inn. J was recovering from a sprained ankle, so R went back along the beach for the car while J drank coffee in the pub and a cafe in Blue Anchor.\nBlue Anchor Sea Beet ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/02/18/walk-to-blue-anchor/","summary":"We did a similar walk to the walk we did when we last stayed here four years ago almost to the day. Up Gallox hill behind Dunster, but by a different route this time, through mixed woodland with birdsong, Squirrels, Roe Deer, Exmoor Ponies. On the top of the hill was Bat’s Castle, the remnants … Read more “Walk to Blue Anchor”","title":"Walk to Blue Anchor"},{"content":"We stopped at Steart Marshes WWT reserve on the way to Dunster.\nAt Steart Marshes Lots of birds, including Spoonbills.\nMostly Wigeon Spoonbills At Dunster we checked into the Luttrell Arms hotel (our third visit).\nDunster Dinner was nice.\nAperitif with lampshade ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2023/02/17/steart-spoonbills/","summary":"We stopped at Steart Marshes WWT reserve on the way to Dunster. Lots of birds, including Spoonbills. At Dunster we checked into the Luttrell Arms hotel (our third visit). Dinner was nice.","title":"Steart Spoonbills"},{"content":"At Cley we parked at the visitor centre and went over the boardwalks to the hides. Lots of ducks, waders, Avocets, Marsh Harriers.\nWigeon It was cold and bright and windy. On the beach, breakers were crashing into the shore.\nMan on the beach Blakeney Mill from Cley Marshes We had corn chouder for lunch in the busy visitor centre cafe.\nAfter lunch we went to Wells-Next-The-Sea. R and S walked along the beach and through the woods to Holkham while J and D, both suffering from a bad foot each, drove to Holkham.\nOn the way back to the hotel we stopped off at Brancaster beach for a quick look.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/12/26/monday-boxing-day-cley-marshes/","summary":"At Cley we parked at the visitor centre and went over the boardwalks to the hides. Lots of ducks, waders, Avocets, Marsh Harriers. It was cold and bright and windy. On the beach, breakers were crashing into the shore. We had corn chouder for lunch in the busy visitor centre cafe. After lunch we went … Read more “Monday, Boxing Day, Cley Marshes”","title":"Monday, Boxing Day, Cley Marshes"},{"content":"After breakfast we went to Titchwell RSPB reserve. Lots of Marsh Harriers, most of the Plovers (Green, Grey, Golden, Ringed), waders, ducks (Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Pintail, Shoveler, Shelduck, etc), Avocets. 40+ bird species seen.\nTitchwell mud Redshank Birdwatching Birdfeeding Lunch at the hotel at 2:45.\nIn the evening we played scrabble.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/12/25/sunday-christmas-day-titchwell/","summary":"After breakfast we went to Titchwell RSPB reserve. Lots of Marsh Harriers, most of the Plovers (Green, Grey, Golden, Ringed), waders, ducks (Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Pintail, Shoveler, Shelduck, etc), Avocets. 40+ bird species seen. Lunch at the hotel at 2:45. In the evening we played scrabble.","title":"Sunday, Christmas Day, Titchwell"},{"content":"On Friday we went to Romsey and went for lunch at the Olive Tree with Vera. Wendy came round in the afternoon. We left at 3:30 and drove to the Fox and Hounds at Whittlebury, near Towcester. Nice meal in the pub. Just down the road the house where J’s uncle and aunt had lived, back in the day.\nOn Saturday we went to Ely. We looked around the impressive Cathedral.\nEly Cathedral There was a very large table made from a fossilised bog oak unearthed from the fens in 2012.\nLooking down, looking up Big table Oliver Cromwell’s house was near the cathedral. It’s now a tourist information centre.\nFeeling the spirit of Christmas at Cromwell’s house We bought a paper and got a take-away coffee for the car in Cafe Nero.\nWe met D and S for lunch at the Three Horseshoes pub in Roydon, near Kings Lynn. After lunch we walked around the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Roydon Common reserve. Damp oak woods and breckland, we saw some Muntjac deer and a few birds.\nWetwoods Then we drove up the road a bit to the other end of the reserve. It was dusk and 6 or 7 Red Kites arrived to roost in a stand of trees.\nKiteroost Half hour drive to Titchwell Manor. We saw Father Christmas on the way, and a barn owl flew across the road in front of us lit up bright by the headlights.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/12/24/fri-sat-romsey-ely-roydon-titchwell/","summary":"On Friday we went to Romsey and went for lunch at the Olive Tree with Vera. Wendy came round in the afternoon. We left at 3:30 and drove to the Fox and Hounds at Whittlebury, near Towcester. Nice meal in the pub. Just down the road the house where J’s uncle and aunt had lived, … Read more “Fri-Sat: Romsey, Ely, Roydon, Titchwell”","title":"Fri-Sat: Romsey, Ely, Roydon, Titchwell"},{"content":"We went to Lydford gorge, a few minutes down the road from the hotel. Paid our National Trust entrance fees and had a coffee in the cafe then went down the gorge to the Devil’s Cauldron. Steep paths and steps down to the river. We stopped to watch a Dipper and a Grey Wagtail on the way.\nGorge Walkways cut into the side of the rock led to The Devil’s Cauldron itself, a gushing torrent of white water.\nDevil’s Cauldron Back at the top we saw a Small Copper butterfly.\nSmall Copper We went up to the top car park and walked along the old railway line to a bird hide. Some tits and chaffinches came to the feeders.\nIn the hide We went down to the bottom of the gorge and had a look at the Whitelady waterfall.\nWaterfall Fungi We went back to Lydford to have lunch at The Castle pub next to the castle. Lovely pub, wood fire, pumpkin soup, Cod goujons, nice pint of Jail Ale.\nThe Castle The we went round the castle next door, which was actually a prison built in the 12th century and used to house prisoners up until the 19th century.\nThe castle Next to the castle was the church, and beyond the church were the mounds from a Norman castle.\nWe walked to the other side of the village and had a look at and walk on the remains of Saxon defensive ridges.\nWe drove 10 minutes to the Willsworthy firing range car park. The army weren’t firing today, luckily. We walked over the moor to Wheal Jewell reservoir, the flooded remnants if an old tin mine. It’s a small sinuous reservoir. We walked round it. Not much happening there, so we came back.\nWheal Jewell Moor Another excellent meal at Lewtrenchard. After dinner we sang folk songs collected by Baring-Gould while sitting on the carved oak bench (currently situated in the porch at Lewtrenchard manor) that some of his source singers sat on when they came to visit him. People like Sam Fone and John ‘Ginger Jack’ Woodrige.\nHere are various pics of the manor:\nFireplace in the bar Our room Ex libris S B-G Grand room Himself Dining room 1 ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/10/15/saturday-down-in-the-gorge/","summary":"We went to Lydford gorge, a few minutes down the road from the hotel. Paid our National Trust entrance fees and had a coffee in the cafe then went down the gorge to the Devil’s Cauldron. Steep paths and steps down to the river. We stopped to watch a Dipper and a Grey Wagtail on … Read more “Saturday: down in the gorge”","title":"Saturday: down in the gorge"},{"content":"We left Hope Cove House (very nice food, great spot with views, friendly, smart and relaxed place, bed a bit uncomfortable, no tea and coffee in the room so had to make an expedition downstairs to get it in the morning, 7/10) and went to the New Bridge (16th Century). We parked at the side of the road and walked up the River Dart through the woods.\nRiver and woods It was damp and a bit drizzly early on. The oak trees were hanging with wet lichen and moss.\nSloes Back at the New Bridge we watched a Dipper for a bit.\nWe went to Princetown and had lunch in the Prince of Wales hotel.\nPrince of Wales, Princetown It was a large pub decorated with military insignia and, presumably a temporary thing, festooned everywhere with tacky Hallowe’en stuff including animatronic ghouls which kept moving and speaking every time anyone walked past them. Nice pint of Jail Ale, though.\nAfter lunch we drove down the road a few miles and parked near King’s Tor. We walked up to the tor.\nKing’s Tor The walk included some bog-paddling, and jumping across streams was needed.\nJumping across a stream On King’s Tor There were sheep.\nAnother sheep Half an hour later we were at Lewtrenchard manor. It’s a Jacobean manor house originally built in the 1600s.\nLewtrenchard It was occupied and improved by Sabine Baring-Gould in the late 19th century. He was the squire and parson. He collected many folk songs, and had 15 children, and wrote lots of novels and non-fiction books, and he wrote the hymn ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’.\nPortrait of Sophia Charlotte Baring-Gould (1808-1863) with her son Sabine, and a china duck We walked round the grounds and had a look at the kitchen garden.\nIndoors it’s all oak panelling and ornate ceilings and oil paintings.\nManor room What’s in this ancient oak cupboard? Toilet rolls. Lovely food and wine. Chicken-of-the-woods, terrine, pigeon, risotto…\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/10/14/friday-on-dartmoor/","summary":"We left Hope Cove House (very nice food, great spot with views, friendly, smart and relaxed place, bed a bit uncomfortable, no tea and coffee in the room so had to make an expedition downstairs to get it in the morning, 7/10) and went to the New Bridge (16th Century). We parked at the side … Read more “Friday: on Dartmoor”","title":"Friday: on Dartmoor"},{"content":"We set off for Prawle Point to look for Cirl Buntings. There was a sign saying the Prawle Point car park was closed for maintenance so we parked in the village of East Prawle, next to the green. We walked down the lane a bit and saw our first Cirl Bunting sat high up on the hedge. Then a good view of a Yellowhammer.\nView from the road (sheep) We went down the the coast path and walked eastwards with the sea to our right and cliffs to our left.\nPrawle Point A pair of Kestrels were about, and we watched one perched high on a ledge above us. A Peregrine also. In the stubble fields there were Stonechats and Cirl Buntings.\nDunnock We went back up the track to East Prawle and had more good views of Cirl Buntings.\nCirl Bunting Back in the village there were lots of Swallows flying about. It seemed late in the year for them. Lots of Pied Wagtails too, in a field, and five Yellowhammers perched up on a telegraph wire.\nBird on a wire We drove to Slapton and had lunch in the Queen’s Head. We were headed for the Tower pub, up a tiny alley next to the ruined tower, but it was closed. There was some bunting hanging from an ancient-looking bridge across the road. Jail Ale, ham and cheese sandwich, ploughman’s.\nQueen’s Head Then we went round the Slapton Ley nature reserve.\nNature Autumnal Back at the hotel, nice dinner (oysters, mackerel, beetroot, steak, orecchiette, French wine).\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/10/13/thursday-buntings/","summary":"We set off for Prawle Point to look for Cirl Buntings. There was a sign saying the Prawle Point car park was closed for maintenance so we parked in the village of East Prawle, next to the green. We walked down the lane a bit and saw our first Cirl Bunting sat high up on … Read more “Thursday: Buntings”","title":"Thursday: Buntings"},{"content":"Yesterday we arrived at Hope Cove House hotel at Inner Hope around 7pm. Dinner was oysters, scallops, soup and a large brill to share.\nView from room Today we walked along the coast path a bit. We watched two seals bobbing in the bay and saw ravens mobbed by lesser corvids off the cliffs above us. We turned inland along tracks and lanes and fields to Bantham.\nLane Field Robin’s pincushion gall We took a diversion round South Milton Ley nature reserve. Heard a Cetti’s warbler.\nWe had lunch (soup, mussels) at the Sloop Inn.\nLunch Then we went down to the boat house.\nBoat house Fishermen We walked along to the end of the estuary.\nBurgh Island view Then across the dunes and back along the coast path to Hope Cove.\nSnails Dilemma We stopped for a cuppa at the Beach House cafe at South Milton.\nCafe It was a bit damp and blustery now. We had good views of a kestrel hovering in an updraft at the top of a cliff.\nRoute ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/10/12/wednesday-walk/","summary":"Yesterday we arrived at Hope Cove House hotel at Inner Hope around 7pm. Dinner was oysters, scallops, soup and a large brill to share. Today we walked along the coast path a bit. We watched two seals bobbing in the bay and saw ravens mobbed by lesser corvids off the cliffs above us. We turned … Read more “Wednesday: walk”","title":"Wednesday: walk"},{"content":"We took a scenic route along meandering B-roads out of Snowdonia and stopped at the Elan Valley visitor centre. We walked along the road through the village and crossed a cattle grid up into the Carn Gafallt woods, an area of ancient Oak woods managed by the RSPB.\nOld Oak We saw lots of Pied Flycatchers, Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts. We heard Wood Warblers and lots of Cuckoos. Out of the woods we followed a bridle path up onto the moors. Red Kites were in abundance. Also Wheatears.\nWheatear The path wound around the hill and back down to the Caban-coch Reservoir.\nReservoir We bought sandwiches from the visitor centre, and then went home.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/06/03/friday-coming-home/","summary":"We took a scenic route along meandering B-roads out of Snowdonia and stopped at the Elan Valley visitor centre. We walked along the road through the village and crossed a cattle grid up into the Carn Gafallt woods, an area of ancient Oak woods managed by the RSPB. We saw lots of Pied Flycatchers, Spotted … Read more “Friday: coming home”","title":"Friday: coming home"},{"content":"The cooker was broken, so we couldn’t have a fry-up, but they did manage an egg bap and scrambled eggs with cockles and laver bread (very nice).\nWe drove down the road to a petrol station and filled the car up and bought some sandwiches and crisps for lunch, then on to the Dol Idris car park. The car park was pretty full, but we found a spot and set off. Steep steps up a wooded gorge to start with (we saw a Redstart), then onto open rocky and heathery moorland.\nThe foothills We took the Minffordd path on the way up, supposedly the shortest but steepest route.\nWe stopped for a bit by the lake, Llyn Cau, a glacial cwm.\nLlyn Cau Towards the top it was scrambling up over rocks, and the final part to the trig point was all boulders. A Red Kite floated up on the thermals below us.\nScrambling Lots of people on the top, maybe 50.\nAt the top At the top We ate our sandwiches and then walked along the ridge to the east to Mynydd Moel. It was much quieter here, but a bit further on we met a couple of women and walked with them for a bit, one came from Leominster the other from Oxfordshire. They went down the slope while we carried on around the side.\nView At the end of the ridge we turned right and followed a fence down the slope, and then came a very steep rocky section which we did mostly on bums.\nDescending Then we dropped down to near the road and walked parallel with it for a bit on a footpath and then down a bridle path alongside the river. Lots of sheep in the path. There were Cuckoos calling around about.\nWalking back into the car park the two women we met earlier were just driving out, they said their route had been steep too. We walked a bit further back up the trail to the cafe and had a drink and some cake. Then we walked around the small lake next to the car park.\nProfile, from watch ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/06/02/thursday-cadair-idris/","summary":"The cooker was broken, so we couldn’t have a fry-up, but they did manage an egg bap and scrambled eggs with cockles and laver bread (very nice). We drove down the road to a petrol station and filled the car up and bought some sandwiches and crisps for lunch, then on to the Dol Idris … Read more “Thursday: Cadair Idris”","title":"Thursday: Cadair Idris"},{"content":"We checked out of Lastra Farm hotel: very nice and friendly, decent food, very good breakfasts, good coffee, good location, 8/10.\nScenic drive south through Snowdonia on a clear and sunny day. We stopped at Glaslyn where there are a couple of Osprey nests. One is 2km away and has webcams on it with a live feed to the hide; the other is closer with no webcams but we could just about see the Osprey on the nest.\nClearly an Osprey on nest Webcam, Ospreys Looking at Snowdon There were feeders with lots of birds: young Blue Tits, Siskins, Redpolls.\nSiskin Redpoll Then we drove to Barmouth hoping for some lunch, but it was very busy and we couldn’t find a space in the large car park and the ratio of amusement arcades and fat people with dogs to nice eateries was all wrong, so we carried on.\nWe paid 80p to drive across a wooden toll bridge across the Mawddach estuary at Penmaenpool and had lunch at the George III pub.\nWooden toll bridge and pub Then we drove back across the bridge (80p) and parked on the side of the busy A496. A short walk and we were into the Coed Garth Gell RSPB reserve.\nOak woods Steep old Oak and Birch woods and a tumbling stream, the site of an old gold mine. Views of Cader Idris across the valley.\nCader Idris View Lots of Pied Flycatchers, and we saw a Wood Warbler, and heard a Redstart.\nPied Flycatcher Then on to the Cross Foxes hotel. Bit bonkers and disorganised, but friendly.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/06/01/wednesday-birds-and-stuff/","summary":"We checked out of Lastra Farm hotel: very nice and friendly, decent food, very good breakfasts, good coffee, good location, 8/10. Scenic drive south through Snowdonia on a clear and sunny day. We stopped at Glaslyn where there are a couple of Osprey nests. One is 2km away and has webcams on it with a … Read more “Wednesday: birds and stuff”","title":"Wednesday: birds and stuff"},{"content":"On Sunday a local birdwatcher at Cemlyn Bay had recommended the Porth Wen brickworks for Choughs, so we headed there. We parked on a narrow lane between Bull Bay and Cemaes and walked down a footpath and track to Porth Llanlleiana where the were some reed beds with Sedge Warblers and some ruined buildings.\nPorth Llanlleiana We climbed up a steep path to the clifftop. Gannets and Guillemots were nesting on an inshore island. We watched Gannets doing flypasts for a while, and a pair of Kestrels hovering on the updraft.\nDistant Gannets The next cove along the cliff path was called Hell’s Mouth. We sat there for a while and watched a pair of Choughs feeding on the cliffside.\nChough There were Whitethroats calling from every bush\nHell’s Mouth Over the next rise we found a dead mole.\nMole Then down into Porth Wen and we had a look around the ruined brickworks.\nBrickworks Brickworks At the brickworks A seal was bobbing in the bay.\nWe went up a track and back along the lane to the car.\nWe drove to Amwlch for a coffee and then went to Parys Mountain. We spent an hour or so walking the trail around what was once the largest copper mine in the world. There were slag heaps and ruined mine workings and old settling ponds and a windmill that assisted a steam engine.\nCopper mine with windmill In one of the mine buildings there were some big nests.\nNests Back to the hotel for a change of clothes and then we drove to Beaumaris. On the way we stopped at the ancient settlement of Din Lligwy, near Moelfre, and had a look around the ruins and then at a Neolithic burial chamber down the road a bit.\nDin Lligwy Lligwy Neolithic chamber At Beaumaris we had a wander around. There was a castle and a pier. Some children were crabbing off the sides of the pier. A gull stole a man’s ice cream out of his hands. We had dinner in a tapas bar.\nBeaumaris pier, looking at Snowdonia After dinner we stopped at the Spar for some Welsh cheese and oatcakes and a bottle of Penderyn whisky and some chocolate.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/05/31/tuesday-brickworks-and-copper-mine/","summary":"On Sunday a local birdwatcher at Cemlyn Bay had recommended the Porth Wen brickworks for Choughs, so we headed there. We parked on a narrow lane between Bull Bay and Cemaes and walked down a footpath and track to Porth Llanlleiana where the were some reed beds with Sedge Warblers and some ruined buildings. We … Read more “Tuesday: brickworks and copper mine”","title":"Tuesday: brickworks and copper mine"},{"content":"We stopped at Llyn Parc Mawr at the northern edge of Newborough Forest. Just next to the car park there were Red Squirrels around a feeder, and high up in the Corsican Pines.\nSquirrel on feeder Squirrel on tree We walked round a trail through the woods for an hour or so. We sheltered in a hide during a heavy rain shower and saw Tufted Ducks and Little Grebes and a Jay.\nIn the woods Back at the car park we watched some birds, including Coal Tits and a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers.\nInto Newborough and then down to the car park near the beach. It was quite busy there. We bought some coffee from the coffee stand and then walked along the big sandy beach.\nOn the beach At the end of the beach was a sand bar leading to Llanddwyn Island. Tide was going out, so it was fine to cross.\nOn the island there were Stonechats.\nStonechat Also, the ruined church of St Dwynwen. She thawed her lover from a block of solid ice and then became a nun and kept a well full of magic eels, according to the information board. The paths on the island were made from crushed Cockle shells.\nSacred island Old houses We walked back through the dunes and wood edge. Lots of Silver-studded Blue butterflies.\nSilver-studded Blue On the way back we stopped at the RSPB reserve at Cors Ddyga. We walked along the track and chatted to a local birder for a bit. Then back through the fields. Good views of Lapwings, Marsh Harrier, Sedge Warbler. Cettis singing.\nIn the reeds ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/05/30/monday-newborough/","summary":"We stopped at Llyn Parc Mawr at the northern edge of Newborough Forest. Just next to the car park there were Red Squirrels around a feeder, and high up in the Corsican Pines. We walked round a trail through the woods for an hour or so. We sheltered in a hide during a heavy rain … Read more “Monday: Newborough”","title":"Monday: Newborough"},{"content":"We picked up a packed lunch from the hotel and went to the RSPB reserve at South Stack on Holy Island. There was a Chough on the roof of the visitor centre when we arrived.\nChough Lots of Guillemots and Razorbills on the cliffs.\nGuillemots (lots) We walked along the cost and over the heather moorland to North Stack, then back around the other side and up to the trig point on the top.\nHeath Spotted Orchid From the trig point we could see the Isle of Man to the north and the Snowdonia mountains to the south-east.\nOn the way back we stopped at Cemlyn Bay. Some islands in a brackish lagoon have nesting colonies of Sandwich, Arctic and Common Terns.\nCemlyn Bay Sandwich Tern nesting colonies The Terns were flying back and forth across the shingle barrier, returning to their nests with Sand Eels in their beaks.\nSandwich Tern Lots of Sea Kale growing on the shingle.\nSea Kale On the other side of the bay was the decommissioned Wylfa nuclear power station.\nWylfa Around the corner there were seals in the water and hauled out on rocks.\nLots of Stonechats today.\nYoung Stonechat ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/05/30/sunday-holy-island-cemlyn-bay/","summary":"We picked up a packed lunch from the hotel and went to the RSPB reserve at South Stack on Holy Island. There was a Chough on the roof of the visitor centre when we arrived. Lots of Guillemots and Razorbills on the cliffs. We walked along the cost and over the heather moorland to North … Read more “Sunday: Holy Island, Cemlyn Bay”","title":"Sunday: Holy Island, Cemlyn Bay"},{"content":"We left The Raven in Much Wenlock and drove for a couple of hours north to Conwy. On the quay there was The Smallest House in Great Britain! It was £1.50 to get in. That didn’t seem expensive, but not good value for money either, given that it’s The Smallest House in Great Britain.\nWorld’s smallest house We didn’t go in. We had Welsh Rarebit for lunch in a cafe and had a look around the castle and the town walls.\nConwy quay A Thomas Telford suspension bridge, approaching the castle Castle We stopped at Cors Goch nature reserve. Heaths and bogs, bog plants, orchids, willow warblers, stonechats, a fleeting glimpse of a stoat.\nNice room at Lastra Farm hotel. Lobster for dinner.\nHalf a lobster with chips ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/05/28/saturday-to-anglesey/","summary":"We left The Raven in Much Wenlock and drove for a couple of hours north to Conwy. On the quay there was The Smallest House in Great Britain! It was £1.50 to get in. That didn’t seem expensive, but not good value for money either, given that it’s The Smallest House in Great Britain. We … Read more “Saturday: to Anglesey”","title":"Saturday: to Anglesey"},{"content":"Last night we wandered around Much Wenlock after dinner and stopped for a while in the churchyard while bats flew around our heads.\nToday was a glorious day for a walk. We went from The Raven to Ironbridge and back.\nRoute Quiet footpaths and lanes and gently rolling hills.\nWalking Buttercups In the woods the smell of the Wild Garlic filled the air.\nWild Garlic We had lunch in a pub in Ironbridge.\nIronbridge On the way back the paths were overgrown and we had to squeeze between a field of Oilseed Rape and a long path choked with Nettles.\nOvergrowth Squeezing past Oilseed Rape field There were some meadows.\nBee on Comfrey Yellow Rattle, a hemiparasite Lots of birds today, including: Red-legged Partridge, Linnets, Yellowhammers, Willow Tits, all the other Tits, Rabbits.\nBarley ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/05/27/friday-shropshire/","summary":"Last night we wandered around Much Wenlock after dinner and stopped for a while in the churchyard while bats flew around our heads. Today was a glorious day for a walk. We went from The Raven to Ironbridge and back. Quiet footpaths and lanes and gently rolling hills. In the woods the smell of the … Read more “Friday: Shropshire”","title":"Friday: Shropshire"},{"content":"On Friday storm “Eunice” happened, so we left a bit later in the afternoon than originally planned, and drove directly to the Red Lion at Babcary.\nNice room, nice pub, low ceilings, dim lights, lots of horse pictures, very nice beer, pretty good food.\nSaturday morning at breakfast J predicted we’d see Bullfinches as the view out of the window from our breakfast table was similar to a view from a breakfast table in a different pub in a different place several years ago when we’d seen Bullfinches. We did a walk.\nCold, wet and windy, but none the worse for it. Large flocks of Redwings, Starlings, Fieldfares.\nDamp Tree Old saw Sadly the pub we’d planned for lunch was closed so we took a short-cut back to the Red Lion, and, still full of full English breakfast, we drove to Shapwick Heath.\nJust out of the car park we had good views of two male Bullfinches in a tree. The sun came out but it was fairly breezy.\nBirdwatching Cow Lots of water birds: Gadwall, Shoveller, Widgeon, Teal, Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier, Great Crested Grebe, cows.\nReedbeds Over the road at Ham Wall a pair of Robins were very confiding and wanting food, R had them eating bits of a cereal bar out of his hand.\nRobin Snowdrops ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/02/19/babcary-somerset/","summary":"On Friday storm “Eunice” happened, so we left a bit later in the afternoon than originally planned, and drove directly to the Red Lion at Babcary. Nice room, nice pub, low ceilings, dim lights, lots of horse pictures, very nice beer, pretty good food. Saturday morning at breakfast J predicted we’d see Bullfinches as the … Read more “2022 Babcary, Somerset”","title":"2022 Babcary, Somerset"},{"content":"Thursday 23rd December We drove to Romsey in the morning to see J’s mum. Wendy came round for a coffee, then we went out to lunch at the Olive Tree.\nAround 4pm we set off for Lyme Regis where we stayed the night n the Alexandra Hotel. After dinner we walked down through the town to to the sea and out along the cob. R walked along the top and got very wet when a big wave crashed over the top.\nView from room in the morning Friday 24th December We checked out and went for a walk along the beach to where the ammonite pavement would have been visible had the tide not been right in. We took a path up the cliff and walked along the coast path for a bit.\nCoastal lichen Then we went back to the town and bought an early Christmas present for J (a rucksack) and we had a coffee. Then we drove to Topsham and met D and S.\nWe had lunch in the Lord Nelson Inn (better than last time we we here) and then walked along the Goat Walk to Bowling Green Marsh. It was now low tide so most of the waders were far away, but good views of Avocets, and lots of ducks in the marsh, including Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Gadwall, etc.\nThen to the Mill End Hotel near Chagford, our second visit. Christmas Eve dinner was a tasting menu with plenty of matched wine.\nSaturday 25th December We walked through the woods along the River Teign\nAlong the Teign to Fingle Bridge and then up the road to Drewesteignton. It was 11:45 when we got to the Drewe Arms, which didn’t officially open until 12:00 but they served us drinks anyway. Nice little pub, which was apparently closed after the first lockdown and only recently re-opened by the current new owners.\nIt started to rain and we got very wet walking back to the hotel.\nIn the rain Rainy walk Route Lunch at 2pm – portions too large!\nSunday 26th December We drove to Lustleigh and did a good walk up the ridge to Hunters Tor then down to Manaton and along to the Kestor Inn at Freeland for lunch. Back through the woods and crossed the River Bovey on an ancient Clam bridge. Weather much better today.\nHow the camera on the phone works Along the ridge Hunters Tor Cow Pig Clam bridge Route ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2022/01/07/2021-christmas/","summary":"Thursday 23rd December We drove to Romsey in the morning to see J’s mum. Wendy came round for a coffee, then we went out to lunch at the Olive Tree. Around 4pm we set off for Lyme Regis where we stayed the night n the Alexandra Hotel. After dinner we walked down through the town … Read more “2021 Christmas”","title":"2021 Christmas"},{"content":"Thick mist first thing this morning, but the weather forecast was good. We grabbed some sandwiches at the Brecon Morrisons and then drove to the car park at the Storey Arms Centre. There were quite a few cars and a couple of Army lorries in the car park. We took the so-called ‘Motorway’ route, following clear well-maintained paths all the way. The start was fairly steep.\nRoute On the way up every few minutes a sweaty soldier with a big backpack would jog past us coming down from the top.\nArmy person descending It was bright and clear until we got almost to the top of Corn Du when we got up into the cloud.\nCloudy Corn Du On the top of Corn Du there was a Snow Bunting (according to the book when J looked it up later it was probably a passage migrant).\nSnow Bunting There was also a group of people who asked us to take their photo holding a Boots on the Ground veteran support services charity banner. It was a bit chilly.\nFrom Corn Du, in the thick cloud, we followed the easy path across to the slightly higher Pen y Fan. Lots of people there, including a party of school children.\nCrowds Clouds After a while the cloud disappeared and we had great views of the sunlit surroundings.\nView Summit We walked along a ridge for a bit and then went back down by a different route.\nFrom the top From the ridge Altitude as reported by R’s Garmin watch We drove 5 minutes down the road and parked in the Garwnant visitor centre car park and ate our sandwiches.\nGarwnant Then we walked around a short trail. There were some waterfalls.\nA Mountain Ash tree had a flock of Bramblings and Bullfinches feeding on the red berries.\nBrambling Female Bullfinch Male Bullfinch We drove down the road a bit and walked out across the dam of the Llwyn-on reservoir. The water was flat like a mirror.\nReflections After dinner we sat in the library and did the blog.\nLibrary ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/11/02/tuesday-pen-y-fan-snow-bunting-bramblings-bullfinches/","summary":"Thick mist first thing this morning, but the weather forecast was good. We grabbed some sandwiches at the Brecon Morrisons and then drove to the car park at the Storey Arms Centre. There were quite a few cars and a couple of Army lorries in the car park. We took the so-called ‘Motorway’ route, following … Read more “Tuesday: Pen y Fan, Snow Bunting, Bramblings, Bullfinches”","title":"Tuesday: Pen y Fan, Snow Bunting, Bramblings, Bullfinches"},{"content":"We walked to Brecon from the hotel.\nRoute: 10.6 miles As we left the hotel and turned the corner we had distant views of Pen-y-Fan.\nView of Pen-y-Fan There was a flock of Redwings in amongst the trees by the church.\nWe took a footpath along the River Usk. The river was fast-flowing and brown from the recent rain. Sections had roaring white rapids.\nWalking by the river Lots of birds about, including: Red Kite, Buzzard, Tree-Creeper, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Dipper.\nToo deep for boots The river path joined the towpath of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal at an aqueduct. We had to cross the aqueduct and walk down the tow path a bit in the wrong direction in order to cross the canal to get on the right side to walk into Brecon.\nAqueduct On the aqueduct In Brecon, we stopped for coffee at the first cafe we came to, which happened to be at the Theatre.\nTheatre cafe The central area of town was closed to traffic as they were setting up a funfair. There were amusements and rides and dormant dodgems. There was candy floss.\nWe’d planned to have lunch in the Brecon Tap (local real ales, pies) but it wasn’t serving food today, so we walked up to the Cathedral hoping to eat at the Pilgrims Cafe there, but it was closed until further notice, so we walked back into town and had soup and a sandwich in a coffee shop.\nThen back along the river rather than the canal, before joining the towpath again for the return.\nTowpath reflections Pen-y-fan was still there when we got back.\nPen-y-Fan ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/11/01/monday-brecon/","summary":"We walked to Brecon from the hotel. As we left the hotel and turned the corner we had distant views of Pen-y-Fan. There was a flock of Redwings in amongst the trees by the church. We took a footpath along the River Usk. The river was fast-flowing and brown from the recent rain. Sections had … Read more “Monday: Brecon”","title":"Monday: Brecon"},{"content":"Third Welsh breakfast in a row for R and first for J (nice lava bread and cockles), then we checked out of the King’s Head and drove an hour towards Llandeilo. We parked in the Coed Tregib nature reserve car park and waited for the rain to stop while watching two Red Kites flying about. J phoned her mum. The rain stopped and we squelched around in the woods. The rain soon started again, torrential for a bit, so we took shelter in some shrubbery.\nSheltering in the shrubbery Then it brightened up and the sun came out.\nNature Great Tits, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker.\nLunch in a nice cafe in Llandeilo. Welsh Rarebit and a salad.\nCheese on toast After lunch we mooched around town for a bit, read the history on an educational board (something to do with Own Glyndwr) and went to the churchyard, and then drove to the Red Kite Feeding Station at Llanddeusant. At 1:30pm we paid our £6 each and were let into the hide.\nIn the Kite hide There were many Kites wheeling around. At 2pm the feeding began (beef and lamb, apparently).\nWe stayed for nearly an hour watching the Kites. A buzzard visited too, and lots of crows and magpies.\nFeeding the Kites Kites, flying More Kites Kite with trees Then we drove 40 minutes to Peterstone Court, on the other side of Brecon.\nPeterstone Court It’s quite posh and fancy. Nice big comfortable room.\nAfter a drink in the bar we were wafted into a grand dining room with a high ceiling and chandeliers and tables draped with white linen and all about us drenched in beige from the beige walls and the muslin hangings and the beige pumpkins on the piano (it being Halloween tonight), and two open-flame gas fires burning at either end of the room. Staff nice and relaxed, and food very good. Sardines, chicken terrine, mushroom wellington, venison, cheese.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/10/31/sunday-red-kites/","summary":"Third Welsh breakfast in a row for R and first for J (nice lava bread and cockles), then we checked out of the King’s Head and drove an hour towards Llandeilo. We parked in the Coed Tregib nature reserve car park and waited for the rain to stop while watching two Red Kites flying about. … Read more “Sunday: Red Kites”","title":"Sunday: Red Kites"},{"content":"We did a very good walk from the pub. Just under 11 miles around Broughton Bay, Whiteford Sands Bay, Whiteford Nature Reserve and back over Llanmadoc Hill.\nIt was a bit rainy to start with but cleared up and the day was bright and sunny with the occasional heavy rain shower.\nA bit wet at the start The beach at Broughton Bay was easy to walk on and practically deserted.\nBroughton Bay A highlight was seeing and hearing Choughs which came very close to us as they foraged in the grass tussocks in the dunes.\nFurther on at Whiteford Sands the shoreline was thick for about a mile with thousands and thousands of Oystercatchers. In the bay was Whiteford Lighthouse, a rare example of a wave-swept cast iron lighthouse (according to Wikipedia). It was built in 1865, but is no longer operational. It had a lot of cormorants on it.\nOld lighthouse We walked to the end around Whiteford Point and then back inland along a very wet path through woods and dunes (“burrows”).\nThere were lots of rainbows today. Everywhere you looked there was one.\nRainbow In the trees Nice ploughman’s at the Britannia Inn, Llanmadoc, then a steep climb up Llanmadoc Hill.\nClimb Good views from the top. To the west we could see Tenby and in the distance St Govan’s Head on the distant Pembrokeshire coast, and to the South Ilfracombe and Lundy Island and North Devon.\nScenery More Scenery (Worms Head) Birds today included: Choughs, Ravens, Reed Buntings, Kestrel, Skylarks, very many Oystercatchers.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/10/30/saturday/","summary":"We did a very good walk from the pub. Just under 11 miles around Broughton Bay, Whiteford Sands Bay, Whiteford Nature Reserve and back over Llanmadoc Hill. It was a bit rainy to start with but cleared up and the day was bright and sunny with the occasional heavy rain shower. The beach at Broughton … Read more “Saturday: Choughs”","title":"Saturday: Choughs"},{"content":"Cockles and lava bread for breakfast.\nBreakfast Then we went to WWT Llanelli.\nSaw: spoonbills, mute swans, whooper swan, shelduck, wigeon, teal, gadwall, shoveller, mallard, tufted duck, little grebe, cormorant, little egret, heron, coot, lapwing, black tailed godwit, goldcrest, goldfinch, jay, etc.\nSpoonbills Godwits Flamingos (not native) Had the last two pasties in the cafe for lunch, sat opposite the bird feeders busy with all manner of birds including squirrels.\nHeron Reflections Scenic On the way back we stopped at Loughor castle.\nAmazing castle When we got back to the pub it was raining, but the rain soon stopped and we walked down through wet fields to the sea over Llangennith Burrows, an undulating system of grassed-over sand-dunes.\nTree Burrows ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/10/29/friday-2/","summary":"Cockles and lava bread for breakfast. Then we went to WWT Llanelli. Saw: spoonbills, mute swans, whooper swan, shelduck, wigeon, teal, gadwall, shoveller, mallard, tufted duck, little grebe, cormorant, little egret, heron, coot, lapwing, black tailed godwit, goldcrest, goldfinch, jay, etc. Had the last two pasties in the cafe for lunch, sat opposite the bird … Read more “Friday: Spoonbills”","title":"Friday: Spoonbills"},{"content":"Rain, wind, traffic, slow tedious journey. Arrived at the King’s Head Inn, Llangennith at 19:45. Friendly but a bit chaotic. Nice beer, wine, venison haunch for dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/10/29/thursday/","summary":"Rain, wind, traffic, slow tedious journey. Arrived at the King’s Head Inn, Llangennith at 19:45. Friendly but a bit chaotic. Nice beer, wine, venison haunch for dinner.","title":"Thursday"},{"content":"Yesterday J injured her left big toe stumbling when coming from the snorkelling boat, and this morning the toe had swollen up and turned purple and walking was uncomfortable. J phoned 111 and spoke to a medic who advised, based on the fact that the toe shade was more inclined to purple than blue, that we didn’t need to go to the minor injury unit at St Mary’s hospital, but that J should rest it.\nThe weather was foggy with rain showers, so the one thing we had considered doing – a guided wildlife walk on St Agnes – wouldn’t have happened anyway. R went into Hugh Town to get some sandwiches for lunch.\nSkybus announced that our flight tomorrow morning may be cancelled due to the continued forecast of fog. Both today’s and yesterday’s flights have been cancelled.\nWe made some phone calls and rescheduled the travel to this afternoon’s 16:30 ferry. The Skybus shuttle picked us up at 15:00 to take us and bags down to the quay, where we stood in a long queue to board. Lots of people in the same boat (ha ha).\nWe’re on the ferry now, due to arrive at Penzance at 19:15 from where a shuttle bus will hopefully take us to Exeter airport, where the car is. Home by midnight?\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/11/thursday-travel-home/","summary":"Yesterday J injured her left big toe stumbling when coming from the snorkelling boat, and this morning the toe had swollen up and turned purple and walking was uncomfortable. J phoned 111 and spoke to a medic who advised, based on the fact that the toe shade was more inclined to purple than blue, that … Read more “Thursday: travel home”","title":"Thursday: travel home"},{"content":"Thick fog this morning. We got tickets for the 10:15 boat to St Martin’s. We’d booked a 1pm seal snorkelling trip from St Martin’s. While drinking a coffee on the quay waiting to board the ferry R received a text message from Viv at Scilly Seal Snorkelling saying they may not be able to run the trip due to the weather, but they’d let us know at midday.\nWe went to St Martin’s anyway. The ferry landed at Lower Town. We walked up the road through Middle Town to Higher Town.\nSt Martin’s walk A marsh harrier flew over and was then mobbed by crows. We walked around the headland a bit, and then Viv called to say that the seal snorkelling would go ahead.\nWe got a quick lunch (lobster roll, pasty) in the bakery cafe. Lots of fat sparrows mobbed us, used to getting an easy meal.\nSparrows We went to the seal snorkelling shed down next the the quay.\nWe met a nice family of five who would be doing the trip with us. It was the parents’ 30th Wedding anniversary trip. They’d been to Scilly before, but this was the first time they’d brought their daughters with them. We were all given wetsuits, boots, gloves, fins, masks and snorkels, and we changed into the wetsuits next to the shed.\nPutting on wetsuits Then we got on the boat and did a fast five minute trip out to a small rocky island.\nAfter some basic instructions we went over the side.\nWe spent 50 minutes in the water. Lots of curious seals nibbling at fins, some jellyfish and fish. We were all pretty cold when we got out.\nWhen we got back to shore we got changed and dry and had an hour before the boat to St Mary’s, so we went up a track to Little Arthur Farm Cafe for refreshments.\nThe fog had come back down and it was drizzling, and the boat back was cold and choppy.\nR queued at the Co-Op for refreshments and J collected our pre-ordered crab and lobster dinner from the chippy on the way past.\nBefore After ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/09/wednesday-snorkelling-with-seals/","summary":"Thick fog this morning. We got tickets for the 10:15 boat to St Martin’s. We’d booked a 1pm seal snorkelling trip from St Martin’s. While drinking a coffee on the quay waiting to board the ferry R received a text message from Viv at Scilly Seal Snorkelling saying they may not be able to run … Read more “Wednesday: Snorkelling with seals”","title":"Wednesday: Snorkelling with seals"},{"content":"We walked down to the quay for 9:30 to see where today’s wildlife guided tour would be. Turned out there wasn’t one today, so we booked onto a boat trip around the Norrad (Northward) islands to look at seabirds, as the boat would drop us at Bryher afterwards. The boat didn’t leave until 11:15, so we went for a walk around The Garrison. On the way we booked dinner for Thursday at Tregarthen’s Hotel.\nCannon on the Garrison The boat trip was good. We saw some puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and some seals. Bright sunshine all the way but quite a swell, so hard to get pictures.\nOn the boat The sea from the boat In the distance a big cruise ship, the Viking Venus, was approaching St Mary’s.\nThe boat dropped us on Bryher around 12:30, and we walked up the track to the Fraggle Rock bar where we had lunch (crab sandwiches, cod chowder).\nFraggle Rock After lunch we walked around Bryher. We climbed the slope behind the pub and looked over at Tresco.\nTresco from Bryher The scenery was spectacular, with granite cliffs and crashing breakers in Hell Bay on the western side.\nAt the southern end we walked through the ruins of an old field system to Droppy Nose Point.\nDroppy Nose Point Back up the eastern edge of Bryher to The Town, where we bought provisions in the shop / Post Office and then an ice cream at the chandlery, and then caught the 16:45 boat back.\nThe ferry took us to see the cruise ship on the way back to St Mary’s.\nBig boat ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/08/tuesday-bryher/","summary":"We walked down to the quay for 9:30 to see where today’s wildlife guided tour would be. Turned out there wasn’t one today, so we booked onto a boat trip around the Norrad (Northward) islands to look at seabirds, as the boat would drop us at Bryher afterwards. The boat didn’t leave until 11:15, so … Read more “Tuesday: Bryher”","title":"Tuesday: Bryher"},{"content":"We took sandwiches and R’s snorkelling gear and got on the 10:15 ferry to St Agnes. It was almost full.\nAlmost full ferry We landed at St Agnes. St Agnes is connected to Gugh by a sand bar that is exposed at low tide. The ferryman told us that the tide would cover it at 14:30, so we should endeavour not to be on Gugh after that time.\nSand bar from Gugh After landing on St Agnes we walked down to Cove Vean, a supposed good snorkelling site, but the tide was very low, so we decided to come back later. We walked across the sand bar to Gugh. There were some dinghies pulled up on the bar from yachts moored in the channel.\nThere were lots of six-spot burnet moths about.\nMoth Lots of caterpillars in the path too, lots, but not all, squashed by walking boots.\nHairy caterpillar Having walked round Gugh we went to the south end of St Agnes and ate our sandwiches looking out over Wingletang Bay.\nWhere we had lunch Then we came back to Cove Vean and R went snorkelling. Clear water, lots of things to see: fish, spider crabs, anemones, sponges.\nSnorkelling We walked round to Troy Town and J had a good ice cream from Troytown farm.\nWe sat at a table next to the campsite and were entertained by song thrushes and sparrows coming to the table.\nThrush We walked up to the north end of the island round Periglis Bay and then back to the quay. As we were passing the Turk’s Head, the most south-westerley pub in the UK, we stopped in for a quick drink before catching the ferry back.\nHaving a drink The ferry at the quay from the Turk’s Head J went to Hugh Town to get some fish and chips for dinner. While there, she ordered crab and lobster salad from the chippy, to be collected Wednesday 18:30. Half a lobster plus 6 crab claws.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/07/monday-st-agnes-and-gugh/","summary":"We took sandwiches and R’s snorkelling gear and got on the 10:15 ferry to St Agnes. It was almost full. We landed at St Agnes. St Agnes is connected to Gugh by a sand bar that is exposed at low tide. The ferryman told us that the tide would cover it at 14:30, so we … Read more “Monday: St Agnes and Gugh”","title":"Monday: St Agnes and Gugh"},{"content":"We caught the 10:15 ferry to Tresco from the Quay in Hugh Town. The ferry dropped us at Carn Near at the southern point of Tresco.\nNear Carn Near We walked up past the famous Abbey Gardens around the Great Pool (shelduck, coots, little grebes, Canada geese, heron, a confiding song thrush) to New Grimsby.\nSong thrush Seat with lichen Then across to the eastern side of the island up to the ruined Blockhouse, from where we looked down on Old Grimsby and the glittering emerald sea and white sandy beaches.\nWe’d booked lunch for 12:30 at the New Inn, so we went there next. Nice crab and mackerel salads and fishcakes. Beer and Prosecco.\nLunch After lunch we walked back down to the Abbey Gardens and paid to get in. Lots of lush tropical flora was exuding from every surface and crevice.\nInitial hopes of having spotted a bird previously unrecognised by science were dashed when we realised we were looking at a starling with its face covered in orange pollen.\nWe saw a red squirrel. They have feeders for them here.\nPhoto: J. Toller J stayed at the Abbey Gardens and R went back up to the northern part of Tresco, walking over heather moorland to a couple of ruined castles, and then back to the quay along the narrow. coastal path.\nWe met on the quay and got the 16:45 ferry back to St Mary’s.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/06/sunday-tresco/","summary":"We caught the 10:15 ferry to Tresco from the Quay in Hugh Town. The ferry dropped us at Carn Near at the southern point of Tresco. We walked up past the famous Abbey Gardens around the Great Pool (shelduck, coots, little grebes, Canada geese, heron, a confiding song thrush) to New Grimsby. Then across to … Read more “Sunday: Tresco”","title":"Sunday: Tresco"},{"content":"The weather forecast predicted rain all day, so our initial plan of circumnavigating St Mary’s was aborted in favour of a shorter walk up the west coast. We climbed up to Harry’s Walls Battery, some kind of defensive rampart against the French, the construction of which was never completed. Further on we got to the ruins of an old settlement at Halangy Down and had a look in Bant’s Carn, a 4000-year old chambered tomb.\nOn the way back we had lunch at Juliet’s Garden. It was busy, but luckily they had a table indoors as it started to rain heavily.\nOn the way back to town we stopped to listen to a reed warbler making a racket near Porthloo pond. We had a few glimpses of it in the reeds.\nIn the afternoon we went into Hugh Town to buy some pork chops and veg for dinner. It seems all of the places to eat out have been booked up long in advance. There is the promising prospect of lobster and chips from the chippy one evening, though.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/05/saturday-st-marys/","summary":"The weather forecast predicted rain all day, so our initial plan of circumnavigating St Mary’s was aborted in favour of a shorter walk up the west coast. We climbed up to Harry’s Walls Battery, some kind of defensive rampart against the French, the construction of which was never completed. Further on we got to the … Read more “Saturday: St Mary’s”","title":"Saturday: St Mary’s"},{"content":"We got on the 10:45 flight from Exeter airport to St Mary’s.\nThe flight took about an hour.\nThe weather was good so we had good views all the way. At one point we could see most of Dartmoor:\nOn arrival a shuttle bus took us from the airport to our accommodation. We couldn’t get in until 3pm, so we left our bags in the drive and walked back to Hugh Town and had lunch (crab sandwich, cheese sandwich) in the Kavorna Cafe. After lunch we walked to Porthcressa beach and had look in the tourist information centre, then walked through the allotments and out along the headland. Lots of song thrushes around.\nThe house is nice and spacious, about a 10-minute walk from the centre of Hugh Town. In the evening we went back into town to have dinner at the ‘On The Quay’ restaurant. We’d booked the table a few weeks earlier. Fancy food: ‘Science of scallops’ involved a test tube of miso sauce and a pipette of herb oil in addition to the scallops. Half lobster with chips was nice. J had Megrim.\nHugh Town ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/04/friday-fly-to-isles-of-scilly/","summary":"We got on the 10:45 flight from Exeter airport to St Mary’s. The flight took about an hour. The weather was good so we had good views all the way. At one point we could see most of Dartmoor: On arrival a shuttle bus took us from the airport to our accommodation. We couldn’t get … Read more “Friday: fly to Isles of Scilly”","title":"Friday: fly to Isles of Scilly"},{"content":"Yesterday evening we arrived at the NoBody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh. A poky room but nice pub and garden with good beer, good food and an interesting wine list.\nToday, Thursday, we drove 10 minutes to Steps Bridge and parked in the car park there. We walked along the side of the River Teign for the length of Dunsford Wood nature reserve.\nEverything was very green, lots of wild flowers and trees in flower and a meadow carpeted with bluebells.\nBirds seen included: dipper, goldcrest, chiff chaff, grey wagtails.\nBack at the car park we crossed the road and climbed the side of a steep wooded valley.\nGreat views from the top, then across some heath and fields and down the lanes for lunch (sandwiches, Jail Ale) at the Bridford Inn.\nThere were lots of ants about.\nWhen we’d finished the walk (10.3 miles) we drove to Lustleigh and went to the Primrose Cafe tea room. All very quaint and picturesque.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2021/06/03/thursday-dartmoor-walk/","summary":"Yesterday evening we arrived at the NoBody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh. A poky room but nice pub and garden with good beer, good food and an interesting wine list. Today, Thursday, we drove 10 minutes to Steps Bridge and parked in the car park there. We walked along the side of the River Teign for the … Read more “Thursday: Dartmoor walk”","title":"Thursday: Dartmoor walk"},{"content":"We went to Cley Marshes Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. A bright but windy day. We heard pinging calls and watched bearded tits for a while, flitting about above the reeds.\nBearded tits, obviously We walked down to the shingle beach.\nOn the shingle beach at Cley In the distance the wind turbines showed the curvature of the earth, the distant turbines being much shorter than those closer to us.\nCurvature of the earth Sandwiches for lunch at the NWT centre cafe, then back to Wells and a walk eastwards along the coast path.\nWells coast path We saw lots of birds, including two red kites engaged in either fighting or foreplay.\nRed kites Brent geese Curlew We found some large mushrooms.\nLarge mushroom Back at the hotel for dinner, oysters, steak.\nLast oysters this year, probably ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/22/thursday-cley-marshes-wells-walk/","summary":"We went to Cley Marshes Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. A bright but windy day. We heard pinging calls and watched bearded tits for a while, flitting about above the reeds. We walked down to the shingle beach. In the distance the wind turbines showed the curvature of the earth, the distant turbines being much shorter … Read more “Thursday: Cley Marshes, Wells walk”","title":"Thursday: Cley Marshes, Wells walk"},{"content":"Rain forecast all day. Last breakfast at the White Horse, looking out over the rainy saltmarsh.\nBreakfast We drove half an hour through rural Norfolk, listening to Harry Cox in the car, to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, near Dereham.\nWe spent a couple of hours looking around the workhouse, where there were exhibits detailing workhouse life. The workhouse was used to house the poor and destitute and often those who should have been in hospitals had it not been cheaper to house them in the workhouse.\nBricks next to where the urinals used to be with graffiti from workhouse residents There were also galleries with many cases of other stuff of general miscellaneous historical interest, and lots of agricultural tools and machinery.\nThreshing machine 200-year old farm-workers trousers, repaired often Cat, discovered beneath the door threshold of a 15th century house in Thetford, supposedly put there to ward off witches Washing machines in the laundry ‘The Winner’ tremolo accordion, played by George Batchelor at Baconsthorpe and Rupert Jacobs at The Three Pigs pub in Edgefield until the 1990s There was a working farm run in the old fashioned way, with turkeys, Large Black pigs, Suffolk Punch horses, sheep, chickens.\n6-week old turkeys Large black piglets We went to a nearby pub listed in the CAMRA guide, but it was deserted and they weren’t doing lunch and the landlord was unable to suggest anywhere that was, so we ended up getting a sandwich and a baked potato at The Bull in Dereham. Then we drove to Wells-next-the-Sea and checked into the Crown Hotel.\nThe Crown Hotel R went for a run and saw a toadstool.\nJ played fiddle and went for a mosey around town.\nOysters, terrine, cod, cheese, coffee and chocolate truffles for dinner. Nice comfortable room.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/21/wednesday-gressenhall-workhouse-and-farm-wells/","summary":"Rain forecast all day. Last breakfast at the White Horse, looking out over the rainy saltmarsh. We drove half an hour through rural Norfolk, listening to Harry Cox in the car, to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, near Dereham. We spent a couple of hours looking around the workhouse, where there were exhibits detailing workhouse life. … Read more “Wednesday: Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Wells”","title":"Wednesday: Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Wells"},{"content":"After breakfast R went to Titchwell and J stayed at the Inn and played fiddle and went for a walk.\nAt Titchwell there were lots of waders on the shore: sanderlings, knot, turnstones, oystercatchers.\nSanderlings Shore shells A male hen harrier appeared, flying low over the fields in the distance. Pinging calls from some reeds, and then good but fleeting views of bearded tits. It was windy and the reeds were swaying around, so it was hard to get a photo.\nAn excellent photo of a bearded tit Back at the White Horse for lunch (mussels, chowder), then we both went back to Titchwell and watched the bearded tits for an hour.\nBack at the pub, we walked along the raised bank towards Burnham Overy Staithe for a mile or so. The sun was out and shining on the saltmarsh and mud banks and fields and the distant windmill at Burnham.\nSaltmarsh It was a calm and peaceful stroll, disturbed only by the sky-filling roar of two F-15 fighter jets flying loop-the-loops over our heads.\nLooking into the sun Dinner: salmon smoked on the premises, oysters, Dover sole, wild mushroom risotto, blackberry parfait. Very nice.\nRain forecast all day tomorrow.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/20/tuesday-bearded-titchwell/","summary":"After breakfast R went to Titchwell and J stayed at the Inn and played fiddle and went for a walk. At Titchwell there were lots of waders on the shore: sanderlings, knot, turnstones, oystercatchers. A male hen harrier appeared, flying low over the fields in the distance. Pinging calls from some reeds, and then good … Read more “Tuesday: Bearded Titchwell”","title":"Tuesday: Bearded Titchwell"},{"content":"We spent the morning at Titchwell reserve.\nBrent geese over Titchwell Lots of people the by the time we left, many with spotting scopes and long lens cameras. Overheard some talk of the rare rufous bush chat that has been causing some excitement down the road in Stiffkey.\nBirdwatchers On the beach there were lots of shells washed up in a recent storm.\nShells We went to the Lifeboat pub at Thornham for lunch. Soup, mussels.\nWe walked from the pub out along the ridge to Holme Dunes. We had good views of goldcrests in the fir trees close to the path.\nGoldcrest We walked past the Holme bird observatory as far as the site of a 4000-year old sea henge, discovered there in 1990.\nBack at Thornham a couple pointed out a spotted redshank in the low tide mud, and we watched twite in the bank opposite.\nLots of birds today, including avocets, godwits, teal, gadwall, marsh harriers, kestrel, buzzard, red kite, linnet, twite.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/19/monday-snettisham-holme-next-the-sea/","summary":"We spent the morning at Titchwell reserve. Lots of people the by the time we left, many with spotting scopes and long lens cameras. Overheard some talk of the rare rufous bush chat that has been causing some excitement down the road in Stiffkey. On the beach there were lots of shells washed up in … Read more “Monday: Snettisham, Holme Next the Sea”","title":"Monday: Snettisham, Holme Next the Sea"},{"content":"Checked out of the Black Horse at Donington on Bain (8/10, excellent value for money and very friendly) and headed straight for Skegness. Huge sandy beach, wind turbines (132kV from the off-shore substation to land via an undersea cable).\nSkegness beach Went on the pier. Quiet.\nSkegness pier Back towards town the vendors were starting to open their souvenir and fast food stalls. There was a smell of fried food and candy floss. All of the rides were closed.\nRides, sadly closed We bought a coffee and paid 20p to go to the loo.\nFrom the Black Horse we’d driven south-east, high up on the Wolds, pheasants everywhere, more kestrels than we’ve seen in all of the past year. Then we dropped down to an expanse of flatlands, flat as a mirror, through large fields of dark green cabbage and green and red curly kale and cavolo nero and cauliflower.\nWe went to RSPB Frampton Marshes. There were lots of birds: wigeon, gadwall, lapwings, waders, goldfinches, linnets, etc. We walked up the end of the reserve and looked out over the expanse of marsh towards the Wash.\nRSPB Frampton Marsh We bought sandwiches for lunch at a petrol station and ate them parked next to a church on the outskirts of Boston. Then we went via Kings Lynn to RSPB Snettisham.\nThe tide was right out, so no sight of the water at all, just a huge expanse of mud which seemed to fill all of the Wash. Ducks, redshank, greenshank, peregrine, greylags and a honking flock of Brent geese flying over.\nSnettisham Half an hour to The White Horse at Brancaster Staithe. Pint of Woodforde’s Wherry. Dinner: Brancaster oysters, salad, sea trout with caviar. Very nice. Afterwards sat and looked out of the nighttime marshes.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/18/sunday-skegness-frampton-marshes-snettisham-brancaster/","summary":"Checked out of the Black Horse at Donington on Bain (8/10, excellent value for money and very friendly) and headed straight for Skegness. Huge sandy beach, wind turbines (132kV from the off-shore substation to land via an undersea cable). Went on the pier. Quiet. Back towards town the vendors were starting to open their souvenir … Read more “Sunday: Skegness, Frampton Marshes, Snettisham, Brancaster”","title":"Sunday: Skegness, Frampton Marshes, Snettisham, Brancaster"},{"content":"Good walk in the Wolds.\nWalk route Rolling hills and farmland, woods, chalk streams. Lunch at the Green Man in Scamblesby. A bit damp and misty when we set off, but it brightened up as the day went on, and the last few miles were in warm bright sunshine.\nHigh on the Wolds On the high ground, lots of skylarks, and we stopped for a while to watch a mixed flock of small birds flitting between field and hedge and bathing in puddles on the track. Corn buntings and a tree sparrow were among them.\nRed Hill nature reserve was plunging slopes of chalk grassland and exposed chalk seams.\nRed Hill Two roe deer, one red fox, one rabbit, one squirrel.\nStopped to look at some old churches.\nOld church It’s very quiet on the roads and footpaths. People are very friendly.\nBack at the pub after dinner we asked the landlady about Skegness and she advised us not to visit.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/18/saturday-wolds-walk/","summary":"Good walk in the Wolds. Rolling hills and farmland, woods, chalk streams. Lunch at the Green Man in Scamblesby. A bit damp and misty when we set off, but it brightened up as the day went on, and the last few miles were in warm bright sunshine. On the high ground, lots of skylarks, and … Read more “Saturday: Wolds Walk”","title":"Saturday: Wolds Walk"},{"content":"Drove northeast to Lincoln, past Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Coventry, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Newark-on-Trent.\nIn Lincoln we parked at the top of the steep hill near the castle and had a look around the castle grounds and the cathedral.\nOutside the Cathedral Inside the Cathedral We walked down the steep hill called ‘Steep Hill’, where some of the roadside shops from the 12th century were selling cheese and paintings and fossils and tat.\nSteep Hill Down in the town we walked along the river. J bought a skirt and we had a coffee in a Waterstones bookshop.\nDrove to the Donington-on-Bain, and then a short drive to nearby villages to find a suitable open pub for tomorrow’s walk. Goulceby no good, but the Green Man at Scamblesby looked promising. Back at The Black Horse in Donington-on-Bain, hoping to check in at 4.30, but found the pub didn’t open until 5:30, so we walked over the fields up to a wood and a large pond.\nLarge pond Watched the birds for a bit, found a field full of reeds, and came back to check in.\nReeds Nice friendly pub, low ceilings, wooden beams, not bothered by decorators since the 1970s. Chatted with a couple who’d come from Horncastle 10 miles away. They taught us some local dialect, e.g. “triffle traffle” for a windy road. Lovely meal, good pint of White Rat beer.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/18/friday-to-lincolnshire/","summary":"Drove northeast to Lincoln, past Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Coventry, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Newark-on-Trent. In Lincoln we parked at the top of the steep hill near the castle and had a look around the castle grounds and the cathedral. We walked down the steep hill called ‘Steep Hill’, where some of the roadside shops from … Read more “Friday: to Lincolnshire”","title":"Friday: to Lincolnshire"},{"content":"After work we drove to the Wheatsheaf in Northleach, near Cheltenham. The evening sun cast long shadows and made the fields and autumn trees shades of orange and gold. The pub was expensive. The room was big and the bed comfortable, but all in all more style than substance. Food (steak tartare, partridge, beetroot, calves liver) over-sweet and salty. 5/10.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/10/18/northleach/","summary":"After work we drove to the Wheatsheaf in Northleach, near Cheltenham. The evening sun cast long shadows and made the fields and autumn trees shades of orange and gold. The pub was expensive. The room was big and the bed comfortable, but all in all more style than substance. Food (steak tartare, partridge, beetroot, calves … Read more “Thursday: Northleach”","title":"Thursday: Northleach"},{"content":"Overnight the storm called “Dennis” arrived properly. The wind howled round the hotel, rattling the wood in the old building.\nAfter breakfast the hotel owner fixed the WiFi by rebooting the router, so we could check the weather forecast. Didn’t look too bad, so we went for a walk.\nWe did a 9-mile trip through woods, windswept high ground and waterlogged fields. It rained all day.\nAt one point we had to ford a stream and found frogspawn in a pool on the other side.\nOn the hills it was cold and windy, the rain lashing horizontally.\nDonkeys.\nAt Kilve we crossed the main road and followed a footpath towards the sea.\nThe footpath.\nThen we followed the lane back to Kilve and had lunch at the Hood Arms. We were soaked through and dripping water but the pub was friendly and welcoming. It’s been refurbished since were last there and is a bit more up-market now. We’d stayed over for one night in 2015 when we were visiting Halsway Manor for their summer fair.\nAfter lunch we followed more muddy paths back to the hotel, where we wrung out dripping clothes and had hot showers.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/02/15/saturday-worlds-wettest-walk/","summary":"Overnight the storm called “Dennis” arrived properly. The wind howled round the hotel, rattling the wood in the old building. After breakfast the hotel owner fixed the WiFi by rebooting the router, so we could check the weather forecast. Didn’t look too bad, so we went for a walk. We did a 9-mile trip through … Read more “Saturday: world’s wettest walk”","title":"Saturday: world’s wettest walk"},{"content":"Friday afternoon, 14th February, we drove down to Combe House hotel in Holford, Somerset. Stopped on the way, a few miles from the hotel, for a short walk through the woods. It was wet underfoot, windy and raining off and on.\nBack near the car we startled two roe deer, they bounced up and down alongside us for a bit.\nThe hotel is very comfortable and friendly. No phone signal and the WiFi isn’t working. J had venison for dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2020/02/15/friday/","summary":"Friday afternoon, 14th February, we drove down to Combe House hotel in Holford, Somerset. Stopped on the way, a few miles from the hotel, for a short walk through the woods. It was wet underfoot, windy and raining off and on. Back near the car we startled two roe deer, they bounced up and down … Read more “Friday”","title":"Friday"},{"content":"Such a contrast to yesterday’s weather. Bright sunshine, deep blue skies, the air cold and clear so we could see for miles from the high points on the moor.\nAfter checking out we drove to the car park at Hound Tor. On the way, there was an uphill cycle speed trial going on up the road next to Hay Tor. Lots of spectators and cyclists, marshals in fluorescent jackets and the top car park taken over by vehicles and time-checkers. Past Hay Tor it quietened down.\nFrom the Hound Tor car park we walked down the road to the grave of Kitty Jay.\nFresh flowers on it, as always, placed by an unknown hand so they say.\nWe turned left down a bridleway and did a good 6.5 mile walk across hillsides and through woods and damp fields. About to cross a stream, we surprised a roe deer. We were blocking the exit to the field and the deer scampered about in panic, running back and forth along a fence it was unable to get over. We gave the deer a wide berth and hoped it would calm down once we’d left the field.\nAt the half-way point we came back along the lanes. We saw buzzards, ravens, fieldfares, chaffinches, long-tailed tits.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/10/27/kitty-jay/","summary":"Such a contrast to yesterday’s weather. Bright sunshine, deep blue skies, the air cold and clear so we could see for miles from the high points on the moor. After checking out we drove to the car park at Hound Tor. On the way, there was an uphill cycle speed trial going on up the … Read more “Kitty Jay”","title":"Kitty Jay"},{"content":"Yesterday afternoon, Friday, we drove down to the Rock Inn at Haytor Vale. Heavy rain and heavy traffic pretty much all of the way. Great pub, good dinner.\nThis morning we went to Princetown to visit the prison museum. Wind and driving rain all the way up over the moors, car splashing through pools of flood water, streams in spate, rivulets boiling up from their channels and spilling onto the road.\nApproaching Princetown we got up into the clouds and thick fog.\nThe museum was very interesting, in a chaotic and tatty kind of way. A log book of escapes was on display. It was open on a page recording, among others: an escape lasting less than an hour before the inmate was recaptured; and the escape of Frank (the Mad Axeman) Mitchell, whose egress in 1966 was aided by the Kray twins. The Krays followed up this benevolent action by having Frank the Mad Axeman shot in the back of a van and in the head a few days later.\nThere was a display of things confiscated in 2016. Homemade crack pipes, electric tattoo guns made from tape player motors and biros, mobile phones designed small to fit up your bum and a wide range of improvised weapons made from filed-down toothbrushes, safety-razor blades melted into the ends of plastic handles and a Stanley knife blade sellotaped to a stick.\nWe drove to Okehampton and had lunch in the Fountain Inn. It’s the weekend of the Baring-Gould Folk Festival, and there was a session going on in the front bar with some singing and step-dancing.\nAfter lunch we went for a coffee in a music shop and coffee shop in the arcade, and talked to the owner about the popularity of ukeleles.\nThen we went to the Ebenezer hall where Marilyn Tucker of Wren Music introduced Bill Murray and Malcolm Tucker who waffled on for an hour about what they’d been up to in their lives.\nThen to the Church hall for an excellent concert with Chris Foster and Bara Grimsdottir (Iceland) and Sardinian polyphonic singing group Sos Cantores de Galtelli. The Sardinians stood in a circle when singing, sometimes only four of them, and made such a big sound. Very good.\nBack to the pub slightly late for dinner at 7pm. Finally stopped raining so we walked up the road in the dark to the bottom of Hay Tor after dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/10/26/dartmoor-prison-baring-gould-folk-festival/","summary":"Yesterday afternoon, Friday, we drove down to the Rock Inn at Haytor Vale. Heavy rain and heavy traffic pretty much all of the way. Great pub, good dinner. This morning we went to Princetown to visit the prison museum. Wind and driving rain all the way up over the moors, car splashing through pools of … Read more “Dartmoor prison, Baring-Gould Folk Festival”","title":"Dartmoor prison, Baring-Gould Folk Festival"},{"content":"J went to Ceolas and learned more Cape Breton stepping, Gaelic language and Scottish fiddle. After the classes ended she went to look at the neolithic roundhouses at Daliburgh with Jethro.\nNeolithic roundhouse R headed back to North Uist to try to find the hen harrier nest spotted the day before yesterday. Stopped on the way to watch a short-eared owl hunting over the moor by a loch side.\nShort-eared owl 1 Short-eared Owl 2 It was misty and drizzly, and on North Uist high up on Committee Road the cloud fog was all around. Parked on the roadside near where R thought the hen harrier chick had been and ate oatcakes and cheese for lunch. Thought chances of spotting the chick were slim, but there it was, down in the heather.\nHen harrier chick Watched for an hour as what turned out to be three chicks moved around a bit and made a few experimental attempts at flying.\nLearning to fly Then a male arrived with food and there was an explosion of activity as the three chick clamoured for it. The male circled and then was gone, his whole appearance lasting only about ten seconds.\nFeeding Drove then to Lochmaddy and parked outside Hamersay House to have a final look for otters. Saw a willow warbler (?), reed bunting and more good views of a male hen harrier, but no otters.\nWillow warbler Female reed bunting In the evening we went for an early dinner at the Lochboisdale Hotel. Met some deer in the walk down.\nDeer Nice dinner of Uist smoked salmon and big fat Uist scallops wrapped in bacon.\nLochboisdale Hotel Long drive tomorrow.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/10/wednesday-10th-july-hen-harriers/","summary":"J went to Ceolas and learned more Cape Breton stepping, Gaelic language and Scottish fiddle. After the classes ended she went to look at the neolithic roundhouses at Daliburgh with Jethro. R headed back to North Uist to try to find the hen harrier nest spotted the day before yesterday. Stopped on the way to … Read more “Wednesday 10th July: hen harriers”","title":"Wednesday 10th July: hen harriers"},{"content":"Rainy morning. J went to Ceolas to learn Cape Breton step dancing, Gaelic language and Scottish fiddle.\nCeolas stepping, bagpipes R stayed in and did work emails until it stopped raining, about midday. Then went to Loch Eynart. Foggy all day.\nLoch Eynart Drove round the north side, looking for snorkelling sites, didn’t find anything promising so went to the south side. Found a spot with lots of seals hauled out on rocks, and easy access to the water, and spent an hour snorkelling. Seals were curious and approached, but not close enough to get caught on the wide-angle GoPro camera. High tide, so not as much to see as previously at Loch Sgioport, but still fun. Crabs and fish and young prawns.\nLater we walked into Loch Boisdale over the causeway, and on the way back watched a goldfinch feeding its young on a fence post.\nGoldfinch feeding 1 Goldfinch feeding 2 Cooked cod for tea, then Jethro picked up J to go to a Ceolas house ceilidh. R stayed in and had some Highland Park.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/09/tuesday-9th-july-snorkelling-2/","summary":"Rainy morning. J went to Ceolas to learn Cape Breton step dancing, Gaelic language and Scottish fiddle. R stayed in and did work emails until it stopped raining, about midday. Then went to Loch Eynart. Foggy all day. Drove round the north side, looking for snorkelling sites, didn’t find anything promising so went to the … Read more “Tuesday 9th July: snorkelling 2”","title":"Tuesday 9th July: snorkelling 2"},{"content":"J went to Cape Breton step dancing class, then beginners’ Gaelic class then fiddle class at Ceolas, followed by more step dancing in the afternoon.\nR set off at 8:15 to explore. Drove to north side of Loch Sgioport and parked at the end of the road at Caolas Liubharsaigh. Walked along faint paths and sheep tracks past freshwater lochans down to the sea loch.\nSeveral abandoned crofts, some sheep and wheatears.\nMale wheatear Fell in a bog once. Didn’t see any person on the road there or on the three mile walk.\nViews of the Cuillins on Skye in the distance.\nCuillins Feet wet after bog mishap, so trapped socks in car rear window to dry them.\nDrove up to North Uist and had a look for otters by the police station at Lochmaddy. No otters, but saw a seal, artic skua, divers and mergansers in the loch.\nBridge Walked out over a supposedly condemned suspension bridge and had a look in a small camera obscura. A faint image of the waves in the loch was discernible once eyes had adjusted to the dark.\nCamera obscura Then to the Committee Road, where we’d been previously. Parked and ate lunch. Saw a golden eagle, and watched a hen harrier carrying food back to her young. Also buzzards, kestrels and short-eared owls.\nEagle Hen harrier approaching with food Hen harrier and young hen harrier Stopped at Loch Bi on the way back: lots of swans and gulls.\nBack around 5:30. We were going to walk to the Lochboisdale Hotel for dinner, but it started raining heavily, so we drove to the CoOp at Daliburgh and bought food to cook at the chalet.\nStill raining, but forecast for tomorrow looks OK.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/08/monday-8th-july-eagle/","summary":"J went to Cape Breton step dancing class, then beginners’ Gaelic class then fiddle class at Ceolas, followed by more step dancing in the afternoon. R set off at 8:15 to explore. Drove to north side of Loch Sgioport and parked at the end of the road at Caolas Liubharsaigh. Walked along faint paths and … Read more “Monday 8th July: eagle”","title":"Monday 8th July: eagle"},{"content":"Went to Jethro’s cottage for coffee, then the three of us drove to Eriskay. Parked by the ferry terminal and walked along the beach and dunes to the Am Politician pub, where we had lunch.\nOn the beach 1 On the beach 2 On the beach 3 Lady’s bedstraw Glorious sunshine all day, white sandy beach and turquoise sea. Walked back along the road and moor.\nOn the moor Stopped off at Polochar on the way back for a quick explore and walked along the beach a bit. Flock of nine red-breasted mergasers landed, some eiders, distant seals.\nJ and Jethro went to play in a session at the Borrodale Hotel and then register for Ceolas, R went back to Loch Druidibeg and Loch Sgioport for an hour or so.\nIn the evening, we went to the Ceolas welcome ceilidh.\nCeilidh Did a few dances, listened to some good piping, singing and fiddle music, but it was a bit noisy as we were sat near the bar, and the MC was speaking entirely in Gaelic. Left just before tea, cakes and sandwiches were served at 9pm.\nBack at the chalet an owl flew past, and two red deer stopped by.\nRed deer visits the chalet, 10pm ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/07/sunday-7th-july-eriskay/","summary":"Went to Jethro’s cottage for coffee, then the three of us drove to Eriskay. Parked by the ferry terminal and walked along the beach and dunes to the Am Politician pub, where we had lunch. Glorious sunshine all day, white sandy beach and turquoise sea. Walked back along the road and moor. Stopped off at … Read more “Sunday 7th July: Eriskay”","title":"Sunday 7th July: Eriskay"},{"content":"Checked out of Oransay and drove short distance through Loch Druidibeg RSPB reserve to Loch Sgioport with the aim of snorkelling and bothering the wildlife. Tarmac road ended and we drove the car down a steep bumpy track, parked, and walked down to the water’s edge. There were the remnant posts of a ruined pier sticking out of the water, clad in seaweed. It was approaching high tide and people were fishing on either side of the ruined pier, so we decided to come back later. Driving back up was harder than getting down, and we had to offload bags to make the car lighter so we could get up the slope without the wheels spinning on the spot.\nBack at the RSPB car park we saw Jethro drive past (we’d arranged to meet him hereabouts). Finally did meet up with him, and did a good 3-mile walk on the moors around a freshwater loch. Good views of hen harriers, kestrels, mountains.\nLoch Druidibeg Hen Harrier (female) Back at Loch Sgioport the fishers had gone, so after oatcakes and cheese for lunch, R went snorkelling.\nUrchin Lots of fish, sea urchins, starfish of all sizes, one very big about half a metre across.\nDriving back, curious ponies barred our way at times.\nCurious pony Had tea and cake at Kildonan cafe,\nTea and cake then to Daliburgh Co-Op for supplies and then on to The Chalet, our self-catering place just outside Loch Boisdale. It’s very nice.\nSteak for tea.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/06/saturday-6th-july-snorkelling/","summary":"Checked out of Oransay and drove short distance through Loch Druidibeg RSPB reserve to Loch Sgioport with the aim of snorkelling and bothering the wildlife. Tarmac road ended and we drove the car down a steep bumpy track, parked, and walked down to the water’s edge. There were the remnant posts of a ruined pier … Read more “Saturday 6th July: snorkelling”","title":"Saturday 6th July: snorkelling"},{"content":"Went to Bornais and walked out to the headland past Viking remains that were not evident and a Pictish broch which was.\nPictish broch Saw a short-eared owl hunting over the machair. Lots of lapwings, including young.\nYoung lapwing Saw seals hauled out. Got mobbed by terns.\nTerns Terns again Saw the world’s longest earthworm.\nLong worm Drizzle, on and off throughout.\nDrove to Lochboisdale and located our self-catering chalet for tomorrow, then went to Kildonan museum and had lunch in the cafe and then spent an interesting time in the museum learning about Uist crofting life and Bonnie Prince Charlie.\nLooked like the rain was lessening, so we drove to Homore and looked at the ruined medieval chapels\nRuined chapel and then walked out to the expanse of pristine sandy beach.\nBeach Lots of skylarks.\nSkylark There were some waders: redshank, curlew, ringed plover.\nDrove to Loch Bi to look for eagles, but none there. Drove further on round the coast road and stopped where it turned into a gravel track. Lots of ravens, starlings and gulls feeding on the seaweed.\nBack to Orasay Inn. Jethro came for dinner, having arrived yesterday for Ceolas.\nNice views from the restaurant tonight, the air being clear and the sun out.\nView Strolled up the lane after dinner to look at the headland, moors and loch.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/05/friday-5th-july-south-uist-1/","summary":"Went to Bornais and walked out to the headland past Viking remains that were not evident and a Pictish broch which was. Saw a short-eared owl hunting over the machair. Lots of lapwings, including young. Saw seals hauled out. Got mobbed by terns. Saw the world’s longest earthworm. Drizzle, on and off throughout. Drove to … Read more “Friday 5th July: South Uist 1”","title":"Friday 5th July: South Uist 1"},{"content":"Rained all day.\nLie in and late breakfast. Went to Lochmaddy museum. Very interesting exhibition on local geology – learnt about Gneiss pseudotachlyte: a rare igneous formation formed by intense metamorphic pressure. Found here along the Hebridean fault, and in meteor craters.\nPseudotachlyte Also a the museum was an exhibition of photos of the dull celtic band Runrig, and an exhibition of local paintings. We had a coffee.\nDrove south and stopped at a couple of pointless gift shops, had lunch at the Dark Island hotel on Benbecula. Still raining.\nWent to Loch Bi, recommended by Steve for sea eagles. Parked by a church and looked out at the islands in the loch, but nothing much apart from geese and a family of shelducks. Visibility poor due to the mist and rain.\nDrove to Loch Sgioport on South Uist via Loch Druidibeag RSPB reserve to check out snorkeling sites. Sgioport looks good, and Druidibeg also promising for a walk when weather improves: high heather moor and a freshwater lochan.\nRainy Loch Druidibeag Checked into Oronsay Inn. Bit basic. R walked up the road in the rain and over the moor and got wet.\nWet Dinner: this hotel has a reputation for great food. Not sure why.\nWalked up the road a bit after dinner, when the rain had stopped.\nRain stopped ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/04/thursday-4th-july-rain/","summary":"Rained all day. Lie in and late breakfast. Went to Lochmaddy museum. Very interesting exhibition on local geology – learnt about Gneiss pseudotachlyte: a rare igneous formation formed by intense metamorphic pressure. Found here along the Hebridean fault, and in meteor craters. Also a the museum was an exhibition of photos of the dull celtic … Read more “Thursday 4th July: rain”","title":"Thursday 4th July: rain"},{"content":"Needed to swap rooms today because the lodge only had two nights available in the good room, so checked out after breakfast. Followed a path up the hill behind the lodge,\nLooking back at Langass Lodge to a stone circle,\nthen climbed to the top and back round the other side to look at a 5000-year old chambered cairn, Barpa Langais. It’s collapsed inside and there was a sign saying we shouldn’t go in, but we moved the barrier aside and had a look.\nBarpa Langais chambered cairn Inside the cairn (dangerous) Saw buzzards and a male hen harrier up on the hill.\nCotton grass, heather and carnivorous sundew underfoot.\nSundew Drove to Berneray, at the northern end of North Uist. Stopped on the way to watch a short-eared owl hunting over the moor. At Cnoic nan Claigean we parked and walked around the machair and beach. A large flat sandy bay was covered in worm casts and cockle shells, and whole cockles lying out on the sand. Later discovered it’s called “cockle bay”.\nWorm casts on the beach Cockle Saw a young wheatear.\nYoung wheatear Had bread and cheese for lunch in the car, then drove to the north east corner of Berneray. Walked along the dunes and then climbed Beinn Ghainche for panoramic views.\nTop of Beinn Ghainche Cloud-shrouded isle of Harris in the near distance. Back along the deserted beach.\nStopped for a cup of tea at the Berneray Bistro and shop and then went to look at seals hauled out on the rocks. Lots of common seals, some with young.\nBack across the causeway to North Uist.\nOtters crossing Checked into room 3 at the lodge – bit small, compared to the last one.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/03/wednesday-3rd-july-berneray/","summary":"Needed to swap rooms today because the lodge only had two nights available in the good room, so checked out after breakfast. Followed a path up the hill behind the lodge, to a stone circle, then climbed to the top and back round the other side to look at a 5000-year old chambered cairn, Barpa … Read more “Wednesday 3rd July: Berneray”","title":"Wednesday 3rd July: Berneray"},{"content":"We met local wildlife guide Steve Duffield (http://www.western-isles-wildlife.com) in the Lodge car park at 9am. A few minutes after we set off, we had a good view of a short-eared owl flying about. Apparently they’re common here. We drove to an old pier near Lochmadday and spent an hour and a half watching a mother and cub otter. The otters spent a while on a small islet, the mother fishing and bringing food for the cub: crabs and fish. They’d both spend time on and off the islet, and when feeding seemed not to be bothered by our presence. We watched from the pier, and then scrambled down over seaweedy rocks to get a closer view. Steve pointed out the high-pitched call of the young otter, which we would have otherwise thought was a bird calling.\nOtter The rest of the day was excellent. Steve drove us around North Uist, stopping every few minutes. Some of the things we saw: short-eared owls, hen harriers, distant golden and white-tailed eagles, arctic skuas. We walked out over the machair to a deserted white beach, sea emerald blue.\nScenery A whole bunch of ravens and gulls were on piles of sand at a plant for processing fish farm waste. A new building nearby was due to house the processing indoors soon – apparently some people complain about the smell. Seemed fine to me, but maybe we were upwind.\nSkylarks were everywhere: singing in the sky and flying up from the path in front of us. We heard a single corncrake calling.\nWalking out on the machair, Steve was great at identifying all of the plants: pyramidal orchids, heath spotted orchids, northern marsh orchids, lesser butterfly orchids, bog asphodel, ladies bedstraw, wild pansy, silverweed, charlock, tufted vetch, wild carrot (we pulled one up, roots smelled like carrot) and many more that I’ve forgotten.\nLesser butterfly orchid Bog asphodel We passed a colony of (supposedly) solitary miner bees, and saw corn buntings.\nCorn bunting Steve is from Burnley, but has been in Uist for 14 years. He’s good company and very knowledgeable. He showed us otter spraints and a holt, and rocks with green algae on them, which grows there because of the regular otter sprainting. He took us to a holt, and showed us otter footprints in the sand beneath it.\nOtter spraint Otter holt We drove up to the military radio globe (one of three built to track the missiles from the range on South Uist) to look for eagles.\nLooking for eagles One distant sighting of a white-tailed eagle.\nBack at Langass Lodge at 5pm.\nAfter dinner R walked down to the loch. Buzzard and red deer on the opposite banks. Six-spot burnet moth on this side.\nSix-spot burnet moth There were some midges.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/02/tuesday-2nd-july-guided-tour-with-steve/","summary":"We met local wildlife guide Steve Duffield (\u003ca href=\"http://www.western-isles-wildlife.com\"\u003ehttp://www.western-isles-wildlife.com\u003c/a\u003e) in the Lodge car park at 9am. A few minutes after we set off, we had a good view of a short-eared owl flying about. Apparently they’re common here. We drove to an old pier near Lochmadday and spent an hour and a half watching a mother … Read more “Tuesday 2nd July: guided tour with Steve”","title":"Tuesday 2nd July: guided tour with Steve"},{"content":"Got the 9:30am ferry from Uig.\nOn the ferry Sunny crossing with views of gannets, arctic skua, puffins, guillemots. Porridge for breakfast on the boat.\nFrom Lochmaddy we drove around the northern edge of Uist. An uneven low-lying marshy landscape with lots of pools (lochans). At RSPB Balranald we had bread and cheese for lunch in the car. We spent a couple of hours walking around the reserve.\nBirdwatching at Balranald Flowers everywhere in the machair: buttercups, vetch, silverweed, wild carrot, dark purple orchids, other unidentified herbiage. Birds. Among them, ringed plovers, corn buntings, twite, lapwings, ravens.\nLapwing in the machair The ringed plovers were well-camouflaged and virtually invisible against the background of the pebbles on the beach.\nRinged plover There are several in the photo below.\nCamouflage Pipit Cup of tea at Clannach Kirkibost, then to Langass Lodge. Fabulous room with an amazing view.\nView from room Dinner was great: halibut ceviche, peppered duck breast, Hebridean seafood platter, lobster thermidor, nice cheese.\nRemains of lobster thermidor After dinner, we walked down to the loch. Mergansers and midges.\nAfter-dinner view ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/01/monday-1st-july-balranald/","summary":"Got the 9:30am ferry from Uig. Sunny crossing with views of gannets, arctic skua, puffins, guillemots. Porridge for breakfast on the boat. From Lochmaddy we drove around the northern edge of Uist. An uneven low-lying marshy landscape with lots of pools (lochans). At RSPB Balranald we had bread and cheese for lunch in the car. … Read more “Monday 1st July: Balranald”","title":"Monday 1st July: Balranald"},{"content":"Porridge for breakfast, then left hotel at 9am for drive north.\nPorridge Out of Glasgow we followed the edge of Loch Lomond. Sky and loch and road were uniform pewter-grey, everything else was verdant green with purple foxgloves all the way. Coffee stop at Tyndrum, then through low cloud and rain up over the great undulating heathery Rannoch Moor. Down through spectacular Glencoe, stopped to look at the Three Sisters, shrouded in mist\nTwo of the Three Sisters, Glencoe then through the Great Glen and stopped to buy provisions for lunch at Fort William.\nParked in Glengarry overlooking the loch and ate smoked venison, bread, Mull cheddar and haggis crisps.\nLunch Crossed the bridge to Skye and saws the Cuillins, occasionally visible looming shear through the cloud.\nSome Cuillins Arrived at the Cowshed bunkhouse, and checked into our cosy pod high up on the hill, with a view down onto the bay and Uig.\nPod at the Cowshed Bunkhouse, Uig View from the pod Rain stopped, and we walked down to road to the Uig Hotel. Nice dinner of scallops, haggis, red deer, mussels, cheese. Walked back up the lane to the bunkhouse, the verges full of flowering foxgloves, clover, orchids, vetch.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/07/01/sunday-30th-june-driving-to-uig/","summary":"Porridge for breakfast, then left hotel at 9am for drive north. Out of Glasgow we followed the edge of Loch Lomond. Sky and loch and road were uniform pewter-grey, everything else was verdant green with purple foxgloves all the way. Coffee stop at Tyndrum, then through low cloud and rain up over the great undulating … Read more “Sunday 30th June: driving to Uig”","title":"Sunday 30th June: driving to Uig"},{"content":"Looked in the one-room piping museum, attached to the hotel. Had a go on the bagpipes. Harder than it looks.\nLovely music A group of Japanese schoolchildren arrived, and they all had a go too. Lovely.\nGot the subway train to Hillhead, and walked in a pleasant neighbourhood past red sandstone university buildings to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.\nSpitfire and stuff Looked at lots of stuff, including stuffed animals, a giant auk, a Spitfire hanging from the ceiling, Scottish and other art, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow school.\nSaw a genuine haggis.\nStuffed haggis Lunch in the cafe, then listened to the 1pm organ recital.\nWandered round the West End, visited cafes, got soaked in heavy rain shower, back on the subway.\nDinner at the hotel.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/06/29/saturday-29th-june-glasgow/","summary":"Looked in the one-room piping museum, attached to the hotel. Had a go on the bagpipes. Harder than it looks. A group of Japanese schoolchildren arrived, and they all had a go too. Lovely. Got the subway train to Hillhead, and walked in a pleasant neighbourhood past red sandstone university buildings to the Kelvingrove Art … Read more “Saturday 29th June: Glasgow”","title":"Saturday 29th June: Glasgow"},{"content":"Google redirected us through rural Shropshire to avoid a motorway accident, so we drove for an hour through green lanes passing fields of crimson poppies iridescent in the morning sunlight. M6 was slow, as always.\nAt Glasgow piping centre hotel we were met with a complementary glass of Glenfiddich, and have a poky room with a view of a building site.\nNational Piping Centre and Pipers Tryst Hotel We got some exercise by walking down to the Clyde and along its banks to the west, then back up through downtown. It’s choked with traffic and a bit of a dump. The grid street layout means every few paces you have stop at a pedestrian crossing.\nBank of the Clyde, downtown Glasgow Very good fish dinner at Gamba restaurant including raw fish, smoked fish and cooked shellfish.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/06/29/friday-28th-june-drive-to-glasgow/","summary":"Google redirected us through rural Shropshire to avoid a motorway accident, so we drove for an hour through green lanes passing fields of crimson poppies iridescent in the morning sunlight. M6 was slow, as always. At Glasgow piping centre hotel we were met with a complementary glass of Glenfiddich, and have a poky room with … Read more “Friday 28th June: drive to Glasgow”","title":"Friday 28th June: drive to Glasgow"},{"content":"Through sunshine to our usual Shropshire stop-over, The Raven hotel in Much Wenlock. Pint, meal, wander around the village.\nRaven dinner ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/06/27/thursday-27th-june-much-wenlock/","summary":"Through sunshine to our usual Shropshire stop-over, The Raven hotel in Much Wenlock. Pint, meal, wander around the village.","title":"Thursday 27th June: Much Wenlock"},{"content":"Crab Kedgeree, French toast for breakfast, then a good 12.4 mile walk.\nBlue is the planned route, red is where we actually went. Through the church yard and out of Dunster past the cemetery.\nClimbed up onto Exmoor through a deer park, good views back of the castle, Exmoor ponies, no deer.\nAt the top of Aller Hill J heard and then spotted crossbills. We watched two males and two females high up in the trees by the edge of the path. Then we headed along a track through some conifers and came out onto heathland. We followed the Macmillan Way for a bit, and had good views over the Bristol Channel with Minehead Butlins in the distance.\nAt the bottom of the hill we stopped to look at St Nicholas Church at Withycombe.\nWe followed the lane to Blue Anchor station, and then went along the top of the shingle beach for a bit.\nWe splashed along a muddy track\nand emerged right opposite The Butcher’s Arms in Carhampton.\nThe locals at the bar were friendly. No sandwiches on the menu (“not at this time of year”) but the barman, six foot, tattoos, ear full of metal, probably ex-convict, offered to make us some. Ham and cheese, with salad, nice pint of Tribute.\nBack along the path to the sea, and then we followed the coast and the railway line back towards Dunster.\nBeach huts. £97k, apparently.\nBack at Dunster, cup of tea in the Tessa’s Tea Shop.\nBirds seen:\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/02/16/saturday-16th-february/","summary":"Crab Kedgeree, French toast for breakfast, then a good 12.4 mile walk. Blue is the planned route, red is where we actually went. Through the church yard and out of Dunster past the cemetery. Climbed up onto Exmoor through a deer park, good views back of the castle, Exmoor ponies, no deer. At the top … Read more “Saturday 16th February”","title":"Saturday 16th February"},{"content":"Drove to Dunster stopping at WWT Steart Marshes on the way.\nWalked around the reserve for a bit.\nBirds seen:\nKestrel Raven Lapwing Golden plover Linnets Stonechat Reed bunting Cetti’s warbler Wren Wigeon Teal Shoveller Mallard Shelduck Cormorant Pheasant Skylark Pied wagtail Brown hare (not a bird) Staying at Luttrell Arms hotel.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/02/16/friday-15th-february/","summary":"Drove to Dunster stopping at WWT Steart Marshes on the way. Walked around the reserve for a bit. Birds seen: Kestrel Raven Lapwing Golden plover Linnets Stonechat Reed bunting Cetti’s warbler Wren Wigeon Teal Shoveller Mallard Shelduck Cormorant Pheasant Skylark Pied wagtail Brown hare (not a bird) Staying at Luttrell Arms hotel.","title":"Friday 15th February"},{"content":"We drove 40 minutes to the car park next to Bel Tor. From there we did a 9.5 mile circular walk that took in wooded river valleys and high moorland.\nWe walked to Ponsworthy, and a few miles further on we passed a farm and a number of dogs of various shapes and sizes ran out to follow us up the road.\nAt the top of the hill we heard shouting and whistling and we stopped and waited for the farmer to reach us. He came up the road, calling his dogs back and waving a stick around in an annoyed fashion.\n“You don’t walk past someone’s farm and take their dogs with you! Hit them!”\nWe didn’t hit any of the dogs, and the angry farmer managed to round up all but one. When we carried on, following a footpath over the moor, the last dog followed us and stayed with us, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, until we got to Widecombe-in-the-Moor. We went into the Old Inn for lunch and managed to shut the door behind us before the dog got in.\nAfter lunch, we’d just left the pub when the farmer passed us in a tractor, the dog on the seat beside him.\nWe followed a logging trail through woods alongside the Webburn River back to Ponsworthy.\nbty A notice on the gate when we left the trail informed us that we should have had a permit to walk on it.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2019/01/05/wednesday-26th-december/","summary":"We drove 40 minutes to the car park next to Bel Tor. From there we did a 9.5 mile circular walk that took in wooded river valleys and high moorland. We walked to Ponsworthy, and a few miles further on we passed a farm and a number of dogs of various shapes and sizes ran … Read more “Wednesday 26th December”","title":"Wednesday 26th December"},{"content":"We planned a walk to a pub in Chagford. It started out drizzly and misty. We walked along the side of the River Teign and watched dippers. We passed an open air swimming pool, closed now and with dark brown dead leaves on the bottom.\nAfter a steep climb up a muddy field followed by a descent through some woods, what looked like a bridge on the OS map turned out to be a river that could only be crossed in summer at lower water, so we were forced to retrace our steps.\nWe got to Chagford in time for a quick pint, and back to the hotel for lunch at 14:30.\nIn the evening we played ‘Absolute Balderdash’ in front of a hot wood burner in the lounge. Sibyl won.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/12/29/tuesday-25th-december/","summary":"We planned a walk to a pub in Chagford. It started out drizzly and misty. We walked along the side of the River Teign and watched dippers. We passed an open air swimming pool, closed now and with dark brown dead leaves on the bottom. After a steep climb up a muddy field followed by … Read more “Tuesday 25th December”","title":"Tuesday 25th December"},{"content":"We left the hotel and walked along the seafront to the west, hoping to get to onto the beach to look for fossils, but at the end of the concrete walkway the tide was too high, so we turned back. We drove to Charmouth, and walked back along the beach there towards Lyme Regis. There were some other fossil hunters out. We found lots of belemnite bits and some ammonite fragments.\nJ walked up the hill and looked at the view.\nWe drove to Topsham to meet Sibyl and Derek for lunch at the Lighter Inn. The pub was full, so we walked around Topsham looking for somewhere for lunch, eventually finding the nearly-empty Lord Nelson (‘Craft Ales, Street Food, Live Music’) where the food and beer was fine.\nAfter lunch we followed the walkway around the water edge. The tide was out so the birds were distant. We saw avocets, lapwings, redshanks, black-tailed godwits, curlews, grey plovers. Further on on Bowling green Marshes there were lots of teal and wigeon, and shovellers, snipe, heron.\nWe got to the Mill End Hotel, near Chagford, around 16:30.\nDrinks at 6pm were followed by a ‘tasting menu’ with rather too much food at each course.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/12/29/monday-24th-december/","summary":"We left the hotel and walked along the seafront to the west, hoping to get to onto the beach to look for fossils, but at the end of the concrete walkway the tide was too high, so we turned back. We drove to Charmouth, and walked back along the beach there towards Lyme Regis. There … Read more “Monday 24th December”","title":"Monday 24th December"},{"content":"We drove to Romsey, arriving at 11am. We had a coffee and then went for lunch with Vera at Prezzos. Wendy came round in the afternoon, followed by Ian and Nicky. We had a chat with tea and mince pies, but the pastry on the pies was too thick.\nWe left at 5pm to drive to the Alexandra hotel at Lyme Regis. The hotel was grand and very nice, and on arrival we were upgraded to the best ‘Duchess’ room, as there were few other guests. The room had a panoramic view over out over the coast.\nDinner in the restaurant was good. After dinner we walked down the steep hill to the harbour, and explored the harbour and went out along the Cobb.\nComing back to the hotel we heard tawny owls calling.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/12/29/sunday-23rd-december/","summary":"We drove to Romsey, arriving at 11am. We had a coffee and then went for lunch with Vera at Prezzos. Wendy came round in the afternoon, followed by Ian and Nicky. We had a chat with tea and mince pies, but the pastry on the pies was too thick. We left at 5pm to drive … Read more “Sunday 23rd December”","title":"Sunday 23rd December"},{"content":"We parked in front of a feeder in the Greylake RSPB reserve car park and watched the birds until it stopped raining. Then we walked on the trail through the reedbeds and sat in the hide. The sun came out.\nThere were lots of ducks, some buzzards perched on fence posts drying out their wings, and a marsh harrier. A water rail crossed the path in front of us when we came out of the hide. We walked around the reserve, and saw chiff chaffs, reed buntings, cattle egrets, lots of lapwings.\nWe drove to the Halfway House pub near Langport for lunch.\nAfter lunch we went to Swell Wood and walked around the trails. Not many birds, but the trees were bright Autumn gold in the afternoon sunlight.\nWe drove to nearby Hambridge to look at the Vicarage where Cecil Sharp heard gardener John England singing the Seeds of Love in 1903.\nIt’s a nursing home now.\nThen back to the Devonshire Arms, stopping briefly at Burrow Hill cider mill and distillery on the way. There was a tour in progress. A group of people were standing in the yard with some large piles of apples.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/11/10/saturday-greylake-swell-wood/","summary":"We parked in front of a feeder in the Greylake RSPB reserve car park and watched the birds until it stopped raining. Then we walked on the trail through the reedbeds and sat in the hide. The sun came out. There were lots of ducks, some buzzards perched on fence posts drying out their wings, … Read more “Saturday, Greylake, Swell Wood”","title":"Saturday, Greylake, Swell Wood"},{"content":"We were not expecting to see much when we arrived late afternoon at Ham Wall. It was overcast, windy, and starting to rain. However, small flocks of starlings were arriving at the same time as we were. A great egret flew past, and a young heron came very close, seemingly oblivious to our presence on the track crossing a rhine.\nWe went to a new covered viewing area and watched more flocks of starlings and a peregrine, which caught one of them.\nWe walked further along the track and had great views of thousands of starlings swirling about and diving down into the reeds.\nIt was cold, getting dark and raining more heavily now, so we headed to the Devonshire Arms.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/11/09/friday-ham-wall/","summary":"We were not expecting to see much when we arrived late afternoon at Ham Wall. It was overcast, windy, and starting to rain. However, small flocks of starlings were arriving at the same time as we were. A great egret flew past, and a young heron came very close, seemingly oblivious to our presence on … Read more “Friday, Ham Wall”","title":"Friday, Ham Wall"},{"content":"Lazy morning.\nPacked lunch and drove to Loch Spiggie. On the single-track road around Bigton we had to pull in to let a large German tour bus pass in the other direction.\nAt Loch Spiggie we walked a short way along the loch to the beach in howling gales with few breaks in the rain. Saw some whooper swans, curlews, etc.\nWe decided to drive back to the Mousa Boat dock to have lunch, and see if we could see last night’s otter again.\nOn the road back up, we came across the German tour bus blocking the road, half in the ditch. We went to see what was going on. The passengers were all still on the bus with one of the tour leaders, who got off when he saw us. He had lots of enamel badges up his waistcoat. The other leader was outside. Neither tour leader could get a mobile phone signal. Apparently the bus driver had gone off up the hill to try to get a signal. It was very windy and raining. J remembered a garage at the bottom of the hill, and she had a good 4G signal. She googled the garage name (Hendersons of Scousburgh), and rang them. The man there was helpful, and said he’d get in touch with the council.\nThe tour leaders were worried the bus would tip over further, so started to get the passengers off. It was only about 10 minutes later that a 4WD vehicle turned up with a council man in – and we seemed to be a long way from any council amenities. He said he’d close the road.\nBus off road We turned round, and took the scenic route to the Mousa harbour. After lunch we walked along the edge of the bay for a bit, but it was very cold, windy and wet.\nBack at the cabin, we showered, packed and set off to board the ferry at 17:00.\nExcitingly, on the ferry we discovered that the bus incident had made the Shetland Times website:\nShetland Times bus shocker ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/21/thursday-spiggie-bus-incident/","summary":"Lazy morning. Packed lunch and drove to Loch Spiggie. On the single-track road around Bigton we had to pull in to let a large German tour bus pass in the other direction. At Loch Spiggie we walked a short way along the loch to the beach in howling gales with few breaks in the rain. … Read more “Thursday: Spiggie bus incident”","title":"Thursday: Spiggie bus incident"},{"content":"R dropped J off at Clickimmin Broch in Lerwick in the morning. J spent the morning looking round the broch and Lerwick library, museum, and arts centre. R drove up to the Vidlin in the north-west mainland to look for otters. R spent an hour at Swining Voe. A tern colony was aggressive when passed, and redshanks also launched dummy attacks. Eiders with young were out on the voe. No otters. Then R stopped for an hour at Weisdale Voe again, which had looked promising yesterday, and then met J at 13:00 back in Lerwick.\nWe had lunch at the Mareel arts centre cafe, and then dashed across to the Victoria Pier to board the boat for the Noss boat trip. R had been exchanging emails and texts with Marie from Seabirds and Seals for a few days trying to book the trip. We’d originally wanted to do it on Wednesday morning, but that was fully booked when we asked, so we agreed on Thursday morning. Then the weather forecast made Thursday’s sailing unlikely, and a couple of spaces became available on the Wednesday morning trip. We finally settled on Wednesday afternoon, and confirmed just an hour before the boat set off at 14:15.\nThe boat went around Bressay and out to Noss, where the seabird colonies were spectacular. Vast, sheer, granite cliffs, where every available ledge was crammed with guillemots, gannets and fulmars. We also saw one of the few kittiwake colonies on Shetland.\nBird cliffs, Noss Gannets, Noss Guillemots, some bridled, Noss After Noss we pulled into a small bay and skipper Brian put down a remote-controller submersible and we watched underwater video as he drove it around the kelp beds. It was mostly just seaweed, and a starfish.\nTurns out our guide, Kenny Johnson, makes mandolins and fiddle pickups at Skyinbow.\nBack at the harbour, a grey seal came up to the jetty.\nGrey seal, Lerwick We stopped at the co-op to get some “tusk” fish for dinner. A local type of ling, related to cod.\nAfter dinner we set off for the boat trip to Mousa to see the storm petrels. The boat was due to leave at 10:30. We went out a bit earlier and stopped en route to look for otters, but didn’t see any.\nAt Sandsayre harbour we got on the Mousa boat with about 20 other people. An otter was spotted on a rock, and we watched it swimming and fishing for a bit.\nOtter The boat was operated by the skipper and his son. It took 15 minutes to get to Mousa, where we were divided into groups with a guide for each. Our guide was the boat skipper. He told us about the island of Mousa and about the habits of the storm petrel: the small birds spend the winter in the southern Atlantic or Indian Ocean and return to Mousa to breed in May. The parents take it in turns to sit on the single egg, with other parent flying off long distances to feed. They swap over at dusk (so around midnight at this time of year) to avoid predators. Their legs are poorly-adapted for walking, so they’re quite immobile once on the ground. The birds on the nests make a churring sound at night, as they anticipate the return of their mates.\nWe walked to the Iron Age broch.\nMousa Broch, moon, 23:30 The churring sound was coming from dry-stone walls that we passed on the way.\nAudio not yet migrated\npetrels.mp3 The broch is the best-preserved of its type anywhere, and is at least 2000 years old. It’s double-walled, with a staircase climbing round between the walls to the top. We climbed the staircase to the top. The steps were very narrow.\nThe storm petrels started to return after midnight. A few at first, and then hundreds, looking and flying like bats in the half-light, spinning round the broch. Inside too, they whirled around close to our heads and around our legs. When occasionally one became disorientated and flopped to the ground it struggled to get airborne again.\nMousa Broch, 01:00 Petrel numbers here have risen over recent years, in spite of the presence of human visitors, to whom the petrels seem completely oblivious. One theory is that humans deter the petrels’ main predators, the bonxies and greater black-backed gulls.\nThe boat got back at about 1:30am. Bed at 2:30.\nDisembarking, 01:30 ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/20/wednesday-two-boat-trips/","summary":"R dropped J off at Clickimmin Broch in Lerwick in the morning. J spent the morning looking round the broch and Lerwick library, museum, and arts centre. R drove up to the Vidlin in the north-west mainland to look for otters. R spent an hour at Swining Voe. A tern colony was aggressive when passed, … Read more “Wednesday: two boat trips”","title":"Wednesday: two boat trips"},{"content":"In the morning we drove across East Burra and parked at Houss. We walked out on Houss Ness for a bit, hoping to spot for otters. We didn’t see any. We went to Scalloway and had Cullen Skink at Da Haaf, a nice canteen attached to the University of the Highlands and Islands marine centre overlooking the bay. After lunch we had a look around Scalloway and went into the castle.\nScalloway Castle Then we walked around the golf course at Asta Loch. J dropped R off by the Side of Weisdale Vow and went for tea and cake at the Bonhonga Gallery cafe. R watched the wildlife, and found a family of newly-hatched wrens.\nWrenlet Back at the cabin, we walked down to the water and sat on the grass watching terns, skuas, gannets and seals.\nGood dinner in Lerwick at an unusual French restaurant called C’est La Vie (cassoulet, duck sausages), and then the Marlex bar at the Douglas Arms for the Tuesday night music session.\nJ played fiddle, R sampled some local beers. Lots of the tunes were familiar – not unknown-to-us Shetland tunes as we’d been expecting.\nThe session was friendly and the music was good. We stayed until about 11pm.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/19/tuesday-scalloway/","summary":"In the morning we drove across East Burra and parked at Houss. We walked out on Houss Ness for a bit, hoping to spot for otters. We didn’t see any. We went to Scalloway and had Cullen Skink at Da Haaf, a nice canteen attached to the University of the Highlands and Islands marine centre … Read more “Tuesday: Scalloway”","title":"Tuesday: Scalloway"},{"content":"We had an email notification that tonight’s 22:30 trip to Mousa to see the storm petrels was cancelled due to bad weather – i.e. high winds.\nWe decided to go to Fetlar, to look for red-necked phalaropes. We set off at 7:30am. We drove up to the north of the mainland and took three ferries to Fetlar (population 50, size 5 miles by 2 miles). We went straight to Loch Funzie, pronounced “Finnie” of course, to look for red-necked phalaropes. It was very windy. We walked round the side of the loch to the RSPB hide overlooking the Mire of Funzie – a wetland area with pools mixed with stands of horsetail and cottongrass. Snipe were drumming overhead and Starlings were busy everywhere, chattering. Redshanks and bonxies came past, a couple of Arctic skuas flew overhead, and some black-headed gulls were hovering low over a meadow looking like they were catching insects. They were nesting further out. We didn’t see any phalaropes.\nSnipe We drove to Aith and parked at the Bod and ate lunch watching the breakers crashing in from the Wick of Aith. Then we drove to Everland and attempted a walk along the coast, but high winds and freezing rain made us abandon the attempt.\nWe went back to Funzie. After an hour in the hide, watching snipe drumming and chasing each other in mating displays, and a distant red-throated diver, we resigned ourselves to a Fetlar phalarope failure.\nHowever…\nOn the way back to the car, by the side of the loch, we met a Scottish couple who pointed out a phalarope right next to them on the shore. It was blowing a gale and lashing with rain, but we got some good close views.\nRed-necked phalarope We stopped on the way back to the ferry terminal and J had a cup of tea and cake in the shop/cafe at Houbie. R went down to the beach to look at stuff. The girl serving had been here three weeks, moving up with her stockman partner. R came up and bought potatoes for tea, and beer.\nWe got the ferry to Yell, and raced across Yell, making it just in time for the 17:30 to the mainland.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/18/monday-fetlar-phalarope-expedition/","summary":"We had an email notification that tonight’s 22:30 trip to Mousa to see the storm petrels was cancelled due to bad weather – i.e. high winds. We decided to go to Fetlar, to look for red-necked phalaropes. We set off at 7:30am. We drove up to the north of the mainland and took three ferries … Read more “Monday: Fetlar Phalarope Expedition”","title":"Monday: Fetlar Phalarope Expedition"},{"content":"We went to Sumburgh Head in the morning. We parked at the hotel and went to look at Jarlshof. On the way, we stopped to look at some Shetland ponies in a field.\nHorse A man came down with his young daughter to check on the ponies. He offered to sell us one for £1500. He was from Kelso, but had been here 15 years. He worked on the road barriers at Sumburgh airport. It’s busy, with lots of flights coming in from the mainland and helicopters taking people out to the oil rigs. The two of them went on to Jarlshof as well, though it was the first time they’d visited in the 15 years he’d been here.\nJarlshof was a mishmash of different periods of rubble, from neolithic to 17th century.\nJarlshof We saw a another wren nest in the wall of one of the stone-age wheelhouses.\nWren We did a 3-mile or so round trip from Jarlshof via Sumburh head, where there were lots of puffins and sundry other seabirds.\nPuffin We went up to the lighthouse.\nSumburgh lighthouse We drove to Bigton and parked by the beach to have lunch. Then we walked out over the sandy tombolo to St Ninian’s Isle. Long-tailed ducks were in the sea.\nSt Ninian’s Isle We walked around the isle. Bright sunshine all the way and amazing views of dramatic cliffs with fulmars, ravens, oystercatchers, wheatears, seals bobbing in the water, and good views of red-throated divers.\nBack at the lodge, R went for a walk along the coast and was attacked by terns nesting on an islet nearby.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/17/sunday-sumburgh-st-ninians-isle/","summary":"We went to Sumburgh Head in the morning. We parked at the hotel and went to look at Jarlshof. On the way, we stopped to look at some Shetland ponies in a field. A man came down with his young daughter to check on the ponies. He offered to sell us one for £1500. He … Read more “Sunday: Sumburgh, St Ninian’s Isle”","title":"Sunday: Sumburgh, St Ninian’s Isle"},{"content":"In Lerwick R bought a replacement camera, from the choice of one available in the only camera shop in Shetland. Not as good as the broken one, but will have to do. We had a coffee in the Peerie Shop cafe and mooched around Lerwick for a bit. It’s the carnival tonight, and during the day there was an RNLI fundraiser on the car park next to Victoria Pier. There were raffles, lucky dips, radio controlled boats, tea and lots of cakes. The lifeboat and coastguard ship were moored against the pier. We had a look around the lifeboat.\nThere was a lifeboatman in the water.\nAnother man was walking around with a goat.\nOn a flatbed trailer there was a succession of bands playing. Children were trying out the sirens on a nearby coastguard vehicle, which was a bit distracting to audience and band!\nWe watched a Scottish dance band, then went to have lunch at the Queen’s Hotel: seafood chowder, scallops, chips, very nice.\nIn the afternoon we watched a klezmer band, a shanty group from Yell and a Shetland fiddle group.\nWe bought provisions at the Co-op, and drove to our self-catering lodge near Fladdabister. Great views over to Bressay, and we can watch terns, gannets, fulmars, etc from the kitchen window.\nR walked up to the farm shop at the top of the road. They were shut, but saw him outside and let him in. R bought a couple of lamb chops. The family were inside eating their dinner.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/16/saturday-lerwick/","summary":"In Lerwick R bought a replacement camera, from the choice of one available in the only camera shop in Shetland. Not as good as the broken one, but will have to do. We had a coffee in the Peerie Shop cafe and mooched around Lerwick for a bit. It’s the carnival tonight, and during the … Read more “Saturday: Lerwick”","title":"Saturday: Lerwick"},{"content":"Decent breakfast – good kippers. R’s camera is playing up: it won’t power on. Google reveals a camera shop in Lerwick which we’ll visit in the morning.\nWe went to Hillswick and parked opposite the St Magnus Bay hotel. We walked around the Ness of Hillswick. Five miles in total, spectacular scenery all round. The Ness is a hill connected to the mainland by a short narrow spit. The coastline is dramatic red granite cliffs and jagged red fingers of granite stacks stick out of the sea. It was bright sunshine and windy. Half way round a storm brought fierce horizontal rain and salt spray which soaked us through, but it only lasted 10 minutes or so and the wind soon dried us off.\nWindy At the top of the Ness was a bonxie nest. They dive-bombed us for a bit.\nAlmost back at the car we stopped to talk to an old man dressed head to foot in tweed outside a farrier’s farm. He was called Bruce, and talked to us a lot about the local wildlife and Russian submarines. He’d moved here in 1975 from Yorkshire. He told us of a place to see merlins.\nWe drove west past Braewick and found a scenic spot next to a farm with panoramic views of the dramatic coastline where we ate our now familiar lunch of cheese, bread, oatcakes and apples. Then we returned to Braewick and parked in the cafe car park and walked down to the beach. Braewick is on the edge of Esha Ness, a large extinct volcano, and here on the beach the red granite rock to the west meets the black volcanic basalt to the east, with the join clearly visible.\nBraewick rock fault Braewick rock fault, with contextual sea On the way back we found the place Bruce had suggested, and indeed we did have good views of merlins. They were nesting there in the heather above the road, and we watched them flying between two low peaks.\nWe stopped again at Mavis Grind, near the hotel. J went to look at a chambered cairn while R went along the shore looking for otters. In the end, neither the chambered cairn nor any otters were spotted.\nNice beers (Simmer Dim), then dinner in the bar slightly better than last night. Nice bottle of Chateau Musar wine. Still no need to smother the lamb with honey sauce…\nAfter dinner we went down to the jetty to look for otters. J went back to fetch her fiddle, at which point an otter appeared. J returned and played the fiddle for a bit. The otter didn’t come back.\nFiddle playing ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/15/friday-ness-of-hillswick/","summary":"Decent breakfast – good kippers. R’s camera is playing up: it won’t power on. Google reveals a camera shop in Lerwick which we’ll visit in the morning. We went to Hillswick and parked opposite the St Magnus Bay hotel. We walked around the Ness of Hillswick. Five miles in total, spectacular scenery all round. The … Read more “Friday: Ness of Hillswick”","title":"Friday: Ness of Hillswick"},{"content":"We checked out and drove a few minutes up the road to the Keen of Hamar, but it was cold, wet and windy so we didn’t bother to walk up the hill to look at the wild flowers. Instead, we drove down to Belmont and caught the ferry back to Yell. We drove north to Breckon. The weather brightened up. The grass in the meadows was green, and the meadows and roadsides were full of wild flowers: red campions, yellow vetch, purple orchids. We parked in a small yard next to a farm building and walked down to a pristine beach called the Sands of Breckon. A flotilla of shags bobbed and dived in the crystal blue water.\nShags We crossed the beach and found wild rocket growing, identified thanks to the information board where we’d parked the car. We climbed the dunes and walked along the top of the Ness of Houlland through swathes of pink sea thrift until we reached the end. It was wild and blustery. We watched terns plunge-diving. We walked back to the car past through some norse rubble, remnants of a farmstead. High up it was very windy with 60mph gusts.\nNice beach We drove down to the south west corner of Yell, stopping on the way at Windhouse, near Mid Yell. It’s a ruined building, on the site of a 2000-year-old settlement. We drove up a track and walked up to the house, supposed to be the most haunted site on Shetland. Ravens were swooping and cronking overhead, but ghosts and ectoplasm were notable only by their absence.\nHaunted house We parked on a track overlooking Southladie Voe to eat lunch of bread and oatcakes and Orkney cheese. It was very windy, with squally rain showers.\nAfter lunch we drove a few miles towards Sound. On the way we tried to drive up a rough track to the high central moors, but had to turn back after about a mile as the Skoda didn’t have enough clearance to clear the high centre of the track, which had been scouring the underside of the car. True enough, a large red sign had said “Agricultural track” earlier on.\nAt Stambery Houll we parked at the end of a track next to a deserted farm, and walked along the edge of the Wick of Sound and out along a spit where terns and ringed plovers were nesting, up on to the Ness of Sound. It was machair underfoot, a thin layer of peat with a patchwork of colourful moss and lichens. The views from the top were spectacular.\nAfter that we headed to Ulsta and drove straight on to the ferry to the mainland. One brief glimpse of an otter near the shore, lying on its back and then turning to dive, tail in the air, just as the ferry was leaving. On the 15-minute ferry trip we watched birds: puffins, gannets, guillemots, etc.\nWe headed to the hotel, stopping to look across at the Sullom Voe oil terminal on the way.\nThe Busta House hotel is comfortable, in a different league to the Baltasound place. A labyrinth of uneven passageways leads to our room on the top floor. Everywhere is heavily carpeted apart from the pleasant lounge, which is light and airy and comfortable, but still not short of soft furnishings. Nice gardens lead down a short track to a jetty in Busta Voe.\nDinner in the restaurant was an overdone affair: four courses, R had soup, mussels, haddock covered in salmon blanketed in an unnecessary creamy sauce and the finest four fridge-cold cheeses the local co-op could supply, including chilli cheese and white stilton with cranberries. Tomorrow we’ll try eating in the bar.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/14/thursday-yell/","summary":"We checked out and drove a few minutes up the road to the Keen of Hamar, but it was cold, wet and windy so we didn’t bother to walk up the hill to look at the wild flowers. Instead, we drove down to Belmont and caught the ferry back to Yell. We drove north to … Read more “Thursday: Yell”","title":"Thursday: Yell"},{"content":"After a greasy fry-up we drove south west and then west towards Westing. At Lund the road turned into a track, and then was blocked by a gate. An old morris minor approached from behind and a woman got out to open the gate ahead of us. We carried on and parked by the ruined St Olaf’s Kirk, and had a look around the graveyard.\nSt Olaf’s Kirk The couple from the morris minor walked their dogs along the beach. We chatted to them when the got back to the car. They were from Nottingham, but spent at least 6 months of the year here. They lived in the beige cottage across the bay, and we would be welcome to stop by for coffee if we were passing. They recommended a walk around the bays to see the Viking ruins opposite, which we did. We crossed three empty white-sand beaches. Close by the shore there were a couple of gannets tangled in fishing net. One was dead and submerged, the other alive and appeared to have its foot caught in the net. On the north side of Lunda Wick we climbed up past the ruins of a longhouse to the remains of a broch, from the top of which were good views.\nGood view On the way back, R stripped down to his underwear and waded into the icy sea, much like a Viking warrior would, to free the surviving gannet, which had its neck, not leg, caught in the net. It was agitated at first, and lunged for R with its scimitar-like beak, but it seemed to relax when taken firmly around the neck and was easily freed. It flapped off into the bay and started to preen itself.\nWe drove up to Westing and parked at the end of a track facing the sea and ate our lunch.\nR’s pants were drying on the back seat headrest.\nThen we walked along the coast looking for otters. Snipe were drumming overhead. No otters were seen by us. We saw a wren darting back and forth below a grassy overhang, and watched it bringing food to young in a nest there. It looked like it was gathering sand shrimps in its beak.\nWren We drove towards Belmont, and stopped on the way to look at common and grey seals hauled out on the rocks.\nAt Uyeasound we looked at an old Bod, but not much was going on.\nOn the way back to Baltasound we stopped at Skibhoul Stores to buy tomorrow’s lunch and a bottle of 12-year old Highland Park. After dinner we went to Baltasound Hall and experienced the fortnightly Unst Music and Dance Club’s dance night. There were nine people in the band, playing fiddles and accordions, and one keyboard player. One of the fiddlers was the man who spoke to R yesterday outside the Skibhoul Store.\nShetland WI Unst Music and Dance Club There were about 20 people at the dance, and almost all of the dancers were women. A couple of men were sitting chatting. We were made to feel very welcome. Most of the dances were unfamiliar, but we managed to follow the other dancers. At half time there was a break and tea and plates piled high with cakes were brought round, and then there was a raffle. The fiddle player we’d spoken to turned out to be a retired policeman, who’d been on the island since 1978. His wife Jean also played fiddle in the band; she was a retired librarian and graduate of Bristol University. Everyone was very friendly.\nAn annoying woman with orange hair latched on to us. She looked about 90, but proudly claimed to be 75.\nAt the end of the evening when we were chatting to people, the policeman muttered to R that she was the biggest visitor-deterrent they had. We spoke with a younger female fiddle player at the end. She seemed to be one of the band leaders, and was the one who’d been telephoned from the shop yesterday. She said it was harder to get younger players along to this event. It was quiet tonight because it was one of the first dances in the season. We talked to her about the local music scene, and she told J that there was a Shetland step-dancing tradition.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/13/wednesday-unst-walking-gannet-dance/","summary":"After a greasy fry-up we drove south west and then west towards Westing. At Lund the road turned into a track, and then was blocked by a gate. An old morris minor approached from behind and a woman got out to open the gate ahead of us. We carried on and parked by the ruined … Read more “Wednesday: Unst, walking, gannet, dance”","title":"Wednesday: Unst, walking, gannet, dance"},{"content":"After breakfast we picked up our packed lunch from the bar and drove to Hermaness. On the way we stopped to look at about 100 great skuas bathing at the end of the freshwater Loch of Cliff. We drove down a bumpy track to get a better view. At Hermaness we parked and followed the trail up the hill. The ground was peaty, cut through with streams and dotted with dark pools. Underfoot was cottongrass, moss and tormentil and in one spot we found insect-eating sundew growing.\nCottongrass, sundew When we got higher up, we began to come across large brown great skuas (bonxies) sitting on the ground as on nests. We watched one drinking from a pool.\nBonxie on nest At the top the heather and peat gave way to short-cropped grass, grazed by many sheep. The cliffs were spectacular, teeming with gannets.\nGannets After about three miles we reached the end and had good views of Muckle Flugga lighthouse.\nMuckle Flugga lighthouse Muckle Flugga is the most northerly point in the UK. No one was ahead of us, so we were at this point the most northerly people in the UK. R had the most northerly pee in the UK.\nWe walked up to the top of the hill towards the ruins of an earlier lighthouse, and were dive-bombed by bonxies.\nAttacking bonxie Attacking bonxie We drove across to Norwick on the east coast and parked overlooking a small bay to eat our sandwiches.\nAfter a coffee in Victoria’s teashop in Haroldswick we had a look in a reconstructed Viking longhouse and longboat.\nHaroldswick Viking paraphanelia We went to the Unst Heritage Centre and learned about lacemaking and crofting and lighthouse life. The woman there said that the Baltasound shop would know about local traditional music events – there might be something on Wednesday.\nBack in Baltasound we went to the shop and bought bread and crisps for lunch tomorrow, and J asked about traditional music. The woman in the shop phoned a friend who worked at the school and played in the band to find out when the next dance at the Baltasound Hall would be. Apparently it’s tomorrow, Wednesday, 7:30pm, tea and cakes and a raffle.\nWe drove to a couple of places to look for otters. We didn’t see any. A man outside the Skibhoul stores said there was a great northern diver around in the Voe. He said you might find otters anywhere, but a good place was Westing, where we’re heading tomorrow.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/12/tuesday-unst/","summary":"After breakfast we picked up our packed lunch from the bar and drove to Hermaness. On the way we stopped to look at about 100 great skuas bathing at the end of the freshwater Loch of Cliff. We drove down a bumpy track to get a better view. At Hermaness we parked and followed the … Read more “Tuesday: Unst”","title":"Tuesday: Unst"},{"content":"We disembarked when the ferry docked at 7:30, and had a good breakfast in the Peerie Shop Cafe in Lerwick. Before that, we stopped to look at a bearded seal that was lying on the jetty next to the town centre car park.\nBeareded seal, Lerwick After breakfast we stopped at the co-op to buy bread and cheese for lunch. It was before 10am, so sadly they refused to sell us a bottle of beer and a bottle of Highland Park.\nWe drove up to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry to Yell.\nOn the ferry The weather was bright and breezy. We explored the east side of Yell.\nAt Burravoe we walked along the side of the Voe and up to the cliff edge and looked at fulmars sitting on nests and wheeling about.\nFlying fulmar Wild flowers were everywhere: thrift, purple orchids, yellow tormentil, lilac-coloured spring squill.\nWe drove on and stopped for lunch with a view of Fetlar.\nTraditional Scottish picnic We got the 16:00 ferry from Gutcher to Belmont on Unst.\nThe Unst ferry We drove east past Clivocast and stopped at a large Neolithic standing stone and then at the ruined Muness castle. We went into the deserted castle. There were dark passageways on the ground floor, with various rooms opening out from them.\nMuness Castle Next we went to Sandwick beach. Long and white, with a blue sea, terns diving into the water, and the remnants of a viking longhouse and farmstead.\nLonghouse at Sandwick Then we drove to the Baltasound Hotel.\nWe were checked in by a tall not-thin man in his 30s who spoke in a quietly posh English accent. The accommodation is in basic cabins, panelled in cheap pine, arranged in a U-shape around the main hotel building. The bar is open 18:00-21:30, dinner is 18:00-19:30.\nAfter a just-edible dinner we walked down the road to the marina and along the edge of Balta Sound as far as the derelict Buness House. On the jetty by the house a fulmar was sitting on a nest.\nBaltasound pier fulmar on nest, evening We stopped for a while to watch curious seals in the water just off the jetty.\nCurious seal ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/11/monday-lerwick-to-unst/","summary":"We disembarked when the ferry docked at 7:30, and had a good breakfast in the Peerie Shop Cafe in Lerwick. Before that, we stopped to look at a bearded seal that was lying on the jetty next to the town centre car park. After breakfast we stopped at the co-op to buy bread and cheese … Read more “Monday: Lerwick to Unst”","title":"Monday: Lerwick to Unst"},{"content":"We set off at 8:30 and arrived at the Aberdeen ferry terminal at 15:30. The ferry left at 17:00. We saw bottlenose dolphins as we were leaving the harbour.\nLeaving Aberdeen We watched a fulmar follow the boat for a bit, skimming very low over the water. Also puffins, gannets and lots of guillemots.\nNightcap, watching the wildlife from the cabin.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/10/sunday-driving-to-aberdeen/","summary":"We set off at 8:30 and arrived at the Aberdeen ferry terminal at 15:30. The ferry left at 17:00. We saw bottlenose dolphins as we were leaving the harbour. We watched a fulmar follow the boat for a bit, skimming very low over the water. Also puffins, gannets and lots of guillemots. Nightcap, watching the … Read more “Sunday: driving to Aberdeen”","title":"Sunday: driving to Aberdeen"},{"content":"On Friday we progressed northwards on the M5 much like a snail would, on account of a succession of roadworks and heavy traffic. After 7 hours we arrived at the Plough Inn at Lupton, not far from Morecambe Bay.\nOn Saturday we went to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. The reed beds were bright green.\nWhitethroat We watched marsh harriers, five at a time, and adult and young whitethroats. Lots of reed warblers. An osprey circled high above.\nWe had to be careful not to squash tiny froglets and toadlets that were crossing the path – hundreds of them.\nThen we went to the Morecambe Bay reserve, just down the road, and saw the black-headed gull colony, where there was lots of territorial squabbling among the gulls, and some avocets.\nThings seen on Saturday:\nmarsh harrier\nosprey\nheron\nblack-tailed godwit\nlapwing\navocet\nredshank\noystercatcher\ncurlew\nwater rail\nmoorhen\ncoot\nblack-headed gull and young\nshelduck\nshovelers\ngadwall\ntufted duck\nlittle grebe\ngreat-crested grebe\ngreylag goose\nmute swan\ncormorant\nlittle egret\nmarsh tit\ngreat tit\nbluetit\nreed bunting\nsedge warbler\nwhitethroat\nwillow warbler\nreed warbler\ntree creeper\nnuthatch\ngreat spotted woodpecker\nbullfinch\ngoldfinch\npheasant\nswift\nswallow\npied wagtail\ndunnock\nrobin\nblackbird\nwoodmouse\nrabbit\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/06/09/friday-saturday/","summary":"On Friday we progressed northwards on the M5 much like a snail would, on account of a succession of roadworks and heavy traffic. After 7 hours we arrived at the Plough Inn at Lupton, not far from Morecambe Bay. On Saturday we went to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. The reed beds were bright green. We … Read more “Friday Saturday”","title":"Friday Saturday"},{"content":" View from room Outside our room there was a guest book from the early 20th century.\nGuest book, 1916 We drove to Dartmeet via Ponsworthy. We passed Uphill Farm, where R worked for 7 days in 2005. At Dartmeet we walked about a bit. We went down to where the East and West Dart rivers combine, and we watched the birds on the feeders in the car park.\nYellowhammer Nuthatch ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/04/08/driving-home-via-dartmeet/","summary":"Outside our room there was a guest book from the early 20th century. We drove to Dartmeet via Ponsworthy. We passed Uphill Farm, where R worked for 7 days in 2005. At Dartmeet we walked about a bit. We went down to where the East and West Dart rivers combine, and we watched the birds … Read more “Driving home via Dartmeet”","title":"Driving home via Dartmeet"},{"content":"After a good breakfast, we walked from the pub up to Haytor.\nIt had just stopped raining and the air was damp and still, and the peaty ground wet underfoot. Glassy pools of water reflected shapes of the granite outcrops. We passed the old mine workings on the way up to the tor, and followed parts of the old granite tramway, built in 1820 to carry mined stone to the coast.\nTempler way Route: red is where we went, blue is where we had planned to go From the top of the tor we could see as far as Teignmouth, where there was a bright strip of sky between the dark ground and the clouds overhead. A distant tanker in the channel seemed to float on a sea of light.\nHay Tor We carried on past the tor and dropped into a valley, then climbed up past Greator to Hound Tor, passing the relics of a medieval settlement on the way.\nIn the valleys the trees were covered in emerald moss and draped with lichen hanging like old mens’ beards. Many of the footpaths were flooded after the recent rain and we were walking through running streams.\nWe had lunch and a pint and a half of Dartmoor brewery Legend (R) in the Kestor Inn near Manaton, and then followed the river Bovey, in full spate, down the valley through Houndtor wood. One glimpse of a dipper.\nBeetle River Bovey Took a short cut from the valley, which proved to be a very steep ascent followed by a slippery scramble through thick gorse until we emerged onto the moor.\nGorse Then we walked back, past Dartmoor ponies and the edge of Yarner wood.\nDartmoor pony, eating grass Saw greater-spotted and green woodpeckers, but no lesser-spotted.\nA very fine walk, about 12.5 miles, followed by another good meal.\nDinner ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/04/07/walk-from-haytor/","summary":"After a good breakfast, we walked from the pub up to Haytor. It had just stopped raining and the air was damp and still, and the peaty ground wet underfoot. Glassy pools of water reflected shapes of the granite outcrops. We passed the old mine workings on the way up to the tor, and followed … Read more “Walk from Haytor”","title":"Walk from Haytor"},{"content":"We set off after lunch for the Rock Inn in Haytor Vale, on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor. We stopped at Yarner wood, a mile or so from the inn, on the way. We walked some trails in the wood and stopped in a hide for a bit. While we were there a warden came in and filled up the bird feeders from a seed hopper in the hide. We watched coal tits on the feeders, and a bank vole emerged from a hole in a tree stump in front of the hide.\nChecked into the inn. R enjoyed the Jail Ale, then we had an excellent dinner with a good bottle of white Beaujolais.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/2018/04/06/driving-to-dartmoor/","summary":"We set off after lunch for the Rock Inn in Haytor Vale, on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor. We stopped at Yarner wood, a mile or so from the inn, on the way. We walked some trails in the wood and stopped in a hide for a bit. While we were there a warden came … Read more “Driving to Dartmoor”","title":"Driving to Dartmoor"},{"content":"Started in 2018, this site is a record of our trips.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/about/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eStarted in 2018, this site is a record of our trips.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"About"},{"content":"\nGet in touch.\nYour name: Your email address: Message: Don't fill this out if you're human: (ignore): Send ","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/contact/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nGet in touch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cform name=\"contact\" action=\"/form_success\" method=\"POST\" data-netlify=\"true\" netlify-honeypot=\"bot_field\" data-netlify-recaptcha=\"true\"\u003e\n  \u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003e\n      \u003clabel\u003eYour name: \u003cinput type=\"text\" name=\"name\" /\u003e\u003c/label\u003e\n    \u003c/p\u003e \n  \u003c/div\u003e\n  \u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003e\n      \u003clabel\u003eYour email address: \u003cinput type=\"email\" name=\"email\" /\u003e\u003c/label\u003e\n    \u003c/p\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n  \u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003e\n      \u003clabel\u003eMessage: \u003ctextarea name=\"message\"\u003e\u003c/textarea\u003e\u003c/label\u003e\n    \u003c/p\u003e\n  \u003cdiv data-netlify-recaptcha=\"true\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n  \u003cdiv\u003e\n    \u003cp class=\"hidden\"\u003e\n      \u003clabel\u003eDon't fill this out if you're human: (ignore): \u003cinput name=\"bot_field\" /\u003e\u003c/label\u003e\n    \u003c/p\u003e\n  \u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003e\n      \u003cbutton type=\"submit\" style=\"margin-top:20px; padding-bottom:10px;\"\u003eSend\u003c/button\u003e\n    \u003c/p\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/form\u003e\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e","title":"contact"},{"content":"Thanks for your message.\n","permalink":"https://beingyonder.com/form_success/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThanks for your message.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"form_success"}]