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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”