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Lovely Lindfield

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, project 101, Travel, villages of the United Kingdom, walk 1000 miles 2018, tagged baby boomers travelling, black and white architecture, black and white timber framed houses, domesday book village, Lindfield East Sussex, travel writing, villages of england, visit england on April 13, 2018| 3 Comments »

When the agency phoned me to take on an assignment in East Sussex I groaned. I’ve been to East Sussex numerous times and wanted to work farther afield, but since that was what was available, I accepted.

As usual I did a bit of research on the place where I’d be working and was delighted to discover that Lindfield was in fact a Domesday Book village. Hoorah!! Suddenly my perspective changed LOL

Lindfield is a charming village with apparently over 40 black and white houses, although I’ve only found 5 so far.

There’s a house on the main street that was built in the 1300s and restored in the 18th century.

Other than that, there’s the fabulous Toll House dating from 1630.

The high street is lined with some fantastic houses, covering architecture from the 14th century through to the 19th.

There’s a lovely pond as you reach the high street which makes for some marvellous images.

The parish council runs the show and as a result, small independent stores and shops are flourishing…no Tesco, no Boots, no Starbucks, no Costa and no charity shops that I’ve seen as yet. There is however a CoOp.

Within a short walk is a pretty little nature reserve, although I haven’t yet explored it too much since I don’t fancy sploshing through mud…. I’ll save that for my Winchester to Canterbury pilgrimage LOL

I’ve managed a few exploratory walks around the neighbourhood, and Lindfield is a tad more than just a village now….more like a smallish town, but it is very pretty with some beautiful gardens and houses.

Lindfield is the 117th Domesday Book village/place I’ve visited. Well exceeding my Project 101 target of 101 🙂

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100th Anniversary of the RAF

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Historical, It's my life, memories of days gone by, Travel, tagged battle of britain airshow headcorn, https://samilhistory.com/2018/04/01/the-royal-air-forces-100th-birthday-and-its-founder-jan-smuts/, iconic spitfire, jan smuts, raf centenary, spitfire, travel writing on April 2, 2018| 1 Comment »

What a superb image. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RAF, and in just 24 days, thanks to my incredible, amazing daughter, I’ll be flying in one of these gorgeous machines celebrating my 63rd birthday 😊😊😊 (altho I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone how ‘old’ I am 😁). Talking of which, I’ve decided to switch the numbers around and make it 36!! 🤣🤣🤣 Age is but a number after all 🤔

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image cut out from The Daily Express newspaper. I’ll have to keep this in my diary 🙂

So wow, Spitfires eh. Aren’t they just beautiful. My favourite flying machine ahead of the Red Arrows. I can’t wait now to fly over the White Cliffs of Dover, I’m going to be a tearful mess 🙄🙄 Hope the pilot can cope!! I’m reminded of the Battle of Britain Airshow last year at Headcorn. What a joy to watch these superb little craft flypast

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The Supermarine Spitfire P FX seen at the Battle of Britain Airshow at Headcorn 08/07/2017

I remember seeing this advertised at the entrance and thinking how much I would love to have a flight….and now I will be…in just 24 days whoo hoo. Although the flight my daughter has paid for is well over 10 times more than the one advertised here, and I’ll be flying from Biggin Hill not Headcorn.

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The Spitfire Flight Experience at Headcorn. Although I’ll be flying from Biggin Hill which is just awesome

I was a tad disappointed with the various news coverage and programmes celebrating the 100th anniversary, since none of them mentioned the esteemed South African Statesman Jan Smuts, who was after all responsible for the founding of the RAF. So I’m mentioning it here. Hats off to one of my heroes. You are remembered. If you’re interested to read more about the founding father of the RAF, here’s the link to the relevant article

https://samilhistory.com/2018/04/01/the-royal-air-forces-100th-birthday-and-its-founder-jan-smuts/

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First Quarter Round Up

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, Fun Stuff, gratitude, Historical, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, lifestyle, project 101, Travel, villages of the United Kingdom, walk 1000 miles 2018, walks around the UK, tagged chester, chirbury shropshire, christleton, ely, ely cathedral, exning, fordham, greens windmill, montgomery wales, not just a granny travels, nottingham, oliver cromwells house, project 101, quex park, soham, travel diaries, travel in the UK, travel writing, wicken on April 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

I’ve often seen posts where people do a round up of the places they’ve been in any particular month or year, so I thought I’d do a first quarter round up of the places I’ve been since January 1st. I saw in the New Year in front of the telly at home with my daughter and future son-in-law LOL Although I used to love going into London to watch the New Year fireworks live, since they introduced the £10 admittance fee and having to queue for hours before getting in, I’ve decided….no more!

As part of the #walk1000 miles challenge for 2018, I’ve kept note of the km’s/miles covered on my various excursions, via mapmywalk. Some of the walks look like a drunken spider has been let loose! But what fun to look at the maps afterwards and see the places I walked through.

January 2018 – walked 41 miles

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London’s New Year fireworks on the telly. Key to the Kingdom; Montgomery, Wales and Chirbury, Shropshire

February 2018 – walked 48 miles

Nottingham

March 2019 – walked 63 miles

Chester

a walk along the Chester Canal to Christleton, a Domesday Book Village

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Quex Park and a tour of the towers

Fordham, Wicken, Soham

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Ely

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Exning; birthplace of St Etheldreda and home of Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni

Ely Cathedral

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Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely

And there it is; my first quarter round up of places I’ve been in January, February and March of 2018, and 152 miles from 01/01/18-31/03/2018 – I’m slacking and need to get out more if I want to reach my 1000 mile target. I had thought I’d stretch myself this year and aim for 2018 miles (LOL – yeah right) but most of the jobs I’ve had so far haven’t been conducive to much time for walking. I haven’t kept track of every step I’ve taken, and only count #bootson walks where I specifically set off to ‘have a walk’. My pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury in August/September will add at least 133 miles to the total, but even so…..

I wonder what April, May and June will bring. I know that most of May will be spent at home, what with my daughter’s impending wedding and everything involved with that, as well as which I’ll be flying in a Spitfire from Biggin Hill for my birthday later on this month….watch this space 🙂 I wonder if I can add ‘flying’ to my miles hahaha. I’m also planning a walk from Broadstairs to Folkestone later this month and a trip ‘up noooth’ for 3 days which will add a substantial mileage as I explore the city, however I shall have to motivate myself to get out more inbetween times.

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The Beast from the East

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, It's my life, Travel, tagged beast from the east, https://www.instagram.com/notjustagranny/, nottingham, river trent, snow in nottingham, travel diaries on March 2, 2018| 1 Comment »

Well we were warned! No-one can say that there weren’t repeated news briefs and weather warnings about the snow and cold that was headed our way.

It all started off rather mildly in Nottingham, a few flurries and a dusting of snow on the ground and it got somewhat colder than the days before. I thought “Oh, is that it?” But no, there was more to come.

The snow flurries got thicker and more frequent and then suddenly the storm was upon us.

Unfortunately, unlike when I was in Montgomery last year, the area I’m working in is quite dull and boring; just houses, shops and fuel stations, so absolutely nothing picturesque to photograph at all.

I did though take the opportunity during one particular lull to have a brisk walk down to the river. beast from the east, snow in nottingham, river trent, tavel diaries

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The Trent Bridge

There wasn’t much snow along the banks, but still it all looked rather pretty and I took a lovely long walk along the canal that leads into the city.

the lock

The worst of the snowfall came yesterday and the temperatures plunged. Now, I love being outdoors, but I’m afraid that this time I’ve decided to give it a miss and have stayed indoors reading instead.

River Trent

My time in Nottingham is drawing to a close and I finish this assignment on Monday, after which I will be spending a day and a half exploring the city before I head to Chester! I’m well excited for that.

To keep up with my travels and the places I explore, and the projects I’m interested in, follow me on instagram or Twitter (where I tend to rant a lot…if you can bear it LOL)

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Bake Off Contestant 2019

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, lifestyle, tagged bake off contestant, blogging about my life, cake icing, cake icing lessons, family fun, https://sweetiedarlingcakes.co.uk/, wordpress on February 14, 2018| 4 Comments »

Quite a few months ago my future son-in-law decided to bake a cake. Now, under normal circumstances there’s nothing remarkable about that at all….except that he had never before baked a cake 🙂

The end result was – delicious, albeit somewhat lopsided and needed refinement. In that regard there has been no problem, over the last few months he has progressed in leaps and bounds and now whips up a cake in the blink of an eye…with his secret recipe fillings that are to die for. Delicious. I have no problem at all eating as much as possible when I’m home…if there’s any left LOL…his fiancé quite likes them too!!

After a conversation with my daughter about what he’d like to do with this new-found enthusiasm for baking going forward, I decided that a talent like this needs to be encouraged and nurtured, and so, as an early birthday present, I sent him for cake icing lessons.

After some research on the internet I found a lovely young lass by the name of Billie who has her business in Deal, which is just a short train ride or drive away from home, and so I booked him in for a 3 hour lesson.

The big day came and off they went, my daughter drove them there in Fiona and they made a day of it with her going along to view the proceedings and capture the moments. What fun.

The lesson progressed exceedingly well and the comment I had from Billie is that she thought he’s a natural, was very steady and patient and she couldn’t quite believe he’d never iced a cake before.

The final result…looks remarkably like a wedding cake and I wonder if there’s a future career in that direction 😉 I’m well impressed at the end result. I used to do cake-icing myself in my younger days, and iced and decorated a few wedding cakes as well as sold a great number of occasion cakes, so to see this talent in our little family is marvellous.

So, here’s my future son-in-law; Simon….a possible future Bake Off 2019 contestant!!

bake off contestant 2019, cake icing lessons

getting started

making excellent progress

a future Bake Off contestant in the making

I wonder if I should enrol him? LOL

If you’re wanting to know more about Billie’s cake icing lessons, here is her website

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Village of the Year continued

Posted in around the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, memories of days gone by, project 101, Travel, villages of the United Kingdom, tagged channel 4 village of the year, domesday book villages of england, travel blogging, travel writing, village of the year, villages of england, villages of the uk on February 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Following up on my post from a couple of days ago, these are a few more of my favourite villages in England. The Channel 4 programme, Village of the Year is absolutely fascinating. I shall have to watch them again…get some more ideas of places to go – as if I don’t already have a list longer than I could do in 2 lifetimes…but hey, I might live to be 100….LOL

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East Grinstead, West Sussex

Farnham, Surrey

Kennett, Suffolk

Kennett – Domesday Book village

Kentford, Suffolk

Lavenham, Suffolk

Lavenham – Domesday Book village

Lower Bourne, Surrey

Marston Magna, Somerset

Midhurst, Sussex

Midhurst had it all….a castle, a mill, a river, and quintessentially English cottages

Moulton, Suffolk

Newton-Ferrers, Devon

Newton-Ferrers is probably in my Top Ten favourite village of England. It was so gorgeous and the views of the river were stunning. At night it was quiet and peaceful with skies so black and stars so bright, you can’t imagine.

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Village of the Year

Posted in around the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, memories of days gone by, project 101, Travel, villages of the United Kingdom, tagged best villages of the uk, channel 4, Cottenham Cambridgeshire, domesday book villages of england, travel blogging, travel writing, UPS lost my life, village of the year, villages of the uk on February 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been following Channel 4’s Village of the Year. There’s been some fantastic places so far, many of which I’ve followed up with the hashtags on instagram and added to my saved folder for villages; future travels….plenty of places, not enough time.

Watching the programme has reminded me of some of the stunning villages I’ve visited in the last 10 years.

When I launched Project 101 proper, I discovered that many of the villages I’ve visited in the past are Domesday Book villages which has been really exciting.

Of the many many places I’ve been, these are some of my favourite villages:

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Blackford, Somerset

Blackford – Domesday Book village

Braeburn, Kent

Camelot, Somerset

Seriously amazing views from this spot….well worth the climb. Not sure how accurate the tales of this being the location of Camelot, but it’s fabulous if it was.

Castle Cary, Somerset

Castle Cary – Domesday Book village

Cawsands/Kingsands, Cornwall

Charlton Hawthorne, Somerset

Chippenham, Somerset

Chippenham – Domesday Book village

Compton Paucefoot, Somerset

Corton Denham, Somerset

Cottenham, Cambridgeshire

Cottenham – Domesday Book village

These are just 10 of my favourite villages…..more to follow shortly. Unfortunately I’m unable to review many of the other places I’ve been since the hard-drive that UPS lost is still….lost!!! Grrr.

Perhaps I should suggest they fund the costs of returning to those places….dream on LOL

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Saying goodbye to Charlie

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, gratitude, It's my life, Travel, tagged cats, Saying goodbye to Charlie on January 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

One of the hardest aspects of my job is when the client has a pet that I get to love while looking after them.

I don’t often get to look after pets, and I very seldom form an attachment to them for obvious reasons.

But this wee cat, Charlie, has stolen my heart. He’s such a sassy little boy, and despite the fact that he bites and scratches, I love him to bits….he’s so cheeky and such a clever little fella. I don’t mind the biting and scratching because he’s still a toddler, although I do discourage him. “no Charlie!! Gently now!”

I absolutely love it in the morning when I go down to the kitchen to make my tea. As my slippers hit the linoleum floor I can hear him drop from his bed onto the floor in the room above, hear his feet padding hastily across the room, and down the stairs… Chirruping away “good morning good morning”. Of course what he’s really saying is “yayyyyyyyy food!!”

I pick him up for a cuddle and a love. He lies draped across my shoulder and with my head against his body so I can listen to the rumble of him purring, we stand quietly for a few minutes, then I get bitten and it’s time for ‘food please’.

Those are such precious moments in my day.

But as always, good things come to an end. I finished my assignment today, and as much as I’d love to take him home with me, it’s time to say goodbye. He curled himself up in suitcase last night and oh, how wonderful it would be to take him home with me.

I may never see him again, although I did tell my client he has to bequeath Charlie to me. 🙂

My heart aches with the probability that I won’t see him again. But, all being well, I’m scheduled to return in July.. So hopefully I’ll see him again.

In the meantime I’ll have to content myself with Elsie, my daughter’s cat who hisses and growls at me when I return home… “who tf are you?” LOL I do love her though, even if she is so rude.

Ahhh Elsie, such a short memory

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Winchester to Canterbury; a pilgrimage

Posted in around the UK, Domesday Villages of England, Fun Stuff, Health, It's my life, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2017, tagged domesday book villages, solo travel, The Pilgrim's Way from Winchester to Canterbury, travel blogging, travel writing, walk 1000 miles, walking in england on January 24, 2018| 1 Comment »

As mentioned in an earlier post I’ve been planning my summer pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury, prior to flying to Spain for the Camino Inglés. One of the best aspects of planning a pilgrimage is the research. I’ve uncovered so many wonderful places to see and visit; castles, Roman villas, ancient churches, Domesday villages. I’ll be walking along two ancient routes; St Swithun’s Way and the North Downs Way that combine to make The Pilgrim’s Way.

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I’m sure to see a few of these along the Pilgrim’s Way

The chalk landscape along the Pilgrim’s Way in Surrey – North Downs

The Pilgrim’s Way, an ancient trackway, is an historical route followed by medieval and modern pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent.

From medieval cathedral to medieval cathedral, winding its way through the English counties of Hampshire, Surrey and Kent, the track takes the pilgrim along both Roman and modern roads, through ancient towns and cities, taking in historical castles and ancient churches, Roman villas, past numerous ‘tumulus’, through fields and forests, over chalk hills that offer picturesque vistas of the English countryside, alongside and over flowing rivers.

along the Pilgrim’s Way

With an archaeological age of between 600-450 BC dated by finds along the route, the course has been dictated by natural geological contours and causeways, and is now a culmination of various routes followed over the aeons from as far back as the Stone Age. Although I doubt the stone age dudes were on a pilgrimage!

The names of the towns, villages and cities roll off the tongue like a lesson in history; Winchester, Abbots Worthy, Martyr Worthy, Itchen Abbas, Bishops Sutton, Four Marks, Holybourne, Upper Froyle, Lower Froyle, Farnham, Seale, Puttenham, Guildford, Shere, Oxted, Limpsfield, Otford, Kemsing, Trottisford, Detling, Thurnham, Lenham, Boughton Lees, Old Wives Lees, Chilham and then hoorah…Canterbury.

Limpsfield – Domesday Book village

The chalk landscape along the Pilgrim's Way in Surrey - North Downs

Tatsfield – Domesday Book village

Along the way I’ll pass places like Avington Park, Jane Austen’s house, Farnham Castle, Guildford Castle, the Silent Pool, Kit’s Coty House, the White Horse Stones and the Black Prince’s Well before reaching the historical walled city of Canterbury and thus to my ultimate destination; Canterbury Cathedral.

The Silent Pool

It’s been really tricky trying to work out the most conducive distance between towns. I really don’t want to walk more than 20kms a day. Besides the distances, I have to consider whether or not I’ll find suitable accommodation. I’m seriously considering taking my sleeping bag along just in case there are some days I am without something suitable….I can always sleep on a church porch! Although there are a lot of venues listed on the Pilgrim’s Way UK website, many of them are in the region of £100+p.n. which frankly is ludicrous and I’m certainly not prepared to pay that much. Unlike the European Camino routes that have hostels or albergues in virtually every hamlet, village or town, the accommodation along the Pilgrim’s Way is sketchy to say the least. I’m sure there are loads of places to stay, but as mentioned earlier, the prices are exorbitant.

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I’ve ordered the guide book; ‘The Pilgrim’s Way To Canterbury from Winchester and London’ by Leigh Hatts, recommended on their site. I’m hoping it will be at home waiting for me when I return this weekend 🙂 Can’t wait to start digging into it. (*update! It’s arrived!! Happy dance.)

I’ve spent hours on their site reviewing the map, calculating distances, checking ‘places to see along the way’, reviewing the churches…I’m only looking at the churches that actually provide a pilgrim’s passport stamp. If I have time and happen across any others that look interesting, of course I’ll pop in, but I won’t be going out of my way.

When reviewing the map on their website I noticed I’ll be walking sections of the Pilgrim’s Way that I’ve walked in the past, so it will be quite exciting to walk those again.

I’m trying to decide what I should pack in Pepe (my rucksack). I’ll be leaving for Spain 2 days after I reach Canterbury, so won’t have much time to repack….I’m going to keep it as light as possible and of course I won’t be taking my flip flops LOL According to the weather website, the best months to travel in England are May, June, September and October. These months generally have the most pleasant temperatures and less rain. July and August are the warmest months, but are also the wettest…. which is not what I want to read!!!! Does this mean I’ll need my rain poncho? I hope my shoes can handle the mud LOL

my walking poles will definitely be helping me along the Pilgrim’s Way

Thankfully I don’t have to buy the rucksack, shoes, walking poles and all the paraphernalia that I had to buy in 2016/17 for my Portuguese Camino. So hopefully it will be a lot less costly than that trip. However, I’ve been investigating the prices and boy, it’s not cheap to fly to Spain anymore. No surprise there I guess.

There’s quite a lot to be considered when planning these walks. I’m not one of those people that can just sling on a rucksack, head out and start walking….I like to plan things. If I decide to do something impulsive along the way, then that’s fine. But I like to know where I’m going and how I’m going to get there. So atm I’m researching, listing, checking venues, and deciding on dates et al. Anyway, I just enjoy creating spreadsheets, and to the truth of that, my daughter would testify. LOL

The Pilgrim’s Way Lenham – Domesday Book village

Onwards…….along The Pilgrim’s Way

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Camino Packing List

Posted in around the UK, Camino 2017, It's my life, My European travels, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2017, tagged Camino 2017, Camino de Santiago, https://notjustagranny.com/2017/08/31/countdown-to-my-camino-2017/, https://notjustagranny.com/2017/09/11/day-5-porto-to-vila-do-conde/, long distance walking, not just a granny travels, packing for the camino, Porto to Santiago, Portuguese Coastal Route, preparing for the camino, travel diaries, travel writing, walk 1000 miles, walking in spain, walking the camino on January 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

After months of reading up on other people’s facebook posts, reading blogs and posts on Camino forums, I finally narrowed down my Camino packing list.

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My Camino 2017 packing; I’ve made relevant adjustments for walking in the UK

Items that I removed from the final pack before leaving: top left image; gloves, sandals, and I changed my walking socks after testing the marvellous socks I found at Mountain Warehouse; double thick…

some of the many articles I researched and a bit of a laugh

Admittedly I had bought a whole load of items while I was in South Africa in May 2016, but I realised over time that most of it wouldn’t really be needed/suitable for a Camino in September. I will however make good use of them when I start walking in the UK….we all know how changeable the weather can be here so no doubt the double fleece jacket, woollen beanie and thick woollen gloves will come in handy for those trips. So for now they shall remain at home.

One of the items I bought which will come in handy is the Glowstick which is of course packed.

So at the final Countdown to my Camino, this is what I packed:

Osprey Mystic Magenta Tempest Talon 40 – my erstwhile backpack 1.08 kgs

Osprey Water Bladder 1.5liter 0.700 grams

Sandals (walking sandals swopped for flip flops) 0.120 grams

Fleece – lilac 0.500 grams

Jumper – lilac 0.220 grams

Hiking pants x 2 pairs – black (packed) 0.620 grams

Hiking pants 1 pair – black (to be worn) 0.310 grams

Quick drying T-shirts x 3 – magenta (packed) 0.360 grams

Quick Drying T-shirt to be worn 0.120 grams

Panties x 7 (black) & pantie liners x 20 0.100 grams

Hiking socks – double thick x 5 (black) 0.250 grams

Hiking socks – double thick – worn 0.050 grams

Wick away inner sock liners x 2 0.050 grams

Bras x 2 (one on & one packed) 0.050 grams

Night t-shirt (slogan: everything hurts – gift from my daughter) 0.210 grams

Towel – magenta (quick drying) & face cloth 0.230 grams

Rain poncho (now ditched in favour of a lightweight poncho – 20g) 0.395 grams

Extras:

LED Light (glowstick) 0.020 grams

Pale blue scarf with silver scallop shell pattern (gift from daughter) 0.040 grams

Pilgrim’s Scallop Shell 0.020 grams

Pilgrim’s Passports 0.030 grams

Orange Emergency Sheet 0.230 grams

Silver Emergency Foil Blanket 0.010 grams

Various odds and ends (pack 1) 0.180 grams

Various odds and ends (pack 2) 0.310 grams

Various odds and ends (pack 3) 0.110 grams

Phone charger and cord 0.050 grams

Emergency travel charger for my phone 0.220 grams

Teabags (vital and essential for my morning cuppa) 0.030 grams

Toiletries 0.800 grams

(shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, face wash, face cream, hand wash, dish-washing liquid, toothpaste, detergent gel, toothbrush, dental floss, comb, nail clippers, emery board, small scissors, shower gloves, incognito spray (100 grams), citronella oil, Epsom salts, rehydration salts, immodium, various vitamins)

Below are images of what I’ve packed for my next Camino – new additions would be the pink travel case (not yet sure it’s going to be useful), small day pack for those days I send Pepe ahead (it’s a marvellous little bag and folds away into itself and weighs next to nothing). The bits and bobs have been dramatically reduced, I did find the little velcro straps to be incredibly useful as well as the elasticated straps with clips…good for hanging socks to dry. packing for pilgrimage, long distance walks uk, packing for the camino,

packing for pilgrimage, long distance walks uk, packing for the camino,

packing for my impending UK walk – my fabulous new puffer jacket and my wonderful Pepe; Osprey Mystic Magenta, packed and ready to go

the noodles came in handy one night after a very long day. I used the tea bags 3 times and the mug never LOL

Some stuff you just don’t need. 😉 It’s really tricky packing for a long distance walk, especially in a foreign country. I took way too much of medical supplies like plasters and stuff (they are in plentiful supply in all the large towns and some of the villages you pass along the way).