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Limpsfield; Limenesfeld – a Domesday village

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, domesday book villages of england, historical houses of england, limpsfield domesday village, limpsfield surrey, not just a granny travels, Travel, villages of england, writing on March 6, 2017| 1 Comment »

The weather had been pretty grim my first week in Oxted, with some snow flurries on the following Sunday, not enough to impress but just enough to get excited about….it soon melted and didn’t return. However, not to be deterred by the weather, on Tuesday, the afternoon after my arrival, I set off to explore and my meandering took me through the town of Oxted and along the streets and roads and on to a delightful medieval village called Limpsfield. What a treat!! The High Street is lined with houses dating from as far back as the 15th and 16th centuries.

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some of the quintessentially English houses lining the streets of Limpsfield; a Domesday village

Quintessentially English houses built of local quarried stone lined both sides, looking absolutely charming. I discovered the little church; St Peter’s, constructed in the late 12th century and a Grade I listed building. As I was entering the church I noticed that it was in fact a Pilgrim church!!! Thrilling. In alignment with my Camino this year I am hoping to gather some stamps before I set off on my walk. There was a stamp hanging on a board at the door, so I’m planning on ordering my Camino passport as soon as possible and when I return to the assignment at the end of March I’m hoping to be able to add that as the start of many I plan to collect on my journey. The church is also famous because the English composer Frederick Delius and orchestral conductor Sir Thomas Beecham are both buried in the village churchyard. Although I looked very carefully I never did find Delius’s grave.

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St Peter’s Church, Limpsfield – a pilgrim’s church

Situated at the foot of the North Downs, Limpsfield would have been on the ancient Pilgrim’s Way that stretches along the base of the downs between Winchester and Canterbury. To my delight on researching the history I discovered that Limpsfield too was a Domesday village: and appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Limenesfeld and held by the Abbot of Battle Abbey, Sussex.

Limpsfield’s High Street is named as a conservation area with 89 listed buildings along the street and in the immediate locality; one of which, Old Court Cottage in Titsey Road, (formerly the manorial court of the Abbot of Battle), is Grade I listed building and dates from c1190-1200 (including aisle posts and arcade plates) with alterations in the late 14th century, and a 16th-century crosswing. (ref wikipedia). Unfortunately I didn’t get to see this building, but the Post Office/village store was just charming so I stepped over the threshold and bought some stamps and a chocolate 🙂

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Limpsfield High Street

I spent some time photographing all the buildings and meandering about the church and churchyard. I love these old ancient places and often wish I could just knock on the doors of the houses to see inside 😉

At the entrance to the village is a delightful name board – I love finding these!

Limpsfield, Surrey

Limenesfelde 1086 (db). ‘Open land at Limen’. OE feld added to a Celtic place name or river-name

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It’s a wrap; Saturday morning & Osborne House

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Historical, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, east cowes marina, exploring the isle of wight, osborne house, Travel, victoria and albert osborne house, visit the isle of wight, writing on February 12, 2017| 2 Comments »

After a lovely hot shower when I got back to the B&B the night before, I jumped into bed and snuggled down for the night…weary to my bones but every so happy with what I had seen. Thankfully my night was undisturbed so when the alarm went off at 7:30 again I felt refreshed and ready to go go go. This was also my final morning on the island and I was due to catch the 13:47 ferry to Portsmouth and then train to London.

Sadly the B&B forgot to put out my breakfast tray so I had to raid the dining room and left with 2 yogurt pots and a box of cereal in my backpack. Oh the food I eat when exploring.

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fantastic views from the top deck of the bus

I hopped onto the 08:50 bus to Osborne and arrived with 45 minutes to spare before the gates of Osborne House opened. Rather than hang around kicking my heels I had noticed on the way in that East Cowes marina was just a stones-throw (okay no not really…it was a tad further), so I set off at a quick pace to explore – despite that it was all downhill, I’m so glad I made the effort.

East Cowes Marina

The weather was stunning in comparison to the day before and the marina looked beautiful. I explored for a bit then headed back to Osborne House…..urgh those hills going back up!!!

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aerial view of Osborne and the house

Osborne House was wonderful. The interior is sumptuous and the views from the patio and many of the windows are stunning. Osborne House was the much loved seaside retreat for Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, built between 1845 and 1851, and apparently they spent many a happy day there with their children. It was also the place Victoria returned to after the death of her beloved Albert in 1861. She was to spend the next 7 years there, holed up, mourning the loss of her husband, friend and confidant, dressed in black and refusing to budge, even though desperately needed as Head of State. She even refused to ‘Open Parliament’, which put the Government in a quandry! Queen Victoria used Osborne for over 50 years, entertaining foreign royalty and visiting ministers.

Osborne House, Isle of Wight – seaside home for Victoria and Albert

Taken on a guided tour of the lower floor and some of the rooms, we were left gasping by the sheer splendour and magnificence of the furnishings and decorations. Albert had pretty much the final say on how it should look and I can say the man had amazing taste; he has left an amazing legacy for the country.

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beautifully decorated and long passageways

Not ostentatious, but finely set out, the rooms are stunning with faux-marble columns, exquisitely woven carpets, fabulous paintings on the walls, much of it original furniture and works of art (some are replicas as the current Queen has the originals).

exquisitely furnished with lush carpets, decorative ceilings, fabulous chandeliers

Their initials V & A interwoven can be seen in ceiling decorations, woven into the corners of carpets and added wherever possible.

victoria and albert osborne house isle of wight, visit the isle of wight

V & A – everywhere you looked there initials were interwoven and part of the decor; carpets, floors, ceilings, cornices

I found it to be quite poignant viewing the rooms and imagined the family living there – how much they must have loved it.

beautiful passageways with exquisite sculptures, finely furnished rooms

Many, many family portraits filled the walls in most of the family rooms. Poignant images of beloved children, from toddlers into adulthood with children of their own; all long gone, some of whom met tragic ends.

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Victoria and Albert who between them created a dynasty that spread across the world – family portraits

The one room that left me gasping was the fabulous Durbar Room. Added to entertain large numbers of people it was built and completed between 1891 and 1892 almost 30 years after Prince Albert’s death…I’m quite sure he would have approved. This room is stunning! Designed by Lockwood Kipling (father of the author Rudyard Kipling) and master carver Bhai Ram Singh. Detailed with intricate Indian-style plaster work, it is richly decorated in the architectural styles of northern India and reflected Queen Victoria’s then status as Empress of India, the large reception room is breath-taking. Although it looks like everything is carved from ivory, the plaster-work was executed by the Indian plasterer Bhai Ram Singh -there is not one piece of ivory in the room.

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The Durbar Room, Osborne House

The Durbar Wing also provided accommodation for Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest married daughter, and her family on the 1st floor.

In the display cabinets in the room are some of the stunning gifts received by Victoria when she was Empress of India.

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gifts for the Empress of India, Osborne House, Isle of Wight

With reference to my visit to The Needles yesterday and the Marconi Monument, in 1898 messages were received from Marconi at Queen Victoria’s Osborne House on a telephone presented by Alexander Bell.

Queen Victoria died at Osborne House in 1901.

Queen Victoria – Osborne House, Isle of Wight

Her successor, her eldest son, Edward VII (1841–1910), didn’t need it and as no other member of the royal family wanted to take on the upkeep, the king gave the Osborne estate to the nation on his Coronation Day in 1902. Osborne House is now managed by English Heritage.

After the tour which sadly only took in part of the house due to much needed repairs being done on the central staircase, I headed outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and views. The grounds are a delight and much as I wanted to go down to the beach are and visit the Swiss Cottage, my time was almost up, so I contented myself with a quick whizz around the perimeter of the house and at 12noon I recorded the chimes of the clock and then set off back to the bus-stop. In all a fantastic trip.

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Exterior views of Osborne House and across the grounds to the Solent

My next stop was Ryde, then the B&B where I collected my suitcase and set off for the ferry with plenty of time to spare. I even managed to watch one of the Hovercraft come in to land….again!!! LOL They are fascinating to watch.

And so it was time to say goodbye to the Isle of Wight. I shall definitely return, although I know not when. But there is still much to see and after chatting to the gentleman that I accosted one day on one of my walks in Bembridge, I am inspired to do what he did and walk around the while perimeter of the island. (btw I didn’t harm the guy, I just stopped him to ask about the walking poles he was using!! 😉 )

Goodbye to the Isle of Wight

One of my ambitions is to visit 100 of the Domesday towns and villages in England. There are 84 such places on the Isle of Wight, some of which have morphed into larger towns and others that are still around but looking nothing at all like they may have in 1085/86. I managed to visit 6 of these places: Binstead, Brading, Nettleston, Sandown, Shanklin and a walk through the lower end of Puckpool.

The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. The first draft was completed in August 1086 and contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time).

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It’s alright on the Isle of Wight!

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, It's my life, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged islands of the uk, isle of wight hovercraft, places to visit on the isle of wight, visit the isle of wight on January 25, 2017| 3 Comments »

I have had a most amazing 2.5 weeks (so far) on the Isle of Wight….so much so that I haven’t kept up with my intention to blog more often LOL. The great outdoors has just been too tempting to ignore and just about ALL my free time has been taken up with walking here and there and as far as possible. It’s alright on the Isle of Wight!!

Based in Seaview on the east coast, this location has provided the starting point for my many excursions, whether walking to the west or along the east coast, the views of the sea are astounding, the beaches an endless source of delight.

visit the isle of wight, its alright on the isle of wight

Seaview, Isle of Wight

I’ve also managed to enjoy the wonderful sight of the sunrise on most mornings….even those when I hadn’t intended slipping out, but on opening the curtains, unable to resist.

sunrise, sunset – Isle of Wight

So although the job itself has been a real challenge, I have had a brilliant time exploring.

The Isle of Wight to my surprise is incorporated in the county of Hampshire, it lies just off the English coast across from the famous harbour of Portsmouth; the port of Kings and home to Nelson’s flagship, Victory and the more recently discovered warship, The Mary Rose. The Mary Rose; a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII, sank in 1545, was rediscovered in 1971 and raised in 1982. You can see the conserved remains of this ship at the museum in Portsmouth.

The strip of water between the mainland the island is known as The Solent and I have had the pleasure of watching many a cargo ship, ferry and yacht go sailing through between two of the four ‘The Solent Forts’ – a group of four man-made island forts originally built to protect the Solent and Portsmouth from attack by enemy forces in the 19th century; the first of which was built in 1865. On foggy days and nights you can hear the mournful wail of the foghorns across the water. A melancholy sound.

I stayed the first night on the Isle of Wight Sunday 2 weeks ago and spent the evening and next morning exploring the seafront at Ryde, at which stage I discovered the Appley Tower….during my many excursions I was to pass the folly a number of times 🙂 In the last two weeks I have visited:

Ryde

Ryde, Isle of Wight

Sandown

Sandown, Isle of Wight

Nettlestone

Nettlestone 1086, a Domesday Village, Isle of Wight

Bembridge

Bembridge and Bembridge Harbour, Isle of Wight

St Helens

St Helens, Isle of Wight

Bembridge Windmill

Bembridge Windmill, built in 1700, the sole surviving windmill on the Isle of Wight

Binstead and Quarr Abbey

Quarr Abbey and Binstead, Isle of Wight

Horestone Point & Nodes Point

and walked in excess of 125kms on my various excursions.

I am still to explore the town of Ryde more fully, take a ride on the Hovercraft to the mainland (just because),

Isle of Wight Hovercraft is the last remaining commercial hovercraft service in the world.

a full day of exploring coming up on Friday and a visit to Osborne House on Saturday.

The Isle of Wight has been a fantastic discovery on my quest to explore the four corners of the United Kingdom and adds to my list of 100 Islands to visit.

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I’ve got a ticket to Ryde….

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Fun Stuff, Health, It's my life, seaside towns of Britain, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, camino 2017 practice walks, map my walk, ryde on the idle of wight, Travel, visit the isle of wight, visiting islands of the uk, walking britain on January 11, 2017| 1 Comment »

I can’t tell you how delighted I was to get the call from my agency asking if I was interested in taking on a job on the Isle of Wight!!! Was I ever!! Yes, for sure. It’s on my list of plans for 2017; 2 islands to visit this year, so definitely. As well as which it’s one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit but never seemed to get this far….I’ve been to Portsmouth a number of times but never got to the ferry. So here I am, in Ryde! On the Isle of Wight.

the Isle of Wight

Just a 10 minute journey by ferry, catamaran or hovercraft from Portsmouth Harbour or Portsmouth Southsea and you’re here. Easy peasy 😉 I imagine the scenery crossing The Solent during the day would be marvellous.

After arrival at Ryde Pier Head, I set off at a brisk pace along the pier…keen to experience what is an early 19th century pier (built before Victoria came to the throne) and the world’s oldest seaside pleasure pier; opened 26 July 1814. Within 6 minutes I was in the town of Ryde……I’ve got a ticket to Ryde 😉 Surprised to find quite such a large town, to my relief the B&B where I was to stay was a short walk from the esplanade.

Ryde Pier

Welcomed at the Kasbah by Josh, I was shown up to my room. Hallelujah I had a beautiful double bed room off the main road. Very comfortable and cosy, the room was beautifully decorated with a small ensuite, a t.v. and a kettle with accessories. A cup of tea was immediately brewed 🙂

The Kasbah B&B in Ryde, Isle of Wight

I rested awhile having my tea and then, since it was still relatively early…just on 19:40 in fact, I decided to have a bit of an explore….despite that it was already pitch dark. I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!! LOL I meandered along to the esplanade and never one to be having a short walk….I ended up walking the length of the esplanade all the way to Appley Tower – 4.66 kms with 7250 steps there and back.

Ryde Esplanade and scenes at night

Hah! It was quite chilly, but not unpleasant, a few dog-walkers, evening strollers and joggers about and at no time did I feel unsafe. I passed the train station, the hover-craft platform, the tiny harbour and a row of shops and lovely old houses. All along the way I could see and hear the sea slapping up again the rocks…I love the sounds of the sea.

Appley Tower – built in 1875 by Sir William Hutt

The Appley Tower, a coastal folly built in 1875 by one, Sir William Hutt, is also referred to as the Watch Tower. It’s awesome. Thanks mate…we love your folly.

By now there was not a soul in sight, I was on my own. On my way back I passed by the pond in Appley Park and a swimming pool that looked so inviting. Wish I had my swim costume. Oh well, if I ever come back this way…

Appley Park pond and the swimming pool

Then it was back to the B&B for the night….work due to start on Monday.

I had a brilliant sleep, very comfortable bed and before the sun was even up I was out and onto the esplanade. A beautiful day for walking, again I saw a few people about, but by golly nothing at all like London where you can barely move for people.

I had a marvellous 45 minute walk all the way to the edge of Seaview where I caught the last of the sunrise. I had left it a tad late after all to get going. Then a brisk walk back to the B&B for breakfast.

visit the isle of wight, sunrise in ryde

sunrise in Ryde, Isle of Wight

On the way I stopped off at the hovercraft station to watch one of them come in to land. wow, fascinating and loud! I’m so going to take an opportunity one day while I’m here to cross The Solent to Portsmouth Southsea. The Isle of Wight Hovercraft is the last remaining commercial hovercraft service in the world.

Isle of Wight Hover Craft

I was well impressed with my ‘mileage’, and so enjoyed all the sights and sounds. Total 6.2kms and 9905 steps. At this rate I’m definitely achieving the desired 10,000 steps per day for good health 😉 and of course getting myself fitter for the Camino!

From what I’ve seen of Ryde so far; the esplanade and parks, it’s a really pretty place with fantastic views across The Solent towards Portsmouth in England – in fact I can see The Spinnaker in Portsmouth from the seafront and also from Seaview.

The Spinnaker in Portsmouth – across The Solent from Ryde, Isle of Wight

Watching all the shipping traffic is fascinating…..lends an exotic air to the place…ships from the far-flung corners of the earth….I think I quite like Ryde 🙂

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Weddings, walks and travelling!

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, It's my life, seaside towns of Britain, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, from one isle to another, goals plans and resolutions, isle of thanet, not just a granny travels, sunrise in viking bay, Travel, travel in britain, visit the isle of wight, wedding planning on January 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Well yes, here I am 10 days into 2017 and already my plan to blog more frequently has fallen by the wayside. I do have a reason….of course there are always reasons……

For one thing I have been very involved with wedding planning with my daughter. 🙂 ❤ After the excitement of their engagement in December, of course wedding plans have to start being made. So we have spent ages looking at stuff on pinterest (where else?) and pinning ideas. We also went wedding dress shopping on Saturday last which was very emotional and quite frankly she looked stunning; just like a Princess. The very first dress she tried on was perfect in every way….even after trying on the other 8 dresses she had selected…the first one was THE DRESS!!!! 🙂 Much excitement abounded and I immediately put down a deposit and bought the tiara. After that we retired for a Cream Tea at the Walpole Bay Hotel (where else 😉 ) one of our favourite venues.

wedding dress shopping…so much fun

Other than that I have been walking a lot in preparation for my planned Camino walk. I suspect though that life is once again going to get in the way of this…but I’m not going to let that sneaky thought into my thoughts. LOL I’ll just keep focusing on actually doing the walk and then hold thumbs.

Talking of walking, I’ve managed quite a few delicious walks; from Broadstairs to Ramsgate and saw a few awesome sunsets.

Stunning sunsets and Camino practice walks on the Isle of Thanet

Of course my morning excursions to watch the sunrise are well and truly motivating. What a privilege to watch the sun rise. Most mornings I can see tiny little figures on the beach of other people also out to watch. Some days are just spectacular! Joy!

some of the stunning 2017 sunrises over Viking Bay, Isle of Thanet

I have a new job that started yesterday on the Isle of Wight, which in itself is on my list of things to achieve this year…so one island down…..one to go (for 2017). When you have a list of 100 islands to visit and you’ve only managed 30 or so, I’m guessing I’ll have to plan a few more each year….2 a year won’t cut it…I won’t live that long…but then again I might LOL.

Ryde and a visit to the isle of Wight….1 island down, 1 to go for 2017

However on the not so plus side apparently there is very little by way of internet signal in the area where I’ll be working so that may put a spanner in my blogging works. I’ll have to wait and to see how it goes…..(apparently there is wi-fi installed especially for the carers so hopefully……!!! hooray!)

I arrived on the Isle on Sunday….travelled by train to London, got there well early so took myself on a mini adventure from Waterloo Station to the Southbank to say hello to my favourite clock…..a dank dark day it was so the photo isn’t much good but at least I got to see our Ben before he gets covered over with cladding prior to repairs and restoration.

a mini-adventure to see the Thames and my favourite clock…..Big Ben…I see you!

Every time I go into London some building or other is gone and new buildings are rising in their place!!!

Then it was onto the train to Portsmouth Harbour. We were delayed by 11 minutes due to a trespasser on the track at the approach to Guildford, so when we arrived at Portsmouth it was lickety split and a quick dash for the ferry which I made with literally 2 minutes to spare. What fun to be travelling on a ferry from the mainland to the island….sounds quite exotic and fun! Unfortunately it was very dark by then so I couldn’t see anything.

But never no mind….tomorrow would bring it’s surprises and delights! Hello Ryde…Isle of Wight! Hooray 🙂

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Goals, Plans, Intentions and Resolutions

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, Personal Development, photography, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, Camino de Santiago, goals plans intentions and resolutions, Inspiration, making plans vs setting goals, New Years Resolutions, photography, Travel, walk from broadstairs to ramsgate, walks along the english coast, walks of britain, writing on January 1, 2017| Leave a Comment »

It’s normal at this time of the year to think about and consider what, if any, resolutions you may want to make. Hundreds of articles are written each year on the ‘how to’, ‘ the why’, ‘the when’ etc etc, only for many of them to fall by the wayside when real life takes over.

Personally I stopped making resolutions decades ago (urgh, that word ‘decades’ ages me LOL). I seldom kept to them. I am a procrastinator, something I’ve recently named and shamed, and my philosophy in life has always been ‘if it can be done tomorrow….’ And so my resolutions usually fell by the wayside. I’m also fairly lazy…especially if my resolution doesn’t match my values. Ergo…..the “I want to lose weight” resolution simply doesn’t work well if you love food! And chocolate. And cake. And ice-cream. And Vogels bread with latherings of butter and Robertson’s Lime jelly…….and so on and so on; you get my drift. So I’ve pretty much given up on making any resolutions that have anything to do with dieting – besides being unhealthy for my psyche, as soon as I decide to cut something out…I start to crave it.

So no, resolutions don’t work for me. Goals….hmmm, there are so many goals I would like to set and I went through a stage of trying to learn how to set goals but I find it incredibly difficult to make a goal only for my circumstances to change and the goal disappears (my personal development journey that didn’t work too well for me…) and so we get down to plans and intentions.

Plans I can do!! I love lists. I love spreadsheets. So plans I can do. I find it a thrill to make plans to do something. It’s like Dr John Demartini says “find someone’s highest values and they will be more likely to succeed”.

quote# “Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising, which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.’’ Ralph Waldo Emerson – Poet and Essayist

So what are my plans and intentions for 2017?

To walk more – dead easy…I love walking. I would walk for miles every day if I could.
To travel more – I love travelling. The thrill of going somewhere new. Visiting a new place for me is like discovering a closed door….open the door and all manner of delights await.
I intend to spend more quality time with my daughter. Again this is just so easy!! I will be moving to new accommodation at the end of January, so we will be able to plan to get together 🙂
To start saving for my daughter’s 2018 June wedding – I intend to work a few extra days each month to achieve this.
To visit at least 2 islands I haven’t been to yet.
To visit at least 4 new cities in England – I can ask the agency to send me to different locations and while I’m there I can explore the area.
To visit my brother and his family in Budapest.
To improve my photographs and learn more about what makes a great photo. I love taking photos…in fact I take way too many, but I enjoy keeping a record of where I was when and photographing everything I see 😉
To explore healthier options in the food line. While I was working at my last job I discovered the joy of experimenting with recipes. This however could lead to a bit of a challenge…..if there’s more than 3 ingredients…I get bored. hahaha. Also many of my clients prefer plain simple English cooking….
To read more books. To that end I’ve listed a few books on my Amazon wish list that I plan to buy.
To reduce my debt. This is still a very sore point with me. Thanks to the personal development journey in 2007/2008, and the said guru’s advice on OPM I am still struggling to pay off my debt. But I’ve reduced it from £50k in 2008 to just over £15k in 2017. eish. 10 years on. Anyway that issue still irks me so best to leave it alone. Suffice to say, I am slowly getting there…paying the credit cards off while still having a life.
And the biggie for me this year…..to walk the Camino de Santiago. I had planned to walk the Portuguese route last year in September, but the UK Customs & Excise taxes on my SA shipment put paid to that. New Year = New Intention!!
To see more sunrises or sunsets…depending on where I am in the world. “The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” Eden Phillpots
To blog more often……hence this blog 😉
To walk the Worcestershire Way.
To book to watch the 2018 London fireworks….they are amazing.
Happy New Year 2017 – London

Where and when to start? Needless to say the easiest plan to start with is the walking. It is my intention to walk the Camino this year. To do that I must at least have achieved a certain level of fitness to make the walk pleasant….I do not want blisters and sore feet!

So with that in mind, and despite it being a perfectly vile day; wet and cold and windy….typical New Year’s Day weather in the UK, I set off on the first of my intentions; to walk more. Bundled up in my winter woollies and raincoat I set off along the coast and walked to just past Dumpton Gap and back – 1 hour; 5.1 kms; 7282 steps; yes!!!

goals, plans, intentions and resolutions

New Year’s Day – Camino practice walk

Happy New Year folks…..I’d love to hear what your Plans, Goals, Intentions and Resolutions might be….

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Goodbye 2016

Posted in around the UK, Castles of UK and Ireland, cities and towns of the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, memories of days gone by, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged a trip to brussels, a trip to rye and hastings, Cindy's travels, climbing in the malvern hills, climbing worcestershire beacon, eurostar to paris, family, ferry to calais, fun times with family, goodbye 2016, happy 90th birthday queen elizabeth II, places of the uk, relationships, the Queen's speech, Travel, travel to south africa, visit worcester on December 31, 2016| 4 Comments »

2016 was indeed a very weird year. For some it was marred by tragedy, for some it will be remembered with love. We all watched in horror as the tragedies in Syria unfolded, many sobbed at the deaths of favoured pop stars, actors, musicians and the like, either cheered or reacted with fury at the result of Brexit, and millions watched amazed and not without trepidation as America elected Trump as their next president (I use the diminutive ‘p’ deliberately). So much has happened in 2016 it seems that it was a year of extremes.

For me personally it was a year of highs and more highs, of love and laughter and a few tears. These were the highlights of my 2016

January:

January 2016

My daughter and I saw in 2016 at the London Eye and then went for waffles and cream at Caffe Concerto in London

Saw the amazing Les Lumineoles in London

February:

February 2016

I got my citizenship – my daughter attended the ceremony with me at the Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone.

Managed my very first ‘proper’ #selfie LOL

Got arty with my photography

March:

March 2016

My daughter treated me for Mother’s Day with a journey on the British Pullman Orient Express.

Cémanthe – my Mothers Day treat

Squeezed in a visit to my favourite palace; Hampton Court while in Thames Ditton

Bumped into my sister and Yoda at Trafalgar Square in London

I received my very first British Passport.

My daughter bought her first UK car

April:

April 2016

I travelled by ferry from Dover to Calais and got to see the White Cliffs of Dover for real

I went to Windsor to see the Queen for her 90th birthday walkabout

April 2016 Happy 90th Birthday Queen Elizabeth II

My daughter and I went to Paris for a day to celebrate both my birthday and my citizenship

I celebrated my birthday at Dover Castle and St George & his dragon

St George & the dragon 23 April

May:

May 2016

I spent 2 weeks in South Africa visiting family and preparing to send my possessions to the UK.

I got to meet my nephew and niece for the first time.

Started my Camino 2016 practice walks

June:

June 2016

I went to Trooping the Colour for the 6th year in a row – London in summer is gorgeous

I walked my first 28 km stint from Broadstairs to Sandwich (45279 steps!!)

July:

July 2016

An early and first visit to Bath to celebrate my daughter’s birthday

I saw the Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol – finally!!!

I visited my lovely friend Valy in Brussels and visited Antwerp

August:

August 2016

Visited Dover Castle to watch the 1216 Siege re-enactment

Spent the day in Canterbury with my daughter to celebrate her birthday

September:

September 2016

My daughter and I did our first geocaching treasure hunt.

I watched the annual Great River Race in London – my friends of the Trinity Tide won in their category again 🙂

I watched the wooden replica of City of London burn at the 350th Anniversary event

04.09.2016 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London 1666

My first visit to Great Malvern in Worcestershire – added another county to my list

Spent the day in London and went up The Shard with my daughter and my sister

October:

October 2016

Spent a few days in Rye with my sister for her birthday and went to Hastings

Watched the cheeky Russian Navy sail their warship through our waters…

November:

November 2016

Went to my lovely friend; Lucy’s wedding – she married her sweetheart Tom

Visited Gravesend in Kent at last

My first visit to Lancashire – and added another county to my list

Reached the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills

November 2016 – climbed the Worcestershire Beacon

December:

December 2016 – Worcester

Visited Worcester and the fabulous cathedral

Climbed to Worcestershire Beacon again

My daughter and her boyfriend got engaged at Tower of London – he asked me to be his Best Man for the South African ceremony 🙂

Cémanthe & Simon – engaged to be married in 2018

Celebrated an early Christmas with my daughter and her now fiancé Simon

2016 our first Christmas with Simon, first of many more

And along the way I watched hundreds of sunrises and a few sunsets, travelled far and wide and visited quite a few new places.

2016 sunrise and sunset around the country

I started my Camino practice walks that changed from 2016 to 2017 ;).

Camino de Santiago

Pilgrims shells

getting my gear together

Lookie looook!!! 🙂 Some of my #Camino2016 gear has arrived!! In keeping with the colour of my jacket and rucksack, I’ve bought as much as I can in purple…can’t help myself; colour coding LOL. So in this pile is a Summit 250 sleeping bag, an emergency foil blanket, survival bag, waterproof pouch (for carrying stuff with easy access), poncho, BPA free water bottle, IsoCool t-shirts, microfibre travel towel, travel bottle set. All of which will be useful for future walking trips and camping too. #travel #walking #camping #walkUK #traveldiaries #thingstodo #Porto to #Santiago #SantiagodeCamino

Pilgrims Way

UPS lost my hard-drive with 10 years worth of my photos, memories and incalculable information (bastards). I finally upgraded my phone and made great strides in figuring out how to do stuff on the internet on my own.

2016 – some of the books I’ve read and 2 of my Camino practice walks

My daughter and I had many amazing mini adventures,

2016 mini adventures with my daughter

enjoyed numerous cream teas, I read a number of terrific books, watched The Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament and on Christmas Day.

2016 treats and the Queen

I’m no richer, no poorer, not thinner or fatter…my hair has grown down past my shoulder again and I have spent innumerable hours of fun and laughter with my daughter.

This is my last blog for 2016.

It’s been a good year all in all; goodbye 2016….see you soon 2017!!!

Happy New Year

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Achieving a goal

Posted in cities and towns of the UK, Health, Travel, walks around the UK, tagged achieving goals, area of natural beauty, great malvern walks, malvern waters, Travel, walking in the malvern hills, worcestershirebeacon on December 24, 2016| 1 Comment »

I recently spent 19 days working in Great Malvern – just before I started at my assignment I stayed over at a B&B nearby and climbed the North Hill in order to reach the Worcestershire Beacon…the highest point of the Malvern Hills.

North Hill and Worcestershirebeacon Hill; part of the Malvern Hills

Since then I have used some of my breaks in the afternoon to endeavour to once again conquer this ‘mountain‘. I managed to get to different levels on different days but each time, time foiled me and I just couldn’t make it.

Great Malvern - climbing worcestershire beacon

3 different days, 3 different achievements, 3 different experiences

But I didn’t give up, and after another week of walking, on 16.12.2016 with a distance of 4.5km, in 1:30:47 & 8651 steps I finally reached an elevation of 230 meters!! Nearly there!!

climbing Worcestershire Beacon on Friday 16th, I nearly made it….so near, yet too far

Determined to achieve my goal before I left on Wednesday 21st, I set off immediately my break started last Sunday 18th and strode with determination towards the hills!!! Without stopping to take too many photos along the way (usually one of the reasons it takes me so long to get anywhere), switching on MapMyWalk I headed up into town, zipped past the Priory, stopped briefly at the water-fountain ‘Malvhina’ on Belle Vue terrace for a drink of water, whizzed through Rose Bank Gardens, staggered up the 99 steps, sloped up the pathway leading to St Anne’s Well, then onwards and upwards to The Beacon……

Great Malvern – climbing Worcestershire Beacon

I reached St Anne’s Well in good time…20 minutes ahead of my usual time (taking photos is useful for keeping tabs on when I was where). I stopped briefly to catch my breath and then with renewed vigour I strode up the path above the well and headed for the path that would wind it’s and my way up the side of the hill! Suddenly, to my dismay, I saw fencing and a gate across the pathway…..bearing in mind I had traversed this same pathway just two days before! Where did that come from? Was the route now closed? But before I broke down in despair (LOL) I walked up to the gate to read the notice…..it was nothing more sinister than a warning to dog-owners to keep their dogs on a lead….whew.

Please keep your dog on a lead…Oh and close the gate…..

I swung through the gates and set off….before to long I found the reasons for the gate….my way was blocked by a herd of cows, the same herd I had encountered higher up the hill on my previous excursion!! Okay, it was only a small herd, but I am wary of cows…they can, and sometimes do, get a bit belligerent and have been known to mow people down. So, keeping my distance and deciding on an alternative route, I plundered my way along what was a very narrow, and in many places rocky pathway….I didn’t like it at all…a yawning valley opened up on my left and I felt decidedly insecure; but still determined to reach the top.

a very narrow and rocky path…and a yawning chasm! Urgh!

I finally reached a wider pathway and with much encouragement of ‘come on Cindy, you can do it’ or ‘come on only 20 paces and then you can rest’ or just simply whipping my ass with – ‘get on with it woman, you don’t have all day!!’ I finally breached the crest of the hill and there it was…..the Worcestershire Beacon!! Hooray.

the views from the beacon are stupendous!!!

18.12.2016 Distance walked 5.1km, Duration 1:53:52, Steps 10562, Elevation gained 301m!!

The views are stupendous from that height and I had a fantastic view across the Severn Valley, the Malvern Hills that spread out along the ridge towards the Bristol Channel, and Herefordshire….quintessential England at it’s best. As a bonus!! I also caught a glimpse of an amazing sunset…something I am denied on a daily basis due to the fact that it sets behind the hill from where I’m located!!

The Earth is the Lord’s….. Sunset from Worcestershire Beacon

I had a quick whizz around the beacon and then it was time to depart…I was on a tight schedule and it had already taken me just over an hour to get up there!

So tripping and traipsing I first checked out the lay of the land and to where the correct paths were….I didn’t want to end up on the wrong side of this hill….I made my way down.

1. Looking towards the Bristol Channel. 2. Finding the right path down… 3. Great Malvern and the Severn Valley, Worcestershire

All went well for a while and I made good progress along the pathway, till just after a bend I spied the erstwhile herd of munching moos. Damnation!! I really didn’t want to test their mettle, so instead I tested mine. Looking around I spied what looked like a lovely green swathe of grass that faintly resembled a pathway that took a rather dizzying slope downhill and disappeared into a void!! Hello!!!

a ‘moosive’ herd of coos….and a very slippery slope….

Without many other options I decided well, for better or worse, that’s the way I’m going to have to go….at which point I noticed a rather large and determined cow/bull heading my way with a look of ‘what the fuck are you doing here’ on it’s face. Uhm! I’m just leaving 🙂

that grey speckled animal had a determined look on it’s face….I wasn’t planning on hanging around to chat….

With that, I put on my big-girl panties and set off downhill at a rather rapid pace…in fact if I was a horse, I’d say I definitely trotted down rather than walked…..the slope was that steep…I kid you not! In a most ungainly way I slipped and slid at an alarming pace!

Along the way I was ‘forced!’ to bypass a heavily fringed cow that fortunately was more interested in the grass it was busily munching than me! Thank god!!! And with that, still giving it as wide a berth as possible I slipped and slid past.

uhmmm…yes mate, you just keep munching….

Eventually my luck ran out, by now the slope was that steep that I was actually sliding more than walking or trotting, so before I actually took a tumble and rolled down the hill, I decided to continue on my journey backwards. All went well till suddenly I came to an abrupt halt….was there anything behind me besides open space?…I looked behind me and by golly, my 6th sense must have forewarned me….I was a few feet away from disaster …the slope did indeed suddenly end there and there was a great big gaping chasm waiting to swallow me up!!! OH.MY.GOD!!!

LOL!!! Actually it wasn’t that bad, but it was enough that had I continued going backwards, I would have taken a nasty tumble. So checking around to make sure the cows were at a safe distance and no longer impeding my descent I headed sideways and down to the path I could see below me 🙂

looking back……a steep slope. Putting distance between me and them….

On the way down, and just before I met up with the cows, I heard a buzzing noise above my head. At first I thought it may be a small plane but couldn’t see one. I then thought perhaps a microlight…but no it was a paramotor….the glider came closer and closer and then suddenly with the engine screaming and a whoosh of speed, it swooped down into the valley…..awesome!!! I was wayyyy jealous.

a paraglider….soaring above the clouds

From there it was easy peasy and within no time at all I was back at the 99 steps and on my way back to work. It’s always a lot quicker going down than up!! Of course my photo taking surely uses up a lot of the time too, as well as stopping for swigs of water. I had stopped at the Malvhina Water Fountain on Belle Vue Terrace to fill my water bottle from the steady stream that pours 24 hours a day 365 days a year….ad-infinitum (unless there’s a contamination issue). It’s pretty awesome to consider that I’m drinking water that probably fell on the earth as rain hundreds, possibly thousands of years ago.

‘Malvern water, says Dr John Wall Is fam’d for containing just nothing at all.’

the slope down from St Anne’s Well, the Priory below Rose Bank Gardens Malvhina – dispenser of spring water

In all I was seriously well chuffed that I had achieved my goal of climbing to the top of the Worcestershire Beacon and back down again during my 2 hour break. The climb is murder on the old lungs and my legs burn like blazes, but if I’m to walk the Camino next year then I simply have to improve my fitness. Climbing a hill seems like a great way and I have the added bonus of the views 🙂

Taking the water at Great Malvern; Route to the Malvern Hills

Worcestershire Beacon, also popularly known as Worcester Beacon, or locally simply as The Beacon, is a hill whose summit at 425 metres (1,394 ft) is the highest point of the range of Malvern Hills that runs about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north-south along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border.

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