Sunday, 25 December 2011
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Chilterns and Thames Valley
A muddy Christmas Eve
Distance: 7.96 miles
Ascent: 72 metres
Duration: 2 hours 51 minutes
Walk 20: Marlow and Hurley
The weather was dry this morning, and the sun was trying its hardest to put in an appearance. Mum fancied a riverside walk, so this circuit between Marlow and Hurley seemed ideal.
Unfortunately the previous forty-eight hours of rain had turned the riverside path northeast of Temple Lock into a slippery, muddy mess. So despite a wonderful start to the walk - the village of Hurley in particular is worth a look, with its beautiful church, tithe barn and manor - the abiding memory will be the mud.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Arts , Faith , Greenbelt , Solas
The longest day
On today - the shortest day of the year - my thoughts turn back to the longest day. For the past six months I've been meaning to blog about where we were then.
We were at Solas, a "wee festival" made in the image of Greenbelt, but on a much smaller scale, and with a distinctly Scottish feel.
At first it felt curious to have driven up from south-east England to a Scottish event, but were weren't at all the furthest travelled. Anyone coming from the far north of Scotland would have had a similar journey, and those heading in from the islands would have laughed at our relatively short trip.
What we found was a festival where even the English were welcome! With about a thousand people on site there was a very friendly atmosphere. Food was excellent (pheasant or venison burger anyone?), and although the weather was inclement all venues were close enough together that the rain wasn't a problem.
Above all else, the memories I keep revisiting are of the stunning performances of artists I'd almost without exception never heard of. I hope to blog another time about Stanley Odd, Rachel Sermanni, Michael Marra, the Campbells, Adam Stearns and the Glass Animals, Open Swimmer and Jo Mango.
Solas is a festival where art comes first, where a curated diverse programme excels, where toddlers are free to dance at the front of main stage and end the weekend on first-name terms with performers. It's a festival of faith, justice and arts in the grounds of an old lodge at the foot of a mountain.
It was a wonderful weekend, and I hope we'll back back next year. You should go too.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Places
A birthday weekend
We were big fans of Edinburgh before coming here for this birthday weekend away, but over the past four days we feel we've learnt more about the city and love it even more.
How can anyone not fall for this place? We've spent a grand total of £7 each on tourist attractions, but had jam-packed days. We must have walked about ten miles each day exploring the old and new towns, and following the river down to Leith.
Anyone in the UK who doesn't know Edinburgh is missing out. Top moments this time around were eating locally inspired food at A Room in Leith, exploring the vast National Museum (which would give South Kensington a run for its money), the galleries (especially the recently re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery), the glass houses at the Royal Botanic Gardens, and squeezing to the top of the Scott Monument. Add to all that the Christmas markets and you'll see why we were busy.
In fact, pretty much everything we did was wonderful. Edinburgh should be your next city break.
Friday, 16 December 2011
Coastwalk , Fife Coastal Path
Queensferry → Aberdour
Distance: 11.5 miles
Ascent: 155 metres
Duration: 3 hours 56 minutes
Over the Firth to Fife
« Leith | Kirkcaldy Harbour »
We've travelled further than ever before for just one walk. After disembarking the overnight train at Edinburgh Waverley just after seven, we caught a local service to Dalmeny so that we would see the sun rise over the Forth Bridge as we crossed the adjacent road bridge. Unfortunately unbroken cloud frustrated our plans, but it's still been a unique walk to round out a great year of coastwalking.
The Bridge has been in the news this week, with the completion of its latest coat of paint. It's wonderful to see the scaffolding down and the bridge in all its glory.
Having crossed, the remainder of the walk was on the Fife Coastal Path. It seems to be a well signposted trail, although we had some difficulty finding its starting point in North Queensferry.
Towards the end we passed behind Dalgety Bay, which has been the subject of a recent adjournment debate in the House of Commons. Radioactive waste from dismantled second world war aeroplane dials has been found here, and a political tangle has emerged as to who is responsible for the cleanup.
Across the water we could make out Edinburgh and Leith. This vantage point made clear the relative height of Arthur's Seat compared to the rest of the town. Initially I wasn't convinced we were even looking at Edinburgh since the castle rock didn't dominate the skyline as I'd expected.
We reached Aberdour at lunchtime. It was tempting to walk further, but the cold day and the knowledge of a waiting warm hotel room led us to the railway station and a return to Edinburgh. In the distance the snow-topped Pentland Hills nodded their approval.