101 uses for a Senior Railcard

The weather forecasters are getting the weather quite accurate at the moment after a summer where they got it disastrously wrong most of the time. So it was easy to arrange, on Monday, a walk for Thursday - knowing that it was going to be the best day of the week. So it turned out.

The four of us hopped on the Coryton train at Heath Low Level and then (from Coryton station) walked down to the Glamorgan Canal at Forest Farm and then down the Taff Trail to The Bay, stopping at The Butcher's Arms in Llandaff for lunch.


Coryton to the Bay at EveryTrail
Our return saw three of using our Bus Passes on a bendy bus that took us back to the Central Station and then, after battling with the ticket machine, we returned to Heath Low Level on the Coryton train - nice circular end to the day.

Lovely walk. Lovely company. Thanks for a great day!

A weekend near Cleobury Mortimer with David & Penny

After a gap of a few years we returned to The Cider House at Neen Sollars for our fourth visit, our third with David & Penny. After loads of rainfall, it was always going to be wet underfoot, but we nevertheless managed to get some walking in.

The first day (Saturday) saw us head for Ludlow, one of my favourite places by way of Titterstone Cleehill where we got out, had a blow and a short walk to exercise the dogs and our lungs. The air is so wonderful in The Marches, and from the Clee Hills you can see so far into England and Wales - a fact not lost on the National Air Traffic System who have located a number of radar installations on the top of the hill, around an abandoned quarry.

A wander around Titterstone Cleehill on our way to Ludlow at EveryTrail
The rest of the day went to form - a walk around the market, the purchase of some tripe sticks, a drink in The Bull, a visit to the butchers to buy sausages - the things we always do when we visit Ludlow.

The next day we drove to Bewdley and walked beside the River Severn up the west bank to Arley, had a drink and a sandwich at The Harbour Inn and then walked back on the eastern side of the river.

Beside the Severn from Bewdley to Arley at EveryTrail
Of course we were walking beside the Severn Valley Railway and so photo opportunities were readily available - see the link to the pictures at the bottom; but I was also able to take a short video of a train going over the Victoria Bridge, just south of Arley.

Then on Monday, as David & Penny were leaving us that day, we drove to Kinver Edge, where in the wonderful autumn sunshine we did a circular walk along the edge, through the woods, past the cave houses, up the MBX course and back through the autumn colours of the woods before driving down to Kinver to have lunch and say farewell.

Kinver Edge at EveryTrail
We returned via Kidderminster - strange place; that's all I'll say!

On Tuesday, Jenny and I went into Ludlow again, had a pie and a pint in The Church Inn - highly recommended; before dropping across to the butchers to discuss hams for Christmas.

There's a link to a few pictures of the weekend below.

CiderHouse2012

Arran adventure

So ... three go absent with leave on Arran. Having provided Grandma child-minding services in Leeds, Martin was able to join DeeJay and me on a trip to find yet more distilleries. In fact it was Martin who suggested Arran, and we spent a few weeks working out what we were going to do, using Google+ Events - some lucky folk will be able to see what we did in planning the trip. This post details what actually happened!

Arran adventure

The photos on Picasaweb can be seen by clicking on the midge-netted picture of me above; that will take you to the album. Our itinerary is shown below ...

[Please note that all maps can be viewed inter-actively on the Everytrail site on a desktop, or laptop computer by clicking on the title above the map; this does not work on a mobile or smartphone device.]

Arran adventure at EveryTrail

We set off at just after 6:00am as we needed to be sure of getting to Ardrossan (to catch the ferry) by 12:10. This we managed by maximising the motorway/dual-carriageway driving and even with a stop at Abington Services we managed the time well. We took the southern route over to the M6 because there were reports of road closure at Scotch Corner due to the heavy rain that had been troubling the north of England the previous week (see previous post).

So everything was uneventful, the crossing was flat; we found the campsite easily and quickly after a quick stop in Brodick's Co-Op for supplies and cash; and we set off for our first walk.

Lochranza loop at EveryTrail

A short but eventful walk. Just as we climbed out of Glen Catacol we met a ranger with a German tourist who'd just shot a stag. They were dragging the stag down to a spot where it could be retrieved by a quad-bike. They'd dis-embowelled the animal, so the carrion crows and maybe the local eagles were not going to go hungry, but even though it's the way of things I passed by as quickly as I could and didn't engage in conversation. So all my information comes from DeeJay who was ahead of me and who had time to talk to the ranger before he went off back up the hillside to get to his quad-bike which they must have used to get onto the moors that morning. We'd heard the two shots that had brought the stag down - a 14-pointer apparently; and in truth we were lucky not to have had to face the wrath of ranger and hunter because we'd not lodged our walking route with the Ranger Service before we set off. They would have told us to keep off this part of the moor. All we got from the ranger was "that's a strange way to get back to Lochranza". It was quite a tiring route, although we didn't attempt to climb-up our intended route to the top of Meall Mor because the light was failing. Instead we skirted the hill and walking over tussocky and very tiring wet, boggy land then descended down into Gleann Easan Biorach,.

That walk convinced me that I wasn't fit enough to attempt the walk we'd planned to do to get up Goatfell by way of "The Bastion" and Mullach Buidhe. I didn't feel so bad about that when DeeJay admitted concerns about his back as well, so an alternative walk for Saturday would need to be planned.

We had passed the Catacol Bay Hotel on our walk and decided to go back there in the evening where we had good beer and ate Venison Burgers, although it would have to be said - I was remarkably not hungry!

The next morning saw Martin go off on a 25km mountain bike circuit which took him out of Glen Chalmadale to Laggan, down the coast to Sanox and then back along the road to Lochranza. DeeJay and I meanwhile walked back up Gleann Easan Biorach to allow me to take a few photographs.

The afternoon saw us in The Arran Distillery for a tour and a tasting. This is an exceptional malt, not at all like the Island malts of Islay nearby. It's unfiltered and does not have an artificial peaty finish added. It just relies on the pure water, the purest in the UK apparently, to produce a whisky which is full of character and taste. An experience - we were told!

Martin and I decided to walk down to the castle in Lochranza and see the deer. The light was not bad, so we both got a few decent photos. The plus was to be so close to the deer who were not worried by our proximity at all. Evening saw me heat up a curry with all the trimmings (so to speak), and #duettovan managed the task brilliantly! We sampled a bit of the whisky that night too. Each of us having bought a different bottle (or two in my case) so that we could relive the tasting on later occasions!

We'd worked out our Saturday walk; we were going to walk from Sannox - up Glen Sannox, over The Saddle and down Glen Rotha to the Arran Brewery and then catch a bus back to Sannox. The route is shown below ...

Glen Sannox and Glen Rotha at EveryTrail

This was a great walk. Surprisingly, it was only 9 miles long. It felt a lot longer. We'd factored in the possibility that Martin could leave us half-way and go on up to North Goatfell and Goatfell from The Saddle and meet us at the end of our walk, and this is what we did. After a short scramble which I enjoyed but bemoaned the fact that my legs didn't stretch as far they used to and that something was getting in the way of my close contact to the rock which was never there 30 years ago (guess what :-)), we lunched at The Saddle and Martin set off upwards, and DeeJay and I set off down Glen Rotha. It was a long walk! By the end of it I was feeling quite tired. I got to the bus stop and decided to wait there. DeeJay went on to the brewery to find Martin had already arrived. No comment necessary!!!

Our trip was nearly over. Sunday morning saw us rushing for the earlier ferry because the night had been a shocker. Wind, rain, stags bellowing, etc etc. The rain cleared as we boarded the ferry in Brodick and I decided to drive through Galloway to Dumfries get to the M6 near to Annan. I can't remember that road at all; the rivers were in spate and it was a pleasure to drive. Coiming off the M6 on to the A66 saw us home quickly and also introduced another new road to me - or at least one I can't remember driving before.

Home by 5:00pm and Gail had a roast lamb dinner ready for us. What could be a better end to a great trip.

Downpour in The Dales (or Grrr, Grassington)

The second week of our holiday was to be spent in The Yorkshire Dales, more specifically Swaledale which we didn't know at all.

We tried to get a pitch in the Leyburn or Hawes club sites, but were unsuccessful (although we could have had a pitch at a site in Masham); but we were fortunate to get a pitch at the Caravan Club site at Grassington in Wharfdale - a place we knew quite well.

The drive across from Whitby was also interesting, taking us on a northerly route towards Middlesborough skirting the North Yorkshire Moors (Heartbeat country) and through Ripon which I can't remember ever visiting before.

Upon reflection, we should have tried to get a pitch at the CC site there, but we have made a note to return when next visiting Leeds and spending "extra" nights in Swaledale, Nidderdale and Wensleydale.

The pictures of our stop in Grassington can be viewed on Picasaweb by clicking on this link.

Through The Dales to Leeds at EveryTrail


So we ended up at Long Ashes near to Threshfield. As we arrived in Grassington, we could see that things were not as they ought to be - and that was not a comment upon the lovely sunny day! No, the village had been taken over by a 1940's Re-enactment Event. Apparently these occur almost every weekend through the summer, and we'd landed in the middle of one without realising it was taking place. So ... a quick setting-up of #duettovan, and a walk into Grassington to investigate, was called for!

The place was really buzzing and happy. We rang the Grooms and suggested they came up for a walk and to enjoy the event on the Sunday. We retired to the Long Ashes restaurant on the static campsite for a pleasant meal.

The weekend is recorded in the slideshow below ...


Grassington 1940's Weekend 2012 from David Harrison on Vimeo.

If you want a more leisurely scan through the photographs, you can find that here.

The videos are embedded below:



The weather and the fun was not too last. Although it had rained quite a bit on the Saturday, that was nothing to what fell on the Sunday night; and with the promise of more to come we scurried off back to Leeds early on Monday morning. A wet end to a lovely tour in #duettovan.

Yo! Yorkshire - the East Yorkshire coast

We took off for a trip to Yorkshire last week. Our intention to spend some time at places we'd never really had time to visit properly whilst living "up north".

On a desktop, or laptop, computer you will be able to access an interactive Everytrail map of each day, some with photos on them (marked by the red pins on the maps), if you click on the title above the map.

If you want to see all the pictures on Picasa, go to the Yorkshire Coast 2012 album, otherwise you can watch a rather speedy video slideshow on Vimeo ...


East Yorkshire Coast 2012 from David Harrison on Vimeo.

Day One saw us leave Leeds for Scarborough ...
To Scarborough at EveryTrail


We headed first for Beverley, somewhere we'd surprisingly never visited. Apart from finding a lovely cafe - The Indulgent Tart - to have a lunchtime sandwich, we also of course spent some time in Beverley Minster which is a lovely church with an interesting history including links to the churches in Bywell, which Jenny knew and visited as a child. It brought home to me the real importance of the church in days gone by as regional power centres. As a non-historian, I'm learning things that are obvious to others every day!

From Beverley we headed for Scarborough where we aimed to spend three nights on the Camping & Caravanning Club site. The first night we just took a pitch by the entrance, but moved to a nicer pitch (quieter) for the next two nights.

Day Two saw us go back south to Bridlington, Flamborough Head and Filey...
Bridlington, Flamborough & Filey at EveryTrail


We were drawn to visit Bridlington by the excellent Michael Portillo Great British Railway Journeys programme which highlighted the Station Buffet and its impressive floral display. We weren't disappointed, either by the flowers, the station, or the buffet and enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a pint of Yorkshire Guzzler. On from the station which surprisingly in its heyday had at least six platforms - I only know that because 4 and 5 were designated for Sheffield and Hull and 6 took you to Scarborough on a single-track - we walked down through the town (not too exciting, rather tired looking) to the harbour where we each had a tray of chips (we also had some sandwiches with us!) and then on to Cooplands Secret Garden cafe for a cup of tea and a strawberry tartlet each!

From Bridlington we drove up to Flamborough Head where we'd once spent a glorious Boxing Day (before we had a family, of course) and which I'd visited also with field trips in my earlier incvarnation as a Geographer. The Rescue Helicopter visited us as we arrived and then we took in views of cliffs, clouds and lighthouses before returning to the campsite.

Day Three saw us cycle up to Hayburn Wyke and back ...
Hayburn Wyke and back on the bikes at EveryTrail


I really wanted to try out the Cinder Track - a cycle track that makes use of the disused Scarborough to Whitby trackbed. We cycled from the campsite to Scalby and then cycled 5.5 miles up to Hayburn Wyke, had a pint at the Hayburn Wyke Inn and walked down to the coast. Back for another pint - Black Sheep - and then the ride back. A really lovely day, the sun shone when it mattered and only a few spots of rain.

Day Four saw us return to Scarborough, before heading off to Whitby ...
Scarborough and Low Moor at EveryTrail


We've really made use of our CADW (Wales' equivalent of English Heritage) this year, nearly all in English Heritage sites. So a drive into Scarborough and a climb up to the Castle from the North Cliff side saw us walking around the cliff top enjoying wonderful views and watching surfers enjoying the gentle swell. A high point was the chutney and a cup of Yorkshire Tea at the cafe! Then we walked down to the town, visited a most unexceptional market and then walked back to the van via M&S where we picked-up another meal deal and the seafront which we walked through as quickly as possible.

Day Five was Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby day ...
Robin Hood's Bay & Whitby at EveryTrail


Robin Hood's Bay was a delight! Lovely narrow streets and well painted little houses all connected by narrow lanes and alleys. It also had a few pubs and we stopped in the Bay Hotel for a drink before climbing the hill and having our sandwiches overlooking the coast and the town. Then we set off for Whitby, the Abbey (another EH site) and fish and chips in The Magpie Cafe. A lovely day, amazing abbey with views and lovely f&c.

... and then we headed inland for the Dales and Grassington, after failing to get our preferred sites at either Hawes or Leyburn.

A fast walk in the woods

Chris Brydone on a flying visit to us suggested a walk; I offered him four possibilities - this is the one he chose; not that I'm into blame you understand, just that I knew how it was going to end up knowing that Chris needed to be in Bristol by 16:30 the same day!

So ... I give you "Wye Valley Yomp" ...


Wye Valley Yomp at EveryTrail


The real challenge with this walk is the amount of time you spend in the forest. The morning is OK, you've got Offa's Dyke to look out for, some impressive real estate, quarries and possibly some bird and animal life. We had the challenge of finding the right path off The Offa's Dyke Trail to get down to Tintern - we failed and found ourselves on a very overgrown trail; machetes would have been useful - but it's a good walk.

No the problem is the afternoon, a really long path leading up towards the ridge out of Tintern should be a warning; it's not the climbing that's the problem - it's the unrelenting woodland. Only when you get to Eagle's Nest, and again at The Alcove do you see the River Wye and these views are splendid. It's just that they're both accessible from the Tintern - Chepstow Road and you don't need to walk through miles of woodland to get to them! The 365 Steps are a challenge too. I've only gone down them towards the end of this walk so far, when I'm getting tired - they're challenging and slippery in places too. I'm guessing that they're easier to go up than come down.

In between the morning and afternoon was a lunch break at Tintern and here we can give a thumbs up to The Rose and Crown - a good pint of Hancocks HB and a nice plate of ham sandwiches and steak and kidney pie set us up well.

The avoidance walk

This Ramblers walk was announced as "could be muddy" therefore upgraded to a B, Strenuous - well even without the mud (you can see from the photographs just what a wonderful day it was), the walk was still strenuous - even with all the "avoidance" action our leader Vic took.

We didn't "summit" Waun Fach, stopping for lunch just a short way from the top - in fact we could see it! - thus avoiding the boggy ground; we didn't descend via Y Grib - but took a clever route that flanked the ridge to descend; and we didn't do "the sting in the tail" - clamber up Castell Dinas.

For me, still in training mode these were all "good decisions". I arrived home, tired but with a huge grin on my face as a result of a wonderful walk that nearly took me to the highest point in The Black Mountains. Those final 200m of walking and 20m of elevation will have to wait for another day. However the stats of the walk are still impressive as you can see from the Everytrail track.

The photos may not be as accurately placed on the map as they usually are. I've done something wrong with the automatic placement from the GPS data. What ... I don't know :-).

Avoiding the bog, the steep descent and the castle at EveryTrail