Rambling and rock climbing

After an early start from Bristol airport and a smooth flight we arrived in Newcastle to meet up with Chas' old friend Bill.

A hectic week has followed. Northumberland National Park encompasses 3hill ranges and we have been rambling aka tramping on all three. Monday was in the Simonside range, Tuesday in the North Pennines and Wednesday on the Cheviot Hills.

 On Thursday Bill had to travel to the North York Moors National Park to carry out some plant surveying. So we went with him and did a 4 hour walk around the Levisham estate.

Friday we began organising the camper van for our month around Scotland. 

Today we drove to the Lake District. 55 years ago three young lads met at a local crag. They climbed together for many years before going their own way. What a blast from the past it was therefore to meet again and climb a celebratory route, easy though it was. So with over 210 years between us we had a fabulous time, and unashamedly talked about days gone by. Nice to know that the three of us are all still enjoying the mountains and an enduring friendship.

For those of you who enjoy a dram have a look at the pic below. Talisker 1973 100% single malt that a friend of Bill's gave us the other day. Smoothest whisky we have ever had.

Plymouth to Fowey and back

"Ronar M" is the pride and joy of Trevor and Dorie Jones, and rightly so. She is a 38foot Nicholson ketch and we had the privilege of sailing with Trevor. We sailed from Plymouth to Fowey and back, a distance of about 87 nautical miles. The weather was mixed with not as much wind as we had hoped for with moderately choppy seas at times. However we did manage to get some great sailing in on the last day when Ronar M whistled back to Plymouth by a 28 knot wind which gave us a cruising speed of 9 knots. What a fantastic feeling. No wonder many mountaineers get the sailing bug!

A wee sample of Gloucestershire

A busy time in Gloucester. Trevor and Dorie are wonderful hosts. 

Trevor has been harvesting his honey- Chas got into a tangle with one of his bees. We have visited Hidcote Gardens run by the National Trust. It is world famous Arts and Craft garden nestled in a Cotswald hamlet. 

The local village church was celebrating 700 years of worship. It became a whole village affair and we got involved cutting lawns, doing dishes and making scones. A fantastic community event including more non church than church people.

As you can see by the photo I have a great pie recipe to try out on family when I get home. It is called Shropshire Fidget Pie and that one in the photo I made to take sailing with Trevor.  It is fantastic although maybe not so good for the waistline. 

Our next blog will feature our week away with Trevor sailing and our last days in Gloucester before we head off to Newcastle to see Bill.

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Pics from first days in UK

Had trouble downloading pics last night but here they are.

Second stage, start of Our UK visit

Arriving in Plymouth from France we caught a train to our friends house in Elmore, Gloucestershire.
We have been busy ever since! On Sunday we were fortunate enough to  be invited to a VIP tent at the prestigious Henley Regatta rowing finals day. Even more of a treat was witnessing Mahe Drysdale winning the premier single sculls event. What a magic day, the atmosphere of the occasion with people dressed up in rowing colours and families picnicking along the banks of the River Thames rowing course.
A day of reminiscing about the early 60's rock climbing days followed with a visit to Wintours Leap, a limestone rock outcrop in the Wye Valley. Trevor and Chas thought it looked stepper and scarier than it did back then!
From there we continued on to the ruins of Tintern Abbey.
Today we caught the bus to Oxford. The whole place oozed history, from the various university colleges, to the place where penicillin was developed and Alice in Wonderland was written. Oxford is a vibrant busling city, a centre of international academic excellence.

Last days in France

This will be our last posting from France as we have now completed our cycle tour. Tomorrow we head across the ditch to the United Kingdom.

This last week has been eventful. You may have heard that France is experiencing a heatwave. We'll we are right in the middle of it. The day before yesterday the Thermometer hit 40 degrees C and for the last 10 days it has been in the mid to high thirties. Lucky old us but getting to sleep with night time temps was another matter. This morning things changed considerably with a horrendous lengthy thunder and lightening display which equaled anything we have heard in NZ Southern Alps.

The cycling this week meant away early in the day to make the most of the cooler weather. A nasty surprise greeted us as we came down a country lane. As we came around the corner a snake was crossing the road. Chas swerved to avoid it as it lunged towards him. Lucky no contact as we were in an isolated area.

School has finished for the year and last night we were treated to a musical concert by the kids in an open arena, near the camp with the Loire as a backdrop.

Although the river looks enticing  from a distance there are signs all along forbidding people not to swim. Not sure why but suspect it is pollution.

Our cycling experience in France, expect for the cold and hilly days at the start, has been absolutely fantastic and one can only congratulate the French for providing such great routes and facilities for cycle tourers. 

A thoroughly enjoyable part one of our trip.