Update:The first picture was shown on BBC Look East on Monday evening - except they stuck a BBC banner right across the hedgehog which kind of defeated the point of sending it to them!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A surprise visitor
We were amazed to see a hedgehog appear today while watching the birds feeding in the snow. He was only little, so we gave him plenty of food to help get through winter.
The pheasants weren't too sure what to make of him!
Update:The first picture was shown on BBC Look East on Monday evening - except they stuck a BBC banner right across the hedgehog which kind of defeated the point of sending it to them!
Update:The first picture was shown on BBC Look East on Monday evening - except they stuck a BBC banner right across the hedgehog which kind of defeated the point of sending it to them!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
New walk report added
Over on the side there ------->
Pictures and report on Hadrian's Wall path is finished. The next report is already underway, the Cumbria Way, which we walked straight after Hadrian's Wall (the two link together nicely).
I've added up the miles from walks this year on long distance paths and it comes to just under 400 miles taking their 'published' distances. In most cases I think we do at least 10 miles above that, with detours to bed and breakfast, visiting places on the way etc.
Pictures and report on Hadrian's Wall path is finished. The next report is already underway, the Cumbria Way, which we walked straight after Hadrian's Wall (the two link together nicely).
I've added up the miles from walks this year on long distance paths and it comes to just under 400 miles taking their 'published' distances. In most cases I think we do at least 10 miles above that, with detours to bed and breakfast, visiting places on the way etc.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Anglesey Abbey
With the perfect autumn weather we took a trip at the weekend to visit another nearby National Trust site - Anglesey Abbey near to Cambridge.
Although the house looked lovely, we decided to miss this out today. With our NT membership we find that we tend to be more relaxed about visiting places and don't feel we have to rush and try to fit everything in.
The gardens are extensive, and very well planned. Each area flows into the next quite naturally so we didn't have to keep doubling back on ourselves. There's a mix of formal gardens, avenues and woodland.
The trees are varied, and so are in different stages of colour changing. Despite all the compaints about a wet summer, apparently it has been a perfect season to produce this autumn display.
Lots of leaves on the ground too which were great to rustle through.
Each avenue we walked along had people taking photographs. Though everyone was quite polite and took turns, which means it doesn't look busy at all!
I always wonder how much of these planned gardens the original owners ever get to see. It must take years before everything is complete and the trees are fully mature to give the final effect.
Although the house looked lovely, we decided to miss this out today. With our NT membership we find that we tend to be more relaxed about visiting places and don't feel we have to rush and try to fit everything in.
The gardens are extensive, and very well planned. Each area flows into the next quite naturally so we didn't have to keep doubling back on ourselves. There's a mix of formal gardens, avenues and woodland.
The trees are varied, and so are in different stages of colour changing. Despite all the compaints about a wet summer, apparently it has been a perfect season to produce this autumn display.
Lots of leaves on the ground too which were great to rustle through.
Each avenue we walked along had people taking photographs. Though everyone was quite polite and took turns, which means it doesn't look busy at all!
I always wonder how much of these planned gardens the original owners ever get to see. It must take years before everything is complete and the trees are fully mature to give the final effect.
A final shot which is now on the background of my computer.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Orford - Castle and Ness
For a change this is a post about somewhere in Suffolk on my Suffolk Blog.
Last weekend we took advantage of the great weather that's finally arrived and went for a day out to Orford. Here we were able to use our memberships in both the National Trust and English Heritage all in one day.
First was a trip over to Orford Ness on the National Trust ferry. The trip costs just £3.70 for members, and you can spend as long as you like on the Ness, subject to catching the last ferry back at 5:00pm.
There are trails to follow around, which must be kept to. A lot of aircraft testing of bomb trajectories was carried out on Orford Ness, and so there is a danger of unexploded ordinance still to be found.
We started out by going to the displays about the history of the area which is inside one of the old military buildings.
From there the trail continued on to reach the lighthouse, which is one of the major features.
After stopping on the beach for a picnic lunch, we walked back across the expanse of shingle to head to some more of the buildings. Though as you can see, it's difficult to get away from that lighthouse with the ground being so flat!
Next point on our tour was the Black Beacon, which was built to house an experimental navigation beacon in 1928. Now it is open as a great viewing platform through small slotted windows. Each window has a picture above it to label what can be seen in that direction.
The second trail we followed took us out towards the tall masts which broadcast the BBC World Service radio. This section of the ness contains lots of grazing marshes, and channels of fresh water. We saw plenty of gulls around, plus some little egrets and wheatears.
After catching the boat back to Orford we called in for a cup of tea at the Riverside Tearoom, then walked back up through the town to the castle. Here our English Heritage cards got us in for free and we collected our audio tours to lead us around.
The tour gradually led us up the levels of the castle, ending up on the rooftop. From here we could see all over the town and back across to the lighthouse.
Unfortunately we had to rush the tour a little, as it lasts for almost an hour, and we had just 50 minutes until the castle closed. We skipped the introduction, and also the basement section.
Back outside we had a brief walk around the ridges of the castle defenses, getting the whole building in a picture by using a wideangle lens which has made an unusually bent castle.
The castle really shone in the evening light, looking quite golden.
We ended the day by going for tea in the Kings Head pub.
Last weekend we took advantage of the great weather that's finally arrived and went for a day out to Orford. Here we were able to use our memberships in both the National Trust and English Heritage all in one day.
First was a trip over to Orford Ness on the National Trust ferry. The trip costs just £3.70 for members, and you can spend as long as you like on the Ness, subject to catching the last ferry back at 5:00pm.
There are trails to follow around, which must be kept to. A lot of aircraft testing of bomb trajectories was carried out on Orford Ness, and so there is a danger of unexploded ordinance still to be found.
We started out by going to the displays about the history of the area which is inside one of the old military buildings.From there the trail continued on to reach the lighthouse, which is one of the major features.
After stopping on the beach for a picnic lunch, we walked back across the expanse of shingle to head to some more of the buildings. Though as you can see, it's difficult to get away from that lighthouse with the ground being so flat!
Next point on our tour was the Black Beacon, which was built to house an experimental navigation beacon in 1928. Now it is open as a great viewing platform through small slotted windows. Each window has a picture above it to label what can be seen in that direction.
The second trail we followed took us out towards the tall masts which broadcast the BBC World Service radio. This section of the ness contains lots of grazing marshes, and channels of fresh water. We saw plenty of gulls around, plus some little egrets and wheatears.
After catching the boat back to Orford we called in for a cup of tea at the Riverside Tearoom, then walked back up through the town to the castle. Here our English Heritage cards got us in for free and we collected our audio tours to lead us around.
The tour gradually led us up the levels of the castle, ending up on the rooftop. From here we could see all over the town and back across to the lighthouse.Unfortunately we had to rush the tour a little, as it lasts for almost an hour, and we had just 50 minutes until the castle closed. We skipped the introduction, and also the basement section.
Back outside we had a brief walk around the ridges of the castle defenses, getting the whole building in a picture by using a wideangle lens which has made an unusually bent castle.
The castle really shone in the evening light, looking quite golden.
We ended the day by going for tea in the Kings Head pub.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Another walk featuring many pubs and pictures
Finally finished another blog reporting on a walk. This time it's the turn of "The Inn Way... to the Yorkshire Dales" which we walked back in May this year. It's taken a while to get around to writing it up, mostly due to the other holidays we've been on since then, so you can look forward to future reports from:
Hadrian's Wall
Cumbria Way
The Inn Way... to Northumberland
But for now, please redirect yourselves to:
yorkshiredalesinnway.blogspot.com
Hadrian's Wall
Cumbria Way
The Inn Way... to Northumberland
But for now, please redirect yourselves to:
yorkshiredalesinnway.blogspot.com
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Geocachers Galleries
In our geocache "Meadows Meander", which is hidden in Ufford, we placed some disposable cameras so that the people who found it could take their picture.
The cache has now been in place for three years, and so far two cameras have been filled. Last night I finally got around to scanning in all of the pictures and uploading them to a web gallery. So if you've always wondered what sort of people would use multi-million dollar satellites to locate tupperware containers then have a look here and here.
Maybe someone you know will turn out to be a geocacher!
The cache has now been in place for three years, and so far two cameras have been filled. Last night I finally got around to scanning in all of the pictures and uploading them to a web gallery. So if you've always wondered what sort of people would use multi-million dollar satellites to locate tupperware containers then have a look here and here.
Maybe someone you know will turn out to be a geocacher!
Friday, July 25, 2008
More wildlife
With the ducks having left home, we are now enjoying watching some nocturnal visitors to the garden. Last year we saw loads of hedgehogs around, so we put out some shelters for them to hibernate in over winter. They are now back again, and this year we're ready for them with a camera!
The first was taken about 9:30 the other evening, so was a bit dark. A bit of photoshop editing has brought the light level up by quite a bit. The second is a picture of the TV, showing the live feed from the camera we've got set up by the food - hopefully there'll be more images to come.
The first was taken about 9:30 the other evening, so was a bit dark. A bit of photoshop editing has brought the light level up by quite a bit. The second is a picture of the TV, showing the live feed from the camera we've got set up by the food - hopefully there'll be more images to come.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
It's taken a lot longer than expected to get a blog written up about walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in July last year, but finally it's finished and publicly available! It's in a similar style to the Lake District one, with photos to show what each day was like.
Also there's a list of places to stay, useful even if you're not walking the whole coast path but are just looking for a B&B in Pembrokeshire.
The new blog is at pembrokeshirecoastpath.blogspot.com so please have a read and enjoy the sea air.
Also there's a list of places to stay, useful even if you're not walking the whole coast path but are just looking for a B&B in Pembrokeshire.
The new blog is at pembrokeshirecoastpath.blogspot.com so please have a read and enjoy the sea air.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Caching around home
At last some good weather. We decided it was time to get out for a decent walk as we hadn't done much distance this year so far. To pick somewhere to go we looked for the nearest geocach to home, which turned out to be in the village of Gedding.
The route from Hitcham to Gedding is the way I drive in to work each day along nice quiet lanes, so we stuck to the roads to get there. It made quite a difference being on foot, seeing so much more of the surroundings. Of course it took a lot longer too! A little under 2 hours, compared to the normal 10 minutes.
Once in to Gedding the GPS led us to a little church, which I have never been past before. The cache was hidden just a short distance behind the church on a footpath. It was easily found, and we dropped off one of our 'calling cards'.
The church is very decorative, with flint inlaid in patterns. Looking from the churchyard you can also see Bill Wyman's house.
We left Gedding, and then took followed footpaths to get to Bradfield Woods. Here we stopped for lunch, a flask of soup. It was freezing though, so didn't sit for long. We then decided to continue on footpaths to take a different route home. This way we also spotted a few deer in the fields, and also saw a bird with a long beak which we think must have been a Woodcock.
Total distance in the end was just over 13 miles which felt like a good bit of exercise.
The route from Hitcham to Gedding is the way I drive in to work each day along nice quiet lanes, so we stuck to the roads to get there. It made quite a difference being on foot, seeing so much more of the surroundings. Of course it took a lot longer too! A little under 2 hours, compared to the normal 10 minutes.
Once in to Gedding the GPS led us to a little church, which I have never been past before. The cache was hidden just a short distance behind the church on a footpath. It was easily found, and we dropped off one of our 'calling cards'.
The church is very decorative, with flint inlaid in patterns. Looking from the churchyard you can also see Bill Wyman's house.
We left Gedding, and then took followed footpaths to get to Bradfield Woods. Here we stopped for lunch, a flask of soup. It was freezing though, so didn't sit for long. We then decided to continue on footpaths to take a different route home. This way we also spotted a few deer in the fields, and also saw a bird with a long beak which we think must have been a Woodcock.
Total distance in the end was just over 13 miles which felt like a good bit of exercise.
Friday, December 14, 2007
A year in pictures
The following 12 pictures are the ones picked out for our 2008 calendar. We've had them printed by Photobox, and wrapped them up ready to give out as Christmas presents. We did some last year, and they proved so popular that this year we ordered 32 of them!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Brrrr.....
Well Tuesday was cold, but today even worse! It's times like this when living out in the countryside has it's problems. The roads become very slippery so getting in to Bury takes twice as long. And then there's having to defrost the car in the evening before heading home again :-(
Still, the BBC monthly outlook is saying that there may be some snow on Christmas Eve. I do hope so!! None before then though as we have to get up to the Lake District. After that then all snow is welcome, particularly if we get stuck in our cottage until spring!!
Still, the BBC monthly outlook is saying that there may be some snow on Christmas Eve. I do hope so!! None before then though as we have to get up to the Lake District. After that then all snow is welcome, particularly if we get stuck in our cottage until spring!!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Silence
Hope you aren't finding the silence too unnerving, take it as more of a comfortable silence!
The other week on the radio they played 15 seconds of silence (Chris Evans on Radio 2). Any longer and the automatic backup at the station would kick in and play a pre-recorded tape. Since then I've had a few journeys to and from work with the radio off for a change.
At least I'm not alone - a drought seems to have hit blogs lately, so this is now a companionable silence.
Maybe I'll put up a few photo posts soon of images from this year....
The other week on the radio they played 15 seconds of silence (Chris Evans on Radio 2). Any longer and the automatic backup at the station would kick in and play a pre-recorded tape. Since then I've had a few journeys to and from work with the radio off for a change.
At least I'm not alone - a drought seems to have hit blogs lately, so this is now a companionable silence.
Maybe I'll put up a few photo posts soon of images from this year....
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A Saturday afternoon project
Take one corner of a garden
Add in two logs
Position birthday presents of:
1 x Tin bath
1 x Watering can
1 x Tap
1 x Copper pipe
Finish off with
1 x Bag of stones
1 x Frog
1 x Solar powered pump
and some water
Add in two logs
Position birthday presents of:
1 x Tin bath
1 x Watering can
1 x Tap
1 x Copper pipe
Finish off with
1 x Bag of stones
1 x Frog
1 x Solar powered pump
and some water
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Geocaching Monday
As the weather was reasonable and we had spent the weekend indoors completing our Inn Way report (yes it's finished! - click here to read all 9 days and recommended B&B's in the Lake District) we decided to get outside and find a few geocaches.
Looking on the website there were a few new caches set up that we hadn't been too, and we could also combine visiting them with checking up on some caches that a friend of mine owns.
First we headed to Ixworth Thorpe and had a short walk along a farm track and through some woods to get to the site. This seemed a popular path with runners, several times we were passed as we hunted for the cache container just off the footpath. Eventually I found it and we filled in the log book.
Next stop was Ampton Water where we did our first check on my friend's cache. It was still well hidden and the container was full of things to swap.
Back in the car and over to Coney Weston for the next new find. The cache was called 'Gnome Sweet Gnome' and we soon found why :
The cacher who set this one up likes creating unusual hiding places. Another later in the day wasn't anywhere near so obvious as a bright red door in a tree! Again the name contained a clue - 'Not Mush Room' - therewas only space in the 'container' for a slip of paper to sign.
We then enjoyed a good walk around Knettishall Heath, performing another maintenance check there. This cache hasn't been found for 6 months as it requires some work to find out where it is hidden.
Finally we dashed over to Brandon Country Park and had a very quick walk around a route there to check on the third of my friend's caches. The log book in this one was full as it's a very popular spot, so we put in a new one.
According to the GPS we totalled up a little over 7 miles in all of our short walks, so not bad for an afternoon.
Looking on the website there were a few new caches set up that we hadn't been too, and we could also combine visiting them with checking up on some caches that a friend of mine owns.
First we headed to Ixworth Thorpe and had a short walk along a farm track and through some woods to get to the site. This seemed a popular path with runners, several times we were passed as we hunted for the cache container just off the footpath. Eventually I found it and we filled in the log book.
Next stop was Ampton Water where we did our first check on my friend's cache. It was still well hidden and the container was full of things to swap.
Back in the car and over to Coney Weston for the next new find. The cache was called 'Gnome Sweet Gnome' and we soon found why :
The cacher who set this one up likes creating unusual hiding places. Another later in the day wasn't anywhere near so obvious as a bright red door in a tree! Again the name contained a clue - 'Not Mush Room' - therewas only space in the 'container' for a slip of paper to sign.
We then enjoyed a good walk around Knettishall Heath, performing another maintenance check there. This cache hasn't been found for 6 months as it requires some work to find out where it is hidden.
Finally we dashed over to Brandon Country Park and had a very quick walk around a route there to check on the third of my friend's caches. The log book in this one was full as it's a very popular spot, so we put in a new one.
According to the GPS we totalled up a little over 7 miles in all of our short walks, so not bad for an afternoon.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Further progress
More days have now been added to my Lake District Inn Way report, including the amazing photographs of Buttermere.
I've booked to go away to the Lakes for Christmas this year, so hope to get lots more photographs then too.
I've booked to go away to the Lakes for Christmas this year, so hope to get lots more photographs then too.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
A second blog
Once again I haven't written anything here for a few weeks. The Inn Way walk in the Lake District went ahead as planned earlier this month. 9 days of walking, just about 100 miles, went into 43 pubs and sampled 55 different ales!
That's not quite as bad as it sounds - I wasn't staggering around the fells in a drunken stupor. Each drink was only a half, and then that was shared between the two of us which brings it down to a much more reasonable sounding 1.5 pints per day.
I have starting writing up each day's walk with details of distance, pubs, scenery and accomodation, including lots of photographs. I've done this as a separate blog which is now available to view. Vist my Lake District Inn Way blog page.
The first three days are there, with the fourth due to be ready tonight. Hope you have a read and enjoy it.
[Update - day 4 is now complete. Day 5 to follow with some amazing photos of Buttermere]
That's not quite as bad as it sounds - I wasn't staggering around the fells in a drunken stupor. Each drink was only a half, and then that was shared between the two of us which brings it down to a much more reasonable sounding 1.5 pints per day.
I have starting writing up each day's walk with details of distance, pubs, scenery and accomodation, including lots of photographs. I've done this as a separate blog which is now available to view. Vist my Lake District Inn Way blog page.
The first three days are there, with the fourth due to be ready tonight. Hope you have a read and enjoy it.
[Update - day 4 is now complete. Day 5 to follow with some amazing photos of Buttermere]
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Blogging on the move
I just got a laptop for my birthday which means I can now get on the internet wirelessly. I thought it would be nice to be able to sit out in the garden whilst browsing the web. Unfortunately my connection currently dies just before I get to the garden table!! A little playing around with the router box position should help get the few extra feet I need hopefully.
Also I can now see that several people nearby have their own wireless networks running. Somebody has one of those BT Home Hub things - wonder who that is? Out here at our end of Hitcham there aren't many houses so I was surprised to see so many networks.
I am now starting to set up a new blog with details of our Pembrokeshire Coast Path walk. Most of the photographs are now tidied up and ready to be published. It's taken longer than expected, as weekends have been busy recently. Last weekend was my niece's 8th birthday. R made a fantastic cake for her:
This was taken just after blowing out the candles which is why her name has a slightly Dali-esque look to it!
Also I can now see that several people nearby have their own wireless networks running. Somebody has one of those BT Home Hub things - wonder who that is? Out here at our end of Hitcham there aren't many houses so I was surprised to see so many networks.
I am now starting to set up a new blog with details of our Pembrokeshire Coast Path walk. Most of the photographs are now tidied up and ready to be published. It's taken longer than expected, as weekends have been busy recently. Last weekend was my niece's 8th birthday. R made a fantastic cake for her:
This was taken just after blowing out the candles which is why her name has a slightly Dali-esque look to it!
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