In November, Annie and Gerry travelled with friends David and Anne Bowman to Looe for a week’s holiday. We attended the Remembrance Day service on 11 November and were impressed with the memorial, the surroundings and the number of people who attended. The second photo shown below was taken from high up in East Looe.


For the rest of the stay, the two couples tended to “do their own thing” but spent every evening at The Jolly Sailor in West Looe. We were made very welcome with a reserved table every night at the locals’ end of the Pub. We were looked after superbly and ate there every night bar one!

There were very few tourists around and so we were able to enjoy walking without having to constantly dodge people! We walked to Hannafore a couple of times and enjoyed the views of the sea and Looe Island – the sea was amazingly calm on most days as the picture shows.

We also had a lovely walk through Kilminorth Woods beside the West Looe River. We were surprised by the number of Little Egrets amongst the other sea birds in the estuary – there were at least eleven within 500 metres. Our return walk along a broad path higher up the side of the valley presented us with a magical view and then magical sounds as we walked through the carpet of leaves

We used our rail cards to travel to Liskeard on the Looe Branch line and had a pleasant, if not damp, walk around the town and visited the museum which was fascinating especially with a very large collection of toys from the 20th century. On another day we used our bus passes and caught the bus to Polperro. Polperro was very very quiet with almost no tourists. As a result we were able to meander around the narrow streets and not worry about other pedestrians.

David and Anne were great company and I can safely say that we all had a splendid time in Looe.

We were greeted by a magical sunset on our return to Fairford.

We also walked twice in the Ellerburn Valley near Thornton Le Dale and visited the North Yorks Moors Railway at Grosmont. From there we walked back to Goathland along the line of the original railway.


Although we had done all of the walks before we
thoroughly enjoyed the peace, tranquillity and views. On another day we visited Leyburn and then went on to Middleham Castle. The statue is of Richard 3rd who, as Richard, Duke of Gloucester spent his youth at Middleham and it subsequently became one of his royal homes. It has become tradition on our visits to Yorkshire to take the bus from Pickering to Whitby for lunch at The Magpie and then on another day to Malton for a Mexican meal at El Gringo’s. Both meals were as good as ever!

After a week at home we headed to Harford Bridge near Tavistock for a week in a mobile home. We have stayed at Harford Bridge many times and even in the same mobile home. On our way down we visited Annie’s sister Pam and husband Neil for coffee and managed to fill up with fuel as there was a lot of panic buying around the country with long queues and petrol stations out of fuel. The fuel situation remained difficult during our stay in Devon but was beginning to return to normal as we returned home. The weather was not particularly kind and, as Gerry had forgotten the backpack with waterproof trousers and first aid kits etc, we were more careful than ever about where and when we walked. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our walk to the church of St Michael de Rupe at Brentor.



The church was founded in 1130 and is the fourth smallest parish church in the UK and is thought to be the highest working church in England.

On another day we visited Dartmouth, caught the ferry to Kingswear and travelled on the Dartmouth Steam Railway to Paignton.

It was a lovely day out and the weather was kind to us- one downpour but we were able to shelter!

We walked on most days on tried
and trusted routes but did spend one morning walking around Burrator reservoir. Although slightly disappointed by the lack of views we did come across a group of Dartmoor ponies.

The weather was such that we decided to curtail our stay in Devon. We had lunch with Pam and Neil at a nearby Farm Shop and restaurant and then drove straight back to Fairford.
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Our two September breaks were enjoyable and, despite the weather in Devon, we had a great time.

After lunch we went for a walk through the woods and Deer park and were treated to the sight of deer walking quite close to us.

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On another day Annie and Gerry travelled to the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore. We had a lovely time looking at the museum, engine sheds and the station before then short ride behind a steam engine. One interesting sight was a “K4″ phone kiosk which incorporated a post box and stamp machines. only 50 were ever manufactured.

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The weather in early September was brilliantly hot and we enjoyed a couple of evenings sitting out on the top patio. It all made up for the generally poor weather in August.

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We visited Kew Gardens on a very hot day having driven up from Fairford. The gardens are clearly very special and we enjoyed walking around the grounds with so many different tree species and some lovely flower beds although probably a bit late in the year to see them in their full splendour. This was certainly the case in the rose gardens which must have been spectacular at their peak. We also visited the plant houses and were impressed by the banana plant and some very large water lilies (Victoria Amazonica) as well as the smallest water lily species in the world.

We were pleased we had visited Whitehaven but glad to continue our journey northwards the next day! It was a long and relatively uneventful drive to Lochcarron (325 miles) and we arrived just after 4pm. We had stayed at Tigh Charrann in 2018 so we knew what to expect and weren’t disappointed although the view from the patio was somewhat restricted by foliage. After unpacking and a short walk beside the Loch, we returned to enjoy a glass of wine on our patio.

The
next day (Sunday)was quite dull with the threat of some rain (The Cotswolds was enjoying the start of a very hot dry spell of weather) so we set out to visit Attadale Gardens. It was very pleasant walking around the woodland and gardens for nearly two hours – one of the nicest views was of the house and Lochcarron. We enjoyed a picnic in the grounds before walking up the Attadale Glen for an hour or so before returning to Lochcarron via the ruins of Strome Castle. We enjoyed the view down the Loch from the ruins.

On
Monday we set out for Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. We decided to make a circular tour and drove first to Invermoriston Falls near the southern end of Loch Ness. We had a lovely walk through some woods and then caught sight of the Falls with two bridges in the distance.

Our next stop was Urquhart Castle on the western bank of the Loch about 13 miles south of Inverness. The visible ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and had seen several conflicts before being largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces.
The Castle is now a scheduled monument and opened to the public: We enjoyed walking around the ruins but were conscious of the number of visitors and the need to socially distance.

We returned to Lochcarron via Inverness completing our circular journey of 154 miles. The drive was very pleasant and we certainly enjoyed the scenery.

The
following day, we set off early to travel to Sconser on the Isle of Skye to catch a ferry, as foot passengers, to the island of Raasay. The crossing takes only 25 minutes and the water was incredibly calm as the reflections in the photo of the ferry show. Raasay stretches about 14 miles north to south and is up to 3 miles wide.
With few roads and a permanent population of 160 or so, the island was very peaceful and the narrow roads a joy to walk on as there was virtually no traffic. We visited the distillery (and bought a bottle of Raasay Gin) before continuing our walk to Inverarish the island’s main village. We returned to the ferry via a different route and sat for a while enjoying the silence and the view. We both found the experience quite magical. On our way back to the ferry we came across the figurehead on the rocks beside the road and then looked back at the beautiful cottages nestling on the shore.

Once we returned to Skye we travelled to Armadale Castle and Gardens from which we enjoyed views across the water to Mallaig and the mainland. Our visit included the Museum of the Isles where we were able to learn about the long history Clan Donald; Scotland’s largest and most powerful clan. We enjoyed walking around the grounds although the gardens were less exciting than those at Attadale but the old house must have been magnificent in its day.

We also visited Plockton a picturesque and tranquil village on a sheltered bay with stunning views of Loch Carron. When we last visited in 2018, we had enjoyed a meal at the Plockton Hotel and looked forward to revisiting. This year, because of the pandemic, they had created a covered outdoor eating area right on the shoreline. We were not disappointed, the food and views were both fantastic so much so that we returned on the last full day of our holiday.

After a wonderful week we headed home stopping overnight at Nent Hall a lovely country hotel not far from Alston in Cumbria. The hotel was very comfortable with excellent food and service. Our stay provided a fitting end to another good holiday.

Readers of the Blog will know that we have visited Bodnant every time we stay in North Wales. The 55 metre long Laburnum Arch and Rhododendrons were well passed their best, but we were mesmerised by a large meadow of wild flowers and grasses.


Cultivated to support a rich mix of flowers, grasses and herbs including the common spotted orchid, yellow rattle, red clover, and common knapweed, the meadow provides amazing colours but above all a rich nectar source in early summer for bees and butterflies.
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For us, the most beautiful flower we came across is shown below although we don’t know its name. – but it was stunning!

After
Bodnant, we headed for LLanberis and the Llanberis Pass on our way to Beddgelert. We always find the journey (in good weather) beautiful with amazing scenery and the views down into valleys or up to high mountains equally inspiring. At Beddgelert several shops and properties and the pedestrian bridge over the river Colwyn to the primary school still showed damage from the flooding just prior to our visit in September 2020. This time the river was flowing very gently.

After a pleasant stroll along the banks of the river Glaslyn, we headed for the White Lion Royal Hotel in Bala. The evening was spent with a stroll by Lake Bala and a meal at Bala Spice. The restaurant is nothing to write home about but the food was lovely as usual. In fact, when we visited again the next night, we found our table prepared for us with glasses and bottle opener (it’s a BYOB place).

We spent the next day walking across the Mawddach Estuary to Barmouth. The tide was ebbing quite fast and we were surprised to see quite a few large jelly fish.
Returning across the river we walked to Fairbourne and then drove back to Bala to travel on the Bala Lake railway.

It was certainly the day of trains one at Morfa Mawddach station, and then one of the Fairbourne Railway trains before the Bala Lake Railway.




We had a lovely view across lake bala from our open carriage!

Continuing the railway theme, the next day we drove to Aberystwyth to travel on the 2 ft gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway. When British Railways withdrew steam engines, it retained the three engines (numbered 7, 8, and 9) to run the Rheidol line as a commercial heritage railway. The line was privatised in 1989. Now run by a charity, the narrow gauge locomotives have been returned to their Great Western livery that predated the formation of British Railways in 1948. Our trip from Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge took an hour and we were then able to walk to the Devil’s Falls and have a picnic before boarding the train for the return journey. The Loco was absolutely immaculate.


A lovely end to another great trip to North Wales.

We drove to Falmouth to visit Pam and Dave Nelmes and had a lovely lunch and afternoon with them. The rain was quite heavy when we set off to head back across Cornwall to Looe to spend 4 nights at The Jolly Sailor in West Looe.
Despite the weather preventing us from doing some of the walks we wanted to, we did manage to walk every day including our usual walk at Lanhydrock. If you are a regular reader of the Blog you will know that we photograph a gate that seems permanently open. This time, it was exactly as it was last October with the same prop in the same place!
The rhododendrons were passed their best but still provide some magnificent colours.

On another day, and despite heavy rain, we dressed up in our waterproofs and enjoyed meandering around East Looe and sitting in the shelter overlooking the beach. The day after the weather was much better see the pictures below.


We had a great few days and enjoyed eating in The Jolly Sailor every night. Overall, despite the weather, we had a great time. Looe was as beautiful as ever.

We ended the week by visiting Westonbirt Arboretum. We had to have pre-booked tickets with a twenty minute arrival slot. The arboretum opened at 9am and our slot started at 10am. We were surprised to find that the car park was already incredibly busy. On the first part of the walk we encountered a large number of dogs although they all seemed well controlled by their owners. The second part of the walk, through the “old arboretum” was a lot more pleasant as dogs were not allowed. The rhododendrons were over their best but still provided a colourful backdrop.

We have already been able to see our UK based children and families apart from Martin and Louise. For some the weather was kind for others there was a flurry of snow but at least it was predominately dry for our walks together and coffee etc in the garden
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We continued with our daily walking and observed the horse chestnut trees bursting forth. It was quite something to watch the changes over just a few days after the first easing of lockdown.

On 12 April, with the next stage of lockdown easing, we were able to visit ‘non essential’ shops and enjoy food and drink at outdoor venues and the only immediate benefit for us was to be able to go swimming again which we did at 7am.
We actually hesitated about going as we awoke to snow! However, it was not much, and it had melted on contact with the road surface. It was lovely to get back into a (warm) swimming pool. After swimming we went for our daily walk from Eastleach to Southrop and return via Fyfield. Below are some of the scenes we encountered:

The next day was totally different with the sun shining, although not very warm, the same snow covered plants looked so much brighter.

We were able to sit in the garden (in our ‘bus shelter’) during the afternoon and although there is some colour in the garden we look forward to planting the summer plants in the next few weeks. In the evening neighbours joined us for a glass of wine and we only packed up when it got quite cold at about 8pm!

On our walk that day we both learned something that surprised us. We came across a chicken beside the road pecking at a dead mole. We had not realised that such carnivorous behaviour was normal.

Since our last Blog entry, telling of our trip to Looe in October, life has been very quiet and predictable! We have walked every day (mostly in the mornings) at least 3.5 and often nearly 6 miles. Even the snow and some flooding didn’t deter us although we couldn’t always walk where we wished. On the first morning of real snow, it was just wonderful to hear the unfettered laughter of children playing snowballs and making snowmen.


It seemed some of the dads rather than the children were out to build really large snowmen. The sights and sounds as we walked through Fairford that morning really did lift our spirits. The snowman shown here was built by our grandson Archie (and his mum and dad) at their home in Cheshire.

In the afternoons, we have worked our way through many 1000 piece jigsaws. We really enjoyed doing the jigsaws despite having one where two pieces were missing and another with one piece missing and one piece duplicated!

Our evenings have been spent listening to music and reading, doing Sudoku, knitting or crocheting…(guess who does what)

Before Lockdown 2 and then between Lockdowns 2 and 3, we managed to see some of the grandchildren. It was nice to see them even if Covid rules limited what we could do. Amazingly, we were able to spend Christmas Day with James, Hannah, Rosie and Ptolemy – we had a delicious lunch and an enjoyable walk that made the day extra special given that we could not meet up with any other of the family over the Christmas period.

In early February we had the call and attended for our first of two vaccinations against Covid. It was quite an experience and the process a tribute to our NHS and the volunteers running the vaccination centre.

We have tried to make every day special indeed we celebrated Valentine’s Day with a special meal and a bottle of Fizz. We even got dressed up.

Yesterday, as we walked, it was as though Spring was trying to emerge – the snowdrops have now been joined by crocuses and the first daffodils. The birds were singing and starting to make nests and the sun shone (for part of our walk)!

Today was even better. A field we walk by every day had four sheep in it yesterday and today there was also a very small black lamb.

We really are looking forward to Spring, meeting friends and visiting our favourite parts of the UK but most importantly seeing our family again.