England October 2011

Three days before Christmas and I am realising that if any of 2011 remains unblogged-about after today, it will probably remain so for evermore. So I'll fly back a couple of months and give you a quick scattershot tour of our latest trip to the UK.

To start with, our flight was cancelled and we had to come home and try again the next day. Fortunately Toby regarded DFW Airport as a super-huge playground filled with nice people who smiled at him. We just had to prevent him from throwing himself under luggage carts.

Toby at the airport

Toby slept like the proverbial baby on the aeroplane, but once we arrived he started sleeping like a real baby - that is, up and screaming half the night. Our friends Naomi and Steve suffered through one night with us, although we were told they had a giggle at us desperately intoning, "You are feeling sleeee-py", in harmony, at 2 am. With very little effect. Our one consolation was that their baby didn't wake up and join the party.

Naomi and Luke, me and Toby

We enjoyed the sweeping chalk hills of the Chilterns, the unruffled expanse of the Severn Estuary, the willows delicately dipping their branches into the Thames, the weathered red brick of a house over a century old.

At Clevedon

Near Hughendon Manor

Admiring a grapevine in Streatley

Graham, Toby and Dad on Streatley Hill

By the Thames

Taplow Court

We played on tombstones and swings.

We visited hedgehogs, and saw seven swans swimming.

Rescue hedgehog at Tiggywinkles Animal Hospital

Their hedgehog museum...

...had quite a range of exhibits!

We spent time with family.

And a small boy celebrated his first birthday!

It was fun!

Comments

Easter holidays 2025

It felt like a busy Easter holiday this year - a nice mixture of household jobs, time in the sunshine, and family celebrations. Here are a few highlights. Birthday cake Graham's mum had a big birthday, so Graham and his sister secretly organised a few friends to come to dinner with her. She was surprised - and pleased! - when a small family meal at the pub turned out to include fifteen extra people. Theo baked and decorated this amazing cake all by himself. My sole involvement was cutting it up at the end. The event was a big success. thanks to my mum for the photo Days out We had a family day out at Peak Wildlife Park , in the Staffordshire countryside. It's been a few years since we last went; the penguins and lemurs were familiar, but the zoo has acquired a couple of polar bears. Believe it or not, these two are only half-grown. They're about three years old. playfighting polar bears lemurs penguins otters I persuaded Toby and Theo to come to a garden with me with the ...

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...

Derwent Valley: Between Whatstandwell and Ambergate

When I was planning the route for this section, I faced a dilemma. Should my outward route take in the beautiful Shining Cliff Woods and the ancient St Margaret's Chapel at Alderwasley, on the west side of the river? Or should I explore the remains of some old tramways and make my way up to Crich, perched high above the east bank of the Derwent? I wanted to do both. But I also had to follow the Derwent Valley Heritage Way along the Cromford Canal. I decided on the Shining Cliff option, and did that loop with Toby. Then, a few days later, I unexpectedly had the chance to do another walk by myself. So I returned to the car park in Ambergate and set off for Crich. All of this rambling only advanced me a couple of miles along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Walk 1: Ambergate, Alderwasley, Cromford Canal There's a large layby on Holly Lane, Ambergate, which is very convenient for Shining Cliff Woods. It gets busy, but Toby and I bagged a space and set ...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog