Archive for the 'Trips - UK' Category
More UK Fall Weather
Friday, October 20th, 2006When you’re vacationing in England, one always has to be ready to handle bad weather, and today was no execption. But if you let England’s weather stop you, you’ll never do anything. So with his hooded rainjacket, The Nomad headed out to check on a B&B from a previous visit that had grave concerns about their prize herd due to the mad-cow problems at the time. Alas, all was well with them. This spectacular location is highly recommended for a 2 to 3 nights stop, so give the Home Farm B&B at Starling Busk as call at tel 01969650360, located just a few miles outside of Hawes. A nice ‘all-day’ English breakfast can be had at the Bay Tree Cafe and Bistro in Hawes or just have some fine soup or a takeaway.
Although this was a foul-weather day, the Moors have their own beauty in such conditions so do not be deterred by bad conditions…just go! The Ribble Valley Railway viaduct is well worth a picture or two and plan to take the train from Settle to Carlisle on another day. In Settle you can visit a ‘Folly’. This particular Folly was onced owned by a chap I met on a Windjammer in the Caribbean (Huntley…where are you now…Oz or NZ?). You can actually stay in this magnificent building at the 5 star self catering accommodation. Their website is www.ncbpt.org.uk/folly/index.htm.
The Nomad
Useful links for your English vacation:
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: www.aonb.org.uk
The Caravan Club: www.caravanclub.co.uk
Town of Settle: www.settle.org.uk
Ribble Valley: www.ribblevalley.gov.uk
Wensleydale Railway: www.wensleydalerailway.com
The Nomad Continues His UK Walk…
Wednesday, October 18th, 2006Being based in Burnley (make sure you visit Townley Hall) is ideal for heading North, West or East for some fine country drives or walks.
Today The Nomad went to Bowland Forest and Longridge Fell, before driving through Clitheroe and The Ribble Valley, which are both good fishing opportunities. I then had a nice stop at Great Mitton for tea and a look at the medieval church (1170ad), deciding to return to The Three Fishes at a later time for a pint and some fine food.
Useful UK links:
Three Fishes Inn: www.thethreefishes.com
Gateway to England’s Countryside: www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk
Walking in England: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/
Byrson’s Tea Room: www.brysonsofkeswick.co.uk/content/view/20/34/
The Nomad
After the Thames Path Walk
Monday, October 16th, 2006Instead of continuing with The Thames Path Walk in the inclement weather, not being a wet-walker, I went back to visit the places that I had already passed - Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens and the Cabinet War Rooms of WSS in WW2. Fortunately, weather never gets in the way of ‘things to do in the UK’. If you let it, you’d never do anything!
Well, its been a good week in the London area, so I headed north to The Dales and The Moors. Sunday is a good day to travel on the M25 freeway (soon to be in the Guiness Book of Records as the World’s largest and longest car park!) to the M40 and then the M42, getting off to travel throught The Peak District, Shakespeare Country and through the middle of England to end up in Burnley for a week or so as a base for The Lakes, Moors and Dales…my favourite parts of England.
The next day dawned a beautiful October day in the warm sunshine and was ideal for a drive to The Lake District and far from the traffic jams of summer (do not plan this drive in July, August or September). There is spectacular scenery around Windemere, Ullswater, Grasmere, Keswick, all brought back back the pleasures of ‘just driving’. In Ambleside I encountered a damson-laced Lancashire Rarebit but unfortunately I only had time for lunch at the Waterside Inn.
After lunch I headed back over the Kirkston Pass in beautiful weather and chatted to a ‘real walker’ who had covered 5 peaks and 14 miles before falling into the pub at the pass.
Useful UK links:
Lake District National Parks Authority: www.lakedistrict.gov.uk
Wateridge Inn, Ambleside, Cumbria: www.wateredgeinn.co.uk
Windermere Lakes Cruises: www.windemere-lakecruises.co.uk
The Lakeside Railway: www.lakesiderailway.co.uk
Offroad Driving Adventures: www.kankku.co.uk
The Sampling Hotel: www.thesamling.com
The Nomad
The End of the Thames Path
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006One of the challenges to any walk in England is the weather, and today proved up to the challenge. Unable to continue The Path due to very poor weather, I headed for lunch at the Derby Arms on Epsom Downs with a couple of Old Speckled Hens, where I enjoyed a good pint by any standards.
Looks like I’ll have to continue my walk some time in the future…perhaps next month, year or whenever the sun returns to jolly Ol’ England. So off I head to Manchester to do a bit of Dale’s walking - but only if global warming kicks in and the weather changes.
I hope you’ve enjoyed walking along with me as I do the Thames Path, and perhaps you’ve got an idea to do one of your own. If you do, walk often and walk well, because the walk is sure worth it.
The Nomad.
Day 5 - Locks and Lunch
Saturday, October 7th, 2006There is nother nice hostelry by the lock (Thames Court Pub). I began my day by cross ingDumsey Meadows for Chertsey Bridge and The Kingfisher.
There are many fine places to enjoy lunch by The River, and The Nomad tried to enjoy as many of them as he could.
The many locks are also nice places to set for a while to enjoy their fine gardens and many have opportunities for campers to overnight. Just before Staines is Laleham Camping Club with full facilities for campers and motorhomes, making it a great place to base yourself and walk awhile. Across the river from Staines is The Swan which makes a nice picture before continuing on to Runnymede on the South Side.
I arrived in Runnymede around 3.30pm and enjoyed a nice cuppa at the Tea Rooms before visiting the JFK memorial, Magna Carta and the magnificent Airforces Memorial high on the hill overlooking 7 counties - truly a wonderful view. Runnymede is a must visit and has changed little over the 800 years since The Barons and King John met for a ‘chat about freedom’. You can step back in time and walk the earth as they used to.
Well, today was a splendid walk in beautiful October weather and, as with all of The Thames Path, it can be done in easy increments either by foot or cycle.
Useful Links continued…
www.countrysidebooks.co.uk (Surrey Tea Shop Walks)
www.theoldcrownweybridge.co.uk
www.nauticalia.com (marine shop for Victory memorabilia)
www.nationaltrust.org.uk (superb)
www.frenchbrothers.co.uk (boat trips)
www.theoriginaltour.com (bus tours London)
www.visitthames.co.uk (camping)
www.waterscape.com (river fun)
www.nationaltrail.com (walk / cycle)
www.cwgc.org (airforce memorial)
Day 4 Hampton Court Palace (Henry V111) to Runnymede (Magna Carta 1215)
Saturday, October 7th, 2006Today I departed around 9.15am from outside of the old Thames Hotel, which are now luxury appartments, where, in the early 60’s, I left the Trad Jazz Club and walked across the frozen River Thames. But today is bright October sunshine, so, rather than retracing my ancient footsteps, I head upstream to Sunbury Lock (especially since its a little too early to have a jar at the Weir Pub). From the Lock on to Walton Wharf (The Anglers and The Swan), but its still too early for a pint so I bought some swan food from the dispenser and had a great time feeding the birds.
This is near to where Julius Caesar crossed the River in 54BC… not to be a copycat, The Nomad is crossing by ferry!
Before getting on the ferry I took some time to walk just past the ferry landing for a look at The Minnow and The Old Crown in Weybridge, where the River Wey joins The Thames. I then backtracked to the ferry and rang the bell, signaling that I wanted to cross to the North Bank. The crossing was a whopping 50p, and gave me time for a short but interesing browse at Nauticalia which offers some orignial planks from HMS Victory, Lord Nelson’s ship of The Battle of Trafalgar fame, that have been made into some beautiful furniture and such.
Nomad.
Day 3 A shortish walk…
Saturday, October 7th, 2006Day 3 beckons, so off I head from Richmond, continuing on around the bend in the river to view Ham Common and Richmond Hill. After a brief rest, its on to Teddington Locks where the salt/tidal water ends and fresh water begins, at which point I’m famished so its over Kingston Bridge to have a pint and lunch with the Bishop Out of Residence. After a pleasant pint or two and a fine lunch with the Bishop (by the way, this is a Pub!) I recrossed Kingston Bridge to continue upriver through Home Park to get to Hampton Court Palace, a highly recommended diversion from The Path. There is much to see and do at Hampton Court, including The Maze, The Rooms and The Grounds. I know this because I used to work at Hampton Court washing dishes in the Cafe in the Jousting Yard…
Well, after a nice cuppa in the cafe it’s back to the B&B to plan the next leg of the walk.
Nomad
More useful links foor your Thames Walk:
National Trails: www.nationaltrail.gov.uk
Historic Royal Palaces: www.hamptoncourtpalace.org.uk
London Cycling Routes: www.tfl.gov.uk/cycling
British Waterways: www.britishwaterways.co.uk
Environment Agency: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Port of London: www.portoflondon.co.uk
Healthy and Environmental Travel Options for London: www.goodgoing.co.uk
One Year Later …Day 2
Friday, October 6th, 2006This year I started the walk upriver from the London Eye at Waterloo Bridge so I could cross the Thames River at Westminster Bridge and visit the Houses of Parliarment on the North Bank. This is close to where Winston Churchill had his World War II cabinet rooms and where much of the critical decision making was done during the War.
Continuing upriver along the Embankment there is much to see, with interesting river traffic and the swiftly departing tidal flow. The water in this grand old river can really move when it has somewhere to go. There are new apartment buildings, such as Chelsea Harbour, alongside this busy river, making London one of the most liveable cities in the world. Very accessable and bustling with activity.
I next crossed Wandsworth Bridge for the South Bank of the Thames and headed for Putney Bridge. Its fascinating to watch the huge planes on final approach to Heathrow Airport with their landing gears down. It’s traffic of a different sort than we’re used to, but no less busy and much more fun to watch.
Continuing on to Mortlake where the Oxford/Cambridge boat race takes place, the area is very busy with skullers in their shells being screamed at by their coaches. You can travel 1000’s of miles around the world and we’re all the same - we need others to help us reach our goals.
I would have liked to watch the action for a while, but suddenly the weather turned and I was caught in a torrential downpour. Fortunately for me there was the Bulls Head Pub at Barnes close by, so I popped in for some respite, grub and a pint. After all, one should not fight the elements when a pub is so handy.
Alas, today I had to end my walk at Richmond due to inclement weather and a nearby hostelry which beckoned the wet walker. And speaking of wet, there are some excellent wetlands that can be visited alongsider the river as well as Kew Botanical Gardens and Richmond Park, made famouts by Henry VIII and his hunting.
Nomad.
More useful links for your Thames walk:
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust: www.wwt.org.uk
English Heritage: www.english-heritage.org.uk
Imperial War Museum: www.iwm.org.uk
Wimbledon Tennis: www.wimbledon.org
Kew Bridge Steam Museum: www.kbsm.org
London Cycle Network: www.londoncyclenetwork.org (cycling)
UK’s national cyclists’ organization: www.ctc.org.uk
The Thames Path Walk…Day 1 of The Nomad’s ‘trek’
Thursday, October 5th, 2006Last year I started this historical walk from the Thames Barrier (end of walk downstream) upriver via Greenwich (the beginning of time!) and the Cutty Sark (tea clipper sailing ship). After an all too brief visit here (missing the Maritime Museum) I went under the River via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to the Docklands (now luxury apartments, offices and marinas)…..a far cry from the days of the working docks ( I left Tilbury Docks in 1973 for North America). Walking the north side via Canary Wharf, Limehouse to Tower Bridge.
Back on the South Bank there are many distractions from the walk…Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, The Clink Prison, Southwark Cathedral and the London Eye.
This was a full day’s walk but can be easily done in short bursts depending on the time spent visiting the many historical sites and the selections of good real ale and pubgrup in the many pubs along the way.
Nomad
Here are some useful links to help you on your Thames Walk:
Get 2 for 1 entry into London attractions: www.2for1entry.co.uk / www.daysoutguide.co.uk
The worlds largest collection of fine antique silver: www.thesilvervaults.com
Royal palaces, residences and art collection: www.royalcollection.org.uk
The best view in London: www.ba-londoneye.com
The Nomad Walks The Thames
Thursday, October 5th, 2006The Nomad is in London doing the oldest form of travel - walking. This month he’s doing the Thames Path Walk and we’ll be tracking his adventures in Travel Musings. So please visit us often to walk The Thames with The Nomad.