Friday 31st January 2009


I have just realised that I didn't post the blog I wrote while in Scotland in the late autumn. Posting it now but makes a strange timeline. Sorry.

Am sitting at my desk planning a quick trip around the country to see how things have changed with recession. Might wait a few weeks until there is little more daylight. People don't want to talk to strangers when it is dark. And it is getting lighter now. Hooray.

posted at 17:44 in /travel (permanent link)

Saturday 1st November - All Soul's Day - Carterway Sands, Northumberland


We started the day with a frenzy of activity and all the cleaning and tidying was done and everyone headed off in their various directions home. I drifted up to Lochawe village and St. Conan's Kirk. It looks old but turns out to have been built in the 1880s and then extended through the early part of the 20th century. It's a mixture of styles but fascinating in its eccentricity. It has the perfect view out across the loch. The morning was quiet and still. Cloudy and so the blue water of sunny mornings is replaced by black. Very moody when the snow topped hills and autumn leaves are reflected in the water. Picture postcard pretty, but also very cold. I am stalked by a robin, I assume hoping for a spot of breakfast.

I then have to start my journey south. Down through the highlands, past Loch Lomond, Glasgow, through the borders, stop just into England to see my cousin, then on again across country. The roads here are narrow country roads and there is little traffic. I see a number of birds of prey sitting on fence posts within a couple of feet of me as I pass. Not quite sure what, but one is small and grey and white, two others are much, much bigger; one grey, the other reddish brown. I have always liked the idea of owning a bird of prey. Not very practical when living in a city, although it would be one way to keep the mice at bay. The sun is getting low and the colours are drifting towards technicolour. I can see for miles, the countryside is low and rolling. To the west I can see the Solway Firth and the outline of the Lake District. The houses are strung out along the roads, but few villages.

Then it is back on main roads to cross over to the east coast. I drive along the line of Hadrian's Wall and then along what are probably great driving roads in daylight. It's only 5 o'clock but it is already dark and I am tired. I'm glad to find a room for the night and stop. I've been driving so long that even though I have stopped I can still feel the engine.

posted at 17:43 in /travel (permanent link)

Friday 31st October, Hallowe'en - South Lochaweside


As I lie in bed I can see the sky pink as the sun rises. The colours intensified as they hit the reddish brown bracken. Another frosty morning of sunshine. The mountains are still topped with snow, although the snow is now receding. After yesterday's long walk we take the day more gently and go to the McIntyre monument in Dalmally. My great grandmother was a McIntyre and from these parts so perhaps he is a relation. The walk up to the monument is through conifers which always give a slightly spooky sense of being watched. On the top is another great view of Loch Awe. To the east are the Highlands, ranging away into the distance and all still well covered in snow. Down below the tree line there are stripes of dark conifers interlaced with golden larches.

Later I wandered along the lochside. The water is still and looks cold. First thing this morning and it looked as if there was ice on the surface. The roots of the trees have been revealed by the water and they twist and turn, creating elaborate knots to hold the trees strong into the earth. I startle a heron which takes off across the loch.

I can hear the sounds of oars on the water and hear voices but two small boats are too far away to be see. There are few people around now but in the season this is big fishing country and the loch is filled with people fishing from small boats. At 24 miles Loch Awe is the longest sea loch but just off the tourist track of people travelling up to the west coast. The fishing here must be good the walls of the bar have cases showing huge stuffed trout, all record fish weighing more than 18lbs. They seem to be monster trout, unlike you'd see at the fishmonger.

The house we are staying in is supposed to have ghosts, and tonight must be the night to see them. But a late whisky and staring at the Milky Way some more and I sleep like a baby and don't see or hear a thing.

posted at 17:42 in /travel (permanent link)

Thursday 30th October - South Lochaweside


I arrived safely in the Highlands managing to miss any more snow on the roads and to find the hotel. I am here for the 50th birthday party of a friend; others arrived at the weekend so everyone is well settled in. I arrived as it was getting dark on Wednesday and so it was difficult to get any sense of the surroundings. It was easy to see the stars. There is little risk of light pollution up here and with clear frosty nights the stars are spectacular. The Milky Way is easily visible and the sky seems filled with stars twinkling at different intensities.

The plan is to go for a walk. This makes me slightly anxious as I love to walk but tend towards the gentle stroll on a flattish surface. I am in the company of serious walkers keen to add more Munros to their collection. I am reassured that there is a gentle start to the walk and I don't have to climb to the top.

The weather is perfect, still and sunny. The colours are glorious, the bracken has turned to reddish brown, the trees still have their leaves but they are golden to red, the heather has almost finished flowering. We are walking up to the Cruachan reservoir. It is a hydro-electric power station - when power is needed the sluices are opened and water drops down to create immediate electricity, perhaps for a post East Enders power surge. It takes us about an hour and a half to walk up to the dam and then the party splits into two with the keen heading upwards to climb the Munro. The path from here gets much steeper and the top third of the mountain is covered in snow.

I stay on the lower road and head off to another lower hill where we stop for lunch. We can see for miles. Loch Awe is below us, catching the light. The visibility is good and to our right we can see the hills of Mull covered in snow. A lighthouse glinting white against the dark blue sea. Oban must be tucked away down there behind a hill. In the distance are three mountains which we decide must be Jura. We are about 600 metres above sea level and can see lochs and hills, trees in their autumn colours, the odd house scattered here and there and hardly a sound.

We wander around the edge of the reservoir and as we look up to the top of the hills there seem to be specks moving. It is the other part of the group who have made it to the top. They are scarcely visible without binoculars but we wave anyway. By this time the sun is fading and it is getting colder. It is time to head back down the hill and find tea in a nearby hotel. Tired legs, this is enough exercise for one day

posted at 17:42 in /travel (permanent link)

Saturday 24th January 2009


Once again I have returned home and forgotten to keep blogging. I shall wait until the clocks turn to summer time before heading off on my travels. I hope to do the odd day trip of asking people their wishes in the intervening months but it is likely that my presence on this blog will be limited.

For the time being I am in the process of writing about Britain based on the things I've seen. I am ploughing through the statistics to see if the numbers fit with what I saw. At the moment I am deep into employment figures. As I travelled, I noticed lots of new houses but it was difficult to know where everyone worked. If you are interested in this then visit www.snapshotofbritain.blogspot.com

My intention to blog is strong but doubtless I shall prove to be an equally unreliable blogger. I still wonder why blogging is such a strong part of my day when travelling, but seems to disappear from my memory as soon as I get home.

posted at 15:21 in /travel (permanent link)

Tuesday 28th October 2008 - Carlisle


I have had days when I have felt I have travelled through time, but this has always been a sense of travelling through different historical periods. Today I felt as if I travelled through seasons. I am on my way north to Scotland for a few days. I have travelled this late in the year before and know to pack plenty of scarves and socks. The weather forecast said wintery showers and I thought I might see a few flurries of snow.

When I set off it was a perfect autumn day, sunny and clear. The trees looking lovely in their autumn colours. There has been coverage that it has been a mild October and the trees would be beginning to shut down but without a frost this had gone to colour rather than leaves falling. After today's weather dust down your left blower and expect leaves on the line within the week.
As I passed Birmingham, the sky turned from blue to grey. I could see showers in the distance and drove on the edge of a couple. Ahead of me the sky lightened and I thought I had escaped the wintery showers. But no. The lightening of clouds meant they were full of snow. First sleet, then small flakes, then big fat heavy flakes of snow. Snow falling so fast it was like driving through fog, visibility reduced to 100 yards or so. Around me the landscape had been transformed from colourful autumn to Christmas card white and grey. The snow had settled on the fields and trees (fortunately not on the road), there was some frosty wind making moan and snow was falling snow on snow. It was too early in the season for the ground to be like a stone, but otherwise it was doing an impressively winter show. Cattle and sheep in the fields were looking around, as surprised as the drivers.

Some miles on and it was back to autumn. Blue skies, orange and red leaves on the trees, earth back to brown where the fields had been ploughed. I stopped briefly in Kendal and then decided to take the A6 (the old road north) up over Shap. By this time night was falling and the light becoming more blue with every passing minute. Shap is a high pass and vulnerable to ice so I was keen to get through before the night arrived fully. It was the most beautiful winter evening and the road was empty with views out across the Lake District. Hills outlined by the setting sun, mist rising as the cold air hit the warmer earth, the light turning violet as the sun dropped behind the hills. Lights of vehicles standing out as they zigzagged across the landscape. Traffic on the M6 hurtling along in the distance.

Now I'm in Carlisle and heading north in the morning, wondering how best to avoid the snow as I get into Scotland. I'm staying near Oban and I can't tell quite how high the roads are. It looks as if I'll be on back roads and not sure if these will have been gritted. Hoping for the low road, not the high road.

posted at 22:50 in /travel (permanent link)

Tuesday 26th August - Weymouth


I left Porlock Weir worried that I did not have enough petrol to get to the nearest garage. There is a small filling station in the village but they only get a delivery once a month and if they run out there is nothing until the next delivery. It is odd that as we rely more on cars there are fewer filling stations (in cities they take up too much space and the land gets sold to property developers).

The quest for fuel takes me back to Minehead which is now bustling with holidaymakers and people on mobility scooters. There always seem to be lots of mobility scooters in seaside towns - think it is partly the wide flat pavements (good for pushchairs and wheelchairs as well). Here they seem to be fast scooterers and I feel my achilles tendon will be at risk if I lose concentration. Despite the gloomy weather people seem to be having a cheery time.

I then head west along the north Devon coast. I stop in Porlock and am glad to have missed yesterday's manic traffic. The narrow streets struggle to take two cars at a time, let along two coaches or caravans. Then on to Lynmouth and Lynton. Like Minehead it has an Edwardian feel with elegant houses and tall windows. Today it is packed with tourists, the poor weather has driven people from the beach to the shops and so the narrow streets and even more narrow roads and lots of fat cars trying to park.

Exmoor is looking beautiful and bleak - the clouds are below hill level, the wind driving the rain at an almost horizontal angle. Dogs are being cajoled out of cars, but are less keen to walk in this weather. In Ilfracombe all the boys are sitting on the street, smoking and drinking soft drinks (and throwing the empty cans onto the beach, where confused families wonder why it is now raining Coke cans). The girls are more productively engaged in a dance class in the arts centre.

Barnstaple's river front is looking rather battered, but the town itself is buzzing. School starts again next week so Clarks is fitting feet with new shoes, and new pencil cases and folders are bought in W H Smith and Ryman's. Then it is back across the other side of Exmoor, still beautiful but now more visible with improving weather.

As I pass Dorchester I see Poundbury. It has turned into a beautiful evening and the sun is low and casting a rosy glow over the buildings. They look somehow unreal, like a child's drawing of a town. I have heard about Poundbury and am intrigued to see it. I think it has been put forward as a template for a town for the future. The signs tell me they are now on Phase 2. There are pretty enough houses but it just seems like a housing estate. There are some shops but they are all closed. There are a few dogwalkers, but otherwise the streets are empty. This is a new, new town but it seems to have many of the issues of the older new towns. Perhaps if you design a living space around cars rather than people, it will always feel a little inhuman. Here the streets are wide, plenty of parking spaces but this leaves the houses a bit too far apart. This is probably me being grumpy, I expect there is no shortage of people who want to live here.

I am in Weymouth for the night. As I arrive it is getting dark and the seafront is lit up. There is a funfair and there seem to be plenty of young people around. I have missed the Olympic party of a few days ago. Weymouth will be the venue for the 2012 sailing events. I assume there will be lots of regeneration money coming this way. Tonight there is youth, out enjoying the funfair.

posted at 21:46 in /travel (permanent link)

Monday 25th August - Porlock Weir


I am now across the water from where I was this time yesterday. I saw in the Waterfront Museum that there used to be a ferry between Swansea and North Devon, but no more. So once again I have been driving.

I started the day in Newport and drove around the docks new and old. There is a lot of regeneration going on here and signs saying that there will be a new university and a business school. There are the usual tall thin town houses that look as if they have come from a child's story book. Here they are painted in seaside colours which adds to the story feel. It feels as if it is a town in layers - there is an old heart of the town, a huge civic centre, and suburbs from every decade of the past century, but it doesn't quite come together as a whole. On the east side of the city there are vast retail parks and leisure parks, avenues of car dealers and signs for the cattle market. This is also the home of the Llanwern steel works, I am sad to say I don't even know if it is still operating. Nothing is moving, but it is early on a Bank Holiday Monday.

From Newport I head north to Abergavenny, before heading south again. I am not sure where I am and so pull off the road to look at the map and find myself in the suburbs. Here there are prime examples of an architectural style I have not seen since my youth - the chalet bungalow - the height of cool in the late 60s/early 70s. I had forgotten all about them, they still look quite modern.

From here I head on through Cwmbran, another new town and so a town centre which is a shopping centre. Everything is closed so I still know little about it. That is probably my biggest concern with shops at the centre of a town, when the shops are closed the place seems forlorn. If there are also pubs and restaurants, places where people walk and chat then they stay alive through the day. I should probably be living in southern Europe and going out for an early evening stroll. Better weather would help.

Then on to Pontypool which seems to have new houses and cars and a car park but an extremely run down high street. Half the shops seem to be boarded up, always very depressing. Up the valley to Blaenavon which is now a World Heritage Site. There are museums and there seems to be an attempt to make it the book town of South Wales. It is a testament to the power of good shopfitting as part of regeneration. There is a street of small shops which have been done up. It is a mixture of books and practical shops, with the usual charity shops thrown in. But the smartly painted shop fronts give a real sense of optimism (or perhaps change). I see a notice saying that the BBC are going to be filming a programme set in the 1940s. So perhaps this also adds to the tourist potential for the town.

I carry on up the hill, not entirely sure where I am going and find myself on the hilltop with the most spectacular views out across the Black Mountains (or is the Brecon Beacons). It is raining but as I stand and admire the view a rainbow appears in the mist. This is the closest I have been to the end of the rainbow, but too steep to search for the end of the rainbow.

After this I travel through Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow and by now my brain is spinning. I have now got to the point where my brain feels overloaded. I can no longer remember what my room number is on any given evening. 3, 7, 210, 14 - they have all been room numbers in the past week, but at any given moment ..... It begins to be the same with car parks, I have been to so many that it is sometimes difficult to remember where I left the car in this one.

It will soon be time to go home and back to work. But for now I am in north Devon and will travel along the coast then head south and east. But it's nice to see the sea again. I am glad to be heading south and looking at all the traffic heading north and back to work on the M5.

posted at 21:17 in /travel (permanent link)

Sunday 24th August - Newport


I've spent the day zigzagging my way across south Wales and have ended up not far from where I started this morning. Such are the delights and distractions of my travelling. I wandered into Hay-on-Wye this morning and wandered around (just about resisting the delights of the bookshops). There were also a number of galleries selling paintings, crafts and furniture. Lots of very lovely things. There were still lots of cyclists about, Gloucester City Cycling Club were out in force and having their photos taken.

I then went on to Brecon. It felt very different in the sunshine of this morning, there was more to the town than I had realised, the traffic is efficiently encouraged to drive through the edge of the town centre. There were still plenty of visitors but here there were walkers, many accompanied by their dogs. Here it was the outdoor shops that were attracting customers.

I headed south towards Swansea, via Merthyr Tydfil and Neath. Neath is not that far away from Hay, but a world apart. It has lots of building going on, there were signs talking about 'Objective one' which usually means regeneration money from the EU. Not entirely sure what it was funding. Like many small towns close to a large city it suffers from a vampire effect. People go to the city for much of their shopping and so it hard for smaller towns to fight for custom. The Rugby club seemed to be the smartest building in town.

Then on to Swansea and I went down to the docks to see what was going on. There was some sort of festival going on with music and dancers, food and funfair. As ever, the docks have been turned into a marina, smart apartments (maximising the water view) have been built. There is a museum which seemed to be the centrpiece of the area. An interesting museum with lots of interactive stuff and real people talking about their stories. There was also a section about the future, how Wales is transforming from old industry to new industries. First thing I've seen talking about the future. Swansea seems to be bright and cheery, people seem to be having a good time and there seems to be a balance between old and new. The waterside seems more balanced than many I have seen, not just swanky developer stuff on the waterfront and then deprivation two streets back.

I discover that Robert Owen, founder of New Lanark where I stayed a few days ago, was in fact a Welshman. There was an exhibition about him (150 years since his birth) and how his ideas led to the foundation of the co-operative movement. After the museums I end up on an extensive tour of the western suburbs of Swansea, the Mumbles and much of the Gower peninsula. As in many towns, the western suburbs seem rather smart - I guess because the prevailing winds are westerly, the west end will be the smart side of town with the east end catching the pollution from the west.

posted at 07:46 in /travel (permanent link)

Saturday 23rd August - Whitney-on-Wye


So much for the promise of summer, it is pouring with rain and feels more like November than August. I started my search for somewhere to stay early in the day - it is a Bank Holiday weekend and more than that, Madonna has her opening concert in Cardiff tonight. This means that most of south Wales is full. I called one hotel to be told they have nowhere vacant this side of Taunton (getting on for 100 miles away). So I headed north and have a nice hotel. Had planned to camp but the rain arrived sooner than I did and pitching a tent in the rain just too damp and depressing.

I started the day in mid Wales and a beautiful morning. I took the wrong road and ended up in a single track road, but it was a delightful distraction - the road was filled with birds - swallows sitting on the telephone wire, chaffinches and goldfinches, sheep safely grazing, the landscape rolling out in scenic fashion looking like a quilt in greens and the odd dash of purple heather. After this brief diversion, along with many, many caravans, I was on the road to the coast. North Wales seemed to be as busy as the south, but up here it was mainly holidaymakers.I went through the towns of mid Wales - Dolgellau, Tywyn, Machynlleth where I visited the Museum of Modern Art.

There are plenty of tourists around for the weekend, although they do seem to be concentrated close to the coast. Families with kids and grandparents. There seemed to be a lot of people with dogs. Perhaps those with dogs holiday in the UK. There was an impressive range of breeds and sizes and ages of dogs, including a three legged Jack Russell and only occasional snappy behaviour. There are even more bicycles than dogs. Some are being ridden up the hills, but far more are strapped onto cars and camper vans in various stages of dismemberment. Goodness knows what it does the fuel consumption.

I stopped briefly in Builth Wells where they was a Victorian fair, not quite sure what was going on but there were lots of people dressed up in period clothing. There seemed to be a rather liberal interpretation. Some had assumed that a long skirt would do it, others that it meant hats. Some seemed entirely convincing, their face seeming to fit with their costume. Others had modern faces which no amount of dressing up could cover.

posted at 07:46 in /travel (permanent link)