Oct
31
2025

Lambeth Tour Guide

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For the next year, I will be training to be a Lambeth Tour Guide.

Old war bunker near the war memorial in Stockwell Lambeth London.

 

London-Free Tour Guide Day

There were several free walks led across London, the 1st weekend of October, As part of our homework, we were encouraged to go on two and one had to be Stockwell.

The 2nd one I chose to go on was around Tottenham Court Road more specifically, near St Giles. Our job was to listen and observe, then feedback in class the following week.

A bit of respite from the howling winds, that have unleashed this morning, a visit to the community gardens near Seven Dials Covent Garden

 

 

Denmark Street ( once known as Tin Pan Alley. ) It’s been cleaned up considerably but most of the guitar shops are still here.

 

On Sunday a friend and I went to the unique Chelsea Physic Gardens.

what a beauty.

A young Pomegranate starting to bud.

I will be painting these at Christmas. If Christmas is still a thing next year you might get it on a card then!

Pomegranets continued.

 

I was thrilled to get a student discount!

The Physic Gardens, is  a place I have visited several times- ( I used to work nearby, and got to know Chelsea very well.) It was a pleasure to introduce a friend who hadn’t been before,  she absolutely loved it and we will go back to the Christmas fair.

Once upon a time, I did the initial training, to be a garden guide, after a couple of sessions, it was clear I knew absolutely nothing about horticulture .

I know more now than I did then but still know very little. We had a fantastic guide who inspired and educated us about the plants.

I understand, her knowledge and flow came from years of diligent training, her passion and deep understanding of Botanical history, alongside with a love of sharing information.  I was wise to stick to what I know best, – the streets of London.

Another Tour Guide at London Wetlands

I was invited to take part in a meeting with the charity  World Animal Protection. It was informative and educational. Despite some of the harrowing stories about so many exploitive conditions animals endure in the world, I did leave on a positive note.

The charity have done fantastic work and continue to do so and I would urge anyone with a spare few quid a month to donate to World Animal Protection.

After the talks

After the talks, we were invited to a tour of the Wetlands centre, I was surprised how lovely it was and would recommend it for a day out.

London Wetlands, is between Putney and Hammersmith and you can access it, just off the river bank. It is clearly signposted.

it was fun walking the bridge, one of the contributors, takes the plunge.

 

I hadn’t walked anything like this since gymnastics after school, amazingly I didn’t fall off. (Picture taken by me.) I followed on.

View from the observation gallery

Autumn Colours

swans

Open space in London Wetlands.

Always great to see a Cormorant .

Tree Sculpture.

 

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org

https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london/whats-on

After all of the tour guides I felt a need to get out of London for a day and have a proper hike, two of us went off and did a circular Lewes walk via Rodmell, about 12 miles in all. It was a great walk.

Lewes circular walk

Start of the walk, along the river

loved this cart of hay.

Great to see the cows out and about huddled together for a drink of water.

 

Shooting pheasant

The only downside of the Lewes walk, was the sight of men in tweeds with rifles out for a day shooting birds. I’m sure they lack imagination if that is their idea of fun. I resisted saying anything. It’s the 1st time I have ever come across this while out walking in that areas.

Final Tour of the year.

As part of my course, I was encouraged to join a few societies, I got a Bursary from Brixton Society for my course at Morleys and with that free membership to Brixton Society. I also joined Herne Hill  & Camberwell societies.

Camberwell Society

I have walked up and down Camberwell Grove and Grove Lane hundreds of times. it’s near where I work -Kings College Hospital and it was a lifeline to have a lunch time walk and admire the beautiful Georgian Buildings.

One of many beautiful Georgian Houses in Camberwell Grove.

Who lives in a house like this? ( Uk tv show) I suspect a lot of media types. One of the hosts, had an invite to an event at Buckingham Palace on her fireplace, and covers of the Radio Times framed up the staircase.

 

Camberwell Georgian Building Tour

We went into five different houses; all with very different interiors. They were a friendly bunch and very keen on architecture We saw Lorraine Chase (Luton Airport, actress) who lives in Camberwell Grove, who waved and said hello to us all. Good on the homeowners being so generous to let a bunch of nosey people into their houses!

https://www.camberwellsociety.org.uk

Until next time, keep on keeping on.

 

Sep
30
2025

BRUGES

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I’ve been wanting to visit Bruges for a long time, and eventually managed to get to there via Eurostar in September.

Somewhat surprisingly, I’m still on the 0% and this was a fabulous tasting drink.

 

What can I say except, Magnificent.

The 1st evening there was a walkabout & getting out into the suburbs away from the centre. I personally preferred this area as it was quiet. I don’t enjoy being in crowds.

 

Yet another beautiful building. Bruges is full of them.

 

EATING OUT IN BRUGES

I could write a lot about food or the trouble finding food.  As  I  have adopted a mainly vegan lifestyle,  it gets a bit frustrating, and overall Bruges is not that vegan friendly. At least in Bruges I got to say, “sans fromage” and they knew what I meant.

GETTING BY

YOU CAN just about get by,  and on the 1st night the chef rustled up something up for us, it was spaghetti with vegetables, very simple and quite tasty.

We had an Indian curry in a proper Indian restaurant, one evening, and a curry from Delaney’s the Irish pub, on the last night, the latter was tremendous for the bowel movements I have to say.

It wasn’t until after the trip that I found a vegan blogger from Bruges who listed a whole load of places that will or won’t accommodate vegans. However some of them wanted you to write and email two days before to let them know your coming. That was a bit much. 

EATING OUT CONTINUED

Another place that I quite liked and I really don’t know why the UK can’t do it, was a soup place, they just did sandwiches and soup. I got a mushroom soup, –sans fromage , as you can get a cheesy panini on the side, I just had bread, they also give you a small apple with it , which was really cute.

DANKE JU- MERCI and DAG

I thanked the woman and complimented her on the soup she had cooked. I told her how difficult it was to get a bowl of soup in London. she was surprised. By the way when I was doing a mock website design for my diploma in social media I designed a site called soup kitchen- I had in mind a cosy place in Camberwell for the hospital workers, it could definitely do with one.

PS some of the people speak a sort of French, and some a bit Dutch, it was a bit confusing. All of the places had various menus for the main languages. I learnt that Dag is a colloquial /casual word for goodbye. 

THAT’S TOAST.. 

This was breakfast place for 4 mornings. I discovered overnight Bircher muesli & it was delicious, I had overnight oats before but this was better with fresh apple slices on the top, raspberries and blueberries. The menu is far from vegetarian but there are options to make up your own menu.

https://www.thatstoast.com/

A charming building, open all day for breakfast.

Flamboyant grand old buildings In Burg Square -the soul of the city.

Some of the oldest buildings in Bruges, were built  back in the Middle Ages. This Photo was taken from the top of a Museum.  Inside we saw the 3D experience of medieval Bruges which was fantastic.  I was literally hanging on to my seat – we were on a virtual a ship journey across choppy waters. Very realistic. We also visited a Witches museum and a Salvador Dali exhibition; as well as the inevitable Beer Museum.

The canals really keep the air crisp and clean, it makes a pleasant city to walk about. This pretty canal was a 5 minute walk from the place we were staying.

 

A country walk Bruges centre to Damme.

There are a few canals going through the city and one that goes all around it. The air feels very fresh. Walking out of the main centre to the country walk. e had followed the canal out of town, then crossed a very busy road, to get onto the canal leading to a long path towards Damme a small town.

 

Recently I have started taking a photograph when I come across a dead creature, I thought the bird looked quite beautiful.

On the country walk I came across this guy, deceased – no signs of anything lethal like a gun or an animal attack. I love wood pigeons purple and grey colours.

BLACK CLOUDS CREPT IN AND THERE WAS NO ESCAPE walking along Side of the Poplar trees, which weren’t quite big enough to protect us from rain.

The heavens opened half way on this ‘country walk’, a straight canal for about 5 miles, so half way down , you had to keep going, coming back we realised we could get the Paddle boat but only so far, then as we got of it to walk the remaining 3 miles the Sky’s opened again

what a picture. Get the easel out.

 

We got to Damme which was a smallish village, with a few bars, and cafes. At this point, it was a tough decision about the next move. There was a debate whether to walk back, or take the imaginary bus journey my partner had made up, or the real possibility of getting on this very slow paddle boat up stream. I was accused of being a pessimist when I predicted it would start raining as soon as we got off. It did and we got soaked for the 2nd time that day.

 

A day out at the beach

A short journey from Bruges (25 minutes) and we got to  Knokke, just past some shipping ports. It had a smart continental style high street, with good shops and plenty of places to sit down and eat.

A day out at the seaside, so nice to feel the sun on our face after yesterdays downpour.

Greetings from a Belgian Seagull, who was very well behaved, unlike a Margate or Devon seagull…

 

The last day in Bruges

It was somewhat hectic. We had to vacate the building by 11am but our train wasn’t until 2pm,. The plan was thus, after eating breakfast at Toast (about a mile away from where we stayed and not open until 8.30am)  it was a rush back, to pack the bags leave them outside in the hallway and  back out to join the walking tour from 11-1pm.  I’m planning on becoming a tour guide, & thought it was the least I could do., It probably would have been better doing that on the 1st or 2nd day.

The tour was interesting, but don’t ask me to repeat it verbatim. something about Napoleon developing street numbers and names, and where to drink beer and waffles in the main!!

I have finally signed up to the Tour Guide training course at Morley College Lambeth.

The research role is just about finished and I’m down to 2 days a week and not for too much longer, I will put the rambling aside for the next 6 months to focus on this and finding paid work .

Meanwhile back in London

London never ceases to amaze me, I met up with my new group of wannabe Lambeth Tour Guides at Waterloo station under the clock and one of the teachers took us on a how to guide people in London walks.

She discussed landmarks and things to look out for. I was surprised when we walked into the cut situated in Waterloo and came across The Anarchist Bookfair.

Corner of Leake Street, Waterloo, Lambeth.

Anarchy in the UK. You wouldn’t get owt like this in Bruges!

Until next time keep on you know what….

 

Aug
31
2025

August 2025

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August last month of Summer

The. busiest month of the year so far with lots of activities in August as I try to cram in a few days out before the summer ends.

COACH TRIP -Suffolk

This is the 1st coach trip I have done in decades. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I enjoyed the trip. It was August and the need to getaway as much as possible is at it’s peak.

We met at St James park, picked up and driven out of London towards Essex then Ipswich way, where our 1st stop of the day was Southwold.

SOUTHWOLD

Southwold was described by Robert the guide, as a quintessentially English seaside town. Almost an island, being bounded by the North Sea to the East, by the River Blyth and Southwold harbour. There is just one road in to and out of Southwold, It has sandy beaches, a working lighthouse, multi- coloured beach huts and a pier.

After a 2 and a half hour coach ride, we arrived and this was the 1st thing I saw as we walked onto the Pier. I wasn’t expecting a mural of George Orwell. Apparently, he lived here some time ago.

Irena, checking the deets, on Orwell!!!

I made a recording of my reading, it was strangely very down to earth and practical!! No sweeping romantic speeches about meeting a dark tall stranger, or a win of the lottery.

These puppets made of some kind of metal, overturned to show all of those people looking happy when the guy didn’t smoke, the guy was the opposite, only happy when smoking. Pretty good.

This was one of the best and original piers, I have ever been on, lots of really quirky side shows, and experiences to try. https://www.southwoldpier.co.uk

 

After a quick wonder along the beach and into the town, we had a 10 minute sit on the beach

 

THORPENESS

The village of Thorpeness was purchased in 1910 by a business man, with the aim to transform it into a fantasy village, and designed a “house in the clouds” an unusual water tower with a boarded house on the top.

I tried to get photos but as it’s a lived in house, it’s protected by trees.

We had our lunch here and then walked about a bit under the hot sun, looking at the houses in the fantasy village. It wasn’t a place either of us fancied living. Even if we won the lottery!

The windmill was situated, just opposite the “house in the clouds”

 

Aldeburgh

I didn’t take too many photos, as we were enjoying roaming about looking at the buildings and shops. I liked Aldeburgh, it had a more down to earth feel about it. The only downside was the beach wasn’t sandy, but the upside was that because of that, there were less people.

a sole sea traveller.

 

As days go we got our moneys worth as we visited 3 areas in one day. I only wished I had known the agenda before hand and brought my swimmer.!

YORK

I had an excuse for a day out to York, when  meeting some family who were staying nearby for a while. After a pub lunch with the background of the racing on, we went to a Gallery and a boat trip.

The Castle wall of York. I wonder if the Grand old Duke of York marched his 10,000 men up there and back. We didn’t have time to walk the wall. Another time perhaps?

A beautiful town clock. Similar in style to the one I posted about in Guildford,

There are some beautiful buildings and looking up you can spot some fantastic artwork. The figure above is the Goddess of Wisdom & Drama.

Once the Yorkshire Herald. I like to see the old industrial buildings that were built for purpose and not ugly at all.

Boat trip.

It was interesting to visit York Art Gallery for the 1st time.

https://artuk.org/visit/venues/york-art-gallery-3650?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19345236166&gbraid=0AAAAADbRtmKEBkqsRN5xquSvf-tfGflCk

A lovely space without too many people in your face. (I have been living in London too long) Something you just can’t get in London. There was a mixture of collections, from Picasso to unknown artists, half animal/mythical creatures as statues.

An artist I quite liked as he played with words. Internationally acclaimed artist and writer Harland Miller’s  new exhibition showcasing paintings and works on paper from his renowned ‘Letter Paintings’ series.

A big IF! (If only if only if only ————————-

 

There were too many objects to mention in this post . Here are a couple of pictures.

Lets call him Harold, he’s pretty cute.

A pretty plate by Picasso. There was a lot of beautiful pots and jugs, the gallery itself, is a lovely space. I would totally recommend it.

YORK CAT TRAIL.

 So many shops are selling glass cat ghosts and other quirky/quaint, or tacky depending on your taste.

Apparently cat statues were a thing in medieval times to frighten the rats. All around the city you will find cat statues. They do a cat trial for fun, although we didn’t do that, we did spot 3 of them up perching in different positions by windows overlooking the River Ouse.

https://visityork.org/business-directory/york-cat-trail

Walking The Essex Way

This has been on the cards for sometime, I had intended doing it in May but my partner was tied up with other obligations. We did this as a joint effort as he is good at reading maps and I’m good at organising everything else.! Technical adviser, photographer, tickets and timetable, lunch advisor etc etc…

We got the train from Manningtree to Wrabness and it’s five minutes to  Black Boy Lane (I wonder what the significance of the name is ) Harwich is visible further down the lane.  Possibly something from the slave trade? Black Boy Lane leads to the house of Essex the house that Grayson Perry created.

Lunch stop, in church yard. It looks a bit dark & eerie in the picture, but was actually quite nice!

Walking The Essex Way

This footpath is a beautiful sight, it wasn’t that straightforward, due to coastal erosion, and the tide being in,

 Getting back to the station from Manningtree. We took the industrial main road route, which was a kind of downer, so that needs to be amended next time.

View from The Bird Watching Hut.

ESSEX SUNFLOWERS, doing their best. This bit is not too far from the Railway line.

 

BERWICK TO SEAFORD 30th August last walk of the month. I clocked up 15 miles on pedometer.

A moderately hilly walk but with two more strenuous hill climbs giving a total ascent of 1,500 feet. Starting from Berwick to the village of Wilmington with its ancient Church. Then a longer climb up to the Long Man chalk figure.

A Shetland pony, a long way from home. We came across these not far from Berwick (Sussex) station.

We expected rain but only got a few drops.

The sky was mainly clear with a bit of wind blowing about as we got nearer to the sea.

 

A climb down into Alfriston for lunch, followed by the second steeper climb up for dramatic views along the river to Cuckmere Haven & the sea. 

Exmoor ponies, enjoying grazing in the open space.

looking dow towards Cuckmere Valley

 

Ending at Seaford. A long day and a long night with aching feet and calves.

looking from Cuckmere haven near the Fishermans cottages out to he Seven Sisters, the sea was a bit rough today.

Until next time- keep on keeping on.

 

 

Jul
31
2025

Lost

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Lost as a state of mind v Lost, I don’t know where I am!

Lately I have been watching the old T.V series LOST,  it is  sci-fi /fantasy. The story develops from the basis of a plane crash that landed on an island -somewhere in the pacific or thereabouts!  I’m enjoying it ; and as well the concept of being Lost seems to be a bit of theme with me recently.

The signs are there but where are they pointing to?

 

I enjoy wondering about getting lost occasionally- this walk, wasn’t one of them. There are times I don’t want to be lost.

I was up at the crack of dawn, intending to  go on a group walk. The  rain was off-putting, and I got caught up with online/technical stuff.

I missed the train by 3 minutes, so missed the group walk.

I was dressed suitably for a ramble, in shorts and a rain jacket – and I decided to just go to Knockholt, perhaps, meet some others who were late, or I might see a route that was obvious.

There were two signs to footpaths on either side of a main road near the station. I’m vaguely aware  that Shoreham can’t be too far away, (an area I know a little and I’m  interested in exploring further.) I thought possibly one of the woods might lead to shoreham woods.

What direction to go? The signposts didn’t say anything other than footpath.

I chose one footpath, then walked up it for a bit and when I came to the signposts I looked towards the Horizon and admired how green it all was  and then I decided to turn back.

Today it just wasn’t happening

The thought of going into a woods alone and the thought of  being attacked ( chances are slim but that really is another story) or lost made me nervous.

Instead I  headed to the train station and picked up a connection to London into Charing Cross. I think the day was a sort of reaction to my current status of  a big change coming and feeling very uncertain about pretty much everything.

ST LEONARD -HASTINGS

At the end of June I visited Hastings again. This time not alone and no need for a map. I would recommend the Bank hotel, although a little stuffy as it was very hot, but the room was lovely.

https://thebankhastings.co.uk

I had a swim then we walked to Hastings through the old town and to The Jenny Lind pub/music venue. It’s great to call in and see live music. they passed the hat round which is a great way to make a bit of cash for the musicians.

Hastings loves cash by the way. Most of the shops advertise they want cash and won’t take cards. 

I’m not a big fan of snakes but was quite taken with this bronze snake.

Jason Mnciff hosts the Sundowner every Friday evening.

https://www.facebook.com/jennylindhastings

One of the visual appealing aspects of  Hastings, is how many  quirky houses  there are, and  how you can look in the windows as you walk past and see all sorts of displays.

We weren’t sure if this was open for business ever, it has a lot of very old things and has kept the old signage. They do have amazing shop fronts in Hastings which are quite unique.

 

After a nights kip in St Leonards it was heating up and we sort of wanted to walk to Rye and sort of didn’t.

Heading up to Hastings Country Park

Walking in the heat

Beautiful scenes from the country park.

It’s always a challenge least of all the very last part  of the walk, trying to get to the beach or the road. It’s the 2nd time of being lost right at the end of the walk.

 

After about  7-8 miles walking up and down in Hastings Country park, in the heat we eventually found the road, where the bus to Rye goes.

As we got to Rye somewhat worn out, we found an ancient pub for food and drinks. Rye was far too busy with cars and people.  It took forever to get back to London as trains were slow /late etc. It might have been better to just stay put that day and enjoyed the beach.

INGATESTONE CIRCULAR – ESSEX
Saturday, 19th July

 

A rural walk in the Essex countryside along paths and quiet lanes through ancient woodland and open fields. We pass through the charming villages of Ingatestone, Fryerning and Margaretting.

 

So this was described on The South Bank Walking group website. Looking out of the window at the heavy rain due to persist ALL DAY, I thought, Are we REALLY doing this?  If I wear shorts I can dedicate the day to wet legs, or long trouser to wet trousers!

Either way I will be wet ALL day long. Hmmm. I did the walk regardless.

A gentle circular countryside walk. A small group of around 6 of us today

The donkey came over to see if we had any food for him. We didn’t. Can you see the nosey cows behind him?

We had our lunch in the porch of the church. While one of the walkers got lost!! He was a bit obsessed with picking litter, so we assumed he was doing a bit of tidying up behind the church. He called us later on! to say where are you!!!

Train Crossing. Amble on. The rain came and went.

Horses coming to see us.

 

THE SALT PATH

One final word on The Salt Path. As I mentioned this in the last post, it was interesting to see the full front page spread, The Salt Path exclusive, in The Observer  newspaper.

I bought the newspaper, with interest, I ‘ve read the salt Path and seen the movie and was sold on the idea (and have been for a while) that “wild walking’ can cure a lot of ailments.

I have read many books like this and don’t take every word as gospel. However, since listening to an interview with the journalist, I see that  this whole investigation has turned nasty.

I don’t believe the author deserves that or it is the law in creative writing,  she has to reveal everything about her personal (artistic license) circumstances.

I understand that some people believe it to be misleading. that she is not entirely innocent & there is some scepticism about the extent of her husbands diagnosis being true. Nevertheless, the investigative journalist also seemed vindictive and unethically obtrusive.

You can read the letter from the author here.

https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk

The interview with the journalist  here.

https://youtu.be/tZR6tV0irA8?si=wKWix5NH5fZwjJQv

 

 

 

Jun
30
2025

Tales of Summer

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Tales of summer- Part 1.

I arrived in Penzance on a Friday & had some lunch, then eventually found the youth hostel I had stayed in more than 20 years ago, it seemed to be a lot further out of town than I had remembered. The new rucksack was now filled  with rain gear rather than swim wear. The Cornish swimming holiday will be in Tales of summer Part 2, further down the line.

It was hit or miss whether the gig at The Minack theatre would be on due to the weather forecast predicting rain all night.

A 10 minute walk up hill from the bus stop. I got a bus from Penzance, last bus of the day is around 7pm going back.

 

Apparently the wind was westerly blowing which means it is more gentle and the rain was also very fine. I took a bus from PENZANCE TO PORTHCURNO.  It had been years since I Had visited and previously had always got a lift, from a friend. It was so beautiful to arrive and the rain didn’t spoil it.

View from the top of the hill.

One of the things I love about Cornwall is the wild flowers everywhere.

 

I walk the line, the rocky road to the Atlantic coast.

This exotic flower is similar to the one I found in a xmas bouquet in Sainsburys which I  painted.

Minack Theatre an outside theatre built into the rocks overlooking the Atlantic.

Mellow Yellow.

Waiting for The Magic Numbers…

Mixing desk in tent at gig.

Making the most of a rainy evening at The Minack.

 

Visting St Ives

There was more rain to come all day Saturday and I struggled to decide what to do. I wanted to walk some of the SW coastal walk but I thought it would be better to do Sunday as the weather looked clear and dry for Sunday.

Teetotal Street in St Ives.

Pathway along st Ives coast line.

wild flowers along the way

 

After a quick visit to St Ives I decided to head back to Penzance and by early evening went to the cinema and watched The Salt Path,

Wild flowers of Penzance grow out of rocks all over town.

 

The Salt Path is a ‘true story’ about a couple’s bad luck The husband gets a diagnosis of a rare disease, then they have their home repossessed and are jobless.

They decide to walk the whole of the South west coastal path around 250 miles. It was a moving film, which really captured the emotion of being truly out there with nothing much to live on.

https://numetro.co.za/movie/6774/

I had met a German woman at the ‘Youth’ hostel, who had just done this. It’s definitely doable. If you have the time.

Later that evening I headed to a place in a small village east of Penzance called Gulval . This was the 1st time I had been here .

It was a bit out of town. The following morning I got the map out and found my bearing & figured that I could start  walk from Long Rock to St Michaels Mount and take it from there.

Gulval , a small village East of Penzance

Walking towards St Michaels Mount.

 

St Michaels Mount

 

As I arrived at the town of  Marazion, unsure how to get back onto  the South West Coast Path,  I asked someone in a shop who told me it was past the graveyard, she didn’t add how far the graveyard was -as I was walking for a while and did not see it.

 A bus approached as I was walking out of town , so I  jumped on it, not sure where to go  It was a toss up between Perranuthnoe or Praa sands,

During the last couple of days it had been difficult to fit into a weekend the various walks and places on my list.  At this point the choices were limited and therefore the option  to walk from  Praa Sands towards Penzance, made sense and  Perranuthnoe was a difficult name to remember  or pronounce to the bus driver.

After a minute,  we passed the graveyard!,  where I then saw the sign to the coastal path. too late.

A German woman on the bus was reading a novel by Ann Cleeves, she told me the best stops to get off. I was tempted to get into a conversation about Vera (the TV show) based on the author Anne Cleeves, crime fiction, but left it so I could focus on where I was going.

Praa Sands is a surfers paradise; but without my surf board it wasn’t much fun!,  instead I followed my hunches and headed away from the beach up into the cliff tops.

The pathway for the most part is fairly clear, it is fairly popular and there were quite a few people walking without it being overpopulated.

SW COASTAL PATHWAY HEADING FROM PRAA SANDS TOWARDS PENZANCE

PRUSSIA COVE

Abandoned cottage on South West Coastal path.

This house was used as the location for the film Ladies in Lavender .

 

I have seen the film and enjoyed it, the story is about a couple of old ladies (Judi Dench & Maggie Smith) who rescue a washed up violin player and nurse him only to lose him to a beautiful young women. (in short!)

SEA & ROCKS I’m in Cornwall.

Walking from Perranuthnoe towards Penzance with the view of St Michaels Mount on horizon. Praa Sands is followed by Perranuthnoe, heading towards Penzance.

Tales of summer continues

Before Cornwall ,on a very sunny day on May 31st, I led a group walk from Faversham to Whitstable. Despite the train cancellations and chaos in the morning, most people arrived in one piece. It’s a fairly straightforward walk, but quite long, about 11-12 miles.

This felt like a summers day but still officially in spring- I guess It can be included in Tales of Summer.

My main walking companion who decided to walk extremely fast with me, which meant, we had to stop a lot to wait for the slow ones.

As I was leading, I was obliged to keep up with the girl who walked with me at the front, despite asking her to slow down a bit so others can keep up.

After arriving in Whitstable, . a few of us went to The Smack for a cold drink. I then went for a very quick swim further up the road past Whistable Harbour.

There were about 14 people on the walk, some who walked fast and some very slow.

Tide was out but later at Whitstable it was in and I managed to have the shortest swim ever.

 

More summer tales to be had

There are a couple of walks I want to do before summer ends, 1 is  Bristol to Bath or vice versa.  The 2nd is an Essex walk there are varying ways to do it but either way would start or end at Grayson Perry’s house for Julie!

more on that next time.

Keep on Keeping on.