One birthday party weekend and four days in Big Ted

Brian and Charles at Dunstable Downs Parkrun. A great single circuit 5km run on the undulating downs sadly with little view. You can see the early morning mist, but it did clear to a beautiful day (after the run had finished). A normal time for me, a great time for a fit, young Charles!

We had a lovely weekend in Edlesborough for Charles 21st party (his birthday is actually the end of August, so he’s the baby of the class. As opposed to Caroline who’s birthday is just into September is the oldest in the class). We drove down aiming to be with them by 15.00, to go to Luton airport to collect my dad and Elizabeth. We were a bit delayed, they were a bit more delayed, so all was good. We had had a bit of difficulty trying to work out where to park, to collect, without incurring huge costs etc. Dad was meant to be coming through with special assistance as two cases, and him is very difficult for Elizabeth. This actually worked very well for us, go to carpark 1, park in a disabled bay, go to speak to them in the parking office, with the ticket, which they will validate, so giving you half an hour free parking. It didn’t work so well for them unfortunately, he was wheeled from the plane to passport control, where they were unceremoniously dumped! They were spitting feathers when we finally found them in the carpark! Back to Jonathan and Lucy’s for a BBQ, in the surprisingly warm evening, very well cooked and very filling. We then set off across a field to our little self catering cottage for the weekend, while the ‘olds’ (dad and Elizabeth, and Lucy’s mum and stepdad) were taken in the opposite direction to the Travelodge.

Our very nice self-catering apartment

Saturday Brian was determined to do a park run and had found a very small local one. He’d even persuaded Charles to go with him. This was only difficult because of the early start, not because of the run. Fitness is everything to Charles. They both seemed to enjoy it, though I’m not sure Charles will be doing them weekly! After breakfast we went to the house where I went out for a slightly hilly walk with Lucy and her sister Sarah. Quick lunch then took Caroline shopping. We bought all the kitchen stuff Charles needed when he went off to university, so only fair that we did the same for Caroline when she heads off to Oxford. Nice to spend some time with her too.

The birthday boy at his evening party

The evening do was just in the local pub where we had the back room for embarrassing photos, food, chat, and dancing. It was a lovely evening, over all too quickly. Sunday after a gentle start for us we went to the house where breakfast was in full flow for Charles uni mates. He’d had to leave by 09.00 to go to an army course down near Blandford Forum, which coincidentally was where dad and Elizabeth were heading. Might as well make Jonathan’s trip worthwhile! We collected Lucy’s mum and stepdad as although Telford is a little out of our way, it’s a lot less out of our way than a special journey for Jonathan. Chatting certainly passed the time.

The party in full swing. Lucy (second from L) with her two sisters, Jonathans head, Richard (Jackies dad), Caroline and Annabel (wife of Jackies uncle)

Caroline thoroughly enjoying herself with brother Charles (just out of sight), two of his university mates and Carolines second cousin

Monday we went to get Ted out of storage for a weekend trip to the Lake District. We thought we might as well add a couple of days on at the beginning to make the journey worthwhile. A late breaking decision meant we headed east on Wednesday to near Richmond to avoid the horrible weather over the west of the country. This worked very well, though the journey up the M1 was fairly hideous. We arrived at a little campsite in clear weather and headed out to the pub, for a couple of pints, the crossword and a fab burger. Thursday was blue sky, we couldn’t ask for more, so we walked the couple of miles to Richmond, via Easby Abbey and Richmond Falls. Round the town, the river walk and the Richmondshire museum, lunch, and tea and cake, before walking back. A grand day out (see our Relive video with extra photos: click here).

Its good to be out in Big Ted again. Here he is on Millfield Campsite by Brompton on Swale near Richmond, North Yorkshire

It’s been nice being out in Ted again, though slightly strange. We haven’t been out in him since we were in Devon, in March, when mum died, so the odd thing has been in the wrong place as we’d packed up in a bit of a rush to head north, not knowing what we were expecting. He has however just embarrassed himself, we’ve driven west to Hartsop, just near Ullswater and Helvellyn where we are due to meet Dave and Pauline, longtime members of the mountaineering club who moved away before we retired. We filled up with fuel just past Penrith and carried on our way till I took us down a wrong turn. This wasn’t really an issue, except that in stopping to turn round we could both see and smell diesel on the road! We’ve had this happen before, broken fuel filter just after filling up. Fortunately we managed to limp to the campsite so we are parked up, waiting for the Crossways rescue man from Gretna to come and sort us out. He’s managed to source a filter, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. If he gets it before 17.00 he’ll come out today, if not it’ll be tomorrow morning, our good walking day! - decent weather, unlike Sunday, when we have to get back anyway as Ted has to go back into storage on Monday as bright and early on Tuesday Brian starts the Cotswold way.

On our walk to Richmond and this is the ruins of Easby Abbey

It’s now Sunday, our repair man didn’t make it out to us on Friday night, but he was with us about 09.30 on Saturday morning and had done the job before the kettle had even boiled to make his coffee! Apparently it’s a really common fault with these vans, but I do think twice in three years is unfortunate!

These wall paintings were in the small attached church of Easby Abbey. They date from the 12th century and were whitewashed over during the Reformation in the 17th century and only found again by chance

Dave and Kanga dog arrived about 20.30 on Friday, sadly with no Pauline. She had been feeling more and more rubbish as the week had gone on and finally decided she wasn’t up to it. Brian did subtly say to Dave he didn’t want to catch anything for his walk, so Pol did a Covid test which was positive. We did sit with Dave in the pub, and did walk with him, but we have tried to be careful, no sitting in each others vans or hugs. Hopefully it’ll be ok. We walked ‘High Street’ on Saturday which was a good walk with the amount of day we had left and with Kanga’s little legs, not to mention that she’s 13. She did really well only huffing and puffing when the rest of us did on the very steep ascent. 15km and 750m of ascent, back by 16.00, shower, and even a quick sit in the sun before the pub booking at 18.30 (see our Relive video with extra photos: click here). We were really lucky, rain Friday afternoon and Saturday night and this morning, but yesterday? Perfect.

Richmond Falls

We were going to join Dave and Kanga for a little waterfall walk this morning, but £6 to park, and rain and the threat of wind and rain all day for our journey home meant we left them to it. Pleased we did really as although we haven’t had much rain, the wind has got up and the traffic has been awful our expected 4hour journey is going to be nearly 6, with only a short wee break (hope I don’t jinx it now, just got onto the M5 so half an hour to go). We’ll empty Ted but won’t take him to storage till tomorrow as Brian readies himself for the arrival of Paul, his partner in crime for the Cotswold. I’ll be taking them to Chipping Campden bright and early on Tuesday as they set off for their 8 days and 110 miles!

Richmond market square

We nearly trod on this little field mouse (or possibly a shrew) on the way back to the campsite

Fast forward to Saturday and on to Sykeside campsite by Brothers Water in the Lake District. Here Dave outside his motorhome, next to ours

On our walk up towards our three peaks of Thornthwaite Crap, High Street and The Knott, with Dave and Kanga dog

On the summit of Thornthwaite Crag (784m). The water in the distance is Windemere

On the summit of High Street (828m) so called as an old Roman road used too run across these hills 

Heading towards our last summit (that pile of rocks over there to the right. The water below left is Hayeswater and beyond is Brothers Water near our campsite

On the summit of The Knott (739m)

And that's from where we'd walked. The path leads off up to High Street. Beyond it, off the photo on our right was our first summit

Heading back down we had a fine view of Hayeswater. The river feeding it is Hayeswarter Gill and the summit above it was our first summit Thornthwaite Crag

We're heading down the steep slope towards the end of Hayeswater. There's a path on the opposite side of the Gill down there that we had to follow round and back down the Brothers Water

Back at the campsite the sun was shining in the later afternoon so we got the chairs out to enjoy the warmth and rehydration drinks before hitting the beer in the pub 

Kanga dog came to the pub with us but the exertions of the day caught up with here. Here she is under the table while we enjoy good beer, good food and good company!

Collecting our bacon baps from the Brotherswater Inn this morning. The nice day yesterday had gone, low cloud and light rain had replaced it with heavy rain forecast for the afternoon (after we'd gone). We were very lucky to get our weather window for our walk on Saturday. The road ahead you can see is the start of the Kirkstone Pass. Our sat-nav was quite happy to send us that way in Big Ted, being the shorter way home, but general advice was to go the other, longer way via Penrith unless you fancy tight bends, narrow road at the top of the pass and potentially difficult reversing should a large vehicle be encounted coming the other way. We opted for the longer stress free option!

The Midlands

Starting our walk from Perry Barr with John and Brian

I don’t know where our free week has gone, it’s been absolute madness. We ‘popped out’ on Wednesday to get Brian some socks for his next walk (the Cotswold Way) at the end of the month, and for me to get a new tablet. The old iPad mini I won in a Trusted Housesitters draw about 10 years ago is well travelled, owes me nothing, and is too old to open more and more websites. I hate buying this sort of thing I get so stressed, so when they said free transfer I jumped at it. Not today however, come back tomorrow. Fortunately it fitted in after my haircut so all seemed good, except now it’s taking two days, particularly as I stood and waited for 45 minutes after appointment time and then when I wasn’t sure of my Apple ID she just reset it. If she’d told me that none of my stored passwords for all the websites I’ve accessed would be transferred, I’d have tried a few more guesses. As it was I then spent all afternoon opening websites, with the old iPad beside me putting in passwords. Thrilling! Anyway, first world problems!

But first a look at Ozzy the Bull in Central Railway station, Birmingham who happened to be swaying his head from side to side along with wagging his tail a having lit up eyes

Friday was gardening at Birmingham Road and sorting stuff out of the loft at Birmingham Road, still in the garage, another trip to the charity shop then. Oh, and another bag of photos and papers for Brian to go through and scan. Not hard, but very time consuming. We thought we’d pop up the pub for a sunny drink and crossword, only to find the beer festival was on. We weren’t meant to be here, so we hadn’t taken any notice! Still we sampled a few halves, did the crossword and had an interesting chat with a couple we shared a table with.

And then breakfast to give us energy!

Saturday was very hot, particularly by the time Brian had done a park run at Brueton Park with Mark where they bumped in to Mike and did lots of gossiping. He got back and we went out for Brunch before wilting gently.

One of the ten herons we saw walking along the towpath.

Sunday was much better so gardening (how have we gone from no gardens to suddenly two gardens?) and window cleaning, inside and out, and soffits and fascia. So needed doing, but his back is still aching! We felt we deserved Sunday club, much better with the pub back to normal.

As we got closer he decided it was time to go and, in this photo he's just taking off

Monday is not John and Brian’s usual walking day, except with chemo on Tuesday, Monday it was. This suited us, so we joined them. Last week they did a very short walk, so I was quite surprised when Google maps told me to walk direct from Perry Barr to Dudley Port was 7.5 miles, and that was without the two pub stops or walking to and along the canal. It got worse, as we walked out of Perry Barr station, Brian said “we shouldn’t be here, we should be at Hampstead, oh well, it’ll be fine”. And so it was, two pubs, 4 pints 10 herons and 10ish miles. We had a lovely day (See our short video of where we went, with photos: click here).

Apparently this is where you go to learn how to climb telegraph poles. They are not connected to anything, they are there for people to learn and practice on

Tuesday was meant to be fitting the box at Denise and Paul’s to control their water feature, and a walk. We’ve been rained off from this before, and so we were again. Still we had a good chat and a very pleasant lunch of allotment soup before popping out to get me some new approach shoes as I knew I needed them and the blister from Monday only confirmed this

Monday marked the end of an unusually warm spell bringing warm air currents up from North Africa along with saharan dust, giving us unusual sunrises 

Yesterday Brian walked to Hagley 15 miles in preparation for the Cotswold way (see short video of walk with photos: click here), while I pottered. Tonight we are out with Abi at the lovely Indian restaurant just round the corner from her. Tomorrow we go to Edlesborough as there is a party on Saturday to celebrate Charles’s 21st, and so it goes on. Nothing earth shattering but seems to be all go.

The Crown pub in Alvechurch, the start of Brians 24km walk across the Lickey, Waseley and Clent Hills to Hagley railway station

First summit, Beacon Hill, Lickey Hills. A massive 298m high, but lovely views over Birmingham and countryside

A zoomed in view of Birmingham from the summit. You can just see the three white towers of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the left and the University clock tower on the right

Second summit, Windmill Hill in Waseley Country Park. 285m

Slight deviation off the North Worcestershire trail to visit this place before the next summit. This is called Sling Pool and, although it looks like a field it is, in fact a small reservoir and the darker bit at the front centre is an overflow that regulates the water height, allowing to to flow under the small dam I'm standing on and away into the stream behind. Very nostalgic for me as mum and dad used to take me, Denise and Tony here as kids to fish, explore and play. It never used to be overgrown like this but it is a small nature reserve now. Google Maps doesn't even mention it and the only reference I can find to Sling Common is here: Sling Common

Summit three, the 315m trig point on Walton Hill in the Clent Hills

Fourth and last summit, Clent Hill, 350m with fabulous 360 degree views. Those four stones over there are not prehistoric, but date from 1763 when workers of the Lord of Hagley Hall placed them there

Near the summit. Its possible to see the Lickey Hills, the Wrekin, Malvern Hills and hills into Wales. From here I headed down, through Hagley and caught the trains back to Alvechurch. 6 hours of mainly hill and countryside walking with little road walking with great views all day.

Arbroath to The Midlands

Devon Finney of Hopwood Tree Services at the top of our eucalyptus tree as he cuts it down

Back in the Midlands and it’s all go, I can barely hear myself think as the tree surgeons are in (Hopwood Tree Services), the 40 (or 50 if Brian has had a pint) foot eucalyptus tree, and the ingrowing leylandii from the house behind are going, and possibly the buddleia tree, that obviously shouldn’t be a tree anyway. I’m going to have to fight to keep the hawthorn and lilac, but will do my best! There’s chainsaw noise out the back and the chipper out the front, but fortunately not all the time for any of it! I do love a chipper though, I think it’s magic. I’m not sure that the trailer is going to be big enough though.

He took this amazing video from that position up the tree

We finished our time in Arbroath with a trip to the signal museum which we can’t believe we haven’t been to before, a very interesting movie about the building of the Bell Rock Lighthouse which is the world’s oldest surviving sea washed lighthouse, and one of the seven wonders of the Industrial Age. Finished after three years in 1811 and still working to this day. Although three years sounds like a long time they could only work for two summer months, and the rock is only uncovered by the sea for 4 hours a day. It was not easy! We followed this by lunch at the Old Boatyard restaurant which we had also not been to, something about it just hadn’t called, though we did have a very nice meal.

This is the Signal Tower museum in Arbroath. Free entry, it details the history of the Bell Rock lighthouse, 11 miles out to sea and how this was its only link to land for the three lighthouse crew via lights and flag communication 

Friday was going to be our last chilling and cleaning day, but after another WhatsApp from Colin extolling the virtues of St Andrews we decided to go for a day trip. Very glad we did, can thoroughly recommend it and are very jealous of Anneka who is at university there.

I put this in only because we were amazed at the complexity of the Bell Rock lighthouse construction 11 miles out at sea. The circle in the bottom left shows how the granite stones were all individually cut to interlock and provide the strength against North Sea storms. Clever design by Robert Stephenson. It was obviously done well as its still standing 212 years later

Saturday dawned, we took Angus for a little saunter before the family arrived home. They looked slightly phased after an overnight flight, but revived slightly after lunch which was lovely to share with them. Angus was pleased to see them, of that there is no doubt, but didn’t immediately turn his back on us which makes us feel loved too. We headed off to Dundee where we were spending the night before returning home. It has some great looking buildings, though everywhere looks good in the sunshine. We had a look round the V&A which hasn’t been open on our previous visits, and had a good Thai meal at Rama. Unbelievably the only seafood restaurant is the Tailend, a very good, but only a glorified fish and chip shop, and we’d eaten in their other branch, in St. Andrews on Friday.

When we took Angus out for his last pee before bed it was dark, Wandering through the grass, trees and little lochans of the old golf course armed with a torch (and a dog poo bag just in case!) was very peaceful and, at the end of August we witnessed the moonrise of a Super Blue Moon, a very rare occurrence.  There won't be another one until March 2037 

A busier than expected drive home on Sunday and we were unloaded, unpacked and in The New Dilshad Indian restaurant, with John by 18.30. To the Weighbridge for Sunday Club and smokie delivery, three pairs to various people, and chill. Yesterday we managed to shop and pop over to Alex and Rob for a catch up. We can now relax a little, we thought we were going to Bristol on Thursday to sit for Bev and Iain, but poor Bev has come down with Covid so they’ve pushed their trip by a week. We can’t now go and sit, but it’s good for them that hopefully they can actually enjoy their trip away.

And here it is. Actually, sharp eyed people will not that its not totally full, there's a slight shadow on the right. I took this on August 31st, the day after. But its still very impressive 

We took Angus for a walk along and old railway track in Brechin and stopped at a cafe in an old railway station. You can see the walk in this short Relive video of our route, which also has more photos: click here

The had Thomas the Tank Engine there (at least I hope that's Thomas, I never actually watched the TV series)

This might be Thomas. I'm sure there are people who know these things, clearly I don't!

Meanwhile Hector stays at home and sleeps it off!

Our day in Dundee after we'd finished our housesit in Arbroath was really good. Not only was the weather blue sky (as you can see) but we managed to see quite a bit. This is the new V&A museum in which we had a whistlestop tour.

This is inside the V&A on a balcony looking down

And this is on a viewing platform overlooking the very impressive Tay Bridge

Next door is the Discovery, the ship that took Scott and Shackleton to Antarctica in 1901. We'd toured that 6 years ago on our last visit here (although we had forgotten and had to refresh our memories by looking back through this blog!)

You can actually walk through the V&A museum, so we had to do it! It leads to a very nice waterfront walk

This is a very old and sad light ship, awaiting for funds to be raised for its renovation. There are very few of these left, we visited one in Bristol a year ago that is in the process of renovation, but there are few others still existing

This is the DC Thompson HQ, a major journalist in Dundee. They used to produce the Beano, Dandy and Topper comics I remember as a child, now they produce local journals, but it is still in the Thompson family ownership.  

The town is full of statues from the comics

Brewdog are very big here too having started in business near here

Slightly out of order, I forgot to put photos of our walk round St Andrews, a very pretty and historic town

Standing at the end of the harbour in St Andrews you can see the old Abbey, the largest in Scotland and, to the right St Andrews castle

Walking into the grounds of St Andrews university, a fabulous collection of buildings and an immaculate lawn

Walking into the equally impressive St Marys, also part of St Andrews university

Not forgetting one of the sights the town is famous for, St Andrews golf course. The Walker Cup was about to start so there were lots of road closures and extra pavilions ready for that

That beach over there is, apparently where the slow running beach scene in Chariots of Fire was filmed. Its alongside the golf course, but difficult to get too due to road closures for the Walker Cup and we were running short on time by now, so this is the closest we got

So back to today and the tree surgery undertaken today. This was this morning before they started...

And this was an after photo. Looks a bit better we think, but we bet Jackies mum would have hated it!

They took everything away, dragging it out the front and shredding it in their giant chipper

Devon is obviously pretty comfortable doing this work. Here is is with his spiked shoes at the top of the tree chopping lumps off. It's all gone now, including the root which he ground out. What a great job!