Spring 2025

 Very little walking so far this year, but hopefully now with better weather we will be out more!

Meanwhile just a picture of the primroses which are beginning to flower in the hedges.

Minehead

October saw us take a short break in Minehead. The walk up the 'zig-zag' cliff path is steep, hence the need for the zig-zag.

A turn near the top gave a view of the harbour.

Sussex and Kent

Recent walking has included time in Arundel and also near Hastings and Ashford.

Arundel Castle

 and

 old town Rye

The Military Road and canal 

 and

 the beach at Pett Levels

Plaque to mark where john Wesley preached his last outdoor sermon - Winchelsea

A hill top walk

A cool but dry day so a walk uphill, looking back to the town and with Dartmoor in the distance.

Stover Country Park

Walking around the lake at Stover, during May, there were several families of coots. The lake is being restored with encroaching plants removed and the lake being dredged. The silt wil be dried and then used around the estate in the replanting programme.

April walk

Visiting Teignmouth again recently we walked around town and then along the sea wall. The view this time looks back towards the pier and the Ness headland. Taken from near to the same view point as the previous post.

Winter walking

Lovely and sunny but very cold. . Pictures of the sea wall and of catkins earlier in February.

Baslow

We recently spent a week near Chesterfield again, this time walking round Baslow. The bridge over the river has pedestrian refuges either side, the point of one can be seen in the picture.
On one face, instead of numbers, the church clock has Victoria 1897, the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

Chesterfield Canal

A recent holiday took us to a village near Chesterfield. The canal was neaby and we walked the towpath for a short distance.

Dunster

A visit to Dunster was very interesting. The yarn market on the high street, dovecote (behind the church) as well as the tithe barn and the church memorial garden are all worth the visit. Parking is good and payment options still include cash - a plus for many.

A passageway in South Molton

Walking around South Molton we found this passageway - similar to ones we have seen in Spain. The market Hall is on the left and the passage comes out onto the high street. The Pannier Market (Thursdays) is well worth a visit.

N Devon

In early November we spent a few days in North Devon near South Molton. Here are a few photos from our visit. Old houses in the village, with the 'break away' fire break between the old mill and its house; the bread ovens - internally built at the side of the fireplace seen as a bulge at the outside; a view from the hilltop and the river.

Kite

The red kite around Oxford are a sight worth seeing. Re-introduced with chicks from Spain some years ago they have flourished. This year a reciprocal arrangement was made as the Spanish numbers were critically down.
The kite here are flying over the houses in one of the villages and seen against the building rain clouds.

Summer walks

The current hot weather is limiting our walking to early morning locally. There have been few butterflies this year - until yesterday on the hilltop we found many on the brambles. While walking up the hill we saw a few Holly Blue butterflies and at the top were Hedge Brown.

Spring flowers

As we walked recently there were primroses and violets, just about at the end of their season. The bluebells were starting to flower and the cherry blossom was coming out too. Final photo is of a red kite flying.

A walk in Devon

A winter walk in Devon took us to Stover Park. We went past the lake and along the frosty footpath.

Near here there is a memorial to the 250 men of the Canadian Forestry Corps who worked at Stover during WW1. They were foresters and sawyers and felled the trees on the estate to supply wood to the troops for railway sleepers, huts, trenches etc as well as fuel.
All the figures are carved from wood and are life size.

December

Just to wish everyone a Happy Christmas

South Molton, Devon

Our latest walking holiday took us to South Molton. Very hilly but enjoyable.

The Trans-Pennine Trail

A recent holiday took us to Penistone and some time to walk on the Trans-Pennine Trail. This mostly follows the line of the old railway so is fairly level at this point. The trail itself runs from Hornsea to Southport on a mix of disused railways, canal paths and other walking routes. It is part of the cycling network and some parts are bridleways too. At Penistone the remains of the old turntable housing can be seen just off the path.

Thatching

During recent walks we watched the thatchers at work. The special thatching straw is extra long and the end finisher was being woven into a peak. The following week we walked back to see the nearly completed ridge and then later again to see the finishd work.

Easter 2021

The Good Friday walk through town had to be cancelled again due to Covid restrictions. However this year the cross was placed at the top of the hill and a prayer vigil organised during the day, with strict control of numbers and distancing. We joined one small group (3 of us) for an hour at mid-day.

View fom the hilltop