It should have been the next bit of Hadrian's Wall, that's what I had planned, but in the event I didn't get up early enough, and I needed an early start to be back in Newcastle for something else - and the list of excuses gets longer and longer!
However, my plan B, getting the metro to Whitley Bay, having a quick look round the charity shops and then walking back to the ferry and then home turned out to be a good one. The charity, craft and vintage shops were interesting and the coastline looked fabulous in the sunshine. Sparkling blue sea, white sand, huge skies, and walking from Whitley Bay back towards home meant that I could see the piers almost from the beginning and so the whole thing was a piece of cake!
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Sunday, 22 July 2012
The Diamond Jubilee Way, Dartmouth
Now that summer has turned glorious, there's no better place than Devon and Dartmouth holds a lot of the cards in terms of history and coastline and now it has the Diamond Jubilee Way to add to its charms. http://www.devon.gov.uk/diamond-jubilee-way.pdf
In typical fashion, Big Brother and I did not follow the instructions to the letter, we started our walk with a stroll along the riverside, through Bayards Cove (stopping only to eat our sandwiches) and then onward and upward to Warfleet and the castle. Everything is perfect about it, little yachts like jewels sail out of the estuary, the houses are all dream houses, and the trees are still in fresh greenery due to all the rain.
From the castle the Way leads along a field path overlooking the sea which brings you to Little Dartmouth Farm and the National Trust car park where the walk is supposed to start and where the signposts are. We paused here to take in the birds and the blue sky.
And then we went inland walking green lanes, past cottages and farms and getting the most amazing views over the Dart. The final section was a steep descent back to street level. I'm not keen on steep bits but even I could appreciate the fine views - though not for long!
Once back on tarmac, we made for Chapel Lane to find the old Baptist chapel (now a house) where Thomas Newcomen was the pastor and where in more recent times our father preached as a lay preacher.
The day and the walk were near perfect. I can't see HM walking it with the corgis these days, but she did first meet Philip Mountbatten at Britannia Royal Naval College, so I guess it is appropriate that Dartmouth should have a walk named in honour of the jubilee.
All the scrumptious photos below have been provided by Big Brother, as my phone camera wasn't up to it!
In typical fashion, Big Brother and I did not follow the instructions to the letter, we started our walk with a stroll along the riverside, through Bayards Cove (stopping only to eat our sandwiches) and then onward and upward to Warfleet and the castle. Everything is perfect about it, little yachts like jewels sail out of the estuary, the houses are all dream houses, and the trees are still in fresh greenery due to all the rain.
From the castle the Way leads along a field path overlooking the sea which brings you to Little Dartmouth Farm and the National Trust car park where the walk is supposed to start and where the signposts are. We paused here to take in the birds and the blue sky.
And then we went inland walking green lanes, past cottages and farms and getting the most amazing views over the Dart. The final section was a steep descent back to street level. I'm not keen on steep bits but even I could appreciate the fine views - though not for long!
Once back on tarmac, we made for Chapel Lane to find the old Baptist chapel (now a house) where Thomas Newcomen was the pastor and where in more recent times our father preached as a lay preacher.
The day and the walk were near perfect. I can't see HM walking it with the corgis these days, but she did first meet Philip Mountbatten at Britannia Royal Naval College, so I guess it is appropriate that Dartmouth should have a walk named in honour of the jubilee.
All the scrumptious photos below have been provided by Big Brother, as my phone camera wasn't up to it!
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| Green lane |
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| The new signposts |
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| View down to the Dart |
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| Kingswear |
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| Fab view of the estuary |
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| Kingswear again |
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Newton Abbot Footpath Trail
We have a leaflet. It says there are 51 footpaths in Newton Abbot but some have been renumbered and some aren't used. I couldn't find no 51 but then it is only about 2 yards long or something silly. We made a start today by walking Wolborough Hill and then the Courtenay Link path down to Western Road where we were surprised to see that all the old hospital building have been demolished! We thought the old workhouse buildings were listed, seems not!
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
The Causley Way, Launceston, Cornwall
I must declare an interest here, an amount of Causley blood courses through my veins, I have Causley in my genes though sadly not the one for writing thoughtful poetry. My brother and I have wanted to visit Launceston and do this walk for a while and today was the day!
Launceston is a happy old market town with narrow rambling streets, granite paving slabs, loads of independent retail shops, fab charity shops (don't like to name names, but the St Johns Ambulance may not be the cheapest but it has some glorious vintage pieces in it, while the St Lukes Hospice shop and the Rotary Club shop also have bargains). The one thing to note is that although Launceston looks as if it is pedestrianised, it ain't - traffic comes at you from all sides!
To see the actual route of the walk and read excerpts from the poems the places inspired, go to http://www.charlescausleysociety.org/. We found the church to be fabulously ornate on the outside! The statue of Mary Magdalene was covered in stones, so local customs must continue here. Sadly, we missed the zig zag path completely, but thanks to a helpful lady in the tourist information office, we did find the great man's house. The website states that the walk takes an hour. We took less, but we didn't have the poems at hand to read in full. While I was slightly disappointed, thinking that we would have seen more, the walk did highlight some of the lovely and unusual features of the town.
Yes, we liked it, yes we'll be back to do the town trail, visit the newport area, the castle and the priory and check out those charity shops again...
Launceston is a happy old market town with narrow rambling streets, granite paving slabs, loads of independent retail shops, fab charity shops (don't like to name names, but the St Johns Ambulance may not be the cheapest but it has some glorious vintage pieces in it, while the St Lukes Hospice shop and the Rotary Club shop also have bargains). The one thing to note is that although Launceston looks as if it is pedestrianised, it ain't - traffic comes at you from all sides!
To see the actual route of the walk and read excerpts from the poems the places inspired, go to http://www.charlescausleysociety.org/. We found the church to be fabulously ornate on the outside! The statue of Mary Magdalene was covered in stones, so local customs must continue here. Sadly, we missed the zig zag path completely, but thanks to a helpful lady in the tourist information office, we did find the great man's house. The website states that the walk takes an hour. We took less, but we didn't have the poems at hand to read in full. While I was slightly disappointed, thinking that we would have seen more, the walk did highlight some of the lovely and unusual features of the town.
Yes, we liked it, yes we'll be back to do the town trail, visit the newport area, the castle and the priory and check out those charity shops again...
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
The Park and the Beach
Walked this one last Sunday, but only writing it up midweek. I did have schemes to do something later on, but the weather has not been good, so Sunday's walk it is.
Actually, despite a fairly dire weather forecast, Sunday wasn't too bad a day, so I decided to walk to the Bents Park to see the band, vintage cars etc. From Chichester, I walked down Chi Road and along Westoe Road, then up Erskine Road via the footpath where the colliery line was. I gazed at Westoe cemetery where apparently the great and good of South Shields were buried in days gone by. I'm sure there was talk of a cemetery walk at one time but that has all gone quiet. On past Westoe Crown village and into the park.
There were a good number of people there but not near the crowds that a bit of sunshine would have brought. I enjoyed the band and a Minchellas icecream and then browsed the stalls and the vintage buses and cars. There was Punch and Judy too! Still great fun - even with violence is off the bill.
It was then an easy stroll down to the amphitheatre to watch the People's Mission band. Only a few hardy souls sitting around, and I only stayed half an hour before walking along the newly created prom at the beach side. The tide was in and the sea and the beach looked great. Why don't I do this more often, I asked myself yet again. And so, home via Westoe Village.
Actually, despite a fairly dire weather forecast, Sunday wasn't too bad a day, so I decided to walk to the Bents Park to see the band, vintage cars etc. From Chichester, I walked down Chi Road and along Westoe Road, then up Erskine Road via the footpath where the colliery line was. I gazed at Westoe cemetery where apparently the great and good of South Shields were buried in days gone by. I'm sure there was talk of a cemetery walk at one time but that has all gone quiet. On past Westoe Crown village and into the park.
There were a good number of people there but not near the crowds that a bit of sunshine would have brought. I enjoyed the band and a Minchellas icecream and then browsed the stalls and the vintage buses and cars. There was Punch and Judy too! Still great fun - even with violence is off the bill.
It was then an easy stroll down to the amphitheatre to watch the People's Mission band. Only a few hardy souls sitting around, and I only stayed half an hour before walking along the newly created prom at the beach side. The tide was in and the sea and the beach looked great. Why don't I do this more often, I asked myself yet again. And so, home via Westoe Village.
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Durham Heritage Coast Walk
I actually did this one on Sunday, but have only just got round to writing it up! I've been waiting several years to do this walk - I came up on holiday once planning to do this, but had to return home early due to a bereavement. More recently I'd thought about walking it and returning by bus, but easier said than done! Then through my letterbox came a postcard advertising the Limestone Landscapes (http://www.limestonelandscapes.info/) and from that site I found that a guided walk had been arranged with return by minibus. Couldn't have been more perfect!
And so, Sunday morning found me at Noses Point with 19 other people. The keen walkers were frighteningly well equipped as always but I held my head up high and acted like I didn't feel inferior. It was a mainly fine but breezy day and off we set along the coast path. Our guide was a heritage officer responsible for this area and he explained how the landscape had changed from bleak industrial to a rare and thriving wildlife habitat. Orchids were flowering in profusion, and a skylark sang overhead. It was wonderful to walk along with so much greenery around.
Later we diverted onto a path leading round the cliff edge - not so much to my liking as me and heights don't usually mix, but I steeled myself and the cliffs aren't towering and the paths aren't right on the edge, so I managed with only a small amount of panic and hyperventilating.
Next up was a steep stairway down to the beach itself where the contrast between old industrial beach and new clean heritage beach was vivid. Then it was back up the stairs again. In fact there was a lot of ups and downs as we crossed the denes. Apparently if the tide had been out, we could have walked a significant stretch of the walk on the beach.
Back at beach level we stopped for lunch (keen walkers produced tripod stools, flasks, vast quantities of sandwiches, bananas, (and I bet someone had a kitchen sink there somewhere). We had a granstand view of a white van getting well and truly stuck in the industrial mud. Why were they there? Illegal dumping? Fishing? No one was brave enough to go and ask, and we didn't offer to push either.
And so, Sunday morning found me at Noses Point with 19 other people. The keen walkers were frighteningly well equipped as always but I held my head up high and acted like I didn't feel inferior. It was a mainly fine but breezy day and off we set along the coast path. Our guide was a heritage officer responsible for this area and he explained how the landscape had changed from bleak industrial to a rare and thriving wildlife habitat. Orchids were flowering in profusion, and a skylark sang overhead. It was wonderful to walk along with so much greenery around.
Later we diverted onto a path leading round the cliff edge - not so much to my liking as me and heights don't usually mix, but I steeled myself and the cliffs aren't towering and the paths aren't right on the edge, so I managed with only a small amount of panic and hyperventilating.
Next up was a steep stairway down to the beach itself where the contrast between old industrial beach and new clean heritage beach was vivid. Then it was back up the stairs again. In fact there was a lot of ups and downs as we crossed the denes. Apparently if the tide had been out, we could have walked a significant stretch of the walk on the beach.
Back at beach level we stopped for lunch (keen walkers produced tripod stools, flasks, vast quantities of sandwiches, bananas, (and I bet someone had a kitchen sink there somewhere). We had a granstand view of a white van getting well and truly stuck in the industrial mud. Why were they there? Illegal dumping? Fishing? No one was brave enough to go and ask, and we didn't offer to push either.
At last, Crimdon and the minibus, though sadly no sign of the promised icecream van, and back to our starting point. I'm glad I waited to walk this. I was with a lovely group of people and now that I could recognise places such as Hawthorn Dene, Blackhall Colliery and Rocks, Crimdon Dene, Castle Eden Dene it made it even more enjoyable. And to crown it all, the new boots didn't even rub!
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| steps from the beach |
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| new boots! |
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| black beach |
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