tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364160102024-02-07T06:03:18.988+00:00England is CoolEngland is Cool & I'm not talking about the weather.
It's cool because it has some of the most beautiful scenery, heritage & experiences to be had anywhere.
Using my digital camera I will share some of it with you. Watch out for my two young Lion cubs popping up on some pictures. Enjoy England!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-71493960061003729172010-03-11T20:11:00.000+00:002010-03-11T20:11:05.937+00:00Castle Crag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQmj02bIaMBvbUMoPPBRR-8gp5ux-if5vZA_Vtre3c6AgDnRspwCwuwVx7eENy-UXZ6alAKwf3AYUFNIb8AFkvp510sbVDtMMDomzjQ_fHzW6EmGMfG6KMl_Kul6nHvfUKpd31g/s1600-h/castlecragmossad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQmj02bIaMBvbUMoPPBRR-8gp5ux-if5vZA_Vtre3c6AgDnRspwCwuwVx7eENy-UXZ6alAKwf3AYUFNIb8AFkvp510sbVDtMMDomzjQ_fHzW6EmGMfG6KMl_Kul6nHvfUKpd31g/s320/castlecragmossad2.jpg" vt="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGw7B3mkUuaMnwvUnc9PFKWaneF8SpNpK-EhkXcy5Ei1976gSJ5xCq3GnHkv80w1o89egXTkjLnm84SBiN3G6G_uplmUQTX6HxYHZDOJkPokCoqQDvwURbcxLEC4cw3bCjJXb6UQ/s1600-h/castlecrag28jan10+066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGw7B3mkUuaMnwvUnc9PFKWaneF8SpNpK-EhkXcy5Ei1976gSJ5xCq3GnHkv80w1o89egXTkjLnm84SBiN3G6G_uplmUQTX6HxYHZDOJkPokCoqQDvwURbcxLEC4cw3bCjJXb6UQ/s320/castlecrag28jan10+066.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgie-CAchIAbxzYnp8Dtn7QA4oFCAtU-u3j6_RB95SNKJf_4TQi5nmS23QnhWVylOyvqFiWvobVX5APv7ewe4-CGwmuPEAIPgObnH74VzJ4gFt5TsxIljFl8hUsZpgZAniEgqbF5A/s1600-h/castlecrag28jan10+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgie-CAchIAbxzYnp8Dtn7QA4oFCAtU-u3j6_RB95SNKJf_4TQi5nmS23QnhWVylOyvqFiWvobVX5APv7ewe4-CGwmuPEAIPgObnH74VzJ4gFt5TsxIljFl8hUsZpgZAniEgqbF5A/s320/castlecrag28jan10+070.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Pic 1 - High Spy from Castle Crag</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Pic 2 - On the summit of Castle Crag</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Pic 3 - Borrowdale.</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I recently paid a visit to Castle Crag up north in Cumbria. Although it is not classed as a mountain with it only being 951 ft in height I have to say that is one of the most beautiful I have climbed in the Lake District . It is quite impressive in appearance displaying forest, rock face and beautiful pasture on its lower slopes, it also has a number of caves with the most famous being Millican Dalton's Cave named after Millican Dalton , the eccentric and self styled "Professor of Adventure" whom used the cave as his summer home from the 1920's until shortly before he died in 1947. It was originally called High Hows Quarry and it lies to the west of the beautiful and crystal clear waters of the River Derwent which winds its way down from Great Gable via Seathwaite Fell. I parked in the lovely hamlet of Stonethwaite and walked the short distance along the river bank with the sheep and cattle until I came to the footpath that leads up the southern slope, it's a fairly easy climb which took me to the top of another hill that afforded wonderful views back into the valley of Borrowdale , such rich and fertile land. From this point I noticed some awesome wild camping spots with cool views to wake up too. As I climbed the sty to make the final approach to the summit, my mate Lee spotted one of our rare native Red Squirrels having his breakfast so we spent some time watching him before eventually climbing to the top of the crag itself. The final approach is through some massive slate scree banks where a zig zag path has been created up to the top, from this point you get a magnificent view looking onto High Spy which appears to be vertical as you face it. Once on top of Castle Crag you are presented with such wonderful views down into Borrowdale and also North over Derwent Water to Keswick and the big lump of Skiddaw at it's rear with some of the higher peaks still holding onto their snow. On top of the crag there is a war memorial dedicated to the men of Borrowdale whom fell in WW1</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The day I climbed it was quite pleasant and warm although a tad cloudy so I managed to bag Castle Crag and have a wander down the Langstrath Valley on the other side of Stonethwaite before the weather deteriorated. The highlight of the day however was not Mr Red Squirrel nor the magnificent scenery but a Robin Redbreast on the top of Castle Crag whom flew right up to my feet and allowed me to share my sandwich with him. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-48831577786149627512009-10-20T19:46:00.000+01:002009-10-20T19:46:59.569+01:00Northumberland's Coast.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4_sGWUQVHnD3_xEObuCkP02Xwc8TJ0B3w-pmP1SxHxaSUnK288JVHvM6gDlC0ZlgpW-jBGdwWVXHFuJgx1pdEoAoe_gvLd_gB6oJdQZ7zALlpOkkv5wtWi082zmBdKbJdu2cAQ/s1600-h/2007_1019embleton19oct070007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4_sGWUQVHnD3_xEObuCkP02Xwc8TJ0B3w-pmP1SxHxaSUnK288JVHvM6gDlC0ZlgpW-jBGdwWVXHFuJgx1pdEoAoe_gvLd_gB6oJdQZ7zALlpOkkv5wtWi082zmBdKbJdu2cAQ/s320/2007_1019embleton19oct070007.JPG" vr="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbX_4c3zWqHeyKu1NUIzCzTMJfGBIpxpApOSISUCpKQx5NDUVIw0HC-7gU61oQtpGMNyfrJAhdCmSFM2T7gJF8UyvZgqHLFeNwomBLMNZBbPUDLaFuaBXBEiL7bJryh8SefiewA/s1600-h/CNV00078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbX_4c3zWqHeyKu1NUIzCzTMJfGBIpxpApOSISUCpKQx5NDUVIw0HC-7gU61oQtpGMNyfrJAhdCmSFM2T7gJF8UyvZgqHLFeNwomBLMNZBbPUDLaFuaBXBEiL7bJryh8SefiewA/s320/CNV00078.JPG" vr="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wxJtVucMzMj8XTfILGX5e5XLxn2Gjj5NaSW2rpUwkX5qzF-aU1StNnK_ixGQ2zp-CUAtSYRR5gOfU6JTn8yyt0mFdRF9ke09Jc3jdKpiY-QPZtR3Uxsx8YinB_LTy1pkkMexqg/s1600-h/CNV00058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wxJtVucMzMj8XTfILGX5e5XLxn2Gjj5NaSW2rpUwkX5qzF-aU1StNnK_ixGQ2zp-CUAtSYRR5gOfU6JTn8yyt0mFdRF9ke09Jc3jdKpiY-QPZtR3Uxsx8YinB_LTy1pkkMexqg/s320/CNV00058.JPG" vr="true" /></a><br />
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Now when it comes to England's coast, which includes the isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles , you find yourself with around 6261 miles of it to choose from , which is as they say in the North East , 'a canny few like'. My favourite places on England's coast are the Scilly Isles although I have not yet had the pleasure of a visit yet but hope to do so soon along with Cornwall and Northumberland which I am quite familiar with. Cornwall is vastly different from Northumberland in that it is certainly warmer but also quite rocky with beautiful fishing villages and secluded bays. Northumberland on the other hand has quite a low lying coastline in many parts giving access to wide golden sandy beaches with vast expanses of sand dunes and a lot less people. But for me one of the greater attractions of Northumberland's coast is its castles. I love the Northumberland coast and would recommend it to you, why not have fish n chips at Seahouses, take the boat out to the Farne Islands from the little harbour, there are plenty of good hotels, inns and caravan sites to base yourself in along the coast. My best beaches along this coast are Bamburgh, Alnmouth, Dudle Bay, Embleton Bay, Druridge Bay. Here are a few pictures to captivate you. <br />
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Picture 1 - Embleton Bay with Dunstaburgh Castle<br />
Picture 2 - Alnmouth<br />
Picture 3 - Bamburgh Beach with castle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-45506053185051817922009-04-15T12:36:00.006+01:002009-04-15T12:46:38.732+01:00Aldeburgh in Sunny Suffolk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidplhsQ0WUw5qv-4Y89LiNbyIkKFrkZR_LYT9Jokn97lTSTB8MiScsYx6T_pd6OjlzoG3oCuKxtkijTXeYsClI5cZpDHAXoSsFnNS-y62V2LSTfLWUiQgZ0JctKPH2c-T8Z84j-A/s1600-h/IMG_1140.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324881815468095826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidplhsQ0WUw5qv-4Y89LiNbyIkKFrkZR_LYT9Jokn97lTSTB8MiScsYx6T_pd6OjlzoG3oCuKxtkijTXeYsClI5cZpDHAXoSsFnNS-y62V2LSTfLWUiQgZ0JctKPH2c-T8Z84j-A/s320/IMG_1140.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiajrW9EdyQOhJ7b1txrzxig6_tDW3J2rf_wccrvN0LhxInrtphmmScskJfZBkS3hs5hyphenhyphenDojTDqVfWcviox_4l6xIiGbuqgqmbt-y9kHOub94wSL-yV6Y0pd_gaVudDz-6-W4Oag/s1600-h/IMG_1095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324881597695674722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiajrW9EdyQOhJ7b1txrzxig6_tDW3J2rf_wccrvN0LhxInrtphmmScskJfZBkS3hs5hyphenhyphenDojTDqVfWcviox_4l6xIiGbuqgqmbt-y9kHOub94wSL-yV6Y0pd_gaVudDz-6-W4Oag/s320/IMG_1095.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkDY-h9I6oq1LpX6tAoh8FZU2JSR0Le7CgIq8ppR83fvk7Xt4L5k6VEZWu0rVfVfOKOS5EwR2VRJBkfHBVDW6e8-Tltje38geQm_8cTSKxNJiVwtxyHn0zi5piL-QlTy6xDZPcw/s1600-h/IMG_1084.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324881397053248434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkDY-h9I6oq1LpX6tAoh8FZU2JSR0Le7CgIq8ppR83fvk7Xt4L5k6VEZWu0rVfVfOKOS5EwR2VRJBkfHBVDW6e8-Tltje38geQm_8cTSKxNJiVwtxyHn0zi5piL-QlTy6xDZPcw/s320/IMG_1084.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;">Picture 1 Beautiful Aldburgh cottages</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;">Picture 2 A perfect day but this fisherman is having the day off.</span></div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture 3 The large shell with Aldeburgh in the distance</span>.</span></div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div></div><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Aldeburgh in Suffolk has been a port since Roman times however the Roman area is now under the sea. It is a delightful typical English seaside village with a beautiful long stretch of shingle beach where the village fishing fleet finds rest when it is not at sea. The boats are launched from the beach itself and you can buy fresh fish from the fishermen's huts straight from the sea. The village itself is quite small but perfect for a quiet weekend away with some lovely shops and places to eat alongside some traditional English cottages and a nice pub. Following along the beach towards the north one finds a rather stunning shell sculpture made of steel embedded into the shingle which provides a great place to picnic and it is perfectly situated to enjoy other attractions nearby which will follow this entry. England is cool</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#ffcc00;"></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-7065769089621888802009-03-10T15:08:00.005+00:002009-03-10T15:44:28.309+00:00Honister Via ferreta<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PTRglSN_viQ5LAHRrVPb7q1kRcrjrYdgX5MrQeqo30u-Z2F3rO7VlmY6w2wZzI0eVd1cSIArTJEFvsWLPf_5M305M1bXRejwEaL3tnC374VpkiyqYlIaP_CM3O8Zq9lOlgb-mg/s1600-h/honnisterFeb09+027.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311577266979145010" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PTRglSN_viQ5LAHRrVPb7q1kRcrjrYdgX5MrQeqo30u-Z2F3rO7VlmY6w2wZzI0eVd1cSIArTJEFvsWLPf_5M305M1bXRejwEaL3tnC374VpkiyqYlIaP_CM3O8Zq9lOlgb-mg/s320/honnisterFeb09+027.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqlXtH1vAGkk1OGDEyNOiZXKPVWY46XUTMQqVk1VTZLOTXw-6GYGzQ8Mkii2ZBe53E7jTs92X7a7zimCdcdPbyBadJzrrsvUmfVk5rMq9X2cf3kNwYqnoc993ove9IHxJ0GQG2w/s1600-h/honnisterFeb09+034.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311576743702875458" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqlXtH1vAGkk1OGDEyNOiZXKPVWY46XUTMQqVk1VTZLOTXw-6GYGzQ8Mkii2ZBe53E7jTs92X7a7zimCdcdPbyBadJzrrsvUmfVk5rMq9X2cf3kNwYqnoc993ove9IHxJ0GQG2w/s320/honnisterFeb09+034.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">I have just recently been up to Honister in England's beautiful Lake District and completed the Via Ferreta at </span><a href="http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> . It was a fantastic weekend as I took 9 workmates with me most of whom had not done anything quite like it before. We spent two nights at the Tan Hill Inn which in itself was good fun but the day at the mine was excellent. The day started with a tour of the mine which is still actually working and producing the best slate in the world it was also interesting to hear how difficult it was during the Victorian era with lads as young as 8 working in these mines. We are so fortunate these days aren't we? The highlight of the day however was doing the Via Ferreta up Fleetwith Pike to a height of around 2300 ft . What is a VF? A via ferrata (</span><a title="Italian language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language"><span style="font-size:85%;">Italian</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> for "iron road") is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed </span><a title="Cable" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable"><span style="font-size:85%;">cables</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="Stemple" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stemple"><span style="font-size:85%;">stemples</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="Ladder" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladder"><span style="font-size:85%;">ladders</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, and </span><a title="Bridge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge"><span style="font-size:85%;">bridges</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities.<br />The VF at Honister at the moment is the only one so far in England and Great Britain and it is a beauty, it also has a spiffing zip wire which takes you 80 metres across the crag to a quite vertical section of VF on the other side. I will not go on to much about the VF as you can see the photos by clicking this link and then clicking 'view slideshow' as well as check out the site.</span> <a title="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjk/sets/72157614540771553/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjk/sets/72157614540771553/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjk/sets/72157614540771553/</a> </div><div> </div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySWArOwj1F7XXXQ6WzmK9P1ffE8i0tio5HRR_FMBFfgQ5QqT0-Alt0jDB-_3xP-Ihak5Uht_GS5A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-2132632672971073692009-02-05T06:28:00.001+00:002009-02-05T06:34:11.722+00:00England & Britains highest pub<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9GUxt4aD19XZ_v_02W96A27sx0biU-05PGAAcwKEKs44jXvQyXDbIYnANH-0Og6k5VYkeB3WNcy5xWEmsd8WHKBBlXwKfFCI4Tevg_jvaJ8RZ5XCtKh_M7Ee6-xnohSWX3gx2g/s1600-h/Tan+Hill+24jan09+019.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299197470603551778" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9GUxt4aD19XZ_v_02W96A27sx0biU-05PGAAcwKEKs44jXvQyXDbIYnANH-0Og6k5VYkeB3WNcy5xWEmsd8WHKBBlXwKfFCI4Tevg_jvaJ8RZ5XCtKh_M7Ee6-xnohSWX3gx2g/s320/Tan+Hill+24jan09+019.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEHgDcNvICUxZ1WCS3BB17rVR3gvGsn90e_qOY1dGowMcD62IrJzB5r_Lw0yFVU1LGgoKwdo4yclmX8BsJFvjL-H3gtTA-OymY0vugrSC93gzeIXX5YRBoFpXYynRvjmNv-6oxQ/s1600-h/Tan+Hill+24jan09+024.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299197466087348514" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEHgDcNvICUxZ1WCS3BB17rVR3gvGsn90e_qOY1dGowMcD62IrJzB5r_Lw0yFVU1LGgoKwdo4yclmX8BsJFvjL-H3gtTA-OymY0vugrSC93gzeIXX5YRBoFpXYynRvjmNv-6oxQ/s320/Tan+Hill+24jan09+024.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKLjfbTZZsqXOn0qLBk4M9NOQwqmWJAI_BkvaMqDZZNqPCZwm93TPgVz0Zi5wDQGHocz6-OilHu4rtn3SkdNA91yC7Kp6uA3uejdfJkCh-mDoe3yiD732rioVIcc_Xm1SYSXZ4Q/s1600-h/Tan+Hill+24jan09+029.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299197462864137826" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKLjfbTZZsqXOn0qLBk4M9NOQwqmWJAI_BkvaMqDZZNqPCZwm93TPgVz0Zi5wDQGHocz6-OilHu4rtn3SkdNA91yC7Kp6uA3uejdfJkCh-mDoe3yiD732rioVIcc_Xm1SYSXZ4Q/s320/Tan+Hill+24jan09+029.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;">Whilst up north after a spot of climbing in the Cumbrian mountains I decided to deviate from the A1 when travelling back to London and head over to the Pennine Way for a swift half in the highest pub in Old Blighty the Tan Hill Inn. The Tan Hill situated at 1,732 ft above sea level is a regular stop off for Sunday dinner on our Dove Cragging weekends away before we return home. A brief history of the Inn is as follows: It is built on land described by William the bastard whilst compiling the domesday book in around 1085 as being a wasteland. There are coal mining records on the site that date from at least the 12th Century A.D. and possibly earlier. The coal was a poor quality crow coal which gave off a lot of soot when burnt. It was not suitable for the steam engines that were to arrive in the Industrial Revolution - the superior coal from the County Durham pits was used instead to fuel the trains on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The crow coal was used to fuel the lime kilns of Arkengarthdale - an environmental disaster, not just because of the pollution but also due to the kilns using wood, stripping Swaledale of the trees that grew in the more sheltered areas. Mixed with peat, this crow coal can be banked up over night and after a bit of poking in the morning can be rekindled. The seams were only four feet (120cm) thick but the mines under Tan Hill were extensive, justifying the need for a pub there. Horses would line up with their carts waiting to be loaded with coal for Reeth and Swaledale while the miners would sing and get drunk in the pub The inn was not on it's own all the time. Miners' cottages stood near the inn until they were demolished with the closure of the mines in the early 20th Century. Today the Inn is a haven of warmth and tranquility on the windy exposed Pennine Way where you can enjoy a pint or three in comfortable surroundings with a roaring fire, a dog & a cat and sometimes a few ducklings and even a sheep.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ffffcc;"></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-31929958197508788062009-01-25T17:38:00.006+00:002009-01-25T17:55:16.517+00:00Looking for a secret cave.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkBm1CEjS6S-kfA55w2PmDO-hJI76upEuYy7rYyGZBvveFjS-4Zk9n2-UPeD1MrECZO7MyaMXgo_gnrD59Owhedt6ifFtjY_y__3jjg20OMCy4f_kDGUXMt3wzaCeAkQuFDj_uQ/s1600-h/wuff23jan09+097.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295291317779696802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkBm1CEjS6S-kfA55w2PmDO-hJI76upEuYy7rYyGZBvveFjS-4Zk9n2-UPeD1MrECZO7MyaMXgo_gnrD59Owhedt6ifFtjY_y__3jjg20OMCy4f_kDGUXMt3wzaCeAkQuFDj_uQ/s320/wuff23jan09+097.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulaRa2xglkcEDyo6Df-wY_AjtVNjQCuU9DaUEMK60QPYhHPOMm4CEX9tl4w_xhrn6KoYiMgweS4XvbcSBnOg4yiZQkVHTUqf29XUJq8JYIOB5SuDIYHHtiV1wvd55HQNq_XnnAA/s1600-h/wuff23jan09+104.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295290859380484082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulaRa2xglkcEDyo6Df-wY_AjtVNjQCuU9DaUEMK60QPYhHPOMm4CEX9tl4w_xhrn6KoYiMgweS4XvbcSBnOg4yiZQkVHTUqf29XUJq8JYIOB5SuDIYHHtiV1wvd55HQNq_XnnAA/s320/wuff23jan09+104.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbGqhmc4lk700czVBV5ycFtFAfd3pPvnPGQux7vA-XbRBMMm5YWSBreDbXCMT-cLNBjjiyaCP2Yl6nnPuTXTcqW-WCz85UZQQ_UrOOJ_FpI-fC6fxyO8xSr0W2sVJ2ceJ1_VSBDQ/s1600-h/wuff23jan09+026.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295289969923406370" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbGqhmc4lk700czVBV5ycFtFAfd3pPvnPGQux7vA-XbRBMMm5YWSBreDbXCMT-cLNBjjiyaCP2Yl6nnPuTXTcqW-WCz85UZQQ_UrOOJ_FpI-fC6fxyO8xSr0W2sVJ2ceJ1_VSBDQ/s320/wuff23jan09+026.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">I like to spend the odd night out in the mountains the most recent being in the Priest's Hole Cave on Dove Crag in June and September last year. This year there are two more caves to spend the night in. One is on Castle Crag called Millicans Daltons cave and the other is a cave which is known to only a handful of people non of whom will confirm its location but whom have left clues in their writings and photo's. The cave is situated on a crag and it is entered by a small hole but once inside it is well fitted out. The story is it was kitted out by a Leeds university lecturere whom was building a little hideaway for himself but it was discovered by some rock scramblers. The few photos of the cave show it to have 3 wooden berths for your sleep bags, a fireplace with a built in fleu and a storage cave for supplies. Everything you need for a night in the mountains. The cave came to my attention when I spent the night in the Priest's Hole last September with my mate Spetsnatz. We met a monkey hanger out with his dog and he joined us for a brew and during the conversation he asked us if we had ever heard of the $%*# cave on @#& Crag? We hadn't but following 4 months of gathering information, examining the pictures for clues and the fact Trail magazine confirmed it's existence Spetsnatz and I went on a recce to find it. I can not mention any place names of where we parked or climbed as we too want this place to remain a secret and retain it's mysterious identity. As it happens we did not find it but we know we were on the right crag on the right mountain. If you were to enter this cave name into Google you would only get three entries and they report that you could be standing by the enterance and yet non the wiser to it being there.The snow didn't help us in our search but we will be back in the spring with two more clues and confirmation as to what height it can be found within.</span> </div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-16519868332284521772008-12-01T19:11:00.002+00:002008-12-01T19:54:33.221+00:00Whitby and chip shops.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UFYs0gS9pMgHh1UDStUs5BMDiy2UXZTEXZ8X5mCheAsM6soukeEWLiC0oLFjRtfrY2Ltp6BwARX9kJaAhkOiuAitRof6Lr6N6agy_wcs48EyJw_a6dMUkIjRl-m_Cl50Gt59mw/s1600-h/summer08+131.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274904672850226386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UFYs0gS9pMgHh1UDStUs5BMDiy2UXZTEXZ8X5mCheAsM6soukeEWLiC0oLFjRtfrY2Ltp6BwARX9kJaAhkOiuAitRof6Lr6N6agy_wcs48EyJw_a6dMUkIjRl-m_Cl50Gt59mw/s320/summer08+131.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyy2YDgvM3xCcSHwExGcgN7WwRE82Z9maRjVKRvyQPD_pkOPsALMgYsIE_mJ85qH79WRFZtKnJGrac0KNUO7FwdmqbQd8sLkdAYi7pLY2mtQbsOoCc6VvigxdwlV8NqndLr0H4lQ/s1600-h/summer08+127.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274904384515671154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyy2YDgvM3xCcSHwExGcgN7WwRE82Z9maRjVKRvyQPD_pkOPsALMgYsIE_mJ85qH79WRFZtKnJGrac0KNUO7FwdmqbQd8sLkdAYi7pLY2mtQbsOoCc6VvigxdwlV8NqndLr0H4lQ/s320/summer08+127.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FxaIhuffmbsRmI4YgQaN9EBwuR9OndRROYsbs2A3OhGud9Cf3Ga26LkrSX16Ir7Py0Nc2TkP7KtdlEvmw56cX9mx28aPj8oScvb-_1-lZzXYYQQ5njIMOEiQTW3X1YsAo7ly1A/s1600-h/summer08+110.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274903487896779618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 333px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 187px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FxaIhuffmbsRmI4YgQaN9EBwuR9OndRROYsbs2A3OhGud9Cf3Ga26LkrSX16Ir7Py0Nc2TkP7KtdlEvmw56cX9mx28aPj8oScvb-_1-lZzXYYQQ5njIMOEiQTW3X1YsAo7ly1A/s320/summer08+110.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3GmhztLIcoO8PjG8geO2Tb9c2NFdpeDPqgGlzn27JHT7O9jzR7jiJMoJsmn1hxd8-tTrZnum1xuXInaEgUaROlB5l0INkZQ9CEtFZxxMNyXWuXN_8pWmYtye-aGLIYIIP_w9sg/s1600-h/summer08+100.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274902998029842338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3GmhztLIcoO8PjG8geO2Tb9c2NFdpeDPqgGlzn27JHT7O9jzR7jiJMoJsmn1hxd8-tTrZnum1xuXInaEgUaROlB5l0INkZQ9CEtFZxxMNyXWuXN_8pWmYtye-aGLIYIIP_w9sg/s320/summer08+100.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2iuOOXBk_PguIlACYng80AoBCj118LmPts_t2AZuriVEiwppSAa7WRmOcya1ZwnXQnGgCaKuoUNWIOUIlJNV6fAG7cZCYk8kEJHkq7OfsgjgmgFpRsX32NZoJMIfAi3EkUfx9w/s1600-h/summer08+091.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274902513208824626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2iuOOXBk_PguIlACYng80AoBCj118LmPts_t2AZuriVEiwppSAa7WRmOcya1ZwnXQnGgCaKuoUNWIOUIlJNV6fAG7cZCYk8kEJHkq7OfsgjgmgFpRsX32NZoJMIfAi3EkUfx9w/s320/summer08+091.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;color:#003333;">Picture 1 Coming down the Abbey steps into Whitby to find a chip shop</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#003333;">Picture 2 The Abbey and St Mary's church above Whitby</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#003333;">Picture 3 St Marys church on the hill and replica of Cooks ship the Endeavour</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#003333;">Picture 4 Whitby from St Mary's churchyard</span></div><div><span style="color:#003333;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture 5 Whitbt Abbey ruins</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Everyone knows England's national dish is fish 'n' chips, preferably wrapped up in a newspaper and smothered in salt 'n' vinegar. The trouble is most people whom visit England from oversea's only see London and the South East of the country. Now whilst the south east has many wonderful treasures for the visitor to enjoy, it is lacking in good chip shops. I speak from experience in saying that London has some terrible chip shops in the tourist area's which leave the visitor wondering what all the fuss is about. In saying that however,if you visit Hainalt Road in Leytonstone East London there is a very nice chippy ran by a Chinese chap called Michael which I would recommend. The best chip shops in England are generally found in the north and one town with it's fair share of excellent chip shops is a small Yorkshire town situated at the mouth of the River Esk named Whitby. Whitby is a pleasant little harbour town famous for a number of things but mostly for Captain Cook whom was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer whom was the first to map Newfoundland in Canada prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean during which he achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands as well as the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. Also on offer in Whitby situated high above the town are the remains of it's abbey built in 657 AD and destroyed by Danish Vikings in 867 along with pleasant beaches, narrow olde English cobbled streets, great local shops and as stated earlier, fantastic chippy's.<br />Whitby offers the visitor more than history; its situation is superb in the middle of one of Britain’s most delightful stretches of coast, with cliffs and fine bays interspersed with picturesque fishing villages. The noble Abbey may be a beautiful ruin, but the Parish Church of St Mary, dating partly from 1110, and reached by 199 steps cut in the cliff, is still very much a part of the town. </span></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-29687918389207212292008-11-17T16:11:00.001+00:002008-11-17T16:49:20.538+00:00The Stadium of Light & Joan's Cafe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08_IyTb2u4LJKogw3f7QQrQsemfO_uVvcmttWmsmV7R8kLrQO2oMI4o-3w852Ao23F5Y0Sqnj1ZZdjU0Ya21MPT75TyILDFUpJdO7wOlW7e4YPj4kSMS5K0YUtyBNjfZkvEs7_w/s1600-h/summer08+186.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269665032186732258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08_IyTb2u4LJKogw3f7QQrQsemfO_uVvcmttWmsmV7R8kLrQO2oMI4o-3w852Ao23F5Y0Sqnj1ZZdjU0Ya21MPT75TyILDFUpJdO7wOlW7e4YPj4kSMS5K0YUtyBNjfZkvEs7_w/s320/summer08+186.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUvneQ2QltQ2I6txQkQgl3PngFNB1m7iERh13TFCyTkfQOKTpxSL-npSYC80xgLgk6XDyz9my-QvIhLgygyoqkvDR2TVLQ7Om3CE3VbNDAQqM7_oBrUdSb1lvYWBQoWy0tn1yuw/s1600-h/IMG_3377.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269664681186338210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUvneQ2QltQ2I6txQkQgl3PngFNB1m7iERh13TFCyTkfQOKTpxSL-npSYC80xgLgk6XDyz9my-QvIhLgygyoqkvDR2TVLQ7Om3CE3VbNDAQqM7_oBrUdSb1lvYWBQoWy0tn1yuw/s320/IMG_3377.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd3zAw5TlJBvkiTNF9wG-ym7Lvs-dFA1U7Tgxfsxjj9yFSZ0lsZhpZXe9yV_0lLtR55CaiKS4CiyJ0VtPYpRLoHdjwTRQr86SQrsz9u1It9A9pyL8pH5q1wiXC7twQjrSu63mpg/s1600-h/CNV00163.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269661435950443506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd3zAw5TlJBvkiTNF9wG-ym7Lvs-dFA1U7Tgxfsxjj9yFSZ0lsZhpZXe9yV_0lLtR55CaiKS4CiyJ0VtPYpRLoHdjwTRQr86SQrsz9u1It9A9pyL8pH5q1wiXC7twQjrSu63mpg/s320/CNV00163.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeSOVzP1VSsjSJjPRS0depCE7NAonrRZOWEP3c_6ci76vZrSsmJivtp8E431hQgIzUk2jJgvD8pGk94so2N_6NpZhumODYgsKG4GGe5gCopfTMlCxuAy6a_gQ6kwDJ_9cE0eWOQ/s1600-h/CNV00151.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269661346744873778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeSOVzP1VSsjSJjPRS0depCE7NAonrRZOWEP3c_6ci76vZrSsmJivtp8E431hQgIzUk2jJgvD8pGk94so2N_6NpZhumODYgsKG4GGe5gCopfTMlCxuAy6a_gQ6kwDJ_9cE0eWOQ/s320/CNV00151.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Photo's</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">1 - Joan's cafe outside the stadium</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">2 - The Wearmouth Colliery wheel with Bethany, Zahava, Sammy Jo & Bailey.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">3 - My two young lion cubs in the Stadium of Light</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">4 - My two young lion cubs before a friendly with Juventus</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">What am I doing showing you all these wonderful scenic and historic sites in England without first showing you what I think is the coolest place in England. The Stadium of Light in Sunderland in England's beautiful north east. As a young lad growing up in Durham I would watch Sunderland every home game at their old stadium Roker Park I was first taken there in 1976 by my Grandad although I had been introduced to his beloved Sunderland as a toddler prior to their 1973 F.A cup victory over Leeds United at Wembley. His team became my team the only difference being that when he was a youth Sunderland were winning everything, in my lifetime I have known them win the F.A cup once with plenty of promotion and relegation battles thrown in. Non the less the motto of my Grandads regiment the Durham Light Infantry is ' faithful' and that is what I am to my team. I live in the south of England now having moved away from Durham city in 1995 but my two young daughters are now keen Sunderland fans and I like to take them to a match or two when we travel up to visit Grandma in Durham. Sunderland moved from their old stadium Roker Park to the Stadium of Light in 1997 and although I have many memories of being frozen by the winds coming in from the North Sea into Roker whilst watching Stan Cummings, Gary Rowell & Marco Gabiadinni amongst many other Sunderland legends I much prefer the new stadium and its facilities although I miss being on the sea front.The Stadium of Light is on the banks of the River Wear and was erected on the site of the old Monkwearmouth deep sea colliery and it has become the cathedral of the city as Sunderland does not have an actual cathedral to correctly call itself a city. It's capacity is 49,000 with plans to raise it to 66,000 when the club establishes itself as one of the English greats again hopefully this will not be too long. With the stadium being built on the site of the old colliery the club has incorporated some links to it on their new crest which replaced the fans favourite in 1997. The old crest had a ship on it signifying that Sunderland was a shipbuilding town , it was at one point the biggest shipbuilding town in the world but with the decline of ship building in England Sunderland ceased to function with this grand title. In 1997 with the new stadium, Sunderland released it's new crest, it is divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured the traditional red and white of Sunderland. The upper left section features the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penshaw_Monument" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penshaw_Monument"><span style="font-size:85%;">Penshaw Monument</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> and the lower right section shows the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearmouth_Bridge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearmouth_Bridge"><span style="font-size:85%;">Wearmouth Bridge</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. A colliery wheel lies at the top of the crest, to commemorate </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Durham" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Durham"><span style="font-size:85%;">County Durham</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">'s mining history, and also the land the Stadium of Light lies on, which was formerly </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkwearmouth_Colliery" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkwearmouth_Colliery"><span style="font-size:85%;">Monkwearmouth Colliery</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland and a banner reading the club's motto Consectatio Excellentiae which means In pursuit of excellence. Prior to WW2 Sunderland were league champions six times: in </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891-92_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891-92_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1892</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1892-93_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1892-93_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1893</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1894-95_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1894-95_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1895</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901-02_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901-02_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1902</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912-13_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912-13_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1913</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, and most recently in </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935-36_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935-36_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1936</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, when they became the last team wearing striped shirts to win the league. They were elected into </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Football_League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Football_League"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Football League</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> in </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890–91_in_English_football" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890%E2%80%9391_in_English_football"><span style="font-size:85%;">1890</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, becoming the first team to join after the league's birth in 1888. Sunderland stayed in the top flight until 1958, a record which only </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C."><span style="font-size:85%;">Arsenal</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, in 1992, surpassed. They have a long-standing rivalry with local team </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_United_F.C." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_United_F.C."><span style="font-size:85%;">Newcastle United</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> whom are known by Sunderland fans as 'the skunks' because of their black and white striped shirts.The </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne-Wear_derby" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne-Wear_derby"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tyne-Wear derby</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> has been contested since 1898 but the rivalry goes back to the English civil war when Newcastle was a royalist city whilst Sunderland was a parliamentarian town. A </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp"><span style="font-size:85%;">Davy lamp</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> monument stands outside the stadium, as a reminder of the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkwearmouth_Colliery" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkwearmouth_Colliery"><span style="font-size:85%;">Monkwearmouth Colliery</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> that the stadium was built on. The mascot of Sunderland A.F.C is the black cat there is a long historical link between </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat"><span style="font-size:85%;">Black Cats</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> and Sunderland; including the "Black Cat Battery", a battery gun based on the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wear" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wear"><span style="font-size:85%;">River Wear</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. Raine's "Eye Plan" of c.1785–90 shows two of the (ultimately four) gun batteries on the south side of the Wear which guarded the rivermouth during the Napoleonic wars.This battery site would later evolve into Militia Barracks during the course of the nineteenth century. An annotation to the 1984 published version of Raine's Eye Plan states that one of the two batteries was named the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones"><span style="font-size:85%;">John Paul Jones</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Battery after the American naval hero who sailed down the English East coast in 1779 with a squadron of warships intending to disrupt the coal trade. In 1805 the battery was manned by local militia, the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_Loyal_Volunteers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_Loyal_Volunteers"><span style="font-size:85%;">Sunderland Loyal Volunteers</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, one of whom was a cooper by trade named Joshua Dunn. He, it was said, "fled from the howling of an approaching black cat, convinced by the influence of the full moon and a warming dram or two that it was the devil incarnate". From that point onwards the </span><a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones"><span style="font-size:85%;">John Paul Jones</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Battery was known as the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat"><span style="font-size:85%;">Black Cat</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Battery. Sunderland fans or Mackems as they are known have proved to be the noisiest fans in the English football league for three years in a row in a study carried out by phone number service 118118 ,they came out on top in terms of the sound level and frequency of their chants. The average peak volume measured at </span><a title="'http://search.msn.co.uk/images/results.aspx?q=" href="http://search.msn.co.uk/images/results.aspx?q=%22Stadium+of+Light%22&go=Search+Images&form=UKHOTL" target="_blank" go="Search+Images&form="><span style="font-size:85%;">The Stadium of Light</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> was 129.2 decibels – almost as loud as a jet. Why not come along next time your in the area tickets can be purchased from </span><a href="http://www.safc.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.safc.com</span></a>. <span style="font-size:85%;">When you visit the stadium you will find Joan's cafe I visit here for a pre match meal every time I attend a game, it's not posh it's a traditional working class environment that the miners & shipbuilders of bygone times would have approved of , the food and friendly service is legendary & I will be in there this coming Saturday with my young lion cubs and their two cousins for the West Ham match. Haway the Lads.<br /></span></div></div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwYQJNlQ9PG-zfIpuoiHx_cp8-7unDSyFO8OZ_3iYxXFbBNeXcepFaNXj30AF-2kLCWm2tEHP5PJA4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-85157439718020564042008-10-16T16:58:00.000+01:002008-10-16T17:12:46.675+01:00England's white Cliffs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOZi9e-lr31CtBsmuIDhT-bCdamzOAzjgVmMnSJRHGmGsGjRX5PIiDV5iiZ0uMp47R6nOsVt6PpvFq_t17z8MByWrEfMSKiqS8I0WYTFFeI5INew3fpzL0hY0ZMvNl_0UnzGH6w/s1600-h/Beact+Head+Oct08+103.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257784113775509522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOZi9e-lr31CtBsmuIDhT-bCdamzOAzjgVmMnSJRHGmGsGjRX5PIiDV5iiZ0uMp47R6nOsVt6PpvFq_t17z8MByWrEfMSKiqS8I0WYTFFeI5INew3fpzL0hY0ZMvNl_0UnzGH6w/s320/Beact+Head+Oct08+103.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigX6rXzbLOZS_Rj82TAsMmxxRx2PyhDhfOU7zqzjdI_yGB68xnx4QrxyzcmhdUXumhV3sJS6jpfJLodjD9oYyhovM__yzJBDshfCYBCs-CnOZ174hwqzPX10N2Ml3J03QyKRp7SQ/s1600-h/Beact+Head+Oct08+052.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257783389779893010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigX6rXzbLOZS_Rj82TAsMmxxRx2PyhDhfOU7zqzjdI_yGB68xnx4QrxyzcmhdUXumhV3sJS6jpfJLodjD9oYyhovM__yzJBDshfCYBCs-CnOZ174hwqzPX10N2Ml3J03QyKRp7SQ/s320/Beact+Head+Oct08+052.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;">Picture 1- Looking east from the Lifeboat Cottages of Cuckmere Haven to Birling Gap in the distance.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture 2- Looking west from the chalky beach of Birling Gap towards Cuckmere Haven.</span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffcc00;">On the south east coast of England you will find mile after mile of beautiful white chalk cliffs, these have become symbolic of England's separation and independence from mainland of Europe and are often referred to as the White cliffs of Dover or Beachy Head however they stretch far beyond these two locations. Recently I took a short drive down to my favourite part of the white cliffs in order to walk along them, enjoy the views and partake of a swift half in a rather nice pub in the area. I managed to do all three and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I parked at the small settlement of Birling Gap which is just west of Beachy Head and walked along the beach in a westerly direction towards Cuckmere Haven. It was only about a mile in distance clambering over shingle, rocks and large chalk boulders smoothed by the sea but it was awe inspiring with massive white chalk cliffs to my right towering above me and an English Channel tide rapidly rising to my left. As you can imagine I did this part of the walk with some urgency.<br />Arriving at Cuckmere Haven where the River Cuckmere and it's canal overflow enter the sea one can wade over to the lifeboat cottages on the other side depending on the tide and depth of course and take in it's most famous view. From the cottages you can follow the canal for around 1/2 a mile inland spotting kingfisher, stork and various other species of bird until you reach a very nice pub called the Golden Galleon. It has a lovely log fire, serves fine food and has a pleasant garden where one can sit under an apple tree whilst enjoying the tipple of their choice. </span></span><a href="http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thegoldengalleonseaford/"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;color:#ffcc00;">www.vintageinn.co.uk/thegoldengalleonseaford/</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color:#ffcc00;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Once refreshed you can head back to Cuckmere Haven by crossing the Exceat bridge and following the winding River Cuckmere back to the shingle beach spotting WW2 sea defences along the way. Arriving here you turn east climbing up the grassy banks to the top of the cliffs as you follow the clifftops all the way back to Birling Gap remembering not to get too close to the edge.<br /></span><br /></span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-32731869613036772602008-06-29T20:03:00.001+01:002008-06-29T21:49:56.990+01:00Dove Crag & The Priests Hole<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot4SPs7NK2GEyM4OSZUiFUCcP98pQiLPIP1B97omL5SFPgRV8M4N62QtMlxWTBabGzOLe2MGy70hyphenhyphengGO4Oou0z_hvIohhoE2b398yDyFfKvPaEhD8QREwd_JJh4o0fhnxrVd39w/s1600-h/IMG_5430.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217383541639914130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot4SPs7NK2GEyM4OSZUiFUCcP98pQiLPIP1B97omL5SFPgRV8M4N62QtMlxWTBabGzOLe2MGy70hyphenhyphengGO4Oou0z_hvIohhoE2b398yDyFfKvPaEhD8QREwd_JJh4o0fhnxrVd39w/s320/IMG_5430.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8G68cPAPv0nb4oD9DkubAYBh-iuwM4mrTP1SFV20XGuSyIWngzzmHxZAmIlltqUXrDiQ4id_BTxyoWFaR7v7_RlpCw8aDIM6f_BdtEQu_Qe87u46zVgqSew6iDb7zBIRYdPb6w/s1600-h/IMG_5376.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217383145619460754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8G68cPAPv0nb4oD9DkubAYBh-iuwM4mrTP1SFV20XGuSyIWngzzmHxZAmIlltqUXrDiQ4id_BTxyoWFaR7v7_RlpCw8aDIM6f_BdtEQu_Qe87u46zVgqSew6iDb7zBIRYdPb6w/s320/IMG_5376.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W9YYjWYGwj7uuKYpcwQWMjf7GgqOMxNcJQDajHiujuYwcPHLxx9SwCxhUwt-ZG5AHL7T2RLeGZ731f8qET8Tsb3SRh2GJuP6BoIDjmlOgcQ8itLuteNOIDi41Jec4qxH8M7JEw/s1600-h/IMG_5310.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217382804605839650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W9YYjWYGwj7uuKYpcwQWMjf7GgqOMxNcJQDajHiujuYwcPHLxx9SwCxhUwt-ZG5AHL7T2RLeGZ731f8qET8Tsb3SRh2GJuP6BoIDjmlOgcQ8itLuteNOIDi41Jec4qxH8M7JEw/s320/IMG_5310.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BHDaRDlqSabGagE_ma2YonILGU1AvDy_IgP9vqhH8RQuioeTJF8e4p9vpf7gn8s1QadOJxcBjw46AqGzRZsY1dQBRC7QMxAG1JpuRakmNeXOUDyuojPrBl1IzrG3rTfD2P2d1g/s1600-h/IMG_5293.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217382577365193186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BHDaRDlqSabGagE_ma2YonILGU1AvDy_IgP9vqhH8RQuioeTJF8e4p9vpf7gn8s1QadOJxcBjw46AqGzRZsY1dQBRC7QMxAG1JpuRakmNeXOUDyuojPrBl1IzrG3rTfD2P2d1g/s320/IMG_5293.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">1- Looking up to the Stangs.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">2- View from the cave to Brothers Water.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">3- View from the back of the cave.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">4- Looking up to Dove Crag from Hartsop Hall</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Dove Crag is a peak situated in the Patterdale area of Cumbria’s Lakeland. It is only 2603 ft high but is blessed with many beautiful features one of which is a cave known as ‘The Priests Hole’ that can be found 2/3 of the way up on it’s north east facing crag. The cave is a popular place for fell walkers to bed down for the night as it provides good shelter with fantastic views towards the Angletarn Pikes, High Raise and many other Lakeland peaks.<br />To get to the cave however one must scramble up Dove Crag’s north east face but it is well worth the effort. Once in the cave you will find a metal strong box which is generally stocked with goodies that previous climbers have left behind for you , when I arrived I found in the box a bottle of whisky with some candles, raisins, gas canisters and an emergency sleeping blanket wrapped in an emergency bag as well as a bag of self heating food. There is also a visitors book for climbers to leave their signature, reflections & doodles which provides an interesting read.<br />I ascended Dove Crag from the route Wainwright gives you starting from Hartsop Hall following Hartsop Beck through a very scenic area known as the Stangs , The scenery was of the of lushest green patterned with rock, crag, bracken & a small wood that actually produces Hazelnuts in October. Hartsop Beck provided some wonderful waterfalls and tranquil area’s for one to bed down for the night weather permitting.<br />Once you reach the area known as Hunsett Cove the ascent becomes quite steep but the National Trust has provided a path using rock & scree as improvised steps, Dove Crag towers above you on your left until you reach a small tarn where you can traverse south along the crag up to the Priest Hole where you can crack open s swift one and take in the magnificent scenery below. Dove Crag remains one of my favourite climbs and I can’t wait to do it again but next time explore a lot more of it’s surrounding area, I may even carry my portable barbeque up there, if your in the vicinity and you get a wiff of honey & mustard sauce climb up and join me. ( Bring a bottle)</span></div><div></div></div></div><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzuw0UI2Z_uNN4A104iI1bOjXsjAYGggsMZfxAnRHGcv43X9bsuvzbujJPZWKVo_PSHr5q095NoanU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p></p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwrKX1QyHCV6Vs38SCG4UJwqGtM3A4FhR8FkR6xj0AmpdwGRmX6uJmb0iN9efP2ahCOjUOK3UFe3II' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-66959302120511069642008-04-06T15:14:00.046+01:002008-04-12T15:19:34.407+01:00England's Highest.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBsOVrmoiZmkmZ9LegGpP2km51Ckpn8TotYi19SGyPBNMg9YS_TRM7YQ8vT8qLKBBcDDFxlYSRIxDCkVddEoHZnQ5cX81qQvKggwPMb7K8iRm4s1eDkK6xzaJaEXDup8PvbZlLQ/s1600-h/IMG_3852.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186149033131430898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBsOVrmoiZmkmZ9LegGpP2km51Ckpn8TotYi19SGyPBNMg9YS_TRM7YQ8vT8qLKBBcDDFxlYSRIxDCkVddEoHZnQ5cX81qQvKggwPMb7K8iRm4s1eDkK6xzaJaEXDup8PvbZlLQ/s320/IMG_3852.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu0kyJ3l1p3EJO48Uqg4nHIM3Nma3HX7MzgGjC7lIW4sY-cRNrGXZho0nmTKyJT8jmMrghzYoOsixB9V8ji6_Z5oQpHUA62XoQ9JCnYfGurJSwJtC3Rs4yYciSAmpcrORLZfnmg/s1600-h/IMG_3914.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186138257058485218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmu0kyJ3l1p3EJO48Uqg4nHIM3Nma3HX7MzgGjC7lIW4sY-cRNrGXZho0nmTKyJT8jmMrghzYoOsixB9V8ji6_Z5oQpHUA62XoQ9JCnYfGurJSwJtC3Rs4yYciSAmpcrORLZfnmg/s320/IMG_3914.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRJDFAeMdazKdBbIqQ07Cke9yg_apXS78TeeSNFbkSeGsvsopoyO8EMeY9dzDGNpc8t3WMPPyMb3eVFfSLvBodX_XxWsrPNF1zxEmrhbQDJlnZbiZpFQYiEv7eEwtU09umt6Kmw/s1600-h/IMG_3892.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186137312165680082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRJDFAeMdazKdBbIqQ07Cke9yg_apXS78TeeSNFbkSeGsvsopoyO8EMeY9dzDGNpc8t3WMPPyMb3eVFfSLvBodX_XxWsrPNF1zxEmrhbQDJlnZbiZpFQYiEv7eEwtU09umt6Kmw/s320/IMG_3892.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjGforrYWBpVmntANTwiMSIOZf2XBF1F8ZNy2tgQBXijSP9fxZEVgF3BJUz1L9PLcCmbIfCztTx5pIdxGbXeksflcz5OJrjqNEKoezKEHylYiPXG3kbMNhaCgkg3tB47bUJ2rYQ/s1600-h/IMG_3867.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186136981453198274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjGforrYWBpVmntANTwiMSIOZf2XBF1F8ZNy2tgQBXijSP9fxZEVgF3BJUz1L9PLcCmbIfCztTx5pIdxGbXeksflcz5OJrjqNEKoezKEHylYiPXG3kbMNhaCgkg3tB47bUJ2rYQ/s320/IMG_3867.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc33cc;">Scafell Pike pronounced Sca Fell Pike is England’s highest </span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc33cc;">mountain</span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc33cc;">. It is a bulk of a mountain and in my opinion not as attractive as somewhere like Haystacks or Great Gable, however it does have attractive<br />aspects to it, my own favourite being on the way up to the summit from Wasdale Head, about 1/3 of the way up you come to an open expanse of scree and cliff known as Hollow Stones. This is a fantastic place to bivvy<br />down for the night with a range of overhanging boulders for shelter. The summit is not visible from this point one must continue past Hollow stones by either Mickledore on the right approach (my favourite) as it provides one with a nice little scramble up a cliff before turning left and and following through the boulders to the summit, or the approach to the left of Hollow stones via Lingmel Col which is a winding path through rock & scree. Once on the summit you (depending on the weather) are subject to wonderful views of Great Gable, Crinkle Crags, Scafell , Bowfell even Skiddaw & Blencathra with Derwent Water. I ascended from Wasdale head via Hollow Stones and returned to Wasdale head via Broad Crag, Esk Hause and Sprinkling Tarn. From Sprinkling Tarn to Wasdale Head I followed Lingmell Beck which gave majestic views to my right of the Napes high above me on </span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc33cc;">Great Gable. Right at the end of this walk is of course the Wasdale Head Inn.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;color:#663300;">The photo's are from top to bottom. 1.The view from Hollow Stones of Pulpit Rock & Mickledore.2.Looking over Piers Gill onto Great gable, the bank of scree down the centre of Great Gable is called Great Hell Gate,I came down this when I did Great Gable (mostly on my bum). 3.Me on top of Skafell Pike with Skafell behind me. 3.Pulpit Rock from Mickledore..<br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyyAOkRGW5ivBPs7ErSOyHoLeVdHOp8hen4XE5efLycznh17DpCMKR2acdsFRaZbPRRLWlseQafHlU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-76210313545540020802008-03-28T23:05:00.000+00:002008-03-29T01:10:59.267+00:00Staithes Car Park<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQzZLtXaSst4ABxQf3Zzbyul-5SEDnbV8n7WkX2ofXLsxu4HmHfRSKb2dvrMtYDU1v0Ei5rA-09w1JsgbLcKNQVXQ72NhifYCfzJXT_zjkuJIWsZSfFYcFYBBcVIAHvZHFkbVhg/s1600-h/highst&staithes+107.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182939541510083490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQzZLtXaSst4ABxQf3Zzbyul-5SEDnbV8n7WkX2ofXLsxu4HmHfRSKb2dvrMtYDU1v0Ei5rA-09w1JsgbLcKNQVXQ72NhifYCfzJXT_zjkuJIWsZSfFYcFYBBcVIAHvZHFkbVhg/s320/highst&staithes+107.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182939004639171474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyoBfd_uXDZ9FE_y25QutH8wHLky3zgvByAEqIbZHvsH5mKrO3bTSYUHNt399D7i2VfyzrRHzkL7a6s_bQoyQPadg9XvxWixBsRNFq8tjPSxM07pyJZsH3cFUI6mJctFytpiOtA/s320/highst&staithes+146.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVTapV4fC6tVjwpB_iWtNq4uocuNBkCIjjsgkffVnMnMDtyjtKwXrYls0W-4hyAN8IDivQXQqze9k_3jMNT4-vV5KlNiAmEQChyphenhyphenFLtR4QY6-L-0xk5DG0eQB2cJC7TuLl1XOq_w/s1600-h/highst&staithes+140.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182938734056231810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVTapV4fC6tVjwpB_iWtNq4uocuNBkCIjjsgkffVnMnMDtyjtKwXrYls0W-4hyAN8IDivQXQqze9k_3jMNT4-vV5KlNiAmEQChyphenhyphenFLtR4QY6-L-0xk5DG0eQB2cJC7TuLl1XOq_w/s320/highst&staithes+140.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzjn0hkyFL3iNMntwA6GAJD7hYYK4_vr8snuAwJYdNxI-i7R6_1q3YG6XoTdMU32Qy_fv9PA32qLyIdKkVtiuHH_g9e_MQvrbDI6yeHdv-h_Juq9BRgnSXj7nViCNj-rlM6A41Q/s1600-h/highst&staithes+110.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182938527897801586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzjn0hkyFL3iNMntwA6GAJD7hYYK4_vr8snuAwJYdNxI-i7R6_1q3YG6XoTdMU32Qy_fv9PA32qLyIdKkVtiuHH_g9e_MQvrbDI6yeHdv-h_Juq9BRgnSXj7nViCNj-rlM6A41Q/s320/highst&staithes+110.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ff6666;">Recently I visited the small hamlet of Staithes on the Cleveland/North Yorkshire border and what a day to visit. It was during a period when little old England was getting hammered by strong winds from the Atlantic, however the wind kind of enhanced my visit and added to the enjoyment of being there especially with regard to the waves that the North Sea was sending against the rocks and breakwater of Staithes harbour. Staithes is a seaside village which is divided between Yorkshire & Cleveland by Roxby Beck with about 90% of Staithes being in North Yorkshire. In times past it was one of the largest and most productive fishing centres in England by the North Sea, however nowadays it is largely a tourist destination due to it's attractive olde England appearance. Staithes is noted for its sheltered harbour, bounded by high cliffs and two long breakwaters, a mile to the north is Boulby cliff which is the highest cliff in England. The cliffs around Staithes also are popular with sea birds and it can get a bit noisy. Staithes population has dwindled due to a lot of the cottages being owned by people from Leeds and York for example and during the winter it can appear like a ghost town with few visitors but this is a great time to visit if you can handle the stormy weather. Staithes still maintains its tradition and many of the local women still wear their Staithes </span></span><a title="Bonnet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnet"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;">bonnets</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;"> (some can still be bought today in the Gift Shop in Staithes!) for the annual nightgown parade, and the Fisher Men's choir is still going strong along with local participation in the local </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="RNLI" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNLI"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;">RNLI</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;"> Lifeboat. In 1745-1746, Staithes's most famous son (born in Marton near Middlesbrough), the young </span><a title="James Cook" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;">James Cook</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;"> worked in Staithes as a grocer's apprentice where he first gained his passion for the sea. Later he moved to </span><a title="Whitby" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitby"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;">Whitby</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;"> where he joined the </span><a title="Royal Navy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:85%;color:#ff6666;">Royal Navy</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#ff6666;">. William Sanderson's shop, where Cooky worked, was destroyed by the sea, but parts were recovered and incorporated into "Captain Cook's Cottage". A local family has lived here for a number of generations. Should you find yourself in Staithes make sure you visit the Royal George or the Cod & Lobster for a pint of the local and a bite to eat. One last thing Staithes is famous for , it has the most dangerous car park in England as can be seen by my picture. When I was there a local resident by the name of Sandra climbed down to investigate this strange sight. ( I suspect she's a menber of the Royal Marines Reserve but the secret is out now)</span> </span></span><br /><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxAZKEIglBRjXE1KjyVRE5g2bTVFusIMJqlO2rim9JzcuEIS2dZ0fnP7XFDBrK_sMmD1JDejFgNvH8' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-16710842919808216662008-03-23T19:56:00.000+00:002008-03-23T21:05:41.824+00:00Great Gable<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxS0IuCzQsMhD1wGfOjhiT29xv7LWcSQuySzy6xiiEWKViqAySLyz1IK5CstOgGzeH5FkANIxYRVmjl5xm9DZNvqlTP50R-RcHsNJImxXdSyZ1VvJDcCCLWlVFccH37VRqB47dw/s1600-h/mossad+075.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181030170848973666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxS0IuCzQsMhD1wGfOjhiT29xv7LWcSQuySzy6xiiEWKViqAySLyz1IK5CstOgGzeH5FkANIxYRVmjl5xm9DZNvqlTP50R-RcHsNJImxXdSyZ1VvJDcCCLWlVFccH37VRqB47dw/s320/mossad+075.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMN3MgGEPJwWjtrsVPaLCvEdHnwdVpT-iO1sSokBZOBHxOrztn8FgSw9PwvqppXTh9qpp3GAdZvsKWny0GI54ZROlkS6Wix2dP1IIbRLrSjbS9Bd2l15FUFBVUDgIesLKaDCwMw/s1600-h/mossad+067.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181030033410020178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMN3MgGEPJwWjtrsVPaLCvEdHnwdVpT-iO1sSokBZOBHxOrztn8FgSw9PwvqppXTh9qpp3GAdZvsKWny0GI54ZROlkS6Wix2dP1IIbRLrSjbS9Bd2l15FUFBVUDgIesLKaDCwMw/s320/mossad+067.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUB_hPRpqISbm5W07-v7xMiiHtrNPrFOLjSyL7hT2T1OJVAOXlYB7nsbrhXbQDZ6LICbpKOIPHFRgwsP67khM6lDTFUBJNhJ-rdHGS2EGoWz27wqpmGWP_WRCl69peMwSjZcFIKQ/s1600-h/mossad+051.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181029870201262914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUB_hPRpqISbm5W07-v7xMiiHtrNPrFOLjSyL7hT2T1OJVAOXlYB7nsbrhXbQDZ6LICbpKOIPHFRgwsP67khM6lDTFUBJNhJ-rdHGS2EGoWz27wqpmGWP_WRCl69peMwSjZcFIKQ/s320/mossad+051.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkf4vmf97AHWGVVFY0qI0LAl07kF3zSWhcndr4r7c-XOTQ-85ncqWng5G3pc6_-oxNipf4-knk-kaw20GIz9BAgyCCWjk9q5CDf6BlSR5mybGPR7nF3khIkwdekE_IsT2m8Yj2A/s1600-h/2007_1113greatgable13nov070026.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181029389164925746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkf4vmf97AHWGVVFY0qI0LAl07kF3zSWhcndr4r7c-XOTQ-85ncqWng5G3pc6_-oxNipf4-knk-kaw20GIz9BAgyCCWjk9q5CDf6BlSR5mybGPR7nF3khIkwdekE_IsT2m8Yj2A/s320/2007_1113greatgable13nov070026.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br />Great Gable is a beautiful mountain situated at Wasdale Head in Cumbria opposite the Scafell Masiffs and adacent to Black Sail Pass which nestles between the mighty Pillar and haystacks. I chose to tackle it from Seathwaite rather than from Wasdale Head as I had just recently climbed Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head. The climb started with a scramble up Sour Milk Gill for about 1000 ft followed by a long drawn out climb between Base Brown and Brandreth to ascend Green Gable. Green Gable is to the rear of Great Gable and it gives on a clear day wonderful views of Gable Crag on the back of Great Gable along with a fantastic view down the Black Sail Pass and the River Liza. From Green Gable we dropped slightly to the south and then began the climb up Great Gable. The weather remained unpredictable with cloud and rain followed by sunny spells but I was able to see opposite Sprinkling Tarn and further on the summit of Scafell Pike. Finally reaching the top I was met by a strong wind which denied me being able to boil up some water for a cup of tea. The top of Great Gable indicates that it is a war memorial, and it is in fact the largest memorial in Europe with a large number of climbers grouping on its summit each rememberance Sunday. Down below to the south is Wastwater and Wasdale head with the Wasdale Head Inn, home of the biggest liar competition. <a href="http://www.wasdaleheadinn.co.uk/">http://www.wasdaleheadinn.co.uk/</a>.</div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Whilst on the top I slipped and twisted my ankle which made it difficult coming down especially in the dark but hopefully I will find the time to visit Great Gable again to check out its world famous needles on the south traverse. Pictures include the sun going down over Wast water, a view down Black Sail Pass , myself on Great Gable & myself on Green Gable with Great Gable crag behind me.</span></div><div> </div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyfUHRuqghg2FwDyC3-oyrX-cnsX8jsi7Dz00LD_AuPyX67gFEuyptdenci6_3AOwK1gATDYAlt1mo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-44613517828216860512008-03-16T13:23:00.000+00:002008-03-20T20:30:54.965+00:00Not your normal High Street<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y-bQf2SHBp2_DZBN33U86JR_CuOkb_CyAeFvZUIPvDk2JGCVl1sTr-9AVd5K8TwKawe_1E8iabBQ-BaHja6pl6chzpqQ06-ttZ3FXvezevSIO8wNRZozvP-1EBf2L8jSLCcK-g/s1600-h/staithes+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178332391335762402" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y-bQf2SHBp2_DZBN33U86JR_CuOkb_CyAeFvZUIPvDk2JGCVl1sTr-9AVd5K8TwKawe_1E8iabBQ-BaHja6pl6chzpqQ06-ttZ3FXvezevSIO8wNRZozvP-1EBf2L8jSLCcK-g/s320/staithes+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51dIaYPYKmcmT0cnRffWOUhNnc789a2vo0U0CYZsBofSk3nNqqxa9Jx7c5H2HSYEPK7VhrBP5G3nq4251M6k_BQoR80lUZg3BHZ6n5FvVwyehGny9vmCfCHAdXX4fVxlW_Y-o8g/s1600-h/staithes+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178332052033346002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51dIaYPYKmcmT0cnRffWOUhNnc789a2vo0U0CYZsBofSk3nNqqxa9Jx7c5H2HSYEPK7VhrBP5G3nq4251M6k_BQoR80lUZg3BHZ6n5FvVwyehGny9vmCfCHAdXX4fVxlW_Y-o8g/s320/staithes+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0Pm5Wbn3zYDxY418AWTdwbmPVTlU5pFZyUpYSSl8Ibsbhc7Lcojo-W1oURvGxQSasEsHWfgsq_91XByZVAl-OAavSpdwZJYaolFSQIWeRaEvYUJSv11vbjK5RvMG7ZfvR0zImw/s1600-h/staithes+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178331777155439042" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0Pm5Wbn3zYDxY418AWTdwbmPVTlU5pFZyUpYSSl8Ibsbhc7Lcojo-W1oURvGxQSasEsHWfgsq_91XByZVAl-OAavSpdwZJYaolFSQIWeRaEvYUJSv11vbjK5RvMG7ZfvR0zImw/s320/staithes+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYtoy63sdhTMMNHlLt006t5VNLNusxG-oW2LZD44ShSwjPFvoXMUqTq9Uh44A8JmxKz3Z7_TUftZEdBK-HwS9F1bOE_5AXroEOtbJq7gnypqL9bRDDUOEVAk8HPLWqLkvSy8LWw/s1600-h/staithes+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178330608924334514" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYtoy63sdhTMMNHlLt006t5VNLNusxG-oW2LZD44ShSwjPFvoXMUqTq9Uh44A8JmxKz3Z7_TUftZEdBK-HwS9F1bOE_5AXroEOtbJq7gnypqL9bRDDUOEVAk8HPLWqLkvSy8LWw/s320/staithes+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUShpbcuVt3OAQXKqVUuoiet6egwXenR9ofa_fezicRcCcz51FwN4sPpGscBBKRNLhpsVUAPxc1NhtgtNtLd9mzzARRSxhQB4bzJluHpr29DVwP1GLqP6r1DgLvpJvZA6R6uzVA/s1600-h/staithes+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178330291096754594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUShpbcuVt3OAQXKqVUuoiet6egwXenR9ofa_fezicRcCcz51FwN4sPpGscBBKRNLhpsVUAPxc1NhtgtNtLd9mzzARRSxhQB4bzJluHpr29DVwP1GLqP6r1DgLvpJvZA6R6uzVA/s320/staithes+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color:#009900;">This last week I have been up in England's Lake District in the county of Cumbria. Cumbria , situated in the north west is England's most mountainous county filled<br />with wonderful peaks with names suchas Haystacks, Pillar and Hellvelyn to mention but a few, They are not mountains on the scale of the Himalaya's or Southern Alps but non the less in my opinion they are just as beautiful,if not more so. There is so much history to be found in these English mountains from shepherds and their flocks to slate miners. This week I went to climb a mountain known simply as 'High Street' in the vicinity of Haweswater. The name High Street does not imply that you will find a butchers or bakers on the summit rather it takes you back to the day when it's summit was a high up Roman road linking their garrisons at Ambleside and Brougham and on the south side of the mountain lies the Troutbeck slopes where Scotch invaders were repulsed by the shepherds, dalesmen and farmers whom made the summit their playground and feasting place during their annual horse racing meets. I made my ascent via Rough Crag which at first is a pleasant climb with the odd scramble thrown in to get your hands dirty however the English weather was quite bad at the time with high winds from the Atlantic buffeting us as we ventured into exposed area's. We made it into the snow about half way up Long Stile which is around 100 yards from the top but due to the severe winds in this unsheltered area we decided to come back down via Blea tarn. No sooner had we turned back when the summit became a white out with a snow storm coming in from the south. The climb down via Blea Tarn leads one to a lovely body of water with a small dam surrounded by the mountain, and a gentle walk down to Haweswater following Blea Water Beck through gorgeous coloured fells with a number of waterfalls thrown in to impress. If your interested in this part of England may I recomend the books of A Wainwright or the DVD's of Wainwright's walks presented by Julia Bradbury.</span></span><br /></span><span style="color:#009900;"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7cyqZA6-LJe5or23YeTVo_0UWWaWucI8milTlLbp7ZUuqs_SqjI9YvZPXWwfVHpn5Mt5f2w1Ldgw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-30359454168461746482008-03-13T14:25:00.000+00:002008-03-16T14:43:57.790+00:00High Cup Nick<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTrqvNNav0NMlHXYkpXta96ZXk5xdGSk4c5KiuGFDP0eKnOTNRTKRLVJVmSaks3vLq4UH9xq30DP-I2oNvEbX5SP3Rt2XZw8TaqPqi7uyw4LX55Gq2ovQOZMx8rOERpQ9Rh-WdQ/s1600-h/29dec07+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177236977106786706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTrqvNNav0NMlHXYkpXta96ZXk5xdGSk4c5KiuGFDP0eKnOTNRTKRLVJVmSaks3vLq4UH9xq30DP-I2oNvEbX5SP3Rt2XZw8TaqPqi7uyw4LX55Gq2ovQOZMx8rOERpQ9Rh-WdQ/s320/29dec07+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2Y4rpdD1uvrDwVUKzruoMc6mhgHhSx5V8qHP-I0sdiueQbzNVviXD-Htgjx8UXfQtQQTB_3sxyNwXj8gixyE7vkWFOXIzJBNJ8V_Spv472B9BLIRpNi0_VKnCGGwl3Cb60_Gxw/s1600-h/29dec07+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177236586264762754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2Y4rpdD1uvrDwVUKzruoMc6mhgHhSx5V8qHP-I0sdiueQbzNVviXD-Htgjx8UXfQtQQTB_3sxyNwXj8gixyE7vkWFOXIzJBNJ8V_Spv472B9BLIRpNi0_VKnCGGwl3Cb60_Gxw/s320/29dec07+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YSqLRAMz5D-3y53aRvQbppyRYtXGQKMrtQYUKAuQd17IjBElM0OXDqONyiP4x3tnOCzmQRY31E6Zt2Cu_uHnTHpsaWPGRnY-EBsbkN49j8I8F-flpxjE6q35ErKzBnGsxFgEZg/s1600-h/29dec07+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177236238372411762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YSqLRAMz5D-3y53aRvQbppyRYtXGQKMrtQYUKAuQd17IjBElM0OXDqONyiP4x3tnOCzmQRY31E6Zt2Cu_uHnTHpsaWPGRnY-EBsbkN49j8I8F-flpxjE6q35ErKzBnGsxFgEZg/s320/29dec07+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><strong>One of the many treasures to be found on England's Pennine Way, a rugged walk that will take you down the hilly spine of England, is High Cup Nick. It is situated on the border's of Cumbria & County Durham and can be described as</strong> <em>'A deep chasm on the Pennine fellside, this famous nick, a dramatic geological formation at the top of High Cup Gill is part of the well-known Whin Sill, and overlooks the best glaciated valley in Northern England. Here you can see the grey-blue dolerite crags which also form High Force and Cauldron Snout (Waterfalls)'. </em></span><strong><span style="font-family:georgia;">I walked from the village of Dufton ,north to Maize Beck following it east to join the Pennine Way and on to High Cup Nick. It is an awesome sight and pictures simply do no give you the scale and majesty of it. It is a windy place so one needs to be careful when near the edges in certain area's depending on which direction the wind is blowing but it has to be seen from all 3 sides followed by a climb down into its deep chasm. You can finish your walk back in Dufton followed by a swift half in the pub.</span> </strong></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-13680791202832787352007-02-19T20:29:00.000+00:002008-03-17T20:16:14.817+00:00Dungeness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0vdeOTg5QA86UcSZbS3ERtshfhjal_3-9TL8vOobPxWe0mXJLlbFgDGpM41GGDsYoNoOF-PTsNeSfO9rJRCa93zSeO9_tw8rdPZeChYPUfgJnLRQmW64X1uvLeBFHHw2MrVvQA/s1600-h/IMG_2306.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033350006703228498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0vdeOTg5QA86UcSZbS3ERtshfhjal_3-9TL8vOobPxWe0mXJLlbFgDGpM41GGDsYoNoOF-PTsNeSfO9rJRCa93zSeO9_tw8rdPZeChYPUfgJnLRQmW64X1uvLeBFHHw2MrVvQA/s320/IMG_2306.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwID3HI62QN2HcjctvAYVNXuU2Il-gxhpwgKteHi4J9EjRbzmAtGvSBUyQTkXj2BK0s6VAAoj40rjcNdAx6BSFcaDwTSbb1z1KZphQlbIJH6iZ1eI62N1qrSgY2rTjmzdS9owbg/s1600-h/IMG_2495.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033349478422251074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwID3HI62QN2HcjctvAYVNXuU2Il-gxhpwgKteHi4J9EjRbzmAtGvSBUyQTkXj2BK0s6VAAoj40rjcNdAx6BSFcaDwTSbb1z1KZphQlbIJH6iZ1eI62N1qrSgY2rTjmzdS9owbg/s320/IMG_2495.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUhB6u6ERAjxLYsVH5dRpCzT1w50LAzBBY_Eew3fqfICWE2keN3_bibTEJQfxJwq65zHqYC1Sko9M2MIWQBQoNL-A23-CuusQTKoQ7f_A_0e1So3usBrnLXxH6VVi_2DKInmXzQ/s1600-h/IMG_2493.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033347025995925042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUhB6u6ERAjxLYsVH5dRpCzT1w50LAzBBY_Eew3fqfICWE2keN3_bibTEJQfxJwq65zHqYC1Sko9M2MIWQBQoNL-A23-CuusQTKoQ7f_A_0e1So3usBrnLXxH6VVi_2DKInmXzQ/s320/IMG_2493.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-io3P9fatrqVPh6TndhyQ6HPLLJCmO0QQYVxk5fTFUNZ8E9LHQWERNzV_uMOXqjozmJnrekbmLQYATXrjl9fpzLQQEBHM82uZej7lJdFDdbWaQnXmSjYgONTPnyaAtad85RsLQ/s1600-h/IMG_2477.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033346248606844450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-io3P9fatrqVPh6TndhyQ6HPLLJCmO0QQYVxk5fTFUNZ8E9LHQWERNzV_uMOXqjozmJnrekbmLQYATXrjl9fpzLQQEBHM82uZej7lJdFDdbWaQnXmSjYgONTPnyaAtad85RsLQ/s320/IMG_2477.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Tuther day I took my lion cubs down to the south coast, we went to Dungeness. Let me tell you a little bit about Dungeness. It's the site of one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world and the variety of wildlife in the area extends to over 600 differing types of plant, making it one of the best places in England to find insects such as moths, bees, beetles & spiders. The flooded gravel pits behind the shingle provide habitat for many migratory coastal birds. Another thing situated on the shingle is a massive Nuclear power station which oddly enough does not actually look out of place, in a strange way it enhances what Dungeness is, or at least it does to me. There are two lighthouses at Dungeness which warn ships not to get too close, as the English channel is the worlds busiest shipping lane. There is a nice little pub by the name of the Brittania inn, the fish & chips are 'morish' and the liquid refreshment very nice. We had munch then took a stroll along the shingle, beach fishermen were casting their lines out to see and the waves were canny high, it was a beautiful sight, my young cubs enjoyed running at he waves and collected some lovely sea shells left over by the fishing boats which lie in various states of repair along the shingle. Some of these boats are obviously still in use but others have seen better days and remain alongside their delapadated huts reminding visitors of Dungenesse's rich heritage. We walked around the boats and other relics of the fishing trade that can be found on the shingle and vowed to come back in the summer for a picnic and to collect more shells. I may also pop into the Brittania for a swift half. If you come to Dungeness you must also check out some fo the dwellings littered along the road, especially Prospect and Ness cottages, they have done some remarkable things in their open gardens using items washed up on the beach along with fishing relics, very artistic indeed. Dungeness is well worth a visit, I anticipate many more visits in the coming years. Why not give it a try!</span></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-82610688821839174542007-01-15T21:25:00.000+00:002008-03-17T20:23:14.376+00:00Treasures of 2006<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpHBrlnCt2SImg-hx1PCvi4L7RmsTt5N2Rgve3gJpg8K6hn81_d3ev-G8ycnArIFGh_rz-pex8wMEoKOAdD4rzaFHHVNkwE7JyePB_GPdiBpo9QM4LDjC00EZ3zKvSSnbnJBCzw/s1600-h/IMG_1295.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020374958247039730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpHBrlnCt2SImg-hx1PCvi4L7RmsTt5N2Rgve3gJpg8K6hn81_d3ev-G8ycnArIFGh_rz-pex8wMEoKOAdD4rzaFHHVNkwE7JyePB_GPdiBpo9QM4LDjC00EZ3zKvSSnbnJBCzw/s320/IMG_1295.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmiSVEtCap1cplvnDNyvjVqIbRiIZ2UskzwFfzz9OMokqE2MGp_Fc3tjCnMDhEQxzC6Y9-rBF6EUWVzpjeO4SilvrwwYlCrJ22sMqfKMqYbT0mBB0MCHqIu4AHc7sq9klNV-7uQ/s1600-h/IMG_0585.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020374958247039746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmiSVEtCap1cplvnDNyvjVqIbRiIZ2UskzwFfzz9OMokqE2MGp_Fc3tjCnMDhEQxzC6Y9-rBF6EUWVzpjeO4SilvrwwYlCrJ22sMqfKMqYbT0mBB0MCHqIu4AHc7sq9klNV-7uQ/s320/IMG_0585.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDi4pnwe0snOFOll4R2I85zOm5Gw5dsHJPYaiy2lKn6cVa_7ul2H6KZ70vAWFyF2gRCkg_52OqoPJXwYQmqsmlsEfGt9wkCWtefMWOfBmlBHkyV0Jp-Z3nXWVt9Cx4Jz0lY7loA/s1600-h/IMG_0787.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020373772836065954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDi4pnwe0snOFOll4R2I85zOm5Gw5dsHJPYaiy2lKn6cVa_7ul2H6KZ70vAWFyF2gRCkg_52OqoPJXwYQmqsmlsEfGt9wkCWtefMWOfBmlBHkyV0Jp-Z3nXWVt9Cx4Jz0lY7loA/s320/IMG_0787.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQVNCfjxmRzcD33v-ed6J2NAr_LnoBPEcfi8GhPt14vb28VKiUJ6_1FL9GyysPwTH2IhOqw4srSNfgGqhiPc_IH97_SehpfNXD-mLxXxzESa8TMaXViVntf1NOdiPwL3oQPzMCw/s1600-h/IMG_1326.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020373777131033266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="227" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQVNCfjxmRzcD33v-ed6J2NAr_LnoBPEcfi8GhPt14vb28VKiUJ6_1FL9GyysPwTH2IhOqw4srSNfgGqhiPc_IH97_SehpfNXD-mLxXxzESa8TMaXViVntf1NOdiPwL3oQPzMCw/s320/IMG_1326.JPG" width="304" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1l7i8GalIbkN22qd218ndiKF_bIWhyU4aL9HL8Scl35o3AAZCDfRf2PCh6nSlm1ueubndBOWg1eTmP4e0KZ5ls0CzI-hLe5fTfgNVi5LW77RJt3hsHwXdqtrG6Lbru4u67g9mHw/s1600-h/IMG_0872.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020373781426000578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1l7i8GalIbkN22qd218ndiKF_bIWhyU4aL9HL8Scl35o3AAZCDfRf2PCh6nSlm1ueubndBOWg1eTmP4e0KZ5ls0CzI-hLe5fTfgNVi5LW77RJt3hsHwXdqtrG6Lbru4u67g9mHw/s320/IMG_0872.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7QjL2KenEdFWWhqJCy1lnZcBF_w6G57Zn_TSnehgjuPYAMfw_o961zmyZ1Rwk3lkrZObBDQWK5NBWuyBb2_aYBIjpXoX68SdJm4qaiAoDdhGdhcipXRNbg-m4IF0IWRRowTxkw/s1600-h/IMG_0857.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020373785720967890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7QjL2KenEdFWWhqJCy1lnZcBF_w6G57Zn_TSnehgjuPYAMfw_o961zmyZ1Rwk3lkrZObBDQWK5NBWuyBb2_aYBIjpXoX68SdJm4qaiAoDdhGdhcipXRNbg-m4IF0IWRRowTxkw/s320/IMG_0857.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBuH9aGb6KoXyyOH-lyLcaGX2s9nTuN8n4YAIfDj0DI9VK7mVczKsSRWyIMrU5DHU4yC-B7LWALwnIHvnsKX7wpmb6dQ6VWh7OoVbQh4j-FCQWjHiZNOTNjZ6zZhDGkTKA6unbg/s1600-h/IMG_1252.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020373790015935202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="221" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBuH9aGb6KoXyyOH-lyLcaGX2s9nTuN8n4YAIfDj0DI9VK7mVczKsSRWyIMrU5DHU4yC-B7LWALwnIHvnsKX7wpmb6dQ6VWh7OoVbQh4j-FCQWjHiZNOTNjZ6zZhDGkTKA6unbg/s320/IMG_1252.JPG" width="267" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993300;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993300;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993300;">We are now well <span style="font-size:78%;">into 2007 and I have been making plans on where in England to take my young lion cubs this coming year, I have many places in mind especially up in the North East , some we have visited before and some we haven't. I will of course be posting our adventures on this blog but lets go back to last year. In 2006 my young cubs stood on the south coast of England at the symbolic white cliffs of Beachy Head they also stood on England's remote northern border at the windswept Carters Bar, in between these two rugged symbols of our land they saw mighty castles, magnificent cathedrals, beautiful beaches, green hills, ruins, traditional villages, fayre's and events & even the battle of Hastings on Senlac ridge. To look back on the last year I have posted a number of pictures with this entry to give you a taste of what our England has to offer you. Come to England, It's really cool ! By the way , the pictures are of Bodiam castle, Dunstaburgh castle ruins, </span></span><span style="font-size:78%;color:#993300;">Angel of the north, Hever castle, the English border at Carters Bar, Lindisfarne </span><span style="font-size:78%;color:#993300;">castle & the white cliffs of Beachy head.</span></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-1037179236497226012006-12-22T20:54:00.000+00:002006-12-22T21:01:42.176+00:00Greenwich , centre of time.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYsx4WgkHSBRHSdRYOg5JQ6p-I8Gm89GzTc9pTylhdmOMVZviLoxwyeHhWsyxSpumIk-pqiTuP3uzt7fFYIM2fCzRZ0wqI64GVYvYKzDjix-RHD1R0xrM5G6xTpTWuHjSzNLk-A/s1600-h/IMG_1987.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011459166534166818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYsx4WgkHSBRHSdRYOg5JQ6p-I8Gm89GzTc9pTylhdmOMVZviLoxwyeHhWsyxSpumIk-pqiTuP3uzt7fFYIM2fCzRZ0wqI64GVYvYKzDjix-RHD1R0xrM5G6xTpTWuHjSzNLk-A/s320/IMG_1987.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKNQjFlHDiCC9VMUyyZVk0jgj5VtV-vYe2XHtDUylAUmClON12ywSOnFT5tZoEtW5DgL3A_TVbeS44y9hmVjlsg6DOpnTjO3zBktjyK8_CdXzvHBVc8uJIQEyck3tPHCWrpg-8A/s1600-h/IMG_1976.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011458840116652306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKNQjFlHDiCC9VMUyyZVk0jgj5VtV-vYe2XHtDUylAUmClON12ywSOnFT5tZoEtW5DgL3A_TVbeS44y9hmVjlsg6DOpnTjO3zBktjyK8_CdXzvHBVc8uJIQEyck3tPHCWrpg-8A/s320/IMG_1976.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On Saturday 16th December I took my young lion cubs south of the river Thames to visit Greenwich, its one of my favourite parts of Englands capital, it has a strong naval heritage and is home to the Royal Navy college, along with it's fine museum also the famous wool and tea clipper known to all Englishman from my generation and older as the Cutty Sark. It's the fastest tea clipper ever built and defines the age of sail.<br />Greenwich is a great place for a day out, fine pubs and restraunts, a great market and a walk along the Thames, not to mention the Cutty sark and navy Museum, but one place you must go is on the hill overlooking Greenwich, it's called the Royal Observatory. From this point you can take in a magnificent view of London as the picture above shows. Also at the observatory is the greenwich meridian Line.<br /><strong>What is the Meridian Line?<br /></strong>The Meridian Line is an imaginary line which runs from the </span><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/northpole.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">North Pole</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> to the </span><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/south-pole.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">South Pole</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. By international convention it runs through "the primary transit" instrument (main telescope) at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It is known at Zero Longitude and it is the line from which all other lines of longitude are measured. This includes the line that runs 180° away from Greenwich also known as the </span><a href="http://www2.blogger.com/date-line.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">International Date Line</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.<br />In the other picture above you can see my young cubs standing on the Meridian line, on one side it's the east and on the other side it's west , they are standing at 0' longitude , the centre of time. If your visiting London, why not sail down the Thames to Greenwich , do a spot of retail therapy at the market followed by a nice pub lunch and then walk up the hill to visit the Observatory, taking in the view and standing at 0' longitude.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-37301676975221686152006-12-21T17:10:00.000+00:002006-12-22T21:06:04.260+00:00Time travel in North East England.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDvGORYyZJ6YaKP6f_oRlnG7PMYQcwIg7fh0H0S_4jKGcgyaoRXM_YI9wP8orV8ON9ucRpGuUIGsm6tEjZhgerLRuDXwqFJMUENwKhNv5ahuHicC1rvpkJ5xydKm7db398xHdYA/s1600-h/IMG_0630.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011030820855802114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDvGORYyZJ6YaKP6f_oRlnG7PMYQcwIg7fh0H0S_4jKGcgyaoRXM_YI9wP8orV8ON9ucRpGuUIGsm6tEjZhgerLRuDXwqFJMUENwKhNv5ahuHicC1rvpkJ5xydKm7db398xHdYA/s320/IMG_0630.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZJjJ83BRUH0VrZX7LdHlLp-XuUFyRrUwy8D6s_Q7xMFS7ztFE0n4FsEa5EklOIzLd-OEgnUnsXXFrjTMAVmgjBCCSxxc6PHjpLAdFAWvS9W9E4wZIh-aeP87jac73pIIiNnJGA/s1600-h/IMG_0680.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011030541682927858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZJjJ83BRUH0VrZX7LdHlLp-XuUFyRrUwy8D6s_Q7xMFS7ztFE0n4FsEa5EklOIzLd-OEgnUnsXXFrjTMAVmgjBCCSxxc6PHjpLAdFAWvS9W9E4wZIh-aeP87jac73pIIiNnJGA/s320/IMG_0680.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlBo7Ma_VxrEPXnq0sYHH8PfmKAd4I8XUJbzpFQ7mdT9Q6oE_goAYKuqNfifFe-puXl0liNO7oz_YGq9nHDRBF5WlTXrcG5fsJO2UrNhQXZ4cqA2VJFkYs4ffBn4wT98SU9PZSQ/s1600-h/IMG_0656.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011030262510053602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlBo7Ma_VxrEPXnq0sYHH8PfmKAd4I8XUJbzpFQ7mdT9Q6oE_goAYKuqNfifFe-puXl0liNO7oz_YGq9nHDRBF5WlTXrcG5fsJO2UrNhQXZ4cqA2VJFkYs4ffBn4wT98SU9PZSQ/s320/IMG_0656.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">No I have not invented a time machine and sent my Lion Cubs back to 1850's County Durham ( I plan on inventing one when I get a bit more spare time) This wonderful place is the Beamish museum situated near Stanley in the North West of the Prince Bishop county. Beamish is set within a picturesque 300-acre valley, it's a working museum showing how the good people of north east England lived and worked in the years between 1825 & 1913. The site is split into various themes such as the town, the colliery village and pit, the manor, railway station and other areas, all of which can be visited. You will see people dressed in the clothes of the era whom will interact and educate you as to how things were. It really is like going back in time. My particular favourites are eating the freshly made cinder toffee at the sweet shop and going down the drift mine, my lion cubs enjoy riding on the trams, stagecoaches and buses which you catch to each area of the museum.<br />Beamish is a great family day out and well worth a visit if your passing through the Prince Bishop county of Durham. </span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-31067252419716952752006-12-14T20:19:00.000+00:002006-12-22T21:03:41.459+00:00Bamburgh's Northumbrian fortress<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXWywp9SGZHGejuDhlor0LrOMQlnmzq7neD0qD4oRcZReU8nWtlnl-Nmwxo-uvRVPNpptkb4Hd69DyzyiLmXsLUjtYqZFjzsqujuzwvpdgtsbc76c-cb6kwvJxcW6KkyM8vXdg/s1600-h/IMG_0601.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5008482397808122178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXWywp9SGZHGejuDhlor0LrOMQlnmzq7neD0qD4oRcZReU8nWtlnl-Nmwxo-uvRVPNpptkb4Hd69DyzyiLmXsLUjtYqZFjzsqujuzwvpdgtsbc76c-cb6kwvJxcW6KkyM8vXdg/s320/IMG_0601.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_Kg4VLM6RlNOfTrmRsp9qupz6Y6ozknT0is3G0CNzP4T7UpEXk9hbrs3GISyWSy4fMm9agUX9BfVKTDJBViS0J7ZDsUhAnGB6xvd89DaMXjsYxfGr1-Q-OKVlbr-ewM1JPmhOA/s1600-h/IMG_0599.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5008482148700018994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_Kg4VLM6RlNOfTrmRsp9qupz6Y6ozknT0is3G0CNzP4T7UpEXk9hbrs3GISyWSy4fMm9agUX9BfVKTDJBViS0J7ZDsUhAnGB6xvd89DaMXjsYxfGr1-Q-OKVlbr-ewM1JPmhOA/s320/IMG_0599.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">This magnificent fortress is Bamburgh castle situated on the Northumberland coast just south of Lindisfarne holy island.<br />Northumberland has more castles than any other county, hardly surprising when it is situated along Englands northern border with the Scotch and this is my favourite of them all. On one side of the castle is the pretty village of Bamburgh and on the other side is the most beautiful stretch of sandy beach stretching around 3 miles south to Seahouses. Bamburgh castle is built on the site of a much older castle and it is itself the former capital of the Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, Bamburgh was originally known as Bebbanburh this was in honour of King Ethelfriths wife in the days when Northumbria stretched from the River Humber to the Firth of Forth. Just south of Bamburgh is the small harbour town of Seahouses, from here you can take a boat out to the Farne Islands to observe the wonderful sea life and visit the lighthouse, or you can stay on shore and eat some of the finest fish 'n' chips in England. Seahouses is quite small but has some wonderful traditional seaside gift shops and is a hive of activity during the summer months with locals from the North East whom flock there for day trips wearing their Sunderland or Newcastle shirts. If you are planning a visit to this beautiful part of England, may I recommend to you the Bamburgh Castle Hotel with fine views of the harbour and farne Islands.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-15374918762512342592006-12-09T20:46:00.000+00:002006-12-22T21:02:56.544+00:00Rochester's Dickensian Festival<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7T2dVcJu5e_LEGGq3n5X5qKMx2Fm27qUyT1Lh1S7fi1X2mBt1MbrxPJhTM6-lXm__DtH-SREZYITS3WiNDMlxbMDCw6mbtGSprNpwyUTlcNyGTpqirHOqnqwSi6eVVvR6BRwbGQ/s1600-h/IMG_1942.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5006633267744357218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7T2dVcJu5e_LEGGq3n5X5qKMx2Fm27qUyT1Lh1S7fi1X2mBt1MbrxPJhTM6-lXm__DtH-SREZYITS3WiNDMlxbMDCw6mbtGSprNpwyUTlcNyGTpqirHOqnqwSi6eVVvR6BRwbGQ/s320/IMG_1942.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I7EN-AmpRu1jd9R1I89tBEOv3bjFNz0GXdLCEDflfK8uE_333roXmyX-1TNJcO-CZ-9s0be6ZRHuSQ1ihUYsKXqluGG934TNxQXl9FvRhEyBYARatSK4usj6UQO2xCkw9e4ANA/s1600-h/IMG_1933.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5006633065880894290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I7EN-AmpRu1jd9R1I89tBEOv3bjFNz0GXdLCEDflfK8uE_333roXmyX-1TNJcO-CZ-9s0be6ZRHuSQ1ihUYsKXqluGG934TNxQXl9FvRhEyBYARatSK4usj6UQO2xCkw9e4ANA/s320/IMG_1933.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">On December 2nd I took my young Lion Cubs down to Rochester on the river Medway in Kent. It was the annual Dickensian Christmas festival. It was the first time I had been to Rochester With the exception of a quick work related visit a few years ago and I have to say that I liked the place. It is not a stunning city but it has a likeable rough kind of English feel to it, a working city enhanced by it's Norman castle and cathedral. The narrow streets below the castle and cathedral were full of characters dressed In Victorian costume parading up and down and mingling with the visitors including a very believable Fagin, there were also various displays relating to the era and plenty of stalls offering traditional English fayre, the smell of roasting chestnuts is a particular favourite of mine.<br />Upon the castle green was a fair ground where I joined my littluns on the ferris wheel but left the other rides to their strong stomachs. It was a very nice day. Unfortunately we could not stay for the candlelight parade and snow machine Later in the day but next year we will be better prepared.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-1163545121190467162006-11-14T22:52:00.000+00:002006-12-22T21:04:37.022+00:00Bonfire Night<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1699.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1699.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1736.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1736.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">One of my favourite days of the English calendar is November 5th, We call it Guy Fawkes or Bonfire night. To cut a long story short : In 1605 a dodgy geezer by the name of Guy Fawkes and a few of his mates plotted to blow up King James 1st and our Houses of Parliament. This became known as the Gunpowder plot & thankfully it was discovered before the dodgy individuals involved could carry out their plan. Due to their being very naughty they were subsequently tortured and then executed.<br />Every year on November 5th the people of England remember this event by holding bonfire and firework parties throughout the land, either in their gardens or at large organised displays.<br />The oldest of these displays is the one held in the town of Battle in East Sussex, there are records of it going back as far as 1646, one record shows that in 1686 ,17 shillings and 6 pence was “expended at gunpowder treason for rejoicing”.<br />For the second year in a row I took my lion cubs down to Battle to see this display. We arrived early in order to get a good place to see the parade as the High Street gets packed with people coming to enjoy the evening. We took our place near the Abbey and waited for the parade to start. Crowds soon gathered and took their place on the street, fireworks and rockets were zooming above the old buildings and we saw the flaming torches of the parade appear at the top of the street. The parade consisted of various groups known as ‘bonfire boyes’ and they had differing themes of dress, some as Anglo Saxons, some as Ravens, Pirates and lots of other combinations, even a Homer Simpson was present this year. They paraded down the street with hundreds of flaming torches and stopped outside the Abbey where the Dean of Battle lit a bonfire to the sound of bangers and explosions. The parade then moved on and the crowds followed on behind as it moved on down to Senlac Hill. This is the hill where the battle of Hastings was fought. Finally on the battlefield we were treated to the lighting of the big bonfire and the most fantastic firework display, the finale being the explosion of an effigy of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown with rockets galore. If you find yourself in the south east of England for bonfire night 2007 why not come down to Battle. Check the following website for details: </span><a href="http://www.battlebonfire.co.uk/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.battlebonfire.co.uk/</span></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-1161714050406327452006-10-24T19:13:00.000+01:002006-10-24T19:31:16.220+01:00Justice in Northumberland.<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_0880.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_0880.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_0880.jpg"></a><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:78%;">This intriguing monument goes by the name of Winters gibbet and it can be found on a lonely moorland road near Elsdon in Northumberland. It is guaranteed to stop any passers by in their tracks. The story behind it is this. In 1791 William Winter and Jane & Eleanor Clark were executed at the Westgate in Newcastle for the murder of Margaret Crozier. Crozier was an old lady living alone miles from anywhere and an easy target for the traveller Winter and the Clark girls, a pair of tinkers, who accompanied him to rob and murder the old lady. They were soon caught and paid the price for their crime. Following the execution the bodies were disposed of in different ways: the females dispatched to the surgeon's hall for dissection whilst the body of William Winter was hung in chains on the gibbet a few miles south of Elsdon within sight of the scene of his crime.The stone at it's foot is the base of a saxon cross which marked the highest point of this ancient drove road down which cattle were driven from Scotland to the English markets. Winter's body remained on the gibbet as a sight for the passing curious until his clothes rotted. Eventually his body was cut down, the bones scattered, and the skull sent to Mr Darnell of Newcastle. In time the original gibbet decayed, partly due to natural processes and partly due to the quaint country practice of rubbing pieces on the gums to cure toothache. Around 1867 Sir Walter Travelyan of Wallington ordered a replica, complete with wooden body, to be erected on his land. In time the wooden body disappeared following its use for target practice, till only the head remained, giving rise to the 20th century custom of hanging a fibre glass head on the replica gibbet. </span><span style="font-size:78%;">By the way, they don't hang people in Northumberland anymore.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-1161530566386235562006-10-22T15:54:00.000+01:002006-10-24T14:16:37.936+01:00Remembering our last true Englisc King<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1013.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1013.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1536.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1536.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1533.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1533.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1510.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1510.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_1563.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_1563.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Last Saturday (14.10.06) was the 940th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in which the last true Englisc king was killed along with his Huscaerls on Senlac hill which is located in the pretty little town of Battle, East Sussex. I along with my young Lion Cubs and the Mighty Bison of Suffolk with his cubs went down to watch the biggest re-enactment of the battle even seen on the actual battlefield. Over 3,500 took part in the battle with around 15,000 spectators present. It was an impresive sight with our lads taking their position along the ridge gathered around the fighting man banner of Harold Godwinson & the snail chompers facing them at the bottom of the hill supported by mounted knights. They then went on to demonstrate how the battle was fought on thet day 940 years ago on the very spot that it was fought.<br />The actual battle itself in 1066 A.D was a close run thing, closer than most people know but as you do know, the end result was that our King Harold was killed and his famous Huscaerls fought to the last man around his body. He was later buried in the grounds of Waltham Abbey in Essex. I have posted here some pics of the day which show the Saxon army gathered along the ridge infront of Battle Abbey (notice the red fighting man banner of Harold) , The Saxon line awaiting the Norman attack, The Normans attack with cavalry & My Lion cubs at the spot where Harold was killed. Finally a picture of Harold's resting place at waltham Abbey in Essex.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36416010.post-1161472036084420502006-10-21T23:49:00.000+01:002006-10-22T17:03:29.763+01:00Resting place of Bede & Cuthbert<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_0615.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_0615.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/1600/IMG_0610.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/4069/320/IMG_0610.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;">Here is my first entry, call me biased but this is the city in which I was born, my home and my heritage. I don't live here nowadays, I moved away 11 years ago but I visit once or twice a year to take my young Lion Cubs up to see the family. I am very proud of my city and the County it belongs to. In medieval times it was a semi independent state governed by Prince Bishops whom only answered to the King. It had it's own armies & currencies. Prior to that it belonged to the Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. It is the only city outside of London who's mayor has a bodyguard, and it's Bishop has the honour of holding the monarchs left arm at coronations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;">Today it is the home of England's third university, a first class cricket team and some beautiful wooded riverside walks with fantastic views of the castle & cathedral like those above , come visit historic Durham City and be captivated by it's majestic scenery. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0