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travelena · 5 months ago

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England 🇬🇧 - London, Cotswolds & Cornwall

Day 1 - London

Dishoom for lunch! We went to the covent garden location though there are many and each has a slightly different decor/vibe. Then walked around Soho and Big Ben, etc. Then we did dinner at Kricket which was mid.

Lots of places we wanted to go but ran out of time: Columbia Road Flower Market, Spitalfields Market, Borough Market

We did have one dinner near the airport which was fantastic: Zayani Indian Restaurant

High tea locations I researched: the beaumont, sketch, Oblix at the Shard (great view), Petersham Nurseries (whimsical, but in richmond), The stage at the Londoner (moody bar interior), The Ritz (pianist), The orchid lounge, the bloomsbury, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, The Savoy, Claridge’s, The Orangery at Kensington Palace

Other London food recs though so many more: Dishoom (indian), Da Maria (italian in kensington), Daphne’s italian- cool atmosphere, Villa Mammas - middle eastern, Fait Mason - middle eastern w/ cool interior, Chet’s (thai), The Tamil Prince (order the channa bhatura), Malaysia Deli, Lyaness (cocktail bar), Tayyab’s (punjabi food, lamb chops)

Day 2 - Oxford & Cotswolds

Stopped at Oxford on our drive to the Cotswolds and it was amazing - could've spent more time walking around campus. We had a quick lunch at the Vaults & Garden near the Radcliffe Camera. We didn't have enough time but I would've liked to go into the Bodleian Library and walk around Christ Church meadow. Lots of old buildings and you really feel the history here and can imagine all these brilliant minds sharing this space through time. Then we left Oxford and went to Burford for a quick cream tea before going to our Airbnb on a very cute lush estate with horses and chickens and walking paths through the rolling hills. Could have also stopped at Bibury if time allowed on this route but we didn't have enough. Had a nice dinner at The Willow in Bourton-on-the-Water.

Day 3 - Cotswolds

Went to lower slaughter, bourton-on-the-water, Upper slaughter, stow-on-the-wold. Walked through the villages and enjoyed the quaintness. The main things to do are walk around and take it in, there are some nice countryside walks to do as well. Overall, all about slow living and would be a nice weekend getaway from London. We also spent some time enjoying our accommodation and doing countryside walks near the horse paddocks as well. Overall, very bucolic but the countryside honestly looked like Bucks County Pennsylvania.

Day 4 - Drive to Cornwall

Drove to Cornwall, this day was cold and rainy and I was sick. Didn't do too much except drive. All the drives took longer than the GPS predicted. If more time would've stopped at Dartmoor park on the way and done a hike (Hound Tor hike 2-3 h, or wistman woods 1h, or saddle tor & Haytor Rocks). We stayed just outside St. Ives

Day 5 - Cornwall

Drive to Sennen cove→ Land's End-> porthcurno beach → pedn vounder beach (nearby and gorgeous but can't remember if we went or not) →Mullion cove→Kynance Cove (enjoy Lizard)

We did a lovely afternoon tea. at Polurrian on the Lizard and then cliff walk from the property. This was a highlight!

Walked around St. Ives at sunset - gorgeous!

Cornwall food places I researched: Porthminster kitchen (st Ives - had a great whole fish here), the sea room (st Ives), hub box (st Ives), the Cornish bakery, silco is a cute cafe w tapas in st Ives, harbour fish and chips, moomaid (ice cream st ives)

Day 6 - Cornwall

Went to the beach on the other side of St. Ives and walked along the path from Godrevy Point stopping at Fisherman's Cove. Phenomenal cliff walk - could've gone much farther and hiked more of the coast. Pretty much anywhere along the cornwall coast is gorgeous, could spend much more time exploring/enjoying this area.

Day 7 - Bath

Stayed at Brooks Guesthouse which was cute. Met up with Edith and walked around, saw the old Georgian style buildings around the Royal Crescent where they now film lots of period pieces. Then had drinks next to Bath Abbey (there is a tour/ticket you can get to go inside as well) and saw the dam & Pulteney Bridge. Other attractions there are the roman baths and the Jane Austen Centre. Went to dinner at Bandook which was pretty good but small portions. Tash and I had drinks at The Botanist which was an absolute highlight - live music, gorgeous interior, and amazing cocktail menu. Still thinking about this a year later.

Tips:

Could've spent some more time in Bath, London & Cornwall. Other cornwall plces I would like to go are: Perranporth, Porthtowan, TintagelNorth Devon, Dorset National Landscape. Would've also liked to do a Jurassic Coast road trip and seen the seven sisters and cliffs.

If more time in Bath I would've liked to do afternoon tea at the Pump House

Would've stopped at Castle Combe if more time.

#england #uk #cornwall #st ives #lands end #bath #london #cotswolds #eng

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lectern-fullcauldron · 2 years ago

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okay. I want everyone to be aware that when grian filmed his audible ad bit sitting on that bridge he was about 100/200 metres away from the entrance to Birdland. And he didn't go in to BIRDLAND. It is full of pesky birds. He's meant to go in there. They've got parrots and penguins and flamingos and everything

#good to reblog #hermitcraft #grian #he also missed going in the model village at bourton on the water #also saw stow on the wold #didn't do bibery which would have completed the basic bitch Cotswold tour #but otherwise

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princessanneftw · 4 years ago

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Inside Princess Anne's lifelong love affair with horses

As the Princess Royal approaches her 70th birthday, those who know her recount the most enduring relationship of her life

By Eleanore Kelly for the Telegraph

The Princess Royal has spent a lifetime with horses. Like her siblings, she started riding at the age of three. But what makes her remarkable is the success she achieved as a competitor. Aged 21 she was crowned European Eventing Champion at Burghley. She was riding Doublet, a horse bred by the Queen, for polo, and gifted to the Princess.

At the 1975 European Eventing Championships, she finished second on Goodwill, another horse owned by the Queen and her mount at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, where she became the first member of the British royal family to compete at an Olympic Games. She rode winners in horse racing too, notably in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown over jumps, and the Diamond Stakes on the flat at Ascot. No wonder she won BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award in 1971 - the first ever event rider to carry off the trophy.

There were always ponies around during her childhood. Both her parents rode regularly, as did her older brother, Prince Charles, who developed a keen interest in polo and was considered a gifted player.

In those days polo was a men-only game, so not something his sister would have pursued, but she was a member of the Pony Club where she would have tried most equestrian disciplines with other young enthusiasts. Perhaps the attraction to eventing was the camaraderie that is always synonymous with a risk sport; horses are no respecter of titles.

When she became more serious about eventing, her parents arranged for training with Alison Oliver, wife of international show jumper Alan Oliver, who was based near Windsor. She is widely credited for propelling the Princess on the road to international equestrian stardom.

Lucinda Green, one of Princess Anne’s eventing peers, describes her as the pin-up of their era. Lucinda was a fellow team member at the Montreal Olympics and remembers the Princess having a crashing fall halfway around the cross-country course and suffering concussion. She remounted and finished the course but to this day cannot remember the rest of the jumps.

“She was extremely brave and good enough to get on the British team on two very different horses. Goodwill, her horse in Montreal, was not easy. He was big and had no brakes - I definitely wouldn’t have ridden him,” says Green.

With animals so often comes heartbreak, which even Princesses cannot escape. Her partnership with Doublet, a diminutive chestnut with the heart of a lion, ended in tragedy. The pair were destined for the Munich Olympics when the horse who had defined her career shattered a hind leg in an accident at Windsor and had to be put down.

At a time where security at sports events was minimal, The Princess was hounded by the media. “I always admired the way she coped with the press. That added the most unbelievable pressure on top of trying to do her sporting best. Tough for her but she put our sport on the map and kept it in the spotlight,” observes Green.

In 1985, she was persuaded to ride in a charity horse race at Epsom (home of the Derby). By this stage she’d hung up her eventing boots and had two young children. Yet she was always game for the challenge, if it involved horses.

Horse racing requires a very different technique from eventing, so she approached trainer David Nicholson for help. Known as “The Duke” because of his imposing personality, he suggested she come to his Cotswold yard, little expecting she would turn up almost every day for several years to ride out.

His wife Dinah became familiar with the Princess, as she would join them in the kitchen for breakfast after exercising the horses. “She was so dedicated and determined, driving 40 minutes every morning and arriving at 7.15am on the dot, so she could tack up her horse before riding out on the gallops. Then she would have breakfast with us and sometimes there would be a jockey - Richard Dunwoody or Peter Scudamore. The conversation would mostly be about horses. After breakfast, she would set off for a busy day of royal duties.”

Even if she had a royal engagement in London that went on late into the night, she would still get up after a few hours sleep to drive to the yard in Stow-on-the Wold. Acquaintances say her security detail looked permanently exhausted from keeping up with her.

After the charity race, in which she finished a respectable fourth, she asked Nicholson if she could continue riding out at his yard. It seemed the attraction was as much about the camaraderie of yard life as it was the actual race riding. “She became very fond of the people in racing and was always very natural with the stable lads, who liked her.”

There was a horse she was very fond of too, called Cnoc Na Cuille. He was a big winner for her in her career as a jump jockey (including the Grand Military) but soon after finishing third at Warwick, he dropped dead, probably from a heart attack.

“The Princess was not one for showing emotion but she was clearly very upset about it,” says Dinah. Soon after this she gave up race riding, although she has bred a few race horses herself at her home, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire.

For 37 years, thanks to the Princess, Gatcombe has hosted eventing competitions, including the prestigious Festival of Eventing. The cross-country course is designed by her former husband Captain Mark Phillips, an Olympic medallist and four-time Badminton winner (once the golden boy of British eventing), and the Director is their son Peter Phillips.

Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, a former European and World Champion event rider and silver medalist in the London 2012 Olympics, regularly competes there and the Princess hands out the prizes.

Tindall has even more eventing accolades than her mother and, like her, she was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (in 2006). Her mother has always been hugely supportive of her children’s interest in horses. Every Christmas, the Princess would drive the children’s ponies up to Balmoral* (think they mean Sandringham?) herself in a horsebox so they could all ride.

There is also a strong equine theme to the Princess Royal’s charity work. She’s President of World Horse Welfare and the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) as well as Patron of the Pony Club and the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF). She was President of the International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) from 1986 to 1994, a role she took over from her father, Prince Philip.

Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare, describes the Princess as having a deep love of horses, devoting a huge amount of time to all aspects of horse welfare. Former champion jockey John Francombe describes her as the best after-dinner speaker he has ever heard, with a great sense of humour, persuading well-oiled guests to open their wallets for charity and even persuading them to adopt horses themselves.

Rehoming unwanted horses is a large part of the World Horse Welfare’s work and the Princess is a rehomer herself. “On one of her visits to our rescue centres, she met a Welsh Cob called Annie and asked if she could have her. I believe she still rides her today.”

“She has always had a clear opinion but understands horses better than anyone,” says Owers. That once got her into trouble, at the 2013 World Horse Welfare conference when one of the topics was the European Horse Meat scandal. “She made a comment about the value of horses that was translated as ‘Princess Anne eats horse meat’ by certain journalists.”

What the Princess had actually said was: "Should we be considering a real market for horsemeat and would that reduce the number of welfare cases, if there was a real value in the horsemeat sector? I chuck that out for what it's worth because I think it needs a debate."

As Owers remembers, “it was unfortunately the first time we filmed the conference and broadcast it live, so you can imagine it created 48 hours of hysteria.” Though whether the Princess actually sits down to pony steak for Sunday lunch is not known.

Caroline Ward of the RDA remarks on her extraordinary empathy. “She understands the challenges our participants face and what they get out of the experience of riding horses. She will talk to them about their ponies and what it means to them to spend time with horses.

“These riders, many of whom find communication and mobility so difficult, will always open up to her. They are bound by this common interest and love of horses. She will also chat to the volunteers, to make them feel all the more special.”

Ward recalls the time Princess Anne helped a rider load her difficult horse into the horse box. “She came to our RDA National Championships at Hartpury College. She saw this struggle and despite not being dressed to get stuck in, she clearly couldn’t walk by without offering assistance. Well, this horse took one look at her and realised this was someone who meant business, and walked straight into the horsebox.”

Ex-jockey and racing journalist Brough Scott has known the Princess for many years through sport and her support of the IJF. “At charity events, rather than entertaining the fat cats, she is happiest talking to the ex-jockeys, many of whom are in a wheelchair. One really likes her for that, even though she is not trying to be liked.”

To be a successful rider, you have to build a relationship of trust and mutual understanding with your horse. That means controlling your fear and emotions. Eventing, a combination of the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country and show jumping, is perhaps the truest test of all-round horsemanship, demanding both accuracy and courage. It is only for the bravest of the brave, says Scott.

“Princess Anne wasn’t simply a Royal who rode, she was an athlete who achieved great things in her eventing career and rode courses that would have terrified most people. That must have given her self-confidence and fulfillment.”

In her public duties too, the Princess Royal has given her all, incidentally personifying the characteristics necessary for a fine horsewoman: discipline, dedication and courage. Are they a matter of her breeding and upbringing, or do we have her love of horses to thank for that?

#this is a lovely piece #i would love to see coverage of the races she rode in #especially when she won #and indeed her eventing career #i wish there was more available to watch #the way she wrote about losing doublet in rtml made me cry #princess anne #princess royal #horse whisperer #anne70 #british royal family #brf #newspapers

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tokyotwosome · 5 years ago

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England: ”This Earth of Majesty”

7/26/19 - ENGLAND. The mother to the modern world’s business tongue. A country within the United Kingdom within Great Britain and none of us can make any sense of what the heck the difference is. This wondrous place is an island I’d always dreamed of visiting from the first time I picked up The Chronicles of Narnia. Or Pride and Prejudice. Or Harry Potter. The list goes on. From its rich history, its captivating architecture, and the many famous humans that have walked these streets, England is not a country to be missed.

We arrived in London on a Friday evening. The summer in the U.K. is much like Seattle; the sun is fickle and the rain needy. Seeing the countless parks throughout the city, not to mention the luscious greenery throughout the countryside, it’s no wonder it rains so much here. On Saturday morning, we met up with a friend to do a proper tour of the city. For the day, we purchased a “London Pass” which gets you into over 75 attractions as well as access to the Hop on Hop Off bus. We swiftly made our way to the top of the double decker, not caring that the open-roof was a bit damp and paying notice to the “mind your head” signs up the stairs. As we embarked through the city, a man with a microphone prompted us to grab headphones and listen to his countless facts about London.

Did you know that there are actually two Londons? Greater London refers to the American definition of “London”. This is where the Queen hails and is generally what we think of when referring to London. There is also “The City of London”, a square mile within Greater London that can be easily identified by its dragon statues which guard its borders. The City of London is separately governed, collects separate taxes, enforces separate laws, has their own separate flag, and even elects their own Lord Mayor. Queen Elizabeth isn’t even allowed to enter the City of London without permission from the Lord Mayor. It’s all very scratch-head worthy.

There’s a laundry list of sites to see in London. There’s Big Ben (currently under construction), Westminster Abbey (filled with famous and infamous corpses), Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge (much cooler than London Bridge), the Churchill War Rooms, Shakespeare’s Globe, and loads more. One would need to devote an entire week to site seeing just to manage it all in. Needless to say, we didn’t get to see everything, but we managed to get some good ones under our belt.

Our first stop was at the Tower of London, just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Tower Bridge on the north bank of the River Thames (pronounced “Tems”). The Tower of London is less of a tower and more of a series of towers that feel more like medieval grounds from something out of a storybook. Within each tower holds its own treasures and stories. There was original armor, crown jewels, the bloody tower (where two princes were believed to have been killed by their uncle so that he could have the crown for himself), prison cells (where names and images have been carved into walls)...and so much more. You could spend all day at this site alone, but we hurried on off to lunch after building up an appetite..must have been all the murder stories that did it. Speaking of murder - walking across the Tower Bridge, we found the street where many Jack the Ripper scenes were filmed. They even offer evening tours of all his murder spots (a big no thank you from me).

The food in England is a journey in and of itself. If you ask for pie, don’t expect something sweet. A traditional English-style breakfast consists of toast (seemingly the most important food group), beans, mushrooms and/or tomatoes, an over-easy egg, a hash brown, bacon (which is actually more ham-like), and sausage (tastes more like fake meat to me). We can’t tell you how many times we ate the same English-style breakfast, but it really was quite hearty. Brunch will sometimes include all-you-can-drink. And let’s not forget Sunday roast! Tea was also a staple for most, if not all, of our breakfasts - I like mine with two sugars and milk. In terms of stereotype foods, we didn’t see a crumpet in sight.

While London is a must-see when in England, it’s certainly not the highlight of the country. We rented a car and made our way north, with our final destination being Scotland. We’d arranged to have overnight stays in aribnb’s along the way, taking recommendations from our very own Rick Steves. The street signs were comical, seeing ones like “mind the gap” and “queues likely”. Getting used to the different terminology is a journey of its own. First stop was Stow-on-the-Wold; a quaint little market town with sandy-colored buildings, friendly town folk, and shops around every corner. We still aren’t sure what a Stow or a Wold is, but while we passed through, it was clear why it was a place outsiders wanted to visit. After spending a few days in the city, it was refreshing to be in a small town. We managed to only go down the wrong side of the street towards oncoming traffic once, so that’s a bonus!

Shortly following our pit-stop to Stow-on-the-Wold, we found our airbnb in a place known as Derbyshire, arriving promptly at 3:00 PM. A woman answered the door and greeted us by saying, “you’re positively punctual”. She sounded like Mary Poppins and I could’ve swore she was about to break out in song next and a bird would likely land delicately on her finger. That was when I really realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore. She took us upstairs to our room in her large, historical cottage. The backyard view reminded me of something out of a Jane Austen novel. I could imagine Mr. Darcy coming to our door by horseback. We had dinner at a local gastropub, just up the street. The server told us about a place to visit the following day, which we promptly agreed we’d do.

The next morning on our way out of town, we stopped by the recommendation from our server; a nature walk toward an abandoned water mill. During our walk, Rob stopped and asked that I take a picture of him in the grass. At the time, I had no idea why. Turns out he was envisioning a scenic view out of Gladiator and just HAD to reenact it. Making our way down a long drive, we saw a flock of pheasants that we thought were chickens. When we finally did make it to the water mill, we took in the beautiful views and imagined what sorts of things must have taken place throughout history here; a common thought through such a historical place. When we thought there wasn’t a living soul in site, a couple of women on horseback road passed. Such a slow, easy going lifestyle here.

Our next destination was what is known as the lake district; more specifically, a town called Keswick (pronounced Ke-sick). Keswick was by far our favorite stopping point. It had a German feel with British flavor. Lots of nature, lots of shops, and lots of kind people. This is a popular spot to visit in the summertime for Brits throughout the country. While rain was to be expected, we lucked out for the day we spent there and enjoyed a pleasant nature hike.

The day following our trip to Keswick, the weather took a turn for the worse. We were so fortunate to have such a beautiful day for our one day spent there. After our time in the lake district, our next stop was Scotland. Truly, Scotland is deserving of its own blog, so stay tuned for that next! Instead, I’m going to fast forward to when we trained back to London.

We’ve gone full circle and made it back to the city. Our train arrived at Kings Cross Station - so naturally we visited platform 9 3/4. After taking our obligatory Harry Potter photo, we decided to try to squeeze in any last minute sightseeing we may have missed. That’s how we ended up at the Churchill War Rooms. The underground tour is the original housing spot for Churchill and his men during WWII. They have kept the rooms in mostly the same condition with a full audio tour to really envision what it must have been like during the war. Trying to imagine being trapped down there while bombs continued to go off upstairs was a very humbling experience. For me, having been to the war museums in both Pearl Harbor and Okinawa, seeing the war through the British lens was a new perspective. On one of the original maps in the discussion room, you could even see a drawing of Hitler someone had done. A really remarkable site and I would highly recommend to anyone who visits London. Speaking of sights in London, did you know that all museums are free in the UK? That led us to the Natural History Museum! Among other things.

On 8/3/19, our 5-year wedding anniversary, we decided to treat ourselves to high tea. We had reservations at a delightful little spot in the city. The theme was Peter Rabbit and ohhhh was it good! We had mini-sandwiches, biscuits, jams, and treats to the max. Everything you see was edible, including the flower pots. I don’t think I stopped smiling once. When we had finished, we were stuffed beyond belief. Then the server comes over with a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY dessert. We couldn’t NOT eat it...so we stuffed our little bunny bellies. Another successful wedding anniversary outside of the states - once an accident, now a tradition. <3

If you’re considering a trip to the UK, I’d say go Nike and just do it! Some of our expectations were met and others were shattered, but that’s the joy of travelling. A place is never how you think it’s going to be, but seeking the different is what is exciting. Stay tuned for the next blog where we’ll share our adventures in Scotland - my new crush. Thanks for sticking it out and reading along!

#united kingdom #uk #travel #tea #explore #england

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dansnaturepictures · 7 years ago

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My 10 Wildlife/Photography Highlights of 2017:Blog 1-Another extraordinary year of birds

There is always only one place to start with these highlights blogs, with the staple of the hobby I’m celebrating really which is the birds. The birds highlights blogs usually have experiences at the start and things that may have happened yesterday included, they span the year so it makes sense to post them first. As you may remember from other years it usually divides that I do two specific bird blogs in these highlights posts and this year that’s happened again. This one is about how my bird year list went, many of my birding highlights in 2017 and the birds I saw for the first time this year. My next highlights blog posted next Monday is titled my Favourite Birds 2017 and that’s what it’s about, some of my big experiences with some of my 24 favourite birds this year and this also includes some of my most special bird moments this year. Between both posts I introduce some of my favourite bird pictures of mine this year.

So overall I did have another amazing year for birds this year, I’ve seen 184 species in total so far making 2017 my highest ever year list forcing last year into second place! In 2016 I broke my bird year list record with 181 species seen and I had an incredibly fast start to that year and saw many amazing species, so I was apprehensive when that amazing year ended. However 2017 has followed on from it perfectly and been strikingly similar. I have a total at the moment I am immensely proud of and I also had a really quick start this year that even surpassed 2016. In much of 2017 my bird year list total on a specific date was higher than any other year list of mine had been on that date. It kept pace with 2016 and my now third highest ever 2014 so well and I just thought it will eventually stop doing that but it didn’t and all of sudden no other year list of mine could catch it and overtake it in October! On top of this I have seen so many really wonderful species again. It always amazes me the little differences of species seen each year and in 2017 I’ve seen really big things I didn’t see in 2016 even so it’s just been a perfect follow up to my huge year last year.

My packed and fast start to seeing bird species in 2017 was down much to the first week of the year when I had a week off, and I started in my now traditional way with the New Year’s Day Lakeside walk as well as visiting Gloucestershire for WWT Slimbridge, RSPB Radipole Lake where I took the 1st picture in this photoset of a Mute Swan and many other bits of Hampshire seeing such birds as lots of Redwings, Ravens and Peregrines, Marsh Harrier, Purple Sandpiper, Black Redstart, the Snow Bunting in the 2nd picture in this photoset at Hill Head, Eider, Bewick’s Swan, Common Crane, Bittern and Goosander. I ended week one with 87 birds seen and with more time off at the end of January I was able to get my year list to 111. Other amazing, rare and fantastic bird species I saw in 2017 which just made it a brilliant year included; Bearded Tit as pictured in the 3rd picture in this photoset and Water Rail to complete an elusive reedbed hat trick with the Bittern for the first time ever for me, Goldeneye, Crossbill, Short-eared Owl as pictured in the 4th picture in this photoset, Fulmar, Guillemot, Black-necked Grebe, White-fronted Geese, Brambling, Waxwing (5th picture in this photoset), Sanderling, Jack Snipe, Ruff, Greenshank, Golden Plover, Spotted Redshank, Slavonian Grebe, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Garganey, Yellowhammer, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Razorbill, Gannet, Red-legged Partridge, Little Tern, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Cuckoo, Barn Owl, Turtle Dove, Chough, Dipper, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Manx Shearwater, Dartford Warbler, Sandwich Tern, Hobby, Spotted Flycatcher, Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Osprey, Yellow Wagtail, Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Whinchat, Spoonbill, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ring-necked Parakeet, Little Stint, Ring Ouzel, Yellow-legged Gull, Hawfinch, three Grey Phalaropes in two weeks one pictured in the 6th in this photoset and one a few weeks later quite something for a bird I’d only seen once before 2017, Puffin and Kittiwake.

But as always the birds which will get a special place on my list of best species seen in a year are the ones I saw for the very first time. My first opportunity to see a bird I had never seen before came on the way to Slimbridge, when we thought it would be rude not to call into Stow-on-the-Wold the day before to see the Blue Rock Thrush which had been seen there. So after a glorious sunny journey up to Gloucestershire, in which I saw my first Red Kite of the year and well over 12 of one of my favourite birds the Buzzard which was amazing we arrived at Stow-on-the-Wold. As you can see from the 7th picture in this photoset we managed to see the Blue Rock Thrush and I was thrilled we did. It really is a beautiful and well coloured special bird, it showed brilliantly in the great sunshine throughout. As we got there and walked to the road it had been seen around we saw a bird on a roof as soon as we arrived, which a scan revealed was the Blue Rock Thrush. It was great to go on another twitch with a good atmosphere with some great people we met and this was a very special bird. I really was so happy to see it and it was a big highlight in a massive first week of birds in 2017 for me which started a top year well.

I started January with a bird I had never seen before and I would end April doing the same when there was much talk in Blashford Lakes’ Tern hide about Black Terns people had seen out on the water, something I had never seen. I scanned at the back getting many more glimpses of Common Terns which I had seen my first of this year moments before with the Black Terns on my mind. To my delight I saw one and I instantly knew what it was. This was a bird I’d wanted to see for ages so I had looked it up a lot and I saw straight away just what a distinctive bird it is with the shaded plumage. I was lucky enough to get long but distant views of this beautiful bird and even to see them alongside Common Terns to see how much darker they really are. This was a bird I really was thrilled to see and it made me very happy, it was my 246th bird in my life and funnily enough it took my year list to 146. When I saw my first Common Tern of the year moments earlier I was conscious it was my 145th so jokingly thought oh I’m only 100 behind my life list total. So to still be in that position after my next year tick was surreal. I saw this bird at a time when I was wondering when my next bird life tick would come so I was very happy with it.

We set out to Broomy Walk on the 25th September in the New Forest but first called into Blashford Lakes’ Tern hide again when dropping my Mum’s husband off there. We had heard a Ferruginous Duck had been seen there so checked in to see if we could see it and we did. It was a very distant view thanks to a kind man we know’s telescope and it had its back to us so all I could really make out was the white stripe in very wet and dark conditions. But I was still very happy to see this bird as it was my first ever, taking my life list to 247 and my year list to 179 which was only two behind my now previous personal record total in 2016. This was seen only metres away from my last life tick really back in April. That was two life ticks at Blashford Lakes this year at that stage, in my first year of visiting this reserve 2008 I saw at least one new bird on every trip in very different times for me only a year and a bit into birdwatching. But it’s nice to know I can still see things I never have here.

On an early November day we firstly set off to Blashford Lakes to try and search for the Lesser Scaup which my Mum and her husband had seen in midweek, no luck for me there after checking out a few spots. I had noticed a Pink-footed Goose had been seen there though so we asked in the Tern hide to see if it had been seen lately to begin with but as well it hadn’t. So we then went up to nearby Rockford Common to walk the dogs a bit more. When on the common my Mum’s husband who was at Blashford still contacted to say he had seen the Pink-footed Goose from the Tern hide so we raced back across the common and got ourselves back to Blashford. When we got there someone we knew let us look in his telescope and we caught sight of the bird very far back, but I could still make out its defining features as it swam with the Greylag Geese being noticeably smaller and having that darker bill. This was a brilliant bird to see, my first ever taking my bird life list to 248. Extraordinarily it was my third new bird seen from Blashford Lakes’ Tern hide on Ibsley Water this year and it was one of those birds I’d just wondered when I might finally see. What made this sighting all the more special though is that it took my bird year list to 183 that day alongside only third ever Yellow-legged Gull sighting, making 2017 my record bird year list. I was so thrilled to achieve this and to do it with a new bird was phenomenal. It beats my 2016 total of course and I just did not think that could be done. 2016 seemed to have everything, an incredibly fast start, sensational list of species seen and a massive total for me. But my 2017 year list also had a really fast start, has its own equally and more impressive in places list of amazing bird species seen and has kept up with the 2016 total when looking at how much I had seen on a certain date week after week and month after month. I thought it may eventually stop doing that but it didn’t and with at least one year tick in each month so far something only my 2016 achieved for all twelve months I’ve made a bird year list my highest ever in November for the second year running and I could not be happier.

Another special bird moment I had this year was when we discovered Goldfinches had made a nest in the wisteria on the wall at the front of our house, I managed to get the 8th picture in this photoset of one of them. These were very exciting times for us as other than maybe Swifts in the roof of my Dad’s house which is my childhood home I’d never had a bird nest in the garden or anything. On top of that the Goldfinch is probably my favourite garden bird as it’s so bright and special to see on your patch. Unfortunately no chicks were raised. The 9th picture in this photoset shows a captive bird, a Barn Owl in display at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, but I wanted to include it as it symbolises a highlight of my year in this hobby that was with captive birds but didn’t quite fit majorly into another highlights post. This picture was taken during Chris Packham’s top birds an evening talk we went to at the Conservancy in June which was amazing. We got to see many great birds flown British and international and Chris, the Hawk Conservancy team and guests provided excellent commentary which informed so deeply, wonderful stories often touching on important conservation subjects and it was sublime entertainment. Another bird picture I was really proud to take this year in the 10th picture in this photoset is Black-tailed Godwit at Sturt Pond in August.

#birds #birdwatching #wildlife #photography #highlights #2017 #mute swan #puffin #kittiwake #lesser spotted woodpecker #grey phalarope #bearded tit #blue rock thrush #black tern #ferruginous duck #short eared owl #black tailed godwit #goldfinch

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nic-and-annie-in-france · 5 years ago

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October Break: Hiking in UK and Ireland

Since we had kind of reached our fill of big cities, museums, and palaces last year, the trip I planned for our first vacation this year mostly focused on hiking and sightseeing in nature. Did you know that the British usually say “walking” when Americans would say “hiking”? I think they’re just being modest.

It was nice to be around our fellow English-speakers for a change. However, in Scotland and Ireland, I sometimes had more difficulty understanding English spoken with the regional accents than I would have understanding French!

This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Traveling Aix-les-Bains > Chambéry > Geneva > London Luton Airport > Oxford

Day 2: The Cotswolds AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty)

Day 3: Sightseeing in Oxford, traveling Oxford > Manchester

Day 4: The Peak District

Day 5: Traveling Manchester > Kendal, Sightseeing in the Lake District

Day 6: The Lake District

Day 7: Traveling Kendal > Glasgow, lunch with K+A, relaxing (I had planned for us to visit Loch Lomond but a combination of lack of planning, gloomy weather, and fatigue made us nix it)

Day 8: Scottish Highlands

Day 9: Sightseeing in Edinburgh, traveling Glasgow > Belfast (via ferry)

Day 10: Giant’s Causeway

Day 11: Traveling Belfast > Dublin > Galway, sightseeing in Galway

Day 12: Connemara National Park

Day 13: Cliffs of Moher, traveling Galway > Cork

Day 14: Killarney National Park

Day 15: Traveling Cork > London Heathrow > Geneva > Culoz > Aix-les-Bains

And here are our miles walked over that time:

The weather/the season. The extended forecast for the UK and Ireland before we left showed rain every single day. However, we only got rained on less than half the time! I knew it was too much to ask for a repeat of the miraculously sunny vacation we had in Paris/Normandy in February, but I was still happy with the amount of dry weather we had. We also had the good fortune of being there to see the fall colors at their very best. Even our rainy and foggy days were enjoyable because of the cozy autumn ambiance.

Going car-less. I was worried that we would have trouble getting out to the trailheads if we relied solely on public buses and trains, but it mostly turned out to be fine. Let’s just say that in our experience, the British transport systems are much more punctual than the Irish ones! Riding instead of driving gave us both the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery as we traveled from place to place. Buses and trains in the area almost always had wifi or USB charging onboard (or both), which was an extra bonus because it alleviated my anxieties about missing our stop (we could follow the bus on Google Maps) and/or about my phone dying.

Walkers’ rights and public rights of way. In planning for the trip, I learned that in England, walkers/hikers have organized into formal clubs and won the legal right to have public footpaths and “rights of way” all over the country. I’m still kind of unclear on how this works legally (I googled “Can you just walk anywhere in England,” it didn’t help much), but we took full advantage of these walkers’ rights during our time in the region. We took paths that went through practically infinite sheep pastures, climbing over stiles or letting ourselves through cattle gates as necessary. I think it’s so nice that the country allows people to access the natural beauty of the countryside in a way that really doesn’t harm people’s private property much at all. The sheep never seemed to mind us, after all. It was great to have access to all these places, but even better was the way the English culture has helped to facilitate and accommodate walkers on their journeys. On several different websites I was able to find not only maps of hiking routes, but detailed turn-by-turn instructions for the routes which kept me, a navigationally challenged person, on the right path every time.

No buses in the Cotswolds. Blackberries. Our first hiking day was a Sunday, and no public buses run in the Cotswolds AONB on Sundays. We therefore had to rely on trains alone to reach a trailhead, so our options for starting and ending points were limited. We found a suitable out-and-back trail running from a village called Moreton-in-Marsh to another one called Stow-on-the-Wold. The map and instructions I found for it listed everything in kilometers instead of miles, so when I saw the distance involved, I assumed it wouldn’t be that much in miles without ever actually bothering to do the calculation. By the time we got back to our Airbnb in the evening, we had walked about 17 miles. Oops. Fortunately, our route that day had us pass by lots of hedgerows, and lots of those hedgerows had blackberries growing in them. At first we were hesitant to eat any of them, but as we walked further and further, and our stomachs got hungrier and hungrier, we were eating them by the handful. I’m still not sure whether to feel guilty about this; the blackberries didn’t belong to us, but the sheep in the adjacent pasture could never have reached them, and it seemed pretty unlikely that anyone was growing them on purpose. All I know is that these possibly-sinful blackberries sustained us on our accidentally super long trek that day, and we were both very thankful for them.

The bus at the Lake District. Bus tickets in the Lake District were not sold per ride, but per day, and they were pretty expensive. I was sad we had to pay so much just to get from one town to the next. They turned out to be one of the best value parts of our whole trip! First of all, a ride that is only 25 miles as the crow flies takes an hour and a half. Make it round trip and that makes three whole hours of your day. This sounds like the ride would be tedious and boring, but with the jaw-dropping scenery to look at the whole time, it was so much fun. I listened to The Prisoner of Azkaban on audiobook the whole time and tried to take pictures out the dirty bus window, nudging Nicolas every 30 seconds to show him another beautiful mountainside or lake. The icing on the cake was that the bus driver on the second day gave us a discount for our tickets!

Lunch with K+A. K and I usually check in with each other at the beginning of each school break to see what the other one’s plans are. On our second night, K texted me saying they were in Ireland and planned to go to Scotland later in the week. I told her it sounded like we were doing the same trip, just traveling in opposite directions. Sure enough, we realized that we would all be in Glasgow at the same time, so we planned to have lunch together. K suggested a restaurant where we could eat a three-course meal for £10 apiece, so we went there and caught up on our school years so far and compared notes on our travel itineraries. They had to catch a train soon after their meal, so we didn’t get to hang out for long, but it was nice to see some friendly faces in an unexpected place.

The ferry. We opted to take a ferry instead of a plane from Glasgow to Belfast. I expected that we would have to stand out in the dark and cold for two hours as we waited to arrive in Northern Ireland. The ferry turned out to be more like a cruise ship than the little Valley View ferry I’m used to. We sat in a huge lounge with lots of comfy armchairs and took a nap as we waited to reach the other side of the sea. There were at least two restaurants on board, and there was one room with a large TV where we were warned not to sit because the ferry was expecting four hundred soccer hooligans to come watch a game there. I also saw a sign for a Swedish spa on a different deck. It was a really cool way to travel—I wished the ride had been a bit longer!

Molly the pub dog and George the hostel cat. One of the things we miss most about home is the availability of our friends’ and families’ pets to play with and snuggle. It’s rare that we feel comfortable enough to interact with a stranger’s cat or dog over here. But after another hike in poor weather in Ireland, we stopped in a pub that happened to have a border collie named Molly curled up in front of the fire. As we sipped our coffee, Molly periodically got up from her spot by the fire and visited the tables of the people in the pub. We showered her with so much affection that she laid down under our table and let us rub her belly (excuse the poor quality picture). One of the hostels we stayed at had a permanent resident in George, the ginger cat who was usually found curled up on a window seat in the hallway. Whenever we came across him we gave him a quick pat too.

Traditional foods. Since Great Britain and Ireland are typically colder and rainier than France, their food is typically cozier and heartier. We had bangers and mash, scotch pie, haggis, fish and chips, English breakfasts, Irish stew, black pudding, and steak and ale pie. Yum on all counts.

Non-traditional foods. We were walking to our Airbnb in Manchester when a poster for Taco Bell caught our eye. Although McDonald’s, KFC, and Burger King are commonplace in Europe, we’ve never seen a Taco Bell. We immediately made plans to locate the TB and give it a try, and our dinner there the next evening didn’t disappoint. Although we had to pay about twice as much for it as we do at home, it was worth it to taste our favorite American comfort food so far from home. We also ate an entire Domino’s pizza in a public bus station. I felt like a criminal the whole time, but it was tasty.

Irish music. I love traditional Irish music. In grad school, I had a Spotify playlist of jigs and reels that was perfect for studying to because it was upbeat enough to keep me awake but instrumental enough that the lyrics wouldn’t distract me. We spent the last night of the trip in an Irish bar in Cork where musicians had gathered to play trad music. Music in a cheery pub was a nice complement to a day spent on a cold, rainy walk, as well as a perfect conclusion to our whole vacation.

#annie #travel #tapif

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chriskarrtravelblog · 5 years ago

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The best walking tours in the Cotswolds

We look at some of the region’s best walking tours so you can stroll among picture-postcard surroundings

A cottage in delightful Chipping Campden. Credit: VisitEngland

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1966, the Cotswolds lie across the boundaries of several of England’s counties; a truly inspiring collection of stone-built towns, incredible architecture and verdant hills. Prospering mostly under the wool trade which would fund the churches and squares, these perfect towns would draw artists and craftsmen such as William Morris, founder of the arts and crafts movement. Today they attract tourists in their thousands, particularly walkers, who love to stroll among their idyllic landscapes while pottering around some of the many boutiques and craft shops. Read on to discover some of the Cotswolds’ most charming walking routes for the summer …

Credit: VisitBritain/Tony Pleavin

Cirencester

Cirencester is known as The Capital of the Cotswolds and was an important regional capital in Roman Britain. Visitors can learn about life in Roman times at the award-winning Corinium Museum where they can also marvel at the ornate mosaics. The Church of St John Baptist is the centrepiece of the town’s market place, and today Cirencester is an important tourist and craft centre with regular fairs and auctions – well worth a visit on your stop-off in the Cotswolds.

Featured walk: A Roman Town Trail is a brief trail to see the remnants of the large Roman town of Corinium Dobunnorum, now modern day Cirencester. The trail takes 90 minutes to complete and includes the ancient town walls and the amphitheatre.

Visitor Information Centre: +44 (0) 1285 654 180

Credit: VisitEngland

Stroud

Full of independent shops, cafés and galleries, Stroud has been described as ‘the Covent Garden of the Cotswolds’ and wows visitors with its fabulous farmers’ market. Backdropped by the stunning Five Valleys, The Cotswold Way runs through Stroud and has been popular amongst writers and artists for centuries. Throughout the year textiles, music and contemporary art festivals take place here, while former textile mills, occasionally open to visitors, are a testament to the region’s industrial heritage.

Featured walk: The Historical Trail provides information boards detailing Stroud’s history with charming tales of local events and characters. This circular route starts in St Laurence churchyard, home to the last duel ever fought on British soil.

Visitor Information Centre: +44(0)1453 760 960

Credit: VisitEngland

Chipping Campden

One of the Cotswolds’ best preserved and most historically important towns in the area is Chipping Campden. ‘Chipping’ is an ancient word which refers to a market, and the impressive Market Hall was built here in 1627 to sell butter, cheese and poultry. The town has a long history of prosperity from the wool trade, reflected in its wonderful stone buildings, while the town also saw the fruits of the arts & craft movement when artists and designers took up residence around 1900. Visit the Court Barn Museum in Church Street to discover a fine collection of silver, jewellery, printing and furniture.

Featured walk: The Cotswold Way is a 102 mile National Trail and runs between Chipping Campden and Bath along the Cotswold Escarpment with wonderful views of the surrounding landscape. Come here for short or long walks amid picturesque villages and historical treasures.

Visitor Information Centre: +44 (0)1386 841206

Credit: VisitBritain

Stow-on-the-Wold

In the north Cotswolds, the hill-top town of Stow is the highest of the Cotswolds towns at 800ft. The area was the site of the ancient Jurassic Way and the Salt Way which met here and an Iron Age fort was constructed here around 700BC. Today the Roman Fosse Way from Cirencester to Leicester passes through Stow with its extensive town square, markets and pretty lanes dotted with trees which lead to stone houses, shops and inns. Stow had a special importance in the English Civil War close to Donnington where the last battle was fought in March 1646. St Edward’s Church in the town centre was used as a prison for the defeated Royalist troops but today Stow is most famous for its antique trade.

Featured walk: Stow Walks – Seven circular educational walks from the Visitor Information Centre down to The Slaughters village, the Civil war memorial of 1646 at Donnington, and to the villages of Maugersbury and Icomb.

Visitor Information Centre: +44(0)1451 830341

Credit: VisitEngland

Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury is an English medieval gem situated at the meeting of the Rivers Severn and Avon with an impressive Norman Abbey keeping vigil over the town. In the past, mustard making was an important trade (Shakespeare’s recurring character Falstaff has the line ‘Wit as thick as Tewkesbury Mustard’), while the town’s industrial heritage can be traced on Church Street with its half-timbered houses and delightful alleyways. There are Royal links too – in 1471 the fields to the south saw the penultimate and decisive battle in the Wars of the Roses which lead to the the house of York coming to power.

Featured walk: The Battle Trail is a short route one mile around the fields where the Battle of Tewkesbury was fought in 1471. You can relive what life was like in medieval times and imagine what took place in ‘The Bloody Meadow.’

Visitor Information Centre: +44(0) 1684 855040

If you’re looking to explore the Cotswolds on foot but don’t want the hassle that comes with it, explore the most popular Cotswold tours via guided walks (or self-guided versions) at www.cotswoldwalks.com/highlights.

Quote DB2020 to receive £50 discount on any tours booked before 31st March 2020.

Antiques hunting in the Cotswolds Discover the Cotswolds The Cotswolds: An insider’s guide A tour of the Cotswolds

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The post The best walking tours in the Cotswolds appeared first on Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture.

Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture https://www.britain-magazine.com/features/the-best-walking-tours-in-the-cotswolds/

source https://coragemonik.wordpress.com/2020/01/28/the-best-walking-tours-in-the-cotswolds/

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bravehardts · 7 years ago

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Day 11 - A-Maze-ing

Today was our first day to really explore the Cotswolds in our rental car. As we have learned, the name Cotswold comes from the "Cotswold Lion" which is a type of sheep, apparently the one that helped earned this area prominence years ago as a place of agricultural commerce. We certainly saw quite a few sheep as we drove around the area, as we first left Stow on the Wold and drove to Bourton on the Water, about 20 minutes away. The roads, as we learned yesterday, are far-ranging in size, and each has its own hazards. The larger roads feature quick turns and speeding oncoming traffic. The medium sized roads force you to barely nudge by other cars and perhaps knock out a few branches as you get out of the way. The tiny roads can barely even fit our own car, let alone two, yet oftentimes we had to figure out how to make that work. Not for the faint-of-heart. Especially driving a tour bus like ours. So, Bourton on the Water was another quaint town (just assume that everyplace we visit here is "quaint"), with a tiny brook running through it with small bridges. Ducks filled this far-from-raging river, as did the occasional dog or kid without socks (luckily, not ours). Once we found parking, we wandered over to the "model village", which was an outdoor, scale model of the actual village we were in. The buildings are perhaps 2 feet high, and authentically recreate the actual village of B on the W (author's shorthand). Alex loved wandering through the streets and pretending to be a monster. As we perused this model, I had the thought, what if there is a model village INSIDE the model village. That would make sense, right? So I navigated to where we were within the village inside the real village, and what do you know? There WAS a model village inside the model village inside the real village. But wait, there's more! Inside the model village inside the model inside the real village was--you guessed it--another model village! I know, minds blown. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE (hold on to your butts). Inside the model village inside the model village inside the model village inside the real village, was YET ANOTHER MODEL VILLAGE (this last one, just a little printed piece of paper, but still!). I took some pictures to try to convey this Inception-like madness, but I don't think it could possibly do it justice. Somebody was having a bit of fun when they built this place, and I greatly appreciate that attention to detail. I also found where we parked our car (inside the model village of course) and took a picture to simulate the view of the church from the car. I will try to post the two pictures, so you can guess which is real and which is, inside the model village. After stabilizing my brain, we found a bakery and had a second breakfast essentially--pastries and coffee. We all had a freakout that involved spilled coffee, dropped eclairs, pouting in the corner, and eventual guffaws at how ridiculous we were all acting. Next we jumped back in the car and headed towards the Birdland Park and Gardens, which was about two blocks away (we probably should have just stayed parked where we were). As with basically any animal park, this was a big hit! The highlight were the King Penguins, but also the Flamingoes, Pelicans, Cassowaries, and Ostriches were way, way up there. A special "Jurassic Journey" featured a bunch of life size dinosaur statues hidden amongst the lush deciduous brush. Needless to say, Alex dug it. He also dug up some fake fossils in a paleontology shed--a nice interactive feature of the park. On the way back to our car, we found a real hedge maze. Not quite knowing what to expect, we were warned by the ticket lady that a few clues would be difficult for Americans (I don't think she meant because we are idiots, though that is debatable)--most likely since we use different words for the same thing. For instance, one clue showed a picture of a sea ray, but here it would be called a "plaice". You get the idea. Anyway, we stormed through this hedge maze, finding the clues inscribed on rocks here and there (14 in total), getting completely lost and going in quite a few circles. Finally, we collected enough clues to enter the final building in the center, and Alex had to do a certain task to reveal the "dragonfly" that was hidden inside a frog statue's mouth. It was a solid team-building exercise, and Alex liked it so much he is insisting that we come back here some other time in our lives to do the maze again. Yes, it was A-Maze-ing. Back in the car again (every time I drive this beast, I think I stress a few years off my life)--we drove North to a place called Hidcote Gardens (recommended by our friends Greg and Aasma, who had been there just a few weeks ago). Stopping first for lunch at the cafe, we eventually wandered around these incredibly diverse gardens. This space was really phenomenal. It is divided into different gardens, each with slightly different themes. There is a huge diversity of flowers and plants. Fountains appear here and there, as with long, tree lined lawns. Alex found it necessary to slip on some gravel and fall on his knee for the second time--we forgot to mention the first (just running on cobblestone in the morning)--which of course must happen multiple times the first time we put him in shorts, so he can really bust up his knees. As we exited the gardens, we saw a rather good-looking hen just wandering through the car park. And what do you know, we all watched it cross the road, which led to the inevitable discussion with Alex--if a chicken really does cross a road to get to the other side in real life, is it even a joke, or just a fact? We decided it is a fact. We have pictures to prove it. No longer funny. On the way back south, we stopped in another town called Chipping Campen, and walked around, exploring the ancient streets and buildings. Only pictures can do this area justice, so I'll forgo trying to describe it all. And back in the car again! These damn roads, they are so magical and yet so damn hard to navigate without having an ulcer. There were definitely times where Allison warned me I was about to hit the branches on the left side of the road, yet my right side wheels were crossing the lane divider. Stupid Hyundai i800. Dinner tonight was at the Old Stocks Inn, just a few blocks away from our hotel (also a recommendation by Greg and Aasma). It was a great meal--meat and fish, again and again. Great drinks, including an IPA called Longhorn that apparently is local. I was offered a pint--as much as I love IPA, they would have to scrape me off the floor if I drank that much of it at once. So I went with the half, which was plenty. Alex immediately befriended a man and his wife sitting at the bar by playing peekaboo--super appropriate, right? And in that 2 minute relationship, Alex almost started crying when we had to leave because he was going to miss his good friends. So we gave him a phone and he went to take a selfie with the guy, which made Alex feel great, and this man (who turned out to be from Cardiff, our next destination), was a good sport about the whole thing. Tomorrow we have to switch hotels and towns, but we stay in the Cotswolds for one more day of adventure.

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daphnemcglynn-blog · 7 years ago

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Visiting Hampshire

There are many places to visit while in Hampshire, and it depends on your choice, from the Home of Bombay at Laverstoke Mill, the New Forest to g Old Farmhouse Restaurant and Tea Rooms, there are endless activities to undertake while on this tour. Besides, you can visit some of the best boutique hotels in Jersey or best hotels in Jersey while on this tour.

Taking a tour to Hampshire can be done with local tour companies that are more familiar with the surrounding. They will take you to places that are worth your money and even take you to lowly priced Jersey hotels where you can eat what you like.

We sample some of the best places to visit while on a tour to Hampshire:

1. The Home of Bombay at Laverstoke Mill is a redesigned site that will take you through currency printing history in Britain. In addition to the stunning architecture that saw it awarded the BREEAM Award for Industrial Design in 2014, you can also sample some of the best food offerings from boutique hotels in Jersey or best hotels in Jersey.

2. The new forest: The best way to travel here is via a train. You will admire the rolling fields and idyllic villages along the way. On arrival, you can explore the New Forest with an electric vehicel -- Twizy -- that is so easy to operate. You can hire one. You can definetely visit some of the best boutique hotels Jersey or best hotels in Jersey for massages and dinner after a very busy day. Some of the hotels serve local and international food. The New Forest features some open lands and fields from where you can undertake back horse-riding. But New Forest is also for those who love the wild in addition to nature: you can see wild ponies, rabbits, hawks and all manner of wildlife. You will definetely admire the colorful flora and fauna despite the time of the year when you visit the place.

Old Farmhouse Restaurant and Tea Rooms: This is just an example of the places you can go if looking for best boutique hotels in Jersey or best hotels in Jersey from where to eat crumpet and take a cup of tea. If it is very cold in winter, you can warm yourself by indoor fireplaces.

National Motor Museum and Beaulieu is the best place to go if you are a car enthusiast. Still, you can go to the Palace and Beaulieu Abbey if you do not love motoring history.

3. Cotswolds in the Warwick is also a considerate place. Roads such as A429 should take you to villages like Stratford upon Avon, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold. Remember, you can rent a car at The Open Road Classic Car Hire in the town of Brockenhurst to allow you explore Cotswolds at its best. One of the places not to miss is the Secret Cottage, the Ellenborough Park and the Bibury and Bampton villages.

There are endless options with regard to the type of locations you can go. There are more forests, beaches, gardens and parks. The choice depends on what you want to see.

#boutique hotels jersey

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antniogomes-blog · 7 years ago

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Visiting Hampshire

We sample some of the best places to visit while on a tour to Hampshire:

2. The new forest: The best way to travel here is via a train. You will admire the rolling fields and idyllic villages along the way. On arrival, you can explore the New Forest with an electric vehicel -- Twizy -- that is so easy to operate. You can hire one. You can definetely visit some of the best boutique hotels in Jersey or best hotels in Jersey for massages and dinner after a very busy day. Some of the hotels serve local and international food. The New Forest features some open lands and fields from where you can undertake back horse-riding. But New Forest is also for those who love the wild in addition to nature: you can see wild ponies, rabbits, hawks and all manner of wildlife. You will definetely admire the colorful flora and fauna despite the time of the year when you visit the place.

National Motor Museum and Beaulieu is the best place to go if you are a car enthusiast. Still, you can go to the Palace and Beaulieu Abbey if you do not love motoring history.

There are endless options with regard to the type of locations you can go. There are more forests, beaches, gardens and parks. The choice depends on what you want to see.

#best hotels jersey

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dansnaturepictures · 7 years ago

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10 of key 2017 birds seen which I managed to photograph

With my bird year list’s current total now level with my record final total which was 2016′s year list I thought I’d do a post showing 10 of the real amazing species which have starred and glued together this year list strongly, by putting pictures I managed to get of them in this photoset. There are 5 record shots (so ones of reduced quality but they show a species I had not photographed often) and genuine normal quality ones I am proud of. The pictures are:

1. Snow Bunting at Hill Head, only sighting of this bird so far this year. This was one of the biggest star birds of my incredible opening week, seeing a second of them over an amazing winter for them down south and the November 2016 sighting was only my first. Happy I now have pretty decent photos of them on both occasions.

2. Common Crane, only sighting this year, Slimbridge WWT. It shows what an incredible first week of the year I really did have, with a Bittern at Slimbridge also, the Stow-on-the-Wold Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and that Snow Bunting on the same day over shadowing the likes of Marsh Harrier at Radipole Lake and Slimbridge’s stars Bewick’s Swan and Common Crane somewhat. But it meant a lot to see these magnificent birds again for only the third time, with more than ever for me looming in the distance and on a really gloomy day before my birthday I was lucky to get the chance to take this photo.

3. One of my favourite birds the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, only sighting this year, at Pig Bush in the New Forest. This post is made for this picture to be honest, as it was one of my greatest ever wildlife moments seeing this bird I had dreamt about for years before seeing one at the near exact spot here in 2014 again and I was determined to get a picture this time after I didn’t in 2014 and I did and this has become such a huge unique part of my 2017 birds and the picture helped the amazing memory live on and on.

4. Little Tern at Lymington, on the day I saw my first this year I went onto see a few in the Lymington-Keyhaven reserve. This picture needs no introduction as it was the one that won me the New Forest spring seasonal snaps competition. It achieved so much as a picture for me and what was even sweeter is its not a bird too many people can easily see so I’m still amazed I got such a big picture of this bird.

5. Black Tern at Blashford Lakes, only sighting this year. Being one of my new birds in a year will always make it a key bird and I was thrilled to finally see this bird in 2017 when I didn’t expect it, I’ve nicknamed it the year of terns with four species seen and all photographed so this post warranted two of them.

6. Barn Owl along the Titchfield Canal Path, only sighting this year. The Barn Owl seen on that day took my bird year list to the key 150 milestone, like last year much earlier than usual in May. So its definitely looked back on fondly and the record shot became my first picture of any wild Barn Owl.

7. Yellowhammer at Martin Down, first of a few sightings of them at the same place earlier in the year. A bird I only saw for the first time in 2013, a candidate for my lifetime bogeybird alongside the Sanderling this bird always seems crucial to a bird year list especially with their threats faced. The picture was also quietly crucial to my stock of bird pictures this year.

8. One of my favourite birds the Puffin on Skomer Island, only sightings this year on and around the island that week. When thinking of the five key birds I photographed well for this post the Puffin was the first name that came up with this just one of a few I took. I saw the Puffins in 2016 in another part of Wales but longed for that intimacy with such a special bird and had to fight so hard to get it in the end. It proved to be and was always going to be one of the biggest highlights of my year and the whole week trip is crucial to why 2017 is now my joint highest year list ever.

9. Another of my favourite birds the Guillemot on Skomer Island, seen for the first of several times in 2017 in January at Portland Bill. Its important to remember the other two auks and other seabirds many among my favourite birds too play a massive role on a day on Skomer and I was thrilled with this Guillemot picture. I remember in January and February I was saying the Guillemot my original favourite bird on my list of 24 was the star favourite bird of mine so far this year but it would go onto be overshadowed in terms of favourite birds by the Puffins, my first Kittiwake for three years, the return of Dipper and Cuckoo to my year list after missing them in 2016, my dream come true Kingfisher photograph and Ospreys fittingly starring throughout my 10th consecutive Bird Fair at Rutland Water including on a cruise with Simon King so I’ve had many big moments with my favourite birds this year. But the Guillemot will always be a big part of any year list for me.

10. Grey Phalarope at Keyhaven, the first of three sightings was at Blashford Lakes. This was a bird that came to define my autumn, having only seen one before this year in 2009 storms meant I saw two in three weeks on the south coast. Instantly one of the real star birds of 2017 for me I got closer and closer to it by the sighting, going from impossible to even get an ID photograph of it it was so far back at Blashford Lakes’ Ibsley Water, record shot distance at Hayling Island to just beside me in a channel where I got this photograph.

You can read the full stories of my brilliant birding year when my 10 Wildlife/Photography Highlights of 2017 blogs go out between 13th November and 6th December. The two bird ones, general birds and my favourite birds this year pack in the best species, big experiences and many stories but they also leave some bits to specific trip ones of these blogs but point out where a bird is mentioned more in another blog.

#birdwatching #wildlife #photography #nature #outdoors #england #wales

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dansnaturepictures · 8 years ago

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7/1/17-Slimbridge WWT yesterday to celebrate my birthday

I am 20 today and like has often been the case in recent years I went on a sort of big trip for wildlife watching and birdwatching on the 6th January partly to celebrate my birthday, this year to the famous Slimbridge WWT centre which is one of my favourite reserves anywhere. So this blog is one written last night about that trip, I tweeted my pictures on Dans_Pictures a lot later than usual last night so felt like posting the blog today, so its in the present tense of yesterday.

I have had yet another brilliant day for birds and photos today, as I saw 6 more birds for the first this year and as I mention below they really were all amazing ones! So it took my year list to 84 which is my 2nd highest ever after 6 days, the highest ever is of course my 2016 year list which is my record one. In that year list two big points were the incredible species of birds I saw and how many I saw, especially in the early stages. I feel like I’m saying the exact same things over and over in the opening stages of 2017 as this week I covered many miles, visiting many reserves and countless habitats and I have just seen so many birds already and some of them have been really rare/special ones and I feel so lucky and happy again.

Soon after walking through the Slimbridge entrance pictured in my 1st picture in this photoset today, I got my first year tick of the day in the form of the reserve renowned bird pictured in the 2nd picture in this photoset the Bewick’s Swan. In Hampshire I may be lucky to see one of these in a distant field in a year so to see so many again and see them all so close really was an honour again today. They are beautiful birds. The 2nd year tick of the day soon followed to take my year list to 80 and I was happy with this one as it was one of my favourite birds the Pochard like the one in the 3rd picture in this photoset which I always enjoy seeing. These two were in the comfortable observatory bit and here I also observed so many Pintail like the one in the 7th picture in this photoset later on, which are really beautiful and well marked birds and again its great to see so many and so close up here at Slimbridge. The other notable thing in this bit were lots of one of my favourite birds the Shelduck pictured also later on in the 6th picture in this photoset. It was duck heaven seeing my 2 favourite ducks the Pochard and Shelduck together and I saw many Shelducks today they really are one of Slimbridge’s stars.

As we toured the hides on route to the big Holden Tower one I came across in the binoculars another really big bird in so many ways that Slimbridge is also becoming famous for, the Common Crane pictured later in the day in the 5th picture in this photoset. It was really a joy to see it, they are beautiful and they stand out and just dominate a landscape which they fit into perfectly. This was my third time of seeing the Common Cranes at Slimbridge and each time I’ve got to say it feels dreamlike to see them back in the wild in Britain! My 4th and 5th year ticks of the day followed in the form of Barnacle Geese at Holden Tower and a Bullfinch seen quickly on the way back.

When in one of the other hides on the way to the Kingfisher hide we had an unexpected highlight of the day when the Robin in the 4th picture in this photoset literally flew into the hide singing and searching for food. This is a bird that is often “friendly” I’ve found and they are notorious for it but I had never seen anything like this before! It really did allow a great connection to it. After walking through the brilliant captive birds they have at Slimbridge in the rain we headed to have another look in the Holden Tower hide but on the way we stopped off in a hide on the way back from the Kingfisher one. We had heard a Bittern had been about and to our delight another birdwatcher said he’d seen it. I got brief and hidden glimpses of it in the reeds but I’d seen enough and this was a 6th year tick for the day and an amazing one again. The Bittern is such an elusive, rare and spectacular species so its always amazing to see one but this bird becoming one of my greatest in 2017 so far was even sweeter because I had not seen one for nearly 3 years since a sighting at fellow WWT reserve London in February 2014. So this fitted well into an almost perfect first week of 2017 for me.

The Holden Tower second look produced a second view of a Fox in a week for me, after I saw one at Pennington on Tuesday, it was interesting to see it prowl in murky conditions. The visit ended brilliantly though as we observed the evening feed back at the observatory bit we had seen the Bewick’s Swans and co at to begin with and the hide nearby. We saw 100′s of birds including Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Mallards, Shelducks, Tufted Ducks, Pochard, Coot, Pintail and Bewick’s Swans gathering for the feed and making a massive noise as they anticipated it. This was a sure highlight of the day just seeing so many birds, the Shelduck and Pintail pictures I got in the photoset were during this feed. It had that special quality about it as the sun set and the talk given by the WWT staff member was really informative too.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Bewick’s Swan, Pochard, Common Crane, Barnacle Goose, Bullfinch and Bittern of the year, my first Grey Squirrel of the year, two of my favourite birds the Shelduck and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Pintail, Teal, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Lapwing, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull and a Fox.

This was certainly an amazing trip along with the call into Stow-on-the-wold and Bourton-on-the-Water the day before which I mentioned in my last blog and it was a brilliant way to celebrate my birthday early.

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dansnaturepictures · 8 years ago

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5/1/17-Stow-on-the-Wold Blue Rock Thrush, Birdland and Bourton-on-the-Water

I am writing this blog text from the hotel room I'm staying at in Gloucester, tomorrow I am heading to Slimbridge WWT but today I managed to see the Blue Rock Thrush at Stow-on-the-wold and visit a couple of nearby places in Gloucestershire on the way. The way it's worked out I am able to write the text for this post on the night it happened so it will read in present tense of the day.

So after a glorious sunny journey up to Gloucestershire, in which I saw my first Red Kite of the year and well over 12 of one of my favourite birds the Buzzard which was amazing we arrived at Stow-on-the-Wold, with tomorrow's Slimbridge trip and night away already planned we thought it would be rude not to pop in to try and see the rare Blue Rock Thrush that had been around. As you can see from the first two pictures in this photoset we managed to see it and I was thrilled we did. It really is a beautiful and well coloured special bird, it showed brilliantly in the great sunshine throughout. As we got there and walked to the road it had been seen around we saw a bird on a roof as soon as we arrived, which a scan revealed was the Blue Rock Thrush. It was great to go on another twitch with a good atmosphere with some great people we met and this was a very special bird. I really was so happy to see it and it was another amazing sighting in a massive first week of birds in 2017 for me.

Afterwards we moved on to Birdland a bird park nearby in Bourton-on-the-Water for a brief look around it, where the highlights were the King Penguin and Stone Curlew pictured in the 3rd and 4th pictures in this photoset. I was happy to see the King Penguins as before I had only seen Humbolt Penguins in places like this. As I've said before I was obsessed with Penguins when I was younger and it's arguably the earliest spark I had with the natural world and my main hobby today and King Penguins were a big one I liked so this felt great to see some. I also saw my 1st Grey Wagtail of the year in the grounds of the park which was my 78th bird of the year, I am so happy with this current total figure and I can't believe I have reached nearly 80 already.

Afterwards we went into the beautiful Bourton-on-the-Water for tea and cake and I got the 5th picture in this photoset of it. I have had another brilliant day for birds today and really enjoyed being away and I can't wait for tomorrow.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: (Stow-on-the-Wold) Blue Rock Thrush, Starling, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Goldfinch and Jackdaw. (Birdland and Bourton-on-the-Water) My first Grey Wagtail of the year, Black Headed Gull, Mallard and Woodpigeon.

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