Thursday, April 28, 2005
Days out
Don Ford came for a cycle ride on the Friday. There are lots of good cycle tracks in the forest, but we found some of them difficult to locate. Hence the route we intended to do was slightly different and it just happened to miss the really hilly parts of the forest. The circuit of the forest is just about 16+ miles, which shows that the forest isn’t that large. Part of the cycle ride goes past the sculpture trail. Sue and I walked much of it one day and we thought the ‘Cathedral’ was the best.
On Sunday we went to Marguarite and Paul Budges, near Swansea, for Sunday lunch and to meet up with the others from the JHQ lunch club. We had a great meal and managed to catch up on much of the news. As all of the group do some serious travelling it was difficult to hear all the stories in the time we had available to us. A great day out.
On Sunday we went to Marguarite and Paul Budges, near Swansea, for Sunday lunch and to meet up with the others from the JHQ lunch club. We had a great meal and managed to catch up on much of the news. As all of the group do some serious travelling it was difficult to hear all the stories in the time we had available to us. A great day out.
Monmouth and the Wye
As the week went by the weather deteriorated so we decided to take the car to Monmouth and drive down the west side of the Wye valley. Monmouth was quite nice, but there was a dragon of a woman working in the Tourist Information Centre. Not a good start.
Monmouth was the place where Rolls of Rolls-Royce lived, he was the Richard Branson of his time, unfortunately he was killed in a plane crash at the age of 33 years. There was a very good display of Lord Nelson’s memorabilia. Rolls’s mother collected this.
I did notice that there was a pub called ‘The Robin Hood’. Why? I thought he came from Sherwood Forest.
The photos of Tintern Abbey and the Eagles Nest were taken later in the afternoon. We also did some geocaching as well!
Monmouth was the place where Rolls of Rolls-Royce lived, he was the Richard Branson of his time, unfortunately he was killed in a plane crash at the age of 33 years. There was a very good display of Lord Nelson’s memorabilia. Rolls’s mother collected this.
I did notice that there was a pub called ‘The Robin Hood’. Why? I thought he came from Sherwood Forest.
The photos of Tintern Abbey and the Eagles Nest were taken later in the afternoon. We also did some geocaching as well!
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Forest of Dean
As the JHQ lunch group were meeting at Marguerite and Paul Budges in Swansea it was a perfect excuse for us to have a few days away. I had always wanted to go to Whitemead Forest Park at Parkend in the Forest of Dean. This is a Civil Service Motoring Association run site with indoor heated swimming pool, gym, restaurant and bar plus there is a Londis store.
We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the site was very busy, it appears many people come for the weekend and also it is used for caravan rallies. We had decided to put the awning up this time to give us extra space; it went up without a problem.
Andy and Maggie Pedder came to us for a BBQ on Sunday, fortunately the weather was kind to us and we managed a walk in the local woods.
Our first outing was a walk near to Mallards Pike; we did a recommended route so we didn’t get lost. See photos.
We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the site was very busy, it appears many people come for the weekend and also it is used for caravan rallies. We had decided to put the awning up this time to give us extra space; it went up without a problem.
Andy and Maggie Pedder came to us for a BBQ on Sunday, fortunately the weather was kind to us and we managed a walk in the local woods.
Our first outing was a walk near to Mallards Pike; we did a recommended route so we didn’t get lost. See photos.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Poole
I thought I had better add a bit to the blog. Not too much has been happening in the Ringwood area. I have lead a couple of rambles recently and managed not to lose anyone. Both rambles were in the New Forest and were about 5 miles, the weather on both occasions was very good.
Sue and I had a good afternoon out in Poole on Friday. We had a walk along the quay and around a local lake. Poole is a working harbour so there is a lot to see. Poole harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world - where is the largest? If you have a few million or two to spare you can take delivery of your new Sunseeker yacht here.
Today I have been out on my motorbike with my trainer. I am doing the IAM motorcycle course and hope to take the test later in the summer. At least I didn’t lose him like I did last time. Hope you like the photos.
Sue and I had a good afternoon out in Poole on Friday. We had a walk along the quay and around a local lake. Poole is a working harbour so there is a lot to see. Poole harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world - where is the largest? If you have a few million or two to spare you can take delivery of your new Sunseeker yacht here.
Today I have been out on my motorbike with my trainer. I am doing the IAM motorcycle course and hope to take the test later in the summer. At least I didn’t lose him like I did last time. Hope you like the photos.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Alderholt Mill
We decided to have an afternoon out so did a newish geocache at Alderholt Mill. The Mill is open at the weekends and you will see from the photo it is a watermill. It is situated in a lovely area north of Verwood in East Dorset.
The primroses are out at the moment and soon the bluebells will follow.
The primroses are out at the moment and soon the bluebells will follow.
