September 11 to 13 Paris

Decided on a hop on/hop off bus tour of Paris to get a quick look at the main attractions. Saw most of the famous icons (Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Sacre Coeur etc) & then had a wander through Montmartre before enjoying our last dinner on holidays at a lovely French restaurant with piano accompaniment – very pleasant.

Notre Dame

Sacre Coeur

Eiffel Tower

Our final day arrived with rain??? Nevertheless went for a promenade along Rue du Temple in the Marais district then along the Viaduc des Arts – a lovely garden & walking path sits atop the Viaduc & the arches below are filled with artesan workshops. A very pleasant & relaxing end to a marvellous 5 months.

Our last cafe au lait

The Holiday is Over

As our adventure drew to a close I tried to decide on the highlights but there are too many – perhaps the Mont Blanc walk & Canal du Midi stand out due to their uniqueness but so many other places were also memorable – Morocco, Praiano, Venice, The Dolomites, the Italian lakes, Scotland etc etc. I am looking forward to reliving the adventure as I sort through the 1,000’s of photos for the albums. This has certainly been an amazing holiday & it will be hard for future holidays to match up – but we’ll try. 

I hope you enjoyed sharing our blog & we look forward to catching up with everyone.

September 1 to 10 England

First we had a nice look around the Cotswolds. Again some very quaint & beautiful villages with interesting names – Shipton-under-Wychwood, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Lower Swell & Upper Slaughter – just to name a few. Winding, secluded lanes with magnificent homes & gardens & the villages separated by rolling fields & forests.

A Cotswold house

Next stop Bath to see the Abbey & the Roman Baths – boy those Romans knew how to relax? Also visited Cheddar Gorge & saw a bunch of people scaling the vertical cliffs before arriving in Glastonbury – an interesting town which has clearly been influenced by the annual Festival – tarot reading, incense, mythical gifts etc. Enjoyed a great dinner of sweet potato & spinach soup & mackerel salad at the ‘alternative’ restaurant.

Next headed to the beach towns of Watchet, Minehead & Porlock Weir. The latter was a beautiful little village set on a pebble strewn bay below a forest covered hillside. Took an amazing little private narrow winding toll road through the forest before crossing through the picturesque Exmoor National Park to Okehampton. Our B&B was originally (1901) a ‘gentleman’s’ residence & later a boarding school before being converted to a B&B – a lovely old place.

Toll Road entrance

Near Porlock

Off to Land’s End (a bit of a tourist overkill) then to a few quieter little coves at Porthcurno, Kynance Cove and Lizard Point. Small but nice sandy beaches in small coves cut into the cliffs – very picturesque. The drive to these was through the beautiful Cornwall countryside of rolling hills & green fields divided by hedges & areas of forest.

Land's End

Our B&B at Okehampton

 

Two lovely but very different walks in the Dartmoor National Park today. The first through Lydford Gorge – the Lyd river flows between rocks & tall forest trees, the trees & rocks are covered in moss & lichen, there is a very pretty waterfall, some tranquil pools & some areas where the water roars through the narrowest parts of the gorge. By contrast, the second walk across the moors at Wistman’s Wood is totally open, walking across grassed slopes with heather & gorse & sheep grazing before dropping down into a small forest of twisted & dwarfed oak, ash & hollies all covered in moss & lichens. We then climbed to the top of the nearby Tor for 360 degree views of the surrounding moors & valleys. All this walking was rewarded with a ‘cream tea’ at the Two Bridges Hotel.

Lydford Gorge

Lydford Gorge

Wistman's Wood

Next stop, Beer, a beach & fishing town situated in a cove below white cliffs. Then Stonehenge & on to Porton (near Salisbury) to stay with Anne’s rellies, Roland & Lis for a few days. Visited some old Batten family historical sites plus New Forest, the Downs & the Fovant Badges (WW1 armed service badges carved into the chalk slopes of the Downs).

After being spoiled by Roland & Lis we headed to Brighton & checked out the Royal Pavilion & famous pier. Then on to Seven Sisters & Birling Gap where we walked along the base & top of the amazing white cliffs before heading to Folkestone to prepare for gay Paris. Our B&B is perched on the hill behind the town at Folkestone & has a view across the Channel. We can see the French coast in the distance.

Birling Gap

August 20 to 31 England & Wales

Our first dinner back in England was at a hotel (more like a fishing or hunting lodge) where we had pigeon, smoked salmon, poachers pie & trout from the local stream. Our fellow diners included 4 chaps who had caught several salmon in the Esk River where they pay $30,000 for a permit to fish a specific stretch of river for 1 week each year for 10 years??

Aira Force

"Struggle Road" to Ambleside

Next day we visited Hadrians Wall, had a walk in the Lakes District & headed for the Dales. Several pleasant walks in The Dales but the weather is persistently wet so kept them short. Travelled some beautiful narrow back roads & checked out some very quaint little villages. Then off to Leeds for a few nights rest with Vicky, Tris & the kids.

Walk in Dent

After a pleasant few days of rest we headed for The Peak District, another amazing & picturesque area, before arriving in Wales. It was clear from the unpronounceable sign posts that we had crossed the border. Travelled to the South Stack lighthouse near Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey via the Great Orme (an impressive limestone headland).

near Castleton

Next day it was off to the odd but quaint tourist village of Portmeirion & then to the Snowdonia National Park. Staying in Beddgelert – a truly charming little town - the beautiful stone buildings sit on the banks of two rivers & the town is surrounded by mountains.

View from our B&B in Beddgelert

A fascinating visit to the slate quarry & slate museum in Llanberis was followed by a ride on the Snowdon Mountain Railway (a steep rack & pinion railway) to within metres of the summit of Wales’ highest peak – Snowdon. Despite some fog & mist the views were incredible.

Snowdon Mountain Railway

Snowdon

Then off through the spectacular Llanberis pass & on to the quaint Dolgellau before heading to our B&B at Aberieddy on the Pembrokeshire coast near the Blue Lagoon & historic slate trading port of Porthgain. Red Bull was building a platform over the lagoon for the Cliff Diving World Series in 2 weeks’ time – contestants dive into the lagoon from the 30 metre high platform – crazy? We then continued around the coast to Tenby, a beautiful walled seaside town with 2 lovely white sand beaches.

Tenby

Next - the Brecon Beacons national park for more beautiful scenery & forest walks. Trees are becoming more plentiful even on some of the hill tops. We travelled some very narrow winding roads with the car mirrors hitting the bushes on both sides & the need to reverse to a “wider” passing area when encountering on-coming cars, tractors or trucks – fun? This area has many waterfalls & we walked to a few.

Gospel Pass Road - Brecon Beacons