In the summer of 2010 Chester was in the grip of Rhino Mania! 62 rhinos created by the regions artists, along with 116 mini school rhinos, took up residence – though it seems a few had left the confines of the city’s walls, one had even made it as far as London.
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I just had to go. More photos can be found in the photo gallery. Continue reading
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With friends visiting for the weekend it was great the weather was far better than anyone’s expectations. Saturday was spent walking over Ashdown Forest and visiting Pooh Sticks Bridge, and Sunday we headed to the South Downs and walked from Firle to Alfriston.
Stretching my legs a little over Bodmin Moor I came across a wonderful view near Minions.
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David invited me to visit Dyffryn Crawnon in the Brecon Beacons for a week, and while he set about on repairs to the bunkhouse I have the opportunity to stretch my legs over a beacon or two.
The first amble was up and around the head of Dyffryn Crawnon valley, but from there I caught glimpses of Pen-y-Fan to the north and a few interesting looking mountains closer to home.
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Having tried to find shelter from the strong northerly wind yesterday on The Lizard, the promise of better weather today coaxed me out onto Bodmin Moor…
Lizard point is the southernmost point in mainland UK (and is so much nicer than Lands End – which is the southwesternmost point, the westernmost point is in Scotland). The village also has a famous pasty shop!
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It is day 3 and the weather had changed, the forest was shrouded in fog and there were patches of steady drizzle in the air. I headed off at pace to find some shelter within the light woodland in this part of Ashdown Forest.
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Day 2 started where day 1 had finished. I was in Hartfield and quickly headed off towards Pooh Bridge.
I got some wonderful walking books, guides and maps for Christmas (though for this walk I already had An Ashdown Forest Perambulation by Per-Rambulations, it had sat on the shelf for a good six months) and so spent the last few days making plans…
It soon became apparent that if I was going to make full use of my time and money I was going to have to start carrying a bigger pack, not just a day pack. A walk over Asdown Forest, being close to home would be perfect – just in case anything went badly wrong like it had with the cycling. The Perambulation was written in 4 stages, though I hoped that I could do it in a couple of days, 3 max. It would be a real test with a full pack and the target milage was 20 miles!
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The terrain was fairly gentle, thought with a couple of steep climbs, but the clay soil underfoot would provide a real challenge as I was soon to find out on day 1.
The walk was nice, but not that remarkable – though that could have been because I have been here a number of times walking and cycling in recent times.