|
|
Archive of Holiday Reports 2018 to date
|
|
|
1066 Country Walk – 18 to 21 September
2023 The 1066 Country Walk has been on the map for some time but thanks to a £160,000 grant from the European Union, Rother District Council have completely revamped the trail with improved signage, new information boards and ten large-scale wooden sculptures by local artist Keith Pettit, placed along the 31-mile trail from Pevensey to Rye. The ceremony to re-launch the trail was on 15th October 2021. Websites describe the walk as “a relatively easy low-level route through countryside that witnessed the Norman Conquest.” That word “relatively” carries a lot of weight. Parts of the High Weald are quite seriously hilly, though it has-to-be said that the hills are not very long, they just seem very long at the end of the day, or even in the middle of the day for some of the group. See the route profile below to see just how hilly it is! Day One of the holiday started well as we sat on the train outside Pevensey for 50 minutes waiting for a tree that had been blown down to be cleared. That fortunate delay meant that we were not rained on as we walked through the grounds of Pevensey Castle to the start of the trail. Given the generally grim forecast for the week, we were lucky to be hardly rained-on at all during the four days of the holiday. The wind was fierce on the first two days but was only really-noticeable on the first day as we crossed the Pevensey Levels. In the afternoon the sun came out and we made good progress to reach Boreham Street for the coach to pick us up only ten-minutes behind schedule, given that we had started out over an hour late. The stretch from Herstmonceux Church to Boreham Street involved a lot of stiles. For the rest of the route there were mostly new metal gates, some of the kissing variety but mostly simple open and shut models. European Union money well-spent, stiles can be hard work. The High Weald is always lovely to walk through. Our picnic on the second day was taken at the top of very taxing hill behind some trees and shrubs that sheltered us from the wind and afforded us a wide view across the countryside that we had just walked through. On the third day, many of us got soaking wet as we walked to the lay by at Cuilfail where we boarded the coach to take us back to Battle. That rain cleared away and the wind had dropped. It was good walking weather and the walking was good. Our picnic was taken seated on the benches outside the handily-placed pavilion of Westfield Cricket Club before we tackled more of those “easy” hills. After nine gruelling miles we arrived at the Queens Head in Icklesham with just enough time for a well-deserved drink before catching the bus to Rye. The view from the garden is huge. As we sat drinking our drinks and admiring the view, we all commented on the morose attitude of the man who had served us, duly christened “Mr Grumpy.” It was not that he was actively bad-tempered or rude, he was just totally dead-pan. Was he always like that or was he just having a bad day? Who knows? The River Haven Hotel in Rye served us well. The staff were lovely and the evening meal was excellent. The huge breakfast on the following day got us off to a good start. The route from Icklesham took us past the studio owned by Paul McCartney and the graveyard in Winchelsea where Spike Milligan is buried. The most immediately striking feature as you enter Winchelsea Church are the stained-glass windows which are a war memorial, a gift of Lord Blanesburgh, designed by Douglas Strachan and dedicated in October 1933. They are quite lovely, lighting up the huge interior to stunning effect. The 1066 Country Walk is easy to follow thanks to the frequent way marks. The new information boards are excellent and the sculptures all fit in perfectly. All-in-all, it was a most enjoyable, if at times quite tiring, holiday organised and led by Graham and Hilda. Pictures by Vivien, Anita, Peter, and Graham |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
The start at Pevensey Castle |
Pevensey
Levels – Flat and Full of Sheep |
Legacies – Lower Snailham Farm |
||||||||||||||
|
|
Farbanks Henge – Pattletons Farm |
A not very flattering
sign |
The
Watcher – Wickham Manor Farm |
||||||||||||||
|
|
Smart new sign – half way there |
See, the High Weald really is very hilly - |
- but the views are worth the climb |
||||||||||||||
|
|
Paul McCartney’s Studio and Windmill |
Utterly Gorgeous Stained-Glass Window |
Lighting up the inside of the
church |
||||||||||||||
|
|
Gower Peninsula – 22 to 26 April 2023 On
April 22nd, 22 members of the Footpaths Group boarded a coach at Lewes
Railway Station which was driving us to the Gower Peninsula for a five-day
holiday. We were staying at the 4* Pilot Hotel in Llanelli on a half-board
basis. On the first day, we walked along the coast to Mumbles where we had
free time to look around the town. Unfortunately,
on the second day, our coach was blocked by cars in the hotel car park so we
had a change of plan and walked along the old railway line from our hotel to
Swiss Valley Reservoir. The following day, we drove by coach to Laugharne and
visited the famous boathouse where Dylan Thomas lived during the last four
years of his life and where he wrote many of his poems. We also found Dylan’s
grave at St Martin’s Church, Laugharne and his regular watering hole, Browns
Hotel. After looking around the town, we walked to Carmarthen Bay - one of
the most famous views in Wales. On
our last day, we followed a breathtakingly beautiful coastal path to the
iconic Worm’s Head and the magical views of Rhossili with its many wild
ponies grazing peacefully by the coast. We had time to enjoy a drink and an
ice cream before returning home. That evening, after supper, most of us
enjoyed live country music in the hotel conservatory. Throughout
the holiday, were accompanied by a lovely local guide who was a fund of
knowledge and had a wealth of stories about the places we visited. The
holiday was arranged by Margaret and admirably supported by “Involved
Holidays.” Pictures
by Margaret |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
Mumbles Lifeboat Station |
Laugharne Castle |
A Poet’s Grave |
||||||||||||||
|
|
Worm’s Head – perfectly positioned |
A perfectly placid wild pony |
Group Photo |
||||||||||||||
|
|
YORKSHIRE DALES - 29
July – 5 August 2022 Despite the attempts of Southern Rail to undermine our journey, seventeen of us made our way on the four-train journey to Skipton, and thence to HF’s Newfield Hall in Malhamdale in the Yorkshire Dales. We were introduced to our guide for the week, Anne, a redoubtable lady of similar advancing years to ourselves. The following day, we started at Settle vintage station, taking the train to Ribblehead. Here we were exposed to something rarely seen of late in Sussex – RAIN! And plenty of it, for most of the day. This somewhat marred our views of the Ribblehead viaduct and entailed some of us having to eat our picnic lunch in a smelly cowshed. Others waited till we got back to the pub in Ribblehead, where we dried out, before returning to the village of Settle. The rain had stopped and we could explore this charming place. On the following day, we walked along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Saltaire, where we admired the spectacular textile mill built by Titus Salt in 1876, now converted into a cultural hub cum eatery with a huge number of David Hockney paintings on display. The highlight was a Hockney frieze, going the whole length and back of the top floor, showing the changes in a year in Normandy. The mill, together with the model village that Salt built for his workers form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On Tuesday, we visited the massive ruins of Fountains Abbey, where an enthusiastic local guide showed us round the different parts of the abbey and told of the deeds and misdeeds of the monks. From the Abbey, we walked to the adjacent Studley Royal water gardens, which with the Abbey comprise another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The following day, we visited the picturesque tiny village of Linton, its church with seats, each engraved with a mouse by Robert Mouseman Thompson, and the more touristy Grassington. We had our picnic lunch by the lovely River Wharfe, followed by a four-mile walk along the river to Bolton Abbey. Just before the abbey, there are some rather hazardous stepping-stones across the river, with several of them missing. Despite this, a foolhardy man attempted to cross them with a toddler in his arms. He succeeded, but only with great difficulty and assisted by his wife. After viewing this spectacle, we were able to enjoy the abbey church with its stained-glass windows. Our final day’s walk took us through magnificent scenery, starting from Malham Tarn, allegedly the highest lake in England. We followed the Pennine Way to the limestone pavement above Malham Cove, before descending to the Aire valley in Malham. En route we made a detour to view the spectacular vertical rock face of the cliffs (gawping at the exploits of the rock climbers) and waterfalls of Gordale Scar. The scenery in the Yorkshire
Dales is wonderful, quite different from the Sussex Downs, smaller and
greener fields, dry stone walls, craggy hills and sheep, sheep, sheep (and
cows). We were treated very well at Newfield Hall, with excellent food and
service. We returned on our four trains with many happy memories of an
enjoyable week.
Go to Holiday Index Pictures by Alan |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
The
Beautiful Ribble Valley |
Hockney Frieze – A Year in Normandy |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
Old Mill at Airton on the River Aire |
Limestone Pavement – Malham
Cove |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
Gordale Scar |
Group outside Newfield Hall |
|||||||||||||||
|
|
HIGH WEALD LANDSCAPE TRAIL – The Final
Push – 19 to 21 April 2022 On the 21st of April 2017 we began a two and a half day walking holiday along the High Weald Landscape Trail, a long-distance path stretching from Horsham to Rye. In 2018 we reached Eridge Green and in 2019 we reached Benenden. This holiday was to finish the trail, arriving at Rye on the 21st of April, five years to the day after starting out. The holiday in 2017 was notable for the profusion of bluebells and they were no less apparent this time. However, in this part of the High Weald, ramsons are equally prolific, not least in the magical Tilder Gill, where the stream has carved a deep cleft in the countryside and the extensive white carpet of the ramsons looked utterly wonderful. Also in evidence along the trail were wood anemones, ladies’ smock, stitchwort, garlic mustard and quite a few early purple orchids. Singing away above were great tits, robins, wrens, chaffinches, blackbirds, song thrushes, chiffchaffs, blackcaps, a green woodpecker and one very notable nuthatch. Butterflies were not that abundant but there were several sightings of speckled wood, orange tip, small white and one small tortoiseshell. (Thanks Vivien) The whole of the trail enjoys the comely delights of the High Weald, rightly designated an area of outstanding natural beauty, and this section did not disappoint. It was a pleasure to walk through this gently rolling landscape and even the toil up the occasional steepish hill was worth the views from the top. From Benenden, on the first day, we walked the seven miles to Tenterden. On the second day, from Tenterden, some chose to stop off at Small Hythe and some to stop at Wittersham, taking advantage of a taxi ride back to the Flackley Ash Hotel, our base for the holiday. The majority completed the nine-mile hike where the hot tub in the hotel was a welcome way to soothe the tired limbs. On the final day, the three-mile stroll to Rye was accomplished with time to spare for a coffee in town before collecting our luggage and taking the train back to Lewes. And the two most abiding memories are firstly the thousands, probably tens of thousands, of lambs along the way. They were carefully divided into fields of twins and fields of triplets, with virtually no single lambs to be seen. Secondly, the fields of rape, an offensively-bright sea of yellow that often seemed to stretch to the horizon. The weather was pretty-well perfect, the hotel excellent and the whole holiday most enjoyable. Graham and Hilda were the organisers. |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
It began with bluebells and more
bluebells |
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
Spring has sprung
again |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
Now you see them – just Now you do not |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
Ramsons in Tilder Gill
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
LONDON TOW PATH – 13 to 15 September 2021 On Monday 13th September, 19 of caught the train to
Teddington Station where we met our excellent guide Sophie who took us by
public transport to Kew Gardens. We had an early lunch then guided tour to
see a few highlights of the gardens including “the Five Lions” - all trees
surviving from 1762 when the gardens were established. As we walked three
miles back to Richmond, we enjoyed views of Richmond Lock and Palace among
other sights. On Tuesday 14th, we walked to Strawberry Hill for a
conducted tour of this wonderful old house. After our visit, we walked along
the river to see Turner’s House and Marble Hill House. A ferry took us across
the river to Ham House where we enjoyed a tour of the extensive grounds by Vivien
one of our members who volunteers there. After refreshments, we walked
upstream and back to our hotel, the Lansbury via Teddington Lock. We had time
to relax before our evening meal. On Wednesday morning, we checked out of our hotel and walked through Bushy Park to Hampton Court Palace for an optional conducted tour of the palace which included the sumptuous Royal Chapel. We met at the jetty for a boat trip down to Richmond from where we made our way back to the hotel. There was a choice of local pubs for a late lunch before returning home. The holiday was arranged by Margaret and organised by Travel Editions. |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
NORFOLK RAMBLING – Monday 1 to 6 APRIL 2019Twenty of us travelled
up to Norwich by train to start 4 days of walking in the flatlands of
Norfolk. We had
excellent accommodation at the rambling Dunstan Hall
Hotel for what proved to be a very cold week! Our first walk
was about 7.5 miles, taking in part of The Wherrymans Way which takes its
name from the wherry, a large cargo carrying barge whose black sails were
once a common side on the broads. The route ran along the banks of the River
Yare through open marshes, reed beds, grazing meadows and riverside villages.
We started our walk at the Saxon church at church Surlingham to the Ted Ellis
Nature Reserve. Then rejoined the river before visiting the villages of
Clayton and Thurton from where the bus took us back to the hotel. On day two we
walked from the hotel to the site of the Romano-British town of Venta
Icenorum, an important town for both the Iceni tribe and the Romans. We then
followed the Boudica Way which runs roughly parallel to the old roman ‘Pye”
road. After lunch we progressed to Tasburgh to meet the bus, visiting
Saxlingham Nethergate church on the way. Day three took
us by bus to Burnham Market, then through Holkham National Nature Reserve and
gently downhill to the coast at Burnham Overy Staithe. We then followed the
coast path alongside Burnham Creek to the vast expanse of Holkham Beach, then
along the beach and through woodland to Holkham Gap ending at the pretty
coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea. The final day
saw us walking across the marshes to re-join the River Yare. We then followed
the combined Weavers and Wherrymans Way along the river to Great Yarmouth
from where we took a bus back to Norwich and a guided tour of the city
finishing at the cathedral. The next day we made our way home on the train. |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
Northumberland Holiday - Friday 5 to 12 July
2019.
Sixteen of us
caught the train up to Alnmouth, near Alnwick, for a week’s walking holiday
staying at Nether Grange, the HF House, in Northumberland. Fourteen of us
were doing the “Walking with Sightseeing” - option mixing short walks with
visits - and two members opted for the walks programme. We had a lovely
time visiting part of Hadrian’s wall passing the famous Robin Hood tree at
Sycamore Gap. Following the wall was hilly in parts but stunning views of the
surrounding countryside made it all worth the effort! The coach took us on to the superb Vindolanda -
a Roman fort and museum just south of Hadrian’s wall. Back at the hotel, some
people joined in the Volcano Night on the beach where competitors built
sandcastles as a base for a wood fire then waited to see which one burnt
longest once the tide came in. Another
beautiful walk along the River All to Alnwick gave us time to explore the
formal gardens created by the Duchess of Northumberland set around a
cascading fountain. Some of us went on to the famous second-hand Barter
Bookshop situated in a Victorian railway station. Monday was a
free day. On Tuesday there was persistent heavy rain all day but we still enjoyed
a boat trip around the Farne Islands and then a walk to Bamburgh Castle.
Three of us went on a different boat trip and landed on the islands where we
took many photographs of puffins, artic terns, guillemots and many other
nesting birds and seals. On Wednesday we
walked to Craster, the home of the kipper, passing the dramatic ruins of
Dunstanburgh Castle perched on a remote headland. From there, we travelled by
coach to visit the Holy island of Lindisfarne where an Irish monk Saint Aiden
founded the monastery around 634. After passing the ruined monastery, we
walked out to the castle based on a Tudor fort and refurbished in the Arts
and Crafts style by Sir Edwin Lutyens. His friend, Gertrude Jekyll, laid out
a tiny garden north of the castle in 1911. After a circular walk, we returned
to the town where a cream tea awaited us! Our final day
was spent on a beautiful walk following historical carriage tracks, through
woodlands and across the edge of the moor towards Cragside. It is a Victorian
mansion in Tudor revival style near Rothbury which was the home of Lord
William Armstrong. He was an industrial magnate, scientist and inventor of
the Armstrong gun. Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit using
hydroelectric power. The extensive, hillside gardens were a pleasure to
explore. Thank you Jeannette for organising a lovely walking
holiday. |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Artic tern |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Cragside |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
BOURTON ON
THE WATER 28 SEPT TO 1 OCTOBER 2018
Fifteen of us spent
a very happy weekend at the Holiday Fellowship Hotel at Bourton-on-the-Water.
We all travelled by car and some of us stopped off at Waterperry Gardens,
near Oxford on the way there. We looked around the beautiful gardens, had
lunch and enjoyed a tour of the Queen Anne house with its contemporary
frescoes that stretch over three floors of the building. The Saturday
walks all started from Bourton and followed the Monarch’s Way to
Clapton-on-the-Hill and returned to Bourton via the quarry lakes. Option two
included Little Rissington and the third option went as far as Sherborne
returning via the Windrush valley. There was time to explore the town and
enjoy a cream tea. On Sunday, the
coach dropped us in different places but we all visited Snowshill where we
enjoyed a drink in the pub before continuing to Broadway. On the option one
walk, there was time to explore the lovely town and have a cream tea before
the coach picked us up. Those on option two also visited Temple Guiting. On the way
home, some of us stopped at Cirencester for lunch and a guided walk around
the ancient market town. The guide was most informative and enthusiastic. The holiday was
organised by Margaret |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
A view of the river flowing through Bourton-on-the-Water. |
On one of our walks, we spotted this fungus growing on a rotting branch. |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
An impressive front door seen in Broadway where we ended our Sunday walk. |
|
||||||||||||||
©Lewes Footpaths Group