Pego 2

Tall reeds from the Pego marshlands

Pego

I spotted these wetlands on the map, just north of Denia near Pego. They are a [very informal] nature reserve and a real pleasure to walk around. We saw Storks in flight and plenty of other birds. A good refuge from the coast.

Ride Time

Dave and I got a ride in. North over the North York Moors to Yarm. Good tailwind, couple of showers, some good hills [Wass bank and Carlton Bank] and a good cafe at the end of the ride before getting the train back where Danielle and Milo met us. It was my first ride on the road bike since last summer. Welcome back spring!

This is Valencia Cathedral; no idea who these two are.

Strawbs

1974 I saw the Strawbs in Preston at the Guildhall with my sister. 43 years later they are still going. Danielle and I saw them at Knarebrough in a small theatre run by a friend. They were quite good - worth seeing once; the highlight was the guitarist Dave Lambert who was really good and made up for some pretty ropey vocals. Two gigs in a week - blimey.
The photo is from a Park in Valencia.

East Anglia Swoop

A quick trip down to Suffolk to see Mother, staying with Ro and Pete, then calling in at friend Wendy's in Norwich on the way back home. Wendy is back from Canada, it is 11 years since she and her daughter came to stay with us in York - great to catch up.

The photo is another from Denia, I think I might show this in Open Studios.

More From Spain

There will be quite a few photos from the Spanish trip over the next few weeks. Rowan took this; the nearest I'll get to having my own station I think.

Rowan's Return

Rowan is back in the States for her final term at George School. We had a farewell meal at Wagamama on Sunday, her flight was the next day. At the moment finance is the big issue in terms of University choice. Rowan has an offer from John Hopkins [which is a bit of a coup] but getting the funds together might prohibit that. In this country Warwick is her chosen course and she has an offer from them.Time will tell. Meantime here is Milo enjoying having the whole pack at home.

Wolds Still

It is lovely for me that Rowan can still enjoy a walk in the Wolds. It was a beautiful afternoon this week when we went to Tun Dale.

King King Live

Danielle and I went to Holmfirth Picturedome to see a King King gig. They are just brilliant - if you get the chance drop everything and go see them. Alan Nimmo sings like Frankie Miller and plays like Paul Kossoff [really] and the band were tight as anything, the keyboard player even used a Hammond with a Leslie cabinet. Great crowd, great venue [standing!] just one of those nights. As good as a Rory Gallagher gig [and that is saying the unsayable].

The photo is of friend Kelly, Danielle and Rowan at a trendy bar in Denia.

Denia 7

I took Danielle and Rowan on a route around Serra Montego on a gentle contouring path. Then we met up with Kelly for a late lunch in a great restaurant on the harbour. We went up to her house for a goodbye cup of tea; here is Rowan with Barnaby the dog.

Denia 6

We drove to Xeraco then took the commuter line to Valencia. I had never visited the city before [the third largest in Spain] and we all really liked it. There was plenty going on with Las Fallas festival which links religion, nationalism and pagaism with a bit of flamenco dress and lots of bangs and fires. Had lunch at a Blues and Craft Beer Bar with John Lee Hooker on the stereo and football on the TV - not bad!

This is the railway station, Estacio del Nord, which is a magnificently over the top modernist design from the early 20th Century.

Denia 5

We walked or ran along an old railway line in the morning, then all had a coffee in the town square in the sun before walking along the coast again for Sunday lunch. I walked back a long way round, past this bizarre deserted village with Montgo behind it - I came across two different explanations; either an illegal planning development that was bankrupted, or the homes of workers from the quarry that shut. I post two photos of the village - which do you prefer? I am torn.

Denia 4

I took off to climb the local mountain. What a great place it is Serra del Montgo, 750m high, straight up from sea level. I took the main path up, which was a bit of a scramble, then dropped down on a ludicrously steep path off the north face of the mountain. It was safe, but I had to take it very carefully; no one else around.

In the evening we all went out for a meal in town with Kelly and her friend Cachita at a tapas bar, followed by the local version of gin and tonic for everyone except me [Lent is still in session].

Denia 3

Kelly had a hospital appointment in Benidorm, so we went with her and wondered around the town early on a lovely March morning. It was surprisingly empty and [therefore] pleasant. After that we drove up into the hills to a village with a castle and enjoyed the fresh spring air.

Denia 2

Kelly came round and we walked along the coast to a restaurant where we had aroz a banda in the [cool] sun. The coast is pretty spectacular.

Denia 1

Friends Paul and Kelly moved out to Denia in Spain a few years ago. We had meant to get out to visit them at some time, and decided to combine it with Rowan's exam revision holiday [last time was in a snow bound Sanquhar in Scotland, so sunny Spain is proving more popular]. So off we set from Leeds Bradford airport; a beautifully low key experience compared with Manchester or Heathrow, but positively bustling compared with Santa Fe from last month.

We had this apartment arranged through a friend of Kelly's, with another friend letting us in at midnight by the time we had driven from Alicante in the hire car.

Sprint!

I tend to leave the sports photography to people who do that sort of thing, but got a couple of shots inside the velodrome; this is a Sprint between a Chinese and a Hong Kong rider, the cat and mouse stage before the hell-for-leather final sprint.

Olympic Park

Friday evening we scoped out the route from Stratford through the Olympic Park to the velodrome. They have done a good job with developing the park and the whole area, including some pretty challenging outdoor climbing walls - I left Rowan to do the exploring.

Urban Walking

Rowan shares with me a love of urban walking. So Saturday saw us walk from Kings Cross to the South Bank, along to Tower Bridge then up through the east end to Stratford, ready for the cycling on Sunday. A great experience when shared with someone who enjoys it as much as I do.

The Thames is getting more photogenic by the year.

Reflections.

Reflections in glass walls are a bit of thing for me. This does not work particularly but the plants and seagull and boat give a different perspective.

World Cycling Championships

Rowan is home for Spring Break. We were straight off to London for the Cycling Track World Championships which was a great great event. 8 years since we went to the world champs at Manchester - this was just as good.
The photo is of the two of us in position before Laura Trott et al took to the boards.

Dundee 3

Looking to the North the Highlands with snow and wind farms are just discernible in the distance; beckoning and a little bit menacing.

Chapeau!

In Santa Fe we saw an exhibition of Georgia O'Keefe painting which were very inspiring. As was the hat she seemed to wear most of the time. So we bought one to share [same size, I have a big head, Danielle has dreads].

Dundee 2.

Here is the view from The Law with the two bridges across the Tay; rail on the right, road on the left.

Dundee 1

I had another free rail ticket from Virgin East Coast, so decided to go to Dundee for the day. Really good place to visit; I walked up the Law [actually more metres climbed than going up Arthur's Seat] then through lots of interesting places. This is the square in front of the Laird Hall. As I walked through I saw a pretty sadly small anti-cuts demo, an attempted bag snatch [police were there] and someone collapse [ambulance arrived]. Normal day in Dundee I guess.

Sledmere

I delivered another photo to clients in the Wolds last week, so used the opportunity to get another walk in. This is School House Dale near Sledmere.

Contrast

Back in Northampton, and the contrast with Santa Fe is not hard to discern. There was a lovely low sun last week which cast these shadows against the wall by the station.