Stroll 28

 I had a couple of days walking from Retford to Worksop then Kiveton on the Chesterfield Canal. It was totally new to me, I had never heard of it before, but a revelation. The most beautiful canal, clear as a bell for most of its length, twisting through beautiful woods, plenty of locks. It was built to transport coal from the north Nottingham coalfield to the Trent near Gainsborough; that trade and its marks seem a long way away today.

This is the canal in Retford. It is a couple of metres deep at this point, yet you can clearly see the bottom. Very rare for a canal in my experience. Across the water is the cemetery. 

Sunday

 Dave and Emma came round Sunday for some food, chat, and to watch the final stage of the Tour as it finished in Paris via three climbs of Montmartre. Great to catch up.

POTAP

Woke up this morning,

This is what I see.

Saturday Night

 We went to see His Final Report, a new play on at the Theatre Royal in York that is about the social research that Seebohm Rowntree carried out in York in the 20th Century. It was, amazingly, really entertaining and well done. There were a few people we knew in the cast alongside professional actors, and it moved on and got its points across very well. We were with a group of 20 odd people that had worked at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation with Danielle back in the day; so a potentially overly critical audience, but everyone saw a lot of good in it.

Ready for the harvest. A field near Alne, on a bike ride last week.

Friday Night

 

Friday night we went with Emily, Rene and Adam to a Northern Soul night at the Bluebird, up the road in Acomb. It was great, plenty of dancing, some real Northern specialists in action. Emily an Danielle looking cool.

Stroller

One last shot from the Stroll. Layla is a great exploring companion.

Canal Side

The canals and rivers of West Yorkshire are rich in industrial archaeology. The canals themselves (locks, bridges etc) and the industry that used the waterways before the railways arrived. This old mill or warehouse at Brighouse is unlikely to be converted to designer flats any time soon, but does give a hint of being an impressive building in its heyday. 

Stroll on. Again

After a break enforced by the hot weather and lack of available water for the dog, The Stroll got going again. This week I walked from Sowerby Bridge to Mirfield on the river Calder, and the various bits of navigation and canal that make up the waterway. The rains at the weekend made the canal and the woods take on a fresh, verdant and damp character.

Part Two

 In the afternoon Rowan returned to that London, and Danielle and I went up to see Gill and Robert on the farm. Had a lot of chat, went a walk around Poundon seeing the new East-West rail route which will link Oxford with Cambridge. It is great to see it being rebuilt; what were they thinking when it was closed by Beeching? 

We called in on Catherine and her and Adam's two kids under 4. Great to see them all.

Family Trip

At the weekend Danielle and I drove down to see my 95 year old Auntie Alison. We took homemade soup, cake, elderflower cordial and homemade daughter. We met Rowan at Bicester station. It was great to see Alison who does seem to be getting, if anything, younger. A really nice lunchtime.

In the blood

Here is another photo from Rowan. She's good.

Yak & Yetti

Catrien and Sirra treated us to a meal at the Yak & Yetti Gurkha restaurant in York. We had never been before, but it was a great experience. Next day was the outdoor photography session. You can spot them at work.

Jamming

The blackcurrant jam production line kicked into action yesterday. One year I put some marmite in the jam instead of in the soup which I was making at the same time. This year I let it boil over, but caught it in time. Spilt blackcurrant jam is not an easy clean. Tastes great though.

New Rose

The new table got a vase (to go with the redwood) and a rose from the garden.

Guest news

 Debbie returned to the US, and we welcomed two friends from the Netherlands that we met in Madeira in January. Catrine and Sirra stayed for the weekend, we had a really good time together. This included a photography lesson that apparently I promised whilst in Madeira. A pleasure to meet them again.

 

Au Revoir Lille

Lille really felt like a Flandrian city - in a good way. The streets were full of beautiful buildings. The local food similarly had a touch of Flanders too. The meal below is what is called a classic Welsh; the Lille take on rarebit, it makes fish and chips seem the height of gastronomy. 

Cheese, egg, chips, beer. Welcome to the Pas de Nord.

 

Le Tour trois

One evening Rowan and I wondered into the cathedral where there was a choral concert in full flow. It was great to be able to sit listen, enjoy and move on. Doors wide open, no barrier to entry, very civilized.

 

Le Tour deux

 Rowan came over for a couple of days for our TdF trip, it was good to see her. We all loved Lille, a great city for walking around, and nearer to London by train than York is to London. 

Le Tour

 The first time I saw the Tour de France was in 1993, when I went to Paris to see the final time trial on the Saturday (won by Tony Rominger), then the sprint stage on the Champs Elysee (won by fan favourite Djamolidine Abdoujaparov from Uzbekistan). This was also Stephen Roche's last tour, so he got to lead the pack onto the final circuit.

The following year in 1994 the Tour came to Brighton and I went down with Mark and Rob to see the stage finish on the seafront, where Cabello won, and Chris Boardman went on the attack. Both these years were won and dominated by Miguel Indurain.

In 2007 the Tour started in London, and I watched the time trial on the Mall with Sarah and Markus. Cancellara won, Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish made their Tour debuts and Alberto Contador went on to win the Tour.

Then came 2014 and the miraculous Grand Depart in Yorkshire. We saw stage 1 in the Dales near Leyburn, then the start of stage 2 went past our friends house in York, so we could literally see it on our doorstep, then Rowan and I saw Kittel win stage 3 in London.

This year Danielle's friend Debbie from Maryland came over to see the Grand Depart in Lille. So we went with her, stayed at an airb&b in the centre of Old Lille, saw the teams on the Thursday, stage one on Saturday, and generally enjoyed the whole experience. Travelling by Eurostar is always good, but to avoid Paris was even better. We could walk from the station to our flat in about 15 minutes. Jasper Philipson won the stage into Lille, quite a spectacle.

Ballet Figures. Lille

 

Forest

Another day we went to the new forest, and made the most of a cooler time of day. This bench is a favourite, should be around for a while by the look of it.

Danielle had successful cataract surgery on her "good" eye last week. Thankfully it seems to have gone OK.  It is not curing anything, but it does make her sight a little better in terms of clarity.

Wet Paint

We repeated our early morning walk at Hagg Bridge where we had breakfast on a lock on the Pocklington Canal. The surreal nature of the sign can be explained: but perhaps is best left to your imagination. Suffice to say that there were no water colourists waving their brushes around.

Summer in the City

 We went to friends Nick and Carol for their annual summer party. The food and weather and company is always good; quite a combination. As usual we met some great new people. The hot weather is proving a bit tough for Layla who does at least realize that shading from the sun is a good idea. Here she is underneath the outdoor table.

Heritage Rides Again 9

 The final day of my cycling trip took me from Kendal back to Carnforth via some great back roads. These deer were in Dallam Park near Milnthorpe. Then the rain started (a real rarity this summer) and I got the train back home via Leeds.

Heritage Rides Again 8

 After 125km the day before, I took it easy from Arnside to Grange and Humphrey Head, then across to Kendal via Brigsteer. I stayed with sister Ro &  Pete in their marvellous Kendal townhouse. Ro now has an allotment after 5 years of being garden free.

Heritage Rides Again 7

 From Glasson to Lancaster is a great ride on the old railway line. Then from Lancaster to Carnforth my route followed the canal, which gives great views across Morecambe Bay. Next came the limestone hills around Silverdale, and finally Arnside where I found a good hotel. Next year it will be 60 years since I was sent away to school there, aged 8.