Macedonia 3

 We hired a car for a few days, and drove up to the mountains between Ohrid lake (shared with Albania) and Prespa lake (shared with Albania and Greece). Lovely to walk up high with butterfly rich meadows for company.

 

Macedonia 2

 

Monday we walked high up above the lake, had a coffee and a cake in a restaurant then took this mountain path contouring along the mountain. Beautiful.

Macedonia 1

 Just back from our holiday in Ohrid Macedonia. I wanted to share the joys of the country with Danielle so we went together. As the flight left Manchester and 6.15 we went the day before and stayed at the Radisson hotel in the airport, which is a bit of a treat and cheap at the weekend. 

The flight was great, with views of the Alps and the Adriatic before the sweep over Albania to Ohrid. The weather was perfect, around 30° a warm dry heat at 770 metres above sea level. Sitting by the lake as the evening closed in was a good start to the holiday.

Stroll 74 iv

 I also passed near Brindle, on top of a hill to the west of the canal. This is where my maternal grandfather was the vicar for a while, and where my mother and auntie lived when they were children.

This is the nearest the canal gets to Brindle. It was a hot afternoon, some of the cattle were looking for shade, some were just enjoying the sun.

Stroll 74 iii

 

This is where the Walton Summit canal branched off from the Leeds Liverpool canal to connect with the Preston tramway that joined up with the Lancaster canal in Preston (the names get confusing). That canal went north to Lancaster and, ultimately, Kendal. When were kids in Preston my father would show us the old tram bridge over the Ribble. This was out of bounds, as were nearly all the old industrial rail lines even if they were abandoned. Now it is much improved, like a lot of things. 

Stroll 74 ii

A ruined factory beside the canal, well and truly on its way to being reintegrated into the natural world.

 

Stroll 74 Blackburn to Chorley

 

I moved further into Lancashire on the Leeds Liverpool canal. Good to see plenty of Red Roses around. A lovely stretch contours around to head south towards Wigan. I got off at Chorley, then got a train back via Preston. Met the usual assortment of wonderful people. Life is a bit of a privilege sometimes.

Friends

Here are the four friends in Valencia.

 

Face Paint

Whilst we watched the World Cup final here in York, Rowan was in Valencia with three friends for the weekend. A local was happy to give Rowan a Spain flag on her cheeks. Looked reasonably crazy after the win, but in my daughter's words "to be honest it wasn't a patch on when Arsenal won the league"

 

Purple haze

On a bit of a butterfly roll at the moment. I saw this Purple Hairstreak in Museum gardens in the centre of York this week. I take the photos mainly to aid identification. Not works of art, but they do the job.

 

World Cup

 Rob, Mark and I always used to watch at least one World Cup match together. This year Rob's widow Kath invited us with Mandy and Rowan to watch a game at their house. It was a sad but good occasion. 

True to the past, it was the painful England exit to horrible Argentina. Danielle and I watched the final at home, and it was a great relief that Spain won.

Stroll 73 Gargrave to Colne

 

A walk along the Leeds Liverpool canal, from the Yorkshire Dales over to the East Lancs milltowns. A beautiful day, a good breeze and plenty of water for Layla to keep herself cool in. 

This is the reservoir built to keep the canal topped up at the summit of the canal, above Foulridge tunnel.

Where the Meadow meets the Barley

The fields we walk through in Escrick are ever-changing but always lovely. This time of year is no different.

 

Tapas?

 Saturday we were due to go with Shin-Suk and Peter to the best tapas bar in Snaith (near Goole). Until Peter found out it was out of business, so now Snaith has no tapas bars. I cooked a curry and they came round to ours instead. A very pleasant evening, which turned into a very stressful evening after Peter and Shin-Suk left and Danielle and I watched England v Norway in the football. It is never easy.

Danielle and Emilie at the gig.

Self Esteem

 A good weekend. Friday evening we went to see Self Esteem at the Museum Gardens in York. This was one of a series of evening gigs. This was the one we wanted to see. Fantastic performance that really was way better than your average gig. We went with Emilie and met up with Edward, Faye and John. The weather perfect and the vibe pleasant.

   

Meadow Brown

Back at the new forest, this meadow brown was one of hundreds that flitted around the meadow. It is a beautiful time.

 

Stroll 72

 

Looking across the Ribble valley towards Longridge Fell and others. Good to be in Lancashire again.

Stroll 72 Burnley to Blackburn

 A great stroll along the Leeds and Liverpool canal, between the two main mill towns of east Lancashire. It was a good walk, along a route that I cycled when I was a student at Liverpool en-route to Ilkley. I just about worked out where I slept in a field by the canal - it was 47 years ago, so quite a bit of change, not least a motorway. Still a great contouring canal to follow.

Art in Acomb

 On Sunday we walked around the Acomb Arts festival. This included an art show at the church, with a work by Tracy Enim and one by Damian Hurst: not what you'd normally expect in Acomb. It was good fun, we were with Emilie and the dogs, and found a street food pizza truck which was perfect for us all. This shot was taken in the church yard: it took a bit of getting the shot right, and it is not that great, but interesting enough.

Brimstone

 Walking the dog early in the heat today, back at the butterfly meadow. This Brimstone was hiding as a leaf .

Gatekeeper

The meadows in the new forest are alive with butterflies at the moment. Great to see. This is a Gatekeeper, which was one of my Mother's favourites.

 

Back in the Day

Long ago, the first York station was built within the city walls - via a vandalous knocking through of said walls. It has been long gone, but the railway offices at the back of this photo are still there, although now a luxury hotel. The station was replaced by the current one, in the 1860s.

 

Stroll 71 pt2

A beautiful light on the day in the Peak district. 

Stroll 71 Edale to Chinley

 A walk over the Pennines from Edale to Chinley. Followed the start of the Pennine Way up Jacob's Ladder to the top of the Peak district. Famous for unfathomable peat bogs, it was as dry as a bone as we enjoyed the quiet bleakness.

Looking back towards Edale from Jacob's Ladder

Barley News

The barley is looking good ahead of harvest on the outskirts of York.

Bad Bunny

Rowan went with her friend Grace to see Bad Bunny at Tottenham Stadium. He is a Puerto Rican artist singer who has more streams than anyone else world wide. Sounded like a great gig.

 

Going to Meet The Man

In our Music Book Group we discussed the James Baldwin short story collection, Going To Meet The Man. Brilliant writing, harrowing subject matter, worth the effort.

Another shot from the Peak Forest canal.

 

Stroll 70 Marple to Chinley

 

The last day before the heat wave, I got a great walk in, along the Peak Forest canal up to Chinley. This shot shows the Dark Peak behind the village of New Mills. There was a lot of boating activity on the canal, a positive vibe all round.

Stroll 69 Settle to Gargrave

 

A dales walk above the air valley. Varied and quiet with Pendle Hill looming in the background.

Stroll 68 Prudhoe to Hexham

 

Another day, another country. Followed the Tyne path from Prudhoe (pronounced Pruder) to Hexham. A glorious path, this collapsing cliff was a bit of a challenge for me and the dog; we both relished it.

Stroll 67 Colne to Burnley

In Lancashire for today's stroll. The canal passes Turf Moor football ground, and also provided this mosque and canal combo.

 

Stroll 66 Ilkely to Skipton

 Quite a lot of strolling to catch up on. This was a great high level route over the moors. Lovely day, dog off the lead. 

Going on a Bear Hunt

Long ago Liam was introduced to the Bear. This trip he asked "can we go see the bear?" I was delighted to comply

 

Cousin Liam

Nephew Liam has just finished high school. He has been with us for a week, tow days with Rowan, the rest in York. Been good to have him. This shot of him proudly wearing a charity shop leather jacket he found in Brick Lane, was taken by Rowan in her flat.

 

Tandem Trip Last Day

 We left the tandem at Ro and Pete's, took the train home via Preston, then I came back the next day in the car to collect the bike.

Preston was looking a bit more spruced up than in recent years. This is the arcade by the Harris. There were even pavement cafes on Fishergate, including Brucciani's which appears to be going strong.

Tandem Ride 7

We had a day in Kendal, saw the really good art gallery, then in the afternoon Pete took us to the boat museum on Windermere. A really good place to visit.

 

Tandem Ride 6

 

The last day on the bike took us up the west bank of Windermere, across by the ferry, then to Kendal where we stayed for two nights with Ro & Pete. Always good to catch up with them. As is tradition we went to the local pub and had a pint.

Tandem Trip 5

 A great route along the Lancaster Canal to Carnforth, then through the Yealand limestone hills and the plain to Grange. Next came a swoop along the tandem friendly flat road to Backbarrow. Here we stayed in the converted Dolly Blue factory - I remember as a child when we came to Ulverston we always looked out for the blue men who worked here. 

Wonderful Morecambe Bay

Tandem Trip 4

 

There was rain today, but it was not cold. We cycled along quite happily to reach the Midland hotel in Morecambe. This is an art deco classic building that has recently moved from dereliction to renovation. Set right on the shore we had our meal watching the changing Morecambe bay landscape respond to the weather.

Tandem Trip 3

 Day Two we cycled along the Leeds Liverpool Canal to Gargrave in the Pennines; it is a beautiful creation and I am always glad to see it. We then left the canal and headed to Clitheroe for our next hotel.

Tandem Trip 2

 It then got pretty hot as we cycled along the river Aire to Leeds, and then the Leeds Liverpool canal as far as Saltaire. A great start to the trip. We even had ice cream from a van on the canal - a rare occurence for me.

Tandem Tour 1

 Danielle and I set off on a warm and sunny Saturday for our first tandem tour together. Emilie and Alfie were looking after house and dog, so were all set. We rode to Garforth on back roads and tracks before following an old railway line to St Aidans. This was Europe's biggest slagheap, but is now a beautiful RSPB reserve which serves teas and cake as well.

The view across St Aidans RSPB reserve

Stroll 65 Wakefield to Barnsley pt3

 

My route into Barnsley took me past Oakwell, the football ground. Hard to believe Barnsley were in the Premier League in 1997.

Stroll 65 Wakefield to Barnsley pt2

Once upon a time this was an industrial railway line. Now it is a perfect way to walk.

 

Stroll 65 Wakefield to Barnsley pt1

 This was a walk that connected two bits of the network of routes I have been developing during the two years of The Stroll. A route that visited old pits, now turned into country parks, old railway lines that I walked on, and the semi-derelict Barnsley Canal that formed the majority of my route. I also passed through the Waterton Wall where Charles Waterton founded the first nature reserve in 1826. Wikipedia it if you are interested.

The Waterton Wall

In The City

The view from our hotel in Finsbury Square.

 

Ballet

 Rowan went to see Ballet Black at the Hackney Empire. Glad she is enjoying the arts.