Friday 3 July 2026 - A Bollin Valley Stroll

Today was supposed to be GM Ringway Stage 11, but we are in a period of travel disruption and we didn't fancy the replacement bus service to Littleborough.

So Sue and I met Paul, Jeanette and Sue W at 11am at Altrincham Interchange, for a short walk in the Cheshire countryside. We didn't really start until after a bacon buttie and coffee stop at the Two Brothers Café in Altrincham, after which suburban streets led to a ginnel beside a collapsing graveyard in Bowdon (above).

Our route passed across a small area of parkland to the side of Al and Hazel's allotment, avoiding the public footpath that Sue can be seen on that has been allowed to get completely overgrown.

Soon we were passing The Priory on paths leading to a familiar bridge over the River Bollin. No children playing there today, and the whole area looks different from usual thanks to the crops that are growing here.

Beyond the bridge, more crops, and an attempt by Sue to achieve an artistic portrayal of them.

Pineappleweed dominated the verges.

Welsh Poppies and Oxeye Daisies were abundant as we pressed on towards Ashley after crossing a footbridge over the M56 motorway.

The path near Stock Farm to Ashley cricket ground had not been preserved by the farmer, whose crop we could have trampled, but we were kind, and followed tractor tracks that led roughly to where we wanted to be.

That was ... to a sheltered spot under a tree next to the cricket ground, where refreshments were offered to those of us (me and Sue) who were travelling light. I think we all managed to enjoy a coffee (thanks P+J) and some delicious cherries (thanks Sue W).

Continuing past Ashley Hall, Hogweed now took centre stage in the verges.

We passed Brit Fest entrances. This appears to be a fairly major event.

Beyond that, a pleasant path beside the River Bollin, which we crossed again at Ashley Heath before making our way through Rosehill to Paul and Jeanette's house in Hale for chocolate biscuits and iced coffee in their garden on the warm, sunny afternoon.

Here's our route - 11.5km with very little ascent, taking 4 hours including a long break in Hale, before Sue W and Sue and I returned home via Altrincham Interchange. A lovely little excursion.

Wednesday 1 July 2026 - Spunch Urmston

Whilst followers of England's World Cup football match were enduring a stressful but ultimately successful evening, Sue and I set off on a two hour Spunch event in Urmston.

Sue took the above picture in Davyhulme Park before we split up as I had to revert to walking pace due to a painful occurence of Ischia bursitis (aka A Pain in the Bum).

HQ for this event was the Bevano (after Aneurin Bevan) Lounge on Flixton Road near Urmston railway station. Aneurin Bevan opened nearby Park Hospital, now Trafford General, on 5 July 1948 - the first NHS hospital.

During the evening I'd bumped into parkrunner Frank Cordingley - "Just out for a run - never heard of Spunch". Well, he has now.

Back at HQ after two hours of exercise, beer and a meal, whilst we waited for Alistair Pooler, who we knew was out there somewhere. He and his mate Dan did very well, as did another parkrunner who lives close to us in Timperley, Paul Steane, who joined us after the finish.

Here are the 120 minute event results - click on the image for a clearer version:

The route I took - about 12km - is shown below in blue. I went wrong at the bottom left and at the end, but it was a reasonable effort considering I walked the last few km.

Sunday 28 June 2026 - Remain-i-Ere

Here's the view from tonight's room at the Ramada Hotel, Bucharest.

Here's last night's excellent room at Schuster Boarding House in Brasov. A 'Boutique' hotel.

And here's the Boarding House after we left at around 11am this morning.

We were efficiently driven to the airport by 2pm, in plenty of time for our 6pm flight to Amsterdam. 

A thank you message was sent to Maria and the staff at Collett's who have looked after us on this trip, and their job was done. Thank you.

After lunch at the airport our phones started to buzz with messages from KLM, who claimed our flight from Amsterdam to Manchester had been cancelled. It may have been. We then got messages claiming our flight from Bucharest to Amsterdam had been cancelled. As we had boarding cards and were standing next to people checking in for the flight, this was patently untrue. Perhaps it is cheaper to put us up in Bucharest than in Amsterdam. Anyway, cutting a longer but fairly boring story short, a taxi eventually brought us here to an acceptable room with a view of the airport.

We are second class citizens relegated to the 'naughty corner' of the restaurant where we are not allowed to choose from the menu and are given soup and chicken kebabs and made to pay for our beer.

Hopefully we will get home tomorrow, but the chap coming from far away in the morning to service our alarm will be disappointed to find nobody at home.

PS We got home. 11:15 taxi > Bucharest airport > Amsterdam > Heathrow > Manchester > taxi > Timperley 23:45. Not without incident at Manchester Airport where the UK Arrivals door had been locked for the night, but the escalator ferrying passengers to those doors was still going strong, resulting in a 'health and safety' incident.

Saturday 27 June 2026 - Around Brasov

A successful day after an uncertain start. Our taxi to Zarnesti to catch the 9:09 train to Brasov was due at 8:15. We chased it up and it eventually arrived at 8:40, so we thought that with most of the journey being on a deeply rutted dirt road we stood little chance of avoiding a three hour wait for the next train service. 

Somewhat of a surprise then when we pulled up at the station with 15 minutes to spare. 

The local service between Zarnestì and Brasov got us to our destination at 10 o'clock after calling at some small stations such as Risnov, pictured above, which proudly exhibits a well on the platform.

On reaching Brasov we caught a bus and then walked to a splendid little hotel called Schuster Boarding House, where it was too early to check in but we could leave our bags.

Next stop - a coffee shop, we have quite a few Lei to dispose of...

Then a walking tour - self guided, suggested by Collett's, in the warmth of the Old Town.

The Black Church is massive.

The Council building dates from 1420 and since 1950 it has housed the History Museum, which we didn't find time to visit.

The Orthodox Cathedral (above) dates from 1895, with subsequent restoration works and an interesting interior (below).

We went up to the White Tower, from where there's a good view over the city.

After visiting the lower Black Tower we passed an interesting running track.

A walk along the course of the old walls had us passing the Brasov Tampa Cablecar operation that rises 320 metres above the city.

There were good views across the city from various points aļong the promenade that follows the course of the old city wall. An ATP tennis tournament was due to start. They won't compare with Wimbledon!

It was time to check in. A glass of Prosecco indicated satisfactory conclusion of check in process at a place we would normally consider outside our price range, but which was obviously not outside Collett's price range after we paid them for the trip. We have a huge room that will aid packing for our return home tomorrow. We have some remaining Lei to use on a meal tonight, and we will be picked up on Sunday (tomorrow) morning and taken to Bucharest airport for a late flight home via Amsterdam. 

So that's farewell from this little trip apart from some copious editing, more on flowers, an index, and whatever else I think of.

Here's Sue's entry:

Sat 27 June
7.15 alarm for 7.30 breakfast as our taxi was due at 8.15 to take us to Zarnesti Station for the 9.09 train to Brasov.
He finally turned up at 8.35, after two phone calls to the company. Instead of the 20-30 minute journey described in our notes, we arrived after about 15 minutes (8.53). The station was a very low key one, without a proper platform. The train arrived about 9 from our right, and at 9.09am exactly, left in the same direction it entered!
It was a local train that stopped a few times before reaching Brasov at 10am. The city is also known as Kronstadt (the Crown City).
Bus tickets were bought and we waited for bus number 4, which left at 10.20, with our tickets validated on board.
We alighted at the Miserica Neagra (Black Church) stop and walked a fairly short distance to the Schuster Boarding House.
Left bags here and set out around 11 to explore the town. First stop was for coffee only 300m or so from the accommodation.
We followed the instructions from Colletts, which took us around the medieval town walls, starting at Piata Sfatului, and taking in the Graft canal and bastion, then climbing a short way up to the white and black towers (Turnul Alb & Turnal Negru), both built as defences in the 1400s. Views over the town to Tampa Hill were excellent. Catherine’s Gate was built in 1559 and provided access to the old town from the Schei quarter, the old Romanian neighbourhood. After lunch in the shade in Gheorghe Dima park, we admired the wooden building of Brasov Skating Club. The Tampa promenade was initially missed and gained by steps up from Str. Castelului. A wide, level tarmac path contoured just above the walls, with views of the walls, Powder Tower, the Weaver’s Bastion and down to the roofs of the old town.
Back at Schuster (it was hot and about 2pm), we had a welcome glass of Prosecco, and retreated to our lovely, air-conditioned room on the 2nd floor.
Around 4pm, I went to visit the Black Church, built between 1383 and 1477. It is the largest Gothic construction between Vienna and Istanbul. Its name refers to a fire in 1689.
Subsequently, patrons from Brasov created the wooden pews, painted to identify the trades, and bought over 100 Ottoman rugs, as well as creating an ornate pulpit. The Buchholz organ has over 4,000 pipes and dates from 1839. The earliest painting survived the fire and dates from 1460 or so. It was well worth the 30 lei entrance fee and was beautifully cool inside.
Dinner was at Ograda, at one side of the square after a look around market stalls which sold goods from Moldova, from wine to cakes, to honey and pottery.
A shared Greek salad, mici and fries (me) and chicken and fries (M) with cold beers, was tasty, under an umbrella. We then had a slow stroll along the streets, thankfully shaded now but still very hot, back to base. The buildings are colourful, ornate but not all in a perfect state.

Friday 26 June 2026 - A walk from Magura

 

A lovely walk today from Villa Hermani, shown above from the start of our walk with a backdrop of places through which we have passed. 

Here's another view from the same spot. 

After a bit of faffing arising from differences between Collett's route and Katerina's route, we chose the latter, as Katerina (who appears to be the boss here) was on hand to point us in the right direction past some nice flowers.

Peach-leaved Bellflowers

Lesser Butterfly Orchid 

All paths lead to the valley bottom, where the river is crossed by either a shallow paddle or the remnants of a corrugated roof. 

We turned left up the track and ascended gently for several kilometres in a magnificent limestone canyon. Elevenses were taken on a bench near a rock face that a couple were preparing to climb.

There are numerous information boards including several showing the named climbs up the faces that hem in ordinary pedestrians such as ourselves. 

A signpost indicated our preferred route to Cabane Curmatura, following yellow circles painted on rocks and trees.

A nutcracker hopped around nearby, seemingly oblivious to our presence. 

Continuing in and out of the welcome shade of the trees, we reached the cabane after rather more ascent than I'd expected.

This was a regular Alpine hut, much like those found elsewhere in Europe. It had a resident fox.

Sue nipped up to a nearby saddle whilst I chilled for 40 minutes at the hut.

Descent was on a yellow stripe route. After contouring through woodland for half an hour we crossed a pretty meadow before going steeply down through the forest past several piles of bear poo.

Somehow Sue and I managed to escape from some whistle happy (supposedly to scare the bears but more likely to wake them up) Americans by accidentally switching to a steeper red stripe path that proved to be a short cut.

A final ascent drew us back to Villa Hermani via a good view of the church next to which we lunched yesterday. 

We got back at 5pm after a good seven hour's walk, and later enjoyed a lovely meal with several German speaking groups. One solo lady with a poor command of English chose to move to our table rather than join Stuttgart hiking club.

I'd hoped for an easy day today but it turned out to be about 20km with 1300 metres ascent, thankfully all at a very gentle pace.

Now enjoying a last evening in the hills, with whistling swifts and alpenrose clad mountains turning pink in the distance.

Sue's diary:

26 June
Woke at 7.30 to the peace of Magura. Breakfast about 8.20am with a large flask of coffee and the usual meats and cheeses. Lunch was made from these.
After a false start (too far down the dirt road) we checked with Katherina and took the 2nd left turn on a dirt road, from left out of the villa. After 280m, we turned right after Casa Dobra and descended down a narrow path, then a sunken lane,past a meadow, to drop through the woods to the gorge. There were Lesser Butterfly orchids here.  We’d joined a marked (blue triangle) trail. Here we turned left and followed the track as it gently climbed beside a shallow river.
The gorge was cool and shady, and the limestone cliffs impressive. Boards described various aspects of the Piatre Craiului National Park, including that it has around 25 bears, and 5-6 lynx (Martin spotted one on our drive up the valley to see the bears yesterday).
We stopped for a cup of tea at the Mountain Rescue post, where there was a bench and two climbers were preparing their equipment.
Soon after, a Romanian asked where we were from. He was a climber, turned walker due to carrying a small child! He warned us about bears, saying there were 16,000 in Romania! According to Katherina, the DNA profiling that’s been done showed there are 10 to 13,000. He has a holiday home in Magura.
We did see three piles of bear poo today though!
We continued up the track until a right turn took us into the woods on a narrow path marked with yellow circles. The sign stated that it was 2.00 to 2.30 hours to Curmatura Hut. The path was lovely and shady and followed a stream, crossing it part-way up. A nutcracker hopped on the path in front of us, unwilling to fly off.
The path reached a meadow that has been grazed over many years, losing the flowers that are present in the hay meadows lower down. Cow bells could be heard.
The final pull to the hut was up a steep grass slope and we arrived about 1.30pm. There were a good number of people spread over the tables and under the eaves and the views over the forest were wide, with the limestone ridge above.
We bought cokes and ate our sandwiches, and Katherina’s recommended chocolate slices.
Reluctantly Martin let me climb for 20 minutes to a saddle, that gave magnificent views to the valley and up to the higher limestone summit. A columbine and alpine clematis were seen on the way up. A ring ouzel sang from a nearby tree, next to one with a woodpecker sitting on it!
It was half an hour there and back, so we started our descent about 2.15pm, following the vertical yellow stripe path, back in the woods once again.
After 30 minutes we entered a meadow, where cows were grazing with their bells ringing. The views to the Bucegi range from here were lovely. We then (gratefully) plunged back into the dark forest, stopping for the rest of the tea and cake at a bench (3.20) before the gradient steepened.
We lost the yellow stripes after zigzagging down through the woodland but the path followed a ridge steeply down, emerging at the car park at the gorge entrance and the other path that we’d inadvertently left.
Turning right, we retraced our steps from this morning and slowly climbed back to Magura, reaching the villa at 5pm.
Tea in our room, with feet up after a 20km day, doing Squardle for an hour or so.
Showers and washing was next, with a few minutes on the terrace with a cold beer, before dinner at 7pm. This was self-service, sausages and other meat, salads, and oven-baked mash. It was extremely tasty. Papanasi (with jam and cream) for pudding.
We then sat back out on the terrace, to write diaries, watching as the mountains turned red (the pink slopes of Alpenrose were visible - this only occurs for a couple of weeks a year) and the moon brightened (9ish).

The swifts are squealing as they swoop to and fro above.
Villa Hermani is at 1,020m.