Saturday 20 June 2009 - Molveno

Molveno is one of our favourite places.

We reached here without a hitch and with the assistance of the local Tourist Information Office the three of us - Sue, Mike and I - are happily installed in the Europa Hotel, where the view from our balcony is very similar to this one, with a fine aspect of the lake.

It has been a surprisingly sunny day (given the dire forecast), but the brollies are now out and we are revising our plans concerning a 'lakeside route' and may head more directly towards one of this little town's excellent eateries.
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Saturday 20 June 2009 - On our travels again

We'll be up bright and early to fly to Milan, for a regular trip to the Dolomites.  We are staying with Collett's in Arabba (as a change from camping in Cortina), and may well enjoy a trip up to the Falzarego Pass, from where the short climb or cablecar ride leads to the balcony of Rifugio Lagazuoi.  The view from that balcony is shown above.

We'll be putting up 'cards' during the week, probably leaving a fuller report until we return, as this promises to be an exceedingly sociable trip.

Topwalks Trips

Just to let you know, evening walk venues for the rest of the year have now been 'planned' and are detailed here on our Topwalks Trips website.

If you live in the Greater Manchester area (or anywhere else for that matter) you are most welcome to join us, usually for just an hour or two, normally finishing (and often starting) at a hostelry.

There are a few other trips as well, that may be of interest.  Feel free to use the 'Contact us' button if you'd like any more information.

If you are curious about what's on this site (it's a bit unwieldy at present) the site map reveals all.

Ciao (just practicing!)

Thursday 18 June 2009 - Dunham Massey Ducks

There are lots of ducks at Dunham Massey.  Mainly mallards, but here they come in many differing 'shades', from albino to the more familiar dark colours, with some light coloured intermediaries such as these.

 

Fed by visitors, the birds are very tame here, even the moorhens were fairly oblivious of people today.

Wednesday 17 June 2009 - A Strutting Peacock in Swettenham

The expected squadron of participants for tonight's walk failed to materialise following a stormy day.  It was just Andrew and I who sat outside the Swettenham Arms with handkerchiefs soaked from swabbing the iron chairs, each with a welcome Black Sheep on the table in front of us.

By now the rain was gone and we readied ourselves for a 9 km stroll based on the DVW (Dane Valley Way), to Holmes Chapel and back. 

Setting off at 7.45, we soon encountered this fine strutting peacock, virtually blocking the lane as he tried to seduce his mate, who watched intently as we passed by, having (I think) provided an  unwelcome interruption to proceedings.

Our route to Holmes Chapel by the south bank of the River Dane was pleasant enough, and after Holmes Chapel we enjoyed fine views towards the magnificent Victorian railway viaduct, recently re-pointed, and in use as we passed by it.

The sun then slowly drifted below the horizon, leaving a lovely sky, with lots of light to guide us back along the northern side of the Dane Valley, towards another welcome helping of Black Sheep.

TGO Challenge 2009 - A Slide Show

  There's now a slide show - restricted to 100 images - click here.

If you want to see the slide show in full screen mode, press F11, or if that fails, on the Internet Toolbar click Tools > Full Screen, and that should work.

I'll leave you to decide which of the two 'Title' screens is most appropriate...

Saturday 13 June 2009 - Welsh Wales

As you may gather from the previous entry, Sue and I nipped down to Dolgellau for the day, so as to join a few friends for an evening at the Red Lion in Dinas Mawddwy.

Sue popped up Cadair Idris.  She encountered hundreds of folk on a 'Three Peaks in 15 hours' adventure - they had set off up Snowdon at 4.30 am, were now on Cadair, and were to drive down to the Brecon Beacons to climb Pen y Fan by 7.30 pm, all in aid of raising £100,000 for a Cardiff charity. 

Good for them.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a 9 km stroll along the Mawddach Trail to the old toll bridge at Penmaenpool and back.

Very pleasant.

 

On the way I passed a number of common plants, and realised (after the Wood Avens) that the camera had been set on 'tungsten' mode for some time (hence the rather odd tinge to recent images).

From the top:
Herb Bennet / Wood Avens (Geum urbanum)
Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) - or similar
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)
Red Campion (Silene dioica)

Back at Dolgellau, we rendezvoused successfully and enjoyed tea and cake at Parliament House, a lovely family run coffee shop with a gallery of excellent images from Andrew Kime.

Meanwhile, the Welsh Castles Relay, was in progress, a change-over point being more or less next to our car in the car park.  Never mind, we thought, we'll escape to the Red Lion at Dinas Mawddwy.  So we went there.  But we didn't escape, as unbeknown to us the next section of the relay finished some 10 miles away at the doors of the aforesaid Red Lion!  Clever, huh!

But the weather was lovely, and we very much enjoyed the annual dinner of the 'Twenty-Fifth Annual Castleton Dinner Meet'.

Exciting stuff, what? 

I'll take my pen then.