Lingmell Dash

The Short race in the British Championship series was up to Lingmell from Wasdale Head. A "short" race but still climbing to a height only just short of Scafell Pike which was the next mountain along from Lingmell. The weather was great and the scenery stunning. In the end I had decided to make it a long day trip up which was a lot of driving but not too bad apart from some slightly dubious GPS directions.

The race itself was tough. After about 800 m a very steep climb commenced which took me up around half the height before a steadier climb began. As so often with these races the hill just seemed to go on and on and every time you thought you were at the summit another km or more came into view. The running was pretty nice on the higher ground although I was moving pretty cautiously particularly after the guy in front of me took a nasty tumble.

The final steep descent was very tough and I felt my legs drained of all energy in the final run in.

1 hr 22 mins and 191% of the winning time.

Home

We headed back home on Friday. We had intended to stop at Leven's Hall in the lake district but found it closed on Fridays :( Headed back via Moffat where Hannah was delighted to buy some Moffat Toffee.

Saltaire

Another great day out to the old mill town of Saltaire. Really interesting and pleasant town.

Haworth

Our next stop was in the Bradford area staying at the Premier Inn which was a big step up from the Travelodge. We had a nice trip to Haworth and a walk to the Bronte Waterfall and up onto the moors to visit the "Heathcliff" cottage. Good weather and a really nice walk. Haworth was lovely.

In the evening we visited Warren and family at their home in Leeds. Really nice to see them again.

Bristol

We headed on to Bristol and a somewhat unsatisfactory stay at the Travelodge. A very poor welcome and rooms that were only just acceptable - thankfully the single disappointing hotel in our travels.

The next morning we visited the Brunel ship and museum which was really excellent and very interesting.

Eden Project

Another great day out this time at the Eden Project with a mix of great outdoor gardens and two big indoor domes.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

We had a nice morning on the beach building sandcastles:

In the afternoon Colin and Cherry went to the Lost Gardens of Heligan which was really excellent with lots to see in the many different parts of the garden.

Bovey Tracey and St Austell

The journey continued with a short stop in Bovey Tracey to visit Cherry's aunt and a stop at the world famous house of marbles

We headed onwards down some very windy roads to get to a hotel in a tiny village, Goram Haven. A lovely little cove and beach. The Llawnroc hotel was quite nice, stripey carpets excepted, and had a pool table which got plenty of usage.

Dorset, Chesil Beach, Bridport and Lyme Regis

Our next stop was a lovely "hotel" on the coast at Chesil Beach. Colin and Cherry has a nice self-catering apartment while Max and Hannah had a room with B&B. We were right by the coast with great views.

We enjoyed a pleasant walk along the coast to Bridport aka Broadchurch. Very scenic and nice to spot all the places from the TV show.

The next day we went to Lyme Regis and did some, not very successful, fossil hunting and walked around the town.

Salisbury

On the journey between Stevenage and Dorset we broke the journey at Salisbury and has a nice walk round the very nice town.

Stevenage

After Norwich we headed on to Stevenage for a two night stop. A nice dinner out with family on Sunday night and then on Monday Max and Colin headed out to Knebworth House for the day - a pleasant and interesting visit.

Max discovered that he can climb a pole !

University of East Anglia

We headed off the Norwich on friday afternoon after a bit more wandering and lecture attending on Friday morning in Cambridge.

The open day was on Saturday and again lots of talks to attend. The modern campus wasn't particularly attractive but the town looked very nice.

Hannah very much liked the course and this is target number 1 for her uni applications.

Cambridge

An early start the next day to attend an open day at Cambridge for Hannah to study the English course. Arrived in time to get parked near the English faculty and enjoyed attending a number of talks and lectures and general wandering about town. Colin caught up briefly with Ian for lunch.

In the evening we stayed in John's College.

Hannah decided it wasn't the course or university for her.