Golf at Cardrona

Maxwell and Colin headed off on a damp Tuesday morning for golf at Cardrona. The weather was OK at first although the course a bit waterlogged. The rain and strong rains finally arrived and we called it a day after 12 pleasant holes.

In the evening, after the arrival of Richard, Tom, Nicola and Lee we celebrated Colin's 50th Birthday with a lovely meal and birthday cake.

Abbotsford House

Learnt about the history of Walter Scott and toured the house.

Riverside Walk

Max, Colin, Cherry, Hannah and Les took a short stroll along the Tweed within the Ashiestiel Estate.

Cycle to Ashiestiel

Long cycle from home to our holiday home at Ashiestiel. 45 miles in total with quite a lot of climbing in the hills near Innerleithen. Felt extremely tired at the end.

Dinner out in the evening with Maxwell, Liz, Les, Colin, Cherry, Hannah and Max at the Clovenfords Inn.

Lancaster Cycles

Stopped off en-route to some Board meetings in Lytham to do some of the cycle rides in my traffic free cycle ride book. The first cycle was down the Lune River from Lancaster to Glasson and back and then the second was from Lancaster to Morecambe and Heysham. All the routes were on nice cycle tracks that looked like former railway lines. Nice and flat and generally pothole free. Would have been great if the weather was nicer but it was a bit cold, windy and wet. Even then it was a pretty nice set of rides.

Callander Sportive

As early preparation for Ride 100 in July I decided to give a 54 mile sportive a go. An excellent event with a free entry from Evans Cycle look just what I needed. The weather was fantastic and after an early morning drive I was ready to set off around 9 am.

Generally an excellent route with just a few sections with faster moving cars. It got pretty tough pretty quickly with some decent climbs in the early stages. There was a short break for cake and to top up water at about 25 miles and then a really big climb at Kippen.

At Aberfoyle I was feeling pretty tired and saddle sore so stopped for about 20 minutes for a coffee and tray bake. This did the trick in preparing me for the big climb at Dukes Pass. Pleased to be able to take all the hills in my heavy bike.

After this big climb a final 10 or so easier miles back into Callander.

Lancaster University

The three of us headed down by train on Friday night with an overnight stay in the town centre. The next morning we took a bus out to the campus. Immediate impressions weren't great as it looked like a 1960's concrete new town. After a tour round the uni and a short walk round the town Hannah concluded that Birmingham was better and crossed Lancaster off the list of options. Choice now between Birmingham and UEA depending on whether she gets an offer from them.

University of Birmingham

A long day out to the open day at the University of Birmingham. Flight down in the morning with FlyBe and then a taxi to the campus. A very nice campus to the South West of Birmingham with some pleasant red brick buildings. The English department was nice as well. We had a good tour and really liked it. Train home in the evening.

The campus is rather better than the picture suggests. It was a very wet and grey day.

National Records

Attended my first meeting of the National Records of Scotland Board. Had a quick visit at the end to see the dome where they keep the certificates of every birth, death and marriage in Scotland since 1850. Quite awe inspiring.

SOSOL - Lothian Edge

First running or orienteering outing in a month. Lothian Edge is in the hills inland from Dunbar and quite an isolated location. I've been a few times but I think it has always been shrouded in mist or fog. Today was glorious blue skies. The 5 degrees temperature actually felt about 18 in the sun.

With my suspect knee I ran round cautiously focussing on navigation and mixing a bit of running with quite a lot of walking. Navigation was pretty good with around 2 or 3 minutes of smallish mistakes. Really enjoyed it and felt my knee coped reasonably well.

Alcala de Henares

Our last day was at the university town of Alcala de Henares. It was a beautiful town very much like a Cambridge, Oxford or St Andrews with lots of delightful old buildings and a very pleasant relaxed atmosphere. The town centre was heaving in the evening when everyone seemed to be out for the "paseo". We had a nice walk in the historic centre and a less nice walk through a park and along the river. In theory they had spent €5m on developing the park but it was a mess in so many ways.

The town was also full of nesting storks on every ancient church and university building.

Toledo

We toured round the old town in Toledo today. The Cathedral was a highlight with a great tour and audioguide (not often you can say that). It was sunny enough to sit outside for lunch. Visited the El Greco museum and on top  that lots of walking.

Walk in Toledo

Drove in the morning for about two hours to get from Segovia to Toledo. After a quick sandwich lunch we drove down from the Parador to the road facing across to town then walked in a circuit down to the river, along the River Tajo to the Puete de San Martin and then along the road on the other side back to our start. 2 hours total walk time. Very nice views, a lot of birdlife and lots of almond blossom.

La Granja

A short drive from Segovia to La Granja. A Spanish royal palace in the style of Versaille with large formal and wooded gardens. The interior was a bit dull but the palace grounds were excellent especially on a cold and snowy day. Temperatures around freezing but with no wind it felt very pleasant. Did an hour long walk towards the mountains but didn't find a path through so looped back round to the start.

El Escorial & El Valle de Los Caidos

A 45 minute drive from Segovia to El Escorial where we had a trip round the Royal Palace and the Basilica. A grand classical building but a little dull. The tour inside wasn't fantastic. Nice views in the gardens outside to the surrounding hills.

After Cherry ate around 30 rabbit ribs for lunch we headed off to El Valle de los Caidos an modern church built into the side of a mountain. Grand in scale but rather scary in tone and mood. Built by Franco for the Spanish War dead he himself is buried in the centre of the building.

Segovia

A day spent doing the sights of Segovia. Arrived in town around 10 am with temperatures around zero and the snow falling. Very attractive city with some great sights like the aqueduct, cathedral and alcazar. The latter two being particularly spectacular. The weather cleared a bit in the afternoon and we had a nice walk along the river and then a former river channel making a nice circuit of the outside of the town.

Holiday in Spain

A direct flight from Edinburgh to Madrid with Iberia Express. Not a great experience with no food offered on the flight and then getting put on the wrong bus on arrival in Madrid. It was around a 75 minute drive to Segovia and the Parador at the edge of town. A magnificent modern building with great views out to the city. Fabulous view from our bedroom window.

Dinner was a bit hit and miss. We went for starters and mains which were very big and Cherry got a nearly raw beef loin (when she has asked for pork fillet).

The James Plays

Went to a marathon theatre session at the Festival Theatre to watch the James Plays which chart the turbulent history of Jame I, II and III. Shows at 12.00, 16.00 and 20.15. Excellent especially the first one.

The Destinations Show

Whilst down in London for work I took advantage of some free tickets and visited the Destinations Show at Olympia. A big show with lots of tempting destinations from all over the world. Saw talks by Louis de Bernieres and Simon Reeve both of whom were very interesting.

Birthday Afternoon Tea

We had a luxury afternoon tea at the Tower Restaurant in Edinburgh to celebrate Cherry's birthday. So much cake !

Big Weekend Orienteering

First orienteering in ages on Friday Night at Kings Buildings for some tricky urban orienteering in the dark. Went pretty well. I went slow with a bad knee but made it round fine. Very enjoyable.

Saturday wasn't so good for the street event in Edinburgh old town. Knee was already stiff at the start and the course was a bit of a slog. Reduced to walking pace from around half way. Decided to miss the following day in Holyrood park.

PILGRIMER - A reimaging of Joni Mitchell

Great show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Half One was a reimagining in Scots of the Joni Mitchell album Hejira. Half Two was a choice selection of Joni Mitchell favourites by a great collection of musicians and singers. Kathryn Joseph was amazing in her version of Both Sides Now. Karine Polwart, Rose Cousins, Olivia Chaney, Julie Fowlis and Annie Grace were all excellent. An amazing night of music.

Enjoyed a nice but quick tea at De Maggios and a trip to the Kelvingrove on Sunday morning.