Day 5 - Entrechaux in the rain

Our first full day at Le Mas en Provence and we had a wet and windy day. We headed to the local village on our hired bikes which had arrived in the morning and walked around checking out the shops and the walked up to the castle.

We had a fabulous lunch at the little restaurant in the village and had a lazy afternoon and evening at the B&B sheltering from the bad weather.

Day 4 - Avignon to Entrechaux

In the morning in Avignon we had a culinary tour of the setting lasting 4 hours. It was a nice small group with an energetic and informative guide.

We enjoyed croissant and other pastries, some excellent chocolate, coffee, wine tasting and a selection of goodies from the market - all very nice and informative.

In the afternoon we took the train to Carpentras and then a bus to Crestet where we were picked up by Sophie from the B&B. It was a bit of a damp evening but a lovely house in a lovely location.

Day 3 - Paris to Avignon

In the morning we had a 20 minute walk to the Gare de Lyon and a 2 hr 45 minute train journey to cover the 440 miles to Avignon. It was a very wet day but we ventured out to visit the Palais des Papes - the large papal palace right in the centre of town.

It wasn’t the best of castle/palace visits we’ve done but there was a very interesting exhibition by Ernest Pignon-Ernest.

We then visited the Pont D’Avignon just before sunset and had dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Day 2 - London to Paris

We got up at a sensible time and walked across the road to St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris. They had unfortunately turned the experience into something akin to a airport experience but it wasn’t long until we were in our comfortable seats heading to Paris - arrived at the Gare du Nord around midday.

We had a 45 minute walk to the hotel through what were initially fairly quiet Sunday afternoon boulevards. After checking in, visiting the Bastille market and lunching we went for a walk along the Promenade Plantee (or Viaduct de Arte) an old railway line through the heart of Paris that had been converted to a floral walkway. Lots of interesting views from a slightly different perspective being at 3rd floor level.

We had a nice dinner at the Argentine restaurant Carne Santa near our hotel.

South of France Holiday Day 1

We started out trip on the 8.30 am train to London arriving around 1 pm at Kings Cross. A nice lunch at Carluccios at St Pancras although we both probably ate a little bit more than we should.

We then checked in to the Megaro hotel, a fancy boutique hotel just by the rail stations.

We had a walk around Covent Garden, visited Neals Yard and walked along the Southbank.

There was an interesting costume exhibition at the National Theatre where we had a nice dinner and then watched Translations by Brian Friel starring Ciaran Hinds.

Eskapade +

A long bike ride to Musselburgh and the mouth of the river Esk

and then inwards along the River Esk to the source at the North Esk Reservoir in the Pentlands.

From there a tough transfer through the Pentlands mainly pushing the bike before a more pleasant downhill through Balerno and along the canal to home.

Harbour Hunting

A 4 hour bike ride to the Forth Coast and Granton Harbour and then along the coastline to Longniddry before heading home. A nice ride under grey skies.

In the afternoon we did a bit more open doors visiting at the Gardeners Cottage in Princes Street gardens and learned about ambitious plans to reshape the west gardens.

Edinburgh Open Doors Day

Cherry and Colin headed out on bikes to visit various public buildings as part of the annual open doors day. We started with the Music School at St Mary's Cathedral.

Then headed to an organic community garden in Muirhouse.

Then onwards to Drumsheugh Baths and a University research department based at the Western General Hospital.

Colony of Artists

An interesting afternoon visiting the Colony of Artists event at Abbeyhill. Lots of local homes in the "colony" properties opened up for artists to display their work. An interesting mix and nice to be nosey round their homes.

Indian Summer and a Climate Strike

An amazing sunny day saw me down to Portobello to get some repairs done on the car and read some Board papers in a cafe on Portobello sea front.

On returning home around 11 am I joined the Climate Strike march which went from the Meadows to Holyrood Park - meeting Cherry along the way.

Exeter

Colin headed by plane down to Exeter for a couple of intensive days of Board meetings for LV=. Managed to get a few free minutes for a walk around the town centre on a lovely summer evening.

Campervan Holiday - North East England

We picked up the Carado T337 campervan from Roseisle Campervan Hire at Whitecraigs on Saturday afternoon. After a quick bit of instruction Cherry took her first and only turn at the wheel to drive us home where we packed up the vehicle, including installing Cherry's comfy mattress.

When ready we headed off the East Lothian coastline to look for somewhere to park up overnight. First thought was the dunes at Longniddry Bents but the car park has a 2 m barrier and at 3 metres high we couldn't get in. This was a fairly familiar story with lots of nice spots being inaccesible to such a big vehicle. We drove on and eventually found a good stopping point at Dirleton in the car park beside the Castle. We had a pleasant evening stroll and quick drink in the pub before settling down for a poor first night sleep out on the road.

Pictured Church Dirleton

On Sunday we drove onwards to Berwick and had a lovely town wandering round the town. We've passed so many times on the train and the estuary always looks fabulous but had never got out to explore before. We following a Lowry trail which took us round most of the sights and there were lots of info boards around with historical info about the town. 

In the evening we found a quiet car park and stayed there even though it was strictly not permitted. We found the whole business of finding spots to stay quite stressful. We had already booked a camp site for the next two nights but decided to book spots for the rest of the week.

On Monday morning we did a quick walk along the Tweed heading inland under the railway bridge.

We then stopped briefly at the other side of the estuary at Spittal with views back towards Berwick and the breakwater.

We then headed onwards to the Northumberland coast and Bamburgh where we wandered through the village and visited the castle. The castle was very impressive from the outside but less interesting inside although there were great views of the long sandy beaches and dunes.

We headed in to Seahouses and our campsite - Seafield - which was mainly a static holiday home village with a number of touring pitches.  A nice location with small village and lots of beaches nearby and good on site facilities.

On Tuesday we played some crazy golf - Cherry won by a large margin - walked along the shore or sketched - and either went to a gym class (spinning) or swimming. Food was excellent at the on-sight restaurant/coffee shop.

On Wednesday we packed up and drove on to Alnmouth where we parked at the Beach and had a nice walk along the shore, up the estuary and through the town. Another lovely location at well worth a visit.

We then visited Barter Books in Alnwick before a longish drive to Bellingham just south of Kielder.

The following day we walked from the campsite to a waterfall a couple of miles up a valley, Hareshaw Linn, which had been a favourite Victorian attraction. The weather was bad in the afternoon so we were stuck in the Campervan. Another disadvantage was the effort required to pack up and move which discouraged any short drives whilst installed at the campsite. We stayed in that evening for soup and sandwiches.

On Friday we had a fairly long drive to Dunbar. We stopped on route at Harestanes and Monteviot House to look round the gardens. Harestanes was a nice spot that we recalled from many years ago with the kids. The gardens at Monteviot were soso but it was a pleasant 1 hr walk around them.

We stayed at the Belhaven campsite near Dunbar and suffered our first night of noisy neighbours who were revelling well past the official lights out and silence time of 11 pm. We returned the campervan early the next morning.

Overall it was a very nice break. The Northumberland Coast, Berwick and Alnmouth were all very nice and highly recommended. The Campervan was less successful and not something we'll be doing again.

Philiphaugh Hill Race

After several wet days the weather for Sunday's hill race was continuous rain. The route was awash with mud and paths had turned to streams. The rain didn't relent for a second before, during or after the race. Temperatures were mild however. So after feeling fairly unpleasant at the start once I got moving and the body temperature rose the run was jolly good fun. I was a bit stiff after a big hill walk on Thursday so the time wasn't great but the return journey was fabulous on a really nice 7 mile route.

Beinn Achaladair and Beinn a' Chreachean

During a very wet spell there was one day on the forecast with clear skies so decided to head out for some munro bagging and to do my last 2 of the Bridge of Orchy munros. Weather was pretty good for most of the day. The ascent was a bit unpleasant underfoot at the start but was very nice once up onto the high ground with a high level traverse between the two peaks with great views out over Rannoch Moor. The descent was OK but there was then a long trudge back to the start.

Edinburgh Fringe

On sunday Colin and Cherry headed out to a couple of fringe shows. First off was a Dublin performer  doing "Everything I do" at Summerhall. Very quirky but not particularly good.

Then at the Circus Hub on the Meadows we saw Circa:Humans which was a mix of acrobatics and dance and was fabulous.

Creag Dhubh Hill Race

Colin took the train from Edinburgh to Newtonmore to compete in the British and Scottish Hill Running Championship race as part of the Newtonmore Highland Games out. There were big crowds in the field to watch the events and the temperatures were sweltering. The Hill Race had a big turn out of 300 runners.

The race started with a lap of the games field and then headed over some fences and a river crossing up the hill. With large numbers there was a bit of welcome queuing behind other runners on the sharp climb up. Views were stunning at the turn looking northwards towards Newtonmore and the Cairngorms although no time to stop and look. Quickly down, through the river and back to finish in the stadium.

Great event. My time of 47 mins was a bit slow in terms of % of winning time but that is often the case in championship races.

Playground

Colin and Max went along to the opening night of Hannah's fringe show, Playground, at the Scottish Poetry Library. Cherry went along to the Saturday show. A very good performance.

Scurry to the Sea

Another very nice event from Scurry Events. Start at Hillend Ski Centre with a sharp run up to the top of Allermuir which was today covered in thick mist. From there down to Swanston village and onwards to the sea via the Hermitage and cycle routes and quite roads with a finish at the beach near Musselburgh harbour. Legs were a bit heavy as was the rain but very much enjoyed the run.

Liberton Urban Orienteering

First time orienteering in ages and really loved this thirty minute blast through complex streets near Liberton.

Hannah's Graduation

We started the day with a visit to Hannah's new home near Selly Oak before heading to University of Birmingham for some milling around the campus, photo taking and the graduation ceremony.

We had dinner in the early evening at The Lost & Found and the oldies all ended up heading back to the hotel afterwards feeling very tired whilst Hannah went on for some further celebrations.

Ghetto Golf

We took the train from Edinburgh to Birmingham on Sunday and met up with Hannah for some pre-graduation fun.

First stop was to Ghetto Golf for some trendy crazy golf which Colin won - Hannah second.

We walked a short distance to the Digbeth Dining Club for some street food and managed to catch the final stages of the Cricket World Cup on the big screen. Well done England !

We then headed to Piano & Pitcher near the canal for drinks with Hannah, some of her uni friends and their parents.

Dechmont Law Orienteering

A day out to Dechmont Law helping at the Interlopers event. A bit of set-up, some time at the start, a run on the Light Green and then control collecting at the end.