Whilst I was in India, through a strange sequence of events, I reconnected with someone I hiked with in the USA in 2019. We lost touch during the pandemic. We met a couple of times after I returned home. First, for a walk and picnic in Richmond Park and then again for a trip to … Continue reading / view photos Richmond and Kew
Category: Hiking
Wild garlic in Box Hill
Box Hill is a popular day hike from London. Many hiking groups go there. Set in the South Downs, it’s one of the hilliest places around London. On arriving at the nearest station, Box Hill & Westhumble, some people head straight up Box Hill. It’s a sharp and sometimes slippery climb. Alternatively, you can finish … Continue reading / view photos Wild garlic in Box Hill
Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze
This weekend, a friend and I walked from Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze. The tide being out, we could walk on the beach for the whole 20 km. With the sun out and mild temperature, it felt more like summer than autumn. We started by walking through Clacton’s town centre, which is quite small. Once on the … Continue reading / view photos Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze
From Euro 2024 to a lavender farm
It’s been all quiet for me lately, having been absorbed in Euro 2024 and now the Olympics. This year’s Euro football tournament was a mixed affair. In England, there was great hope (as always) for the England team. This time there were genuine reasons to be optimistic. The England team had some of the best … Continue reading / view photos From Euro 2024 to a lavender farm
From Chequers to pizza
We had a couple more days in Birmingham before going to London. There’s an environmentally friendly shop called Clean Kilo, which uses no plastics, and you take your own containers to fill up with food, toiletries, and cleaning stuff. There were two shops at one time, but they struggled during the pandemic. The one in … Continue reading / view photos From Chequers to pizza
Damselflies in Ironbridge
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, and a short drive got us to Ironbridge. We’d done an autumn walk there a few years ago and I had fond memories of the once industrial town. We followed the same route, finishing at the Iron Bridge itself. Along the canal on the walk, the azure-blue damselflies were … Continue reading / view photos Damselflies in Ironbridge
Hay Festival 2024
A last-minute decision and booking took us to Hay-on-Wye for the second May Bank Holiday weekend. Before going into town, we walked up Hay Bluff, one of our favourite hill walks. You can ascend and descend the 677m in about an hour. Hay-on-Wye is renowned for having lots of bookshops. When I first went there … Continue reading / view photos Hay Festival 2024
Great Malvern
Being in Birmingham, I took a day trip to Great Malvern, which is easily reached by train. I’ve been many times to Malvern and have always liked walking in the hills, which the station poster told me consisted of some of the oldest rocks in England, formed over 650 million years ago. Malvern is also … Continue reading / view photos Great Malvern
Capital Ring — sections 3, 4
Section 3 of the Capital Ring was from Grove Park to Crystal Palace. Quickly after starting, we were onto the path called the Railway Children Walk, named after the book (and film), The Railway Children. The book’s author used to walk in the Grove Park nature reserve. Although without many points of interest, the first … Continue reading / view photos Capital Ring — sections 3, 4
Capital Ring — sections 1, 2
After finishing the London Loop, my friends and I started on the Capital Ring. Both are circular routes around London: the London Loop encircles Greater London and the Capital Ring encircles Inner London. The London Loop is about 242km (150 miles) and the Capital Ring is about 126km (78 miles). Hopefully, the elapsed time for … Continue reading / view photos Capital Ring — sections 1, 2