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
Category: Hiking
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
Windsor walk and London march
Last November, on Armistice Day, it was a crisp autumnal day, and the sky was blue for the start of a group walk from Datchet to Windsor. We saw a monument and statues for the Magna Carta, which is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, … Continue reading / view photos Windsor walk and London march
London Loop — section 9
This was my concluding section of the London Loop, from Kingston to Hatton Cross, a total of 16km. I’d started the 242km walk three years ago! Since my fellow London Loop walker had finished, I went with another friend. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day. I’d never been to Bushy Park, the … Continue reading / view photos London Loop — section 9
London Loop — sections 1, 2
I had three more sections of the London Loop left to walk. On a sunny day, I tackled sections 1 and 2 with a friend. My usual London Loop companion had completed the Loop. There was a fast route to Erith via the Elizabth line, which is a recent addition to the London Underground that … Continue reading / view photos London Loop — sections 1, 2
Fort William, Cow Hill, and The Wildcat
We woke up to a blue sky. It was a bit chilly but otherwise the perfect day for a hike. Our original plan was to hike up Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. However, for assorted reasons, we couldn’t have a whole a day in Fort William. We, therefore, decided to hike to … Continue reading / view photos Fort William, Cow Hill, and The Wildcat