Read this blog: The one where Matilda doesn’t go kayaking again Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th March 2024 If not exactly sunrise itself, we woke in time to see the sun climbing in the sky above Hạ Long Bay as the six ‘two night cruisers’ were due to go to another cave before returning to Hạ Long mainland. Our group of six included an American Vietnamese couple, called Faith and Vincent, and an Australian couple. Both of the American Vietnamese had been “boat people”, escaping to America in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Vincent told us stories of an eight year old boy being thrown into a traditional round boat or coracle with his 10 year old brother; being transferred to another ship and travelling across the ocean without their parents. They were raised in America without any contact with their families. Indeed, he was not reunited with his parents until about 30 years later. Although they were native speakers, Faith told us that they were also seen as westerners and were often berated by their relatives in Vietnam for paying more than they should for things. After the previous day when the kayaking had proved far less risky than it […]
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Read this blog: The one where French rugby fans share their rillettes Tuesday 19th to Friday 22nd September 2023 Any journey to or from the Scillies is time consuming and it is even more so if you have to go beyond the UK and get to the south of France. There was low cloud as we left Tresco and it was even lower when we arrived in Penzance. One fellow passenger had told us that they had once reached the mainland and still turned back because of fog. We were really not sure whether the cloud would shortly be classed as fog and prevent us from landing. But thankfully we landed safely on the mainland and Scilly Parking provided a very reliable taxi service between the heliport and the station in time to catch our scheduled train, despite slight flight delays. We got off at Reading to catch the extended Elizabeth Line to Heathrow. It seems very strange to be on a tube line so far from the capital. We stayed overnight at Heathrow ready to catch an early flight to Marseille. As usual Robert had researched and planned the journey from the airport into the Vieux Port area and […]
Read this blog: The one where we visit two of The Beatles’ childhood homes. Wednesday 23rd August 2023 The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney are both now owned and managed by the National Trust. You have to book a tour in advance to visit them and choose a pick up point: those who are driving are advised to go to Speke Hall, another National Trust property where there is plenty of parking space and those who come by train can be picked up from Liverpool South Parkway Station. Tour groups are limited to 15 taking into account the size of the houses and the capacity of the minibus itself. We drove to Speke Hall and waited for the dedicated minibus which rather satisfyingly includes the slogan, ‘Visit The Beatles’ Childhood Homes’ on the side [see feature photo]. Several groups were waiting including two women who, it transpired, had missed their booking and were hoping to join another tour. We could tell from the body language as they spoke to him that the driver was not very optimistic. As Matilda is a life member of the National Trust entry was free for both of us but there is […]
Saturday 4th February 2023 Matilda was delighted to wake up and realise that she had been successful in the Wimbledon Ballot for the 2023 Championships and had been offered tickets to the Men’s Singles Final. There was a brief period when she thought this might have been a scam but logging in to her account she found that the ticket offer was genuine. Her initial reaction of “Woah, that’s quite a lot of money,” was quite swiftly followed by “Wow this could be my one and only chance to do this”. One off the bucket list. Having confirmed with Robert that he would be her ‘plus one’ if no one else more interested in tennis, strawberries and Pimms could go with her she accepted and paid for her tickets. Matilda then spent most of the train journey from Warsaw to Kraków smiling to herself and is now really looking forward to July. We first came to Kraków together in 2016 before the inception of TravellingHerd.uk when we also visited Warsaw [see previous blog] and so we had already seen some of the major sights including the Royal Castle and Royal Cathedral. Having settled in to our hotel we set off, […]
Sunday 2nd and Monday 3rd October 2022 Burano looked even better in the Sunday morning sunshine. We planned to go to the Venetian Ghetto on Sunday to respect the Jewish Sabbath. We took a slightly circuitous route via Arsenale as we hoped to get closer to the Building Bridges sculpture. Unfortunately we weren’t successful but our walk back took us through a park where we enjoyed seeing the turtles in the fountain. Still making the most of our vaporetto passes we travelled past the Palazzo Ducale again [it always merits a photo] on our way to the Venetian Ghetto. On 29 March 1516, the Venetian Republic created the first ever ghetto on a small island in Cannaregio, the north-western sestiere of Venice. Within a week, the residents were removed and replaced by the Jewish people already resident in Venice at the time. Initially the Venetian Ghetto was connected to the rest of the city by two bridges that were locked overnight and only opened in the morning at the ringing of the marangona, the largest bell in St. Mark’s Campanile. The Jewish community itself had to pay for the Christian guards who ensured they did not break the overnight curfew. There are […]
Friday 6th May 2022 Boston is justifiably proud of its role in America gaining independence and there are plenty of informative plaques and signs around the city celebrating this. We decided to save some walking time and complete the Freedom Trail by taking the Red Line subway route into the city and picking up the Trail to walk up to Bunker Hill where, on June 17th 1775 during the Siege of Boston, New England soldiers faced the British army for the first time in battle. The 221 foot granite obelisk erected in 1843 to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill is actually sited on Breeds Hill where most of the fighting took place. Although the British won this particular encounter, the battle provided the patriots with a real boost to morale as it became apparent that, although inexperienced, they could, with determination, overcome superior British numbers. The monument itself is currently closed and we were not able to climb up inside for the views on this visit. From here we walked to the Charlestown Navy Yard, which was established in 1801 following the creation of the new U.S. Department of the Navy in 1798. It was operational until 1974 and […]
Monday 28th February to Wednesday 2nd March 2022 As we left Stone at the start of day 13 we passed the old warehouse and bottling plant for Joule’s Brewery which was established in 1780 but ceased brewing in October 1974. A little further on Robert gazed enviously at a canal-side property by a bridge which not only had its own private mooring but also had a signal box installed in the back garden. Clearly a fellow enthusiast on several fronts. We also passed The Plume of Feathers, owned by Neil Morrissey but it was too early for it to be open and it was not a stop scheduled on the spreadsheet so we carried on. The canal often rubs shoulders with the train tracks and it is easy to see why the waterways were superseded by train as a means of transporting freight swiftly around the country. The route also took us past The World of Wedgwood which Duncan and Phil had recommended the day before. Having moored up, Robert encouraged Matilda to take in some culture whilst he was tutoring and she set off, despite the forecast of rain, to find The World of Wedgwood which includes the V&A’s collection […]
Sunday 12th September 2021 After seeing people floating seemingly effortlessly around Coniston Water and Lake Bala, Robert had been keen to try stand up paddle-boarding [SUP]. We had also seen people inflating them in a car park in Llanberis and so he felt it would be possible to fit them in Al, the camper van. Since a minimum water level is required for a SUP, this was also affected by the tides but we found we could catch the boat to Bryher and hire them from the very helpful people at Hut 62 then catch the boat back. On arrival we were given a life jacket, a SUP and a paddle each and then a brief lesson. It is important not to drag or beach a SUP in case the fin snaps off. Paddle-boarding is all about balance and core strength, neither of which are Matilda’s strong points. She did not manage to stand up from kneeling on the board but her swimming costume did stay dry. She felt she should have practised this on dry land in advance. Robert, however, after a slightly shaky start, managed to stand up and move smoothly round the bay. Although Matilda stayed kneeling, […]
Wednesday 25th August 2021 Allow us to preface this post with an apology. Those of you who are keen followers may notice that the videos here feature the sister site, Robert on the Rails’ logo. Robert tells Matilda this was a genuine administrative error and not a blatant attempt to promote across the two sites. At LLanberis, Robert was pleased to see that, before the first train of the day leaves, you can watch the fire being stoked and the engines taking on water, in order to get up steam, outside the National Slate Museum. . . . . . which is situated right by the station in the Dinorwig Quarry workshops. Getting our priorities in the right order, we planned to visit the museum after our train ride. We were to be pulled by the engine Dolbadarn, which like all the engines on the line, was rescued from the Dinorwig slate quarries and restored to work the Llanberis Lake Railway. The Llanberis Lake Railway runs alongside Padarn Lake to Penllyn and back. Back at Llanberis station we were able to admire Thomas Bach at work. Thomas was the other steam engine operating that day. But not that Thomas Rising […]
Tuesday 15th September 2020 On our last morning in Tresco we awoke to low-lying mist and poor visibility and the knowledge that our helicopter flight was likely to be delayed. The mist cleared on the Isles of Scilly by about eleven. However the mist lingered considerably longer on the mainland so four of us spent the majority of the waiting time in glorious sunshine in the cafe at the Abbey Gardens where we saw some beautiful, but camera-shy, red squirrels. The other two members of our bubble had caught a high speed boat to St Mary’s, stopping to view basking grey seals on their way to catch a plane to Land’s End. They too had to fill in time which they did playing cards. We kept in touch as announcements were made and rumours spread and in the end the plane flight from St Mary’s was cancelled and two caught the Scillonian while four of us, after a six hour delay, travelled to Penzance by helicopter and . . . . . . enjoyed the views then . . . . . . passed over the Scillonian and waved. The helicopter also provides a good aerial view of St Michael’s […]
Tuesday 7th January 2020 The rain and warmer temperatures had cleared the pavements of snow and ice so that it was much easier to walk about, but unfortunately the warm air had also brought with it a low mist. We were therefore pleased that we had been able to take a photo of the outside of the Uspenski Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in better light the day before [below left]. Built between 1862 and 1868, it has an imposing position on a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula close to the water. It is apparently usually closed on Mondays so this may not have been attributable to the public holiday yesterday. Looking back from Helsinki Cathedral many of the older buildings are in warm shades of yellow and ochre with just a hint of pink. The Cathedral itself was built between 1830 and 1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and prior to Finnish Independence in 1917 it was also known as St Nicholas’ Church. The green domes with golden stars are particularly striking. The Lutheran interior seems rather minimalist compared to the decorations in the Uspenski Cathedral, but it is still beautiful. Apparently […]
Sunday, 17th November 2019 The priority in Casablanca is to visit the Hassan II Mosque, the only mosque in Morocco which non-Muslims are allowed to visit. The hotel concierge said it would be a pleasant walk in the sunshine, but the route he directed us to, took us through an area where there was much heavy building work going on and the pavement was often out of bounds so we were walking with the traffic. We felt we could find a more picturesque route back but the works seem to be designed in part to create a more picturesque approach to the mosque. On the way we spotted Rick’s Café which Matilda, who studied film, was adamant had to be on the itinerary and was already scheduled for later that evening. We carried on towards the Hassan II Mosque which was built between 1987 to 1993 by [unsurprisingly] King Hassan II, the father of the current monarch, Mohammad VI. The mosque was originally scheduled for completion in 1989 to coincide with King Hassan II’s sixtieth birthday but [also unsurprisingly] this was delayed. It combines traditional Moorish architecture with modern technology and is simply beautiful: the exterior is predominantly polished granite with […]
Thursday 4th July 2019 Matilda had read in the guide book about Filitosa: the most famous prehistoric site on Corsica with Neolithic anthropomorphic menhirs situated about 50 km/30miles from Ajaccio. She felt that this would make a change from citadels and it would be worth a visit to see these megalithic stones carved with ancient faces and weapons. However, after making several enquiries it became apparent that the site is best accessed by road so she has promised herself a return visit to this beautiful island in Alan the motorhome to see some of the places not readily served by public transport. Our walk through Ajaccio took us through the market in Piazza Foch, which smelt strongly of cheese and was selling all manner of Corsican produce and foodstuffs. We walked on past the harbour and the citadel, which is not open to the public as it remains under military command and where there were donkeys grazing in the old moat. Place d’Austerlitz, formerly and locally known as the Place du Casone, features a statue of Napoléon at the top of a stone pyramid flanked by two flights of steps and triumphant eagles to left and right. The statue is […]
Sunday 10th & Monday 11th March 2019 Another leisurely breakfast followed by our first real excursion into Darjeeling. St Andrew’s Church, built in 1843 is very close to our hotel but being a Sunday, we did not want to intrude on the service which was in progress. We will have other chances to visit. Robert wanted to ride the steam train on the DHR down the line for one stop to Ghum and visit the DHR Museum there so we walked back towards the railway station via the Chowrasta and The Mall to book tickets. You cannot opt to split your journey to allow more time in Ghum and the 10:00 train was fully booked so we secured our seats for the 12:20 train. This also provided some photo opportunities as the steam engines were shunting into position for the next journey. We set off back up the road, making a second attempt to look round St Andrews Church on our way past, but this time the doors were closed. Fortunately there are some pavements in Darjeeling and this makes it easier to walk around. We headed for the Happy Valley Tea Plantation, which is the only one within the city […]
Sunday, 14th October 2018 On arrival at Maastricht Marina a sign told us to phone a number to gain entry. The gates swung open and we were told to pick our spot in this very peaceful and civilised aire. Having visited the harbour office to pay and get instructions for using the facilities we decided to walk into Maastricht. This proved to be slightly further away than expected at 2.63 miles and Ralf – having already had a lovely stroll along the banks of the Maas in Steyl in the morning – became slightly reluctant in the heat. Ralf is definitely a country dog. Maastricht itself is lovely – an historic city with lots of pedestrianised streets and old buildings as well as interesting, independent shops rather than being dominated by large international chains. Robert and Matilda both agree that Maastricht is on the list of places to return to on a train trip without Ralf so they can see the sights, browse the shops and, of course, the bars. This is the start of a week’s holiday in Holland and the streets were busy with people enjoying the prospect of an extended break. There was also a jazz festival under way […]
Saturday, 11th August 2018 When booking today’s train Robert had several choices. Bear in mind that it is 45 miles between Debrecen [Hungary] and Oradea [Romania]. There is only one direct train between the two cities each day, all the other routes take one to two hours longer and involve one change. So he decided to get the 07:11 from Debrecen arriving in Oradea at 11:05. That is three hours 54 minutes which is an average speed of 11.5mph. We had to get up at 05:45 this morning to give us enough time to do our ablutions, dress, pack and walk the 20 mins to the station. We were leaving the hotel before they started serving breakfast, so we had collected our packed breakfasts from reception last night. Just 30 minutes into our train journey the compartment door opened and we were asked for our passports by the Hungarian authorities. Romania, like the UK is not in the Schengen zone of the EU. The train was stationary for 30 mins while all the formalities took place. Then we were off. Ten minutes later we stopped again for the Romanian passport checks. This time the border officer took our passports and […]