it's been a long time!

Blogging was something strange that I fell into a few years ago. Looking back I was not too bad at it. With a bug NZ trip it was easy to fill pages and also lots of other things going on in our lives. 2023 and water has definitely flowed under bridges. Most significant are;

More grandchildren 

Moving South 

Covid

Diagnosis of me with Cancer

Alfriston to Newmarket Inn 14 miles

Weather set fair today and a promise of all day sunshine. Leaving the Pretty village of Alfriston behind we ascend for 2 miles high up onto the ridge. Views all around of hills fields and the sea, to our left. Just a gentle breeze today but hats and sunscreen a must. 170+ walkers soon spread out just leaving the track to small groups with the occasional dog walker and cyclist, coming from the other direction.......until we are confronted by a swarm of snaking green tea-shirts coming at us for the next 2 hours. This was the Macmillan Brighton to Eastbourne walking marathon. 26 miles is tough and almost 2000 starters set off from Brighton at 7am in the hope of making Eastbourne,  we believe, by 6pm. To be honest,  those we passed at Southease still had a 3 hour journey to Alfriston, their lunchstop, and then another 12 miles, over the Seven Sisters......no chance!
We had our first break on a ridge with mounds and my favorite, a trig point. Several had chosen this vantage point with its excellent views and natural seating inluding a mixed group of 15 years old Duke of Edinburgh do-ers. What is it they carry in their rucksacks? They are almost the same size as those trying to porter them. Yeah! I have got 4G service, uttered one of the lads, as if he had just found a bag of sweets.
On passing the transmitter at Firle hill and down a loop towards Southease before taking lunch at the excellent YHA. Refreshed, we crossed the railway line and the River Ouse before entering the village where most had taken their lunch break. A tap by the round spired church to replenish our bottle and on and up to a typical downland scene. Just 7 miles to go and views to die for, all around. Finally with aching feet we took our last break and then decended what seemed an everlasting path down into our stop for the day at Newmarket Inn. Not a pretty pub but nice pint of Harvey did the job before taking the last coach back to Shoreham.  Not a fast walk but thoroughly enjoyable. 

Last day almost.......culture

Auckland day to visit museums. Turned out our brains could only take the Maritime Museum before overload set in and the sun enticed us to the harbour. Only the second ice-cream of the trip and a lay in the giant deckchairs.
Back for a spruce up before last meal out to Speights Alehouse for a pie and a pint. Not a quiet night as Monday was quiz night and it was packed.
Last sleep looms

Driving Creek Railway and the infamous highway 309

Morning run/ walk in the early sunshine along the waterfront again. Took a punt on the weather and went over the mountains to near Coramandle for the narrow gauge mountain railway up to a Eyeful Tower.  Yes that's the right spelling, everything about this railway was querky! Built only a few decades ago it has twists and turns plus switchbacks to get this 15" gauge up to the top. Banks made of bottles and sculptures on every turn, thick bush takes you to a newish built tower for views over the coast towards Auckland.
Querky cafe just down the road for coffee and cake, same theme of statues and a structure made out of old bits of wood and corregated metal that doubled as a second  hand  bookshop.
Then, without telling Hettie, we took the 309 unsealed route back through the bush and over the mountains!  On the way and  into the Waterworks,........weird again. 3 acres of water things that get you wet, spin fast or are just plain silly.
Back on track as the skies opened to enter into the rainforest! Great scenery and narrow winding track that goes almost back to Whitianga.

The fying bike, I was on the other bike that spins round ,you both pedal, it gets higher and faster!

Go West to find the weather!

Wrong! Caravan hitched and off the Stowford Farm near Ilfracombe for a few days stopover on our way down to Cornwall.  Lovely site , facilities and views. Beds DA had a field for a few weeks and we joined a nice crowd on their first visit but our 2nd. This was our first venue with little Ethel, our first baby caravan where we quickly learned the ropes on a gusty night when our "free deal " awning parted company from the caravan at circa 3am. All was not lost as it was soon replaced by the dealer for a better quality, 3 season awning, rather than the 1 season we were given! This awning lasted us unit our caravan and all the contents were stolen a few years later........but that's another story for sometime soon!
Back to the holiday, the weather was a real mixed bag but never bad enough to be a washout, however my togs stayed in the drawer with just a few paddles with the inevitable pain from the sea that had no where near started to warm up above 10C.

Plenty of walks and plenty of breaks in the dullness to get out along the coast path near to Woolacombe.  Bracing air and stunning views with long sandy beaches and a surfer's paradise who unsurprisingly all wore wetsuits.
Leaving Devon behind for a 3 hour drive south to Falmouth,  or a small village just south of the harbour town. Met up with cousins in their caravan who had already  pitched on a somewhat steep slope with our slot reserved next to them on an even steeper slope. No problem though after the farmer bought us 2 concrete blocks in his tractor to level us up. With the nose scarily in the air and the rear buried in the bank, this was home for the week. New awning up and all was good. Plenty  to do as this was the week of the International Shanty Festival which we joined in on the Sunday.
Rain joined us too and apart from the those happy shanty singers on stage everyone was given a good old fashioned West Country ......soaking!

Being British, it didn't dampen spirits and we all enjoyed it more than we thought we would. Falmouth is a pleasant place with too many eating places and grockle shops for my liking and that in turn, attracts too many people. But... we found an excellent coast path walk via beaches and coffee n cake  stops to get it out of our system

Being this far west gave us the opportunity to head to The Lizard via the 6ft wide lanes where the rugged coast should have looked spectacular if only the sea fog would clear. National Trust owned, so free parking, we ventured out on another coast path walk to Marconi's communications hut  just 3 miles away, however.......closed Tuesdays of all things. Fog bound, we strained to imagine the scene below, crashing waves, seabirds swooping by, ships rounding  the treacherous headlands;but no, we couldn't see a thing but at least it was peaceful?.......no, not even that, foghorns were blaring out at all too regular intervals until, it suddenly lifted and they suddenly stopped !

A wonderful cliff-side cafe was waiting for us to take refreshments and take in the stunning vistas all around us.
We then moved on to the next National Trust bay at Kineance Cove, more free parking and a long walk down to the beach. Not content with this walk we took to the rugged coast path once again and a steep assent to get the best view back over the most southerly part of GB, fabulous!
Another cliff hugging cafe for coffee followed by a leisurely drive back to Falmouth.

Scrabble in the evening and Lesley almost won but for some reason the cousins dismissed her word "busty", not found in their 50 year old Oxford pocket dictionary. Day before departure "awnings down the day before" ready for the off back to Boddinick on the other-side of the Fowey esturary but still in Cornwall. Cousins parted 1st for Newquay and we followed to the superb site at Penharlen Farm. Nice facilities and a flat ground for pitching, just a few hundred yards from the small village centre, the Old Ferry Inn pub and a frequent ferry to Fowey. It was a really great location, steep hill back to the site excepted. A walk was needed on the first full day and took the Hall Path round to Pollruin. This fishing village looks a short distance away but by the time the path runs inland, due to an estuary, it was about 4 hilly miles. Another ferry over to the town of Fowey for a browse and a bite to eat before taking the Bodinick ferry back home.

Whitianga to Auckland

Tidied round after the morning 5km , drying sunshine and light breeze dried all the bedding.  Lunch at the Harbour cafe and watch the world go by , lots of world today, mainly getting boats off on on their trailers! Easter and everyone seems to making the most of the fine weather. Drove the coast road back to Auckland and arrived at 6pm
Great Auntie Lesley seemed a source of bewilderment for  cute Charlotte, here with Lucy and Anthony for a few days holiday.

 Good bye beach at Whitianga this morning

The Southdowns Way

Much has been done and much has been written about....Southdowns Way. Its been our ambition for many years to complete the whole distance, all at once. circa 105 miles in our allotted 9 days!
'Stan' has given us the opportunity to be based just under the downs and Footprints of Sussex have the ideal means of transporting us to and from each section of our walk. Every story told is of a personal reason perhaps like us, we have dabbled on the downs for more years than I can remember. As we become older we have time to consider that the body is not going to be fit enough for this, forever.
It is especially poignant now that we lost our best mate, Barry, to cancer just a few days ago and just a few months older than me, so this one is for him!