Sunnyside Up

Well thanks to the support of many good people along the way, I always seem to finish sunnyside up!

It is a wonder the English haven't shipped me back to Australia by this time.


Back in St Neots, Harry and Pam took me and their Grandchildren on a couple of delightful outings to Anglesey Abbey and Houghtons Mill. We had a wonderful time roaming around beautiful gardens and buildings in perfect weather.



At Oxford

 I also spent a day looking at Oxford, another university University city.    

Anglesey Abbey



a barge going through the locks


 


Abi and James on the Great Ouse River.

After a week recovering from my accident in the care of Pam and Harry, I reassembled my Bike Friday and ventured forth once again to explore the spectacular Yorkshire Dales.

I took the train north to York where Tim another warmshowers host welcomed me. I left my trailer with him whilst I explored the city, steeped in history and partly surrounded by the ancient city wall which I walked all along.

I spent one and a half days exploring York and its surrounds at the junction of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire .

The Shambles, inner city and walking only allowed, were straight out of my school  medievil history books with tiny narrow cobbled lanes and overhanging second story buildings. I walked through the Minster. It was truly awe inspiring. I even looked through the Railway Museum. Train spotting is a big hobby here with such a variety of old trains running along the tracks as well as the modern versions.

I cycled out to a post office to collect my poste restante mail. Returning I was stopped in the bike space at traffic lights preparing to turn left when an ambulance came screaming up behind me. Startled, I realised that I needed to move left to give clearance and allow the ambulance through quickly.

I hastily dragged myself left trying simultaneously to uncleat my left foot. You guessed it. I crashed to the pavement in front of goggle eyed pedestrians. What is this woman doing? It didn't help my sore shoulder but mainly I just felt like a fool!

That evening Pam emailed me saying "by this time you will know you are without a phone". What on earth was she talking about? A quick search revealed my phone was gone. Tim rang my number to find an honest lady had picked it up where I had fallen. Doh! I have it again now.

Two nights were spent with Tim who was very friendly and hospitable and cooked me up some yummy scrummy risotto. He has also been hosted whilst cycle touring In Australia and New Zealand. Tim escorted me out of York ( don't laugh ) armed with directions for a scenic ride starting along the river bank.

 I  spent a half hour chatting to a train spotting couple on a railway bridge and I hopped inside their car to strip off a layer of clothing.

Sign on track says 200 miles to Edinburgh

Sue and Karen At Fountain Abbey

I had a lovely stop over at the 18th century Beningbrough Hall and Gardens. The weather was perfect, brilliant warm sunshine and cool air to ride in. 24 country miles later I was in Harrogate after my navigator led me on another great shortcut. Great except for the short rough stretch full of huge craters and the horse gate, designed for horses to step over. It is hard to jump a trailer and cycle but luckily, two willing young lads out jogging assisted me to lift the whole caboodle over and I continued on to be hosted by Dan and Karen.

Fountain Abbey

What a delightful stay I had with them. They were fun and Dan originally from the US was a great tease. They had been hosted whilst cycling in Spain. Dan and Karen felt I mustn't miss seeing Fountain Abbey so off we drove in the spring twilight out into the countryside, past a gypsy encampment, many fat bunnies playing happily and also many colourful pheasants running too quickly for me to photograph.

We walked over green hills to discover the ruins of a huge 11th century World Heritage listed Abbey towering up from the valley of the river Skell in an enchantingly beautiful natural and remote setting. In fact the river runs under the Abbey and the waterflow was used by the ingenious monks for flushing toilets and other things.

Skakespearean plays and musical evenings are conducted there. I would love to experience that magic atmosphere.

A great but late dinner, wine and time spent looking at my tomorrows ride with Dan passed the time very quickly. Next morning my heroes Dan and Karen loaded my trailer into their car. They had a  lunch date just past the MAJOR hill of my day. Yippee. Dan also escorted me from town along a very scenic route with directions to pass over the toll bridge complete with troll ( in reality a lovely little man)  and to continue along a bridle pathway.

Greenhow Hill

Greenhow Hill after Pateleys Bridge is exceedingly steep and long. Three sections are over 16%. Thank goodness I wasn't pulling the trailer. I still walked part of the sharp bits but it was all worth it when several separate cyclists saluted me as I cyled over the top to speed down into the delightful honey pot village of Grassington. I sat amongst wandering sheep and crowds of people and boiled up my billy, ate lunch and retrieved my trailer from Dan and Karen. I would love to see them again one day.

Uphill out of town , then another 10 miles easy riding along a spectacularly scenic small road lined with rock walls.  I was looking down on a sparkling beck that flowed through the valley and up to rock walls dividing fields of sheep. Lambs were gambolling around in the sunshine. I arrived at a pub where the patrons were sitting outside in the sun and was cheerfully directed around the corner to the Kettlewell YHA hostel in the Yorkshire Dales.

I spent a day tramping the stunningly beautiful hills and wandering around the picturesque village before cycling 15 miles on to Malham YHA. One extremely long steep hill to1500ft and  then down, down, down.

I  had to walk down one section as the weight of my trailer was too much for the small bike and my inexperience at dealing with such a rapid descent.
At the bottom Pete, the YHA Kettlewell landlord caught me up with my netbook computer!  What did I tell you? I think that concussion must have had lasting effects.

Malham was also absolutely gorgeous but riding out to Gordale scar, a huge limestone  gorge and waterfall plus on to Janet's Foss waterfall and then back to Malham then right up onto the moors to Malham Tarn was all steady climbing. I left the trailer at the hostel though.

The Tarn was interesting in that it is a Lake right at the top of the moors and also that Charles Darwin's house still stands in complete isolation looking across the tarn.  The moors are the high plains of the Yorkshire Dales. You've heard that old expression "up hill and down dale" It must have been invented in Yorkshire.

Another 15 miles up, up, up and then plummeting down past shaggy long haired cattle took me to Settle and Giggleswick, neighbouring villages.

I could manage one sharp climb only by separating bike and trailer and relaying them up the hill. Two concerned gentlemen stopped to check on me as I strained forward heaving my trailer up on foot. They wanted to take my trailer on ahead for me but I was coping and refused their offer. They later rushed up to me in the Settle marketplace to congratulate me on my huge effort.

In Giggleswick I stayed with Clive and Sarah, warm showers hosts again. The centre of their home was built in the 16th century. Additions were made over the years. Some walls were 3 feet thick. I stayed in a sloping roofed bedroom. I sat by the fireside for the house was very cold. However a cosy bed , hot shower and friendly company all made it an interesting 2 nights.
                                                                                                

Victorian Ribblehead Viaduct 1874
I cycled a 40 mile  loop out to Ingleton and on towards Hawes with lots of climbing. More fantastic scenery and little villages along the way. Glorious sunshine and cool air. Wow!

My first puncture was in my front tyre when I was just past Clapham. No problem to fix it. 20 miles further on just after I had boiled the billy for a cuppa, another flat! Glass. No more tubes with me, they were back in the trailer. I used the puncture repair kit. Not too hard. From here on home was all downhill. Yippee!

1/4 of a mile and bump, bump, bump, flat tyre again. grrrrrr. What to do. I knew it was useless but I removed the patch and tried another.  As soon as I peddled off it went flat. 8 miles to go and it was 5pm.

I started walking. I tried to flag down a few motorists but there was nowhere they could really stop and they ignored me. With flapping flat tyre I kept walking. Eventually, 3 miles on,  I found a small pub. I went in and discovered the publican was a man I had spoken to in Settle the previous day.

My luck was in yet again and Linda was just about to drive back to Giggleswick in her small car. I had to dismantle the BF down to bare bones but I managed to get all of the bits into her tiny boot, Hooray.

That night Clive got out his superior puncture kit. He cleaned and sanded, patched and glued 3 of my punctured tyres. I also had 2 more new ones so I should be set now....shouldn't I?

I had now had enough for the present of striving up hill and down dale no matter how wonderful the surrounds. I took the morning train west across to Morecambe Bay and then had a very pleasant 35 mile ride down to Blackpool to spend a relaxing night in a hotel for a well earned rest before cycling the last 10 miles back to Marie's to work again.

Oh yes there was one other problem!

 My Garmin led me astray again. Turning into an alley seemed like a good idea at first. As the alley doglegged for a mile or so vandalism and masses of smashed glass made me very uneasy. I thought I would soon be through to a main road again. Not so.

When I did eventually get to the end a massive gate barricaded me from the road. What to do? Going back was too frightening. It had been very isolated with smashed derelict buildings. What if I met the perpetrators?

I was rescued by a driver who had stopped outside the gate. At first he ignored my cry for assistance. I called again and over he came. An oldish ginger haired man with a cleft lip. A nice man.

There was a brick fence beside the gate. High but partly broken. Separating BF and trailer we were able to lift them high enough to get over the break in the wall. Thank you again.

Wonderful people the English.

Like I said, Sunny side up!

Calamity

Four  Days Cycling

Hugs and Goodbye to Marie. I will return to spend more time as her carer. We enjoyed ourselves.

.

I travelled by train south to Shrewsbury in the heart of Shropshire. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury and it has very many heritage listed houses including a lot of Tudor style buildings, distinctive by their black stripes on a white background. I spent a couple of hours cycling along the River Severn as it encircles the town. It was really beautiful as rowing teams paddled up past the white swans. Willow trees with their new greenery hung over the water and blossoms covered many trees and as always  there were masses of daffodils and a variety of  of other spring flowers.


The park was full of people out walking and pick-nicking in the warm sunshine. I brewed a cuppa and had some lunch, chatted to a few locals and peddled up the steep hill to the town centre.

I then cycled further south to the pretty village of All Stretton where I asked directions to the bunkhouse I was to stay in. It was up a winding gravel path and set on the base of the very steep hills. I checked in and found that I was sharing the quaint old converted barn with 8 mountain biking men. Smiles!

Whilst they were off on a late cycle I walked the hills. I soon joined up with Steve and his dog. Steve was also a mountain biker and was checking out the slopes for a riding trip. We climbed right up to the highest ridge where we had a superb view of hills and valleys for miles around.

The "Sweaty Helmets"  were a lovely group. They invited me to join them at the village pub for a drink and a meal. English pubs are wonderful cosy havens with golden lamplight and warm fires in cosy little rooms. Jim, the "Grand Helmet" due to his seniority presented an award for the most outstanding cyclist that day. The award was a pink furry pair of pigs ears and a curly wurly tail guaranteed to cling to the helmet at very high speeds.

Here is the bunkhouse....cosy isn't it?

There were men running around in towels as all were chivying each along to vacate the one shower.

A night at The Yew Tree Pub

Those blokes sure know how to cook up a good breakfast which they offered to share with me. Bacon and eggs, toast, tomatoes, sausages and mushrooms and black pudding. I ate my baked beans.

I rode off next morning and pffft, flat tyre... a thorn. I locked my trailer to a post and walked back to the bunkhouse where Peter helped me to change it. They had a better pump than me. John gave me 2 pieces of his special oats, orange juice and ginger cake to give me energy for the day.It was delicious, yum, wish I had the recipe

I am currently not quite such good friends with my Garmin. It decided that the A49 was not for me...a good decision ...BUT... instead it guided me up a verrry  long steeep hill. Dragging my trailer behind me. The last part of Lyth Hill was gravel. Admittedly I was treated to a birds eye view of green farmland with black faced sheep dotted about the hills.
My Garmin also tried to take me on an eleven mile loop later on to avoid 4 miles of the A49 which wasn't so busy anyway. That time I argued with my navigator and won!


The down hill was a delight however and the scenery as always on my country rides was delightful.


It was a long day to Hereford. A day of April showers and hail. I sheltered in the lee of a barn and brewed another hot drink and some lunch until the sun shone through again..I had a head wind but the quaint villages, flowers and trees in blossom everywhere made for an enjoyable day. I was dressed warmly. Thank goodness for my new thermal cycling pants and my leg warmers and my arm warmers and my thermals and my woolly hat and my goretex on the top! I had never worn so much to cycle in.


Arriving in Hereford at 4.30pm I had a wait until my warm showers hosts were due home at about 6pm. The shops were all closed being a Sunday so I cycled up hill to their house in hopes that they might arrive early.


No such luck...a phone call saying they actually wouldn't be home until around 8pm. They were parachuting from an old Russian biplane! Dan suggested I hang out at a warm pub nearby.  I was soaking wet and tired and grotty and didn't feel like a pub visit before a shower. I found a bucket and a tap in their yard, a cloth from my bag and proceeded to clean my mud covered bike and trailer and to clean and oil the chain. All of this in the cold evening with the rain still falling on me. Finally, thoroughly chilled, I decided I had better go to the pub.


I asked directions along the way and ended up instead sipping 2 hot cuppas whilst snuggled up to Barbaras fireplace having a lovely chat. All's well that end's well. Rosy cheeked and warm I walked back to Dan and Jens' home.


Dan and Jen soon were in my good graces by serving me up a delicious baked dinner and helping me with directions for the following days ride. They were good company and made me very welcome. It is always a relief to be part of a real family, including any ups and downs, at the end of a days ride instead of twiddling my thumbs in some guest house room alone. Dan also adjusted my gears for me as they had been slipping.


Next day was cold but dry, hooray! I rode to Gloucester and took the train to Chepstow. This was Dan's good plan to save me riding up at least half a dozen seriously steep and long hills. I just didn't have it in me to pull the trailer up them. It would also have meant cycling 115 kms or 72 miles mostly big hills. Am I getting old weak and feeble or what?


Getting off the train an elderly man assisted me to carry the trailer up the steps across the railway track. I was concerned that it would be too heavy for him. A nice man except for the fact that  he followed me for a while trying to convince me that I should get to know his friend Jesus. In haste I mounted my cycle and rode off, too late to turn back I was ascending yet another long steep hill. Every time I came to a crest it continued on. I missed looking through the castle because I wasn't going to ride down and up again.

The long descent to the Severn River 3 mile long suspension bridge was fabulous. It was absolutely awesome cycling over such a long bridge feeling it move as the traffic crossed.

My new warm showers host Jon came out to show me the way to their historic 250 year old house. What a treat to stay there. I had a snug and cosy room. Jon was a bike mechanic and replaced a missing screw for me. Pandora a woodwork teacher was delightful and they were looking a little like "The Good Life". We adjourned to the local pub for a friendly evening. Even dogs are welcome when their owners pop in for a quick pint whilst out walking. Another warm experience.


Jon worked out the best route for the day and it was working well until nearing Bristol I crashed.


I was mounting a low kerb to escape two large trucks. I made the mistake of approaching it with my wheels parrallel and it was a bit wet. The bike flicked sideways and I went down hard. My head and left shoulder took such a bang. I didn't move for a while! Then I rolled onto my front, head on my arms and two men approached to help me up. "are you alright?" they asked. I said yes but in reality I was stunned. I wandered on walking for a short way then mounted my BF rode a few yards and pffft another puncture.


It was so hard changing that tyre and pumping it up with my little hand pump, my headache and my very painful shoulder.I walked to a garage to get more air but although I put my 60p in I couldn't get air. Then I found a shop which had a pump.They pumped my tyre for me.


A short way down the road and it went flat again. The valve blew out this time. I now have a new back tyre!
I was so distressed. I prepared for another tyre change. I asked passers by if the train was close by. It wasn't.


Another man approached. A council garden truck had noticed my distress. They threw everything in the back of the truck and drove me to the station. They loaded me, my bike and trailer onto the train from Templemead, spoke to the guard who was very helpful and with a helper carried everything whilst I changed trains for Bath. Same again at the end and Lewis my new "warmshowers" host met me, took all of my belongings home and put me on the bus to the hospital. I was in pain. Xrays showed no breaks. I had a classic rugby injury of shoulder ligaments that had taken a severe bang. 


Unfortunately I lost my 2 week job that I had ridden four days to get to. I wasn't capable of turning up. I also vomited 3 times over the next three days and hurt in many places. I felt really ill.

Lewis was absolutely fantastic. He helped me in every way he could. He twice went to the bike shop for tyres and tubes. He carried all of my gear home and back over a half hour walk to the train when I left. He walked to the hospital to bring me home. I was useless and so disappointed. Emma is a gorgeous girl. They are a young Sydney couple working in England. I stayed with them in the Marlborough Buildings opposite The Royal Crescent in historic Bath. It was a beautiful place. I stayed one day and did a guided walk tour.

The Avon River at Bath

Next Harry and Pam came to the rescue. They came into London to help me change from above ground to underground and back then out to St Neots. Meanwhile I had three willing young lads carrying my belongings on and off the first train. Harry and Pam took over from there and again I was concerned at the effort they were making on my behalf.

I am now recuperating at  Pam and Harry's. Well looked after and soon to be feeling lively again.


What a bother I was to so many but how wonderful were they. It goes beyond thanks. I the lady of many words cannot find enough to express my gratitude to them all.

Saxmundham

Now for the work part of my trip.

First step was to take the train to Saxmundham via Cambridge and Ipswich for training for my live-in care work. Harry kindly drove me to Cambridge first.

Saxmundham was a quaint little town and I was able to walk each evening to explore it. The weather reminded me of a childhood nursery rhyme...."One misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather" etc.

The training was enormously comprehensive and professionally organised. My fellow trainees from Poland, Zimbabwe, Sth Africa, New Zealand, Scotland and Spain soon became friends as we trained and sat exams, hoisted and "manually handled" each other, dined and relaxed together. The tension of studying each evening for the next mornings exams kept us pretty quiet. Two  of our number failed and went home. We all felt very flat that day. We had to have a 75% pass in everything including practical manual handling tests. Nothing but the best. All of the staff there were supportive and friendly at all times. A good company in many ways.

Police checks here are a nightmare though. If anyone who has my name ( I have had 3) or my birth date has committed a crime against a vulnerable adult or child, it would be a criminal offence for me to work as a carer in the UK until further checks are made. The further checks take up to 12 weeks! I was told that I MUST have a plan B.

However, plan B came into effect unexpectedly!

My cycling friend Martin from Birkdale in Queensland emailed me suggesting that I contact his sister in Manchester. Their Mother needed a respite live-in carer and would be very interested to chat to me.

End result, I  have a private  job .Marie and I were delighted with each other from the first and we are both having a splendid time. Once I have "fettled" up some breakfast and we are ready for the day we head off down to Grannies Bay or Fairhaven Lake or anywhere that takes our fancy with me pushing Marie in a wheelchair. Our longest walk was 4 hours so I am getting my exercise.

My Garmin 705 Edge navigator is a gem.  It knows that I am cycling   On  my 2 hour daily afternoon rides, after I have explored along winding tiny farm lanes, taking marked cycle routes or wherever looks interesting, I set my Garmin for "Marie" and it directs me on shortcuts, through the woods and onto cycle ways and quiet roads by the shortest way back. It's great!

I had the weekend off...... SO... an expedition was in order!

Excited to be off on my first overnight independent ride, panniers packed, I set out from Lytham St Annes northwards along the promenade. Even the sand dunes had daffodils growing along the edges!

Blackpool was very colourful with so many beach side old fun parlours, roller coasters and ferris wheels and a general carnival theme. The promenades all of the way are very wide. Loads of room for all.

 A horse galloped along the beach. It was a cold bleak day but people, dogs and horses were out walking or cycling enjoying the beach front. I love my thermals! I am always cosy wearing them and my goretex jacket .

 Up at the ferry terminal at Fleetwood on the River Wyre, I boiled up water an sipped a welcome  hot cuppa. It was my first use of my tiny stove. Waiting passengers with their take away coffees were intrigued at my antics as I sheltered the gas flame from the cold wind. Weird Ozzie!

The tide was very low so it was a challenge wheeling my loaded bike down the steep ramp with its tight turns. The crew helped me aboard and we were ferried across to the other side. It saved cycling the long way around and allowed me to continue on along the quiet  scenic coastal roads

 At Condor Green I found another wonderful bike trail marked 5 miles to Lancaster. Beauty! A good dirt track through the woods. Ripper! More dogs, walkers and horses...I had to dodge the horse heaps :-) .

In Lancaster, I took the bridge over the Wyre and the cycle path took me another 5 mile down to Morecambe bay. It is such an interesting place.  Eric Morecambe the famous comedian who lived there took his name from his favourite childhood home.

Morecambe bays other claim to fame is it's tides that rush in at 9 mile( 14.5 kms) an hour combined with its very dangerous quicksand. The sand is made up of smooth round granules which combine with the water from the incoming tide to form a potentially lethal mix. The more you wriggle the deeper you sink. 20 Chinese illegal cockle gatherers met their death on the beach there one night.

All day I had stopped and chatted to interesting characters and one told me of a bike trail back to Lancaster along the canals. How picturesque! People live in many of the barges. Some are cluttered with bicycles old chairs and all kinds of paraphernalia. Most were brilliantly painted. A gorgeous stretch to ride along with lots of ducks enjoying a swim in the canal.

Warm Showers.

A new and delightful experience for  both parties!

warmshowers.org is a worldwide cyclists hosting other cyclist organization. I had contacted Tim requesting to stay. He replied with a most welcoming and friendly email. I rang him along the way and he met me along the canal pathway.

Tim and Jackie and their daughter Beck live in a flat facing Lancaster Castle across the road. We all were relaxed and laughing from the first moments.I could not have imagined or wished for a more congenial family to stay overnight with. We had such a fun time.

We went out that night. First we arrived at the Hollywood Bar for a fund raiser night for teachers at the school where Jackie is secretary. 2 teachers will be walking the Sinai desert in November to raise money for children. There was music and dancing and  folk enjoying a good night out.

Next we went to a pub where seven talented musicians played very lively Russian and Turkish music. The pub was packed and cosy. The atmosphere was excellent. At midnight we walked around the corner to the flat. It was 1 o'clock when we got to bed and we awoke to English summer time with the clocks now forward an hour. Census night also here.

I went on a guided tour through Lancaster Castle. It still operates a court house and a prison inside its walls although the prison is about to close. It was really fascinating wandering through. An amazing glimpse into a past age. Wow! I must say though that the tour guide, although polite and an absolute font of knowledge did not show a glimmer of a sparkle or smile or even any personality whatsoever.

Tim escorted me out over the cobbled streets and through Lancaster until I reached the A588. He gave me impeccable instructions for the most direct route home but I was speeding along and gazing at daffodils, I took a left fork instead of a right and "oh my gosh, I'm sure I wasn't meant to be in Garstang!"

I consulted the map trying to decide which was now the most direct route home, munched a pear, swigged some water and decided to use the Garmin. I keyed in find "Marie" and off I peddled through a maze of small roads and bike paths as well as main roads. Sometimes I doubted the direction I was taking but I decided to give the navigator its head and Hey Presto I arrived home an hour earlier and almost 10kms shorter than I had expected. Amazing.

One more week here at Lytham St Annes and then I am off to Bath to work for 2 weeks. I have 4 days to get there so will be able to cycle down.

Loving England

Hi everyone,

It is time to report as I am receiving quite a few inquiries as to where and what I am up to.

Kylie and I looked at each other when she dropped me at the airport, heavily laden with Bike Friday in case and panniers chocabloc. We laughed and hugged.  "Can you manage it all?" she said. This was it, my big overseas trip. I would have to manage now. Too late for second thoughts!

Shrink wrapping the Bike Friday at Brisbane airport.

35 hours later I arrived at cousin Harry and Pam's house in st Neots Cambridgeshire. I was ever so glad to spot Harry waving from the crowd of people waiting at Heathrow Airport to collect the weary travellers.  Out into the cold night air, around 1 - 2 deg C. Harry  ran me along the undergound tunnels whisked me down a very steep elevator where I missed getting my 25kg case on the step squarely and just managed to prevent it plummeting to the bottom. Phew! After 3 trains we arrived at St Neots and had to carry my bike case up the stairs over the track to where Pam was waiting with the car.

 Pam and Harry have been absolutely marvellous.in so many ways. I was welcomed into a cosy relaxed home base with delicious home cooking and local knowledge with advice or information on all kinds of things. So fantastic. They even help me search for my mislaid  items of which there have been several.

I have greatly enjoyed their company and that of  all the Hawkins cousins I have met. Pam's 70th was an occasion to meet even more of Mum's family. An interesting and friendly bunch. All good fun and wonderful to discover family that I had never met.

                                         Cousins Harry and Martin with me in the middle

In England I just love:-

The zillions of daffodils and many other spring flowers I see everywhere I go.

The footpaths that interweave the entire country in towns and farmland. They are obviously geared up for lots of walking here.

The compact villages leaving so much farmland to remain as that.

The many collies, spaniels dalmations and terriers romping  happily off lead along the commons in every village with their typically English country dressed owners.

The variety of English accents, especially the childrens.

The friendliness of almost everyone.Whenever I open my mouth they know I am an Aussie.

The old National trust buildings and all of the steeples landmarking every village, town, and city.

Thatched cottages.

The architecture of ordinary homes....no roof over hangs...steep pitch to let the snow slide off. Often attached in rows and you step straight out the front door onto the footpath.

Harry showed me around St Neots and I was soon zooming around on my cycle or walking along the common by myself. He took me on a tour of Wimpole Hall. We enjoyed an open double decker bus tour of Cambridge, an amazingly interesting city with 35000 cyclists riding around.



My son Mick visited and he and I cycled out there 80kms or 52 miles round trip through gorgeous green English countryside. Brisk but sunny except on the way back when we were a bit chilled whilst changing my flat tyre. I managed to lose my new Barclays  bank card in the Cambridge marketplace. After some frantic running around I had it back. In a frantically busy city, some kind soul handed it to the nearby branch. How lucky am I ?

Harry took me into London. Whilst he attended to his affairs, I toured on an open top double decker bus.The frenetic pace was an eye opener. I enjoyed observing it all from my vantage point. An incredible assortment of colourful people, the buses, taxis and places such as London Bridge, The tower of London and so many other ancient and famous places. The cyclists take their life in their hands in London. So dangerous and they don't even wear helmets.

All was okay until Harry and I tried to find each other afterwards.

I went to our arranged meeting place and rang Harry. He asked me to walk back to Picadilly. After accidently bypassing it...well famous or not I have never seen it. I rushed through the crowds and tripped sprawling amongst the commuters on the concrete...ouch! Not a soul helped me up. At least they didn't tread on me. People in London I learnt, are obviously too busy to be friendly.

I stood up and spotted the underground entrance across the road and a sign saying Picadilly. That must be where Harry would meet me. Not so. There are many entrances.We got each other on the phone. "Where are you?" we both said. " In Picadilly Circus" ".What buildings can you see?" We could both see the same ones but not each other! "Can you come to Eros?" says Harry. Is that a Greek restaurant or what? "Oh Never Mind says Harry." How was I to know that it was a famous statue right in the middle of Picadilly Circus!
We eventually found each other and escaped but I don't think I am really a London kind of person.

Much more has happened. I hope to catch up within the week...so much to do! xxx

Bound for the UK and EU

NEWS HEADLINES

I am off on a new adventure. Another chapter in my life.

I am flying out on the 2nd March in the wee small hours bound for good old England.

Luckily for me, Mum's wonderful cousins Pam and Harry in St Neots, Cambridgeshire will be there to cushion my landing.

All being well, I shall be working for approximately 12 weeks contracting for Christies Care, live in care somewhere in the UK.

From June through until early October I have loose plans which I expect will include :-

Meeting up with current friends and making new ones.

Walking in Scotland

Cycling touring in England and Europe

Walking

Visiting my childhood idyllic home; Jersey, Channel Islands.

I am taking my Bike Friday and trailer, even a tent.

I have always been very adaptable over the years, downsizing  from a farm to a house to a large boat to a motorhome and this time to my little BF. This is however a huge step and mixed in with excitement and anticipation I have my share of fears also.

I am in the process of setting up a blogger site but will also email my travellers tales as usual.

If any one of you happen to be in that part of the world, let me know. It would be great fun to catch up on the topside of the world.

It sure will be a drastic change going from a Qld summer to an English early spring.

Layer upon layer they tell me will keep me warm!

Keep in touch,

Cheers

Sue

Motorhome 2010 Just paddling along singing a song.

Just paddling along singing a song.

I flew back into Adelaide after a fun weekend in Brisbane. Great to see everyone again and Sylvia didn’t look any older either. I think 60 is the new 50! She’s going Gr8.

Public transport was cheap and easy in Adelaide. $2.70 had me picked up by bus at the airport door and after two x 20minute journeys I was out at Clarence Gardens to collect my van from Alister’s relatives.

A big day ahead as after rising at 4am to fly from Brisbane I then needed to drive 500 kms from Adelaide to Winnap in SW Victoria to meet friends for a 5 day canoe trip down the Glenelg River..

On the Dukes highway just after I passed Tintinara 3 semis clipped each other and all rolled over, completely blocking the highway! I was about the 4^th vehicle to arrive. Within 10 minutes their was a long lineup of B doubles, road trains, caravans, motorhomes and cars all pulled up. One driver was hurt a bit and the others were ok. Police and Ambo’s arrived. A detour down along the coast was going to be long and tedious.

Imagine all of these huge vehicles managing to do U- turns on a narrow highway with little space. It was happening though. I had the UHF radio on and had just “ done a Uey”   myself when I heard on the radio that there was a way through. A gravel detour. The truckies were all grumbling about getting their rigs dusty.

Arriving in Winnap at Paeston Canoe Hire’s delightful property, I met up with cycling friends Mike and his daughter Jess and Michelle who I met on the bus home to Portland after the Great Vic 2009. We were all very excited in anticipation of our journey. We met Pete and Rose who were great fun and we joined them at several camps.

It was a fabulous week of perfect weather, great company and 63 kms of canoeing through the Glenelg river forest. We camped on the banks each night, swum in the river frequently, bushwalked and saw lots of wildlife.

A copperhead snake swimming beside us aroused my curiosity. We followed it for a closer look with me paddling forward and Michelle in the front paddling nervously backwards until it raised its head for a look at us…whoops… let’s get out of here!

A koala in an overhanging low branch eyeballed us as we paddled underneath him. A wombat stood in mid track as we walked one morning up to view the Margaret Rose Caves. Kangaroos hopped away and echidnas waddled in search of ants. A blue yabby was in a spring at one of our secluded green campsites. Wombats and possums were around our tents at night and the birdlife was varied and prolific.

The scenery was magnificent as we paddled downstream, sometimes crisscrossing the river sometimes singing along and stopping in at little jetties for a cuppa or lunch. Most days, with no breeze to ripple the river, we had a perfect mirror image of tree branches, cliffs and bushland.

On the last day as we neared Nelson we had head winds to challenge us. We shared a drink at the Nelson pub whilst we waited for Ross to collect us. Mike and Michelle unloaded the storage barrels and did a sprint out to the mouth and back getting absolutely soaked in the process but arriving back grinning from ear to ear. A great finish

We weren’t ready to say goodbye and end our journey so we camped one more night at Paeston and shared our second counter meal at the Dartmoor pub where the publican is amazingly surly. His full on grumpiness gave us a few chuckles.

Now it was time for me to head back to Brisbane for a number of reasons. I need to return to some solid work. ( money) I am rapt to have some really good house sits for a 12 month period which will enable me to do that and to join in with friends, family and community again. I need to belong somewhere!

I am in Manly until mid April and then Birkdale after that.

My beautiful van is listed on rvpoint.com.au. I want to have a separate vehicle to drive. I also don’t want it to sit unused for 12 months devaluing and getting grimy.

My next plan is to buy a tray back ute and a slide on camper and take off again further afield next year. Can I sit still for that Long?

Hope to see many of you very soon.

Sue

xxx

Motorhome 2010 Mighty Hot on the Murray

Mighty Hot on the Mighty Murray

I don’t like the extreme weather here!

I also have found SA not particularly “Free Camp” friendly. There are lots of ugly” no camping you will be fined” signs.  Many stop over points do not have toilets.

However…

I enjoyed the South Australian coastline with its spectacular scenery and good walk tracks. There are also very many lovely old stone homes, farms and commercial buildings from the 1850’s onward in SA.

Driving in to Canunda National Park and Coola Outstation was a bone shaking experience I would prefer not to repeat! The stones were large and sharp and I had to straddle the ruts with one wheel in the high scrubby center and one off the track to prevent the low bottom of the van scraping. Nerve wracking and slow!

The Lakeside vegetation, coastal habitat and dunes were lovely .The Coola outstation, occupied from the mid 1800’s to 1950 was still partly standing and gave me a sense of the isolation the outriders must have lived in. Plenty of roos and birds.

At Southend, Beachport and Robe, I walked around the intriguing limestone cliffs where the forces of nature, wind and waves, have created fascinating seastacks, reef platforms and weirdly sculptured cliffs. I perched for the night in my van on a precarious undercut cliff out near the Obelisk Light, surrounded on 3 sides by by sheer drops to wild water crashing on the rocks. No sleepwalking that night! I was completely out of sight of nearby houses. The spot was recommended to me by a gorgeously painted young “hippie” couple traveling with their small parrot.

Leaving the cliffs behind, I drove through Kingston SE and then along the Coorong to Meningie. It was extremely hot again with blasting hot winds. Horrible weather! I don’t find the Lakes attractive but I am told they are currently very low on water.

In the extreme weather I hung out in a shady park at Langhorne Creek (dry) for a couple of days before heading to beautiful Victor harbor.

I really enjoyed my stay, camped outside the home of Alister’s sister Marg and her husband Nigel for Christmas and New Year. I must say I much prefer their quality wines to my “chateau cardboard”.  Christmas day with all of their extended family was a lot of fun. Maybe starting off with a glass of Moet champagne had something to do with goodwill and Christmas cheer!

Over the next few days Alister took me cycling, walking and driving around the very attractive Fleurieu Peninsula. We walked across the bridge to Granite Island. We viewed the mouth of the Murray where it runs into Lake Alexandrina. We looked across to Kangaroo Island. I was fascinated by the “white elephant” modern marina at Werrina with huge hills towering over it. The resort failed and was resold. It is a beautiful but rather remote little harbour.

Time to move on again!

In Strathalbyn I asked for the local BUG’s and found them.I don’t think Kay and then John knew what to think when a perfect stranger rang them asking to go cycling. They did make me very welcome though.   I cycled from Milang to Goolwa with John where we joined about 10 friendly cyclists for a ride to the coffee shop at Middleton and back. John, Colin and I then returned to Milang. It was 90 kms of enjoyable riding in good company.

In Milang, Colin suggested we visit after lunch for a cuppa with him and Angela. I felt so comfortable with them all so when Angela invited me to park overnight in their yard and to join them for a roast dinner…well I couldn’t refuse could I?

Next morning I walked at 7am with Angela and Kay and several other local ladies. We covered the whole of Milang in an hour and with our chatter and a few barking dogs along the way I think we made sure the whole town was well awake!

Lovely people.

I spent a couple of very hot days in picturesque Strathalbyn swimming in the only pool for miles around whilst I attended to a couple of minor repairs to the van. Vibration had broken a catch on my storage box and the springs were creaking quite a lot. They were apparently just suffering from the dry and dusty conditions. I could sympathise! The blokes in the Strathfield garage were very helpful and easy on the purse as was Rhys at the Home Hardware.

In Langhorne Creek again, I met Kathy and Paul from Sydney. We enjoyed a couple of days relaxing under the trees and shared a delightful lunch and wine tasting at a nearby winery of which there are very many around here. Another baking hot day!

At Mannum on the mighty Murray I have spent the last few days just surviving the heat by constantly dipping in the muddy Murray with many other happy campers.

There are lots of ducks swimming about, a snake or two and ski boats buzzing about. We really know about it when the Paddle Steamer comes through as it blasts its loud horn all the way!

We all had cheap seats to the Jimmy Barnes, Adam Brand and Shannon Noll concert (we could hear it all from across the river). There were plenty of wild looking utes there. Friendly cowboys and girls with akubras were horsing around in the murky water. The river bank was packed out.

My gas fridge can’t cope so I bought a solid slab of ice. It is feeling better now.

I have had enough of being blasted by strong winds and grit in 45 – 48 degree temperatures and will be glad when I jump on a plane to Brisbane to join in the fun of my good friend Sylvia’s 60^th this weekend.

Guess what? Today is a gorgeous day, sunshine and a gentle cool breeze.