Lakes Train Trip

Having purchased my first rail 'rover' ticket for the North west I set off to ride the Cumbrian coast line via Manchester, Barrow in Furness to St Bees for a couple of nights. I don't think it had changed much since we set off from here to do parts of the 'coast to coast' walk 20 years ago. For those who need a 'sea' fix I've included a video as the tide was in and waves were crashing.

The second day I travelled back to Ravenglass for a ride on the little train up Eskdale to Dalegarth, where I pottered around sheltering in St Catherine's church during a rainy period and then exploring the valley up to Stanley Force.

The next 2 days I met up with a friend in Cockermouth and our activities ranged from tracking down a marble altar from a local POW camp, a very blustery walk along Maryport prom, and a picnic on the shore of lonely Crummock Water.











The final leg of my journey was riding the Carlisle / Settle line and home via Leeds and Manchester. All in all I got my money's worth from my 4 day rail ticket.

Alderley Edge

Last Friday our U3A Photo Group had an outing to local National Trust Woodland at Alderley Edge. We had chosen a wonderful day for the light was perfect and we all learned a lot from each other as we snapped away and compared photos - such is the wonder of digital cameras. Instant gratification. Our lunch together after the walk at The Wizard pub too was very sociable.

Biddulph Old Hall

Recently I attended a meeting of the Congleton Historical Society. The talk was on the restoration of Biddulph Old Hall which is only a few miles outside Congleton but in Staffordshire. A few years ago I had been to a similar talk by the Biddulph History Society and I was interested in any recent developments. I had always vaguely known that the Biddulph's at the hall , a strongly Catholic and Royalist household, had been beseiged by Cromwell and his merry band of Roundheads during the Civil war. Then in 2005 had seen the part restoration on TV.

With great enthusiasm the current owners Nigel Daley and Brian Vowles have been grant aided and the hunting tower although still scaffolded is now safe and they are planning to raise further funds to restore the interior. As well as reading and viewing rooms they want to develop a prayer room which hopefully will be consecrated by both the Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths, which can be accessed by the general public.

They have also undertaken extensive family history research and found some very interesting and almost breath-taking connections. A book has been commissioned so watch this space.

Japanese Garden

Last week I attended a lecture on the restoration of the Japanese Garden at Tatton Park (Knutsford) by head gardener Sam Youd. After an entertaining and informative illustrated talk in the Mansion house we were given an 'inside' tour of the garden and island area. As the day was sunny the light filtered through the trees making it a photographer's paradise. I also had booked in for the lunch held in the adjacent room to the restaurant where there was further time to chat about our garden experience. A memorable day.

Sutton's Sundial

Last weekend I went over to North Notts to visit Sutton in Ashfield - my birthplace and where I spent the formative years of my life, escaping when I was 20 to pastures new. Now going back to visit friends and relatives is a pleasure as I feel the pull of my roots in that area. However I always enjoy returning home to my Cheshire home.





A few years ago the authorities decided to erect the largest sundial in the world in the centre of the town. There were instructions on how to read the time but these have long gone. I still remember a friend overhearing a resident explain the time was ' Five minutes past Firths', this being the newsagents adjacent to the structure. Such is the drole humour of my home town!

Delamere Delights

Last week Lorraine and I had chosen the best day weather wise to walk in Delamere Forest. When I bought the walking guide from the Linmere visitor centre, the countryside ranger recommended the climb up 'Old Pale' to the new sculpture on the hill. The views were superb out to Liverpool and the welsh hills. Up there the new standing stones were hewn out of rock from the 6 counties to be seen on a clear day as this. Then a new path spiralled to the central stone of Cheshire sandstone. It seemed to be a sacred magical place.

I do recommend buying the map costing £2 as it has all the paths and numbered posts so it is relatively easy to negotiate the forest with it's myriad of walks.

As well as the visitor centre cafe there is also a cafe at the Delamere station building.

The Go Ape assault course is a source of interest but no-one was playing this day.