Days in the Netherlands

          Great to be with the family in V M and the days, though cloudy, are quite warm but not exactly summer weather.
         We had a family outing to a wonderful fairy tale theme park called Efteling and the girls had great fun though I think they thought some of the very extra large giants a bit over the top.


Musical toadstools



Looking for the music

 Estelle liked Mr Long Neck best but they both wanted to know where the music came from when they saw one of the many toadstools/mushrooms seats.
The following pictures tell some of the story.
Mr Long Neck doesn't stay like that - after a moment or two, his long neck goes back to normal.
                                             

                                        The talking tree                              

We have also been to the (by me) much anticipated Floriade 2012 at Venlo and although, inspite of the showers of rain, it was a very pleasant day, it was not at all what I expected and it was hard not to be disappointed. The word Floriade was slightly misleading as it is really a World Horticultural Expo.

There were some glorious displays of meadow type flowers, some I had trouble identifying. Lots of blues and yellows and plants that self seeded.

There were a number of grasses mixed with the perennials and they added to the wild, natural theme.

Floriade 2012 at Venlo

Now that I am in the Netherlands the Google blog has got 'clever' and has turned all my 'prompts' into Dutch and so my apologies but I have had a lot of trouble with this addition!

Also I fly home, leaving from Amsterdam, next Tuesday afternoon and so I am going to make this the last one. It has not worked out as well as I had hoped, much the same as the journey itself I suppose and as I've had only a little feed back I am still not sure if I've entertained anyone beyond the immediate family.

To all my 'Family in England' (you know who you are!) Many, many thanks to you  for all the help, the wonderful generous hospitality, the fun and the laughter.

Some of you have expressed an interest in visiting us Down Under and I can assure you all of a great welcome if and when you do.

I WILL BE KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH ALL OF YOU ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!

More days in Yorkshire

It has been sometime since I added a note or two, but it has been a very happy few weeks among various family members in Yorkshire and further south.

For the May 26th  'Family Reunion' at the home of my half brother and his partner, with cousins from Lincolnshire, a son and daughter in law, with their two gorgeous girls from The Netherlands we had beautiful warm sunny weather!
The days there were spent antique hunting (quite successful!), open garden viewing, (beautiful) and generally enjoying the countryside. With lots of fun and laughter.  Many thanks J and F!!

Mollis azaleas at Wentworth Castle

More Azaleas

    















I celebrated the Jubilee Weekend as best as I could with a very heavy cold!

Now it was time to make my way down south, to a number of friends and family to say my goodbyes and my thanks for all their help and very generous hospitality.

This journey began in a typically Aussie fashion and flustered at least three English households!
Leaving Yorkshire at around 9.30am, (having been warned about the difficulties of driving on busy Fridays), I travelled easily to Lincolnshire in an hour and a half intending to stay there for only an hour or two before continuing on to Hertfordshire. Only, as soon as I arrived, I received a text message to say I had left a backpack behind. 
Volunteering to send this to Herts by courier was a nice thought, but the luggage not only contained my laptop, but two passports, some extra cash, and all my Australian credt and visa cards! I didn't think this a good idea so I decided, since there was plenty of day left, to return to Yorks, pick up the bag and re set the sat nav for Herts.

That's when the plan started to go haywire.

For some reason the A1 was blocked in two places and instead of taking the one and a half hours I expected, the return journey took three and a half! By the time I picked up the backpack and turned the car round it was after 4pm!
Nothing daunted, with the sat nav re set, I headed off down the M1 only to discover everyone else in England doing just the same! The journey was slow and tedious and I eventually arrived at my destination at very nearly 8pm! By this time I had been in the driving seat for approx seven and a half hours not counting the original one and a half in the early morning.

I have discovered a whole new way of life....How to amuse myself stuck in three lanes of traffic for hours on end, and how to send numerous text messages while crawling at speeds no more than 5 - 10 miles per hour!









Female pheasant on her nest - 'well hidden'


Next news update will be from the Netherlands......








......and Days in Yorkshire

Either the rain is following me around or I keep following the clouds! In spite of that I had a lovely time in the Yorkshire Dales. The most spectacular scenery - unforgetable, but unfortunately most of it I saw as I was driving from one Dale to another, trying to negotiate narrow windy roads and tight hump back bridges. There was no chance to park and the spectacular moment was not captured on camera.

I started in Grassington and on the first day did the all important investigation of the nearby village of Linton. The village has family connections and I was delighted to find it is a truly beautiful place. The Fountaine Inn (another family name) served me a delicious lunch of Broccoli, Stilton and Celeriac Hot Pot, (and the necessary glass of white to go with it!)



Bridge over the beck. Linton

 This first set of photos are all taken in or around Linton.

Foot Bridge. Linton





The Fountaine Inn. Linton




Walk towards the village of Threshfield. Linton

  

I explored most of the area around Grassington but a lot of it had to be in the car because of the weather. Mostly overcast and cold with always the threat of rain.

After three nights in Grassington I moved slightly further north for the weekend and spent two days in Kettlewell at The Blue Bell Inn, built in 1680.

The round trip to the all important Wensleydale Cheese Factory in Hawes took in villages such as Buckden, Askrigg, Carperby, Aysgarth and back down to Kettlewell.

On Sunday, in the afternoon - the sun came out! and along with hundreds of other folk, I went back to a place I used to visit with my parents as a child - Bolton Abbey.

The ruins, of course, have not changed very much but it has become quite commercialised and to me appeared less picturesque than I remembered. I suspect many of the changes have been necessary to preserve the whole area.

Took a round about route 'back home' and through the village of Appletreewick. I last saw this attractive spot at the age of 15 or so, on a school excursion.

The last night at the Blue Bell Inn was quiz night - a lot of fun and our table managed to do quite well. We had 29 correct answers out of 50 and the winning table had 31.The dessert that night was a Bailey's Cheesecake and I when I said just how delicious it was I ended up with a copy of the recipe!



View near Buckden



Also near Buckden. Wharfedale



More in a few days time......

Days in Lancashire........

Time for an update before I move on. A wonderfully relaxing few days with family and spending some time exploring areas where my Grandparents and Great grandparents lived in the 19th century, and taking some glorious walks in the countryside.

The picture above is a street in Horwich where a number of family members lived over a period of years, and the one below is the back of the house my mother lived in when she was 5. Unfortunately I couldn't get round to the front. The original street in front of the house has been redesigned and has become private gardens. But it was something of a thrill to see the original back gate that she would have passed through around 1911.




Mum's childhood home



Neither of the photos are as good as I would have liked

but once again not only was it raining and cold but I had to



juggle a backpack, brolly and camera, and I am not altogether

comfortable running around photographing private homes!

Maybe the Aussie accent would have come in handy.

A couple of days were fine and sunny with a bit of a breeze 

and perfect walking weather.


Rivington Presbyterian Chapel










As far as I know this is the Presbyterian Church that my Grandparents chose for their marriage on 25 June 1896.
We spent quite some time that day looking for the building the wedding party were standing in front of when they had their group photo taken, but we were eventually disappointed to discover that it had probably been demolished in 1901. Looking through the windows of the church, (and standing in a bed of nettles) you could see the wonderful old dark wood of the pews which were more like stalls.

Part of the hills surrounding the walk at White Coppice. Couldn't manage a photo of me being chased by the sheep as we walked through their fields, and as for one of me climbing stiles - no, definately not!







Very nice!











Lovely brick work



Village green









That's all for now. Tomorrow I am on my way to the Yorkshire Dales. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some nice sunny weather, and the Wensleydale cheese factory is high on the 'to do' list.



The Travels begin

After hiring a car in Hampshire I set off for Fernhurst in Sussex, mostly to meet up with a local History Society. I am trying to find the lives of 3 families who lived there from 1909 to around 1947.
It was a very successful trip where I stayed for four days in a local B & B.     




B & B -  Fernhurst Sussex

During the four days I was there I visited the Nymans Garden near Haywards Heath, West Sussex. Established in the late 19th century, this garden has some fascinating rare plants. A beautiful garden but my visit was a little too early in Spring (and it rained!). 





I also went back to the West Dean Gardens near Chichester.



I had visited here in 2007 and I was happy to go back for another look. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera with me but was delighted to see the meadow in the orchard planted with flowering primroses, cowslips, daisies and best of all, fritillaria meleagris, sometimes known as The Meadow Fritillary. 



Blue Azalea - Nymans Garden



                



Bluebells at Winkworth Arboretum



                

I managed to drive to most of these places without difficulty as I have now managed to conquer my fear of the dreaded 'Sat Nav' and it has been an immense blessing but I shall always remember my visit to Wentworth Arboretum for two reasons, one it didn't rain and two, my actual approach to the destination was down a disgracefully dark, narrow and very muddy cart track. I don't believe for a moment that it was the proper established route!

The arboretum was delightful, well worth the effort and as the leaflet states "Far more than just a walk in the woods"

The 46 hectares was bought by a Dr Wilfred Fox in 1937 and he experimented with planting styles and different tree species. The result is a glorious display of colour, especially in Autumn. I had just missed the spectacular display of bluebells but managed to find some small 'pockets'.

Many of the paths were quite steep and narrow - so the walk round was a slow process but provided plenty of time to take in the spectacular Surrey landscape. A glorious sunny day, but still early Spring.

 I moved on from Sussex (and Surrey) back to Hampshire and a destination I had looked   forward to for so long. Drove in the pouring rain all the way to Lyndhurst, the centre for information about the New Forest and decided to stay at a small hotel in Brockenhurst, a village about 10 miles away.



The Watersplash - Brockenhurst



They have a permanent ford there which is known as The Watersplash. The locals drive through shallow water on a regular basis but after so much rain and flooding this had become a bit too much! It doesn't show it too well in this photo but the water was gushing across the road and into a large and very full ditch.

I am glad I chose a hotel for this stay as it rained on and off for all of the five days I was there, sometimes very cold heavy showers.

There are millions of walks to choose from -both heath and forest and I managed to find a track or two every day, but got soaked and very cold every time.



Heath walk with large puddles. New Forest.





New Forest from road





        



      



I did enjoy the stay and would love to go back in Summer (and some fine sunny weather). A very special place with some lovely old villages and the usual windy narrow streets. There were a lot of New Forest ponies, some cattle and in one village I saw a delightful herd of small wet donkeys. All these animals (and the wildlife) have right of way on any track or road and they are kept out of the larger towns by huge cattle grids. 

On the last day, determined not to get wet again, I walked right round and through Brockenhurst and came across a village hall holding a needlework show! Very different to the ones I go to in Oz but great fun.

Next stop was Hay on Wye on the border between Wales and England not far from Hereford. This was only going to be a quick stopover but proved to be quite an expensive one!

Hay on Wye, or 'The Hay' as the locals call it, is famous for the secondhand book shops. Over 30 of them in a small town with most of the buildings perched on a steep hillside, with cobbled roads in some places.

Believe it or not it rained so it was a bit of a struggle with wet raincoats and brollies in these tiny shops. Many of them so old the roof or ceiling was leaking to add to the occasion! I don't think I need tell anyone just how many books I found, only that they will have to go home separately!

Because of the weather I indulged in a hotel again. Many of the smaller hotels are a similar price to some of the B & B's and at least you can get a hot evening meal not to mention the odd glass of red!

The manager of this one had a distinct Kiwi accent and I discovered that he was actually born in Melbourne, nor was I the only Aussie guest! 

Moving on again, this time the Sat Nav was set for Wrexsam, still in Wales and again close to the border.

This was a lovely journey as the scenery was definitely Welsh hillside and goodness, are they steep - I'm surprised the sheep can keep their balance!

Turned the sat nav off once I got there which was a mistake as I got quite lost and went around in circles for sometime, trying to find suitable accommodation. It is not just the nuisance of not finding ones way in strange towns, it is the huge cost of fuel (1.49 pounds per litre). At these prices you just don't want to waste a drop!

Anyway two nights here and on the Thursday (my birthday) drove to Bodnant Garden near Colwyn Bay.



Entrance to Bodnant Garden



I visited this garden with my cousin Margaret in 1991 and it was a delight and extra special to go back and see it again, and some of the changes.

She would have loved it.

It was a beautiful garden then, and it still is. The following are only a few of the many photos I took. For once a cool but sunny day.





Azaleas at Bodnant



                                



Bluebells at Bodnant






The Dell. Bodnant

 

                                     

                       

Once again the sat nav took me safely there and

back, - but so far to my surprise it has never been

able to return me home from any destination by the same route.

This time was no different and instead of returning via the main duel carriage A road it found a 'rural route' which was much more fun to explore.

One of these days I will stop holding my breath when I have to cope with on coming traffic.               

                 

         



The following day it was time to rejoin some family members in Lancashire, and start delving into my heritage. Both my parents and their ancestors came from here and I hope to be able to find where they lived in the 19th century.

On the way there I stopped to revisit one of my favourite historic houses in Wales - 'Erddig' near Wrexsam.

This Welsh name is pronounced 'Erthig'         

Erddig.  Wales

I hope everyone (all 4 of you!) has enjoyed my ramblings. I will not go into detail just how long it has taken me to get some of these photos under control (why do they keep moving around and in some cases disappearing altogether?) and to complete this section of the blog, but I would appreciate a comment or two.

More, with luck, in a few days time. 



























Motor home

An attempt was made to purchase a perfect, small, second hand motor home with very little mileage on the clock - however it all went downhill from there when it became obvious that no UK Insurance company will  provide insurance for someone who does not have a permanent UK address, and does not hold a current UK driving licence and has done so for up two or three years. To my disgust, age came into as well.
We even tried an Insurance broker who confirmed that I would not get the necessary insurance for the road tax (Our Compulsary Third Party).

It was with enormous shock and regret that I had to terminate the sale.

My family has been tremendously supportive and I have been encouraged to form a Plan B which I will attempt to do.

On Thursday I pick up a hire car, which I achieved with no difficulty whatsoever, and my first goal will be Fernhurst in Sussex where a number of our Hope family lived or stayed for 30 years or so.