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Unloxit 2021
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Unloxit 2021

With travel restrictions easing, even if only temporarily, options reopen for some beautiful staycations around the country. Read more
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    June 6, 2021
    BlogarithmsUnloxit 2021Traveler

    Green shoots in Thanet

    June 6, 2021 in England ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Almost 6 months have passed since I spent a night away from home. It was a difficult winter with a long lockdown and there's no certainty of it being the final one. However in early June, summer has burst upon us and I choose to make my first escape revisiting Ramsgate, on the Isle of Thanet.

    It's an unpretentious place to the extent of being sadly neglected with too many empty shop fronts in the town centre. With booming resorts like Brighton and Southwold in their different ways, there's not enough to go round and Ramsgate could do with a lift, especially since the ferry services to France were discontinued. Which isn't to say Ramsgate lacks charm. On the contrary; the harbour is scenic, especially when viewed from above, and there's an air of a place waiting to be discovered. Best savoured now, before this happens.

    Besides the harbour views, there's an arcade beneath the road sweeping up to the west, hosting cafes and chandlers for yachties. Ramsgate being a hilly place, there's a Continental-looking flight of steps leading from one level to the next. And an abandoned Art Deco lift shaft hosting some creative street art.

    Along with the harbour came the creation of some wonderful terraces dating from around 1800 which wouldn't be out of place in parts of London. One of them, the quaintly-named Liverpool Lawn, is an echo of the road of the same name and period in Islington, London and named after Lord Liverpool.    Read more

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    Walking with the Vikings

    June 7, 2021 in England ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    East Kent has a long history of attempted (Julius Caesar, Napoleon) and successful (Claudius, the Anglo-Saxons) invasions. As the Loop bus ambles, Margate is about 5 miles from Ramsgate. On the Viking Coastal Trail it's twice that but being almost flat and paved throughout, it's an excellent day out. The weather is almost Mediterranean and with the excellent quality of the sand, one might wonder who so many people bother with the Costa del Sol.

    Margate is Ramsgate's boisterous older sister and although Dreamland is closed, parties are out to enjoy the early summer. The town has also discovered its artistic heritage, ranging from Turner to Emin, and there's a quaint network of craft shops in the town centre. And a discarded bus shelter has been converted into a Covid memorial.

    Heading east, the seascape becomes increasingly lonely with limitless views over the Thames Estuary. One might have thought the chalk cliffs were solid but as the route swings east and then south, it passes several gaps leading to Botany, Joss, Louisa Bays and others. Places to explore another time. Passing Broadstairs, Ramsgate's genteel aunt, I am back to base with a healthy sunburn.

    And East Kent is so close to continental Europe that on another walk my phone company welcomes me to France and their roaming rates!    Read more

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    If this is July......

    July 3, 2021 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    ......it's time for the annual Lake District trip. For many years I've teamed up with a group of about 12 friends for an annual one-week stay in the Lake District. We hire two cottages in Keswick, a suitable transport hub and tourist attraction. During the day we split into two or more parties: the walkers, and the drinkers. The walkers don hiking boots and waterproofs while the drinkers do some research.....and in the evenings, most of the walkers become drinkers as well. The majority of us are from London or the south-east but some are based in northern England. And since we had to cancel this last year, some of us haven't met up since 2019 so it's a great reunion. The pubs are still enforcing social distancing; we manage this by communicating on Whatsapp so that when there is space in any given pub, those who are there already can let the other know. It works!

    As a member of the walking party, I'm suited and booted after breakfast with a different walk each day. Nothing too strenuous although there are several who climb Catbells. I did it once, and Skiddaw the year before, and somehow have survived to tell the tale. Coming down from Skiddaw that time, I borrowed a pair of hiking sticks from a kindly hiker on another party. My toenails were so traumatised that it took 6 months for the purple bruises to grow out!

    That was 2009; by now, 3-4 hours mostly on the level is a sufficient workout. The first picture is a general view of Derwentwater, on which Keswick stands. (Quiz question: which is the only body of water in the Lake District actually called a lake? Answer: Bassenthwaite Lake. The rest are ....water or ....mere). This walk takes us along the east side of Derwentwater to Rosthwaite. 3 is of an impressive dam at the top of Thirlmere (reached by bus a couple of days before this) built in the late 19th century to conserve water headed for Manchester, and 4 is or was probably a control centre in wonderful late Gothic that the Victorians did so well. The tiny church in 5 is typical of the Lake District and so is 6, of the unassuming woodlands that show you don't have to climb the tops to get nice shots.    Read more

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    Bananallama

    July 6, 2021 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Another of our favourite walks is the Newlands valley circuit, taking us south-west past some disused lead mines and a distant view of Catbells. This is followed by another exquisite tiny church near Littletown. On the way back we pass a field of llamas, to be reliably advised that they differ from alpacas not just for being bigger but for their banana-shaped ears. No walk is satisfactory without a stop for tea, nor is it complete without a beer or three at the Swinside Inn!

    The following day takes a bus ride south to Ambleside and a connection to Skelwith Bridge. From there it's a short climb to Colwith Force in deep woodland. Emerging into farmland, we spot these carvings on the side of a barn; the most likely theory is they were used by a stonemason to try out his skills on headstones. Drinks follow at Elterwater and a walk over the top to Grasmere for some, or the bus there and then to base for my blisters and me.

    7 days, 6 hikes and over 20 pubs later, it's time to pack up for another year. Keswick pub of the week? The Wainwright, with an accommodating guvnor who frees up the table next to the core party to allow late arrivals from our group. Outing of the week: the Kirkstile Inn, on the remote Loweswater, with beers of the same name and a nice private room for dinner and our quiz. But signs of the continuing effects of Covid are that the Agricultural Arms in Penrith is short-staffed and can't open much before midday, although they look after us well when they do. And a reality check: during the week it turns out that the infection rate has soared to twice that in London (mercifully it's plummeted again as I write this).

    Anyway here's to 2022, which our group organiser reserves within a week of our return.    Read more

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    Fishy business in East Yorkshire

    August 23, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The city of Hull may seem an odd choice for an August staycation but that's one of the good things about it. For a start, it doesn't attract the hordes of nearby York. A forgotten place after the decline of the fishing industry of which it was once the British capital, it was remembered in 2017 when it became the UK City of Culture. Its significance as a port attracted the Nazi bombs and Hull suffered more than anywhere outside London, but some fine Edwardian creations remain. Its white phone boxes (because Hull's telecoms company is independent) are as much a curiosity as the red boxes elsewhere in the UK.

    We also see reminders in the railway station of the continuing pandemic but despite an instructive walking tour, don't get an explanation for the name "Land of Green Ginger". Never mind: it's nice to find in an arcade, independent shops like Dinsdale's that would once have graced London but here is stuck in a 1950s time warp.

    And finally, some quirky decor in a small back street pub. Only Mona knows why she is here are she's not telling.    Read more

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    File under "B" for Beach

    August 24, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Despite the flat landscape of East Yorkshire, there are numerous day excursions from Hull to be made. The railway from there to Scarborough contains too many places to do properly in one day, so we confine our first day trip to Filey and Beverley. Filey was called by my late father, who did army training there during the War, the "coldest place in the world". Well, it's not quite north-east Siberia and although not exactly tropical either, it's bearable and keeps the holiday crowds down. Beverley, back towards Hull, is a historic market town with a Home Counties feel. It's known for its Minster which is larger than many English cathedrals and profusion of Georgian buildings, and is probably a popular commuter base for Hull city.

    There seems to be a local competition for best-kept railway station and Bridlington's is a great example. Bridlington is another forgotten beach town and fishing port. It's a little sister to Scarborough at the end of the line, and here's a picture of another line, the antique funicular leading from the upper town to the beach. Nobody else going down, a 50-person queue going up. I wonder why!

    Finally a bus ride south-east to the village of Patrington with its gorgeous church, all of a piece from the 14th century, The vicar may not be present in person but his effigy is holding a tea party!    Read more

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    First time on the canals (since 2019)

    September 2, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    One piece of good news from the slowly relaxation---for the moment---of Covid restrictions is the revival of my annual canal trip, postponed from May last year. This has been a long-standing institution for a group of friends who enjoy messing about on Britain's waterways and drinking the occasional beer or ten on twice-daily breaks. The party started in 1972 but I am a late-comer, arriving in 1993 and I've been going nearly every year for a week since then. Over the years we have covered almost all of the British canal network, from Llangollen to Leicestershire and Bath to Bingley. The title of this blog comes from an occasion years ago when the party (of which I deny responsibility because it was before my time) got stuck in the complicated exercise of turning the boat round. It's never an easy task to manouevre a 70-foot vessel alternating between forward and reverse, and the story goes that another boat party watched us with amusement and asked "Is this your first time on the canals?" Apparently they weren't even English!

    This year we're a party of eight, in two four-berth boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Leaving aside the start and finish cities, we convene at the small West Yorkshire town of Silsden, to cover the most scenic part of the canal which crosses the Pennines. The L & L is quite an early canal, starting from 1790 and unable to cut through the hill range, it skirts them with the help of over 90 locks and a minimum of tunnels. And no rest for the wicked: besides one person to drive each boat, there's ideally another man on board with other crew members on the towpath to operate the locks and swing bridges. Plus a cook with sidekick for the evening meals!

    Although the maximum speed is 4 knots in isolated areas, it's usually more like 1 or 2 and it's a joy to cruise quietly through some splendid countryside. The first four images are around Skipton, a pleasant market town. Image 4 shows a swing bridge open; some of them are electrically operated but the manual ones are hard work. A good job that Skipton is supplied with some excellent pubs! 5 and 6 show the village of Gargrave, where the canal crosses the Pennine Way for those seeking another form of exercise.    Read more

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    4,000 beers in Burnley, Lancashire

    September 4, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The L & L eases through the Pennines and into Lancashire. The canal architecture is simple but elegant, the old bridges spanning the water rather than the cut-price swing bridges.

    Now for some quirks: beside one set of locks some flowers mark what seems to be the burial place of a loved animal. Nearby a strand of barbed wire passes right through a tree trunk; can the trees really grow so quickly around here? And in the small town of Barnoldswick (pronounced Barlick) some puppets keep watch over a building site.

    Barnoldwick is a good example of a small town outdoing a larger neighbour for beauty, in this case Burnley. One competitor for our pub of the week is a micropub called the Barnoldswick Tap. The locals seem aggrieved that boundary changes moved the town to Lancashire from its Red Rose rival, Yorkshire. But they give us a warm welcome despite the barman having to close at 8.30 to catch his bus home. (And there's another bar waiting for us up the street).

    Burnley is still waiting for some levelling up, but no danger of going dry at the Bridge Inn & Bier Haus (sic). Local Moorhouse's and bottled beers from Germany, Belgium and others.    Read more

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    Man of the Canals

    September 8, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Here's a challenge: as we descend the Bank Newton locks, one of the boats gets jammed in the lock gates and the other boat becomes wedged to it. As the lock starts to empty, one boat tilts at a sickening angle and is danger of filling with water. Hurriedly we start to refill the lock again, while the guys still aboard rock them like a seesaw to try and free them. Eventually there is an almighty crash and the boats right themselves. Thankfully there's no injury but it's a cautionary tale, not helped by the fact that some of the canal authorities knew this lock was defected and had neglected to broadcast this. The picture shows a distant view of yours truly, obeying orders.

    Tradition has it that on the final afternoon the Man of the Canals awards take place. This is a largely ironic procedure in which people get nominations for selected categories. The Best Dressed Man was the guy for wearing clean clothes daily (until the dousing at Bank Newton) and Worst Driver was your narrator who, while waiting downstream for a lock to empty, steered the boat right up to the lock gates, positioning it at right-angles to the canal and so blocking the boat that was trying to leave. We then tot up the marks and award the Man of the Canals to the guy with the highest total (Roger, for organising the trip, among other things). There's a Boy of the Canals and the Third Man, for which the trophy is a musical box playing the theme tune from the film of the same name. As a friend of mine queried: "How old are you?" We're all old enough for our bus passes but with a mental age of about 10!

    I've decided that after over 25 years, this will be my final canal trip. It's been a great ride but as one door closes.........    Read more

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    Brighton of the North

    September 24, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Brighton? Well, not really. Blackpool has got sand, not stones for a start. And not just the Palace Pier and a rusting ruin cut off from the back but three piers, all with entertainment due to start when the country gets back in gear. And of course the Tower, visible from much of the Fylde peninsula and the same age as the Eiffel Tower.

    Lockdown hasn't been kind to Blackpool but due to limited overseas travel, it's said to have had a good summer. But late September is most definitely autumn and apart from at weekends, it's gone pretty quiet again. Since my last visit 12 years ago, there's been some impressive development around Blackpool North station but some of the other streets are very run down and need creative thinking from the council. There's talk of a "Silicon Sands" project if enough techie entrepreneurs can be found.

    Blackpool has always been the capital of traditional comedy, the natural home of Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper and Morecambe & Wise. More left-field stuff---no. Music follows a similar pattern, with Sinatra and Elvis imitators everywhere. It's a perfect time warp.

    The wind, which can kindly be called bracing, pursues us around the Tower and the North Pier, from which the other piers are visible. The Tower pokes its head again above a place hopefully taking you to Cuba (image 4) and the back streets show that street art is alive and well (5). The final image shows how enterprise can be used to convert what could have been a hairdresser's or newsagent's into a micropub, and very good the beer is too: just half a dozen tables but 4 local brews and a draught cider, with friendly management you would never find in the barn-like places. In the background is the Akash, an Indian restaurant which we first visited 20 years ago; Sammy, the owner, makes us feel very much at home and serves an excellent chicken tikka masala.    Read more

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    Wearing the trousers

    September 26, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Sitting on a peninsula, Blackpool has fewer opportunities for excursions than some places but there's a direct rail line across the Pennines as far as York. On the Sunday we take a day out to Hebden Bridge, an attractive stone-built town deep in the Calder valley. In the Industrial Revolution, because of the fast-flowing rivers, it was a haven for weaving mills and was known as Trouser Town.

    The mills have long closed but Hebden Bridge is popular with artists and tourists. It's got a pub/hotel called the Old Gate with outdoor seating, where we enjoy the last of the good weather. And guess what---it's on another canal. This one is the Rochdale Canal which I've never been on but plenty of people have, and the towpath makes a nice walk.    Read more

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    Fleetwood Mackintosh

    September 28, 2021 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    By now the weather has broken completely but we put on brave faces heading for the northern end of the Fylde. Fleetwood, accessible by the famous trams from Blackpool, became a significant fishing port in the 19th century and boasts two lighthouses opened in 1840. There's not a great deal to remind us of past glories but it's no stranger to street art.

    A longer day trip, requiring two changes on the train, is to Morecambe. The trip involves a stop at the historic town of Lancaster, with a Victorian prison built on the site of the castle. The final stage is a one-station shuttle between Lancaster and Morecambe. It's even more of a time warp than Blackpool and rather more genteel; if Blackers takes you back to the 1960s, Morecambe is more 1930s. The hotel in image 4 has featured in Hercule Poirot TV whodunits. Eric Bartholomew of the comedy duo named himself after his birthplace.

    By now a glitch has development with uploading images from my mobile to the laptop, hence only 4 on this page. Must bring a proper camera on the next trip!    Read more

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    Alternative Brighton

    November 1, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Back to solo trips and with the clocks returning to winter time, I find it's not too late for a south coast getaway. Hastings is only 60 miles from London and even less from Brighton but it has a quieter, no-nonsense air. Like Brighton, the same stony beach, pier and elegant stucco terraces but fewer bars and nightspots. Like other British seaside resorts, it has been deserted by the sun-seekers and the shopping streets have too many boarded-up businesses; off-season (even if there is an on-season) gives me an almost exclusive run of the sea front.

    This early November weather is kind, with an impressive dawn from my hotel window. As the day progresses, the sunlight plays engaging tricks with the seashore. The sunset view under the pier shows the distinctive profile of Marine Court, a fine Art Deco creation shown up closer in the next image. Finally, to Warrior Square in next-door St. Leonards, where graffiti artists have tried and failed to tarnish the illusion of being in South Kensington.    Read more

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    2021 and all that

    November 2, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Even though no visible trace remains of William the Conqueror's landing 955 years ago, it's nice to be in an area loaded with history. A ride on the no. 101 bus takes me to Pett Level, which looks like Pevensey Bay where William's forces made landfall. After the soaring cliffs around Fairlight, Pett Level is a quiet reach of shingle with the rhythm of groynes stretching to the horizon. The now decaying stakes parallel to the shore try to defend not against invasions but the endless tides.

    Invaders were still considered a threat in Napoleonic times and the Royal Military Canal, which begins near here, was started in 1804 to harbour warships in the event of an attack. It never had to be used and fell into quiet neglect but is still swan-friendly. A few miles on is the village of Winchelsea (with the accent on the Win so it doesn't sound like the west London football club). Founded in the late 13th century, it's one of the few towns laid out on a grid pattern. The magnificent church (once an abbey) dates from that time and although the houses are later, the village preserves a quiet exclusivity.

    Having walked a lot today, I leave Camber Sands for another day. These are decidedly more inclusive than Winchelsea, with horse riders, dog walkers and tea drinkers enjoying the sandy expanses stretching another half-dozen miles towards Dungeness. The pancake-flat landscape has a world's end feel and walking back to Rye along the dyke, I wonder how the big fish (pike?) met its fate.    Read more

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    Bob Marley was here

    November 4, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    A half-hour bus ride takes me west to Bexhill, a genteel version Hastings. Its most famous landmark is the De La Warr Pavilion (named after the 9th Earl), all Art Deco sweeps and curves, with seating for 1,500 concert goers. On a grey November morning the only activities are a man admiring the sea view and a woman admiring her phone, with nothing to show that this was the scene of Bob Marley's first performance on British soil.

    A generation before Art Deco, the 8th Earl founded Britain's first motor races, along the sea front. A metal sculpture of one of the 1902 cars celebrates this, and the spirit lives on with the annual London to Brighton race of veteran cars. The blue Renault 4 in the this picture is more like 1980s but its owner probably has this in mind. Nearby this is an exquisite little pavilion from the late 1890s, in the red and green of the town flag.

    It's that time of the year and Remembrance Day is being observed by local dignitaries. For the cafe society on the sea front, it's just another November day.    Read more

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    Folk blues

    December 5, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Even in December there's a chance of a deep blue sky as I head once more for the south coast for the final time in 2021. I'm staying in a traditional-style hotel on the clifftop in Folkestone, once a seaside resort and ferry port. With these activities now defunct, parts of the town look neglected but with homebuyers fleeing the astronomical prices of the Big Smoke for some sea air, there are signs of a revival. The area around the hotel is rich in mid-19th century pomp, and like Hastings is reminiscent of Kensington. There's even a golden hour as the last of the sun's rays light up the terraces. The bandstand, from 1895, is the final word in late Victorian elegance.

    The cliffs divide Folkestone into an upper and lower town, and sea level reveals a shingly beach and former railway station. This was once a gateway to France for tens of thousands of soldiers destined for the Western Front in World War 1. It was also a gateway for me many moons ago on a backpacking trip to Europe and beyond that lasted over a year.    Read more

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    Putting the Lydd on it

    December 8, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    To round off this trip, I take the 102 bus south as Tuesday's storm slowly abates. The attractive town of Hythe marks a point on the Royal Military Canal, last seen by me a month ago near Rye. The avenue of trees, bare for December, and raised walkway gives the waterway an almost French air. Ironic considering the canal was built to help fortify England against France two centuries ago.

    The bus rolls on to Lydd-on-sea, the gateway to Dungeness. This is a truly strange area, said to be the driest place in England and fancifully as the country's only desert. Not exactly the Atacama but it has a still desolation which I find irresistible. The odd shape of the promontory generates conflicting sea currents and unsettled water, and I well remember from long ago a sailing trip battling against a near-gale and finding relief hours later at Rye harbour.

    Dungeness is the terminus of the heritage Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway (inactive in winter) and features two lighthouses, a twin nuclear power station, and a windswept shingly beach. Scattered around the shore are the remains of fishing equipment cutting odd shapes against the skyline. It's great for creating semi-abstract images and I only wish some of the other monuments like the sound mirrors which appear on a recent TV programme, were accessible. As it is, the area lies on private land and I half-expect somebody demanding a photographer's permit but apart from a few characters looking seaward towards the French coast, it's quiet. Not exactly desert but almost deserted.    Read more

    Trip end
    December 31, 2021
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