Andrew's Travels

Andrew's Travels

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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Vilnius; East of River Vilnia and Uzupis
14 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
On our arrival yesterday, we stopped off at the Church of St Peter and Paul as it is a long way to the east of the city; the Church has a Baroque interior that is the finest in the country. There are also good views down to the city nearby. Later on yesterday, I walked up the Hill of Three Crosses for the superb views (and exercise) and then along the River Vilnia as far as Uzupis before heading back to the Old Town

Conveniently, our guided four with Dzuigas today went into Uzupis; this is a quirky, bohemian area that declared independence on 1st April 1997 (April Fools Day); it's a great place - see captions on photos for details.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Vilnius; Cathedral Square and Old Town 1
13 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Vilnius developed originally as a fortified area between hills on the River Neris (which flows to Kaunas).; it is a very green city with lots of parks and the central area is very compact. The Old Town is the largest in Eastern Europe and has UNESCO status.

Starting at Cathedral Square, I have an explore and then walk to Gediminas Hill; I take the funicular to the top to see the Tower.

Later, we have a guided tour of Old Town with our tour guide Dzuigas, who lives in Vilnius; we start at the northern end, Pilies Gatve, and then cross over to the Bernadine Church and Monastery, before coming back over to the Vilnius University area. It is very interesting and informative - see captions on photos for details and a future post for more Old Town.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Pazaislis Monastery and Trakai Castle
13 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Pazaislis Monastery is 9km from Kaunas, east along the Nemunas River, and built on a promontory that juts into the "Kaunas Sea"; it was built by Camaldolese Monks in the 17th century, the Church is Baroque in style, and overall it was the richest monastery in the country, being built for the elite - there were 24 private residences for the monks. Over the years, it has been pillaged by Napoleon, became Russian Orthodox in 1831, and used as a psychiatric hospital by the Russians; nowadays, Music Festivals are held here in the Summer and there is a "fine dining" restaurant. It has a truly magnificent marble interior. (We visited the Monastery yesterday morning, but it is described here for convenience)

Trakai is located in a district of lakes (approx 200) and hills, and the town and area are in a designated National Park; Trakai town is actually located on a 2km peninsula, with Trakai Castle itself located on an island in Lake Garva (it is accessed by walkway). Trakai Castle was built in 1408 by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautus the Great as a strategic fortified area between lakes. Unfortunately, the tall keep of the ducal palace is under repair when we visit, so we can't see everything on our tour, particularly the inner coutyard. We visit the history museum in the various buildings. It is still an interesting visit.

After that, it is on to Vilnius.....En savoir plus
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Wolfgang und HeidiHi Andrew … can I have your E-Mail? I‘ m finally organising a complex river cruise for Rob an Bob in Australia August to September 2025. Maybe you and your wife want to take part in that „adventure“
14/06/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurLet me discuss it with the boss, and I'll get back to you when I'm home.
14/06/2024RépondreTraduire
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Kaunas
12 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania and situated at the geographic centre of the country, at the confluence of the two largest rivers (the River Nemunas and the River Negris). This key position made it a key Hanseatic League River port in the 15th - 16th centuries and a key city during the Soviet occupation. The population, 300k, is 98% Lithuanian and attached to tradition (country and Catholicism). After terrible flooding in 1951, a hydroelectric power dam was built on the Nemunas River in 1960 (the only HEP dam in the country).

We have an explore of the Old Town, and the walk via Vilniaus Gatve, the main artery of the Old Town to our hotel; later we walk east along part of Freedom Avenue (the longest pedestrian street in Eastern Europe) towards the New Town area for dinner close to Unity Square - the New Town expanded in the 19th century. Details of the sights, etc, are shown on the photo captions.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Curonian Spit National Park (Neringa)
11 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
The Curonian Spit National Park is a UNESCO site in Western Lithuania that occupies approx. half of a 100km peninsula that stretches up from the Russian province of Kaliningrad; it is reached by a short 5 minute ferry ride from Klaipeda (there is no bridge due to the ships). There are 4 fishing villages on the Spit, which is mainly covered by pine trees inhabited by moose, wild boar, and many bird species. Behind the Spit is the Curonian Lagoon; this broadens as you head south.

We travel down to the Nida area, 48 km from Klaipeda and 3km from the Russian border, and work our way back up. We walk around the outskirts of the Parnidis Dune to the fishing village of Nida. Then it's on the Hill of Witches, a 42 m high hill that was a focus of pagan ritual centuries before Lithuania adopted Christianity; since 1979, wooden sculptures have been added, describing describing local legends etc. Our final stop is at a cormorant colony; there are thousands here, but their excrement kills the trees they live in!

An excellent day out.En savoir plus
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VoyageurI suspect I would love this National Park. No sand dunes in Cambridge! Not sure about witches!! Helen xx
13/06/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurThere used to be one in Barrington.....xx
13/06/2024RépondreTraduire
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
LITHUANIA; Hill of Crosses and Klaipeda
10 juin 2024, Lituanie ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We cross the border into Lithuania; it is less forested and flatter compared to the other Baltic States. The population of Lithuania is 2.7 million, and it is the same size as Latvia (population 2 million). The Lithuanian language is the oldest spoken European language. There is no German influence here in general, and the country is more closely associated with Poland - they are both strongly Catholic- and it has a stronger "East European" feel (particularly in Central Lithuania); there have been several rebellions against Russia over the years.

The Hill of Crosses is in northern Lithuania, near Siauliai, and it is believed crosses were first placed here after the 1831 Uprising; it represents a symbol of defiance for both anti-Russian rule and for pro-Catholism - there are thousands of crosses here now. The Russians have tried to bulldoze it down, but it split! The Hill of Crosses is now both a major pilgrimage site and a major tourist attraction.

We then drive on to Klaipeda, a city on the coast of Western Lithuania. It was originally a Teutonic Knight Fortess town, becoming part of Prussia and was known as the German name of Memel. The town was destroyed during the Russian invasion in WWII and rebuilt as a Soviet city; a small part of the Old Town area remains. It is now an important Lithuanian city as it is the country's only seaport; all oil and import / import is done here, and shipbuilding is a major industry. Its location, where the River Dane meets the Baltic Sea, makes it a very windy place. The main attraction is the Curonian Spit National Park.

The next day, I have a quick explore of the Old Town on my own, as described on the picture captions.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Rundale Palace
10 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Today, we visit Rundale Palace; this Baroque Palace is the most important in the Baltic region and a monument to the ostentatiousness of the 18th century aristocracy here. It was built as a summer residence for the Duke of Courland (Courland was a duchy of Latvia then); an old castle was dismantled by the architect (Rastrelli, who also built the St Petersburg Winter Palace) using a Russian Labour force. The Palace was damaged in WWI, when it was used as a school and later as a granary; the Russians "let it go" because of its decadence, but is has now been restored (1972-2015).

The East Wing was state rooms for formal occasions, the central part was the Duke's state apartments, and the West Wing was the Duchess's private residence; see captions on photos for details.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Riga 3; Other Sights in Riga
9 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
A later start today due to the rain. These sights are practically a straight line northeast from the Town Hall Square, close to the River Daugava.

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia describes Latvia under the rule of the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany from 1939-1991; there are sections on being an independent state (1918-40), the Hitler- Stalin pact, the ruined land, Gulag times, Soviet Occupation to the free country it is today - there is dark, red, and white lighting as appropriate. I visited - it is a good but not uplifting experience!

From there, the route passes the Freedom Monument, Orthodox Church, the Radisson Blu Hotel (for views from the top) Old St Gertrude's Church, finishing at the Corner House, the former KGB compound; I visited here as well - this has disturbing accounts of prisoners, but another "good" experience.

Another good day, and it's back on the road tomorrow.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Riga 2; A walk to Art Nouveau district
8 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
I set off on a short walk along the Daugava River towards the Art Nouveau district; Art Nouveau is everywhere in the city, however, and Riga boasts over 750 buildings and has the most Art Nouveau architecture in the world. Art Nouveau style was popular from 1890 to 1910 throughout Europe and the United States, and there is a lot here because it coincided with a time of prosperity in the city; it is about curvy lines depicting organic form (apparently).

I walk back via the canal as much as possible, eventually reaching Riga Central Market, close to the junction of the river and the canal (see captions on photos for details about the walk).En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Riga 1; Old Riga
8 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Riga has been an important port for the Hanseatic League, followed by the Swedish, and more recently, the Russians, due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea (15km); it lies on the Gulf of Riga on the Daugava River. One-third of the population of Latvia lives here.

Outside of the popular tourist centre of medieval Old Riga, beyond the canal ring, there are many interesting sites; it is noted for its Art Nouveau architecture, in particular.

We have a guided tour of Old Riga (Vecriga), the historic heart of the city, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (see captions on photos for details); it is a beautiful place full of cobbled streetsEn savoir plus
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Gauja NP 2; Turaida Museum Reserve
7 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
The Turaida Museum Reserve is an area of green knoll, dominated by the red-brick Turaida Castle, the Bishop's Palace, and its tall cylindrical tower; it was built in the 13th century on the site of a Livonian stronghold. There are small and interesting museums inside the various buildings here. The rest of the reserve has walks and small exhibits. The small church, one of the oldest wooden churches in Latvia, features the grave of "the Rose of Turaida," a melancholy legend about a beautiful young woman murdered in a nearby cave by a soldier who wanted her; she was in love with a local gardener...... ( It's worth a Google).

Then we drive to Riga. It's an interesting evening (see captions on photos).En savoir plus
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Wolfgang und Heidi 👍😊
09/06/2024Répondre
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
LATVIA Gauja NP 1; Cesis and Sigulda
7 juin 2024, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We set off at 9 am, heading south to Latvia and Riga; we will drive through the Gauja National Park.

Latvia has been invaded by every regional power; it has a population of less than 2 million, and the language spoken is a Baltic language similar to Lithuanian - 40% of the population are Russian speaking, however. Half of the country is covered by forest, and timber is a big part of the economy; other main exports are fish and canned fish. There are lots of folk songs, and it is a very "singing" oriented country. The women are the tallest in Europe, on average.

The Gauja National Park was established in 1973; it is only an hour or so outside Riga - and very popular for day trips from here. We stop off at Cesis, a small town on the Gauja River, noted for its 13th-century castle, which was sacked by Ivan the Terrible in 1577. We walk around the castle grounds and see some of the town; see picture captions for details.

We stop off at Sigulda, regarded as the gateway to Gauja National Park, for lunch, and visit the nearby cable car for the view over the Gauja River. It is then a short drive to the other side of the river and our next destination, the Turaida Museum Reserve.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Tartu
6 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Tartu was established when the Livonian Order (the German Crusaders) built on a hill here (Toomemagi); the town was originally known as Dorpat. Tartu University was established during the Swedish reign in the 17th century. Peter the Great took the town for Russia, but it was mostly wrecked; the rest was destroyed by fire in 1775. After some rebuilding, it was destroyed again in WWII; the Post Soviet period has seen a lot of rebuilding and growth. Tartu is now the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn; it is the premier university town and is the European Capital of Culture for 2024.

We have a guided tour of the Old Town and Toome Hill (Toomemagi), and then I did some more exploring on my own; see captions on photos for details about the city.

In the evening, we walk via the Father and Son statue to the Vilde ja Vine restaurant for dinner; outside is a statue of Oscar Wilde and the Estonian Writer Eduardo Vilde (they never actually met).En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
En route to Tartu 2; Vijlandi
5 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Vijlandi is a pretty town overlooking a picturesque valley with a lake at the centre; the main attraction is the castle, but the town is interesting as well.

We start at Vijlandi Teutonic Order Castle; there was originally a hill fort built in the 9th century on part of the site, but the German Crusaders (the Knights of the Sword or the Livonian Order), built stone fortifications on a series of three small hills; the main castle was a convent building protected by three outer baileys. It fell into disrepair after the Polish-Swedish wars in the 17th century; now, only parts of the wall and foundations remain. We continue with a short tour of the Old Town (see captions on photos).

We drive on to Tartu for two nights; most of us walk along the river and via the Town Hall Square to Pussirohukelder, formerly a gunpowder cellar, but now a beer restaurant; I have an Estonian mashed potato dish with smoked meat and sour cream, served in a bread roll, as well as some the excellent house beer!En savoir plus
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En route to Tartu 1; Parnu
5 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
We set off at 9am for Tartu on the mainland of Estonia, and retrace our route to Kuressaare (causeway to Muhu and ferry to mainland) before heading south to Parnu; there is a lot of forest en route.

Parnu became a Hanseatic Sea Port in the 14th century (i.e., Germanic) and, like the rest of Estonia, has been ruled by several parties since then. It is now the Summer Capital of Estonia and is very popular with Finns, Swedes, and Germans due to the clean air, mud baths, and beach; we visit the Old Town, which is sourh of the River Parnu (the beach resort area is north of the river.

We have a walk round with Dzuigas, our tour guide, and I then visit various other places alone (instead of having lunch); see captions on the photos - it is a nice place. We then set off for Vijlandi.En savoir plus
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Historic Baltic Republics Voyageur
Kuressaare
4 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Kuressaare has a population of 12,000, over third of that of Saaremaa Island; the town was established by the Vikings in the 7th century. It became a spa town in the 19th century, when reserves of healing mud were found nearby; there are still many spa hotels here.

We have a guided tour of the attractions around the town on our tour bus before being dropped off at the triangular shaped town centre for a walking tour, being dropped off at Kuressaare Castle to do our own thing (see captions on photos).

Kuressaare Castle, aka Kuressaare Episcopal Castle or the Bishop's Castle, is the best preserved in the Baltic; it is Gothic in style, with a square building around a central courtyard. It was founded in 1260, but what we see today is from the 14th century and made from Dolomite sandstone; the bastions were added in the 16th and 17th centuries. It contains the Saaremaa Museum, dedicated to the nature and history of the island. It was an interesting visit.

After that, I walk around the bastions outside and up to the harbour area, taking many pictures, Then it's back across the beach to the very conveniently located hotel. I go back for a swim in Kuressaare Bay, the Baltic Sea, later on; it was lovely - not cold and not salt! A great day.En savoir plus
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En route to Kuressaare
3 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We leave at 9:30 am and drive towards the Gulf of Riga; the roads are very good, and there are lots of trees en route to Virtsu where we take the ferry to Kaivastu on Muhu Island.

From here, we drive to the small village and port of Koguva, where the Muhu Open Air Ethnographic Museum of Koguva is situated; the museum reflects Estonian peasant architecture and life - there are separate farm and textile museums, as well as the original school house. The museum has been established on the farm where the Estonian poet and writer Junan Smuul was born; he had associations with Stalin.

After lunch nearby in Liiva, we drive across the 2.5 km causeway to Saaremaa Island. We visit Karja Church; this church contains the richest medieval stone sculptures in the Baltic States, but boes not open until 15th June (doh!). It is built from dolomite sandstone and is very large, but Karja village could not prosper because of the nature of the rising ground in the area.

From here, we visit the Angla Windmill Hill site, which comprises four typical trestle windmills characteristic of the island, one Dutch-style windmill, and a heritage museum on local folk culture and engineering - it is very interesting.

We then stop off at the Kaali Meteotite Crater; we see the largest of the 9 craters that are here. The impact could have been up to 7,500 years ago; the Crater is 100m wide and almost circular.

Then it's on to Kuressaare, the main town on Saaremaa Island; it is on the south of the island, facing the Gulf of Riga.En savoir plus
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Tallinn 4; Linnahall / Walk by the sea
2–4 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
From the Old Town, I walk past the Energy Discovery Centre and up to Linnahall. Linnahall is a relic of Estonia's Soviet occupation and was built for the 1980 Olympics for the sailing event; it was originally called the V. I. Lenin Palave of Culture and Sports, and is built in the brutalist architecture of the time - it is still used as a heliport.

From there, I walk around the harbour area and join the path at Kalaranna in the Kalamaja District of Tallinn. The path passes by Patarei; this was originally built as a sea fortres to provide defence against the Russians, but was then used as a prison. The path goes through the Seaplane Harbour, a maritime museum, and on to the Noblessner sea front quarter; this was originally a submarine shipyard, but it is now a nicely developed area. I walk back through Kalamaja to the walls and towers of the Old Town.En savoir plus
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Tallinn 3; Old Town - Lower
2 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
The guided tour continues down to the Lower Old Town and ends in the Town Hall Square. The Old Town is very beautiful, colourful, and reminiscent of Prague.

After revisiting the Danish King's Garden (see previous post), I carry on exploring the Lower Town, heading north from Viru Gate towards the sea (see captions on pictures) to see Linnahall and have a walk by the sea front of Tallinn (see next post),

After that, it's back to the hotel, walking near to the castle walls.En savoir plus
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Tallinn 2; Old Town - Upper (Toompea)
2 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
We start the day with a guided tour of Tallinn Old Town. We start by walking up towards Toompea Castle; originally built in the 9th century. It was overtaken by Danish crusaders in the 13th century; when Estonia became part of the Russian Empire, there were Baroque modifications. We are led through the Upper Old Town and see any of the sites (see photo captions), including lovely views down onto the Lower Old Town.

I revisited later alone to spend more time in the Danish King's Garden, going up to the accessible walls and museum there, as well as visiting the Kiek in die Kok Tower; this means "peek into the kitchen" in the German dialect of the time, but is amusing when spoken in English!En savoir plus
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ESTONIA Tallinn 1; Telliskivi
1 juin 2024, Estonie ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
I flew to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, via Helsinki, arriving early in the afternoon.

Tallinn is UNESCO listed and one of Europe's most complete walled cities. It was originally settled by Finno Ugric people in 2,500 BC; Estonia is apparently still similar to Finland to this day, people and character wise. Tallinn was invaded by the Danes in 1219, who built a castle on Toompea, a small hill here.

Tallinn joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 for trade and eventually became part of the Russian Empire in 1870, after it was surrendered to Peter the Great in 1710. By WWII, Tallinn had many shipyards and was capital of the brief Estonian Republic from 1920-1940; it suffered badly in WWII and became a main grain handling port for Moscow with much subsequent urban development. It has been transformed since 1991, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and is now part of the EU.

After settling into the hotel (L'Ermitage), I walked close to the western edge of the Danish Castle walls, along Snell Pond in Dome Park; the pond was once part of the preserved moat around the castle. There were tantalising views of the Old Town as I walked to the Kalamaja District of West Tallinn.

I walked through the interesting Balti Jaam Market, a renovated hall with stalls on 3 levels and into Telliskivi. This is an area of the former industrial complex of Tallinn, including the electrochemical plant, but the old buildings now comprise of many shops, bars, and restaurants, with modern street art decorations on many walls; Telliskivi is known now as the Creative City and is the area to go for reasonably priced food and drink - which the Explore Group did, later on!En savoir plus
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Wolfgang und HeidiHi Andrew, these countries are on our bucket list. Thinking to go next year on our own. So your information will be very interesting for us (Heidi)
03/06/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur👍 Tallinn is great , as the next posts will reveal......
03/06/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur 😁
03/06/2024Répondre
VoyageurHadn't thought of that one...... xxx
03/06/2024RépondreTraduire
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Cambridgeshire; South District Voyageur
Toft, Comberton and Hardwick
15 mai 2024, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
These three villages were visited during a 12 mile walk with the Cambridge Rambling Club.

Toft is a small village 6 miles west of Cambridge. We walk east across part of the Cambridge Meridian Golf Club, which has the Prime Meridian running through the 14th fairway, and reach the southern part of Comberton. This is a much larger community than Toft, having the local village college and various other amenities. Our route is through part of the village northwards before we cut across to Hardwick.

Hardwick is historically very old and is now another large village approx. 6 miles west of Cambridge and 4 miles east of Cambourne (see previous post in Cambridgeshire; South District); it has a large housing estate area north of the centre, but the older area is attractive and interesting. From Hardwick, we walk west and then south along the edge of Hardwick Wood (rather wet and muddy) before crossing back to Toft.

A good day out (despite some rai) and some interesting views (details are on pictures).En savoir plus
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Cambridgeshire; Cambridge City Voyageur
Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 2
13 mai 2024, Angleterre ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
This post follows on from Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 1, and shows the rest of the sculptures in Cambridge Cilty Centre as well as those at the two railway stations; once again, location and sculpture name are indicated on the the photo captions.En savoir plus
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Cambridgeshire; Cambridge City Voyageur
Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 1
12 mai 2024, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Cambridge Standing Tall is a giraffe sculpture trail in Cambridge city centre from 21 March to 2 June 2024; after this the sculptures will be sold off to raise money for Break, a charity organisation working in Cambridgeshire. Break "gives vulnerable children, young people and families the time, support, and care they need to achieve their full potential", and the purpose of the trail is to raise the aspirations of the county’s young care leavers.

The trail comprises 31 large giraffe sculptures, each decorated by an artist and sponsored by a local business; en route, there are also 60 mini giraffes created by local schools and community groups.

We followed the trail for the large ones, and these are shown in the order on the Trail Map. This post covers Eddington, on the northwest of the city centre, to New Square Park, in the centre. Captions on the photos indicate the location and the name of the sculpture.En savoir plus
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Cambridgeshire; East District Voyageur
Dullingham and Stetchworth
8 mai 2024, Angleterre ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
These villages were visited on a 7.5 mile walk with the Cambridge Rambling Club

Dullingham is a small village and civil parish situated 4 miles south of Newmarket and 14 miles east of Cambridge. It is a pretty place with a village green, local pub, church and nice properties, and even has its own railway station; opened in 1848, it lies on the Cambridge branch of the Ipswich to Ely Line, via Newmarket. We leave the village, passing by several small horse stud farms on our way to the small village of Dullingham Ley, where we head north along Basefield Wood towards Woodditton.

Woodditton is a small village that lies at the south-eastern end of the Devil's Dyke, a defensive earthwork thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin (see FP post in The Cambridgeshire Dykes). The embankment is high here and thickly enclosed by scrub and bushes, with large roots crossing the path. After a short walk of about 1/2 mile along it, we turn off for Stetchworth.

Stetchworth is another small village and civil parish and we are now 3 miles south of the horse-racing centre of Newmarket and around 12 miles east of Cambridge; typically, there is a pub, church and interesting properties here; the Ellesmere Centre is a community centre, including a post office, and community store, serving Stetchworth and the neighbouring villages mentioned above - we have our lunch here before heading back to Dullingham.

Another good walk - in splendid weather, this timeEn savoir plus
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Cambridgeshire; Cambridge City Voyageur
Hobson's Conduit; Nine Wells - Cambridge
2 mai 2024, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
I have long wanted to do this complete walk, from the source of Hobson's Conduit to the city centre, having walked parts of various sections over the years. Hobson's Conduit, also called Hobson's Brook, is a watercourse that was built from 1610 to 1614 to bring fresh water into the city of Cambridge from the freshwater chalk springs at Nine Wells; the scheme was financed by Cambridge University, but Thomas Hobson, a local businessman, was involved in the construction and set up a maintenance endowment for the waterway which is now named after him.

Nine Wells is a nature reserve close to Addenbrooke's Hospital; there are four springs here and a monument, one of two, to the conduit. Hobson's Brook runs past the hospital and biomedical campus; there is a slight diversion for walkers away from the brook due to ongoing building work at the new Cambridge South railway station, but I soon re-join the path and follow it with the Hobson Park Bird Reserve on one side and the edge of Great Kneighton village on the other. I then cross the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway track before walking through more green space to reach Long Road (A1134); after this, the waterway reverts to its original name of Vicar's Brook as I cross over and onto Darien Meadow.

At the end of the meadow, the man-made channel of Hobson's Brook branches off from Vicar's Brook - there is a small bridge to cross here (obviously) and the two run parallel for a while enclosing a stretch of common ground, now used for allotments (the Empty Common Community Garden), emerging at the junction of Brooklands Avenue and Trumpington Road. The waterway passes the west side of the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens (it supplies water to the small lake here) before reaching the conduit head at Lensfield Road, where there is the second monument to Hobson and the conduit - the original Market Fountain was moved here in 1856.

The flow of water was divided into four separate branches from here for different uses, but only one branch remains - the Trumpington Street branch, which fed Peterhouse and Pembroke Colleges, as well as the original Addenbrooke's Hospital. I follow this, seeing the deep channels known as runnels at the side of the road that did this, and then divert to the Market Square; the original fountain was partly moved to form the monument in Lensfield Road and soon after a Gothic Revival gabled fountain was erected, but most of this Victorian fountain was pulled down in 1953.

It has been a very interesting 4.4-mile walk with great views in places (see captions on photos).En savoir plus
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