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England East Cowes

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  • TravelerUK Circumnavigation 2025
    2
    Day 1

    Gosport to Cowes

    April 9 in England ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    April 9, 2025, dawned with a sense of purpose and a touch of nervous excitement. Today wasn’t the grand departure into the vast unknown, but a crucial prelude, a practice sail from Gosport to Cowes. Our mission was clear: to put Halcyon Sea, with all her recent upgrades, through her paces and ensure we felt confident at the helm before truly casting off on our long held adventure.

    The conditions could not have been more perfect. The wind, a playful yet steady breeze, filled our imaginary glasses with what felt like champagne sailing. Just outside the Portsmouth Harbour entrance, the moment arrived. With a practiced rhythm, the main sail was hoisted, catching the wind and filling with a satisfying billow. Moments later, the Genoa followed suit, and Halcyon Sea heeled gently, responding beautifully to the combined power of the canvas.

    The sail to Cowes was nothing short of exhilarating. The boat danced across the water, slicing through the waves with anewfound efficiency. We revelled in the responsiveness of the upgrades, the smooth glide a testament to the hard work and preparation of recent months. In a mere two hours and 18 minutes, one of our fastest passages yet, the familiar shores of Cowes welcomed us. It was a resounding success, a confident nod from the sea that we were on the right track.

    The journey to this point, however, had been far from a carefree sail. The past few months had presented their own set of challenges. Tracey‘s redundancy, while a significant life event, had ultimately acted as a catalyst, solidifying our decision to finally realise our long-cherished dreams.

    Packing up our house a place filled with years of memories was an emotional undertaking. The process of selling many of our belongings felt like shedding layers of our past. Deciding what was truly essential for life afloat and then the Herculean task of shoehorning it all onto Halcyon Sea, tested our ingenuity and patience. There were numerous leaving dos, each a bittersweet farewell to cherished friends and familiar faces. Amidst the goodbyes, there were floods of tears – tears of sadness at leaving, tears of relief at progress, and tears of anticipation for the unknown.

    But here we are, at the starting line. Halcyon Sea, laden with our worldly possessions and our hopes for the future, had aced her practice run. And nestled amongst the blankets our loyal little dog Pepper, a steadfast member of our crew, was ready too. The upgrades were working, our spirits were high, and the sea was calling. We had navigated the emotional tides and the logistical challenges. We were ready to go. The real adventure is about to begin.

    #halcyonsea_adventures
    #cowesyachthaven    Read more

  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Day 87

    Southampton: A Pre-Embarkation Stroll

    December 3, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F

    This being our third time in Southampton, we had no real sightseeing plans today. Having spent the majority of yesterday sitting, however, we felt that a stroll around town would not go amiss. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out toward the old city walls and followed them to Bargate … built as part of the city defenses back in 1180.

    Though the sun was out, it wasn’t doing much to temper the morning chill … the temperature was just above freezing, so no surprise I guess. Nonetheless, we persevered. Believe you me, the room never felt more welcoming than when we returned to the Holiday Inn nearly an hour later.

    Peeking out the window, we caught a glimpse of our ship at the Horizon Terminal. Time to meet up with Deniz and embark the ship!    Read more

  • TravelerGuazzelli Europe & UK 2024
    13
    Day 16

    Poole - Trowbridge

    October 1, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Pretty good sleep. Brekky & play with the dog (Doberman pup), we got on a bus, then a train and finally got to hire car yard in Southampton. It took 2 1\2 hours! Anyway finally on the road to the Historic Portsmouth Dockyards. We looked around the HMS Warrior. A big ship with lots of guns of all sizes and cannons. Lunch then off to the HMS Victory (Nelson's flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar). It is half way through restoration and the outer hull is covered by scaffold. The lower deck were very hard to move through. We were doubled over. Very uncomfortable. We then went to see the Mary Rose in the museum building. Quire impressive. Time to move on. After a missed turn we arrived at Stonehenge. We got the bus to the sight. Awesome to see, but not as big as I thought it would be. Very cold. On the road again and arrived at Jo's parents house before 7. Off to the pub for a very delicious dinner. Back to their house & bed.Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    11
    Day 2

    Isle of Wight cycle

    September 26, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Our beautiful UK trip kicked off on the quaint and historic Isle of Wight, The Island was formed at the end of the last ice age. It’s South of England about 1.5 hours drive from London. The island is only small so ideal for a three day cycle through the pretty villages and quiet, narrow, winding roads through the countryside. Our first night was in the seaside resort town Ryde and it was raining quite a lot so a great opportunity to sample the English ales at the local pubs on the esplanade. Simon orders the pints - I have half!

    Day 1 : Ryde to Yarmouth cycle. We cycled 44km
    on a self-guided trip which allowed us lots of freedom to stop and explore many beautiful tiny villages and old churches. Some highlights were the visit to Quarr Abbey - home to a small community of monks and some friendly pigs!
    We cycled on to St Mildred’s church where we discovered the tombs of Prince Louis & Princess Victoria of Battenburg - Queen Victoria’s family. So amazing and humbling to see their graves in such a small graveyard. We continued on cycling the narrow lanes and peering over the hedges to view the cows or sheep grazing. Finally arriving in the harbour town of Yarmouth. We stayed in the main square upstairs at The Bugle Coaching Inn.
    After a 44km cycle often in somewhat windy conditions we enjoyed a pub meal of steak pie with a fine red wine. 🍷 Felt like there should have been a warm fire 🔥 to sit by but it’s only the start of autumn here and 13c temps might be considered too warm for a fire.
    Early to bed tonight to prepare for a 38km cycle tomorrow. Fingers crossed for sunny conditions.    Read more

  • TravelerWe did it again
    11111
    Day 5

    Minis, Tombolas und Mrs. Paddington

    September 8, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Episode 3 – National Motor Museum:

    Nach unserem Besuch in der World of Top Gear machten wir uns auf zum nächsten Stopp unseres Ausflugs: das National Motor Museum selbst.

    Auch hier konnten wir uns wieder mit ein paar besonders aufgehübschten Exemplaren des englischen Originals, dem Mini, ablichten.

    Falls ihr euch fragt, ob Paddington Bär auf unserer Reise mit dabei war – dann muss ich euch von meinem neuen 100-Prozent-regendichten Hut aus Oxfordshire berichten. Nach einer nicht allzu langen Überlegung habe ich ihn mir in England für einen doch sehr stolzen Preis zugelegt, und wie sich herausstellte, war das eine meiner besten Entscheidungen der Tour. Denn bei dem herrlich wechselhaften Wetter konnte ich ihn immer wieder aufsetzen und fühlte mich bestens gewappnet für die britische Wetterkapriolen.

    Very British war übrigens auch die Tombola, die uns inmitten der Ausstellung zum Kauf eines Loses verleitete. Der Hauptpreis kann sich sehen lassen. Ein 1972er MGB GT! Vielleicht wird dieser Klassiker ja der Hauptakteur in einer der nächsten Episoden unseres verrückten Reisetagebuchs – drückt uns die Daumen! 🍀

    Was uns im Museum besonders begeisterte, war die liebevolle und durchdachte Gestaltung. In detailverliebten Szenen und Schaukästen wurden die Alltagsgeschichten und Gegenstände der Automobilwelt zum Leben erweckt. Es war fast so, als könnte man die Menschen hinter den Lenkrädern der alten Autos sehen und die Geschichten hören, die diese Fahrzeuge über die Jahrzehnte hinweg erlebt haben. Jedes Exponat hatte seinen Platz in der Geschichte und erzählte seine eigene kleine Anekdote.

    Zum krönenden Abschluss unseres Museumsbesuchs machten wir noch einen Abstecher in den weitläufigen Garten. Dort war gerade eine Teeparty in vollem Gange – allerdings in einer sehr skurrilen Form! Überall ragten perfekt geschnittene Hecken in Form der Figuren aus Alice im Wunderland auf. Die Briten eben! Skurrile Geschichten, Tee und Gärten, das können sie!

    Wohin uns unser nächster Ausflug führte, erfahrt ihr in der kommenden Episode unseres verrückten Reisetagebuchs.    Read more

    See translation
  • U.K Holiday & Cruise
    1
    Day 6–7

    Southhampton

    May 2, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Took the train from London to Southampton today. It took around 1.5 hours and was lovely to see some of the countryside. Hotel is above our expectations and is gorgeous. Porter collected our bags from taxi and brought them up to our room, all very fancy. Then we were off to the Westquay shopping complex, you could get lost in there! We needed another suitcase but decided to do two carry-on cases and see how we go. Then we brought our very tired feet back to the hotel, so a nap before our dinner reservations. The couple next to us in the dinning room were having trouble with their phone when I spotted the cruise app... conversation was started and we had a lovely meal while finding out all about cruising from our new American acquaintances. She is 70 in July and honestly doesn't look a day over 50 - must be due to the 21 cruises they have done, maybe the new fountain of youth 🤷‍♀️ Tomorrow, we embark on our 12 night cruise of the British Isles.Read more

  • Zuid Engeland
    2133122
    Day 2

    Porthsmouth

    August 4, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Lekker geslapen in ons hotel, gezellig met zijn allen in een hotelkamer. Jammer genoeg heb ik (Sandy) niet echt kunnen genieten van ons Engels ontbijt, want inmiddels had ik last van buikgriep ☹️.
    Na het ontbijt zijn we naar de historische haven van Portsmouth gereden. Hier hebben we een ticket gehaald om de haven in te kunnen. Aangezien het bezichtigen van de boten aan de binnenkant behoorlijk duur is en de kinderen het waarschijnlijk na 1 of 2 boten gezien hebben, hebben we geen tickets voor in de boten gehaald.
    De HMS warrior is het eerste stalen oorlogsschip, echt wel een mooi indrukwekkend schip om te zien. Doordat deze zeilen had, is deze boot niet heel lang in gebruik geweest. Hij werd ingehaald door de techniek.
    Daarna zijn we naar boathouse 4 geweest, hierin worden door vrijwilligers nog boten opgeknapt.
    Toevallig kwam vandaag een groot marineschip terug in de haven, er lag er al 1, namelijk de Queen Elizabeth. De Prince of Wales kwam terug gevaren. Jammer genoeg waren we net te laat om hem goed te zien binnen varen. Super indrukwekkend om zulke grote schepen te zien, het waren vliegdekschepen.
    Naast de Queen Elizabeth lag de oude HMS M33. Deze boot is in 7 weken gebouwd! Volgens de beveiliger zelfs nog wat in kortere tijd, aangezien we meerdere boten tegelijkertijd gebouwd werden. We mochten van hem zelfs, zonder ticket, op de boot rondkijken. Dat was volgens de kinderen toch wel het hoogtepunt van de dag. Kijken naar de hangmatten in de boot voor de matrozen. Zien waar de keuken was, de toiletten en douche en natuurlijk de bestuurders hut van de kapitein.
    Nadat we de M33 bezichtigd hebben, zijn we gauw genoeg terug naar het hotel gegaan, om even bij te tanken. Om te eten zijn we naar een pub gegaan. Op het moment dat we gaan zitten, spreekt een Nederlander Leon aan. Het bleek een oud-collega van Dalsa te zijn. Ontzettend toevallig, ze zitten deze nacht in hetzelfde hotel en zijn op de terugweg.

    Kortom, ondanks dat de dag niet heel positief begon voor Sandy, hebben we wel een prachtige dag gehad!

    Link naar de Queen Elizabeth: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Queen_Eliza…
    Link naar de HMS M33: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_M33    Read more

    See translation
  • Rund England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 .
    21
    Day 11

    Kanonendonner und weiße Segel

    June 23, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Nachdem mein non sense Text gestern eine sensationelle 30% Like Quote erzielte, fällt mir das Schreiben jetzt schwer… ;-)
    Aber es war Touri Tag und wir haben das historisch maritime Flair aufgesaugt, wo immer es möglich war. Die Möglichkeiten sind endlos... Früh nehmen wir die Fähre ins Zentrum von Portsmouth, wo neben den Zuggleisen auch gleich die Schnellfähre nach Ryde startet. Spannend, die erste Seebrücke Großbritanniens (1814). Damit ihr wisst, was Engländer unter SEEBRÜCKE verstehen, man läuft da 681 m bis zum Strand, kann aber auch mit dem Auto und DER HAMMER: auch auf Gleisen bis zum Brückenkopf fahren. Großer Bahnhof… Daneben starten und landen die Hovercraftboote, die in den 1950er Jahren auch auf der Isle of Wight erbaut wurden. England kann man nur lieben, wenn man kein Problem mit alten Dingen hat ( dazu später oder im Video mehr). Alles ist alt, alles hat eine Patina und einen Charme, den man wohl nur hier toll finden wird. Wir nehmen zunächst den Bus, das heißt Linie 9 nach Newport und Linie 1 nach Cowes, dem maritimen und Regatta Segelzentrum der Insel. Hier wurden und werden die großen Regatten gestartet, mitunter auch von her Honesty, der Queen, herself, bald vielleicht vom King. Früher segelte man hier um den Americas Cup, heute kommen in der COWES WEEK 1000 Boote und zum Fastnetrace über 300 Rennyachten (auch schon mit Seglern und Booten des Greifswalder Yachtclubs). Und tatsächlich konnten wir die Kanonen des world famous Royal Squadron Yacht Clubs heute sogar in Aktion sehen. Es matchten sich ein paar Segelklassiker auf dem Solent. Was für eine Freude, die wir gleich mit 1 1/2 Pint local Beer und unseren ersten Fish and chips gefeiert haben.
    Das war übrigens das „Dinners special“, englischer Humor hat…
    Dann ging´s per Bus zurück. Der hatte Verspätung. Habt ihr mal ein Busfahrer erlebt, der die Verspätung wieder rausfahren will und alle auffordert, ohne Fahrscheinkontrolle schnell einzusteigen? Wir schon, auch wenn es unseren TagesTouriGesamtpreis nur um 4 Pfund linderte..
    So ungewohnte Tätigkeiten wie sight seeing setzen uns auch ziemlich zu, dennoch müssen wir noch das Flaggschiff der Royal Navy besichtigen. HMS Victory wird gerade aufwendig saniert und ist auch für Nichtsegler ein Muss der Bootsbaukunst des 18 Jh. (genau wie die Wasa in Stockholm, deren Schicksal aber deutlich blamabler war). Admiral Honratio Nelson übernahm das Kommando, nachdem andere Admiräle meinten, die Victory taugt mit ihren fast 50 Jahren nur noch als Gefängnisschiff. Er gilt heute als größter Held der Royal Navy, nachdem er vor Trafalgar die spanische Flotte vernichtete, indem er einfach quer in einer Doppellinie durch sie hindurchfuhr. Auf diesem Schiff will keiner von uns zu See fahren, drei Decks voll mit Kanonen, „Stehhöhe“ 1,55 - 1,75 m. Nur eine Innentoillette für den Admiral… die er nach seinem Sieg über die Spanier nicht mehr nutzen konnte …
    Auch heute ist HMS Victory noch „im Dienst“ als Flaggschiff der Royal Navy. Und damit darüber keiner lacht, haben die Briten gleich dahinter einen ihrer zwei Flugzeugträger platziert. Man hätte noch U Boote, den Tower und zig andere Dinge besichtigen können. Aber für heute sind beide Sachsen ferddschhh…
    Und morgen zeigt sich ab nachmittag ein Windfenster, das wir für den langen und etwas trickreichen Weg nach Torquay, vorbei an 3 Gebieten mit sog. Overfalls (das sind durch Tidenströme entstehende chaotische Wellenbilder) nutzen wollen. Insofern schaffen wir nur noch eine von Tom´s Empfehlungen und gehen dann mit ablaufender TIDE gegen 17 Uhr wieder raus aus dem Solent, um uns auf den nächsten langen Schlag bei guten Bedingungen einzulassen.
    Was sonst noch passierte? Boris is back in the race, führte sogar ganz kurz. Und leider nehmen die ORCA Interaktionen weiter zu und treffen auch Boote der Ocean Reace Flotte..    Read more

    See translation
  • TravelerCamino 2023
    4
    Day 46

    Today portsmouth to Port Solent

    June 6, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Two buses and a bit of a walk later our cousin Jean and I met at Port Solent...it was a fabulous first meeting, we didn't stop talking for four hours, so so good to hear more about our extended large family.

    We both agreed our lives could have been so much richer had we known each other growing up. If the brothers had known each other they would have been great support for each other. Our mums would have gotten on like a house on fire as well, they had a very similar look about them too, and to all intents and purposes similar beliefs and values.

    We are meeting again tomorrow with our other girl cousin Gill, then on Thursday with the two brothers John Mackie and. Philip Mackie and their wives, and at John's son, David Mackie's restaurant !! Honestly we had such a lot to talk about, I will try to capture more on Thursday.

    The wee travels I had today reminds me how big our world is and how many relatives we probably have!!

    Ps have you all seen the routes I've been on? If you look at the top photo it usually says to press on the right for the route white lines all over the place!!    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    11
    Day 9

    The Wight Stuff

    May 5, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today was our day trip to the Isle of Wight via the Wightlink car ferry leaving from Portsmouth.
    An early start (alarm awoke us at 5.20am) so as to be ready to board the ferry at the allotted time. The morning was cool and overcast and some overnight showers had cleared.
    Getting the car onto the ferry was quick and efficient and we sat up in the passenger compartment of the ferry with a visitor’s guide to plan our day.
    We arrived on the island at about 8am, but as is the case everywhere here, nothing much opens until 10am. Our main destination was right on the other side of the island at Allum Bay, where ‘The Needles’ are situated, which is the island’s landmark attraction. Isle of Wight advertising constantly repeats the mantra that ‘these are one of the most photographed group of rocks in the world’.

    We worked our way around through various seaside villages, enjoying their unique English flavour, but remarking on our newfound appreciation of just why the Brits are so enraptured with our beaches in Oz when they visit.

    When we arrived at the Needles, we could just see the top of a chairlift bringing people back up from the beach area but not much more.
    We couldn’t see down, but we assumed that seeing there was a chairlift plying the route it must be quite a descent / ascent so we purchased a one way ticket to bring us back up as we thought we were fit enough to down-climb via the stairs we were told could be used also.
    We arrived at the top of the staircase bracing ourselves for a long descent, to find that the climb (and chairlift ride) was minuscule😏.

    Within a minute or two we had descended to beach level and snapped a few photos while we waited for the small boat to pick us up and take us out for a closer look at The Needles.
    Although there was a bit of a breeze and it was quite cold on the open deck, the weather had cleared for the sun to light up the white chalk cliffs. It was actually an impressive sight.
    After the boat deposited us back on the rocky beach, we walked to the base of the cliffs and handled some of the chunks of rock that had broken away. It was so soft, you could crumble it in your hands quite easily. The deckhand on the boat had told us all that the cliffs retreat by about 1m per year which seems quite extraordinary.

    It was now time to take our chairlift ride back up the hill but we were seriously thinking about walking back up and forfeiting the cost of the tickets as the condition of the chairlift looked pretty poor. Rusty fittings, rollers and attachments and ‘concrete cancer’ in the platform did not inspire confidence.
    The deckhand must have seen our looks of hesitation. ‘Don’t worry, it’s got a good safety record, and they’re just about to replace the main cable for its 50th anniversary’.
    We comforted ourselves with the statistical unlikelihood of it all tumbling into the sea at the very moment we would be riding it- and we arrived safely at the top after the very short ride.

    We figured that we should have just enough time to visit ‘Osborne House’ which was Queen Victoria’s favourite residence - she didn’t like Buckingham Palace as she found it too ‘stuffy’. It was here at Osborne that she loved to enjoy the outdoors and bathe in the sea, and her husband Albert invented and designed her ‘bathing machine’ so she could enter the water without exposing herself to the public gaze.
    Our plans were a little thwarted as there was traffic congestion in Cowes which held us up considerably and by the time we arrived at Osborne House we would have only had about 20 minutes to inspect the house and ‘bathing machine’ which is located down by the waterfront a little way away from the house.
    The ticket seller advised that we really needed about an hour, and with the combined entry price for two being about $80, we satisfied ourselves with looking around in the visitor area, reading some of the display information and examining the photos.
    It was now time to return to the ferry terminal which was about 15 minutes away. The weather remained fine and conditions on The Solent were calm.
    We did a little more exploring of the foreshore areas then walked to the hovercraft terminal to await the next arrival.
    Off for some more groceries then back to the motel at just before 7pm. Another well filled day.    Read more

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