Sheers Family OE 2012: What's been happening . . . an England Update

UPDATED WITH NEW PHOTOS

Staying at campgrounds that don't accept our internet logon has meant our blog updates have been few and far between.
The following should whet all of your appetites . . .

Doing a ‘SWIFTY’across England’s Countryside . . .

We’ve named our home for the next 11 months – introducing Swifty our ever reliable, goes anywhere (within reason) motorhome. Yes we have tried to stick to the ‘bigger’ A roads but have found ourselves on quite a few occasions headed down B, and we’re sure in some cases C roads, as well. It can be quite stressful but each time we’ve somehow managed to escape unscratched. It’s always a relief to see a truck, bus or caravan coming in the opposite direction knowing that if they can make it up the road then so can we. The best one yet would have to be the carpark at Bolsover Castle where we got hemmed in by not only cars but also another motorhome, as well as having to contend with very low overhanging branches. Glenn’s 5 point turn was superb!

Typical A Road

Typical B Road

Typical Village we have had to negotiate through

B Road Beauty

The wind swept road of the South Coast of England

Blind bends on B Roads

Parked cars and oncoming traffic always a worry in these little towns

Roadside Parking Bay

Blocked in at Bolsover Castle

Fossil Hunting Along the Heritage Coast . . .

Scattered amoungst the rocks and sand on the beach at the bottom of the great grey cliffs in the little seaside village of Charmouth there are ammonite fossils to be found dating back further than the Jurassic period. We were going to be some of the lucky fossil hunters to find some. The best time to find them is on an outgoing tide after big rains – we didn’t quite manage that but we did find fossils. We spent a couple of hours scouring the rocks at the base of the cliffs and each of us found some great specimens – I even found a bullet. Glenn found an ammonite in shiny pyrite. Eagle eye Taashi plucked different sorts of fossils off the beach at every spot she stopped & Tilly ran between us all oohing and aahing. It was so much fun we’re going back to do it all again for a couple of days within the next 3 weeks.

Charmouth Beach Fossil Hunting Ground

The Cliffs the fossils fall out of

The Rocks you find the fossils hiding in

An ammonite fossil stuck in a large rock on the beach

Tilly and Glenn looking through the rocks

'Eagle Eye' Taashi finding fossils

The Ponies of New Forest . . .

A mosaic of woodland, heath and pasture, the New Forest was once jealously guarded as a royal deer hunting ground by William the Conqueror. Take a picnic into these wild woods 900yrs ago and you’d have been lucky to escape with your head . . . nowadays it is England’s newest national park (2005). What makes this leafy corner of Hampshire so special, however, are its deep-rooted grazing traditions where some 400 Commoners put ponies, pigs and cattle out to pasture, with Keepers managing the forest’s deer and other wildlife.
Quoted from Britain with Kids – one of our treasure trove bibles we refer to every couple of days.

We came to New Forest to see the ponies (a huge highlight for the girls) and to test out our newly acquired secondhand ebay.uk bikes. I think the photos say it all really . . .

The Ponies rule the roads in New Forest

One of the New Forest bike tracks

Riding through the forest of flowers and ponies

It wasn't all easy going

A Disappointing Visit to Cambridge . . .

Not everyplace you visit lives up to expectations. 14yrs ago when Glenn and I visited Cambridge we loved the quaint University town with its impressive architecture and student vibe. This time around we found the ‘city’ overcrowded and over-commercialized. Tacky posters were slapped up on every lovely old stone walled building, the streets were full of tourists and touting students and unfortunately none of the University campuses were open to ‘Visitors’ so really we couldn’t show the girls much of Cambridge at all. We did walk along the River Cam and watch the punting but disappointingly the cost to participate was exorbitant (it would have cost us more than £40 for a 1/2hr punt). A highlight was sitting on a bench in a local park where we had a picnic lunch while watching an odds and ends friendly game of soccer.

Bike Parking Cambridge Style

The Posters hung throughout the city

Kings College

Punting on the River Cam

The Mathematical Bridge

Caught in the footpath traffic

In Search of Robin Hood . . .

As the sun shone through some threatening clouds we packed a picnic, got on our bikes and rode 3.5 miles through Sherwood Forest in search of Robin Hood. We found him, after some very decent hills (up!) at the Sherwood Forest Visitors Centre where we walked through the exhibition learning all about the folklore and legends surrounding the forest. The girls bought themselves some bows and arrows and we purchased Puffins the Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green which we are going to read as a family each night. After a picnic under the oak trees and a stop at The Major Oak (the 1150yr old Oak tree that Robin’s men supposedly hid in) we got on our bikes and headed back through the forest to ride the 3.5 miles back to camp (mostly downhill!). We got muddy, there were only a few tired tears but we had so much fun! As soon as we got back to camp the girls got out their bows and arrows and practised shooting them over the hedges (none landed in the river) while Glenn and I basked in the sun. The girls thought today was absolutely totally wicked and in some parts puffing! Most of Robin Hood’s men are buried in cemeteries in these parts – Robin and Maid Marion supposedly got married in the church in Edwinstowe just 1 ¾ miles from our campsite. Tilly was excited to learn that in later years Marion called herself Matilda.

Honing their Bow and Arrow Skills

Our campsite at Sherwood Forest

The riding track through the heart of Sherwood Forest

The Magic of Sherwood

Bowled over by Bolsover . . . and the many castles we’ve visited

Our visit to Bolsover Castle was a spur of the moment decision. We needed somewhere to stop for lunch. We all ended up being bowled over by Bolsover. Built for William Cavendish (the famous horse fanatic) Bolsover Castle was renowned in its day for its extravagance with its painted ceilings (where the girls questioned why everyone in the murals were naked) and grand buildings built specifically to house and show off his horses. The castle, the grounds, the stories about his parties and masques . . . it was all fascinating on a grand scale – still visible today.

The Courtyard at Bolsover Castle with the most incredible magical purple tree

Just like the door to the Giants castle in Jack and the Beanstalk

Our first little Musketeer

Our second Musketeer

The Princesses in their Castle

LOVING the red doors !

Just one of the incredible ORIGINAL extravangant rooms in Bolsover Castle

Some of the other castles we’ve visited include Maiden Castle where there was no castle at all only a grass fort dating back 4000yrs, Chatsworth House with its beautiful grounds and sheep, Scarborough Castle with its Viking history, Barnard Castle (which we drove past because the rain was too heavy to stop), Raby Castle (ditto Barnard Castle), Whitby Abbey where we all got drenching as we walked its grounds and the unforgettable Alnwick Castle (pronounced Anick) where the girls got to visit locations from the Harry Potter movies (Alnwick was a huge highlight for us all and we will be returning back here before we come home). From Beadnell Bay we could see Bamburgh Castle in the distance but we chose to visit Dunstonburgh Castle – Glenn’s favourite castle ruins which he felt connected to during his visit here 20yrs ago.

Maiden Castle (Fort)

Swifty parked in the Maiden Castle carpark

Walking the 4000 yr old fort ruins

The bridge to Chatsworth House

The beautiful grounds of Chatsworth Estate

Look how much the girls have grown - next to a giant tree at Chatsworth

The perfect swinging branch

The Coastal Walk to Scarborough Castle

In the very far distance, past the diggers, you can see our destination - Scarborough Castle

Tilly reflecting on the HUGE walk she had just undertaken

The BEST see-saw in the world overlooking Scarborough Castle

Almost there . . .

Scarborough Castle - or what's left of it

One of Scarborough's LadyBirds

Barnard Castle

Whitby Abbey

The stunning facades of Whitby Abbey

The Stormy Face of Whitby

A drenched Tilly after the storm had abated

The rain squalls just kept passing over

Broomstick lessons at Alnwick Castle

Look everyone I can make mine fly

The magic word is "UP"

Alnwick Castle (and the location for the first Quidditch lessons in the HP movies

The amazing water features at Alnwick Gardens

'Daddy's Castle' Dunstonburgh

Taashi at Dunstonburgh Castle

Tilly tries to push Dunstonburgh over

The girls at the base of Dunstonburgh

Bamburgh Castle taken from Beadnell bay

Looking back along Beadnell Bay - taken 5 mins before it HAILED on us

The little harbourside village of Seahouses near Beadnell Bay and Bamburgh Castle

It’s the Seaside – but not as we know it . . .

Scarborough is a seaside town we visited along the Yorkshire Coast in North East England. We were expecting sandcastles, ice cream and perhaps a Fair with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Instead we were confronted with Amusement Parks, Penny Arcades and Poker machines. Fish and chip shops jostled for prime position with Rock Candy shacks, Ice Cream Parlours and tacky £2 souvenir stalls. Up and down the promenade men touted local boat rides at the special price - today only - £3. There were blue and white deck chairs for hire, Donkey rides at £2 per child along the beach and holiday-makers lying back, eyes closed, worshipping the meagre sun’s rays. I think it prudent to say that we were all a little gob smacked and slack jawed and we couldn’t help but compare it to our lovey quiet beach at home. That’s not to say that we didn’t all enjoy the Scarborough Beach experience - it was a hoot!

A sign on the Scarborough bathing boxes

Luna Park on Scarborough's harbour

Typical street corner

Scarborough's Golden Mile

Some serenity at Scarborough

£2 Donkey rides

My favourite photo - an English couple soaking up the scarce English sun's rays

Waiting for the bus in Scarborough

We’re in Scotland . . .
You'd have thought the rain Gods would have had enough of raining on our parade by now - but no the sky is still falling. We had heard that the further north we drove in Scotland the clearer the skies would be. Unfortuately that hasn't eventuated.
However, we have enjoyed the majestic scenery of Scotland accentuated by the moody and ever changing skies and weather. We all love the accent too . . .
The rain has meant the cancellation of the Highland Games we'd planned on watching (hopefully the jousting at Linlithgow Palace will go ahead - will let you know).
Our Scottish visit has so far taken us through the Grampians with their heather covered moonscape, to the Cairngorms National Park and a lovely little stone village (Grantown on Spey), across the Southern Highlands to a fog shrouded Inverness, on twisty roads the entire length of Loch Ness (Nessie didn't make an appearance much to the girls dismay), through the valley floors carved out by glaciers with incredible rugged mountainous scenery, to Morvich and our introduction to pesky biting Scottish Midgies (worse than Aussie mozzies and Kiwi sandflies put together!), to the West Coast and the stunning views over Ardmucknish Bay from our campsite at North Ledaig and to where we are camped now on Loch Lomond. It has been a whirlwind but incredible and unforgettable. We just need it to stop raining!