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Published: July 31st 2011
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Fountain Abbey #1
Wandering around the ruins After returning from Eastern Europe, it seemed as if we had brought the fine weather with us as London was treated to a summer-like spring. Not one to stay in doors at the worst of times, I needed little excuse to get out and enjoy the rare exposure to some Vitamin D. Over the next few weeks, there were many catch ups with people who were also coming out of hibernation, and we went to the London leg of the Rugby Sevens. Unfortunately New Zealand (NOT the All Blacks) didn’t win this leg, but we were treated the consolation that they won the entire series thanks to England’s dismal performance on their home soil.
At the end of May, I joined Hannah and Clay as we went exploring the Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes District for a few days. It was especially special for Hannah as her ancestors came from a small town in the Yorkshire Dales called Pateley Bridge, where we stayed for one of the nights. Pataley Bridge was also home to the oldest candy store in Britain which we visited and spent up a storm. Over the first couple of days, we flitted in and out of
Fountain Abbey #2
Wandering around the ruins small towns and walked around a bit of the countryside at especially scenic spots before we made a whirlwind visit through the Lakes District on the Sunday. We easily had the best weather of the weekend this day as we completed a couple of hikes and drove in a couple of loops around the stunning scenery before getting back to London much later than anticipated - though it was definitely worth it.
Although the weather didn’t live up to the Spring promise over June, London was still alive with summer activities including the Southern Sounds festival, where we were reminded how amazing Shihad were live. I also managed to squeeze in some BBQ’s (where it rained), visiting the Oval for the first time to watch cricket (though it was rained out), the Marylebone Street Fair (it rained) and visiting the London Zoo (yep, you guessed it – it rained).
It was around this time that a few friends were leaving the London life, including Kirsty who was returning to Australia. After only just meeting her, it was disappointing to see her go but I fare welled her by leading her and her friends over a scenic bike ride
Fountain Abbey #3
Wandering around the ruins around London – and conquering their fear of cycling London’s streets – despite getting soaked from a spontaneous downpour!
Next up was a weekend trip away to the Isle of Wight with Clay and Kristin. We planned to leave bright and early on a Saturday morning and despite the warnings over her fearsome temper at that time of morning, Kristin, as well as Clay and I were rather cheerful as we escaped London for the coast to Portsmouth Harbour where we boarded the ferry for the Isle of Wight. We landed and found our bikes waiting for us. After a couple of loops around the carpark remembering how to ride a bike, we pulled out and began our scenic bike ride of the island.
To be honest, it was a little hillier than I expected but I was quite enjoying the exercise. After 5-10 minutes, I turned around and couldn’t spot Clay or Kristin so pulled over to wait for them. Once they caught up and caught their breath, Kristin left me in no doubt that she blamed me entirely for the hilliness of the region. Very fair I thought. Partly to escape her wrath, I pedalled on
and thankfully the landscape became slightly flatter. We stopped for a pub lunch in a little village and after a delicious meal, we could have all quite comfortably fallen asleep in the comfortable chairs. But we dragged ourselves out and carried on.
We continued down the East coast to our accommodation midway between Shanklin and Sandown, a very scenic area of the island with some great views over the beaches and the sea. It wasn’t that warm but I was still very tempted to go for a swim just to get back into the salt water. Instead, we wandered down and played a round of mini golf before we wandered along the coast and took a several photos. We pulled in for dinner and a bottle of two of wine right on the beachfront and as it was still early we headed into Newquay, the main town on the island to watch a movie.
The next morning both Clay and Kristin were feeling very ginger in certain areas so I was persuaded to give up the bike and we took the train into Ryde where we had Devonshire tea for morning tea – with scones straight out of
the oven. Eventually we dragged ourselves away and we took the bus along the northern coast to Newquay and to the eastern tip near Alum Bay. Here is the scenic highlight of the island – the Needles, which are (without having seen them in real life) similar to the Apostles in Australia. As the photos show, they are formations of rock jutting from the sea in a very scenic area of the coastline. We wandered around in the bright sunshine and took some photos before we journeyed back to Ryde to catch our ferry to Portsmouth and our train back home.
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Clay
non-member comment
Oi!
I was only nowhere in sight whilst cycling because I was being a gentleman and cycling behind Kristin! Though I probably suffered more than you, I could have kept on going too... (Basically, I'm blaming Kristin for all cycling deficiencies on the trip). That is all. Otherwise, top blog as always :)