Was heading south this morning so there was no dawdling and, after packing the suitcase, I went for an early breakfast. After checking out, I loaded my bags on to the bus and, carrying my 5L bottle of water, boarded. By 09h00, the bus was heading across Estonia for Parnu, known as Estonia's Summer Capital. With its leafy streets and pastel-coloured wooden villas, it's easy to see why this proved so popular with it's recent inhabitants - most of whom have returned eastwards! By 11h00, the bus was parked outside the Hotel Parnu and I had several hours in which to view the Red Tower (closed and white), the Tallinn Gate (open and pink) and St. Catherine's Church. I also managed to get to the beach via the Art Nouveau Villa Annende. Lunch was at a ... read more

After a breakfast of muesli and yoghurt, washed down with bacon and "egg", I left the hotel and walked through town to the Kaubamaja Centre to look at buying a ticket to Helsinki. Decided that the 47€ return was too expensive so made my way through the shops to the tram stand, and waited for the number 3 to Kadriorg. This beautiful part of town comprises traditional wooden houses. So I started by the Swan Lake and paused at Kreutzwald's statue, before heading off to the Kadriorg Palace. Unfortunately, this was closed for renovation from today until end 2012! I therefore moved on to the Presidential Palace, Peter the Great's Cottage and the Kumu Art Museum. This latter proved to be rather interesting, particularly the only floor I managed to see which covered Estonian (i.e. Soviet) ... read more

Wasn't expecting to come on this trip! Within a few hours of receiving a phone call, I'd packed and arrived at Manchester Airport in preparation for the flight to London and on to Riga and Tallinn. Today was just a day to look around ... the pictures tell the story!... read more

In what turned out to be the best day of the week, I decided to head up the Scarth Gap and on to High Crag, across Comb Crags to High Stile, and ultimately along Chapel Crags to Red Pike and down to Bleaberry Tarn. It was a good choice. The sun shone and it was warm. Just twenty four hours later and a month's worth of rain would fall and there would be severe flooding.... read more

After a 20 minute drive over the Honister Pass, I set off from the Rosthwaite car park, heading west to a walled track which ultimately led to a footbridge over the Derwent. Whilst the river was not high, the ground was a little waterlogged and the midges and mosquitoes were having a field day. Following the river, I arrived in High Hows Wood and the site of a disused quarry. The cave just off the path was once someone's home although that individual would have to have been very hardy to stand the weather of late. Continuing along the path, I came out at Gowder Dub, where Broadslack Gill meets the Derwent. This beautiful open stretch of water provided a welcome coffee stop, ducks playing in the rough water. Coffee over, I took the footpath towards ... read more