A slow start......

Four days before the cut-off date of 31st March I was offered a place on the TGO Challenge for this year. I accepted and then began to panic......A combination of back-to-back visitors, when we tend to eat lunch out and then have a big meal in the evening, and the continuing cold weather, which increases my appetite, has led to me being rather heavier than I would rather be and although I am ski-fit it doesn't necessarily mean I'm walking fit......

So this morning being the first day home I opened the curtains and watched a blizzard adding more and more whiteness to the garden. I decided to wait till after lunch before going out. John had to go to Ballater to collect a parcel so I took a lift from him and decided to walk along the Deeside Way and get the bus home.

{The start point of the old railway line in Station Square}

{Following the original platform}

At this point a notice board telling me that the Cambus O'May Circular Walk would take me 4 hours attracted my attention. So I changed tack and walked over the main bridge across the Dee and climbed up into the Pannanich Woods to follow the path to Cambus. This would take me to the White Bridge at Cambus where I could then return to Ballater on the old railway line. The mud and snow on the path were deep in places but not too slippery so I plodded on happily. I had packed my Microspikes but decided they weren't needed.

Eventually the forest track flattened out and I passed the picnic tables and story-boards for the Canadian logging camp that was there during the Second World War. I haven't researched this but I know it's quite an interesting bit of local history. At one time there was a move to rebuild one of the cabins and make a visitor's centre but that doesn't appear to have happened.

{Picnic tables on the site of the Canadian Lumberjack camp}

{A story board about the Newfoundland lumberjacks of 1941}

There was a short spell on the road before turning into the woods closer to the River. A good deal of work has taken place to make a good path for walking, cycling or riding a horse along with smart new fences and gates. And signs. There are always signs.

{The new gates}

There were still patches of deep slush but in general the fairly open birch covered land on either side of the path would probably be a good place to find a wild camping spot. I can't help but look out for camping sites....

{A snowman left to enjoy the peace and quiet}

{Through the trees towards the River}

 A bit more history - this time about Torphantrick - once a thriving village. Now there are just a few stone walls left to see.

{Holding up the story board.....}

At last the White Bridge is crossed and I can head back to Ballater. Now the sunshine has gone and there is horizontal wet sleet in my face......

{The White Bridge at Cambus O'May}

The old railway line heads straight back to Ballater. It's a great cycle run which I used to do regularly with groups of children.

{The new cheese factory...}

 It passes both new and old buildings. There were two fishermen on the river bank and the light was beginning to go as some heavy clouds rolled in with the sleet.

{The old Kirk at Tullich}

I just made it with 5 minutes to spare for the bus back to Crathie.

Viewranger tells me I walked 13 kilometres in just under 3 hours. My legs tell me I'm not as fit as I need to be.

There will be more walking tomorrow...............

Good Service mention......

This year I'm going to positively mention any good service I get from online retailers. I'm really fed up with those that let their customers down.

So here's the first Honourable Mention - it relates to the Grunwerg Pioneer food flasks I just received from the UK. The seller was quite happy to send them to France with a combined postage of £3.99 and they arrived in a couple of days. The product is just great, works as it should and is easy to use and clean. Some of that relates to the manufacturer of course but full marks to the seller too. The link to his ebay shop is here.

{Winter picnic with the flasks}

Walking the Line.......Day 1

After the successful walk on the Formartine & Buchan Way with no ill effects for my shoulder I decided that an effort to walk more of it would be possible and enjoyable.  Disused railway tracks are like 'secret passages' that take you quickly through the countryside, usually with great views and interesting historical connections. The 'green corridor' effect means that there is often plenty of wildlife; plants and animals, to see. The walking is generally easy, and most of all, flat.....ideal for John to cycle a bit too.

{Heading North, a 'secret passage'}

The van was packed up and the weather forecast was looking fairly favourable - however, you can't hurry a man playing sudoku on his mobile so it was nearly lunchtime before we left home. Inverurie Garden Centre provided us with delicious soup and sandwiches and we arrived in Ellon in the middle of the afternoon.

I had hoped to be able to walk the Way to Maud on the first day but there didn't seem enough time to go as far as that so it was agreed that John would drive to Auchnagatt and park up so he could cycle back towards me.

It proved quite difficult to find the start of the way in Ellon, so we drove a little further on and found a place to park beside the old line, where a bridge had been removed and there was an access from the roadside.

{Starting place for me, North of Ellon}

The Aberdeenshire countryside is famous for its agricultural land, especially the raising of cattle and big fields of crops. There are small villages dotted across the hills and at one time the railway provided the major way of moving goods and people around. 

{Crops already harvested}

Once I got into my walking rhythm, I began to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the day and, as usual, started spotting places that would be good for a quiet wild camp. The nature of a railway line means the banking is often too steep or overgrown for a tent but from time to time there is a great spot.

{Perfect pitch!}

John appeared, cycling easily towards me, and decided to carry on back towards Ellon, then catch me up at Auchnagatt where he'd parked the van beside the Village Hall. 

{Crossing the road in Auchnagatt}

I arrived, found the van, and waited......

{Intrepid cyclist....}

We decided to camp the night at the caravan site at Aden Country Park, this has a special rate for pensioners. The food I'd packed for the evening seemed to still be frozen (!) so the obvious choice was to find a curry - so we set off to Peterhead..........

A lot of catching up...............

I know - it's been too long since I posted here.

There have been family visits, physiotherapy sessions, parties with the neighbours, interesting days out, lunches in the sun, a seemingly endless, bumpy ride home and now we're back in Scotland getting ready to go to Cambodia for another get-together with our grandchildren.........

I did keep planning to write it all up - but this year so far has been full of plans for things that didn't happen......

{Weekly market in Guillestre - much grander during the summer holidays}

 Alongside the usual weekly markets there are always more specialised ones which take over a village for the day in summertime.  My favourite is the Potters' Market. This year we went to the one held in the village orchard in Montdauphin Fort. Nothing was bought this time but the venue was spectacular and I managed a long walk round the stalls.

{Very tempting blue pottery}

To give John a break from his kitchen chores (!) we often had lunch out. This restaurant is in Guillestre and serves great salads. Sitting out under a big umbrella is the best way to enjoy a hot lunch break!

{Guillestre - lunch on market day}

The highlight of the month had to be the visit from the Shanghai gang - seeking fresh Alpine air after the suffocating heat of the busy Chinese city.

{An ice-cream break.....then a visit to see the marmots}

I had planned to take Brodie on a few easy walks - sadly that was not possible but we did buy him the sticks for next time.....

{Trying them out....}

 The weather was very kind and sunny so we explored some mountain villages to keep cool....

{Staying cool in St Veran}

All too soon they all flew back to China but we had visitors from Aberdeen arriving so a lot of tidying had to be done - no time for musing.....  John and Heather arrived and the two Johns had to fetch , carry and cook for us all. Poor Heather was incapacitated with a slipped disc and in a lot of pain.

{The two Johns enjoying some time away from housework.....}

Not long after that enjoyable week John and I set off back to Scotland. My shoulder did not appreciate the travelling one bit. Extra painkillers had to be taken..... but eventually we reached Dunkirk for our ferry ride to Dover.

{Crossing the channel as the sun sets}

TGO Challenge food.................

A thread on the TGO Message Board led me to start thinking about my food for the Challenge.

We are packing up to come home today so on yesterday's visit to the local supermarket I bought a few things to bring home with me.............

Here's a puzzle...............

{The supermarket cafe}

Visiting the supermarket for hot chocolate last week culminated in meeting with our former holiday house neighbours (who now live in Embrun) inviting us to dinner on Sunday evening past. It would be a raclette - that way they can feed me without having to go vegetarian for everyone.

If you're unfamiliar with raclette it consists of loads of cheese (special cheese which melts into a kind of creamy deliciousness), boiled potatoes, cold meat, and in this case, a bowl of courgettes. The idea is to melt the cheese under a heating element (usually called a raclette machine) in little individual pans. Our friends also served us a really good salad, and some quail's eggs.

Anyway, back to the puzzle. 

We arrived and had 'nibbles' and some Lagavulin. John is gradually educating the local population about good whisky. Lagavulin is probably my favourite whisky so that was a good start to the evening. The conversation for these 'soirees' is, of course, all in French.

One of the topics for the evening was the notion of  'le fair play'. We (well, John really) explained about cricket and rules and gentlemen not cheating etc. It appeared to go down well. Then came the crunch question....

A friend of theirs had been discussing what the English do when someone at a dinner table starts to tell a story they've told before. Apparently one should indicate that the story is a repeat by placing one's teaspoon across one's cup. The question was -  is this the case and how did this bit of etiquette work in practice. Oh dear!

First of all, we'd never heard of it. Secondly, we'd no idea how it would work and thirdly, we'd still no idea!

I think it just added to the mystery for the French afterall it had been a Frenchman who had uncovered this piece of weirdness on the part of the British. And now we (the British) couldn't help with any information.....that just made us even more weird!

Even after searching on Google later we have no idea where this notion came from. The only reference to placing a spoon across a cup seems to be American etiquette to indicate that you don't want any more tea!

By the way, we had a wonderful evening, with excellent hosts and some interesting, shared conversation.

I just wondered whether anyone else has come across this teaspoon messaging system - I'd love to hear (read) your comments if you have..........

{Our local plan d'eau - also frozen - we walked around this on Saturday}

Festive Greetings to Everyone!

{Snowscape}

Photo was taken last year but I am hoping for a good season again this year. There is some snow here but sadly I haven't been able to get out and about. I'm staying warmly indoors till the cough has subsided!

I have managed to get the Christmas tree up and decorated, and some of the food organised for tomorrow. Him Indoors was moved to do the hoovering!

So Merry Christmas to you all!

Above all, let it SNOW!

The Great Wall .........

{The Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel, Beijing - the lobby}

We were quite pleased with our hotel in Beijing. There were a few complications when we tried the lift but that was soon sorted out (had to use our room card to make it go up to our floor - doh!) and we had a great view of the roof tops.

One small peculiarity was a glass wall (usually called a 'window') between the bathroom and the main room. There was a venetian blind to drop so you could get privacy - but the mind boggles as to why it wasn't just an ordinary wall!

We dumped our bags, quickly unpacked, then went out for our first exploration of the area.  The first thing we found was that the hotel complex included a shopping centre. It was a bit like a cross between a department store and an undercover market, with stalls. On the lower ground floor there were dozens of booths selling all sorts of food, either to eat there or take away.

{Take your pick!}

Eventually we chose a bigger, more traditional restaurant on the ground floor. I even managed to choose a few vegetarian options, but only by scrutinising the photographs closely. When the food came it was excellent. The best was a dish of crisp rolled lettuce with a peanut dip - yum!

{Our taxi and driver}

After breakfast the next morning Helen arrived in the taxi to collect us for the day's sightseeing. The highlight of the day had to be our trip to see the Great Wall. I enjoyed this but it wasn't really as I was expecting it to be. We visited the Badaling part of it which is about an hour's drive from the city.

A hair-raising journey on the motorway brought us out into real countryside with hills and limestone rocks. In contrast to Shanghai, very few of the road signs were in English which made it a real 'magical mystery tour'.

{Badaling ticket office}

Access to the Wall was by a small cable car such as you find at ski resorts.

Once off the lift we went through a dark concrete tunnel and then into the open.

{Finally............}

It was much more crowded than I imagined it would be. Underfoot it was flagged stone, but exceedingly steep, often with very irregular steps. All these things made it quite hard going. The views were spectacular but I longed to go to a less busy part of the Wall to walk on it more comfortably. I'm putting that on the list for our next trip to China!

{Smile!.............}

{The view from the top}

Once back in the taxi we were whisked to lunch - a serve yourself buffet obviously laid on specially for bus trippers, a visit to the Cloisonne factory beneath it, a museum of artefacts at the Ming dynasty tombs, a jade factory and finally, to the 'famous Peking Duck' restaurant for dinner. Or in my case, not Duck but tofu ('doufou') - which was quite tasty.

{One of the Ming Emperors - I don't remember which one...}

{The entrance to the Peking Duck restaurant}

{John posing with the Duck!}

On the tourist trail.............

{The Oriental Pearl Tower - iconic Shanghai}

As you can see from the photo above, the sky remained cloudy and the air rather thickly smoggy for our first couple of days in the city. We explored a couple of underground markets where we were entertained by the traders and their bartering techniques. Having a driver (Mr. Xu - pronounced 'Shoe') meant we didn't have to battle with the public transport or taxi drivers and he would drop us off, then pick us up again later.

On our first weekend Mr. Xu insisted on taking us for a day trip to one of Shanghai's water towns. This is a partly reconstructed area but interesting as a view of how the people used to live. It was a great day out, the weather having improved once we were away from the centre of the city.

The traditional wooden boats were rowed alongside the covered walkways. The woman driving the one in the photo was singing a folk song to her passengers. Unfortunately we never did find the jetty where we could take one of the boat rides.

At Granny's Teahouse we stopped and had our first cup of tea from a bowl.  From the menu of about 30 different varieties I chose the Granny tea, of course! It was delicious! We wandered on.....

The water doesn't look very healthy but it was all very picturesque.

Just before we left the town a bridge took us over the river.

Driving back to the city took us about half an hour. I noticed at one point that the road we were on consisted of seven lanes of vehicles, travelling bumper to bumper at about 60 mph.  No wonder the ex-pat community is advised not to drive themselves! 

 

A wet one..............

Despite the wonky steering on my bike, I planned a short excursion for us today. It was our own version of a triathlon - three events - a bit of biking, a long lunch, then shopping (only for food though, this time).

It being Saturday - it's our 'eat what you like' day - with no holds barred.

The biking was held up a short time while Him Indoors tried to fix the wonkiness of my steering - after the re-assembling of the stem and handle bars it seemed a bit better - well, if not, I'd soon get used to it! We generally faffed around, getting dressed up in the appropriate gear, then put the bikes on the van so we could drive them down to somewhere flat to start........

By this time the sky was a bit heavy and there were some dark clouds lurking above the mountain tops. Fortunately it was still very warm. Setting off along a bumpy stony track was followed by a tip-toe (not easy carrying a bike) across a rather deep stream, and then more bumpiness until we reached the road. At which point the rain came down.

{Maybe not a good day to choose for a bike ride!}

Our objective was a little lake and the restaurant beside it, at Roche de Rame. Viewranger told me it was nearly 7 kms from where we started and more importantly, where we'd left the van. In good weather this lake beside the road is busy with sunbathers, paddlers, pedalos, and children playing.

{Deserted lake at Roche de Rame}

At the restaurant hiding under a large umbrella were a few customers and quite a few empty tables. We bagged one and ordered lunch. Still the rain came down, I could see it bouncing off the surface of the lake and dripping off the edge of the umbrella.

{Rain bouncing off the lake...

and the restaurant tables}

We had nearly ordered a second coffee each when the rain lessened and the sky looked a bit brighter. No more putting off the second leg of the biking. This time we stayed on the road most of the way back. Each lorry or car left us a bit wetter. My bike didn't handle too well on the wet road surface, and what with the wild steering I was relieved to get back to the van in one piece. Phew!

The shopping was uneventful but necessary.....

{John's lunch wins - mine was only a pizza!}