Derbyshire

On Saturday we left Exmoor and drove straight to Derbyshire, & the Peak District. We're staying in the same cottage at Barlow that we used in February. It's looking rather different now as not surprisingly there's no snow! The weather'sbeen mostly ok, warm but with a few showers. LB has been practicing thenewtechniques he learnt last week and has been successful with his fishing and we've both enjoyed some nice walks.

On Sunday we we had a gentle stroll through Dovedale. This is famously beautiful and, being a weekend w

as pretty busy. On our way home we turned off to visit Arbor Low. We'd never heard of it before but it is a very impressive neolithic henge dating from about 2000 BC. The stones are now all lying flat. They are thought to have been toppled in mediaeval times by people unhappy with their pagan associations. Even so it's an awe inspiring structure. There's a large circular earthwork with an internal ditch surrounding the stones and we spent some time sitting up high looking down and wondering what the place and the people were like when it was first built and in use.

Yesterday we did a slightly more strenuous walk in Cromford Dale. We climbed up to the Black Rocks above the town and then had wonderful views as we walked along the ridge, down into the valley where Arkwright built his first mills at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Although now a rural area there were plenty of signs of recent industry including an old stone steam engine winding house which used to haul trams up the incline which we used to get back down into the valley. Once off the hillside the walk followed the canal towpath past numerous families of waterbirds with their young. Here's yet another moorhen chick as I think they are so cute!

Exmoor

Last week we spent a couple of weeks on Exmoor while LB had some guided fishing and tuition. He's enjoying his fly fishing but so far has only fished still waters. The two days were to give him some experience of fishing wild trout on rivers and were a great success. He not only caught fish but came away with lots of new techniques to try.

We stayed here - the Three Acres Countryhouse Hotel, in Bushfield near Dulverton. It was delightful. The owners Edward and Julie gave a really personal service and everything was top quality, including the wonderful breakfasts. they don't do evening meals but booked some local restaurants for us which were also fantastic.

While LB was fishing I wandered around seeing the sights. I particularly liked the wonderful Tarr Steps. They are very atmospheric and there are some nice walks along the river. Dunster Castle and town provided me with several hours of entertainment too. There was a good view of the South wales coast from the gardens of the keep, that is until the rain arrived obscuring the view and sending everyone scurrying for cover!

Silverstone 2

After enjoying the peace and quiet of the campsite, the wildlife and a shopping trip that involved the impulse buy of a fridge for the tent, the hoards arrived and the real business of the trip began-MotoGP weekend!

P & V arrived in despondent mood on Friday night . After a long drive they realised they'd forgotten their tickets just as they turned into the campsite. Oops! Poor P had to be up at thd crack of dawn on Saturday morning to drive back home to get them! Must say he looked knackered for the rest of the weekend! He returned in time for us to walk over to the circuit together for final qualifying. We were pleased to discover the Croft Tunnel which meant a relatively short walk to our seats rather than the long trek around the perimeter which we had expected. Our seats in the new stadium section gave an excellent view of an interesting bit of the track but were exposed to the biting northerly wind. We froze! So much for it being only 2 daysbefore midsummer! The biking was good and I had more practice with the 400 mm lens I'd hired. It seems ideal for this situation. We were glad to get back to the campsite and spent the evening in the bar warming up. We were too cold to consider cooking all the food filling our new fridge. Fortunately come Sunday the wind had dropped somewhat but I took an extra fleece to be on the safe side. Of course I ended up carrying it all day! All three races were excellent with a lot of overtaking, close racing and some spills. It was good to see Bradley Smith on the podium and the other two Brits Scott Redding and Danny Webb doing well.

Jorge ran away with the main race but there was quite a tussle going on between the half dozen riders behind him. The lunchtime flight display was pretty awesome too.
It was a good day, finished off with a BBQ back at the tents. We returned home on the Monday for a welcome 10 days before our next weekend trip.


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Silverstone Weekend

We've just had a great weekend at Silverstone for the MotoGP. We travelled up last Wednesday and camped at Whittlebury Park. This is a golf club and hotel that opens up a huge camping field for events happenning at Silverstone.It could have done with a few more showers but is otherwise a beautiful place to stay, nicelylandscaped and with a man made lake full of wildlife. All the water birds were busy rearing broods of chicks so I had a happy time taking bird photos. Here's a few to be going on with.

Mallard

Coots

Great Crested Grebe

Greylag Geese

Bike photos to follow!

Elvie

Albarracin

Tonight's hotel, the Dona Blanca in Albarracin is a little gem. It might look a concrete monstrosity from the outside and , to be honest they're still building the top floor (peace has now descended at 7.00pm as the builders have just finished for the day!) but it's perfect for us. Albarracin is a mediaeval hilltop town with impressive walls, narrow streets that climb up 1 in 4 hills, or steps and no other hotel with parking. The dona Blanca is on the flat below the town but in easy walking distance, with secure flat parking & cctv, we have free wifi in our room, safe, mini-bar, hair dryer and balcony with the view below of the town walls for €60. Not bad!


We've enjoyed a walk around the town although it's pretty much shut up at this time of year. We're having a little rest before going out to eat.

We've had quite an interesting day. There was a good road out of Ruidera, so good LB got caught speeding by a radar trap and had to pay an on the spot €70 fine. Amazingly, considering we were riding together & I was setting the pace, I got off scot free! We briefly met heavy rain near Cuenca but the mountain road from there to Albarracin cleverly managed to weave between the dark clouds on either side of us and head towards the small patch of blue sky ahead. We were thankful the rain held off as we were on a very twisty mountain road that had virtually no tarmac for one ten mile stretch! It's a great road though and I'd love to do it agaain on a fine day. We're heading north again tomorrow for a bit of luxury in the Parador at santo Domingo Del Calzada.
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Goodbye Ruidera

Well, it wasn't raining when we woke yesterday so we set off on another walk to El Castillo Rochefrio. It wasn't as long as the previous day and would have been shorter if we hadn't made an unplanned scenic detour. As before we were surrounded by wild flowers and birdsong. We eventually saw the stone walls of the castle on a small hill . The way passed a frog filled wetland and then instead of the steps or ramp to the castle entrance we were met with aa jumble of rocks and a narrow path. Following this to the opposite side of the mound we came to the sign pointing to the entrance. This involved a scramble over rocks and boulders to a gap in the wall. It seems unlikely that the original inhabitants used this way to enter and provision themselves but there was no other obvious entrance. All that was left of the castle was a low stone wall encircling quite a large area on the hilltop, with good views of the entrance to the valley. A noticeboard informed us the castle was the site of an important battle in 1212, during the christian King Alfonso VIII's push south against the Moors. How different it must have been in those days. As it was we continued to enjoy the present day's peace and quite during the walk back to the hotel. We got thoroughly soaked during the last quarter hour as the promised rain arrived!

We've really enjoyed this little known corner of Spain. It's been a delight to explore. It's not just the walking that has kept us fit either, these are the stairs up to our room. thanks to them I now have tight calves and memories of a wonderful view!

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A Long Walk

We awoke to a blue sky and sunshine coming through the windows of our cave. As we have no one overlooking us we slept with the curtains open. After a late breakfast ( served from 9.30 - 11.30! ) we set off to walk around the lake. Including a stop in a bar for lunch it took us nearly five hours but was well worth the effort.

We started heading east where we are close to the end of the lake, initially going up the road. There was no traffic and the only sounds were the multitude of bird songs. Most of them were In Spanish and unrecognisable but we certainly heard reed warblers and cuckoo and saw various common tits and finches. At the end of the lake were extensive reed beds with a hill on the far side. There were two large birds of prey patrolling this area. They were possibly harriers of some sort & appeared to be male and female. We crossed the small torrent over a wooden bridge then followed a good dirt path down the opposite side of the lake. Again lots of birds were obvious and also masses of wild flowers. There were poppies, snapdragons, broom and wild thyme and rosemary amongst others brightening the ground beneath the olive groves.

At the far end of the lake is a small village with several bars and the beginning of the next lake in the chain. We had lunch in a bar at about 3.00 pm then wandered back to the hotel for a siesta.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow so we may light our wood fire and spend the day in bed!

Photo is of the hotel from the far side of the lake

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Ruidera

Have now reached the middle of nowhere! We're in a small national park which runs along a series of lakes. The hotel is quite amazing. It's built on several levels up a steep hillside which means lots of steps and going outside to get up to our room. We have an outside terrace with table chairs and lounger though sadly the weather has deteriorated so I don't think we'll use it much. The room and bathroom are both very big and with the bare rockface as one wall. We've a large woodburning stove in the corner as well as electric heaters. Outside, the road is little more than a track, with no through traffic so all we can hear is the birdsong. It is delightful and so peaceful! We'll start exploring tomorrow. Photo is the view from our terrace

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Exploring Antequera

What a full day today! We had a quick breakfast in a bar around the corner from the hotel then set off on the bikes, south, into the mountains, to the El Torcal Natural Park. This is a heavily eroded limestone area with weird shaped rocks and a flourishing fauna and flora. apart from the rocks, the wildflowers were most obvious with large numbers of different flowers alongside the paths. Of the animals , we heard lots of birds and saw lots of little ones fluttering in the bushes though they were difficult to identify. we think we saw and eagle and also an ibex though it could have been a goat. there was a nice circular path that took us about an hour and then we headed off to the Laguna Salida of Fuente de Piedra.

The lakes here hold the second largest colony of flamingoes in europe. The information centre was closed when we arrived early afternoon ( siesta time!) so we walked around the nearest part of the lake where there were flamingoes, avocet, ringed plovers, coots and another wader we didn't recognised. I was disappointed we didn't see any nests or young. I suspect we were at the wrong part of the lake but it was too big to walk all the way around to explore more. It was fantastic to see wild flamingoes flying and swimming as well as wading and feeding.

Leaving the lake we set off back to Antequera. On the outskirts of the town are two megalithic tombs, dating from about 3,000 BC. They are simple tunnels ending in a small chamber but built with massive blocks of stone lining the walls and ceiling. They still retain their overlying tumuli unlike many of the British cromlechs where only a few stones remain.

After a very late meal by British standards we got back to our room at 11.00 to listen to election news prior to sleep. Tomorrow we head north again

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Antequera

We left Jerez at about 10.00 this mornig, having picked a scenic route for the 100 odd miles to Antequera. Once off the motorway it was up small twisty roads through the mountains of the Grazelama National Park to Ronda. Despite the zumo's best efforts we managed to avoid driving through the town centre although we were plagued by roadworks on the bypass. The scenery around Ronda is lovely, very open with gentle hills dotted with regualr plantations of olives. At this time of year it is very green with masses of wildflowers though I doubt it stays like this through the summer.

We then entered the mountains again and rather than go on the main road had chosen the only alternative route along minor roads. When planning it we hadn't quite realised how minor they were! We turned off the bigger when instructed by the zumo then stopped as it seemed to be someone's drive. Oh no, off to the left was the road which went through what looked like a big pipe under the main road and then turned to patches of gravel. We followed it up as it twisted up through a village, mostly patched tarmac, some gravel and a long stretch of concrete. Out of the village we were back on tarmac winding through the mountains with magnificent views into the valley. Although there was no traffic it was too narrow to stop for photos unfortunately. After a few miles we came to a sign saying the "camino montana" was "mal estadio", well we'd realised by then it was in a bad state! The left handside of the road was littered with rocks off the mountain, on the right there were places where the tarmac was slipping over the edge and every now and then we just had a strip of gravel to ride over! I loved every minute of it! The GS's are just superb bikes for this sort of thing. Once down the other side normal conditions resumed when we reached a small town. That just left us 40km of non stop twisties, still on a pretty narrow road, through agricultural land until we reached the turning into & down through the narrow streets of Antequerra to our lovely spanish hotel, (with fast free wifi!) the Coso Viejo. We're staying here two nights and are spoilt for choice as to what to do tomorrow. If we can cram it all in we'll be visiting flamingoes, dolmens and El Torcal Natural Park!

MotoGP & the Feria

No photos today as my phone was stolen at the feria. This is a real pain as I was using it to post to this blog & Facebook, for general internet access, for photos, crosswords and books to read. The feria was otherwise great with lots of people in their finery, music bars and food. We had lunch there earlier, came back to the hotel for a siesta then returned to the feria for the evening.

Yesterday we had a great day at the circuit. the traffic in and out was much better than expected, all three races were close and exciting with Spanish winners in every category and our seats gave us great views of post race celebrations as well as the races themselves. Lorenzo excelled himself by jumping in the pond on what literally turned out to be his cool down lap!

We ended the day with the fireworks and switching on of the lights at the Feria. great fun!

MotoGP Practice

Had alovely day at the circuit today, watching the practice sessions. Te new road and excellent policing have improved access and ,more importantly egress, tremendously. Our deats in the stand give us a really good view of the stadium section of the circuit as well as having a big screen in front of us.

There were some interesting characters there. If this lot dress up like this for the practice who knows what sights we'll see tomorrow!

The suzuki "girls" were great fun.. They're sitting just behind us and will pout and pose as soon as anyone points a camera at them. They all have wigs, huge boobs, white tights which don't hide their hairy legs and bike boots!

Jerez 2

Day 2 & as planned we've spent our time in town. Jerez is the home of sherry & there are barrels everywhere Unfortunately they're empty so you can't take a jug and help yourself! That's probably a good thing though I did enjoy a free glass of fino on offer outside one of the bars.

Breakfast was at a delightful bar around the corner from the hotel. No not alcohol but coffee and toasted ham rolls, interesting, we wouldn't dream of going to a bar for breakfast at home. We then strolled around town to the old Moorish palace, the Alcazar and the cathedral. This is one of the main squares.


This is typical of Jerez. Blue skies, monuments, flowers and fountains. What you can't hear is the noise- of people talking, children playing and the swifts & swallows screaming and squabbling. Our hotel is an oasis of calm in this tiny side street. So calm & a siesta beckon!

Arrival at Jerez

Another motorway ride brought us to Jerez by mid afternoon. Our hotel is in a very small side street half way between the old town and the feria site. We arrived at the same time as another British couple, Eddie & Lorraine. They seem good fun. We walked into town with them this evening to find a bar and some food. Jerez is a lively town aand I suspect will be even livelier by saturday! At the next bar to ours about 20 ladies aged 20 to 70 all with castanets sat down with drinks and enjoyed themselves singing and dancing flamenco. it was quite entertaining. food was ok too. Haven't done much else today but plan on doing some exploring tomorrow. We'll miss tomorrows practice aat the circuit to see some of the town.

First night - Caceres

Disembarked from the ferry this morning. Had a calm crossing but disappointed to only see a couple of dolphin and no whales. Rode 400 miles all on motorway today. Boring but we wanted to make progress. Temperatures gradually increased as we came south to reach 30 degrees C this afternoon. Caceres is a busy modern town with a walled mediaeval centre full of places and churches. Had a wander around this evening then sat outside a bar in the Plaza Major watching the Spanish enjoy their paseo & the swifts wheel over the old town. Were pleased to find we could eat at 8.00 and not wait until 10.00 when the locals have food. Now back at the hotel for an early night. Off to Jerez tomorrow where we'll stay for 6 days

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Off to Spain

Sorry I've not posted for ages but this is a travel blog and we've not done much travelling recently. We're at Portsmouth ferry port at the moment at the back of a very long queue. We've been told they hope to have us all aboard to set off at 8.00 but if not it won't sail till 11.00. Fingers crossed theyll be on time Unusually we're being queued in amongst the cars so it's obviously not bikes on first and off first. This is going to be a slow start to the trip! Anyway will have 36 hours at sea so hopefully will post again from Caceres on Wednesday.

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Balkans Holiday Revisited - last days

Homeward Bound

On leaving Berto we were presented with a string of dried figs from his garden. It's a bit like string beans, if you grow them you have a glut and give them away to all and sundry. No problems with the bowels this holiday!

After a slow start through Rijeka's rush hour we soon left the Adriatic Coast and crossed into the green wooded valleys of Slovenia. By mid-day we'd reached Italy and headed up into the Dolomities. We finished the day with the rather nice Falzarego & Valparola Passes before finding a B&B in the ski town of La Villa. The next day we rode over 200 miles to travel about 65 milesto take in plenty of passes.

First the lovely open Gardena Pass



Then the green Mendel Pass



The Tonale Pass came next, followed by the surprise - the Gavia Pass! This didn't show on our maps and was quite a shock, steep, very narrow, tight hairpins, rough tarmac and no barriers! At 2600m it was a big one! We didn't manage to stop on the way up, it was too scary! This nice lake was at the top though.



Next was the main object of the day - the Stelvio. This was a doddle after the Gavia. We stopped to take the classic views looking up and down the north side.






We overnighted in nearby Silandro & the following morning did our final pass, the Timmelsjoch into Austria. We'd struggled with this a few years back when new to biking but yesterdays practice paid off & we found it easy. It was rather foggy at the top which limited photo opportunities but we managed a few







Finally saying goodbye to the mountains we crossed Austria & into Germany to to Stuttgart to stay overnight with relatives. The D roads of France provided our final rather chilly route home.

Altogether a great trip with a wide variety of different roads, fabulous scenery and interesting new cultures. We can heartily recommend it to anyone considering venturing in that direction & would be happy to share advise with anyone who wants it.

Elvie

Balkans Holiday Revisited - Day 17 & 18

Days 17 & 18 up the Croatian Coast

We were glad to get back on the bikes and head north along the coast road of Croatia. This is a lovely road particularly the more northerly half and runs alongside several National Parks which sadly, we didn't really have time to visit. Along most of the route the mountains come down to the sea and the road winds around alternating small coves and headlands. The tarmac is perfect and all the bends are beautifully cambered. Even if you don't venture further into the Balkans this is a road not to miss either on a GS or sports bike.




At times the road headed inland. We rode through one village where the number of ruins and abandoned, shrapnel marked houses way outnumbered the inhabited ones. The streets seemed empty though there was some new building going on. Neaby were the warning signs of a minefield. This was the only significant evidence of the war that we saw in Croatia but really brought home the terror of living through it, if you survived. Having read up on the Croatian war I think this was the site of the Skabrnja Massacre A very sobering place to come across.



Anyway we didn't push too hard on this part of the trip and pulled over in the old town of Primosten in time for a few hours on the beach & a swim in the sea. One word of warning if you're heading this way - you need beach shoes. There's no sand, no nice round pebbles just sharp grit! Our entry into the sea was not elegant!

Our apartment here cost us €30 for the night and included a bowl of fresh grapes and figs from the owners garden

Later spent an hour taking photos of the sunset before a nice meal in one of the many restaurants



For our second night along this coast we stopped at the large seaside resort of Crikvenica. The Tourist Office suggested a small hotel and rang the owner to show us the way. Berto was wonderful, a large cheerful man riding a small red scooter and wearing a red builders hat as a lid. ( He also owned an Aprilia RSV Mille ) The whole time we followed him he rode one handed while talking into his mobile! Berto's Motorrad Pansion was lovely, with a balcony & sea views, a small bar and cost.....yes €30 ( there's a bit of a theme here!)

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Elvie

Balkans Holiday Revisited - Day15 & 16

Days 15 & 16,Dubrovnik & Mostar

Dubrovnik has been described as the Pearl of the Adriatic and there's no doubt it's a beautiful city. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see for the crowds!



We were staying in a cramped B&B in the seaside suburb of Lapad and took the 10 minute bus ride into the old town for the day. Unfortunately there were two huge cruise ships moored in the port. They had disgorged thousands of passengers each all of whom were all being led around the town in crocodiles folowing their tour guides.



To be honest after a walk around and a nice lunch in one of the quieter streets we were glad to head back to our bilious green room on the top floor of the Villia Micika.

Next day we went to Mostar. We considered going on the bikes though our insurance would run out mid-day and we begrudged buying more so we took a minibus tour. This had the benefit of providing a tour guide and we could go in shorts not our bike gear.

Mostar is very thought provoking. The old Turkish part of town & the bridge has been a tourist destination for centuries. Now there is the added interest of the recent war, evidence of which can be seen everywhere.



The Old Bridge was destroyed by Croat fire from the adjacent hill. You can see how vulnerable it, & the rest of the city was......and will be! The Croats now live on one side of the main thoroughfare, the Bosnian Muslims on the other. We got the impression it was an uneasy peace.

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Balkans Holiday Revisited - Days 13 & 14

Day 13 & 14, Zalbjak & the on to Dubrovnik One of the reasons for going to Zabljak was to see the Tara river canyon, only 200m less deep than the Grand Canyon. What we hadn't realised was that the only way to see it was on a one or two day raft trip We didn't fancy that ( it was too cold! - I know....we're wimps!) Instead we enjoyed a walk to the Black Lake, which is beautiful shades of blue and green! Zabljak being a bit of a one horse town we moved on the next day, taking minor roads towards the coast. This was another fabulous days riding through more mountain scenery. The roads were narrow and a bit rough but no problem for the GS's. I wouldn't have wanted to try it on a sports bike though. Initially we crossed a high mountain plateau where the numerous small herds of cattle showed a definite preference for the roadside verges rather than the acres of grassland The road then continued twisting and turning down river valleys, through woodland and more mountain scenery We had hairpins down the steep valley side to the small town of Savnik then more hairpins up the other side. On to the rather more industrial Niksic where we refuelled then took the road to Bosnia past some lovely lakes The border post was up in the mountains This was the only border we crossed where the police were rather surly and the only one where they asked about insurance. We were marched to a back office by a gun toting policeman and were aghast to be charged €21 each for only 3 days insurance! This compares to €10 or €12 for 15 days in Montenegro & Albania, where we'd had to ask for & hunt down the offices & officials ourselves. Anyway, insurance bought, we were allowed into Bosnia and some lovely roads to the Croatian border post in the hills above the Adriatic. This one was a border with a view! There were minimal formalities and we were waved through with a smile. We left the peace and quiet of the mountains and were soon on the busy coast road heading for our next destination - Dubrovnik __________________ http://mogs-travels.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/pontydoc/