Glorious Northumbria

I mentioned in an earlier post that after some 50+ years I had decided to take up the sport of fly fishing again and this holiday in Northumbria was arranged as a fishing holiday.

Our accommodation was lovely and in a spectacular setting overlooking farmland with the Cheviot Hills in the background. The house itself is situated on Tiptoe Farm, owned by Lucy and Anthony Carroll who grow heritage potatoes in all the colours of the rainbow it would seem!

Our holiday home on the left

From our bedroom window at 2.30 am

It is set on high ground above the River Till, a tributary of the Tweed, with a steep path leading down to the river some 200 yards long. It was only after booking our holiday that I noticed that the beat was only suitable to the able-bodied and this I must say filled me with some concern!

The River Till

 I will not bore my readers with a rambling diatribe of all my various defects, but will just say that I am definitely not able bodied and certainly not just at the present time.

What a fine specimen! Bad photo but trying to get the little blighter back into the water quickly!

On only two occasions did I attempt the gruelling (for me) climb down and up from the river and indeed had great difficulty in getting in to the river and worst of all, getting out. What a wreck! But my final effort was rewarded with a miserable 5 cms specimen fry and I will be forever grateful to the little chap!

Thankfully I am perfectly happy driving and so we were able to enjoy everything that this lovely area can offer.

Lindisfarne Castle in the mist.

The causeway to Holy Island

First port of call was Holy Island, in between the tides, sadly shrouded in a sea mist which I must say did add a bit of mystery to the place.

The mist did lend a sense of mystery to the surroundings!

Bamburgh was next, with its fabulous castle and then on to Craster which was impossibly busy so I missed out on a crab sandwich, for which the tiny port is renowned.

Bamburgh Castle

We had a fascinating day at Cragside, the home of Victorian engineer Lord Armstrong and his wife Lady Margaret Armstrong. Together they created Cragside (a National Trust Property), the first home in the world to be lit by hydoelectricity. using the newly invented filament light bulbs.

Cragside

On a day when we were enduring cloud and mist while the rest of the country were enjoying record summer temperatures we drove to North Berwick , a lovely town on the Firth of Forth calling at the little fishing village of St Abbs where I was fortunate to have a wonderful crab sandwich overlooking the harbour, beautiful!

The harbour at North Berwick

Across the Firth with Bass Rock in the murky distance

Bass Rock, home to hundreds of nesting gannets.

Super break, sad not to be able to make the most of the fishing but never mind we made the most of this glorious area.

......and a little friend who came to visit us.

 

Sete

It was some years since my wife and I had visited my elder sister who has lived in France for the bulk of her life, so a visit was long overdue.

From the balcony of our hotel

Sete, or Cette in the Patrick O'Brian maritime novels ( Jack Aubrey and all that!) and indeed known as Cette until 1928, is the largest French port in the Mediterranean and for someone such as me with an interest in boats, ships and the sea it is a very interesting place indeed.

Mont St Clair at night with a Tuna fishing trawler in the foreground

Built upon and around Mont St Clair, it is situated on the south-eastern hub of the Bassin de Thau, an enclosed salt water lake used primarily for oyster and mussel fields.

Very french!

It is known as the Venice of the Llanguedoc region with its network of canals linking the Mediterranean with the Etang de Thau.

Place Leon Blum

The marina with Mont St Clair in the background

There is always the temptation to take the Morgan there but it is an extremely busy place with very restricted parking and my sister is emphatic that it is no place for our Morgan....our old Volvo of some years ago yes, but not the Mog!

A welcome rest with our hotel in the background

We had a great time and intend to return in the near future if only to sample my sister's tomato farces, and of course revel in the French ambience of a very busy commercial port.

It's been a long time.....

.....since I added another post to my blog, so here goes.

Just after Christmas I decided that at the age of 74 I would take up fly fishing again, after a break of some 50+ years. As I only had minimal remaining tackle I had to buy more and I devoted a lot of time to this.

Bank House Fishery

A brown trout which was returned

A decent Rainbow Trout which was returned

Some success was achieved at a local fishery and on the River Wyre close to my home. However, it is becoming clearer to me now that the physical requirements of fishing for wild trout are extremely demanding for me with my various health issues and I am beginning to think that it is a case of the heart making promises that the body can't keep!! We'll see, but the real test will come later this month when I take a fishing holiday on the River Till in Northumbria, one of Britain's finest sea trout rivers.

Perhaps I will just concentrate my efforts on trout fisheries which are less demanding.

View over Horning from our cottage balcony

The Cottage and our cruiser

Anyway, it hasn't been all fishing. During April my wife and I returned to my beloved Norfolk Broads with my oldest friend and his daughter, having rented a cottage in Horning, together with a very lovely little cruiser  that enabled us to have the best of a cruising holiday with the added benefit of comfortable bedrooms and a bit of luxury to return to in the evening.

Up the River Ant

However, the weather during the week we were there was the worst that we have ever experienced on the Broads, mist every day, rainy and cold.

The Bonsol Hotel

To make up for that, we returned once again, for 10 days, to our lovely hotel in Illetas, Majorca, a repeat of the holiday we enjoyed last year and no doubt we shall also be sampling its hospitality in 2019.

Yours truly on the balcony of our hotel.

Today, we were enjoying a drive in the Morgan to the upper reaches of the River Lune at Killington where I was reviewing the possibility of fishing there. Sadly I think that once again the physical demands will be too much. It is a very rocky section of the river which will necessitate some scrambling over the rocks to reach the water and frankly I feel that the old body will not cope!!

Towards Sedbergh and the Yorkshire Dales

The weather was fabulous today, as it has been for the most of May, ideal for Morgan motoring...long may it continue.

Looking north towards the Lake District

West towards Morecambe Bay and Fleetwood.

In a week we are jetting off to Beziers in the Llanguedoc area of France to visit my eldest sister and her husband who live in Sete, France's second fishing port and an extremely interesting place which should keep us occupied for four days.


On our return it will only be a short time before we are off to Northumbria.

Max enjoyment!!

During the period over Christmas and the launch of the New Year, the weather in Lancashire was grim, incessant rain and wind.

Both our daughters visited us in that period and I just happened to say to my eldest daughter that I would try and take her youngest for a drive in the Mog if the weather was suitable, he being the only one of our grandchildren who hadn't been in it.

Of course this was a fatal mistake because it was overheard by his brother and when suggestions are made such as mine they become firm promises in a child's mind, so I felt obliged to make every effort to fulfil that offer.

All smiles!

A long morning was spent viewing the western sky for a break in the cloud, wind and rain. At last there appeared to be a break in the heavens and the Morgan was quickly prepared.

Ted, our 3 year old grandson decided that he would be too frightened to attempt the trip, due to the astonishing speed of the car!!!!!! So his experience will have to wait for another time.

However, Max our eldest jumped at the chance and off we went, Max relishing all the glances and smiles from many of the other drivers, who were probably commenting on the stupidity of anyone using an open topped sports car in weather like that!

The rain stayed away for the 15 minute duration of our drive although the roads were very wet.

We both enjoyed it immensely.

I was able to fulfil my 'promise' and the car is once again under wraps having been cleaned and polished.

Christmas 2017

     A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS WORLDWIDE

Some seasonal photographs from previous years as the weather in Lancashire has not been ideal for Morgan motoring this winter.

Roll on Spring!

An Autumn pootle

Yesterday, my wife and I had dental appointments at the surgery which is in the village of Great Eccleston.

The high street of that fair village offers views of the Bleasdale Fells.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we had decided at long last to give the Morgan a spin, initially just to the dentists, but on seeing those hills we thought sod it, let's go for a drive and a picnic!
Pork pies were bought from the local shop and off we went.

Taken in September 2011 in the same place as yesterday.

The car behaved impeccably, as usual attracting both attention and a couple of appreciative comments.

Also taken in 2011 when I was 6 years younger!!....but the car looks the same!

It was great to get out in it again after a period of some stress and hard work, certainly once again attracting me to the possibility of once again venturing across the Channel on another adventure.

Return to Norfolk

What a joy it was for me to return to my beloved Norfolk and the Broads in particular during Autumn.

It is a place in which I could live happily but alas business commitments and I suppose family, have meant that it is unlikely that will happen.

An Autumn view of the River Bure from the lawn of our cottage.

My love of boating, both yachts and motor cruisers, also means that I have a deep yearning to own a boat in that area, but once again the practicalities of ownership at a distance of 300 miles or so has deterred me from doing it, to say nothing about my recent spell of bad health coupled with,. advancing years!

Picnic moored in Fleet Dyke

Ah well! The holidays that my wife and I are now spending in the area which also give me the opportunity of some boating activity are sufficing to a large degree.

Approaching Coltishall on the upper Bure.

We were fortunate in having first class weather in the first four days of our visit which allowed us to make full use of our little dayboat in exploring once again the River Bure.

The sun on the afternoon of October 16th when dust from southern latitudes was blown north on the tale of hurricane Ophelia.

When the weather finally broke we travelled to the north Norfolk coast, specifically to visit once more Nelson's birthplace at Burnham Thorpe and the church in which he was christened. Heavy rain and mist spoiled the views across the North Sea but it was pleasant to see once again those lovely villages such as Wells and Cley.

A cormorant roosting on the evening of the same day.

Another visit is planned for April where the cottage we have rented is situated in Horning, a good central location for visiting more distant areas of the Broads in our better equipped picnic boat.