It was a very untypical Hogmanay for us, as whilst normally, we’ve friends around for dinner, and then depart for a ceilidh; this year we could only stay in and watch telly.
As the link states, they simply don’t really know where the word comes from, and I’m never really surprised when people don’t know the term, when I mention it to them – but believe me, virtually no one here in Scotland that I’ve met, will use the term “New Year’s Eve”!
As for the television, this year, as most years, was a mix of Scottish music, and the inevitable countdown, which usually showcases some canon in Edinburgh, at Edinburgh castle.
For the final part of this delightful walk, and one that I shall be wishing to complete some time soon, we headed from the end, in Filey, and walked briefly backwards to Muston, which at one time had a Scarecrow Festival; but was recently axed!
Before we headed off from Filey, we did an incredibly long beach walk from Reighton (Haven Reighton Sands Holiday Park), and headed north towards Filey Beach & Filey, in order to get there; recommended! From the start, Filey was a ways ahead, with a distinctive protrusion that you are welcome to climb if you wish.
Beach towards Filey
Looking back aways towards the Reighton section complete with WW2 formations, I think. It was interesting to note, just how many people who were there on the day. And also, the number of very well-behaved dogs.
Equally, there were certainly some brave souls catching the waves.
Surfing in Yorkshire!
When we finally made Filey, after only an hour, it was a very pleasant surprise. But the appropriate British seaside food just made it seem just so right!
Beef burger; even more delicious after a long beach walk!
Whilst in Filey, there was everything to expect from a seaside experience, with huts at the beach, delightful views over the coast and a charming town centre.
From here, it was actually quite easy to meander through Filey, and onto the correct pathway. It is not very long, and with a distance of only about 2+ miles, we were in Muston in no time . . . for a pint, at the Ship Inn.
Along the way to Muston, from Filey
After this, there was a very fast, local connection by bus, back to Reighton to collect our car. It should be said, that Filey is connected with British Rail; for those who would wish to start their way from here, and head towards the start of the Wolds Way, located in Kingston-upon-Hull.
For the final two parts of our trip to Yorkshire, we decided for the third day to start from our base in South Cave, a delightful village’ish, complete with mock castle, golf course and a belter of a pub, the Fox and Coney, on the High Street. Later (and another post), for the final part, we were to start from the end point of the Way, and retreat back into the countryside.
What struck me about this route, was that while I couldn’t readily see any mountains, let alone hills, we were always up and down, up and down, all day!
The start strikes into a beautiful small valley, that overlooks a vineyard! Yes, a vineyard in Yorkshire (there are others), the Little Wold Vineyard, which is on my to do later list.
From there, there were many rolling hills, and a lush and cold countryside, but no opportunities for a cuppa or something to eat; the only drawback to the day.
Until we made Market Weighton, and a well-earned late, lunch. For which we were grateful, during these COVID days. The pub in question was The Griffin, a much-needed Thwaites public house.
With the lockdown still around, I plan on putting more travel from the past on here fairly soon. Trips ranged from the USA to Hong Kong and China, but first, my choices for last year’s music.
It was as usual, a dreadful year in mainstream music, so hence my top faves are probably not the highest hits on Spotify, et al.
Albums of the year:
1) Escape: Expanded Edition, Moon Duo
This trippy, gothicy, new age, type of psychedelic drone, just grows and grows on you. Superb to put on in the background, and just go in and through the waves of sounds.
2) Shore, Fleet Foxes
They returned, with a standard that their earlier stuff would approve of. “Nice”, and flowing, like a big log fire staring out at the forest.
3) Northern Songs, Asteroid #4
Contains my single of the year, the title track, and combines those sixties jangles, with a devotion to a minimal shoe-gazing, that only improves after a few listens.
Interesting that, I’d never heard of this area before we decided to do it due to a recommendation from a fellow traveler. Lucky, we referenced the very excellent, Yorkshire Wolds Way; Tony Gowers and Roger Ratcliffe, 2013, and with their recommendation, sought out this day trip, that can be done, preferably, by car.
We started from our base in South Cave, and then after a stop for breakfast in Market Weighton, also a good opportunity to have a wander and to see the village of the tallest man ever in the UK, William Bradley. Try the steps in the High Street, where you can compare your shoes with his!
High Street, Market Weighton
From here, we traveled to Kirkburn, to see St Mary’s.
St Marys, Kirkburn
After which, we went to Garten on the Wolds to see St Michael and All Angels, that was a strange mixture between Norman and Gothic styles.
And finally, lo surprises!, when encountering Sledmore House, a delightful (even in the start of the cold season), house, farm and café, where there were numerous people, bicyclists and a farm shop, where we partook of needless shopping.
Earlier in the year, I by chance had the opportunity to watch several documentaries on the Beeb, with both being about, or at least some, the Wolds Way. For me, I had never heard of it before and subsequently, have read that it is the least traveled long-distance way in England.
The plan then was to do it, or at least part of it, in more than one trip. For the first part, we did a variant on it via a delightful walk based on the art of David Hockney. The walk started in the glowing village called Warter, and it then was possible to do either part A or B, depending on how you are feeling.
We chose the shorter route B, that happens to pass directly in front of Dalton Gate Cottage, which is the very place where Hockney stayed, when he painted numerously in 2007. One of these paintings, entitled “Bigger Trees near Warter”, is now located at the Tate Modern in London.
Warter village
From Warter, we walked uphill, that gave us splendid views back towards Warter.
Looking back towards Warter
From there, it was to the outer most part at Blanch Farm, before we doubled back and started to return to the village.
Starting to return to Warter
Continuing, we passed over the B1246, and past the Hockney cottage, before we came here to where Bigger Trees was painted,
Near to where Bigger Trees was painted
Before we headed back, via a deep ridge / valley, into Warter.
Ridge on the way back to Warter
The only pity with Warter is that there is no café, and the St James church was closed due to the pandemic. If open, there is an opportunity to sample some of the local history. Warter hence, is really only a place to park (which we did by the local primary school).
The next day, we sampled more in this area, by doing a tour of the renowned church architect Sir Tatten Sykes’ churches, which will be in Part 2 of my review.
Just after lockdown was relaxed here in Scotland, and just as the first hotels, B & Bs and hostels were allowed to open, I decided to finally do this walk; one of the long distanced paths here in the UK and in particular Scotland. More information can be found here.
It was one that has intrigued me for some time, due to its remoteness and beauty. Along with the fact, that it is possible to stay at the most remote (almost a mountain hut) youth hostel that there is in the UK. Well, due to the lockdown, it was closed, so we had to tent it; which was quite enjoyable and warm (amazingly!).
On our first day, we started from Drumnadrochit, and after several diversions, arrived after an entire day walking, in the small village of Cannich (which itself was almost closed down). I have to admit, that the final two hours were terrible, as there existed no trail (this needs to be rectified immediately!) and so we were on the small, but dangerous asphalt B-Road into Cannich – this was NOT enjoyable. After which, barely making the Co-op for food, we went to our nearby guesthouse for the night.
B road to Cannich, Traffic Signs, Cannich Entrance, Cannich Main Road
The following morning, we were kindly given a lift to the third stage of the walk (bypassing Stage 2), and started from the Loch Affric Circuit Car Park, situated between Loch Affric (to the west) and Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin (to the east). I think this was the correct call, as the trail between here and Cannich I’ve done before, and found it both rudimentary and slightly dull. This day was actually quite easy, and in no time, we came by and passed both the possible accommodation options at the end of Loch Affric (Strawberry Cottage – run, I believe, by a walking group from Aberdeen University? and a “Trees for Life” bothy, that is fairly modern). Just past these, in another 45 minutes, we came to the said youth hostel, where we stayed for small break. And then, after just a kilometre more, we camped for the night.
Loch Affric Car Park, Strawberry Cottage, SYHA Hostel from the East / SYHA Hostel / Tent for the Night
The next day, after finally lighting our gas stove (PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING MATCHES OR A FIRE STARTER!), we were off, where in an hour or so we had a break in the Canban Bothy. From here it was all downhill, both altitude and weather! It rained and rained and then, rained even more. The river (the River Croe) was in full spate, and we finally, after another entire day, arrived in Morvich to be picked up by our previous hotelier. After taking us back to Drumadrochit to collect our car in the central car park (next to the Tourist Information Centre), we had a lovely fish supper and a pint!
View from Canban Bothy window, Start of Morvich, Drumnadrochit for Fish n Chips
I’ve seen many recent TV shows about the plight or current state of the various castles, country houses, etc, that we find here in the UK. Many paint a bleak yet optimistic future for these concerns. And to agree to this, I’ve recently visited Traquair House, in Peeblesshire south Scotland, on more than a few occasions; no doubt a good thing as they have diversified into the areas of business, that will no doubt make this ancient country house (the oldest house in Scotland) successful for the foreseeable future. In addition, they’ve added a brewery to their business. With a variety of styles.
Traquair House, 160 shilling
One of them is this delightful old style of Scottish ale, known as 160 /- (160 shilling). If you are not familiar with this name, please see here. Basically, the higher the number the more expensive the tax was on this type of beer, and hence, the strength (normally) is higher. For this little beauty, it’s 9.5%, yet at the same time, it’s never to treacly and can go both in a pint (almost!) mug, or in your favourite wine glass.
For the final installment of my recent Bavarian sojourn, I was very briefly in Bamberg (as I have already described the heavenly lager, Mahrs, that I drank). What was stunning to me, was the number of churches (again!), the cleanliness and the several “brew pubs” that I saw; below is the magnificent and stately, Obere Pfarre Church – which I preferred to Bamberg Dom.
I had a schnitzel, for probably the first time in years, with pomme frites in a delightful outdoor court, complete with covering for the rain, and also visited Bamberg Dom, that was complete with a roof top garden, and a spectacular view over the rest of Bamberg.
Finally, went to the start of the St James Camino in Bamberg at St Jakobs Church, that also featured several maps of the complete set of Caminos in Europe.
Is it allowed or even thought nowadays, that a brilliant place should simply be taken for granted, and if not, should you constantly be checking it out, to see if something has changed? And what if, something has indeed changed? And not for the better. What do you do? Slate it, or give it another chance, or was it a one off? Or write a critical review, in order to try to remedy the situation.
This is my predicament with this café. I used to simply love their eggs rancheros; the beans, avocado (not smashed!) and the freshness of the tomatoes. But I regret to inform, that it was simply rotten earlier this week. The “over easy” eggs were hard boiled; and I mean HARD boiled. As if they had been cooked hours before, and then reheated under the heat lamps. Ditto with the brick-like toast. Combined with no butter for the said toast, and you had a fairly dreadful meal; minus the A+ service.
Curious Bystander 