Slow travel

Two weeks, many mountains, lakes, walks, mushrooming. A friendship of 46 years, starting with English lessons in Sydney in 1973. We stay first in Oberhafen, looking over Thunersee, with swimming in the lake in the last hot days of August. A charming village, with an ancient castle by the lake, wooden chalets climbing the hills, geranium fringed balconies. One day we take a cog train and cablecar to the ridge summit of Niederhorn, where we walk among mountain grazing cows , checking for ibex ('capricornia' here), ridge top pools reflecting the clouds, deep valleys both sides. The Jungfrau beckons, so a short drive, 2 trains...one to the summit . There we walk inside a glacier, gaze over the roof of Europe. In the following days we explore Thun, seek mushrooms under expert guidance on the slopes of the Eriz valley, travel to Emmenthal, observe cheese making in an old farmhouse, join in singing German drinking songs...and revel in 46 years of friendship.

A little village, ancient, lapped by the Solent. Shallow waters, rushing across the shingle to swallow the road. The villagers blocking their paths with a moveable panel. In the church lies the body o King Canute's 8 yo daughter, drowned in the millstream. It is here on the edge of the Solent that Canute ordered the tide to stop, so legend has it. And enough for our first full day, after the battle of the sims, phone packages. Definitely the patient JJ's job.

17/8/2019 Back in 1651 the future Charles II famously hid in an oak to escape detection from rampaging Oliver Cromwell. The thence known Royal Oak has given its name to innumerable pubs. And when Charles II was invited back to England in 1660, he declared the 29th May be celebrated as Oak Apple Day, commemorating his tree climbing adventure on that day in 1651. The public were to wear oak leaves as a sign of loyalty, and children could freely pinch the bottoms of those who didn't, so hence it was known colloquially as 'pinch-bottom day'! The story continues to this day with a scarecrow festival. Any excuse for a festival. The attached pic is of the Shropshire canal, where oaks were planted by the canal company to provide timber for future barges.

15/8/2019 As predicted, a wet morning as we prepare to head north towards Middlewich, a centre for salt extraction. On with the waterproof pants, jacket, souwester, gloves, boots. Not a fashion statement. I take first shift - when I'm saturated, the Cap'n will take over. A rural landscape, quiet, wet. Fields of harvested hay a brown-gold contrast to the green folds and hills. Flocks of black crows forage on the stubble, rising up to settle again to graze. As the canal runs through a tree shrouded tunnel, a quick flash of turquoise. a kingfisher. Its trajectory angling along the canal, low to the water, sweeping up again to pause on an overhanging branch. The photo above taken by a friend 2 years ago- on the tiller,  and with my rudimentary skills, today's kingfisher was safe. A heron, another solitary fisher, stands on one leg on the bank. We find that if you cruise past without looking directly at the hunter, it usually holds its position. Another photo from friend...

14/8/2019 Llangollen gives its name to the canal that winds into the Welsh hills, and the River Dee that runs through the town, gives water to the canal. The horseshoe falls upstream from the town divide the tumbling Dee, with a small channel running to the canal. The chain bridge spans the Dee below the falls, built by a frugal gent in 1817, to transport coal. This meant he didn't have to pay the toll to use the stone bridge nearby. At Llangollen lies the fascinating house and garden of Plas Newyyd. In the late 18th C two women fled their families in Ireland, finding an old farmhouse to rent on the hill above Llangollen. Over the next decades they encouraged friends and family to send them any unwanted old carved oak furniture . It arrived by the cartload, providing the 'two eccentric ladies' with the Gothic style interior they desired. Pieces of furniture were dismantled and used to panel the walls. Pieces edge the bannisters, cover the walls. Some ...

14/8/2019 Some images from our Chirk excursion.                                                                                                                                                                                                        an ent like oak  

14/8/2019 Not only Offa had a dyke, we've discovered, but also a lad called Wat. The same earthern walls, a broad rampart alongside the unnavigable section of the Montgomery Canal in Wales. We were intrigued by the restoration efforts, so walked west from Maesbury Marsh, first along the towpath, then a footpad, until near Pant the dyke emerged.  These dykes date from the 8th C, I believe. From Pant we caught a bus to Oswestry, a fine regional centre, a shopping fix for both of us. The Cap'n has discovered a passion for uranium glass, scouring charity  shops, antique centres, his UV torch in hand. And now  has purchased a large case to pack it in, to get it home. A snap of our quiet mooring in Maesbury Marsh. A fine meal to be had at the Navigation Inn there, and supplies obtainable under an honour system from a small farm shop.