Autumn walk Maidenhead / Cookham 13 November 2016

On a gorgeous autumn day I joined the Ramblers for a walk from Maidenhead up through Widbrook Common and Cliveden Reach to Cookham. 

This a lovely part of the world and the weather played along with full, though not particularly warm, sunshine.   The footpaths in the countryside are a  legacy in which the Ramblers Association played a major part and to whom I mentally say thanks every time I walk out. Even now one of their roles is the protection and preservation of pathways throughout the United Kingdom.  This small island is so crowded with people but you can still manage to get out in to great open spaces because of this network.

Widbrook Common, cows, the Thames (hidden in the trees) and historic Cliveden on the opposite bank.

Slanting light and the contrails of ubiquitous airplanes.

 
It had rained for a couple of days beforehand so there was mud. The mud in England is a bit like the South Easter in Cape Town. I know, how is that possible?  You forget... the part of the brain that endures the discomfort forgets! And then, it's back and you're thinking "how is it even possible to forget the awfulness of this?" By the time you get home, your boots weigh more than twice what they started out as.  And the cleaning of them!  The best you can hope for is a couple of puddles before the end of the walk and a good swish around. You don't even want to think about slipping and falling!  Too awful to contemplate.  Remember, there are cows in this field.

So, step carefully, but take the time to see the beauty.

Then into the pretty little village of Cookham and time for a banana (or preferably chocolate) break at the War Memorial.

We didn't actually walk through the village so I'll save that for another post, but headed back to the path alongside the Thames and down to Maidenhead. Not so much mud here, but watch out for the leaves, after rain they can be slippery.

Opposite is Cliveden Reach which is National Trust and where you can hire boats to hang out on the river.

I don't know if this island does have a name but it should probably be called Duck Island.

The wooden statue of Richard Dimbleby outside his house catches you unawares - he's quite creepy actually.  I wonder what he would think of it?

Then we were done.

Windsor Great Park 6 November 2016

The days are so short in the UK now that during the week it's hard to believe there is a world out there, so on weekends it's absolutely necessary to get outside. Today started off quite sunny and quite chilly - no frost yet, but you still need warm gear.  I wanted to see some autumn colour so I thought I'd head out to Windsor Great Park.  Parking at the Cranbourne Gate I walked into the park. On a slight rise you look down to Windsor Castle dominating the landscape.

Bonfires gently smoking brought such a strong sense of the season. That and the slanting light are so evocative.

There are quite a few people around but nothing like the hurly-burly of summer. Plenty of space to breathe.

 
Horses, of course, and you may even see the Queen.

But not today  ..

Just a younger version at the end of Queen Anne's Ride on the Jubilee Statue.

The Park is an interesting place in that as well as a major tourist attraction, it is a working estate with a farm and a small village. People, besides the royal family, live and work here. There is no entrance fee to the park, except for the Savill Garden, though from 1 December to 28 February, even that is waived.

I had intended to walk to Virginia Water but found that was a bit ambitious. It's a couple of hours walk, probably around 7 miles - one way!

I'd seen the leaves and the weather was closing in so I admitted defeat  and headed back to the village.

Passing the Copper Horse in the distance.

I stopped for coffee at the Post Office and Village Shop but there were no cream scones on offer at this time of the year, I had to make do with shortbread - good enough though.

The birds had to make do with a few apples left in a tree rapidly divesting itself of leaves and fruit.
Do squirrels eat apples I wonder?

The coffee hit the spot but it took a swift walk back to the car before the rains came down. Just made it!

Franschhoek 22 October 2016

All good things end, sadly. But to end on such a high note was consolation of a kind. And what a treat it was to be invited to La Cotte House by Dom and Helen and also to be invited to the opening exhibition of John Newdigate's Square Clouds in a High Sky ceramics exhibition at Ebony Gallery.

For the non South African readers, Franschhoek is a village about 75km from Cape Town situated in the middle of the most beautiful mountains. The village was founded by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in the 1600's and is surrounded by historical vineyards which are still producing wonderful wines to this day.  Even before the Huguenots of course were the Khoi and the San Bushmen, descendents of whom still live in the valley along with the descendents of the French families.

On a grey and wet morning we arrived at La Cotte House which has recently been renovated and restored to, surely more than, it's past glory by Dom and his team.

Luxurious and stylish, definitely, but never intimidating and always comfortable.  To spend time here with a group of friends or family - you could not ask for a more accommodating and effortlessly friendly weekend destination.  Have a look at the website - www.lacottefarm.com - you'll see what I mean.

The sun soon came out and the rest of the guests arrived for lunch. Delicious food, lots of wine, great conversation, a lot of laughter.

A quick walk around the farm to see the work in progress Forest Cottages, then it was time to head into Franschhoek.  On the farm you feel as though you are far from civilisation but in reality, it's a quick 5 minute drive into the village.

John's work is magnificent!  I have some pieces from years back and I'm going to hold on to them!  They will be (are already) collector's pieces. That evening we grilled him about his methods and suffice to say - Unique! Want to see more - http://www.johnnewdigate.com/

It was lovely to see some old friends and to meet some new ones. More champagne was drunk - obligatory in Franschhoek.

Back to the farm and in time for the beautiful evening light.

Sigh ...

The next day we made a quick stop at Boschendal for lunch and a walk around on a very hot day before heading back to Cape Town and a flight back to the cold the next day.

Thank you my friends! Next year in Greece?

Happy Birthday! 20 October 2016

Happy birthday Kate and Dayne!  Dayne is on the other side of the planet though so we had to do this without her.  We missed you!

If you're a South African and in Cape Town on your birthday, Table Mountain gives you a free trip up the mountain in the cable car - isn't that cool?  My tip though, don't go early! I know that's contrary to popular wisdom, but the queues early in the day are horrendous - we waited in the sun for 2 hours. Not fun.  They have great staff who jolly you along, take photos, find out where you're from (my guess that day 90% were foreign) - good move Cable Car Co, diffuses all that irritation.  It's just such a popular destination and the tourists are up early. By the time we got down at about 2.30pm, there was no queue to speak of.

But when you get up there! The views are breathtaking.  The trip up only takes a couple of minutes and each of the 2 cable cars carries 65 passengers (800 an hour, so you can just imagine how long the queue was). The floor of the cable car rotates so you get to see all sides.

If you extend your walk a little bit further than the cable car station, you will see Cape Town laid out for you. It's a really good way of getting your bearings in Cape Town, specially when you realise that it's not just one mountain, but a whole range.

 

The spring flowers are almost over but we did find some arum lilies amongst the rocks.

And the Rock Hyrax was looking for friends  They are ridiculously friendly because visitors tend to feed them but they are wild animals.

Initially we had thought that we would walk down, but the long wait in the queue meant we were running late and when we got to the spot overlooking Platteklip Gorge - see the faint zig-zag path  leading down the middle of the photo? I was very happy that we were taking the cable car down.

 

Happy birthday my darling children!