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Stage 1: Arrival in Bilbao and onwards to Arenas de Cabrales
After having toyed with the idea of starting our journey by taking our own car and getting the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander, we ended up flying from Heathrow to Bilbao and hiring a car. Two reasons: slightly cheaper and much quicker. A twist of fate at the airport car hire site also meant that…
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Going round in circles – circumnavigating Spain
We are off on our travels again after yet another year confined to barracks. Curses to this tormenting virus. Even with the long awaited vaccines, it still continues to plague us. I hear you ask, why Spain? Good question – as many of you know it’s never been on my must see wish list. In…
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Wainwrights Achieved- 2 Brae Fell, Longlands Fell
Up earlyish to add 2, maybe 3 Wainwrights to the week’s collection. Another cold and cloudy day. Even the bionic man had run of enthusiasm by this time but neither of us voiced it, so off we went. The plan was do Brae and Longland Fells, (5 miles) then a drive over to Binsey Fell…
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Wainwrights achieved – 5 Gavel Fell, Blake Fell, Burnbank Fell, Fell Barrow, Low Fell
If you have a bad back and a dodgy knee, what do you do? Go for a 12 mile hike of course. And so it was that we went on a very uppy and downy walk, enough to test the fittest of knees and backs. After discovering that ice actually does help reduce inflammation and…
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Wainwrights achieved- 2 Carrock fell, High Pike
A slow start today, just made it in time to our second Wordsworth house this holiday. Dove Cottage is situated in Grasmere and is where William and his sister, Dorothy, set up home together. It’s a modest cottage but cosy and comfortable. I could imagine them sitting together after a bracing walk, writing poetry and…
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Wainwrights achieved- 1 Sale Fell
It was agreed that a less strenuous day was required so we decided to have a gander at Wordsworth’s birthplace, which just happens to be 5 minutes walk away from our abode. Run by the National Trust, it is immaculate and full of intriguing bits of information regarding Wordsworth’s life. Here, in a nutshell, are…
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Wainwrights Achieved- 1 (plus 2 others previously climbed) (Barf and Lord’s Seat – previously done) , Broom Fell – new
The omen has played out. Maybe we should have stayed in the bedroom. It would be a bit like Cell Block H by now but at least Steve’s back would be in better shape. His back and knee enjoyed a rest overnight and seemed ok this morning, so we set out on a walk that…
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Wainwrights Achieved – 5 (plus one previously done) Whiteside, Hopegill Head (this one didn’t count as we’ve done it before),Grasmoor, Wandope, Whiteless Pike and Rannerdale Knotts. 12 miles and 1200m ascent. North Western Fells.
At one point last night, it seemed as though a total of zero Wainwrights would be achieved as our bedroom door refused to open. Settling down for the night, a final visit to the bathroom before sleep was stymied by a malfunctioning door handle. Try as we might, it remained firmly locked. As you would…
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Walking the Wainwrights
I never imagined that I would be writing about travels in England but then again, I never imagined I would be forbidden to leave the UK and have to wear a mask every time I set foot in a shop. Crazy times. Still, you can’t keep a good woman down, so I shall try to…
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2021- There are no plans.
If 2020 taught me anything, it’s that planning and looking to the future is the road to insanity. Seizing the moment and looking back are fine. The video compilation of my travel photos my phone likes to send me each morning are received gratefully. A quick reminder of how life once was before settling back…
Middle-aged flash packers
The ramblings and wanderings of two middle-aged travellers up for adventure
- 2021 – There are no plans. Covid
- About
- Australia/Vietnam Revisited 2025
- Bulgaria – Roses and Trains 2025
- Cabo de Gata 2024
- Costa Rica 2015
- Escape to Italy 2017
- Going round in Circles – Circumnavigating Spain 2021
- Gran Canaria – The Isle of Dogs
- Greece – Pottering The Peloponnese 2021
- Into Africa – 2022
- Into Africa -November/December 2022
- Jordan Jaunts 2023
- Mini adventure in Northern Portugal – 2018
- Mission Triglav – Slovenia, Italy, France 2017
- My blog
- Myanmar and Thailand 2019
- Oman 2019
- Oz Odyssey – Australia, Fiji,Hawaii 2016
- Panama 2023
- Return of the Road Warriors – Europe revisited 2019 Liechenstein, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Germany
- Road Trip to Anywhere – France, Italy, ? 2022
- Roaming the Rhodope – Bulgaria
- Sicily wanderings – on the volcano trail
- Tea, Trains and Temples – A journey around Sri Lanka 2017
- Tenerife 2024
- The Grand Tour – Driving from UK to Turkey and back again 2015
- The Hills are Alive – Austria road trip September 2025
- The Silk Road – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan 2019
- Turkey – 2020
- Wainwrights Lake District UK part 2 2022 March
- Walking the Wainwrights part 1 – Lake District UK 2021
Middle-aged flash packers 