20/8/26 The Lizard

 

  Today we head to The Lizard - the southern most point of England .This part of England is quite spectacular , with rugged coastal cliffs and great views , rolling countryside and a reasonable climate due to the surrounding ocean keeping the climate a bit more stable - if that's possible 🤔 We followed some roads and took a couple of diversions to reach Housel Bay and the resort , which we parked in for a few minutes . Even down here beside the water , it's dry and parched , not it's normal green .

We drove back into Lizard - that's the town - and down Lighthouse Rd to a parking area . It is under the control of the the National Trust , so we got free parking and entry with our National Trust membership . There's walking trails here ( there's walking trails everywhere in UK ) that lead down to the cafe and also along the cliff tops , going in both directions .

It's certainly a rugged coastline here and we did spot some Grey Seals in the water , they were just there with their heads sticking out of the water - probably looking up at all the tourists .

The road down to the cafe also went further down to a lifeboat station , it certainly was a steep track !

We came back up and thought we'd have a look at the lighthouse , but no , it's now holiday rentals only .

There's plenty of narrow little lanes around this part of England , thankfully we didn't meet anyone on this one .

Along the coast a little further is the Devils Frying Pan 

And for a size comparison , a small boat cruised in and back out again .

There were great views of the coast as we drove along , there weren't too many places where you could stop & have a decent look though .

Continuing on , we headed to Falmouth and Pendennis Point . There's a Coast watch building , then a round turret which is part of Pendennis Castle .

   Back down in Falmouth to Castle Beach - we didn't see much beach , appeared to be a lot of rock shelf .

Falmouth Hotel is on the right , with further accomodation all along Cliff Road . 

 Another interesting habit in the UK , if you need to park , it doesn't seem to matter which direction you're driving , you just park , so you end up with parked cars facing all directions !

That was our day in Cornwall , more to see yet . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19VTMVb-FdPtZ_zXxmD0FBKu3qjCpFCU&usp=sharing

19/8/26 Croyde , Woolacombe & Barnstaple

   After a nice breakfast at the mill , we headed off again toward Croyde , a small town on the coast that's popular with surfers and people wanting a beach break when the sun comes out . This is the view from Croyde Rd toward Lunde Island .

This is Saunton Beach , complete with beach huts and a reasonable crowd - most in the water .

The winding narrow road took us down to Croyde Beach , Croyde is a holiday destination and seems to cater mainly to campers with about 8 campgrounds . There are also cabins and houses/ apartments for rent as well . Normally a quiet little village otherwise .

Parking seemed non existent where we were , apart from caravan / camping areas , so we continued on to Woolacombe . This is Woolacombe from the top of the hill on our way in .

Again , the parking was well away from where we wanted to look , so we continued on to the next little village . This is Woolacombe Beach .

 Some of the beach houses in Woolacombe .

This is The Castle , at Woolacombe , you can stay here .

Next village is Morthoe , the narrow streets continue and you have to be prepared to give way at short notice .

This is a section of the road back to Woolacombe .

Due to the popularity and lack of parking of the beach areas , we headed back to Barnstaple for some lunch . Finding some parking beside the river , we found a cafe and grabbed a table . Parking in the UK is mainly paid parking - doesn't matter if it's a paddock or bitumen , its user pays !! We ordered a couple of toasted sandwiches  - bacon, brie & cranberries . It also came with some salad , and was delicious .

Barnstaple is beside the River Taw , and Long Bridge in the next photo is the same bridge that was first built across the river - it was 10ft wide , but has been widened a few times since being built in the 1300's - yes that was 1300's , been there a long time .

   And with lunch done , we drove out over Long bridge and headed to St Austell to our accomodation for the next 4 nights . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1euGKEoGFL95NF_a7pokKsmbVBf0cTNw&usp=sharing

18/8/26 Mere & Chard

 

     Back from Oslo , we stayed with Justin & Isla for a week before we hired a car and disappeared again . This time we headed toward Cornwall , it was driving on motorways , so 2 lanes either way and traffic was busy but not bad . Then we slowed to a crawl , the dual lanes disappeared and became one each way . We were about 3klms from Stone Henge , we thought we'd have a look , but then changed our mind when we saw all the traffic and the amount of people walking around . Luckily for us we were going slow enough to get some photo's as we passed slowly by .

After the traffic started moving again we turned off the motorway and went to the little town of Mere for a toilet break and some lunch . Parking in the carpark , we wandered up the road to the shops . Skinny roads, narrow footpaths , and old houses & shopfronts - this was what we wanted to look at - some typical old english towns .

The road led round to a square with a town clock , a couple of hotels , supermarket and a couple of specialty shops . Nice flower beds and a tidy place as well , some tudor style buildings as well .

We grabbed some sandwiches and sat in the alcove below the clock to eat them . We checked out the church , then found another one on our way back to the car .

Heading back down the road , we decided that we wouldn't go too much further and found somewhere to stay . We found an old flour mill that's now used as a wedding / function centre , and also uses the rooms for just our purpose . The old flour mill was a large building that they added rooms to , they kept the old rafters as a point of interest - also a good hazard - a good head banger if you weren't watching . The owner  showed us our room , via several sets of stairs & doorways , being very vigilant every time we had to duck. Then he showed us our room , suggesting I sleep on one side of the bed to avoid the beam running through the room , when using the ensuite . We tried sleeping on the other side of the bed once many , many years ago - it didn't work then and we aren't going back for a 2nd attempt !! Here's the room with the beam running through it .

The grounds surrounding the old mill were great , a stream was running down the edge , there were paths running around the pond , a small fountain was bubbling away at one end in a mixture after trees & lawns.

 

There were some nice roses around the gardens as well .

Heading into Chard for dinner , we stopped at one hotel and went in , they didn't do meals . Another hotel in the main street , same deal no meals - it was Tuesday and just after 7pm . Tried another up the street , same response , up to another one , yes sorry no meals till Wednesday to Saturday . Oh well across the road and down to the chinese takeaway - they weren't greatly interested in, but took our money and gave us what we ordered . Back to the mill and our dinner . This is the main street of Chard.

 Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1wxfS4bAjiJJTrLO1iCwP5F5K8Fdx_0Y&usp=sharing

9/8/26 Fram Museum

 

     Today we head to the Fram Museum . It involves , trams & ferries , and some walking . The Fram was the ice breaker ship use by Roald Amundsen during his Arctic & Antarctic expeditions . It was very busy with people everywhere . It was a good day for museums today , the wind was atrocious , making anything outside very cold & uncomfortable . 

There were some good exhibits and lots of information .

   After all we've done this week , it was hard to get motivated and involved . The extra people didn't help either , but we persevered and went across into another building to check out the old plane they used to explore with - scary stuff . These guys were certainly pioneers and adventurers , putting themselves out there and exploring these places . There's also a few other museums nearby , a maritime museum , the Kon tiki Museum , Viking Ship Museum & Norwegian Museum of Cultural History . We were all done with museums and headed back to the apartment .

8/7/26 Akershus Fortress & Pixel Forest

   Off to have a look at the fortress today , it's near the ferry terminals and perched up on a hill overlooking a lot of harbour . After a couple of trams and a walk , we found these old phone boxes , one had a book exchange in it . Lyn & Isla decided to have a look .

Then Justin joined in as well .

Just down the street a little , we came across a square with colourful buildings , a fountain & cobblestone streets .

The fountain certainly was a little different , can't quite put my finger on it though - Isla can 😂

Continuing on to the fortress we came to this building , certainly a challenge for the bricklayers .

The other end of the building was as well .

From one of the walls , we got to look down to these murals on a harbourside building .

We went past the entrance to the fortress to have a look around and found another archway leading down to the harbour , our intrepid leader headed down this pathway .

 

Multiple materials have been used here over the years , stone & brick on the base then other bricks that were available later .

Certainly had good foundations .

Here's the variety of bricks used .

There were cannons located down here as well - these ones have seen some action , judging by the bullet holes in the barrels !!😲

More buildings form part of the fortress , the ones in the middle are still in use by the military , and were out of bounds .

In amongst the starkness of the fortress and the out buildings was this garden area with a large splash of colour .

We then went through the fortress - not sure the difference between a fortress & a castle , but inside was done quite well , with furniture and tapestries on show .

We finished off at the fortress and headed back to the apartment , checking out the murals nearby .

The eye's have it .

Sunset later was good as we had some dinner before our next adventure .

 

Back down to the tram stop and up to the sculpture park again , this time we headed up the hill further , not before a look down to the city .

On the way up there's this one , she must of frozen here while checking her phone - what have we got ourselves into 😉

More sculptures as we go - what you can do with a slab of marble .

Her gaze never faltered , another victim of the forest ????

Then we found it - The Pixel Forest - a light installation deep in the forest above .

The lights change to the music creating a mystical performance.

Isla loved it .

After a while we headed back down , going past the installation of illuminated underpants .

We again walked down the track leading back to the apartment , which was a real treat at night .

   That was our day , turned out to be quite a full day , here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1YjCpKEjWqISva65poGzftwT2A6coVho&usp=sharing