On the Road Again!

The gardens and castle only opened the day before went for our regular look to see what was happening in the garden. It was quieter than expected and we took the car rather than the bike (no MoT!). Excellent weather in the end! Somehow I managed to take 161 pics on the day! Most of them aren't very good and will never see the light of day but there were a few decent ones. Exactly what digital cameras bring to the world. Sissinghurst Castle & Gardens , originally uploaded by Devaldinho . I tried the above to see what sepia looked like. I took one in colour as well and decided this one looked a bit better. Sissinghurst Castle & Garden , originally uploaded by Devaldinho . Above are the oast houses right by the entrance in front of the castle main entrance. This set are quite spectacular as they have both the more common round oast and the square ones. In its heyday the farm must have provided tons and tons of malt from these oasts. Sissinghurst Castle & G...

Something of a disappearing style of "fast food" being overtaken by foreign imports. The traditional food of Londoners is sadly on the decline but real purveyors still exist. Two can be found in Islington and geographically not that far apart. Whilst all around them the trendification goes on in leaps and bounds, Clarkes in Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell is still there. Their neighbours are no longer local shops for local people but imported coffee shops and the paraphernalia of the more money than sense set. "I saw you coming" couldn't be more apt. Luckily the oasis that is Clarkes is there for is that like to keep at least in touch with our heritage. The other Islington Pie & Mash shop is Manzies in Chapel Market. A stone's throw from Upper Street and its New Labour connotations; all trendy with no real foundations.  Honest grub for the working class or indeed anyone not afflicted with vegetarianism!  When I mention heritage. My ...

Flatford Mill , originally uploaded by pauldevall . At the weekend we had a trip to a couple of NT sites after visiting Claire's Dad. The first was Flatford and this is my view of the Mill across the river. John Constable painted his version from a different angle and of course, in 1817 there was slightly less undergrowth and trees to contend with. This is Bridge Cottage , and this is the first building you come to after parking your car or, in our case, motorcycle in the official car-park. To protect the area, only residents are allowed to drive down the narrow lane that leads to the river. The site is owned by the National Trust and Bridge Cottage and red tiled building next door (the shop and restaurant) are open to the public. The Mill itself is leased to a Field Study Centre as it Willy Lotts Cottage, also the subject of a John Constable painting. The other place we were going to see is Bourne Mill in Colchester, but the satnav managed to take us all round Colchester and faile...

As we were still on holiday we had a drive out to Dover, one stop for a look around the Castle, and another to have lunch and sit above the Eastern Approaches to read in the sun in the White Cliffs Park. If you are members of English Heritage or The National Trust, both would be free, if not, the Castle is £9.50 each and to park on the top of the White Cliffs is £1.50 per vehicle. Although I have lived near Dover for many years, it's not a place I frequent very often, mainly to leave from the ferry terminal! So this was my first visit to the Castle. The roots go back to the Saxons for a fort and the church, and to the Romans for the " Pharos " (pic 3). Most of the work was done in the 13th centrury by Maurice, the engineer that Henry II entrusted to build the castle on the site of earlier fortifications. There was a tidy up in time for Henry VIII's in 1539, when the castle was seen to be old and rather out of fashion. It was of course 300 years old by then. It was giv...

. After we got back from Austria we had a few days off and on one we went to Dover Castle, on another to Sissinghurst . Here are a few of the pics I took with my Nikon Coolpix 8700, mostly on fully auto, but some, like the bee, using the pre-set close-up "mode".