Brockenhurst

When we arrived back in Brockenhurst we walked around the charming little town, jam packed with tea rooms and small shops. We stopped for a new forest ice cream and took a stroll. The New Forest is well known for its ponies which being a rare breed are allowed to roam the area freely which means that they meander at will through the town. Many houses had gate or cattle grates to keep the horses off their lawn but horse dropping along the sidewalk proved that they took full advantage of their freedom. We saw a number of ponies on public greens and they often enjoy stopping traffic by crossing or even standing in the roads. They were quite tame and let us pet them. It was a lovely little town with a great atmosphere. We took a different route through the New Forest to get to Fareham, passing through a dark wood, moors, ponds and even a castle. I would love to go back and spend the day bicycling through the many small paths of the forest. It was a lovely trip with great company.

Bournemouth

Saturday, August 30 - as the "summer" draws to a close Ian and went to spend the weekend with our friends Emma and Dave. We took the train from Bristol to South Hampton where Emma and Dave picked us up. We drove to through the New Forest to the Brockenhurst train station and took the train to Bournemouth. A beach town, Bournemouth is a bit like Bristol set along the coast. The city itself wasn't very thrilling but there was a lovely park and long sandy beaches. We arrived at the station and walked through the city and park to the beach where we stopped to have fish 'n chips. It was a good meal despite the wait and the heat. There was a air show at Bournemouth this weekend and it was estimated that 1/4 million people had been through the city on Saturday. We could see some of the air demonstrations from the restaurant and we were refreshed from our travel by the food and lots of water. After lunch we walked along the cliffs taking in the air show. We made our way down to the beach and sat on the sand to watch the wing walkers perform. We stuck our feet in the water and watched the day's final performance of military parachuters landing on the beach. We then made our way back to the train station and back to Brockenhurst.

Discovery Channel International Balloon Fiesta

Friday 8 August, Ian and I packed a picnic lunch of chicken, pasta salad, ginger beer and fresh baked blackberry crumble with cream and marched up to the park above the Clifton suspension bridge to view the launch of the balloons. The launch was delayed about half an hour but it was fascinating to watch the balloons emerge from behind the trees and pass by the bridge and eventually out of site. I counted 107 balloons. There were lots of lovely colours as well as some unusual shapes including a chicken, a kiwi, a fire extinguisher and a monster. The entire launch took about two hours and was fun to watch despite the cool breeze and cloudy skies. On Saturday we hiked over to Ashton Court to check out the launch site and the ground festivities. There were lots of carnival rides and games but not much was appealing since it was pouring. They cancelled the launch for that night as well as the following night launch due to weather conditions so it was fortunate that we saw the launch on Friday.

Lynton and Lynmouth

The final destination on our coastline trip were the twin towns of Lynton (at the top of the hill) and Lynmouth (at the bottom of the hill, on the oceanfront). These two quaint historic towns have loads of character. Lynmouth feels like a small seaside resort town with lots of ice cream shops, toy shops and souvenir shops. The upper town has it share of shops too but also more sophisticated restaurants and galleries. We walked up the hill to Lynton but took the famous cliff railway back down to the bottom. Lynton has lovely views of the beaches and surrounding cliffs while Lynmouth has access to the mostly rocky beaches. We walked along the water and I collected some lovely seaglass and a few shells before we had an ice cream and then started the return journey.

Moor to Sea

Along the coast Ian took us to a road way up on a hill top which over looked the ocean. On the road we couldn't see much but fields with sheep, cows and exmoor ponies on one side of the road and moors full of heather and gorse on the other. However, when we got to the end of the road there was an amazing view of the water and cliffs surrounded by woods and moors. We tramped around a few muddy trails and enjoyed the view before hunger got the better of us and we went in search of the town of Porlock (of Coleridge fame) and lunch.

Along the Coast

Thursday 8 August. We drove along the coast passing through a number of lovely towns with thatched roof cottages and spectacular views. We stopped at Dunster, a quaint town with a lovely castle and gardens. Gardening seems to be the pastime in Dunster and many of the private gardens were overflowing with blooms. There are also public gardens and a very charming garden outside the church. Close by the church garden is an old abandoned dove cote. The town is also known for its medieval yarn market stall which still stands on the high street. We walked around the town and visited a number of the shops before continuing our journey.

Into Wales

Wednesday 7 August. We rented a car for a couple of Days to take Marty around England. We stopped at Tintern Abbey first, which was lovely and serene as always. We were lucky with the weather and I was able to sit and sketch in the sun while Ian and his mother wandered around. After visiting the abbey we stopped at the Tintern Abbey Train stop which is no longer on the railway route but which has been converted into an activity center complete with tea house, shop, and walking trails. We had sweets at the cafe and then meandered around one of the walking trails. There were some lovely views of the river and the surrounding countryside. From Tintern we made our way to Crickhellow, a lovely little town renowned for its 13 arch bridge. Crickhellow also has the remnants of a castle and a number of lovely buildings decked out in summer flowers. We stopped for a while to pick blackberries from some brambles near the castle which I later made into a crumble. We journeyed on through a few more towns before making our way back to Bristol.

A Visit to Bath

On Tuesday August 5 Ian and I took his mother to Bath for the day. We wandered around the park and saw some lovely plantings and then poked around the sites and shops of Bath. Unfortunately the weather was not great and it rained most of the day. In the Evening we went to a concert at St. Mary Redcillfe's featuring performers from Texas and New Jersey.

Big Bang

The crowning event of the Harbourside Festival is the Fireworks. This display was one of the best I have ever seen. The show had both aerial fireworks and displays from on the ground. The explosions went off over the water of the Quay and behind the large industrial cranes and the masts of the visiting tall ships. It was well coordinated and synchronized to music. It was a great way to end the evening.

Bristol Harbour Festival

The weekend of Aug 2-3 is the EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival. The Festival is a free family event with several stages for music and dancing as well as a circus stage and street performances. Ian and I went down fairly early, 11:30 on Saturday to scope out the stages and booths along the harbourside. After meandering about for a bit we went to the cirque bijou stage where we watched a trapeze act, dance, Chinese pole act and a fantastic aerial silk performance. We then went to see the infamous Morris dancers. We have been hearing a lot about Morris dancing which is a traditional type of dancing in England done by men wearing bells on their legs and involving wooden sticks or handkerchiefs. The performance was quite entertaining and the dancer who introduced each dance was quite funny. There was also a traditional horse character, crack, which circled the audience, snapping his jaws and p laying with the crowd. Later in the afternoon Ian and I went back to the festival to see some musical performances. We saw Beth Rowley, a Bristol native who recently released an album and an energetic Irish band called Sheenaigans.

Le Pouligan

Technically the town we were staying in was Le Pouligan, not La Baule proper. And while less glamorous Le Pouligan has a more charm and character. The port town has a very nice promenade with both tradition bretagne food and gifts as well as fair food and games. Ian and I went to watch the making of a taffy like candy, which is pulled, twisted and put on a stick like a lollipop, and I bought one that was chocolate and pistachio flavored. On our last night in France we walked up the promenade and took a ride on the lovely old fashioned carousel. Le Pouligan has a lovely town center and market as well as a distinctive church tower which has large rectangular section cut out so that one can see the sky through the tower.

Guerande

Guerande is a medieval walled city, it was one of my favorite places to visit when we were living in France. When we visited this time a few of the shops had changed and the summer market was much larger than the winter/spring ones. The church in the heart of the city had also placed a number of sculptures around its exterior which illuminated the history and culture of the area. When visiting Guerande, Ian and I would often visit a particular patisserie for sweets, on this trip we picked up some chocolate souris (mice) made of a ganache with almond slice ears.

salt marshes

The area where we were staying is known for its salt production. The sea salt is what makes the butter and the local caramels so delicious. Ian and I often visited the salt marshes when we were living in La Baule so we decided to taking a relaxing bike ride through them while on holiday. We saw lots of herons in the water as well as fish trapped in the slat beds and channels. Piles of salt were out to dry on the clay and we watched the tourists take tours around the marshes by foot, by car and by horse cart.

a gallop on the beach

Although, for the most part, we had fantastic weather there were two days that the rain bucketed down for most of the day. The first day was the day of the big reunion dinner so plans weren't interrupted too much as we spent most of the day getting ready. The second rainy day was the day that we planned to go for a ride on the beach. It poured most of the day and we spent our time reading and playing cards. However, by the time we were to go to the stables the rain had stopped and the sky cleared. Because of the rain most of the people cancelled their ride so only three of us went out with the stable leader. We got to walk, trot and gallop on the beach and in the water as the tide went out and the sun was setting. It was great fun to be on a horse again. At the far end of the beach we encountered a massive jellyfish (about the size of a laundry basket) washed up on the beach. Although Ian and I were quite sore the next few days, it was well worth it.

Sunshine and gentle breezes

Ian often goes sailing when he holidays in France and he was eager to go again this trip. I was a bit nervous because the boats are like small catamarans and can possibly tip over. However, we had a lovely sail, we had alight wind so that we were never stopped in the water but never a wind that was too strong or dangerous. It was wonderful to clip along over the waves and get a different view of the bay as well as see all the other lovely boats out on the water.

Continental adventures

One morning while walking to the market in Le Pouligan, we came across a festival for St. Anne. There was a procession with bagpipes, traditional dress and an icon of St. Anne, progressing through the streets with churchgoers following and singing in unison. It was quite an interesting event. Leaving the market, we came across a group of traditionally dressed Bretagne dancers who were playing instruments, singing and dancing. The costumes were lovely and can be seen recreated in a the Quimper style pottery that is sold everywhere in the region.

a goûter of Brittany

One of the greatest pleasures of France is visiting the markets. There is something so appealing about smelling all the fresh vegetables, meat, cheese, seafood, bread and cakes as well as hearing the hustle and bustle of the stall owners and the shoppers. The colours are textures of the market are lush and diverse. We visited at least three separate markets while in France and even bought fresh oysters at one for lunch.

across the channel

On July 24 Ian and I got our flight out of Bristol and landed in Dinard, France. His parents picked us up at the airport and we made the two and a half hour drive to La Baule. The weather was warm and sunny with a pleasant breeze. It was so relaxing to watch the fields pass, full of grass, hay bales, vegetables and flowers. We spent the week in La Baule enjoying the beach and the sun as well as great food and drink.