Various summer stuff (a catch-up!)

Just thought I would do a round-up of a few bits we've done over the summer.....

We did a couple of visits to places in East Anglia to tie in with staying with my mum and dad, the first being a few days break in July. On the way to their place we went to the impressive Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, then onto Saxmundham. The next day we went to the stunning North Norfolk coast, a definite favourite of ours. We drove up through the county in rather windy weather, first to Cromer to sort out a walking map and to have a look around (we adore Cromer!), then onto Wells-Next-the-Sea to have a look around the old harbour area. We then went back along the coast through the pretty village of Stiffkey and stopped off to do a circular walk from and to Blakeney Harbour, through the saltmarshes and via Cley, where there is a famous windmill. Shame about the rain that came on at Cley, but never mind -it was a showery day. Lastly, we stopped of on the shingle beach at Salthouse and then onto Sheringham before heading home.

The next day we did a coastal walk from Gorleston-on-Sea to Lowestoft which was wonderful. We started the walk from Gorleston-On-Sea cliffs and then down to the beach, and headed south along the coast. Between Hopton and Corton we had to leave the beach due to coastal erosion, and then head along inland, via Corton's partly ruined church. On the other side of Corton we found a nice area of protected woodland right next to the Pleasurewood Hills theme park (you could hear the screams from the rides!) It was really fun exploring that, especially when we found the lovely pond with the ducks. We found ourselves back on the beach and walked along this for a while before making our way into Lowestoft town centre, first to do a bit of shopping and then catch the bus back to Gorleston. Great walk of about 7 miles on a lovely day!

On the following Sunday, having driven back home the day before, we went over to Shropshire to climb the Wrekin Hill (near Telford.) It was a lovely walk through the trees to the summit, where there are good views over the countryside. We hope to go back there one day, as there are many more paths to explore. Then, as a 'spur of the moment' choice, we drove over to Ironbridge. Having eventually found a parking space, we got out and had a look around the town, and (of course) photographed the famous bridge in the hot afternoon sun. The town was packed with day trippers - not surprising really, as it is a world heritage site and definitely on the tourist trail.

On our second trip to my parent's, we were able to visit Burgh Castle - the site of the Roman town - near Gorleston. Looks like we could do some good country walking around there on another trip.

We also did another fun country walk locally one weekend in the summer, in the countryside outside of Nuneaton, to Caldecote Hall and back along the Coventry canal. We were also lucky enough to visit the Battle of Bosworth re-enactment day again this year.

In August, we went for a little summer break on the Yorkshire coast. We stayed in a fantastic apartment in a converted barn on a farm near to Bridlington. It was so quiet out there! We did a lot of country walking on the trip, the first being around Flamborough Head, a very scenic area of coast that juts out into the North Sea near Bridlington. This was wonderful: a quiet coastal path, lots of sea birds, stunning views along the cliffs, fresh sea air, and bright skies. We also visited Whitby (what an amazing and interesting town that is - doing the Dracula walk was brilliant!) and then walked back along the clifftops to Robin Hood's Bay along the Cleveland Way. It was a gorgeous day, very hot and sunny and the North sea was a clear deep blue. The cliff views were stunning - shame about the bugs though! Robin Hood's Bay is quirky place, an old fishing village that marches down the steep cliffs to the sea. We also went to Filey Bay (good to walk along the Filey Brigg, and the town was great,) Bempton Cliffs (alas, no puffins on view!) and to Scarborough town and castle - bought some seaside rock for my work pals. Another walk we did was in the countryside on the edge of the North York Moors just outside Scarborough, which was fun even though the weather was very up and down. A pretty wooded river valley, open countryside and sheep!

We also visited Castle Howard (on the way up there) and Bolsover Castle (on the way back) I liked both, but I think Bolsover had far more character, maybe because it was partly ruined and older. Also, on the way back we stopped on in the market town of Beverley (very pretty and surpisingly olde worlde) and then had lunch by the river in the village of North Cave. What a wonderful trip!

A couple of weeks after that we went back up to Derbyshire to visit Hardwick Hall and gardens, which were very interesting, but disappointing, as the hall's very famous windows (rare at the time of construction in the 1500's) were partially covered up to protect the tapestries! Oh well. The walk down to the fish ponds was good, and we got some lovely photos.
Oh, the Mrs. passed her driving test first time, and drove us up to Hardwick! :) Well done, Carla!
There are some photos of this on Carla's blog entry here.

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I went to the London Film and Comic Con at the end of July, which was great as I got to catch up with some old friends amongst the film and TV celebrities and stalls selling merchandise. I managed to get some autographs for a friend. Then, the weekend after there was the annual "Star Wars" fan 'park meet', in London's Hyde Park. Not a big turn out this year, but a fun and relaxing time had by all. It was good that Carla was able to come with me this year.

I haven't seen many films at the cinema since "Transformers 2", but I did go and see the excellent "District 9" when I was at my parent's place the other weekend. I went with my pal Kevin who (like me) enjoys his sci-fi movies. We saw it at the Hollywood cinema Great Yarmouth. I loved the film and was particularly impressed with what they did with a small budget - the animation on the aliens was brilliant. The week before, Carla and her work pals went to see "Julie and Julia" which she enjoyed. See here, and Joe's review here.

A visit to West Stow Saxon village.

On the way to my parent's place for a weekend visit in late February, we visited the Saxon village re-construction and museum at West Stow in Suffolk. It was a bright and sunny day, so it was nice to see something in the countryside, and in this case an attraction that was easy to get to as it was just a little way off our main route.

The site is made up of a museum (split into two parts - the smaller one highlighting archeological finds presented in order of 'era', and the larger one featuring fascinating examples of everyday items, clothing and weapons,) a restaurant which we didn't bother with, and the (obligatory) shop selling the usual tourist trinkets. The buildings these are in look relatively new. A short walk into a large field at the back of the museum complex are the re-creations of a village from saxon times, constructed near to the site of many important finds. This comprises of several huts constructed over a few years from the early 1970's, and they are very well done. The wooden huts show how the common people lived in post Roman Britain - it must have been tough, cold and dirty! A female saxon re-enactor was in one of the huts, showing traditional cooking techniques. Wow, that smoke got us in the throat! Ugh. One hut was constucted half buried in the ground, based on a theory from archeologists of the early 1970's - something I believe has now been discarded.

Also when we visited, they were doing a "Lord of the Rings" day to entertain the kids for half-term, hence the few Middle Earth re-enactors wandering around in costume. Up the hill near to the huts, there was archery being demonstrated, and here and there a few children and tired-looking parents could be found participating in a Middle Earth style quiz. I guess they had to find clues around the estate or something.

We found some chickens and cockrels wandering around behind the back of the museum, and they were fantastic! Thankfully they posed long enough for me to get a photo or two.

The site is located in the middle of an attractive country park, which is open to the public free of charge. It will be pleasant to go back when the weather is a little walmer, so we can do some easy walking around the attractive woodland paths and see the lake. Also, there are plenty of places to have a picninc lunch!

A nice diversion on a little weekend break by the sea!

The Incredible Hulk, Omen, and some travelling around.

Three Sundays ago we went with our pal Hannah to see "The Incredible Hulk", which I'm happy to report was very good actually! Like "Iron Man", Marvel have made an entertaining summer blockbuster that features a great leading actor, this time Edward Norton as the scientist/rampaging green monster thing Bruce Banner. It was interesting to see the "Iron Man" link, with the cameo from Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) at the end. Some great visuals and a very watchable cast.

DVD wise, we are nearly through the "Omen" box set, which has been *fab*, with the exception of "Omen IV" which we turned off in about ten minutes -- it's a really dull TV movie with no budget and no class. Oh well. We'll watch the 2006 remake sometime this week. We also saw "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" which is a brainless comedy about Nascar racing, but we love Will Ferrell so it was pretty fun to watch! Sacha Baron Cohen is very bizarre as the French Grand Prix driver; his performance heavily influenced by Adam Sandler I feel.

A couple of weekends ago I drove down to my pal Gary's place in Essex. Quite an achievement as this was my first "big" drive! 2 1/2 hours each way on the motorways, thankfully they were pretty clear traffic wise. We saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the lovely old South Woodford Odeon and did a few other schlubby things at the house: eat, watch tv etc. It was nice to see him and Martin again. Martin is doing a great job with the garden.

Last weekend, Carla and I did another big drive, this time over to the Norfolk coast to see my parents. After all of these years on the train, I drove it and it was fine. Apart from doing some fun things near to my parent's place, such as a walk on Gorleston sea front and taking my father down to Yarmouth sea front (to see the construction of the new outer harbour) we visited Southwold (pic is of me on the pier) a pretty little town on the Suffolk coast, and then on the way back to here on Monday we stopped off in a couple of towns on the route: Beccles and Bury St. Edmunds. The Abbey gardens/ruins and the cathedral in Bury St. Edmunds were awe inspiring. Lovely part of the town that was! Thankfully, we had clear sunny weather all weekend. We will definitely go back there!