Kirby Hall is a mirage. Outwardly, it looks like smoke should be swirling up from the vast ornate chimney pots. The inside is hollowed out. Time has mercilessly swept through and taken the walls, paintings, furniture and the inhabitants, leaving just a whisper of its former glory. Do not despair. It is this time capsuled…
Tag: adventure
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Smoo Cave on the clearest of days
As we set out towards Durness the next morning, the mountains are still cloaked in the smoke of yesterday evening’s heather burnings. Smoo Cave is found just a little east of Durness. It is the clearest of days, yet the breeze over the cliff tops is enough to send our smaller children scattering and we…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – A little cottage near Scourie and a riverside adventure
We arrive at our holiday cottage, a little north of Scourie, in the late afternoon. It is early April and spring has sprung in the mountains. The little garden is carpeted with daffodils and, just beyond, a small wooden gate leads out to the river bank. The skies are still blue, and the trees are…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Loch Ness, Foyers, Urquhart Castle and Nairn
Our first full day in Scotland, early April 2019. We spend the morning in Aviemore, enjoying a hearty cooked breakfast of veggie sausages, mushrooms and potato scones before browsing the outdoor pursuits stores. With newly purchased OS maps of the North West Coastal footpaths and a lovely waterproof map holder for all-weather hiking, we are…
Travel Diaries: Following ancient footsteps up to spectacular views at Kenilworth Castle
When the sky is a near-cloudless blue, we feel the urge to climb and see rolling green fields stretching out for miles. It does not always have to be a mountain … an ancient tower will do just fine. Kenilworth has undertaken a huge renovation since our last visit a few years before. A vast…
Travel Diaries: Lincolnshire Tour – St George’s Day in Stamford
It’s like being on a film set. Stamford, on the border of Lincolnshire and Rutland, feels very familiar and has doubled for both George Elliot’s Middlemarch and the village of Meryton in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. On a gloriously sunny Saint George’s Day, we arrive early whilst the streets are still quiet. A short…
Almanac: A journey through the rhododendron labyrinth
Very early on Easter Sunday we visited the Labyrinth at Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire. At this time of day it was completely empty and we were able to listen to the birdsong all around us. We also took a video, so that you could travel into the centre of the rhododendron tunnels with…
Almanac: The Old Treehouses
Just a short journey from home there are vast acres of parkland, with rocky outcrops, banks of bracken, gentle streams and, near the top of one of the many rolling hills, a cluster of trees known in my family as “the treehouses.” These are ancient trees that are hollowed out with many years of rough…
Travel Diaries: Lake District Tour – The children’s first mountain
In 2016, the summer weather seemed endless, and we were still able to camp in the Lakes in late September. When the skies are this clear and blue in autumn, it’s time to get up into the mountains. This is our beloved Hobbit tent (so called because of the round door) A quick pause on…
Almanac: Finding the Sleeper Bridge
It strikes me that being the youngest of four boys is a tricky thing. You get swept up along with the rest of the family from the moment you arrive. So every few days, I like to take our youngest for a walk, just the two of us, and see where he chooses to go….
Almanac: The Secret Forest Rope Swing
I had to ask the children’s permission to share this with you, because this post gives away the existence of their secret forest rope swing… they’ve agreed, as long as you keep it to yourselves. In previous posts we’ve shown the farmland and woodlands that are right beside our home, whilst this is one of…
