Highcliffe 🇬🇧

A day at the beach.  Huge beach walk with views to the Isle of Wight 😊

Happy dogs

Happy Tiffany

The end 😂

Bath 🇬🇧

I caught the train to Bath for the day.  This picturesque town was settled by the Romans in 70AD as they had become aware of the thermal springs in the area.  They created an elaborate system of pools and baths, steel pipes to carry the 36 degree water to other parts of the city, sauna rooms with steam heating under the floorboards. 

My train arrived just as the free walking tour started and so by the time I got to the meet point they had moved, but I was able to hunt them down.  The Mayor of Bath has honoury guides who are expert historians and it is a completely free 2hr tour.  

I had booked a timeslot to visit the baths and glad I had as there were a lot of international tour groups and I wouldn't have gotten in.  The self audio guide tour is excellent and it takes 1.5-2hours to make your way through all the exhibits. 

They baths fell into disrepair over time as the river Avon used to flood the area.  In the 1700's the houses inside the walls were raised to protect them from floods, and existing houses were built on top of.  Houses in the inner wall section have two stories underground! The Roman baths were excavated as they were buried in silt.

I then wandered through the city in the short time I had left before my return train.  So much more to see!

I heard two ladies say 'she looks like she would take our photo' and I laughed and said they were spot on.  We got talking and Tracey had literally just finished walking the entire UK coastline over the last few years.  She had had some personal change of circumstances with loss of relationship, house, then job with covid and was falling into depression.  She decided to sell what she had to buy a tent, backpack and shoes and off she went to walk on a very low budget.  Amazingly I had read her story on a FB group we are both a part of and she had gotten into writing poetry on her journey and posted some of her writing.  One had resonated with me and my trip and I shared a little and we chatted back and forth back in October and here we were in the middle of Bath meeting each other and she has just finished her 3 year journey.  She flies out to the US in a fe

w days to see her daughter and grandchildren.

I asked her what's been the best and most amazing part of the trip.  And guess what, she didn't say a destination, she said the kindness of strangers and also learning that we are much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.  These could have been my own words.  Such an inspiring woman 😊

Wonderful day 😊

Salisbury 🇬🇧

The sun was shining and the day clear and warm (11 degrees 😂).

I took the doggies for their walk around Old Sarum castle and the views on such a clear day were fabulous 😊

I took my borrowed mountain bike to try out a section of The King Alfred's Way route that a friend let me know crossed the road only a mile away!  

I set off down the main road outside the house and then turned into the single track signed route.  The single track climbed up hill and was a mix of either mud or slippery chalk 😂.

The bushes were a bit overgrown and so ended up with some blackberry thorns in my hands 😂.  I had to get off a push at times.  I was loving it though as I was outdoors and riding and exploring 😊. 

At the top of the hill the route crossed a road and straight into a farmer's field with a signed route access arrow.  The field was very boggy but doable to ride and after that field, through a couple of gates into the next field and the mud switched up a dial 😂. Deep muddy tractor tracks made it near impossible to ride as they were deeper than my pedal clearance.  I managed to find ways to get up the long hill while slip sliding away.

Then at the top was time for some downhill through a beautiful forest with slippery tree roots and mushy autumn leaves 😂.

Then out into an easement where dog walkers were making the most of the fine day.  I rode on till I came to a windmill (apt for Australia Day) on 'Windmill farm' 😊.

I tried to go down the next bit of path but just way to muddy and so turned back.  Had a slip at one stage and as I fell, reached out and realised just in time that it was a barbed wire fence and pulled back!

It was a 13km ride that ticked a lot of adventure boxes and just as I pulled into the driveway, realised I had a flat tyre 😂. For most this wouldn't be a fun afternoon, but weirdly for me it was 😂😂

Nice big walk with the dogs and caught the sunset on our return.

Fun in the sun but the temp dropping and already 2 degrees.