Take a hat

2.8.13

England - A Purbeck bike ride in Dorset

Swanage and the Purbeck Way - July 2013

It is not the easiest way to get from the Sandbanks Ferry to Corfe Castle but it must be the most scenic and traffic free.

From Studland the route follows the South West Coastal Path round via the Old Harry Rocks before taking a right turn towards the North. The Purbeck Way descends past the spikey monument where you join the road for a short downhill section towards Swanage. Then it's a right turn up a very steep chalky section before a lovely ride across the top eventually descending down into Sandy Hill Lane near Corfe. Turn right for a coffee stop in Corfe, turn left to go back along the quiet and undulating road towards the coast and Swanage for a dip in the sea.

Bush on the Purbeck Way having a bad hair day

View from the spikey monument

West towards Swanage

Looking East to Bournemouth

Looking South and the I of W

Swanage - time for a dip

The East End of Swanage Bay

Swanage Bay

Swanage on sunny afternoon

Marlow - Swan Upping

Marking time for Swans - July 2013

The Queen's Swan Marker in Marlow Lock

HMQE owns all the mute swans on the River. Every year she gets them checked out in procedure known as Swan Upping. A small flotilla makes its way upstream in five days from Sunbury to Abingdon. The Royal Swan Uppers wear red and they are assisted by the Vintners and Dyers Livery companies. They have to row upstream in skiffs but the rowers, happily, are sustained by copious amounts of alcohol - allegedly.

Going up with the Mayor

Swan Uppers head past Bisham Abbey

'All-Up' then Circling for the catch

Heading for the bank

Cygnet ringing and weighing

On your way now

Swan Wake - no worries mute!

UK in Summer - by Royal Appointment at Buckingham Palace

Coronation Festival - July 12th 2013

English Rose in an inner City Garden

Another sunny day in July and it was off to the Palace for us. The Coronation Festival was a very upmarket Ideal Home Exhibition put on by the Royal Warrant Holders in the Buckingham Palace Gardens. At 30 quid a ticket it needed to be pretty good and in fact it was! TW practised here curtsey just in case HMQE was out dead-heading her Roses but unfortunately she had been there the day before. My favourite was the Bentley display, mines a Mulsanne! TW liked the frocks made from the HMQE's favourites. One was made from Twinings Tea bags and umbrella material and another had £50k's worth of stamps covering the model's embarrassment. The catwalk stage was a brilliant design under a canopy of trees. The National Youth Ballet put on a slice of Alice in Wonderland for us which was pretty clever but the Rabbit was frightening.

Buck House - Established Garden in a City Centre residence

Living next door - Alice in Wonderland

White Rabbit

Frocks made from 'By Appointment' products

Stamp Collection

In the Garden

Spurs are flying?

Olympic Torch arrives 12 months late - sorry

Patrolling the border

Ready for the show tonight

Trying to start the Range Rover for a quick exit

1.8.13

Austria - a few days out in Gasteinertal in Summer 2012

Early July 2013 flies by in the mountains

1. On the highway- the Hohenweg walk

Cafe Hubertus on the Hohenweg

Tunnel Vision on the Hohenweg

TW inspects the veggies on the Hohenweg

Let's stop for a coffee on the Hohenweg

2. The Amoseralm ride

Down the valley to Dorfgastein and Unterburg and then a ride up to the Amoseralm for a cold beer. Then its on up to the next higher Amoseralm at 1592m.

High on a hill there is a lone biker

Near the end of our valley

TW takes to the field

3. The Sportgastein ride

A tough ride up to Sportgastein - after an easy beginning

The pedal up from Bad Hofgastein to Sportgastein is pretty tough but beautiful. TW took the bus. The climb up through Bad Gastein is just a taster for what is up ahead on the narrow valley up to Sportgastein. Let's face it, if you are cycling alongside waterfalls it is not going to be easy. After a coffee and a Strudel we walked further uphill towards Niedersachsenhaus. Bit early in the season to go too high. We stopped at the remains of the Winter snow. An ice bridge had been created by a stream that flowed underneath the dirty brown patch. The local cows had found a nice patch of pasture to enjoy the sunshine and the wild flowers.. Time to head back for a lovely Tiroler Grostl at the Valerie Haus before the downhill ride home. Not much pedalling and the rims were pretty hot by the time I reached Bockstein.

Following the uphill trail to Sportgastein

Rugged country on the way to Sportgastein

Flora in Sportgastein

Park the bike and take a walk on the wild side

Cows on the path - these were friendly

A stream carves an ice cave under the last vestiges of the winter snow in Gastein

Lovely old Austrian tractor

4. The Gadauner Hochalmen walk from Angertal

A trip to the Gadauner Hochalmen is a walk back into past. It is a fairly steep walk up from Angertal but well worth it. The huts have no electricity but lots of hospitality. The proud border collie at the Jungehutte had a young family tucked up in the barn. We managed a bit of banter with the Farmers wife and were given a free schnapps. Prost! Normally we would walk past the Rockfeldalm and up to the Kleine Scharte but we thought we would miss the last Cable Car. We took the shorter route down to the Anger Valley and had to wait ages for the bus home.

Pups at the Jungehutte

The Gadauner Hochalmen

Parting view - hope the flowers survive

4.7.13

Tour of Austria - a day at the bike race in Alpendorf

On stage in Alpendorf

Mathias Frank wins - riding a camera?

Stage 4 - Matrei to Alpendorf
We popped over to Alpendorf to watch the the conclusion of a stage of the Tour of Austria. Our day was a bit less demanding than the riders and their helpers. Our route to the Finish Line encompassed a cycle ride to the Train station, a half hour train ride and a 5 minute bus trip. The riders had to make their way from the Osttirol, down near Lienz via the Grosglockner Alpine Road. About 3000m. of climbs and a total distance of 146km. We did a steep climb but we used the Alpendorf Ski Lift to ride up and then a walk to a Mountain Restaurant. Even then we cheated a bit by hitching a ride on the back of a tractor trailer for part of the route. My pre-race meal was a Sausage and Chips with Beer, TW had a Ham and Cheese Toastie. Important to take on a few calories before the excitement.

Up on ghost mountain - the Geisterberg

Alpendorf in Summer

There is new chairlift under construction at the top of the mountain so it looked a bit industrial. They have also put together a bit of 'Ghost Mountain' theme park up there to attract families in Summer so it was a bit busy. The ghouls certainly frightened us away. The views were still great though and no doubt some great walks to be had through the forests and pastures.
Anyway, we needed to get to the Finish Line before the riders so it was back to the Cable Car for us. The riders were due to arrive about quarter to three so we had time to look around. The Team Sky Bus and Service Wagon were parked right by the finish so we had a gander. They take a wonderful man shed around with them full of bikes and tools. They can park on my drive anytime!
We had good viewpoints near the uphill finish to watch the riders come in. Young ladies were handing out sponsors flags, sweets and rather un-appetizing looking sausages. They looked like something a pooper- scooper might collect, I took two but TW forbade me from eating them. Amusingly the riders on the podium were later presented with gigantic versions, the size of fence posts! Am sure it made their efforts seem very worthwhile. The winning rider was a Swiss chappie Mathias Frank from BMC. Ian Boswell was the first Sky Rider home, in highly creditable eighth place. I think he hung back to avoid getting a sausage. He gave me his water bottle later on - a more useful souvenir of the day. Quite a gap to the main group of riders of about 11minutes. We did our best to get a few pictures, mine were mostly of the marshall's backs, TW did a bit better. You would think the guys would have had enough of bikes and saddles but they were on the rollers for a warm down outside the Hotel. We warmed down with a cool beer and then it was back on the bus and train to Bad Hofgastein.