Yorkshire & Cumbria

Moors overlooking Saltaire

Leeds Town Hall

Leeds City markets

Leeds Shopping Arcade

St Mary the Virgin, Gisburn

Tarn Hows

Easedale Tarn

Near Easedale Tarn

Grasmere

Grasmere from the track up to Easedale Tarn

I am now back in London preparing to fly tonight to Hong Kong, my European journey over. Here is hoping that Chilean Volcano behaves itself and I can fly right home to Dunedin next Wednesday.

After picking up a car and getting thoroughly lost in Manchester, I spent 4 delightful days with my friend Tony in Saltaire, near Bradford. He kept me fit with local walks, one up onto the nearby moors and also showed me how to play bowls and even making an attempt to teach me to throw a boomerang.  I let the Aussie side down.

Sunday being wet, we visited Cliffe Castle Museum in a furnished Victorian era home but also having displays of industrial history and Geology at nearby Keighley. On Monday, before the climb up on the moors (Photo), we visited an art gallery dedicated to local artist, David Hockney. It was in a renovated Cotton Mill and the whole of Saltaire is a world heritage site due to the village having been built by a far sighted industrialist who provide homes and other facilities for his workers that were much better than what was common in that dark industrial time.

On Saturday I visited and had lunch with an internet friend, Jack (Sir),  in Leeds who showed me around the highlights of that city including the Town Hall and some very ornate shopping arcades (photos). We visited the Art Gallery which has many works by Henry Moore.  Leeds is much improved from the very dingy city I remember on a quick visit way back in 1974.

On Sunday I drove about 40 km to the little village of Gisburn and met my soon to be Vicar, Rev Eric Kyte. he leaves the parish of Gisburn (Photo) in 2 weeks and will be installed at Roslyn, Dunedin in mid-August.

I left Yorkshire on Tuesday and drove back across the Pennines to the Lake District where I spent 3 nights in Ambleside. I also spent 3 nights there last September and did several walks and wanted to do more especially with the use of a car.  I am not sure that was a good idea. the car gave me more flexibility but the parking fees are very high. It was a surprise to pay over 3 pounds for parking in a car park 2 miles from the nearest village. The weather was very mixed, raining at breakfast but fining up later on both full days there. Wednesday was spent around Coniston, walking about 6 km around Tarn Hows(photo) then, disappointed the ferry was not doing the whole lake to pass the island in “Swallows & Amazons”, I instead drove around Beatrix Potter territory to Hill Top and Hawkshead.

On Thursday I drove to Grasmere and climbed up to Easedale Tarn (photos), a little over 7 km round trip and 250 metres up. it provided wonderful views. I had planned another similar climb in the afternoon but thought better and instead did part of a walk, fairly level around the lake (photo) that I did last time but this time in much better weather. It is a very pretty area.

Yesterday I drove back to Manchester, left the car and continued by train to London.  I went back to the Royal Albert Hall for a program called ‘Strictly Gershwin’ by the English National Ballet with a big jazz band. It was a fitting finish to my tour of Europe as there was a long section at the end of the first half based on ‘An American in Paris” with views of Paris where I started my European journey on the large screens and later the main singer, Maria Friedman, sang “A Foggy Day in London Town. Fortunately mine was not foggy though rather wet but today looks fine so I think I am headed for Kew Gardens.

Did not have time to send this before leaving hotel on Saturday, did not make it to Kew gardens but am now in Hong Kong.

London and the Lakes

I have now left England and to keep up the L’s am spending the night in Luxembourg.
My main purpose for visiting London was to attend the Proms particularly the last night so  I attended 2 programs in the Royal Albert Hall and the last Night in Hyde Park across the road. The Thursday night was excellent as I had a very good seat. It was the BBC Philharmonic and they played  Schubert’s Symphony No 8 and Mozart’s No 40 . There was a piano piece by Schumann and the soprano Dorothea Röschmann sang the premier of a piece by Robin Holloway. On Friday night I was sitting up behind the choir so while I had a good view of the Hall, it was not the best for listening. Monteverdi    Vespers of 1610 would not have been a choice of mine but the singing was beautiful with some voices coming from high up and original instruments being used. It was a very good experience. Despite having a ticket, I queued for 2 hours to get into the park on Saturday afternoon and was able to sit not too far from the grandstand. Perhaps that was not wise as the loudspeakers were very loud and the lead up music was not too my taste. Serpentine Fire and Nell Bryden are for a younger crowd but I may have enjoyed
the cast of “Jersey Boys” and “Bjorn Again” if the bass had not been ringing in my ears. As my sister says “I have to face it, I am getting old”
The actual program was better although Kerry Ellis and Brian May would have been better a little softer but I did enjoy Neil Sedaka and, of course , Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras. Crossing to the hall for the traditional final was great but I would have loved to be actually there. However unless I somehow find a way to spend a month in London and attend enough concerts to be eligible, this will never be. I waved both  the NZ and Aussie flags.

I had no particular plans for the day. I did spend over a month in London way back in 1974 and visited again in 76 and 80 so while the city has changed greatly I am sure the Tower, the Abbey etc. are still the same.  I decided to spend time on the South bank of the Thames so on Friday after a haircut and using a laundromat I headed for London Bridge and walked along the Thames and across the Millennium Bridge which was not there in 74. The Globe Theatre was not there but is only open for tours in the morning, The Tate Modern is also new but was evacuated by a fire alarm soon after my entry. I am glad London Bridge did not fall down to make a 3rd.

I travelled upstairs in a bus through the city and Westminster to Victoria and decided to try and find the hotel where I stayed so long those many years ago. i think I found the building but it is no longer a hotel. A decision to walk past Buckingham Palace was inspired as i discovered the State Apartments are currently open for just 8 weeks. It was put into my plan for Sunday.

Saturday I went back earlier and had a tour of the Globe theatre which was very enjoyable and informative. I have included a photo and would like to attend a performance if I return to London.  Sunday, after ridding myself of the headache created by those loud speakers I  went back to the South Bank and Southwark Cathedral for Choral Eucharist. The Dean preached at St James, King Street last year but was not there that Sunday. Then I headed for Buckingham palace and queued for tickets to the State Apartments. Any future visit to London is not likely to be at this time of year so it was a great and unexpected opportunity. I had a very late Salmon and cream cheese bagel lunch in the grounds of the palace. I believe Her Majesty is holidaying at Balmoral so did not meet her. although the news is full of her meeting the Pope today. I am glad to have left London before the confusion that visit is causing to the city.

On Monday I travelled by train and bus to Ambleside in the Lake District. My impression of rail transport in England is not very good to say the least not helped by pouring rain.
It was raining at breakfast time on both Tuesday and Wednesday but luckily I made the right decision to take a lake cruise on Tuesday and walk on Wednesday. The skies cleared as i boarded the ferry and I had a beautiful day for a cruise first to Bowness   then on to the end of the lake where I transferred to a steam train to Haverthwaite. Lake Windermere is one of the 2 lakes used by Arthur Ransome in his “Swallows and Amazons” series and it was great to recognise some sites. The second photo is one of many I took that day.
Wednesday I walked with intermittent showers first up the valley to some falls above Ambleside and across farmlands, then after a coffee right around Rydal Water and Grasmere with lunch in Grasmere. I passed both Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived but did not go in. According to the guide book I walked over 10 miles (they still use miles??? in the UK). Views of the lakes, I have included one of Rydal Water,  would have been nice in sunshine which only appeared for a brief period although there was no rain after lunch.

On Thursday I returned to London, a late bus required sharing an expensive taxi. I stayed overnight in London and attended Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral . Then it was onto the Eurostar through the chunnel to Paris where I spent an all too short, less than 2 hours mainly walking between the Gare du Nord and the Gare de L’Est and buying a pannini while I waited for the train to Luxembourg. These two train journeys were much more pleasant than the ones in England. I now have less than a week left in Europe.