Weardale wander

After a good nights sleep, we decided to wander the other way from our cottage towards Cowshill. So, fuelled by a breakfast of coffee, squash and a bacon sandwich, we set off in the glorious sunshine.

All was going well until we reached the Killhope Burn at Lanehead. Here the path completely disappeared beneath moss and overgrowth that was even taller than Victoria! All this just to avoid one farm! After 10minutes of searching in vain, we decided to cut our losses and walk up the bank to the main road and bypass the problem area.

Eventually we recovered the path by the burn and continued on our way towards Cowshill. Here we passed a large reservoir formed out of an old quarry: it really looked like something out of a Hollywood film set. Leaving Cowshill we were greeted by the sound (but unfortunately not sight) of a waterfall: it wasn't possible to see it from the path as the trees were too thick and the bank just too steep.

The Weardale Way broadened out at this point, passing through pasture land rather than moorland. In no time at all we arrive at Wearhead, where the Killhope and Burnhope Burns converge to form the Wear. Passing through the small village (complete with shop) we continued through farmland and wooded riverbanks towards Ireshopeburn. Here we decided to turn around, but not before visiting the Weardale museum. This coincidentally opened as we arrived, and was worth the £3 admission fee. Inside Andrew learnt all about the numerous railways located within the valley, while Victoria was intrigued by the story of the Bainbridge family.

Eventually we decided to head back, but rather than head along the river, we decided to go upland. Things went pretty well navigating back towards Wearhead, although it was a bit frustrating to find that all paths converged here. So we made the most of it and had a mid-walk ice cream. Resuming our walk, we headed up hill towards Moss Moor; this is where things got a little sticky. Trying to navigate using the fencelines, and at the same time trying to find a route that didn't mean losing Victoria in the overgrowth, Andrew missed the turning for the path and we ended up fitting our way up hill through 2 additional fields, one complete with a dead sheep. Needless to say, we were relieved to get up to the top of the fenceline and be able to make our way towards the cottage.



Just as a note, it's called Moos Moor for a reason: it's a good job we did this walk in the dry as the moss and peat would have been horrendous in the wet.

We finally got back, a good days walking with some good points (weather, scenery) and bad (dodgy navigation, dead sheep). It's clouded over again so no star gazing tonight, instead it's Iron Man 2 and Thor as the mighty Marvel marathon continues!

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Location:Cowshill, Wearhead & Ireshopeburn

From trains to chariots

After last night's stargazing ended at 2am, it was unsurprising that we didn't surface until mid morning. Despite contemplating a full English brunch, we settled on bacon sandwiches and planned a sedate day (well, half day as it was nearly midday).

The outcome was a trip to Alston, mainly to get some toothpaste, but also because, well, we'd not been there before. Setting off in the car past Killhope and Nenthead, we arrived at Alston and found some free parking. This by coincidence was beside the South Tynedale Railway; great for Andrew, not so much for Victoria. We decided that we'd get the shopping and then go for a trip on the train. The shopping was slightly harder to come by than we thought seeing as Tuesday appears to be half day closing in Alston. Nonetheless, we got all we needed (as well as some other bits & bobs) and after depositing said items in the car, boarded the train for the 1415 departure.

The trip up the South Tyne valley was spectacular, with clear blue skies and bright sunshine lighting up the river, fields and moorland. Being the only people in the carriage made it a really enjoyable trip - yes, even Victoria enjoyed it!



On returning to Alston, we headed back up to the village for tea & a scone (with gorgeous sour cherry jam) and then hit the road home. This road however lead home via Hadrian's Wall, namely Housesteads roman fort. This was the first time either of us had been here with cloudless skies, let alone with the sun shining! Despite having only an hour to look around, we clambered round the ruins and saw the same hypocausts that we had seen on our previous visit 10years ago. We also saw the other holiday cottage we'd been considering, however I think that we chose the right one in the end!



The drive home was stunning in the early evening sunshine. We came back through Allendale, another valley with lead mining ancestry, and on reaching Cowshill we decided to have a quick peek to see what was there. The answer: not a lot, so we quickly made our way down to Wearhead where we found there was a small shop (in fact, this is the nearest shop to us, but I doubt we'd have found our toothpaste there).



So this evening we've had a lovely tea of bread, cheese & pâté, some blackberry wine (made drinkable through the addition of 7Up) and watched The Incredible Hulk (not the greatest of the Marvel genre, but still ok). No star gazing planned for tonight, but we'll see what happens tomorrow night.


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Location:Alston, Housesteads and Lanehead

Going underground

Well, we managed to get some sleep despite the howling wind last night. Although Victoria was a bit concerned at how dark it was, and the fact that whenever the wind blew, the bedroom door creaked! Nonetheless, it was great to wake up naturally this morning, and to discover the predicted rain had failed to materialise.

Over breakfast (banana, coffee/tea & a toasted muffin with jam) we decided to walk up to Killhope Lead Mining museum. So with walking boots on and map in hand we set off for the 2.5mile walk up the valley.

Along the way we saw grouse, rabbits, something worryingly resembling dried rats and numerous (shy) sheep. In next to no time we had crossed track, burn, coppice and moorside to reach the Weardale forest and the drop into Killhope. Here we were surprised to see how much the Weardale forest had been cut back on both sides of the valley; we're not sure if it's managed decline or something rather more serious.

We arrived at Killhope in time for lunch, and after a bowl of homemade leek & potato soup, we wandered round the site, visiting the mine shop, offices and - my favourite- the jigger house and water wheel. In next to no time, it was time to get kitted out for our trip into the mine. Armed with wellies (essential to negotiate the 3-4inch deep water flowing out of the mine), hard hat and miners lamp (which barely worked), we ventured into the hillside.



Our guide wasn't great, in fact we thought he was a bit abrupt and didn't really explain too much. However it was fantastic underground. Over minutes, we wandered through old workings, experienced just how dark it was with only a candle to see by (and also without), and encountered an underground water wheel. On emerging mole-like into the sunlight, we decided to head around the woodland walk, the highlight of which was when 2 deer bolted out of the gloom.


With the time nearing 4pm, we decided to head back home by retracing our steps along the Weardale way. We were slightly concerned by the ominous dark clouds gathering over the hills, and with a slightly quicker pace, made it back to the cottage only to find no rain was forthcoming (as Andrew had predicted).


So what have we done since then? We've begun the Marvel Avengers box set, with Captain America & Iron Man, and spent a wonderful hour outside doing some stargazing. The darkness here meant that we could see all of the Pleiodes, clearly saw the Milky Way and saw numerous shooting stars and satellites. With a stiff southerly wind blowing however, we've now come inside to warm up.


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Location:Kilhope, Weardale

Ahh! Tranquility!

After travelling up to Sunderland on Friday night, and a day of anguish for Andrew (football purgatory in Harrogate) and delight for Victoria (a day of cuddles and fun with Elliot), the day arrived for us to head up into the hills to our holiday cottage.

First however, we were off to church for Ryan's christening. This gave an opportunity for Victoria to catch up with some of her friends from home, and despite some struggles with hymns during the service, we made it through to the reception at the Stadium of Light. As an unexpected bonus, after lunch, we were all allowed to head down to the changing rooms, player's tunnel and out into the stadium itself at pitch level. We're not too sure who was more excited: the children or the adults. This was a nice touch, as it meant those who had travelled up from Nottingham got to see what a proper football stadium looks like! It was also nice to see Ryan give his first press conference to a packed audience.




We then realised it was mid-afternoon, and we could really do with setting off to find our cottage. So after a quick pit stop to change, load the car and check maps, we set off on our journey - our advice: go west (life is peaceful there)!

We headed through Durham, Crook, Stanhope and Wolsingham, climbing into the hills and voyaging further up into Weardale. Eventually we reached Lanehead and slowing to a crawl, managed to identify the right telegraph pole that signified our turning. This lead us onto a farm track, which dipped into the valley and rose steeply (very steeply) on the other side. Lets just say that upon reaching the apex of the summit, you really hope no one is coming the other way!

Finally we reached the farmhouse next door to our cottage. Victoria having waked the last portion of the journey having dealing with the gate, no mean feat in the "strong breeze" that was blowing. Having met up with Lynn (cottage owner) and being shown around, we set about unpacking and making ourselves at home. This was undoubtably helped by some homemade scones, butter and jam very kindly left for us by Lynn.



Right now, we are sat very contentedly in the (upstairs) lounge, listening to the wind howling outside and contemplating whether to have any more of the wonderful bread, cheese & pâté. Despite there being a telescope, it's unlikely we'll get any stargazing done tonight as it's a bit cloudy, but it looks very promising for later in the week.

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Location:A689,,United Kingdom

Mega mussels

Having woken up to a howling gale our plans for a restful day on the beach were hastily revised. Over petit dejeuner we decided to instead drive to Ouistreham (eestreham) and visit the Pegasus memorial.
This museum was devoted to the British role in D-Day, namely the capture of several bridges on the Caen canal and silencing the gun emplacements covering Sword beach. The first -and most famous - bridge to be captured was Pegasus bridge. We arrived in time for a briefing around a large model of the area, and a film introduced by Prince Charles. We then walked through the exhibits (including decoded messages from Bletchley Park) and found out about how the paratroopers and medical staff arrived and held out against German counterattacks.
Outside was a replica of a glider used in the attack, along with a replica (we think) of the original bridge. Considering we were a little unsure of the €5 admission fee, we were pleasantly surprised by how good this museum was. After a good 2 hours, it was time to head back for some moules et frites!
A note to all; even restaurants close for lunch in France! At the second attempt, we manages to get a table in the Charleston (Pizzeria) and ordered our food. Victoria went for Moules au ail, persil et creme, Andrew for moules au cidre. We expected a small portion, so were both amazed when large cooking pots(the size of a large pressure cooker) arrived filled the brim with mussels! We began to eat.
About 30min later, both of us had eaten most but not all of our mussels, and rounded things off with a crepe suzette and a coffee. Suitably stuffed (and impressed at a €40 bill) we wandered (waddled?) along the windswept but sunny St Aubin sur mer promenade.
Distracted by the sound of the sea, the smell of seaweed in the sun and swept by wind, we didn't stop until we reached Longrunes sur Mer, the next village towards Ouistreham. Having slowly made our way back to the car, it was then back up to la petite ville for a coffee and to think about packing ready for the journey home.
So, we have now experienced Normandy, from the Norman invasion to Liberation by the allies in WW2. It's been fantastic; seeing the Bayeux tapestry was certainly a highlight, as were Arromanches and Pegasus bridge. We've had our moules frites and crepes but are saving waffles for Bruges in December. We didn't get to Falaises, the site of William the Conqueror's birth, but that was just too far to go.
So, we went on holiday to Normandy and we visited: Arromanches, Bayeaux, Caen, D-day beaches and Ouistreham (see what we did there!). We sail from Ouistreham at 4.30 tomorrow and arrive in Portsmouth at 9.15pm.
C'est une bonne vacances!

Caen Gone

After another night in our Maison Rustique we were aiming for the 9.38 bus to Caen. We missed it, so after another breakfast of fresh croissants, we drove towards Caen instead. We negotiated the park & ride tram system and arrived right outside le Caen Chateau (a proper castle).
The castle was built in 1060 and was where the dukes of Normandy (and therefore kings of England) liked to hang out. Here we apologise that Guillaume is spelt like that and not Guilliame. There's not much left of it - some reconstructed ramparts that we could walk round, and a wall built by the English during the 100 years war as they distrusted the French (no idea why).
Then we walked to two of the Abbeys in Caen - first Abbaye aux Dames - Abbey of ladies (b&w photo). This is where Mathilde, Queen of William the Conqueror- nee Bastardo is buried and was built as a pay off to the church to allow William & Mathilde to marry (they were cousins & this wasn't allowed).
Then we walked through the Centre Ville of Caen to Abbaye aux Homme - Abbey of Men. It was shut for lunch, as is so much of France, if indeed things open at all. We wandered back through town in search of lunch. Since the rest of Caen were enjoying their 1.5 hour lunch time (assuming they don't only work afternoons) there were queues, but we found a boulangerie - le Petit Choux Normande - on the Rue San Pierre for a baguette/hot dog & the finest petit pain au chocolate ever tasted.
We wandered back to Abbaye aux Hommes (now open after lunch, colour pic) and found - ta da- the tomb of William the Conqueror! We overheard the guide telling an American family that they'd excavated the tomb & found a single femur which had been tested & found to be of a date & build consistent with William. Don't know where the rest of him is though.
There wasn't much more in Caen - surprisingly disappointing place if we're honest. The French aren't big on tourism and the place is lacking a decent one stop shop for the Norman invasions. So we headed back via the Radar Museum at Douvres - reduced rate with our Normandie Pass and, as we seem to find in most places, we had the place to ourselves!
This was part of the German Atlantic Wall defences. We got to go into two bunkers to see how the Germans used them & learn about the history of radar. Totally geek heaven.
We also got to climb into a radar dish - the Wurzburg Riese radar. This had been part of the German radar system but after the war was the first French radio telescope! Cool! Apparantly there's also one at Duxford but we don't remember seeing it.
Then Victoria had her first taste of French driving and drove us back to the holiday park where we are now relaxing in the bar with ice creams and disco/europop before dinner.

A stitch in time

In 1066, Anglo Saxon Britain came under attack from a well organised army under the command of Guilliame de Bastard - soon to be known as William the Conqueror. Guilliame had been really put out because King Harold had claimed the English throne on the death of Edward the confessor, when Edward had quite clearly stated that Guilliame, his cousin and someone he'd spent a lot of time holidaying with in Normandy over the previous 20 years, should actually become king on his death. Indeed, in the absence of the BBC, Edward had asked Harold to go and tell Guilliame this himself. Guilliame welcomed him with open arms but, just to be safe, made Harold swear on the bible, the altar and anything else he could find, that Harold would honour this. Of course, said Harold, anything you like so I can get outta here & back to England. And besides I had my fingers crossed when I took that oath.
Once back in England, Edward popped his clogs and Harold promptly claimed the throne himself = Harold II of England.
Zut alors!!! Said Guilliame. Now who is the bastard?!? And he quickly pulled together an army and sailed to England.
Arriving at the hell hole which is Pevensey, we are surprised he did not turn back, but he continued towards Hastings. there they met Harold's army and a huge battle took place. Norman archers, cavalry, infantry, Anglo-Saxon bows and foot soldiers, Halleys comet etc etc.
Like JJ at Hever Castle, Harold was made to look a bit of a tit as a carefully placed arrow hit him in the eye. And so ended Anglo-Saxon England and we can consider Norman England as the beginnings of the Team GB we know so well.
And that's what the totally amazing Bayeaux Tapestry has taught us today. There's none of the complex backstory about Harold Hardrada and the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Nothing about the resistance in the northeast, but as William the Conqueror's 11th century Facebook timeline substitute, we think it does a pretty good job.
It's 70m long and you need an audio guide to help you work along it, which is amusing considering it was created (probably in England) for a largely illiterate population. It's housed in a huge museum with a cinema & exhibition (see photo). A must see.
We then went into the lovely cathedral which was originally built by William's half bro the Bishop Odo (who also fought in the battle). Despite being party destroyed by Williams sons as they fought over which one of them should become king of Normandy, it was rebuilt and enlarged.
In the 19th century the main tower nearly collapsed and was rebuilt again by the same engineers who built the Paris-Cherbourg railway (Andrew was pleased about this).
When Normandy was liberated in 1944, Bayeaux remained largely intact so it still has some medieval charm. Quite pretty - not as pretty as Talinn though.
We lunched on a croque Monsieur from a street vendor and headed back to the car.
Next stop was the Musee America Gold Beach in Ver sur Mer. A rather misleading name as this is the only British focused museum on the Normandy coast and the America bit relates to a plane carrying the first air mail from the US that crash landed in Ver sur Mer. We were the only visitors there so we had time to look at all the maps and photos - including a map if Middlesborough and photos of HMS Belfast.
After that we headed back to our Hotel Superieur and the bar for a cafe et wifi gratuis. We may head to the beach after dinner as the sun is still shining.
Bite looking much better but ankle gets tired easily. Any excuse for cafe!

Overlord Overload

After a snug night in our petit chateaux we awoke to the prospect of fresh croissants from the site shop. Once we had stuffed our faces we headed out along the coast road (D514) to Arromanches.
Arromanches is a lovely village on Gold Beach which was the site of the Mulberry harbour floated over by the allied troops for the D-Day landings. Essentially a huge Meccano kit, Port Winston, as it became known, was built in 48 hours and consisted of concrete blocks, old ships and steel bridges. All that remains today is a few concrete blocks but you can still see the extent of the harbour around the coast.
We went into the Musee de Embarkment and watched a couple of movies about it and saw models of the landing and harbour. We met a Canadian couple who had worked near Middlesborough and recognised Victorias accent. Haha.
We climbed the hill up to the Arromanches 360 cinema and watched another movie about the landings. Then we jumped in our luxury French automobile and headed towards Courselles sur Mer and the Juno beach centre.
The Juno beach centre is unique in being funded and staffed by Canadians and tells the story of Canada's contribution to D-Day and a bit of 20th century Canadian history. We were in there for over an hour so it was pretty good.
The centre is right on the most gorgeous sandy beach -Juno - and hidden behind the dunes were German bunkers & artillery.
We headed back with a detour through Courselles sur Mer Centre Ville, which was really pretty, and back to the caravan for some bread and cheese.
After a (long) nap, we've had tea (bread & cheese) while listening to the radio - we can just pick up Radio 5 and 4 on our tiny analogue radio so have Paralympic coverage still!!
Bite looking a bit better - swelling going down but had to wear shorts all day as its v itchy.

Nous sommes arrivons la France!!

Oo la la we are here! 6 hours went by like a flash when you've had a full English & found reclining chairs!! Victoria has slept for most of the journey or watched stuff on the ipad, and Andrew has played Zuma! Time well spent!!
We drove along the coast road from Caen to St Aubin sur Mer and Andy did very well negotiating cars on the wrong side of the road.
The caravan site, le Cote de Nacre, is fab - it's not really a caravan - more a chalet and there's a bar with free wifi (not used it yet), shop, loads of pools, wiff waff, and a restaurant. Plus a creperie and a waffle-arie.
We've just walked to the beach, which is about 10 mins away. The town is quite small and there's not much - think Sidmouth - but we found the supermarket (8 a huit). We've had a walk along the promenade, which is part of Juno beach, and headed to the 8 a huit for some pain et pate, et petit pois doux for the bite. Now sat on our porch relaxing and deciding what to do tomorrow! Dark skies hanging over us but it's not rained yet & has been warm.

Bon voyage!

Up at 5.15, to terminal by 6.30, finally boarded at 7.30 but we were among the first for a fry up! Magnifique!!!
Now on deck taking in the sights of the Solent - Spinnaker Tower, victory, warrior and the new Mary Rose museum building (looks like the Cutty Sark one but obviously better). ETA 2pm uk time so when the bracing wind gets too much for us we've got time to explore the ship!

Au revoir!!!

Here we are again! Didn't have time to do an Olympic blog because it was a pretty hard core week, but hopefully this week will be at a European pace!

We've set off for a stop over in Portsmouth Travelodge since we are booked on the 8.15am Brittany ferry. Amazingly everything fits into the car but we were a bit delayed because a) Andy was late home and b) Victoria had to go to the doctors about her 2 week old insect bite.

Armed with the contents of the Bletchley pharmacy, we should be in Portsmouth by 8.30pm for some hunting & gathering then bed.

Day 1 - opening ceremony

WOW!!! What a day!!!

The morning was frantic trying to get everything sorted for our guests, decorating an Olympic-themed birthday cake, making afternoon tea items and tidying the house. Our guests arrived bang on time and we welcomed by the middle parking space (worth a gold medal in itself), a cheer leading welcome and a speech from Andrew. They seemed to love their welcome pack of T-shirts, programmes, books and other London 2012 items. Result.






Afternoon tea was served and the birthday girl opening her present, kitting her out in more London themed items. Once we'd stuffed our faces, we settled on the sofa to start watching the Olympics. Aside from a short break to buy wellies and Olympic scarves, that's where we stayed for the rest of the day. We'd like to claim credit for arranging the six gold medals that Team GB won as being part of our guests' package, but even we couldn't arrange that, or have anticipated it. What a super duper Saturday!!!

Off to bed (and GB themed pyjamas) ready for a day in London tomorrow!

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Countdown to the games

With only 12 days to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games open, we're reviving our travel blog for the event even though we're not leaving the UK! With 3 events in 3 venues and a full week of activities planned we need to keep track.

We begin with Men's Football First Round Group D at St. James' Park, Newcastle on 29th July (14 days time - pic of tickets below!) but our Olympic GB experience starts on Saturday 4th August with the following itinerary, carefully planned by McPearsonmillan Travel (all rights reserved):

 Day 1: 4th Aug – Arrival and Olympic Induction
 Day 2: 5th Aug – Plotting Plantagenets (Richard III at The Globe)
 Day 3: 6th Aug – Tarty Tudors (Hever Castle)
 Day 4: 7th Aug – 20th Century Britain (Duxford)
 Day 5: 8th Aug – Rest day
 Day 6: 9th Aug – Women’s Football Final, Wembley Stadium
 Day 7: 10th Aug – Rest Day
 Day 8: 11th Aug – Women’s Basketball Final, North Greenwich Arena (the O2)
 Day 9: 10th Aug – Departure

May the force 10 be with you

Here we are on our last day of the holiday. Last night was eventful to say the least. Not long after we left Vigo we hit the rough seas. It was very difficult to stay in one place for very long and we were rolling all over. captain had said Force 8 though so that was OK. We managed to shower and dress for dinner - the shower has handholds so that helped - and had a glass of wine before we headed downstairs. We our formal photograph taken in the atrium, which has turned out lovely especially since it was Victorias second £15 ball gown, and took our table in the Arcadian Rhodes.

The table was excellent - right next to the window - and the restaurant is on Deck 3 (promenade deck) so doesn't feel the movement unlike our deck 8 (australia deck) cabin. We felt reassured provided we didn't start to feel as much movement in the restaurant. Which of course we did after about 15 mins of sitting there. The lovely window table also meant we could see the waves getting bigger and bigger (and closer & closer).

The restaurant was nice - not many people in there since there's an extra cover charge - but it's art deco in style and warmer than the rest of the ship. Food was very nicely cooked but we are not surprised that on refit it is being taken over by Marco Pierre White. For starters, Andrew ordered smoked haddock with a welsh rarebit topping on a bed of tomatoes. Basically very small cheesy smoked haddock. Victoria ordered seabass with blackberry shallots and a hollandaise sauce. I.e. seabass fillet with fried onions and 3 blackberries. Surprisingly the blackberries went very well with the seabass, but the inclusion of hollandaise sauce was a mystery. Sadly, before the staters arrived we were given a little cup of green liquid, which was pea and mint soup and after 1 sip to be polite, Victoria gave hers to Andrew.

Main course, Andrew had ordered leg of lamb with orange glazed carrots, spinach and piped potato. I.e. mash potato, 1 carrot chopped up and coated in syrup and positioned in a bizarre upright fashion (volcano style) on the plate and a lamb shank. Victoria ordered fillet of beef with an oxtail cottage pie which was a fillet steak on top of a perfectly round roast potato with a very odd pastry cup contains 2 small pieces of meat and topped with mashed potato. To accompany it we got yet more potatoes - new potatoes - a single portion of green beans to share and a tiddly jug of gravy each. The potato-fest was too much.

Becoming somewhat anxious at the rising waves, Victoria opted to skip dessert, but Andrew had a tiramisu. Before it arrived, another unscheduled dessert appeared - a square of treacle tart. Again, Andrew enjoyed both since Victoria doesn't like treacle tart. Why provide these pointless interludes between courses? Yuck. Anyway the bread rolls were nice.

We left there without coffee and headed to the Spinnaker bar again for a cocktail. We had planned to go to Electra, the DISCO, but the ship was moving all over the place so we headed up to the cabin to see what it said on the passenger information channel. Quel surprise! Force 10, very rough seas, high swell. El capitano had underestimated the weather. However, for the first night all holiday, Victoria fell into a deep sleep within 10 minutes!!!!

Sadly, that only lasted for an hour and after that we both tossed and turned all night. The best sleep was had from 7am this morning and we didn't get up until 11!! We're now at Force 7 still but we managed lunch in the Neptune grill, which we've not been to before and had hot dog each. Now we're in the Intermezzo bar but we'll be heading out for our walkathon by 3 so that we can be done and changed in time for afternoon tea in the Meridian at 4, which we've also never done before.

Although shes a lovely ship, We don't think we will come back on Arcadia again for a while but we definitely want to do another cruise - next time to the Norweigan fjords and/or Iceland (originally Victorias preference last year but Andrew won the toss). It'll have to wait until 2013 though since 2012 is the Olympics!!

We have 1 more dinner to go tonight, and then we disembark at 9.30 tomorrow morning - it's usually earlier than the official time though. Should be home by lunchtime. And then some sleep in a bed that stays still!!!

Vigo

Today we arrived in Vigo, in lieu of a visit to Oporto. After quite a difficult start to last night's sleep we discovered that to counter the effect of the swell, it was better to sleep across rather than down the bed (port to starboard rather than forward to aft). This did mean Andrews legs hung out of the bed. By 4am it was force 6/7 but we managed to sleep through the force 8 of the early morning before we entered Vigo bay.

Vigo was cold and grey compared with the warmth of the Canary Islands, and really is only a busy port town with nothing much else to see. However, the Galician countryside beyond looks quite lovely. We took a wander around town for a couple of hours, locating C&A and H&M, and then headed back to the ship for lunch.

Since then we've sat in the a)piano and b)spinnaker bars reading our iPad books whilst trying to keep warm. This is the first day where it's been cold on board, although this could be due to the gangways being very close to both of these bars. The hot chocolate - although welcome - hasn't really helped to warm us up!

Are due to leave Vigo any minute - an early departure to get ahead of the weather. The weather. Yes. The captain has just made a safety announcement about the weather. We should be OK for the 40 mins it takes to get out of Vigo's bay, but after that....sustained Force 6/7, pushing 8 but with a 4-5 m swell and rough seas. Last night was similar but with moderate seas. Captain says to take care, not to go outside on balconies and not to worry about the ship flexing (!!??). Other than that he says to have a lovely time.

Of course, we should hit these sea conditions just as Victoria goes for a relaxing head massage, and Andrew goes for a wet shave! Hahaha. Tonight we are booked into the Arcadian Rhodes restaurant (Gary Rhodes) at 8.30. We hope to go to the D.I.S.C.O. after that and drink enough cocktails that we don't notice the rough seas!

Tomorrow is our final day, and it's another full sea day where we're planning on doing the things on Arcadia we still haven't done, such as breakfast and afternoon tea in the posh restaurant.

Off Vi-go!

Today we arrived in Lanzarote, docking at Arricife, not a particularly nice port but the immediate view of the island was spectacular. Thankfully, we were here for the volcanoes and not for the sites.

The day started off well when we found that we were being taken to the volcano in minibuses in true field trip style. We were driven 30 minutes away from the port and into the barren landscape of the Timanfaya national park. While we went to Tenerife 2 days ago, Lanzarote is completely different - much flatter with cones dotted here and there, whereas Tenerife was very much a single cone. Although Tenerife's landscape is amazing, Lanzarote's is much more impressive and accessible - the cones are surrounded by lava flows and it would be easy to imagine that this is what the Lake District and Cross Fell looked like 300 and something million years ago (now only the cones are left).

We parked in the crater of a small volcano and then walked across the badlands (aa lava field) to another volcano. On the way we saw: lava tubes (including one big one that we jumped inside of), pahoehoe lava, volcanic bombs and ended up with lapilli in our shoes. The guide focused almost entirely on the geology of the area, which was brilliant for us, and he told in in very simple terms so everyone could understand. We were very impressed.

We started to ascend up the volcano, up the side of a lava flow which had cascaded down the side of the cone. The lava erupted in 1730-36, which was not the last eruption, but it was well preserved because of the arid climate on Lanzarote compared with the other islands. We came first across a lava lake which was set within a crater. The crater was from a slightly old volcano and the lava from the 1730 volcano had cascaded into it, filled it up and then flowed down the sides.

They took us part of the way up the rest of the volcano, to about 400m above sea level (the highest point on Lanzarote is only 680m above sea level) where we got a really good view over the island. Then we descended down into another small volcano, back across the badlands and back to the minibus.

We walked for about 3 hours or so, covering only about 3 miles but we didn't mind stopping and waiting for the slower people because the guide took the opportunity to tell us more about the volcanoes!

Today has been our favourite day so far, although its still not been enough to persuade us to come back to the Canary Islands.

We have now left Lanzarote - we should have been here until 5.30 but because of the weather on the way home we left 2 hours early and are already doing max speed of 22 knots. They obviously want to get north as quick as possible. The captain announced that we should hit the bad weather at lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday) and to be prepared for a bumpy ride home.

We had a sneaky sleep before dinner and are now finishing off with a cocktail in the Spinnaker bar - sadly we've been coming here so often that the waitress knows our room number..... Please note the size of the heels worn on a ship in the bumpy Atlantic (by Victoria). Outfit brought to you by Matalan (shoes, dress, hairband), Dorothy Perkins (bag) and boots (earrings). Total cost £66 but has already been worn for a wedding.

We now have a sea day and then should arrive in Vigo on Thursday - all being well.

Batten down the hatches

So we've just looked on the met office shipping forecast and those red alert splodges cover our entire journey home. Here it is in case you want to keep track.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/marine/shipping_forecast.html#All~All

We will pass through Trafalgar, Fitzroy, biscay, Plymouth and Solent. All predicting force 10 overnight tonight & we've been told to expect for worsening conditions later in the week.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was excellent. Finishing off the night with a cocktail in the spinnaker bar while we check out Vigo on the web.

Not so gran canaria

Buenos noches! Last night we decided not to go to the posh dinner (although it was only a smart causal night anyway) and went to the Indian themed buffet in the Belvedere. Battle LA was the in-cabin movie so we watched that. Very poor.

Whilst in the Belvedere, we noticed that we could still see land - in fact we could see both Tenerife AND Gran Canaria. According to the chart posted in the Neptune bar (which we refer to regularly) we should have left Tenerife, turned left, sailed north and then turned right, right again and then a third right into Las Palmas, Gran Canaria (not to be confused with La Palma, the other island). The Passenger Information Channel on our TV showed that we were, as we suspected, actually travelling south between the two islands. Perplexed.

This means we travelled into Las Palmas by circumnavigating round the south of Gran Canaria not the north, doubling the distance we need to travel. Even so, we appeared to arrive pretty early! This is what happens when the deputy captain and second officer take charge. All night we could see the lights of Gran Canaria very clearly from our balcony (we are on port side). For part of the journey, if we could see > 100 miles from the starboard side of the ship, the next land would have been El Hierro!

Today we were on the 'Essence of Gran Canaria' tour so that we could go to the Bandama crater. That part of the tour lasted 15 mins and otherwise we spent the morning in a coach driving around the north of the island. They took us to a small village caller Teror, which was pretty but there was nothing there but a shop trying to flog perfume that the tour guide seemed to have a hand in. Then they took us to Aracas, where there was a pretty church similar in style to the cathedral in Vienna and, unusually, made of black stone. Very gothic. The tour ended with a drink and snack at a hotel - why - which cemented Victorias opinion that there's nowt else in Gran Canaria.

We were back to the ship by 1.15, and, since the only other recommendation we were given was a big shopping centre just off the dock, we headed back to the cabin for some sunbathing on the balcony. Victoria has slept all afternoon but Andrew, of course, made it for afternoon tea.

At 5.30 the captain made an announcement via the in-cabin system. This is not normal practice so we knew there it something important. He gave it as a good news bad news thing. Good news was the medical emergency delaying our departure was over. Bad news involved the UK weather.

We have been aware of the high winds and were mentally preparing for the journey home to be very choppy, however because we will be hitting it probably from tomorrow night onwards to Portugal, the ship has been told it would be impossible to dock in Oporto because it is a very open harbour and awkward approach, and if we did we would probably be delayed leaving and late back to Southampton.

However, they have arranged instead for us to stop in Vigo, Spain, but only for half a day - we need to try and get ahead of the weather coming UK-wards this weekend (just to warn you - the weather on Sky News has snow we see!!!). This is a huge bonus for us as it was Vigo or Lisbon that originally made us look at the Canary cruises. We haven't scoped out Vigo, but the Captain says we will receive a flyer about it later today and we can look it up on the web.

Whilst this means we still have not been to Portugal (unless you count Madeira), Thursday is a Portuguese public holiday and most places would be closed. Spain, however, is open for business! (we think).

Tonight we're going to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes in the cinema, so are just having the buffet dinner again.

Volcano number 1

Hola! We have arrived in Tenerife after another choppy night on board. We suspect they aren't using the ships stabilisers as it wasn't this choppy even in the Baltic - not the best sleep so far.

We had to be up at 7am because our tour was leaving the ship at 8.15, but the port authorities seemed to have cocked up and a German ship had to enter the harbour before us, so we were late docking and late leaving. Finally at 8.30 we ventured off with only 15 other people for a hike in the Teide volcano national park. The coach took us to the base of Teide via a lookout point where the view of the volcano was spectacular, and we then made our way to the start of the walk inside the caldera.

Again, we were told 3 hours walking but it turned out to be only 2, but it was very enjoyable. We walked around the Garcia rock formation which was a pretty spectacular volcanic plug (we think) from the volcano that preceded Teide. The weather was a little windy and chilly when on the caldera floor, but once we got going and a bit of climbing started it warmed up and there were clear blue skies.

We estimated it was probably only 2 miles, 3 at a push but it was over the lava flows. It wasn't quite long enough for us, and there was quite a bit stopping and waiting for slow coaches, but it gave us chance to take photographs (sorry not on this device) and overall was exactly what we wanted to do in Tenerife - the first time for a long time we will be going home with a camera full of photos of rocks. (Actually not since before digital cameras came on the market have we taken so many rock photos!)

We were back on the ship by 2.45 so headed to the Belvedere for a quick snack. We had planned on having a sneaky sleep, but when we saw about Gary Speed on the news we have come down to the Rising Sun (pub) to watch Sky Sports, but sadly they are showing Liverpool v Man City so we're retreating soon for that sleep. We were told there was very little to see in Santa Cruz (yes another Santa Cruz) so we haven't bothered to think. About walking into the town here. Jon might have liked the new theatre though - designed to look like an upside down boat - its v nice.

Tomorrow is Gran Canaria and we have booked onto a half day trip up the the caldera (volcano number 2) since we're again been told there's v little in the port town we'll be docking at. It's not a hike, but at least we'll get to see some of the island that isn't a tourist trap.

La Isla Bonita

Hola amigos! Here we are in Espana - the lovely island of La Palma to be precise. Its quite green from what we can see from the port, like Madeira, and probably the last time we'll see decent vegetation before Oporto next week.

It was a bit of a rough night last night and we didn't sleep well. Plus this morning we had to reverse into Santa Cruz harbour, meaning at 7am we were juddered awake as we turned around. We didn't actually get up until 9.45 when we heard the Captain announce the emergency drill for the crew. We headed to breakfast and then took the short walk into Santa Cruz town centre.

We weren't expecting a lot here, and if we're honest we wished we'd booked onto one of the tours as one of them went up to the volcano, more specifically to the observatory (telescope), but we didn't want to sit on a coach for the whole day and pay >£50 each for 30 mins looking at the outside of a dome. As it turned out, we probably made the right choice to stay in Santa Cruz because, provided you left the main street, there was plenty to see and we spent 3 hours wandering around somewhere probably the size of Bletchley.

The main street (Calle O'Daly) is probably more than a mile long, cobbled and narrow and our ship was parked at one end, and at the other was a replica of Columbus' ship Santa Maria (made out of concrete but painted to look like wood - very strange). Along the way from our ship to Mr C's was the Plaza de Espana home to a cathedral and the town hall. A local youth wind band were playing outside the town hall.

Once we'd walked all the way along the Calle O'Daly, we walked along the parallel coast road back towards our ship and watched the (rather choppy) sea come over the promenade. We took a dive back on the the Calle O'Daly and found a small, free museum tucked in between some shops. We think this was called the Casa Salazar, and it was a military museum. Aside from the guns, cannonballs etc, there was an entire room dedicated to the pirate Sir Francis Drake. Seemingly they are very proud that the sea defences of La Palma kept Drake out of the island, humiliating him. The display had pictures of him among other pirates such as Blackbeard. All the English people found this hilarious.

In the museum foyer we noticed an advert for an astronomy exhibition at another museum in Santa Cruz, so off we headed back to the other end of the Calle O'Daly. This museum, the Museo Insular, was based in a former convent of some Franciscan monks, and there's still a big church attached. Although €4 each there were paintings by Spanish artists, an exhibition of traditional Spanish guitars - including one made from a hard hat and another from an armadillos shell, traditional crafts and some more ship stuff.

The astronomy exhibition turned out to only be a couple of boards in Spanish, but the courtyard inside was the place where the observatory was founded in 1985 by the planting of orange trees by the King & Queen of Spain, the presidents of Ireland & Germany and the Duke of Gloucester (who is he?). Very pretty and very very quiet. We only saw 4 other visitors in the hour we were there, which is a shame.

We headed back and had a coffee in a bar in the town and then were back to the ship by 2.45. We've had some nibbles at afternoon tea, and are now sat in the Spinnaker bar having a Longboat Fizz each. We're going to go and book on a trip on Gran Canaria for Monday as it looks like the port area where we dock is a bit devoid of anything interesting. Tomorrow is Tenerife and our trek into Teide's volcanic caldera, so we'll have an early night tonight (sea conditions permitting).

Buenos noches!