Tag: Weston Shore

sea, ruins and melting snow

Weston Shore
Weston Shore

3 Fenruary 2015

Pretty soon I was crunching through the snow around the corner, where the Seaweed pub used to stand, to the shore. Beside me snow was caught in the seed heads of the swaying grasses and I could see a ragged line of white where the shingle beach should be. Despite the dark clouds everything looked sparkling and bright. The brooding snow cloud on the horizon almost hid the towers and spires of Fawley on the other side of the water but the sun was doing battle with them, trying hard to burn through.  Across the road the little beach shelters looked lonely on the empty foreshore, it seemed as if I was the only person in the world, with the whole beach to myself. Continue reading sea, ruins and melting snow

Moonwalk Deja Vu – first published 9 November 2012

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After my first Moonwalk was over I told anyone who would listen, “never again.” The training took all my spare time. I had horrible blisters, all sorts of aches and pains and some of those long walks in bad weather were the stuff of nightmares. Waking twenty six point two miles around London all through the night was gruelling to say the least, especially for someone who likes to be in bed by eleven. There was a terrific buzz crossing the finish line but it didn’t quite feel worth all that pain. When I said it I really meant it… Continue reading Moonwalk Deja Vu – first published 9 November 2012

Sea, sand and pebbles – first published 30 October 2012

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At the end of October 2012 I had much better weather for my walk along the shore. In fact it was prefect walking weather, cold and bright without too much wind. Back then work had not long begun on painting the tall flats and the whole of the Itchen Bridge could be seen across a sea of rubble on the old Vosper Thorneycroft site. So much has changed in just over two years but so much remains the same. Continue reading Sea, sand and pebbles – first published 30 October 2012

just a little further

Freemantle Common
Freemantle Common

13 January 2015

The weekend was sadly lacking in walking, much to my annoyance. Of course I don’t regret for one minute spending time with Panda on Sunday and, at the time, I thought I was sure to get a decent walk in over the next two days. On Monday though violent winds and  heavy rain ment I hardly went outside. Continue reading just a little further

Blowing away the cobwebs

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26 December 2014

Our Christmas Day was a quiet affair, lots of food and sitting around with the family. Much of it wearing the silly gold hats from our Christmas dinner crackers, well apart from Commando Junior who steadfastly refused to do something so juvenile. Originally I’d planned on going for a little walk but time ran away and I didn’t. Sitting around in front of the fire eating chocolates all day is surprisingly tiring. Continue reading Blowing away the cobwebs

Trudging home

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11 November 2014

While the soldiers stood in little knots talking I slipped quietly away from the World War I Memorial at Victoria Country Park. Had the weather been better I might have lingered and looked at the inscriptions on some of the graves. As it was I stopped once to look at the ranks of white headstones on the hill by the entrance then carried on along the causeway back to the park. Continue reading Trudging home

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month

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11 November 2014

This weekend was turning out to be a bit of a washout in more ways than one. The planned Sunday walk was scuppered by Commanndo’s plans and my plan to walk to the dentist and back on Monday fell victim to heavy rain and food shopping. That left Tuesday as my only chance to fit some miles in. The weather forecast was hardly inspiring. Even so I planned out an ambitious walk, considering the chance of heavy rain, to Victoria Country Park. In fact it fit rather well with the date, 11 November. Continue reading The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month