Today I finally got round to changing the oil in the Golf. The warning light had been on for quite a while and I had been hoping to get the Fiesta out of the way first. Since the last oil change my oil collection tray has been lying around outside at the back of the house and has been rained on quite a few times. For some reason that had produced a most peculiar pattern which a took a couple
Sedbergh – Day 4
For our last full day at the cottage we took ourselves over to Bowness on Windermere, and on the way we stopped to look at the two viaducts Dad had viewed yesterday from Winder Fell. We visited the recently opened (we only missed the Prince of Wales by three days) Windermere Jetty boat museum. Everything was very new and shiny and Dad was of course much taken by some of the steam engines. Our only real criticism was that information
Sedbergh – Day 3
Today I decided that I would walk to the top of Winder Fell which overlooks Sedbergh and looms over the cottage. As I walked into town I passed an excellent tree stump sculpture of two owls which we had noticed being carved the day before. The route I took to the top started by climbing up to the head of Settlebeck Gill. Mostly this was not too strenuous although there were a couple of rocky stretches and the last few
Sedbergh – Day 2
After a slightly late start, we walked into Sedbergh and then followed a walk Mum had found to the Farfield Mill Heritage Centre where we had a modest but pleasant lunch (very nice soup) and a look round the various artists studios. We then walked back to Sedbergh and then spent rather too long in Westwood Books. Being a proper second hand bookshop (and a very large one) the books were rather more expensive than the charity shops we usually
Sedbergh – Day 1
A long drive from Wiltshire to Yorkshire hampered as always by Dad’s annoyingly slow driving and motorway congestion. Stopped for lunch at a Toby in Worcester where the carvery was as acceptable as usual. Staying in part of an old railway station much to Dad’s delight. Cottage seems very comfortable and Dad can step outside onto the old platform and pretend that he is a Station Master. Drove into Sedbergh to eat and discovered that it calls itself “England’s Book
2019 Trip – Day 7
Distance Average Speed Max Speed 46.9 km 11.4 km/h 34.7 km/h A very warm day up to 3 degrees above freezing. Equipment started to get wet and the “English snow” repeatedly clogged the brake. Managed to get away by 10:30 and after a great deal of pondering decided to see if I could explore the western half of the north swamps and then follow the trail across the other side of the main trail around Parkavaara. As it turned out
2019 Trip – Day 6
Distance Average Speed Max Speed 43.1 km 10.1 km/h 25.6 km/h An even warmer day with some snow and sometimes above freezing. Got away from Kylkeinan at about 11:15 and tried to make my way towards Lohilampi. I had already heard from Milla that it wasn’t possible to cross this year due to concerns about ice state, but thought it would be nice to visit the general area. One trickiness was trying to avoid ending up on the Tilsa road
2019 Trip – Day 5
Distance Average Speed Max Speed 42.1 km 11.2 km/h 24.7 km/h I was collected from the hotel at 1100 with a Dutch day trip group. They left first and I got away at about 1230. The weather was warmer with snow and some strong winds. Dog Change – Amber replaced by Foxy. I drove to Tilsa doing my best to avoid the swept Tilsa road. This involved a roundabout route including the usual hair raising descent of the Tilsa canyon.
2019 Trip – Day 4
Distance Average Speed Max Speed 67.9 km 12.6 km/h 30.2 km/h A much colder start with a low of -28 °C when I was feeding the dog’s their breakfast but another sunny day which warmed up to about -5 °C by the afternoon. I headed over in the direction of Saija and on the way decided to turn south on the disused railway line. I was hoping to find a trail which would lead me to the area south of
2019 Trip – Day 3
Distance Average Speed Max Speed 31.5 km 11.7 km/h 24.6 km/h An unusual day with much better weather. I got a text from one of the guides, Laura, to say that her uncle was coming to take some publicity photos and would I help. After a late start I met up with Laura, Milla and the uncle and we drove to Janisvaara hill whilst Laura and I were photographed. The uncle then departed and we had lunch on top of