Stormy weather

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27 March 2016

With one last tearful look at the old workhouse come hospital I turned for home. I still wasn’t sure whether I was glad or sorry to see it go*. It was certainly an interesting and historic building but there seemed to be too much sadness attached to it for anyone to think of it fondly. I imagined the wrecking ball coming down and thousands of ghosts escaping into the air. There wasn’t a lot of time to dwell on it though. The rain was falling and the sky to the north was an alarming shade of black that even the cheery daffodils on the verge couldn’t brighten. Luckily I was heading south but I’d have to hurry if I was going to outrun the storm. Continue reading Stormy weather

Last chance to see…

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27 March 2016

Typically, as soon as building work stopped for the Easter break the weather took a turn for the wet and windy. The first chance I got to go out walking was Easter Sunday and it was blustery with the odd spot of rain. Still, it was now or never. There was somewhere I’d been meaning to visit for a while and our Thursday afternoon arch shopping trip told me time was running out. By coincidence, it is a building site of sorts and I was half reluctant to go there. Continue reading Last chance to see…

Daffodils, graves and geese

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17 March 2016

The sun was shining and it felt as if Spring was in the air so I thought a walk along the river was in order. The bank leading to the park was a mass of bright daffodils dancing in the gentle breeze. It felt like a great welcome to the river side. The tide was very low. White swans stood on the exposed mud and black swans swam in the shallow water. There’d be no point struggling down the steep jetty slope. There was no water underneath it. Continue reading Daffodils, graves and geese

The Bourne valley, seaward bound

 

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13 March 2016

Sunday started rather early. Commando was taking a run leader course at the Bourne Academy in Bournemouth and CJ and I went along to have a day by the seaside. Once he’d disappeared into the building we set off into a misty morning that held a promise of sun later on. Although we were heading for Bournemouth beach, the first part of our journey took us south west into Poole. Continue reading The Bourne valley, seaward bound

There and back again

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8 March 2016

Another chilly Tuesday morning and an errand in town took me over the Big Bridge where the sun looked as if it was hiding at the bottom of the river. With a curious look at the Council van parked outside the Bargate I set off for the top end of town. Work doesn’t seem to have begun yet on the repairs but the Council van could be a good sign. Continue reading There and back again

Two towers, a sphere, a memorial and a cruise

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12 Octber 2015

With a little getting lost we wound our way through Lower Manhattan past shops bursting with Halloween pumpkins the like of which we never see at home. We were heading for the next item on our must see itinerary, a place that had played a part in both our lives although neither of us had ever been there. Back in 2001, the World Trade Centre was nothing more than two tall office towers in Manhattan. On September 11, that changed and the world and our lives changed with it. Continue reading Two towers, a sphere, a memorial and a cruise

A boat, some walls, a legacy and the ghost of Northam Bridge

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13 September 2015

The expensive Boat Show yacht wasn’t the only boat on the street at Western Esplanade. In front of the arcades there’s a replica of a fourteenth century clinker-built cargo boat on the pavement where the tide would have once come up before the land was reclaimed for the docks. Across the road was something I’ve been meaning to have a look at for ages. On the face of it, it seems like an old, fairly unremarkable, red brick wall with grey blue glazed coping. In fact, I must have walked past it thousands of times without noticing its historic secret. Continue reading A boat, some walls, a legacy and the ghost of Northam Bridge

Ghostly goings on in Southampton

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31 July 2015

When I finished work on Friday it wasn’t exactly the end of my day. Commando’s friend Pete, the one who organises the spring New Forest Walks, had some tickets for a Southampton Ghost Walk but found himself accidentally overbooked. Knowing about my slight obsession with ghosts, Commando said he’d take them off his hands. There was just about time to freshen up before I had to dash back out again with CJ in tow. Neither of us knew quite what to expect as we made our way through a mostly empty city towards the Bargate. Continue reading Ghostly goings on in Southampton

Homeward bound, trails, haunted bridges, shopping trolleys and mills

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29 July 2015

We’d taken the shortest, straightest route from the Cathedral to Old Sarum but, when I’d been planning the trip, I’d seen what I thought was another, far more scenic route. Whether it was actually possible to walk it was another matter so I thought I’d save it for the return journey. If we got completely lost we’d just keep walking south and hope we’d find Salisbury eventually… Probably. Continue reading Homeward bound, trails, haunted bridges, shopping trolleys and mills

eighteen miles, snow and horses in pyjamas again – first published 22 February 2013

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February 2013 was coming to an end, leaving me just over two months before the Moonwalk. Now the long walks were getting tougher and the cold weather wasn’t helping. To avoid getting lost on a long cold walk I went back to basics and a route I knew inside out and back to front. Familiar doesn’t necessarily mean uneventful though… Continue reading eighteen miles, snow and horses in pyjamas again – first published 22 February 2013