Hartland

Last day of my (too) short stay in Devon and the weather is lovely. Head out to a part of north Devon I've not been to before - the Hartland area. It's a little off the beaten track - most people either shot straight past on the way to Bude or head to Clovelly - and this probably adds to its charm.

Down by Hartland Quay the shoreline is impressively rocky. Over the centuries this part of the north Devon coast has claimed numerous ships and it's easy to see why. The view across to Lundy is beautiful and clear.

After a little potter I head to Hartland Abbey. Apparently one of the last abbeys under Henry VIII, and then given to the keeper of his wines, it's been passed down through the generations and is still in private hands. Open to public at certain times it has that usual mix found in UK minor stately homes - feeling a little run down and needing some TLC in places, but still stunning with impressive architecture, furnishings and art work. From here I wander down to the coast to a quite and (fairly) secluded bay.

Recognise the house in the right hand photo? It was used in the recent BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility as the house the Dashwoods went to. As with many minor stately homes, those location fees probably come in handy!

The Coast and Moor

Weather a bit murky today. Well it's not so much raining with drizzle and grey skies as there is low cloud coming off the sea. Driving up over Exmoor reminded me of driving through Scotland in the autumn - though a little warmer.

Headed to Lynton and Lynmouth, two small towns linked by a Victorian Cliff Railway. Lynton sits on the top of the cliff, with Lynmouth the old small harbour town below.

I'm sure in their time they were once bustling little towns, after all a cliff railway was built to link the two, but now they sit on the remote Exmoor coast and are kept ticking over by the tourist trade. A short stroll along the coastal path is rewarded by the stunning Valley of the Rocks. Local claims that this part of North Devon is a 'little Switzerland' may be little optimistic - but it is beautiful and very like the north of Scotland.

Make my way back - via the coast, the moors and the cloud - to Barnstaple and then the evening is spent in a fantastic local pub in a small village on the edge of Exmoor. To say it's off the beaten track is to over state its transport links. It accepts only cash and cheques - a note on the door says 'we don't serve plastic food so we don't accept plastic money' - and it doesn't have a till, merely a drawer.

A great place with good food and great beer - I can't remember the last time I was asked 'do you want straight glass or a handle?' - and it is exactly as a local village pub should be!

The Tarka Trail

Weather has been a bit up and down - one day wonderful sunshine, the next full of grey skies and drizzle.

Make the most of today's weather and hire a bike to cycle some of the Tarka Trail, an old railway route in north Devon that is now a popular walk and cycleway.

I've done the southern section before - from Fremington Quay to Torrington - so this time I head north all the way past Barnstaple out to Crowe Point. Fine weather and a drink stop - purely for medicinal purposes naturally - make it a pleasant day, topped off with a lovely picnic lunch overlooking the Taw estuary.

Taking off my T shirt later I see that I have a pronounced 'cyclist's tan'!

Towards the South West

Heading down to glorious North Devon for a few days break and rather than sit in a traffic jam around Stonehenge, I took the opportunity to potter around Salisbury for a couple of hours.

Wandered around Old Sarum and then headed to the 'new' Cathedral - which has been there since about 1250. Like most cathedrals parts of it are behind scaffolding, but the interior is stunning. On the tour the guide said that the choir stalls used today are the same original ones from the 13th century. To think service have been conducted from the same seats for hundreds of years...

Around the cathedral is a lovely close and green space. The weather was beautiful and many were making the most of it, including a group of Morris Dancers. A 'typically English' scene in many respects - but I'm not sure that Morris Dancing should be encouraged!

On the way out of Salisbury I stopped at Old Wardour Castle. Going down various narrow lanes of rural Wiltshire you are rewarded with a stunning ruined castle. It's been used for various films - including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - and you can see why. A bonus was a falconry display being held on the day.

Overall a leisurely and fascinating day - so much better than being sat in a queue on the A303.

Website of the week

Okay, so I'll never make it into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame or the Baseball Hall of Fame - mainly because I'm not American and play neither sport.

I've even accepted that my call up to the England squad is perhaps unlikely and I won't make it into the Football Hall of Fame.

Still, there is hope!

Who knows, one day I could make it into the Accounting Hall of Fame.

Hattip to the Independent on Sunday.

Good and bad habits

Not sure whether blogging is a good or bad habit. If it's a good habit, it's one I'm not keeping; if it's a bad habit, it's one I can't quite kick. Which ever it is, it's not a particularly regular one of mine.

Been a strange week. The tone was set at a meeting on Monday...

The boss - "This letter you are sending out - it reads like a very bureaucratic letter."
Me - "That's because it is a bureaucratic letter."

It sort of fluctuated from there...

Website of the week

Well, you've always wanted to know how to dance properly...



And you know you'll be humming that tune for days...

Website of the week

Apparently there is a correct way to open a banana...

I don't like cricket... I love it

Having stopped off in Birmingham on my way from Southport to catch my niece in a dance recital, I head back to London on the M40 listening to Test Match Special on Radio 4.

Cricket isn't everyone's idea of an exciting and fascinating sport - especially not the Test match variety. But following the match as England held out for a draw was gripping radio - full of tension and beautifully commentated upon by the excellent TMS team.

I know it's weird that a sports match can last five days and end in a thrilling draw - but that's the beauty of cricket.

It may not be "the beautiful game" - but at times like this is comes pretty close.

A visit up north

Been a long and busy week which has been topped off with a visit to Southport, just north of Liverpool. Part of the family are just about the head off to New Zealand - part of me is very jealous - so there has been a gathering of friends and family to celebrate and wish them bon voyage.

I like Southport. Like many UK coastal resorts it's seen better times and some parts are looking a bit tired. But there is a lot of investment trying to reinvent the place (new hotels etc.), some wonderful buildings and architecture, and a beautiful coastline. I'd love to be there when the Open golf championship is being held at Royal Birkdale, I'd imagine the whole town takes on a completely different feel and the place must be buzzing.

A long way to shlep all the up the M6 for a celebration; but a good party, lovely to see people, and an enjoyable and worthwhile time.

Website of the week

This coming weekend I'll be in the north west at a family function - not a wedding nor funeral but a goodbye party as some of the wider family head out to New Zealand. Will be good fun to see everyone, though perhaps the last gathering of the clan - so happiness mixed with a tinge of sadness?

Anyway I wonder whether they will be any awkward family photos?

Welcome to 'blogging lite'

Well to say that blogging has been 'light' the past couple of months is an understatement. As most of the readers (well both) know I work in the "Westminster Village" and the last couple of months have been 'interesting'.

Suffice to say things have been busy, very busy. With work, and other stuff I'd already committed to, some things have had to take a back seat. The blog was one - and not the only one - I've still not got the 'work/life' balance quite right.

Still things could be looking up. Read in today's Observer that Lily Allen once said, "I like big chubby guys with glasses, bald head and back hair."

Blimey, I could be in there...

The Dark Side...

Have resisted for a while.

But it's no good.

I have now gone over the 'dark side.'

Canary bird's eye view

It's been a funny week. Started a little strangely on Monday after work as I ended up at Shoreditch House to catch up with someone over drinks. About as trendy a place as I'm likely to end up at!

Rest of the week been busy with various things, including double checking numbers and preparing a 'death by PowerPoint' presentation for today.

So, in one of those bizarre things that happen, I ended up spending most of the day 39 floors high above London - another place I'm never likely to come to again! In the end it wasn't quite 'death by PowerPoint', but perhaps a mild coma... ;o)

With elongated travel due to various engineering works the day was long, but good - lots of bright ideas fizzing round and real thinking and discussion, all with the glorious view of London to my left.

Sheep to the right??

Last week the above diagram was in the order of service of the church I visited.

It's probably just me, but when you need a map to show you how to get communion...

A funny old game?

Forget the Premiership. Ignore the promotion and relegation battles in the Football League. You want a real end of season top of table clash? One where the winner will get promotion? One which is a genuine local derby with the clubs less than 3 miles apart? One which is a capacity sell out all ticket match.

Welcome to the sixth level of football in England. Welcome to the Blue Square South. Welcome to the Beveree where Hampton and Richmond FC hosts AFC Wimbledon.

I've been to numerous non-league football matches - but never an all ticket one, never one which was sold out well in advance. I've also not seen as many police at a non-league match!

A crowd of over 3,200 crammed into the small ground in suburban London. Hampton and Richmond are a small community club whose main claim to fame is that Alan Simpson, one of the writers for Tony Hancock, is the club president. AFC Wimbledon are the supporter trust club set up after the creation/move of the MK Dons. They have been swiftly moving up the non-league pyramid and could be back in the league soon. AFC are top of the table, Hampton three points behind and already guaranteed a play off place. In effect Hampton need a win, AFC could settle for a draw due to their great goal difference.

The result - in the end a fair 1-1 draw. AFC will be in the Blue Square Premier league next season - hopefully Hampton will make it via the play offs.

It's a world away from the gloss of the Sky Sports and international superstars - but it's real community based 'jumpers for goalposts' football. And all the better for it.

A river runs through it

Having spent a couple of days earlier in the week walking up and down the South Downs I decided to do something a little flatter!

So I got around to doing something I've thought about for a while. Took the train in to London - as I would on a working day - and instead of getting off at Vauxhall and turning right, I turned left and set off by the Thames.

Despite the weather being less than spring like - is was a dreadfully grey day in really flat light - what a wonderful stroll it was.

It was a walk of contrasts - the haunting mass of the old Battersea power station, the redevelopment of some parts, the industry by Nine Elms and Wandsworth, and the peace of Putney and Barnes.

A lovely walking corridor through the heart of London.

Website of the week

First there was Frozen Grand Central.

Then there was Dancing in Liverpool Street.

Now the Belgians are it as well...



Does anyone just go to a station to catch a train anymore??

New in Town(er)

The Towner Gallery in Eastbourne was a lovely little art gallery. Set in an old house in a park in Eastbourne old town it was a bit off the beaten track but contained a marvellous blend of Sussex inspired art and wonderful abstract and contemporary pieces. Its move into contemporary art was largely due to the period when its curator was William Gear, a well respected abstract artist linked with the CoBrA artistic group.

For the past couple of years it has been closed as it prepared to move to a spanking new Rick Mather Architects designed building. The new gallery - next to the Eastbourne theatres and just off the seafront - not only offers stunning views across the Downs from its cafe; it is stunning itself.

The opening exhibitions are a suitably eclectic mix. There is a 'people's choice' selection which shows the breadth and quality of the Towner collection and includes works by William Gear, Eric Ravilious, Julian Opie, Roni Horn and Wolfgang Tilmanns. The top gallery contains Nowhere Man by Ivan Navarro - the Olympic sports pictographs from the 1972 Munich games are redone using fluorescent tubes and their stark simplicity and beauty works surprisingly well.

The ground floor has some works by local schoolchildren that have been inspired by works from the collection. The other contemporary display is, frankly, dreadful and shows everything wrong with modern art - but that is a minor blip.

Overall the place is a joy - exactly the sort of excellent gallery many cities would be proud of - never mind a small south coast resort. Although it's had some coverage in the national media - including the Observer and Wallpaper - it would have had hugely more if this gallery was in London.

Definitely worth a visit - it is an absolute gem.

Going up the Downs

Have escaped London to the South Downs and the south coast for a couple of days and am using Eastbourne as a base - which is a bit strange.

At Easter 15 years ago I first came to Eastbourne as my grandparents were looking to move there and we looked at various flats. Eventually they moved down and I've got know Eastbourne quite well over the years. I've a soft spot for the place - it's not particularly glamorous or exciting and it has perhaps a bit of faded glory. However, compared to other UK coastal towns it's doing OK - its seafront has a lot of lovely architecture that, due to good use of planning law, hasn't been ruined by tacky shopfronts. Above all it has the coast on one side and the glorious South Downs on the other.

I'm staying at a new 'funky' hotel - it's the type of place that has sofas in the bar with throw rugs and scatter cushions with 'Peace' and 'Love' stitched on them. It's OK - a bit different and a welcome addition to the other older style hotels that cater for the pensioner coach party tourist crowd. I would say the demographic here is a lot younger than most Eastbourne hotels - and it's a 1 minute walk from the theatres and the wonderful new Towner gallery. But...

Like many of these newly redone hotels they tend to have thought about style and forgotten that hotels also need to function as such. Yes the key fob is cute (see photo) and a wet room is very trendy - but there is no shaver point and a wet room simply means that the whole of the bathroom floor gets wet after a shower. Other little things are annoyances - the room has a flatscreen TV, but it's fixed to wall and can't be swivelled meaning that you can't easily watch it in bed - which is surely one of the small luxuries of a hotel stay! Breakfast is lovely, a continental style buffet rather than a cooked breakfast, which is plentiful and great - pity the breakfast room is nowhere near big enough for a hotel of this size. All of these are minor - overall the hotel is fine and a welcome change from others. But that makes the little annoyances worse - with just a little more thought the place could be wonderful.

Mind you - the trendy decor and scatter cushions look great now, but in 2 years will look dated and in need of overhaul. I mean cushions with 'Peace' and 'Love' in the hotel bar!?! Really...