Year: 2016

Happy Christmas and best wishes for New Year.

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Unfortunately, me trying desperately to get organised for Christmas has meant no recent update to johnsunter.com

Sorry about that.

Off now to the Rohan shop to take advantage of the sale, then I’ll be planning loads of interesting adventures for next year.

I’m back in work for 3 days, then off to the Lake District for 4 days to do some more mountains and get my pub walks book signed 🙂

Most of you know that 2009 was the darkest time I can remember.

Each year since then I’ve tried to make gradual and sensible life improvements. This year has surpassed all of my plans and expectations.

Most of you reading this have helped to make it possible, so thanks so much for that and see/hear from, you in the New Year for more adventures.

Finally, if you aren’t doing much for New Year, make a point of watching the Accountant. We went to see it last night, its fantastic.

Happy New Year, the search for adventure continues…

Bangkok to start SEA trip and catch up with Frank

frankwork

In 2005 I got married in Thailand (to a girl from the Wirral before anyone asks 🙂

I had 3 fantastic weeks there and even visited Vietnam and Cambodia.

On the trip my oldest friend Frank came with me. On the last day of the trip, I told him we were going to get a taxi to the airport the next day and he was welcome to share it with us.

He said it was OK, and that he was going to hang around in Bangkok. I smiled and agreed. I remember saying why not its such a beautiful place, why not have another week or two here.

No said Frank, I’m actually going to stay here for good. And there with a bag on his shoulder smaller than the one I carry to work his only possessions, he set out to make a life for himself there.

I always promised to go out and see him (although it was never as frequent as I’d have liked and I really missed an adventure companion who was up for anything here in the UK).

Well, Myanmar (Burma) recently opened to the world after years of being closed to tourists due to its Dictatorship. We were flying into Bangkok to start the trip so I was determined to go there and catch up with him.

bkhotel

I left for the airport straight from work. A stopover in Abu Dhabi and after 25hrs of travelling, were finally in Bangkok.

Were here for 2 nights and we’ve got a lovely hotel Nikki has stayed in before, on the bank of the river.

streetfood

We decided to get out and stretch our legs.

My first exposure to Thailand, was a noodle bar in Manchester called Tampopo (which I believe is still there, 20 years later).

I remember reading on a menu, something called Pad Thai, described as a popular Bangkok street dish. I’ve been to Bangkok 6 times, eaten Pad Thai hundreds of times, but never actualy bought it from a street vendor.

So here we are, 20 years later buying Pad Thai, which was delicious.

nashop

We were going to meet Frank at his wife Na’s shop.

Won’t bore you all with the details, but I didn’t research it properly and instead of getting a taxi, decided to walk.

The map above showed our route across Bangkok on a Sunday.

acme

Along the way, we found this building where the road runner gets all of his revenge ordnance from.

mefrank

Ended up with Nikki and I finding a place in a shopping centre and messaging Frank on Facebook explaining that I couldn’t find where he was.

Turned out, he was just upstairs in the building and popped down to join us for a drink.

The people of Thailand were still in mourning over the death of the king and like many, Frank was wearing a black shirt out of respect.

nalekshop

We popped upstairs to see Na at her shop.

I had a really good shot lined up then an enormous African woman came over to buy something from the shop. Money is money, so I got out of the way and left them to conduct their business.

Also, Na’s lovely friend Lek wasn’t around either. For this reason I’ve used a picture from a previous trip.

walk1

From here, Frank took us out for a walk around Bangkok.

I’ve been here many times and I was looking forward to seeing what sort of “outdoor/adventure” walk we were going to have.

I shouldn’t have wondered, Frank took us to this spot where the UDD red shirts had an uprising against the military (I remember seeing it on TV and it was surreal to actually be standing there).

walk2

We head for a really nice place called Lumpini Park.

It’s name after Lumbini the birthplace of Buddha.

There were some awful swan shaped boats in the lake.

walk3

We carried on walking past the lake and through the length of the park.

walk4

We continued walking. After about 50 minutes, he showed us this cycle path he’d found.

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It was raised above the houses and shops bellow.

It was really quiet and relaxing here and we were able to just walk along and catch up on old times.

walk6

At the end of the path, we cross this wobbly bridge and this “jungle with skyscrapers in the background” scene.

cheap_charlies

We find ourselves in a sports bar.

But instead of tv’s with sport on, it had dozens of pool tables. The regulars their seemed surprised that 3 people had just come in for a drink, but they were very pleasant and gave up their seats at the bar for us.

Wandering back into the “normal” Bangkok, we visit cheap Charlie’s, which is due to be demolished.

dinner

By now, its getting Dark.

Na has finished work and joins us all for a for a delicious meal at Zaks restaurant.

Two hours of fun and interesting conversation then sadly, it has to come to an end. We say goodbye to Frank and Na, Na negotiates the price of a taxi and we head for home.

aa2

In the morning, we have breakfast at the hotel, then head for the airport for a 4 day trip to Luang Prabang in Laos.

pool

Having completed our trip to Luang Prabang and Mayanmar, we’re back in Bangkok.

We arrive around 10am in the morning and were due to fly out at 8pm in the evening.

Nikki has cleverly booked us in at an airport hotel. We relax by the pool have a few drinks and something to eat.

Nikki decides to have a swim. A very relaxing way to prepare for the end of a holiday.

boxing

I leave the pool and go for a wander around.

I find a really smart bike shop, that sells coffee.

I have 2 cups of coffee, while I watch Thai Boxing on the TV.

Another 90m minutes by the pool, then 30 min lie down, shower and complimentary taxi to the airport 3 miles away (and all for £15).

whistle

Back home in the UK, I spend the morning on my own, have a nap then head out.

I head for the lock keeper where I take of my whistle and have a pint of beer.

My transition to normal life is complete.

harkers_roast

Nikki texts me and asks what I want to do that evening (I’m back at work in the morning).

There’s really only one thing I can think off…

After 2 weeks of oriental food, its off to Harkers for Sunday lunch, with gravy and Yorkshire puddings.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I’ve found a picture of this attractive woman eating the same meal that I ate (well not the “same” meal, but you know what I mean).

Another amazing trip complete.

Luang Prabang, adventure playground (1/2).

me_1

After flying into Bangkok (the main hub in the area) and catching up with Frank, we had a couple of days free before out organised tour to Myanmar (Burma).

The airport was quite small, and you needed to get a visa on arrival.

hotelroad

We got a truck from the airport (the main form of transport) and travelled to our hotel.

It was next to a road, and on the other side of the road they had a sort of cafe/bar where we had breakfast.

A beautiful teak building, the people there were really friendly and I was starting to get really excited about the trip.

construction

We’re here for 3 nights. Were interested in doing full day activities for the 2 days in the middle, but of the afternoon we decide to wander around the town and get a feel for the place.

As we wonder out, we see this half completed building that gives an idea of how traditional buildings are constructed using modern methods.

watsene

Although the place is great to spend time in, the actual town itself only has 3 “must see” sights according to the lonely planet.

Wat Xieng Thong – the temple of the Golden city is a Buddhist monastery.

stair1

“mount” Phosi has commanding views of the whole town (although to be honest at 100metres above sea level, its more hill than mountain).

There is a woman of the bottom of the steps, who sells birds in cages. The idea is that you can climb up to the temple and set the bird free.

But like Nikki said. The old lady only trapped that bird because she new someone would buy it. If you really want to help the birds, keep your money in your pocket.

stairs2

At the top of the main run of the stairs, a large tree, then you pay an entrance fee.

From here, the stairs go off to the right.

phosi1

Wat Chom Si is the Buddhist temple at the top of the hill.

phosi2

Around the back are some spectacular views of the peninsula.

rp1

Back down the stairs and right across the road is the Royal Palace.

A collection of regal buildings and a museum.

rp2

A wandered around the gardens which were kept in very good order.

rp3

The main building has a museum with fine art, a garage with Royal cars and stuff like that.

We wandered back onto the main road, had a few drinks and a delicious Pizza, cooked on a wood burning stove.

There were loads of shops open in the evening, advertising day trips. We decide that the following day we’d do the classic boat trip to caves and drive to waterfall.

The following day, we’d to a jungle trek to 2 villages and the Tad Sae.

breakfast

In the morning, were up first thing and we have breakfast by the river.

Property is quite expensive in Luang Prabang, so many of the people who work there, actually live on the the side of the river, and sail over first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

boat2

Were picked up by van, just outside our hotel, then driven around the blog and dropped off at the boat jetty (which interestingly is only 60 metres from the place we were picked up).

The “captain” of our boat pilots it from the front, it has a roof in case of rain and had been modified with really comfortable car seats.

We share the boat with a French couple who had 2 well behaved young children with them.

mekong1

A relaxing 2 hour journey up the Mekong. At one point it looked like our boat had engine problems, but our captain sorted this out pretty quick.

arrival

And we arrive at Pak Ou caves. There are actually 2 caves here, and we visit the lower one first.

cave1

There were all sorts of carved stone figures of Buddha here, but in the end, a caves a cave and there’s not much I can say about that.

cave2

I found a nice spot to take a picture of Nikki.

cavesteps

Further along, a stairway leads upto the other cave.

cave3

The other cave was a bit more “tomb raider and you could rent torches to explore it.

headinghome

Back to the jetty and we set off.

whiskyvillage

But we dont go straight back, we stop off at the whisky village.

They had whisky and dead scorpions in bottles. We decided not to buy anything.

jeeptowaterfall

Back to Luang Prabang, and we’ve got 90 minutes to have lunch in the alternative brew bar, a really nice coffee shop before jumping in a truck and heading to our next destination Kuang Si waterfall.

waterfall1_1

It’s about 40 minutes in a minibus, and once you get there, well, its a waterfall.

The most interesting thing I found was to wander around the top of the waterfall and explore.

waterfall1_2

You can’t actually swim around there, but a pool nearby is a better option.

I found somewhere in the shade and had a can of beer.

waterfall1_3

Our group had been allotted 2 hours for the trip. To be honest I was bored after 40 mins, so we wandered down the hill to the town and found a nice bar there to relax in.

Along the way, we passed this zoo where local bears live (but they’d hidden inside so we didn’t see them).

Luang Prabang, adventure playground (2/2).

street

Luang Prabang in the evening was a lovely place to hang out, drink some nice red wine and eat Asian or Western food.

nightmarket

A ubiquitous night market sold everything under the sun.

Therese always some sort of fashionable trinket, and this years was a bamboo thing that you put your mobile in.

When you played music, the bamboo enhanced the sound.

me_2

The following day were picked up and head off for our jungle trek.

Several different groups were in the truck, and the first group were dropped off to do mountain biking.

can

When we arrived at our destination, another couple were going canoeing.

river_crossing

They put to water in this river.

The start of our jungle trek was on the opposite bank.

river_crossing2

We were transferred across by traditional canoe.

 

trail1

Our walk begins through rugged tracks leading towards the first village on our trek.

rubberplant

The villagers main source of income is are rubber trees, and here you can see a tree being “piped” and some bags with rubber ready to be processed.

trail2

We leave the road and head through forests.

Our guide Lan was a really interesting guy who had worked as an adventure guide for several years.

trail3

From here we head into the jungle.

Lan (like many of the people we met on the trip) was very comfortable in the jungle

He demonstrated this technique of fashioning a large leaf and “sewing” it together to make it into a hat.

I was impressed.

hillside

The route takes us higher into the mountains and we are furnished with walking poles.

I wondered what kind of cutting tool our guide would have. A Parang, a Panga, perhaps a Kukri.

Interestingly, none of this. He had a kitchen cleaver. To my surprise it performed perfectly.

He explained he used it as he could use it for preparing chickens at home, being stainless steel it was easier to clean and held and edge for longer.

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We reach the top of the col, and the view into the valley is spectacular.

shelter

At the bottom of the hill, were on the outskirts of another village.

They have constructed this simple shelter, so that travellers and people visiting relatives have somewhere to stay.

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Much less dense, we wander through a wood towards the village.

village1

The village has a school, a rice store and loads of other cool things.

It was quite simple though, and most of the people we were introduced too, seemed reasonably happy though they didn’t have much in the way of possessions.

secretwar

In the middle of the picture is an artillery shell.

It had been repurposed as an anvil and was used making things and processing bamboo.

As it was a nice day, we visited the village shop.

The owner and a few friends were inside sitting around a fire (in baking heat) and drinking whisky.

It was too nice a day to miss an opportunity, so I bought a couple of bottles of beer and we sat outside in the shade for an hour and chatted.

It was one of the most relaxing moments in the whole trip. I opened the bottles with my Swiss army knife, Lan seemed as impressed with that, as I was with the cleaver.

trail6

Leaving the village, we wander through a clearing and back along the road.

trail7

We leave the road and follow a trail by the river.

waterfall2_1

And shortly afterwards, we arrive at the Tad Sae waterfall.

waterfall2_2

Around the front of the waterfall, there are loads of people relaxing and sunbathing.

Not like use hardened trekkers.

lunch

Tragically, we’ve now left the beautifully jungle and arrived at a tourist trap, with all the razzmatazz that entails…

But, we’ve also got lunch included with our trip and I have delicious Pad Thai with Chicken.

feet

I rest my weary feet in the cool water.

Whilst doing so, I admire my Rohan Jungle cargoes.

I bought them some years ago, and I always think its a wast to go to a jungle and not wear them for their intended purpose.

boathome

A boat takes us back across the river where the trick waits to take us back to our hotel.

Another lovely evening, red wine, and a nice peace of steak for dinner.

airporttruck

In the morning, after breakfast by the Mekong Delta, we load up another truck with our bags and head for the airport.

My first visit to Laos complete, I thought the place was fantastic and I’ll be going back.

Winter adventures at home.

me_df

Well, a couple of weekends at home.

So, in no particular order are some of the stuff I’ve been doing.

Above is a picture of me in Delamere Forest where I went walking with CDWG.

bangkok

I’m massively looking forward to going on holiday.

This year I’m doing a long weekend in Bangkok (and catching up with Frank) 4 days in Luang Prabang (in Laos, a country I’ve not visited before) and then an 8 day tour of Burma, a country which has been “closed” for 25 years.

cm

As part of Chester’s literary festival (you may remember a few years ago I went to see Jonny Rotten at the CLF) a talk was being given by Chris Mullen.

He is famous for the release of the Birmingham 6, but my favourite thing about him, is he wrote A very British Coup which I really enjoyed.

Interesting talk from a career politician. He was asked at one point about Brexit and the possibility (now confirmed) of Donald Trump becoming president.

He said simply. You cant dismiss these people. Many of the voting public feel like their not being listened to and are kicking back. It will be a few years before this is sorted out.

bp

It a good few years since Frank and I visited Bletchley Park, the home of the war time codebreaker Alan Turing, who this website is dedicated too.

Nikki and I decided to get the train down and visit it.

bp_bomb

There’s always a lot of confusion around Enigma, Bomb and Colossus.

Just to clarify, the Enigma is the typewriter type thing that was used to encode/decode information.

The Bomb (shown above) was used to decrypt the data using an anomaly in the Enigma machine (it could never convert a letter back to itself).

Colossus the worlds first programmable computer, will come later.

bp_bat

A film I really enjoyed, the Imitation Game (alluding to the Turing test) was shot mostly at Bletchley park.

I hadn’t recognised it while watching the film, but this is the bar featured in the film.

pb_col

A confusing state of state of affairs exists where the British Museum of Computing is on the same site and the relationship isn’t friendly.

One thing though, is there’s all sorts of info about a very complex German code called Lorenze. Daft thing is, the Colossus computer that cracked it and has been reconstructed is in The BMC and you have to pay another fee to see it.

But its a fascinating thing and worth the money. Above, a volunteer maths teacher gives up his weekend to demonstrate Colossus.

bp_drwho

Some of the things there are a bit querky (but its a British museum after all) and it has Sega megadrives and BBC micro’s everywhere.

I also found these 2 props from the original series of Dr Who.

bp_mway

Afterwards, we went to the 8 Bells for a drink (Turing rarely went out to the pub, but had drunk here)

Later in the evening we wandered into the town and watched Dr Strange at Milton Keynes.

Above is a picture of what most people think Milton Keynes looks like.

bp_lake

On Sunday, our train home wasn’t until 4pm, so using our map we worked out a route through parks and gardens and wandered around for 5 hours.

Above is a picture of some of the beautiful scenery in Milton Keynes and I think its sad that so few people know about it.

train

Speaking of trains.

I finally got my type 2 Hornby 125 re-shelled as a type 1.

I got some “grass” and bought a few accessories to set up the train set as you see it above.

The train my dad wanted me to have.

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Back to Wrexham for an evening to hear a talk by Chris Bonington, one of my all time heroes.

Aged 82 now, he talked about a life spent in the worlds far away places and the joys of being the first to cut a new route and the tragedy of losing friends on the mountain.

Most inspiring was at the end. He said that I’m now 82 and I wonder what the future holds (2 years ago he climbed the old man of Hoy, so he’s pretty fit and healthy). In summary he said simply “never give up” always strive and try new things.

soup

Back at home, I’ve been experiments making my own soup.

echo

I saw an Amazon Echo on season 2 of Mr Robot.

I thought it looked really smart. Basically, it connects to wifi, and you can ask it questions, use it to play music, wake you up and update to do lists (it can be set up to turn on lights, but I dont really need that).

Well, with Nikki’s birthday coming around and she being almost impossible to find a present for, I bought her some really good lights for her bike and one of these.

It’s setup in my house at the moment, but its great to say “Alexa when is the next train to Manchester ?”.

df_cooking

I bought a Jetboil stove a few years ago. I loved my Trangia and took some convincing to switch, but its amazingly compact and can boil water in no time.

On a recently walk in Delamere forest, instead of taking sandwiches as I usually do, I made beef stew and dumplings.

Unfortunately I’d forgotten a spoon, so had to quickly carve and improvised one.

Not the nicest meal I’ve ever eaten, but a lot nicer than I’d expected (a few shared by everyone else on the walk who tried it).

dan

Had a “lads” night out the other week with my old friend Dan (ok so only 1 other lad).

As Nikki’s sister Lyn and her husband Vic were in town, we all met up for a drink in the Brewhouse.

rf

Also part of the Chester Literary Festival was a talk by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

I’ve been to a talk previously, where he talked about his life, but this time he was talking about a book he’d written called fear and how he’d personally tried to overcome his fear.

But then he was talking about the knife edge ridge of the Eigre and I have to say sensing fear at that moment, is entirely sensible surely 🙂

su_fair

Every month there is a Pop up Artisan Fayre next to Chester Railway station.

Nikki and I went along. There were loads of interesting things and a place where you could buy beer and pizza’s

We also found a stall where they made their own chilli sauce and we made some to eat with the fishcakes that we made.

pub_lt

In the Lock Keeper the other evening.

Sat in a corner, going through my to-read list and jotting down notes about trips and projects, I notice something strange.

The charming bar manager (who’s name I dont know, but is always very pleasant to me) produces a laptop from a Tesco shopping bag and proceeds to start doing some work.

I have 3 laptop bags, and the 1 I had with me wasn’t one I particularly liked.

So, against her protestations, I gave her my laptop bag and when I left took my laptop and papers home in the Tesco bag 🙂

I’m using a different laptop bag now, and I’m delighted I was able to do something nice.

temptations1

The 4 tops and the Temptations are legendary musicians from the Motown era.

And they were coming to Liverpool so Nikki and I went to see them.

Some of the groups only had 1 original members, but I was struck by the vocal power of their songs.

One person was introduced. He has 35 PLATINUM ALBUMS to his name, a legend in the house tonight he continued.

Its not the sort of music I normally listen to, but I’ve put some of it on my IPod now 🙂

curry

Tony and I went for a curry in the Bombay Pallace.

I got there all the time now, as the food is superb.

There seems to be a sort of renaissance going on in Chester at the moment. Turkish restaurants are opening, traditional curry houses are closing and places previously out on the fringes like the BP have re-invented themselves to roaring acclaim (well, from Tony and I at any rate 🙂

policecop

A comedy drama called Police Cops which was very popular at the Edinburgh Fringe, was performed in Chester at the little theatre.

With just 3 characters it parodied lots of cop shows from the 80’s. Since I really enjoyed loads of those shows, we went along.

alchemist

An afternoon in Liverpool, we had dinner at the newly opened Alchemy.

twopence-to-cross-the-mersey

Later we went to see Two Pence to cross the Mersey.

I helped Nikki to pronounce it as Tuppence the way my grandma would have said it.

drstrangelove

Chez Jules do a cracking deal on Thursday evenings, where you get to have a 3 course meal and they put on a classic film.

Nikki and I had never seen Dr Strangelove so off we went. I couldnt believe that people were so cavalier about global destruction at the height of the cold war!.

But the dinner was nice and the film was pretty good (including the ending with people in cowboy hats “riding” bombs.

mag

I haven’t been on a lads holiday in a while.

Since Nikki and I are at home this Christmas, I’ve hooked up with a few friends and were going to Magaluf in late December.

I’m told it has a different vibe later in the year and is supposed to be quite mellow.

See what happens.

harkers_canoe

And finally, went out for a couple of drinks in the legendary Harkers the other evening.

One of the customers was so keen to go there he’d Canoed all the way from Huntington 🙂

More stuff when I get back from Burma, in the meantime, near and far, the search for adventure continues…

why walk to Harkers when you can canoe there ?

Return to Llanberis.

ninja_suit

Well, my house “do up” is finally complete after 2 years and the Barbecue I held to celebrate it went really well. I even wore a martial arts outfit, as my alter ego “The weekend Ninja”.

I’ve seen loads of interesting plays, talks and comedians recently (which you’ve probably seen on facebook/twitter).

Not long now before I go off to Burma and Nikki and I will be celebrating 4 years together while away.

For now, I’ve converted a few older pages and written this recent piece about a nostalgia inducing trip to Llanberis.

Near and far, the search for adventure continues…

lpath1

Looking back on an ill fated trip to Snowdon (we were meeting my brother at the top and the train he was on broke down).

Theres always a silver lining. We walked up the Llanberis path (I’ve done all 6 routes up and down and the Llanberis path is easily the dullest) and noticed an interesting ridge off towards Llanberis.

Closer inspection on the map confirmed it as Moel Ellio.

Seed planted, I knew we’d come back to “conquer” it.

lyha

Although Nikki is my girlfriend she’s also a free individual.

As such I really appreciated all her help, now that the work on the house (much of which she’d either done herself or motivated me to do by nagging) had been completed.

Some sort of nice reward seemed to be in order. I booked us 2 nights at the youth hostel in Llanberis. We were looking forward to it, as we hadn’t stayed in that particular youth hostel and Llanberis has always been special to me.

stream

Just like Chris Bonington, Snowdon near Llanberis, was the first proper mountain I’d climbed under my own steam.

The following summer I had an amazing trip there with Jason Macdonald, Caz, Lee Sawbridge and Jane Smith.

I’d always wanted desperately to be an outdoor pursuits instructor. Bit by bit I realised I wasn’t cut out for it and perhaps an alternative career would be better.

As I stood next to the stream near the fairy glen I made a decision. I’d build an exciting career in computers and use the money I made to fund a life of adventure.

At that moment I was sad as I knew I was giving up a dream, but I was filled with an expectant energy about the future.

inside_hostel

Back to the present day, and Nikki and I check into the hostel.

The hostel is modern, bright and spacious. But on the lane leading up to it, there were a number of maintenance vans and we didn’t know why.

Well, the hostel had no running water!. But it was Friday night, so I just drank beer and we ate the delicious Thai Green curry that Nikki had prepared.

me1

The following morning and were up and out on the hill.

The normally excellent instructions from walking world fell a bit short so we improvised (I love walking world with its normal easy to follow instructions, but ALWAYS take an OS map in case of the unexpected).

me2

Steep going, then we hit the top of the ridge and follow it as it rises and falls (the wind was so strong in places that you could lean forward and not fall over 🙂

So, Moel Ellio completed. To honour the occasion, I gave it a new name.  I decided to call it the Elephants back.

leepint

We complete the walk, get back to the hostel and get showered and cleaned up.

With dinner reservations already made, we’ve got a couple of hours to kill.

That summer we spent an evening at the Padarn lake hotel. They had a normal bar and a ramblers bar.

I’ll never forget how busy it was, people were just sitting out on the flags outside in the sunshine.

Inside Lee and I found a corner and talked about the future, when Mac and Caz played Double Dragon.

Sadly today, its a sports bar and has nothing of its previous character.

peak_rest

But this was made up for with the award winning Peak restaurant where we had dinner.

Beef and Ale pie and Mash, washed down with Moretti and later a Chilean Merlot.

Not finery I enjoyed in my youth. Back then it was tea brewed on a Trangia and evening meal from the chippy 🙂

campsite

Off to bed to a good nights sleep (well as good as you can in a 3 foot wide bunk bed!).

In the morning, we eat another hearty breakfast at the Youth Hostel, then walk 2 miles out towards Pen a pass.

We pass a campsite I’ve stayed at several times. I remember when we came here with Caz and Yvonne(friends at the time, now married for over 20 years).

Yvonne had decided to climb the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales and on this weekend it was Snowdon.

view

We’d seen an amazing hill from the Elephants back the previous day.

Walking rules, go something like this:

Walking on open ground is about 3 times harder (and slower) then walking on a path.

Walking over rough terrain is about 2 times harder (and slower) than walking on open ground.

This was rough terrain, extremely steep and throw in some scrambling half way up. An incredibly challenging route.

After 5 hours, were rewarded with this amazing view back into the valley and the Padern lake.

Back down the hill by another way (still no proper path) but we’d worked out a smart circular route for next year.

va

Back at the bottom of the hill, the Vaynol arms beckons and we get a nice drink before heading back.

On the summer trip, we camped here. I remember almost everyone on the campsite headed for the pub around 7pm.

Its still got loads of climbing memorabilia and pictures of famous names like Don Whillans.

Its then that it hits me.

We’ve left the car back at the youth hostel, so we have to walk 2 miles back to Llanberis then up a big hill!.

Another brilliant weekend, then off back home for bath and dinner in Urbano 32.

Reliving childhood at Rookin House Farm

mates

A few friends and I decided to spend a weekend at Rookin House Farm, doing activities like quad biking and shotgun shooting.

Here we assemble in reception, ready for action.

rhouse
jfriding

Frank and I arrived earlier than everyone else, so we were able to go Pony Trekking.

I have sat on one many times, while someone led it, but this time, I wanted to “take the reigns” myself.

The horse I was riding, was called Minstrel.

I found a web site with some horse riding instructions here.

meriding
mefishing

With a few hours left, before everyone arrives, Frank and I decide to try out hand at fishing. We borrowed the relevant equipment, and got started.

To be honest, there were hundreds of fish, and you could practically put your hand in and pull them out.

In any event, we were delighted, when we actually caught one.

fish1
fish2 With my Bushcraft experience, I was able to “prep” the fish, and here, I eat it for breakfast.

On Friday evening, we had a big party ( a £10 night out, who could argue).

Saturday morning, I cooked everyone a big breakfast. It was going to be a hard day for a group made up of mostly office workers.

A short walk to our first activity, Archery.

My friend Jon Knight, pictured in the Archery Barn

jkarch
mearch

The weather wasn’t great, so we were able to do Archery indoors, which increased the accuracy of our shots (no side wind).

I had a go at Archery some years ago, and realized that although right handed, I “bow” left handed.

I surprised myself, by coming 2nd at the Archery.

archery2
argo

Next we had a ride in an Argo Cat.

Its an all terrain vehicle, which is also amphibious.

It was really exciting riding in it, but if you had too many the night before, it could separate you from your breakfast.

rheged
mezip1

When I have been to Rookin House farm before, I have always been fascinated by the zip wire.

This time I decided to have a go for myself.

mezip2
 quad1

Of all my hobbies, I think quad biking is probably the most exciting.

Its the freedom to travel across the country side, at high speed that exhilarates me the most

We went driving all around fields and forests and ravines for 45 minutes, it was excellent.

quad
meshoot1
My brother David, distributes the ammo. ammo
meshoot2

On Saturday evening, after the days activities, its time for a night on the town.

Keswick is my favourite Town in the Lakes and only 20 minutes drive from Rookin House Farm.

We visited several local pubs but spent most of our time in the Keswick Lodge ,my favourite pub in the area.

A few of my friends have Children, and don’t get to “do their own thing” very often. The evening really brought out the best in them. While out, I saw Steve Smith from Woodsmoke.

After this we went to the curry house next door to the Keswick lodge and had a fantastic meal.

After closing, a few of us went to the “loft”. A crime against God, which purports to be a nightclub. Looking at the website, you would think its quite nice. Its not.

curry
gearup
Me and my friend Lee, preparing for combat. mepb
teampb

Weekend in Anglesey.

mecastle A lot of people have returned to holidaying in the UK due to the stresses of airports and flying.

My brother and his wife Leigh decided to rent a cottage in Anglesey for a week, and asked me if I would like to pop down for the weekend.

Sounded like a brilliant idea do me, so off I went.

Trearddur bay was our destination.

We came here about 10 years ago with my mum for a family holiday.

We were delighted to find that a new Motorway had been built and it was a lot quicker to get across the Island.

tbay
pd We had originally stayed at a Hotel called Plas Darien, which offered all sorts of activities like tennis and golf and things like that.

The place was a little run down to be honest, but as my brother pointed out, it was a superb base for a few days away.

The area around Trearddur Bay, was just my kind of place.

There were no nightclubs or any of that rubbish, just loads of peaceful sandy beaches friendly shops and cafes and other stuff like that.

This famous house overlooking the sea, was featured in the film Wuthering Heights.

whhouse
prisonent I’d like to tell you that I did loads of great things on my first evening, but in reality, the pace of life catches up with you, once you stop racing, and I actually fell asleep before 8pm.

A storm had hammered the bay during the night. I just slept through it.

12 hours of obviously needed sleep later, I awake to enjoy bacon “butty’s” with my brother and Leigh.

We head out towards Beaumaris, to see the famous Gaol there, now a museum.

There were some amazing things to see.

This bathroom doesn’t exactly look like its from the Burj al Arab, but in Victorian times, prison reformers had revolutionised prisons.

Before that, they had just been dungeons, with straw beds and you had to buy food from your Gaol’er

bathroom
chapel Religion was considered important in order to help a person to rebuild his or her character.

David joked, that since I spend most of my time preaching that I should pose at the front of the Church.

For the record, I try to inspire people to seek adventure. I never tell people what they should do.

We head to the upstairs and the “modern” wing of the prison.

I just loved this staircase, it was about as Victorian as you could get.

stairs1
stairs2 At the top of the stairs, we wander around the corridors.
This was a standard cell, for an inmate.

I was surprised to see, that instead of hard beds, they featured hammock style canvas beds.

The doors were solidly built, I couldn’t see anyone breaking out of there.

cell
dcell For the 2nd time that morning, I indulge my brother, and agree to be photographed next to the Drunkard Cell.
Some of the cells had this device in them.

It was filled with Sand and Grit, and it required a great deal of effort to turn it.

There was a counter on the box, and an inmate had to do 3000 rotations, in order to get breakfast. No work – No food.

The thing I found astounding, was that the box served no practical purpose, and the hard labour put into it, achieved nothing in reality.

hw
whip A whipping frame, where people had their shirts removed and were fastened to it, before receiving punishment.

Disturbingly, devices like these are being used in places like Thailand and Singapore right at this moment.

I was saddened to see that the Museum of childhood memories had closed down.

Overall, Beaumaris seemed to have degraded a bit, since I was there last.

Several new hotels were under construction and I was sure that the next time I visit, everything will be back to normal.

childmuseum
peer We wandered along the peer and had a look at the boats.
There was a sailing race taking place, and they actually had 2 small canon to start and stop the race. puffinisland
castle4 For the 2nd time, I got to see Beaumaris Castle.

I saw a program with Fred Dibnah. In it, he said if completed, it would have the been most perfect castle ever built.

Work on Beaumaris castle, begun in 1295, it was the last and largest castle built by Edward the 1st.

This is undoubtedly the ultimate “concentric” castle, built with an almost geometric symmetry.

Conceived as an integral whole, a high inner ring of defences is surrounded by a lower outer circuit of walls, combining an almost unprecedented level of strength and firepower.

Ironically, should an attacker compromise the outer wall (no mean feat in itself) they would then be caught in a crossfire of arrows from both the outer and inner walls, with no available cover.

castle3
castle2 This side of the castle was completed.
This side wasn’t. castle1
insidecastle We wander around and explore inside the battlements.
The archers would have been emplaced in positions like this, and you can see just how good a position they would have been in, to “pick off” the opposing forces. castlewindow
cove1 The third bay along from Plas Darien where some people were canoeing.

It was here that I joined the Circular path.

The Circular path follows the contour of the coast.

I followed it for about 6 miles, it was just amazing to be back walking again.

path1
cove2 The path passed several other coves, this was one of my favourites and even featured a natural tunnel.
The yellow Sea King helicopter on Manoeuvres around the bay.

Its always re-assuring, even in perfect weather to see this sight.

seaking
hill As I pottered along, I was really enjoying the weather, the feeling of the ground underneath my feet and the general well being of the moment.

I decided to go walking as often as I can now (I need to get fit, and the one activity I love doing is walking).

I haven’t done much walking since Frank left for Thailand, but I’m going to start “solo” walking.

Another one of the beautiful coves, you can see the colour of the ocean and the rocks that rice out of the ocean. cove3
path4 I leave the Circular path as it rejoins the road, wander along the road for a little while and then join the Anglesey Coastal path, which I know goes to the South Stack lighthouse.

I wandered along for about 2 miles, before arriving at this path, which ran for a mile to Twr Elin only a foot or 2 from a 300 foot drop into the ocean.

The South Stack lighthouse.

Designed by Daniel Alexander and completed in 1908.

From here, there is a walk to the “stairway” then 400 steps down to the lighthouse.

southstack
cricket As I wander back along the road (taking the direct route home, it was a baking hot day).

I stop by the original cove where I joined the circular path.

Canoeists and Scuba divers return from their activities and I visit the ice cream van for a well earned Cola Lolly

I was delighted to see a few lads playing the Great British game of cricket, using a ball they had found in the sea, a piece of driftwood as a bat, and a coolbox as wickets.

Mad dogs and Englishmen (and Welshmen)…

I wandered passed the hotel, and made my way to the excellent Waterfront bar and restaurant to meet up with David and Lee.

It really was excellent to watch the sunset with a drink and something to eat.

I was really starting to relax now.

waterfront
pool Later on, we wander back to the Hotel.

We had a couple of games of pool, but the table wasn’t very good, and the bar wasn’t just closed, it had been decommissioned.

We headed down the hotel approach and visit the Trearddur holiday bungalows. They had a nice bar there, and a singer in the main bar who was pretty good, but we headed for the games room.

A pretty good evening overall.

After another excellent nights sleep, its time to head home.

On the way in, my brother had picked me up at Chester, but going home, I was getting the train from Holyhead.

I had beans on toast with Tea for breakfast, at an umbrella table.

We decided to wander around, and see what the town had to offer.

The Marina was rather spectacular.

marina
holyhead I had packed at fairly short notice, so after wearing my jumper the previous day, the only thing I had to wear was a brand new johnsunter.com T shirt that I had received in the post the day before.

Relaxing in the Sun, listening to the waves lap against the shore.

My brother and Lee then left to visit the Lighthouse I had seen the day before.

I had an hour and a half to myself, to wander around the town.

The port and railway station (not surprisingly) are right next to each other.

I loved the way the whole thing was effectively on stilts in the bay.

You can see the colour of the water in this picture.

I almost wished I could go for a swim in it.

port
lastlook On the train going home, my last sight of Anglesey as it crosses the Britannia bridge onto the Welsh mainland.

In only a day and a half I had done loads of interesting and exciting things, spent time with my brother that I don’t always get to do and generally relax.

At the prices of accommodation there, Il be going back soon.

Woodsmoke’s first native course.

dog The trip started off well.

A woman on the train, had a tiny Piccanise dog, and carried it around in a shopping bag.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it.

Woodsmoke have moved their camp to a different part of the forest.

The idea was to build and live in natural shelters for the whole week.

Ben always explains theory before any activity, and uses his skills as a fine artist to illustrate his ideas.

I think white boards are fantastic (I have one in my office and at home).

whiteboard
daveshelter A classic Scandinavian lean-to shelter, with a raised bed.

This one was constructed by Dave Alty. Dave and I were on the Abo course together, its always great to see him.

A chap on the course called Phil, had asked to build the most sophisticated shelter that woodsmoke could think off.

This shelter used a kind of hook at the top, and a v shaped fork at the bottom, so it sort of hangs of the tree.

Its main features are that its raised of the ground, and can be moved around the tree to stay in the shade.

Not so much a shelter, as a feat of engineering, I was totally impressed.

hangingshelter
pumpdrill The course was designed as a kind of woodlander part 2, and covered advanced techniques of just about every major skill.

Here Rob demonstrates a pump drill, originally designed for drilling holes.

It was the easiest way to make fire from friction that I have ever seen. They had 3 different types to demonstrate.

We spent a lot of time working on the fire drill.

As Ben put it, its quite the most elegant way to light a fire.

It required a lot of concentration to get it working. Here Jeremy attempts to get an ember.

firedrill
loom We were taught to construct a reed loom.
It would enable is to make reed mattresses, which could also be used for “drop-down” shelter doors. meweaving
mat The finished mat.

I wish I had known how to make one of these on the abo course.

It was an amazing piece of primitive technology, and would enable a full nights sleep, which would transform the overall bushcraft experience.

Lisa teaches us to construct containers from Bark.

She had previously been on a course in Utah, where you had to survive for 10 days, without any man made products.

lisabark
bark A selection of the things that Lisa had previously constructed from Bark, including a belt and knife pouch.
I constructed a container for carrying berry’s and stuff like that.

For some reason, I have an expression like a child in this picture, and I am not sure why.

mebark
anthony I had prepared many different types of animal before, but this was the first time I had cooked Squirrel (in fact, the whole course was full of things I had never done before.)

Preparing animals for cooking, is perhaps the least desirable parts of bushcraft (although actually one of the most important.)

Anthony always teaches it with such enthusiasm and professionalism, that it doesn’t seem so bad.

One of the lads, loses his Knife, and ends up looking for it in a bag of guts and offal.

Adds a whole new angle, on taking care of your knife, as it resulted in him being shoulder deep, and later finding that the knife was somewhere else completely !

rubbish
mefishing We put out some night lines, and I caught a fish.

Pete took a picture of me retrieving it from the water

Since Pete hadn’t used a digital camera before, he didn’t actually get the fish in the picture

You will just have to trust me, I did catch one.

The group collect around the boat house.

In the centre of the picture, are the fish that we all caught.

There were some brilliant personalities on this course.

ourfish
huntingtools Ben gives a general interest talk on hunting and fishing.

He shows us a small bow and arrow, used by African bushmen.

Next to the bow, is a blow pipe and darts, which were amazingly accurate.

There was also, a traditional crossbow, but this isn’t in the picture.

I have made an otter board before, but this is one made by a craftsman (Ben).

It features 4 special holes, so a toggle holds the fishing lines in place.

It also had a stone underneath, to keep it upright, and a sail made from a piece of bark.

boat
basketman A whole day of the course was devoted to basket work, and featured guest instructor, Phil Bradley (Phil is the one speaking passionately about basket making).
One of the good things at Woodsmoke, is that there is always boiling water for a brew.

Here Lisa stops for a quick brew.

In front of her, are a selection of the baskets that Phil had previously made.

baskets
smoker Another lad on the course called Phil, made this fish smoker.

The fish that came out of it, tasted delicious.

A Roycroft pack frame. The design is brilliantly simple.

The one on the right, was made by Lisa in Utah.

packframes
net Lisa show Jeremy, Pete and me about making nets.

Obviously nets can be used to catch fish, but they also compliment the Roycroft pack frame, to make a functional rucksack.

Making a gypsy well.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work, and as Ben pointed out, there is no perfect formula, you just dig a few of them, and wait until one fills up with water.

well
reedwell This one worked, and had reeds around the outside, so the water was cleaner.

A lot of the self help books I have read, encourage you to think like a child.

The idea, is that when you are young, you have dreams, and that as you get older, people encourage you to be “realistic” and in actual fact kill your enthusiasm.

When I was at school, I remember a teacher talking down to me, and telling me “I bet you are one of those people who think you can get water just be digging a hole in the ground” !.

Mr Evans, from 1st year science at Moston Brook, back at you pal !.

Ben demonstrates rock boiling, in one of the Swedish Doe bowls, constructed on the Axe workshop.

Note the Y shaped sticks used to put the rocks into the bowl.

rockboil1
rockboil2 The water is fully boiled, and is safe to drink.

Dirt from the stones, however, makes the water a bit grey.

Something I had read about many times, but never seen in real life

A box is constructed from bark and held together with small wooden pegs.

As long as the flame doesn’t go higher than the water, the bark container will not catch fire, and the water will boil.

barkbowl
kitchen Apart from Jamie Oliver, I don’t know anybody that looks this happy in a kitchen !.

Birthday Barge trip.

setoff To Celebrate my Birthday, I hired a barge for the day, from Anglo/Welsh barges.

Loads of my friend from both Chester and Manchester came along for the day, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

First things first, we loaded up the Galley (it was fully featured, and had a sink, a stove and a fridge).

Sarah had prepared an excellent packed lunch, and we loaded up the fridge with the various beverages ranging from orange juice to vodka, and everything in between.

galley
steve My reliable friend Steve checks the last minute details, and we are off ! .
An aqueduct next to the boat yard presented some excitement. aqua1
aqua2 We had selected a barge, as sailing in one was extremely relaxing.

The added bonus to this, was that we could get off the boat, and walk in front of it, to take photographs.

Mike Delafield, an old friend from the awful Corning, and my Brother David, chat about a possible pool match. mike
ducks Some ducklings were spotted, which the “girls” wanted to be photographed.
My friends Lee and Susan came all the way from Bury.

Here Susan poses next to the steering tiller (which her husband Lee commanded superbly, throughout the day.

susan
tunnel We headed into a tunnel, which was pretty exciting.
Inside, we activated the lights, so the boat wasn’t plunged into Darkness.

An old friend, Jon Knight was able to join us, and brought his friend Claire who had joined us at our wedding.

inside
cake In the afternoon, Sarah produced a delicious birthday cake, she had made for me.
In the afternoon, we “sailed” to Llangolan, and had drinks in the Corn mill pub.

What a brilliant day out, if you fancy trying it yourself, visit Anglo Welsh Holidays.

boat