Travel journal 2015

30 May 2015

For our last day on the Levels, a visit to Barrington Court, setting for the TV series "Wolf Hall". A Tudor Manor House rescued from oblivion by the National Trust a century ago.

29 May 2015

One of the many necessary coffee stops.

Showing off our Mallorcan tops courtesy of Louisa and Joe.

Somerset Levels evening cloud.

26 May 2015

Some amazing skills on show at the Tandem Games...

...this one involving entering the "gate", doing a 180° turn in the square without stopping...

...and successfully exiting (and yes, they did win).

25 May 2015

Scenic locations, this one a lunch stop at Sutton Bingham Reservoir.

Beautiful countryside and quiet roads, especially for England, this one along Coker Hill ridge.

Tandems at the coffee stop on the way through Avalon Marshes to the free spirited town of Glastonbury.

23 May 2015

Rally headquarters, with our green Bike Friday Twin Air Q parked out front.

This will be our third Tandem Club Rally, the 2015 National, kicking off today in the Somerset Levels; chocolate box villages, beautiful cycling countryside with some interesting hilly bits thrown in. Anticipated attendance will be about 170 people, with a friendly and relaxed atmosphere guaranteed, based on last year's International Rally in Brittany and this year's Easter Rally in Rutland.

21 May 2015

A great location for a Tandem Club rally - the Somerset Levels

Found ourselves a good spot in the blossoms.

Fitting the £4.99 Aldi bike computer

21 May 2015

Rosemarie contemplating which tune she'll play for the locals at Bath bus/rail station.

We arrived at Bath last night after a pleasant drive from London down past Stonehenge, stayed at the Bath Marina Motorhome Park before spending the morning in Bath then travelling south for an hour to Thorney Lakes.

17 May 2015

Enjoying the atmosphere before the London Symphony Orchestra's free concert at Trafalgar Square.

We assume Lord Nelson would have approved...

...of the program of Shostakovich works with Big Ben in the background looking on.

16 May 2015

Spring at last in Windsor Great Park

A perfect day for a pleasant 10 mile walk from Sunningdale across very English countryside (including someone's polo field) to Windsor Great Park with Sydney friends Deanne & Ric. At Windsor we enjoyed a few beers and a hearty pub meal before returning to our car then back to our van at Walton-on-Thames; and it was still daylight!

See more photos here.

13 May 2015

London's always surprising. A ride into Kingston-on-Thames via the Hampton Court Palace Long Water...

... past the overnight work of an arsonist...

...with horses peacefully grazing a few hundred metres away.

11 May 2015

Discussing whether this piece by Tracey Emin is really worth £2.5 million. If so, we reckon it's the most valuable teenager's bedroom we've ever seen.

With Ric now having arrived in London to join Deanne, it was time for us to hit the Tate Britain and take in one of the excellent guided tours. Amazingly, entry is still free, with donation requested, but the word is that this may not last much longer. With galleries spanning 500 years of priceless British art, it's a place to come back to time and again.

10 May 2015