I is for Ireland: a first sunrise

Carraroe, early morning over Galway Bay and Atlantic Ocean

There is nothing quite like waking up with a sense of anticipation - a new place, a new country, a new adventure. 

We are in Ireland, my first visit.

So we were up at sunrise, walking and taking in our environment. 

And it is quite lovely indeed. 

We are here in an historic time too as captured by W B Yeats:

Quote from "Easter 1916": 

Now and in time to be,

Wherever green is worn,

Are changed, changed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born.

C is for Cumbria: a place of contrasts

Oystercatchers on the move, Solway Coast

Sweep of the Solway Coast with views across to Scotland 

The shape shifting landscapes of Northwest Cumbria.

The stark beauty of a long flat pebble beach of the Solway Coast. 

Disturbing the Oystercatchers. Calls of the gulls. Blackness of the rooks.

Verdant valleys with a dozen shades of green and the purple of the flowering heather on the hillside. The sun shines and the wind is cool. Cattle feed, sheep dot the fields, summer flowers provide pops of colour and the brambles are fruiting.

"And maybe someday you'll pass this way and think it beautiful too."

James Rebanks

S is for my Stash: buying British Sheep Aran Wool

Caldbeck at The Wool Clip
Swaledales in a field on our way back from shopping.

How wonderful are these sheep names!

Primitive Breeds: 

• Hebridean
• Boreray
• Manx Loaghtan
• North Ronaldsay

English Hill and Heath Breeds:

• Herdwick
• Jacob
• Swaledale

Welsh Hill and Heath Breeds:

• Badger face Welsh Mountain

Longwood Breeds:

• Black Leicester Longwood
• Blue face Leicester

My wool stash, now includes all these wonderful breeds! Aran wools from The Wool Clip, a treasure of a shop here in northwest Cumbria. My balls of wool smell of the farm and the natural colours are a joy. As The Wool Clip website says:

'Between us, we grow it, sew it, spin, weave and dye it, knit, crochet and felt it, hook with it, tuft with it and stuff with it'  

Thank you Di for my book celebrating both my birthday and our time together, The Illustrated Hardwick Shepherd by James Rebanks.

F is for the 'Fountain of Youth': artist Sally Hackett in Edinburgh

With Sarah, tapping into the 'Fountain of Youth'

 I did not have a 60th birthday cake, so I am adopting this huge powder blue 3-tier fountain cake as mine for the year.

The 'Fountain of Youth' by Sally Hackett is part of the Edinburgh Art Festival.  Primary School pupils were responsible for the quirky pottery decorations around the fountain.

Set up in a peaceful granite-somber inner courtyard to the rear of the Museum of Edinburgh, surrounded by centuries old building relics, the fountain absolutely sparkles.

A celebration to creativity and my special year!

Set against the dark granite walls of an Edinburgh courtyard,
makes the fountain even more startling.

H is for Hannah Baker: on stage at The Fringe

Surprising upstairs-downstairs Edinburgh

A day in Edinburgh.
Walking through the sweeping Georgian Terraces in New Town. Gaslamps. Sunday morning market. Finding perfect Scotch Eggs. The stream of people along The Royal Mile. Watching buskers; Fred buying a CD from a young New Zealand musician. Pubs; beer, wine, cider and ginger beer. Taking in the surprising sights of this great city. Yummy street food. Proudly watching lovely Hannah perform in 'Fingertips' at the C. Been wowed by the musical talent of the 'Showstopper!'

Lovely Hannah on stage. As Annabel in 'Fingertips'.

F is for The Fringe: Edinburgh on show

Seas of people, 3000 shows to choose from, Edinburgh during the Fringe is something wacky, wild and wonderful. We had a personal guide - Hannah, she navigated Collen, Sarah, Fred and me through the backroads, hidden stairwells, party venues, foodie zones, fireworks above the Edinburgh Castle and choose us a couple of fun shows - Swansong and Sisters.

Our Edinburgh Festival Fringe visit has started!

Mac and cheese pies, crowds, posters, shows - the Fringe!

So how about the perfect Scotch Eggs as street food along The Royal Mile while in Edinburgh!

B is for Birdfair: from Africa to Rutland

A day at a fair!

The largest nature fair in the world! And we were in the right place at the right time. Tickets in hand we arrived in time for Fred to have his Q&A with  Richard Peters, the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Nikon Ambassador, I was so excited for him!

I went to experience the legendary Swarovski service and they delivered - new eyes pieces for our binocs.

Bird fair is fabulous for lectures and there was no way we could miss hooking up with Callen, our very own birding icon from Cape Town showcasing his business Birding Africa. Migrations talks, Iceland Digiscoping, authors Chris Gooddie (The Jewel Hunter) and Neil Hayward on his accidental Big Year in the USA, they were all fun, and a good way to avoid our first rains.

Fred was inspired to buy a lens for his flower photography too, so a great day and another bucket list tick - attend the Bridfair at Rutland Water.

G is for Gardens: a day outdoors

Idyllic English summer day

A stroll for breakfast in Ealing, London revealed a surprise. The vast Northfields Allotments established in 1832 and the oldest in London. We stopped and marvelled at the summer bounty and chatted to Pauline a resident who shared how the allotments are managed. She also steered us to her local cafe for a good breakfast.

We then had the pleasure of the afternoon in a flowing gentile garden in Cambridge with David, bridging 20 years or so! The historic Orchard, a Cambridge tradition, was established in 1897 and they has been serving cream teas to any number of famous people over the years, so it was our turn to loll on the deck chairs and while away the afternoon under the huge trees.

We ended the day in the garden of The Elms with Collen and his family; sunset, steaks on the barbecue, fresh salads, playing with the dog.... summer in England at its best and so special to be in conversation with friends.

N is for The Needles: sunset over a headland on the Isle of Wight

A sunset over the Needles Headland, Isle of Wight.

These distinctive chalk stacks with a lighthouse at the outer western end are iconic images and a lovely way to close off my first day of ancestral research and finding traces of my Nan and her family's life in Freshwater and Ventnor.

P is for Pasties: a Cornish tradition

Cornwall. 

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We are on the move again today, leaving Cornwall and heading east towards the Isle of Wight.

It has been a good visit - walking, seascapes, natural beauty, mining legacy, trying to find Poldark.

And of course we had to try the famous Cornish Pastie, Cornish Ice Cream and the Cornish cream tea with delicious clotted cream. 

And we have had it all! 

The pastie was the first ‘fast food’, made for the tin miners; it was a meal of the best skirt of beef, potatoes, carrots and swedes encased in pastry, the thick edge was then discarded down the mine – to appease the little people who lived in the mines, the pisky’s, but also because the miners hands were filthy.

Food in Cornwall.

T is for Towanroath: a marvel on the path

Towanroath Engine House.

Another exhilarating day along the South West Coast Path, this time to take in the awesome sea cliffs of St. Agnes Head and the impressive Towanroath Engine House, built in 1872, and restored by the National Trust. The purple heather and yellow gorse now blanket what would have been an industrial landscape during Cornwall’s great mining era!

Coastguards patrolling the peninsula looking for smugglers originally created the Coast Path with its old stone stiles and walls. They literally had to check in every inlet so their cliff top walk was well used and it is a fundamental part of the attraction of being in Cornwall.

Coast Path and the Townroath in the distance.

Heather and gorse along the path.

We have company; Andrea, with her dog and campervan arrived this morning! 

One of my pleasures this celebratory year has been to connect with the people I know in the world. Andrea and I met when we both lived in France, and here we are, 30 years later, walking, talking and sitting on a pavement bench in St. Agnes, munching on Cornish pasties, drinking ginger beer and reconnecting.

Fred, Sharon and Andrea
Bridging 30 years - France 1986 and Cornwall 2016!

H is for Heligan: finding The Giant

Andrea recommended a visit to Heligan en route to Fowey and we marvelled at the story of the rebuilding of this historic Cornwall estate. It was a self sufficient community for centuries and WWI changed everything. It fell into disuse, brambles taking over and it took the vision and work of Tim Smit since 1990 to recreate its former glory.

Fred bought a children's book called The Giant by Sandra Horn and Karen Popham for Baby Hadfield, as The Giant is the star attraction for children in the garden - and for me too.

Joy of a garden!

B is for Bubbles: two times 60 celebrating

A bottle of Taitinger.
A sunset over Fowey.
A who would have thought moment for Andrea and me, both celebrating our sixtieth birthdays with a little bit of French panache.