Day on the Dart in the Sun: 2nd October

After all the preparations, planning for rain and planning to make the complicated itinerary work, Diana and David met up with the 21 strollers at Bristol Temple Meads in the morning s u n. The train carried us past stunning coastal scenery to Totnes; the walkers set off  for 8 miles along the Dart towards Dittisham,  with time for a drink stop and a picnic lunch, time to find chanterelle mushrooms and time to get sunburnt (in October!). Others,  with sunhats and plenty of sunscreen
.took the beautiful ferry trip down the Dart and saw a seal on the way.Some then preferred to cross over to Greenway while others walked to the castle beach for a swim and a view of the open sea.



(John captures picnic     All were in time to meet up at    John catches the style
- spot the kingfisher!)    Greenway Hard.

  
  And everything stops for tea 
and more tea!

 

                                                     the view from Agatha Christie's deckchair

On-time and timely the trains home gave us a chance to explore a new mystery -'Death on the Dart' or who killed the ferryman? The incentive was a bottle of Sharpham wine and quiches from Saveur's.

With weather so perfect and company so friendly, a good time seems to have been had by all.
Report from David and Diana


Red sails in the evening light                                    Final delight from Dartmouth's
                                                                                   magic Patisserie - Saveur's

East Quantoxhead 18/09/11

This was a great walk, thank you Ray, but the weather forecasters were wrong and we weren't prepared for the cold and the rain. Thank good ness the rain was less persistent when we got to the beach at Kilve, where we found fossils galore! Jeff

Agatha Mystery Tour

Now less mysterious:

David and Diana's Day Out on Sunday 2nd October to the River Dart


FULLY BOOKED - preparations continue 

Punts, Canoes, Skiffs or Scives

Many thanks to Sylvia and Barry for organising a great day on the river Avon near Bath. The weather was, as they say, a bit challenging but excellent for ducks, swans and strollers.
More or less (me) expert punters, super competent rowers and canoeists enjoyed a tough pull against the stream to a rain free river-side picnic and a sheltering pub. Umbrellas did feature on the way back but so did kingfishers and strange 'Tai-Chi' like ball players (no photo); the Holbourne Museum provided a completely dry alternative to the river!

A Grand Day Out

For once the weather delivered what the forecast promised: sunny and 70F. So we strolled and swam (well a few brave souls) and stepping-stoned our way from Oxwich through to Three Cliffs Bay. Not one ruined castle but two, a pub lunch outdoors overlooking the bay, splendid sandy beaches and Welsh cheesy nibbles for the train journey home, this was strolling at its most expansive. Many thanks to David and Di for organising a truly memorable Grand Day Out.

An Update on the Sunday October 10th Rail Awayday to the Gower

21 people have signed up to go to the Gower by train and bus.
Maximum numbers are 21 so please let us know very soon if you want to cancel your ticket – someone else m a y be able to take it. If you have not booked, plese contact David Bruce in case of cancellations.
If you have booked but not yet paid please put a cheque though the door in St Helena Rd.

We shall meet at Bristol Parkway Station at 10 am

and get back at 8.30 pm.

In Gower there is a pub/hotel at Oxwich Bay for lunch and good options for non-walkers, who will be dropped off at the lunch place.If you are NOT proposing to have lunch at hotel (bar food, vegetarian and/ or more substantial food all available), please let us know so that we can confirm numbers with hotel.

The walk itself will start for a short appetizer before lunch and afterwards we shall go along the beach to Three Cliffs Bay. There is expected to be a low spring tide in the afternoon so we should not have to climb headlands at all (but wait and see). Non-walkers will be picked up by the bus at Oxwich hotel at 5.40 pm, walkers at Parkmill fifteen minutes later, all to catch train home at Swansea station at 6.51 pm.

This was a brilliant September day and Strollers both on foot and on bike(can you stroll by bike?)converged on this deeply rural privately owned coal mine for a guided tour (above) and tea and cakes. Pictured left is the deep mine shaft, once bricked up at the request of the police to deter use as a convenient dropping off point for disposing of bodies, we learned,and now reopened and the subject of a strangely hypnotic video.