Unbelievable Cotswolds!

Well, it has certainly not been as easy to update this blog as I had hoped it would be. Internet access has been very limited, thus this journal of our hike through the Cotswolds has suffered. But we haven't!

The walking trip so far has been..... unbelievable! The weather, the B&B's, the pubs, the views from the top of the hills and even the bottom of the valleys have all been unbelievable! We have been so lucky with the weather -- dry, warm (sometimes too warm), and lots of sunshine. We have got a bit of rain this evening with a forecast of showers possible tomorrow, our last walking day. So, perhaps we will get to try out our new hi-tech rain gear after all.

I have tried getting internet access most evenings but it just hasn't been available. All England's town/village libraries have free internet available, but we're walking while they're open. The B&B's and hotels we've stayed at have all been absolutely wonderful, but most lack internet access. Not a big problem, especially since we're so totally exhausted by the time we reach our overnight accommodation, I'm not sure I'd be able to type much of a blog anyway!

The pictures we've taken during the walk have been very good but, unfortunately, a picture is a very poor representation of the magnificent scenery we've surveyed over the past 11 days. The hilltop views have been breathtaking. Getting to those 'views' has also been breathtaking! Walking on the prairies has certainly not prepared us for hiking up (and down) the steep hills of the Cotswolds! However, we've managed the routes every day with our longest day from Cirencester to Painswick -- 16 miles! Today's hike, on my birthday, was a paltry 9 miles. Much steeper terrain than yesterday, though.

Because the weather has been so good, we've been picking up bread, cheese, fresh vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, cucumber), fresh fruit and something special for dessert from local deli's or bakeshops before leaving in the morning, and having wonderful picnic lunches on the trails. We did stop into one pub for a ploughman's lunch the other day -- our first ploughman's lunch of this trip. Dinner, however, is another matter and the pubs we've been lucky enough to choose have all provided fantastic meals. And then, of course, there's the wonderful breakfasts we've had each morning at the B&B's/hotels! Despite the strenuous exercise each day, we're really worried we'll leave this Island heavier than we arrived!

Anyway, this is a poor substitute for a daily updated blog on our Cotswold Way walking holiday, but it's late and we have one last 10 mile walk into Bath tomorrow. So, it's bedtime and I'll update this as soon as I can, complete with pictures and links.

OMB

Cheltenham Spa Welcomes Us to the Cotswolds!

Well, here we are in the Cotswolds! Finally, after all these months of planning, re-planning, pre-paying, post paying and just plain paying we are finally in England. Specifically in Cheltenham Spa, the beautiful Cotswold Regency city where the shopping, dining and clubbing (pubbing) is second to none (well, maybe second to London, but we're not visiting there!).

The travel with United Airlines via Chicago and London was long and tedious (and bumpy, I hasten to add). Then the trip was topped off via National Express coach from Heathrow on a full bus on a hot day with no (broken) air conditioning with four dead-tired travellers! But we weren't finished "punishing" ourselves yet! No. We decided that the short, ten-minute walk could be done from the Cheltenham bus station to Butlers Hotel dragging a zillion pounds of luggage on foot! Over cobblestone streets! Uphill! Not entirely sure if we were headed in the right direction! By this time, not even entirely sure which way was up! However, we were headed in the right direction and we did make it with no major MI's!

Marj, Blair, Linda and I spent an enjoyable day today shopping in this amazing town. Already we've spent too much money! And it's only day one! However, it's been well worth it as far as we're concerned. (My "friendly banker" never was that friendly anyway.....)

This evening, Oswestry cousin, Phil, who now lives in Gloucester with his beautiful fiancee, Hannah, picked us up at our B&B and drove us the very short distance into Gloucester where the six of us had a tremendous time 10-pin bowling (we 4 Canadians, for the first time ever) and then out for dinner at Frankie & Benny's. Thank you Phil and Hannah for a wonderful evening!

So, it's very late tonight as I post this blog. We start our hike tomorrow so I'd better get to bed. So no pictures yet, but I'll try to add them as soon as I can get another internet connection.

Summer of Weddings

This certainly was the 'summer of weddings'! We've been hit with six of them since June. Unfortunately, we have only been able to attend half that. There was the Vipond/Mackling wedding in The Pas, which I wrote about in my last blog. Then, a couple of weeks later, son Christopher was best man for Andrew Thorne who married Annie Poczyniak in a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens in Assiniboine Park here in the city.


Again the weather cooperated marvelously and the day was picture-perfect. It was great fun seeing old friends from the north, especially Andrew's mom and dad, Carole and Wally, who now live in Halifax.


All the guys in the wedding party came to our house to 'get ready' and, along with Caroline, Ryan, Tamsin and Kurt, the place was a madhouse for awhile that day!


It was extra-nice having Christopher home for the wedding. He came early and stayed late, leaving for home (Guelph) just a couple of days before the rest of us all headed (separately) to southern Ontario for yet another wedding! Linda flew via Air Canada at 5:00 A.M., Ryan and Caro flew via West Jet at 4:00 P.M. and I flew out on AC at 5:30. Although Chris didn't drive from Guelph to Toronto to pick up his mom early in the morning (she caught a cab to Milton), he did pick up Ryan and Caroline, take them for dinner, return to YYZ to pick me up, take us all to Milton to wait while he returned one last time to the airport to pick up his girl friend, Andria, who was flying in from Guatemala. She had been on a two-week fact-finding trip in preparation for a project she is working on for the University of Guelph. So, he put more than a few klicks on his new Honda that evening.

Next morning the five of us were heading north to Huntsville. Linda, her dad, Mike, and his wife Mary, had driven the 260 kilometres a day earlier.


Again the weather was wedding perfect! This Ontario wedding was for nephew Sean Riordon and his new bride Ana at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville.


It certainly was great seeing all the Ontario relatives. The wedding was very well attended, with guests from England, California, Australia, Alberta and, of course, Winnipeg, to name a few. The location was quite spectacular! A very good time was had by all (at least if anyone didn't have a good time, well......). Here are a few candid shots taken during the wedding and later reception.


Next day we stopped off at Dan and Ellen (Linda's sister) Riordon's cottage, just south of Gravenhurst, on our way home with Mike and Mary. We spent an enjoyable afternoon with our kids and several wedding guests in and out of the water.


Finally it was time to "tackle" the thrilling Sunday night stop-and-go traffic south on highway 400 back to Toronto. Arrived home in Milton late and were up to Guelph having lunch with brother Bryan and sis-in-law, Sue the next day. It was then we got to meet our newest niece, Lily. What a cutie!


Ryan, Caroline and I flew home to Winnipeg that evening, while Linda stayed in Ontario for a few more days visiting.

My "contract" with CRA ended last Friday, so now I am -- once again -- retired. Woo hoo!!! I certainly hope to get a few games of golf in before we head to England next week. Linda and I drove up to Riding Mountain National Park last Sunday to meet up with Blair and Marj and enjoy a few hours of R&R. It was a gorgeous day with the temperature hitting 27. We decided to stay over at a favourite lodge of ours, Clear Lake Lodge and so were in no rush to get home that night. We walked from Wasagaming to the Clear Lake Golf Course, a distance I would estimate at nearly 6 kilometres, sat having a beer watching the golfer's on the ninth green and then walked back into town. Good practice, methinks, (walking and drinking beer!) for our upcoming trip to the Cotswolds!

My next blog should be from England. Stay tuned!

Wedding at Rocky Lake and a BIG Surprise for Linda!

Well, it's been quite awhile since my last blog. We've been very busy this summer with me back at work and Linda, of course, still at work. Have only had a very few days off this summer, getting in a wonderful trip to Hecla Island golf course and another great day golfing at Morden's tremendous golf links.

Anyway, the highlight of July was definitely getting up to The Pas for Ryan and Kelly's wedding. Our Ryan was in the wedding party and I was asked to MC the gala. (Being asked to MC an event like this is akin to being asked to have sex with the Queen; it's a great honour, but nobody wants to do it!) However, it was a gorgeous weekend, a beautiful setting at Rob & Shirley's cottage on Rocky Lake, a very classy yet casual affair and we had a tremendous time right from our arrival late Thursday evening to our reluctant departure late Sunday afternoon. Blair and Marj, our walking-holiday partners next month, were our hosts at their cottage on Clearwater Lake. Although it's a long drive north (600+ km), it's always a treat going back to our home of more than 21 years!

And then there was "the surprise"..... I had known about "the surprise" for at least a couple of weeks and had a hard time containing myself. You see, a short while ago, Ryan and I had gone shopping in Winnipeg for both a suit for him for this upcoming wedding and a ring for his girlfriend, Caroline! Well, Ryan and Caro were camping in a Yurt at Camper's Cove ,just a 20-minute walk from Blair & Marj's cottage. We were to come down there for lunch on Friday and "all would be revealed". Linda, Marj and I made the trek at noon on Friday (Blair was working) and since I was "in the know", this is the picture I captured when Linda found out she was finally getting a daughter.

Was she catching flies, or what? It was a very exciting and happy time for all of us, including Marj (in the background) who also was finding out for the first time that Ryan had proposed to Caroline.

Well, we had lunch at the campground, took a few pictures; here's one:


and then it was off to Rocky Lake for the rehearsal. The supper was put on by the bride's parents out at Rocky Lake Cabins. It was a great get-together and, as I mentioned earlier, the weather couldn't have been nicer all weekend long.

I guess since I am an ex-weatherman, people were quizzing me as to Saturday's (the wedding day) weather. I told everyone, "sunny and hot" (I always say 'sunny and hot') and sunny and hot it was! What a picture-perfect day and setting for Ryan and Kelly's wedding!

More to come.....

Happy Canada Day!

July 1st. Happy 140th birthday, Canada! Did we spend it celebrating at the Forks or at Assiniboine Park, or at the zoo or at the beach or at the ball park? No! We spent it finishing the job we started Saturday, putting slate tiles on the kitchen back splash.

We have had the tiles for the back splash since early May, shortly after I went back to work for my old employer for a five-month term. Linda and I decided about a month ago that we'd spend our Canada Day July long weekend working on the kitchen, trying to get it finished. We did a major renovation of the kitchen last fall and this is pretty much the final bit of work to be done.

Our good friend, Ed, made the mistake of calling me up a couple of days ago to "chat". I happened to mention that we would be working on the kitchen this weekend and Ed bravely volunteered to help. What a guy! Ryan and Caroline showed up both Saturday and Sunday from Niverville as well, and the job got underway.

The tiles are 2" x 2" natural slate on 12" x 12" mesh sheets. They cut quite easy with the wet-saw, but a major complication was that we had decided, with the help of a great interior designer, Kelly, of Ritz Interiors in Stonewall, to place most of the tiles on the diagonal. This made measuring and cutting extremely complicated (for us amateurs, anyway). There were times I didn't think we'd ever get the job done. Almost every single sheet of tiles had to be cut in some form or other in order for it to fit in the space.

However, as the pictures below testify, we did it! What a job well done! Thank you Ed! Thank you Ryan! Thank you Caroline! Thank you Linda! And thank you Dorothy (for lending us Ed for the weekend!).

Ed checking his handiwork at the beginning of the project. Looks OK to me, Ed!

Ryan looking for the last half-tile. Not this one!

Dennis and Ed putting the last tile in place! Finished, at last! Just washing, sealing, grouting and re-sealing left to do.

Proposed Route through the Cotswolds - Part 2

OK, as I mentioned in "Part 1", by September 12 we'll be half-way through our walking holiday in the Cotswolds. After overnighting at the Sherborne Arms in Northleach our next destination is Cirencester, the unofficial capital of The Costwolds. Although we're not, we're booked to stay at The Oddfellows Arms. ;-) Painswick is our next stop where we'll spend the night at Troy House. The evening of September 16, my birthday, will undoubtedly be spent in a pub (like most other evenings won't??!!) in Kings Stanley, close to our B & B of Valley Views. The next day, Cotswold Walking Holidays will again transfer us to a location about 10 miles (16 km) north of Bath, where we'll finish walking the trail. We're looking forward to exploring this magnificent old Roman city where we'll spend our last night at Parade Park.

Blair & Marj and Linda & I will go our separate ways on the 18th, although I think we (both couples) are heading west to visit friends or relatives in towns very close to the Dartmoor National Park in Devon.

And that, complete with lots of links, is an outline of our trip this fall. Of course we're hoping for excellent (read -- NOT raining) weather while we're hiking, however, this is England we're heading for so we'll have to be prepared to walk -- rain or shine. I'll have my laptop with me and most, if not all the B & B's/Inns have internet access, so each evening I'll try to update the blog with pictures and details of the day's activities. Hopefully, it will be as interesting and enjoyable to the readers as the actual journey will be for the four of us!

Proposed Route through the Cotswolds - Part 1

As I mentioned in my first post, we're heading to England in September and the first part of our trip is a ten-day walking holiday through the Cotswolds, an area west-northwest of London. We and our traveling partners, Blair and Marj, will arrive in the UK the morning of Thursday, September 6th and take the train to Cheltenham Spa where we'll spend the next two days at The Butlers Hotel. We decided to spend extra time in Cheltenham, as there is plenty to see and do in and around the city and we also plan on visiting relatives, Phil and Hannah, in Gloucester, just a few miles away.

We begin walking in earnest on Saturday morning when we leave Cheltenham and walk the short distance of 8 miles (13 kilometres) to the village of Winchcombe where we'll overnight at Jenny Cheshire's B & B at 1 Silk Mill Lane. Cotswold Walking Holidays will move our luggage from our hotel in Cheltenham to this B&B in Winchcombe and from here to each subsequent overnight stop. This portion of the walk will follow the Cotswold Way. Next morning, after one of those famous 'heart-stopper' English breakfasts, we head north-east to Broadway, a distance of 10 1/2 miles (17 km). Again we'll be following the Cotswold Way. Here we'll overnight at Dove Cottage. Next, it's on to Chipping Campden, the northern terminus of this national trail. This is a short 7 mile (11 km) stroll, so we should get into town early in the day as there appears to be lots to do in and around Chipping Campden. Our B&B here, Cornerways, looks quite comfortable!

On Tuesday morning we leave the Cotswold Trail temporarily and head south 8 miles (12 km) to Moreton-in-Marsh. We'd better get a good nights sleep at Fosseway Farm because our next leg is through such quintessentially English villages as Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper and Lower Slaughter and Bourton-on-the-Water, where we'll overnight at "The Lawns" B&B. This leg: twelve miles (19 km), with lots of side-trips!

We made several changes to our original route but finally, with the help of Cotswold Walking Holidays, decided we'd continue south from Bourton to Northleach, where we'll overnight at the Sherborne Arms. Our walking holiday is now half over. We should either be very sore, or very much in shape!

More later....

Manitoba Marathon and Father's Day

We were up early today as our son, Ryan, and his girlfriend, Caroline, were running the relay portion of today's Manitoba Marathon. The relay is split into 5 approximately equal segments with friends of Caroline, Melissa and Cedric, taking the first two sections, Caroline the third, Ryan the fourth and Caroline's brother, Darrel, finishing the race. The picture, below is of Caroline, Ryan and Darrel at the start of the final leg of the race--Darrel's.


It was an exciting time for Linda and I as we hadn't even been spectators in the Marathon before today! We tried to get to the finish area at the stadium at the University of Manitoba, but traffic was unbelievable and we were unable to get there before Darrel crossed the finish-line. The weather threatened to rain but held off all but a few drops till the race was over. I think there were about 13,000 entrants in this years race.

After the race, Ryan and Caroline treated Linda and I with lunch at Pasta La Vista. Here's the two of them and the two of us.

After we returned home, Chris called from his home in Guelph, Ontario to wish me a Happy Father's Day as well. All in all, it was a great Father's Day celebration!

Walking the Cotswolds -- or bust!

Well, this is my first posting to our new blog to detail Linda and my latest "adventure" to the UK. We're planning a 100 + mile (160 kilometer) walk of the Cotswolds in England this September. The walking holiday will take place from September 6th to the 18th, or thereabouts, and will cover some of the Cotswold Way, a new national trail as well as other walks, trails and footpaths throughout this outstanding area of natural beauty.

Our adventure will be shared with our good friends from The Pas, Manitoba, Blair and Marj. The four of us will be leaving Canada on September 5th, flying United Airlines from Winnipeg to Chicago and on to London, arriving on the 6th.

We first planned this Cotswold walk well over a year ago and I started doing most of the planning via the internet. Choosing a route was easy, we'd walk the entire Cotswold Way, from Chipping Campden to Bath. However, finding accommodation along the way was another story. Every B & B and country Inn that has a web page looks like a great place to stay because they wouldn't advertise otherwise, so it's difficult to decide what's good value and what isn't. Finally, after much research, we decided to contact Cotswold Walking Holidays Ltd

The first phone call had me convinced we'd done the right thing. Ann, of Cotswold Walking Holidays, has been extremely friendly and helpful and we've got the entire trip planned now with, what I'm sure will be first-class accommodation all along the route. They will move our luggage from point A to point B, etc. so we don't have to carry anything more than whatever we'll need during that days walk with us. They also suggested we not walk the entire "Way", because while it's all very beautiful, some of the distance may be a little 'boring'. And who wants to be bored when they're on holiday? Not us! So we're partly on the Cotswold Way and partly on other trails to other towns and villages in the Cotswolds.

My next post will detail the route.