Ordnance Survey declared Sunday 30th September to be National Get Outside Day, which seems like an excellent idea to me.
I joined Zoe and Sarah for a '#GetOutside activity challenge' weekend - fitting as many outdoor activities in as possible. I was only available for the one day, but still managed to tick off quite a few thing.
Tilly and I met them at Robinswood Hill in Gloucester - very important to get 'dog walking' on the list! Here we are being unphotogenic at the toposcope - which is a bit shorter than the nearby trigpoint, and so easier to lift a... continue reading »
Part two of walking the Cheltenham Circular Footpath - we started where we finished last time at the Racecourse park and ride and walked to Charlton Kings. (Sections A to D in the guidebook)
We went wrong pretty much straight away. I'm still not sure how it happened, but I set off the wrong way around the Racecourse! The actual route follows the North side, past the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, but we went East and only realised when we found a marked signpost pointing in a different direction to what we'd expected. Oops.
Having walked a lap of Gloucester last year - the Glevum Way - we decided to do the same for Cheltenham this year - via the Cheltenham Circular Footpath.
The route is marked and named on OS maps, and we'd seen occasional marker signs previously. There is a guidebook, which was published in 1996 and so no longer 100% accurate! I bought it anyway, and will attempt to highlight any differences as I write things up - but mostly it seems to be things like styles having been replaced with kissing gates.
The route officially starts either at Cheltenham Racecourse or Pittville... continue reading »
For a slight change of local dog walking scenery we headed up Cleeve Hill.
It's a popular spot - easy access, great views and lots of options for walking, cycling, horseriding, kite flying, climbing, etc etc. It also has two trig points.
One is in the middle of the golf course, at 317m. There's a toposcope next to it too.
The other is near the radio masts, and at 330m marks the actual summit. Apparently it also makes a very good scratching post for the many sheep on the common.
As you can see it was a lovely sunny afternoon. Unfortunately this meant I... continue reading »
Today was lovely and sunny. We went for a little wander around Pittville Park in Cheltenham.
Most of my previous visits to Pittville have been for parkrun, but there's more to the park than three laps of the lake!
For example, the aviary. Slightly confusingly named as it houses animals as well as birds, but there we go.
My favourites were the chipmunks because they're tiny and cute and pretty. They're also really fast, which makes it difficult to take their photo - especially when you've got your camera shoved up against the bars.
We went to the 'Ale & Steam' weekend on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
Pretty self explanatory - there were trains, and at Toddington and Winchcombe stations there was a lot of beer (and cider). I didn't get any decent photos of the steam train though
Been a while since I've been out on my bike - I actually had to dust it!
18km evening ride around Birdlip/Leckhampton, being the slow one in a group of keen bikers with much better bikes than mine. And whilst I didn't fall off the bike at any point, the chain did - but only once. Oh, and the spring bit on my front brakes (twice)... stupid thing!
Bit windy on the top of the hill, but I think the views make up for that - certainly beats staying at home and watching crap on TV.
More specifically, the very first Cheltenham Parkrun - a proper timed 5k event, running laps of the lake in Pittville Park. Along with 233 other people, wow.
I have done one parkrun before - the Forest of Dean one, back in 2010. But I struggle to find the enthusiasm to drive 20 miles early on a Saturday just to go and hurt my body by trying to run. It's a very low priority behind kayaking and lie ins!
But Cheltenham is much closer, and after persuasion from a couple of mates I couldn't come... continue reading »
