A Week on the Water

Last week we swapped our urban cottage for a few days in a narrowboat on the Llangollen Canal. A little chill out time was just what we needed and the pace of life as we pottered along at 3 miles an hour got right to the heart of that.

The Llangollen was a lovely canal to spend our time on. Travelling almost exclusively through countryside rather than towns and cities, the highlight of the journey for us was the day we spent reaching the source of the canal. As the Vale of Llangollen started to open up around us, we passed over the longest and highest aqueduct in Great Britain - the Pontcysyllte. Not for the faint hearted as there is a shear drop from the edge of the boat. Definitely stayed seated during that one.

From there the canal got narrower and narrower, winding it's way along the valley edge towards the town of Llangollen and a final unnavigable section where we had to switch to foot. Finally we reached the horseshoe falls; a perfect semi-circle of waterfall that separates the water for the canal from the river Dee.

We were with my brother, parents, and my parents 18 month old labrador - Monty. It was great to spend some time with family, both working our way through the series of locks and swing bridges, and settling down at the end of the day to a glass of wine and a game of cards. Monty also seemed to enjoy his week, providing us with much amusement as he checked up on everything that was happening, hared up and down the towpath and did laps of each lock - though also providing us with a few heart-stopping moments as he ran over the lock gates or leapt from the boat in pursuit of someone who'd dared to get off the boat without him.

A really good week.

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Hidcote Manor Gardens

A couple of weekends ago we took the opportunity of a sunny Saturday to take a trip to Hidcote. Just over an hours drive away, and conveniently National Trust where we have membership, we set out hoping to find ourselves some inspiration for our own garden, along with a good spot for a picnic!

Hidcote was the private garden of Lawrence Johnston who divided the whole area up into a series of rooms, each with it's own identity and character. While the arts and crafts styling wasn't what we wanted to achieve ourselves, we eventually stopped worrying about that and set to looking at how he had attained that unique feel to each space and found that a limited plant range, colour palate and textures seemed to be at least part of the key. On top of that there were a few themes that carried throughout the garden to give it a sense of unity. Brilliant planning on the part of Mr. Johnston.

Careful thought had also been given to the line of sight as you moved through the garden. High hedges and walls obscured your view in most directions, so when you did get a glimpse through you could be sure it was deliberate - a tantalising peek at what was to come next.

It's certainly given us some food for thought as we're in a definite planning stage with our own space. We often think about our garden as distinct areas, each with a different purpose - the veg patch, the chickens run, the pond, the patio, the lawn. The patio is next up for a change, but our trip to Hidcote has also inspired a look at our garden as a whole - thinking about the differences of these areas while considering themes we want to carry through each. Debating how each section works with it's neighbours and maybe planning a few tantalising sight lines of our own...

It proved to be a lovely day out, sunshine, plants and good food. Perfect.

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Photos upon photos upon photos

Its taken quite a while to get all our travelling photos sorted. Helped by constant questions from family and friends of "can we see the photos?" we've made dealing with them a priority, and now have them all pretty much in shape. Not wanting them to languish on our computer like so many of our photos from the last few years we set about making some plans.

Shortly after Christmas we ordered lots of canvas prints in the January sales. These are all photos from the last 18 months, with the majority being from our travels last autumn. We had some problems with the quality of the canvases we were receiving, but all those with problems were speedily replaced and finally we have a complete set. We have converted the end wall of our house into one large photo wall, that's one wall that starts in the kitchen and then runs up the stairs onto the landing. Want to see?

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Knitting, Travelling and DIY: The Urban Cottage in 2014.

I've spotted lots of people doing a year in review on their blogs, going through their blog stats to see what has been most popular each month. Never one to miss an opportunity to look at the numbers I decided to join in, so here I give you 2014 at The Urban Cottage; a year of knitting, travelling and DIY.

January. The year got off to a rocky start as we confessed that our house had sprung a leak. We never did find the source of the problem, and it hasn't dripped since - waiting to surprise us on a wet and blustery day I've no doubt.

This year we've been writing about our favourite games, and in February it was our post about Go, the 60's travel game, that won the most visits.

In March the latest series of the Great British Sewing Bee finally gave me the courage to play with some tartan fabric I'd bought the year before resulting in an a-line skirt.

April was a sad month as we has to share the news that we lost Fizzy to un unknown illness.

Making our guest room a proper bedroom proved very popular in May - with the big reveal making the top spot for the month...

... while in June we continued our DIY stint with some extra wiring for our bedside tables.

July's blog peaks both came courtesy of some good friends with a tantalising extract from Chloe Banks book - The Art of Letting Go, and photos of her son in some of my knitting vying for top spot.

In August you all helped us get excited as we explained the details of our plans to flee the country for three months, 

and finally we were off with September's highlight being our Canadian travels from snowy rockies through to sunny Kelowna.

October was the month that saw us leave our WWOOFing hosts for five weeks of camping, only to have our tent break 10 days in! Our post explaining the change of circumstances and the run for the North Island and campervan hire was the winner on this occasion.

Of course no-one can resist the charms of the hobbits - and it seems you couldn't either, with our photos from our trip to hobbiton in November becoming one of the most popular posts this year.

Finally, December's post about my travel knitting - the Vernal Equinox Shawl - finished off the year nicely. 

And so it just leaves us to say a massive thank you all for your visits, comments and support over 2014 - it means a lot to know that our writing here is appreciated. Have a happy 2015!

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Photo Friday

and that's all folks! We're off for our traditional Christmas break (is two years traditional?), where we can relax and enjoy time with family and friends without the pressures of writing blog posts. We'll be back in January, but until then

Merry Christmas

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Photo Friday

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A Postcard from Bangkok

What a week! Bangkok was so different from everywhere we've been so far that for it took a little getting used to. The heat, at night in particular, was almost more than we could cope with. However, cope we did and as a city it was an interesting one to explore. Worth a mention certainly is the range of transport available, from the lovely air conditioned skytrain to the buses that are barely more than a pickup truck, from taxis that weave in and out of the traffic to express boats that run up and down the river and are often completely cramed with people; moving around the city is an adventure all on its own.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the city are a plethora of temples and we took time to visit Wat Pho with its collection of courtyards and plentitude of golden Buddha statues. Everything is intricately and elaborately decorated, with gold leaf applied everywhere it can be. The highlight of Wat Pho is the giant Reclining Buddha which, at 15m high and 43m long, is definitely an eye opener! 

We also enjoyed a visit to Ancient Siam. This is a museum, for want of a better word - a large collection of Thai buildings with everything from palaces to traditional village homes. Some of these are the originals which have been transplanted from their locations, while others are recreations. The site is large and green and relatively quiet compared to the city centre. Your entry ticket includes bike hire and we had a great few hours pedalling around, exploring some of the buildings closely and admiring others from a distance. 

Our highlight from exploring the city though had to be the cut flower market.  Stall after stall covered in flowers all of which were incredibly cheap. For less than £1 you could get 50 roses or a large bunch of orchids. Orchids by the bunch was a new one for us and we just couldn't resist them! For an added bonus as we came out of the far side we discovered a wholesale vegetable market with huge bowls of chillis and ginger by the bag. Before we reached Thailand we were a little worried about the spiciness of the food, but it turned out to be absolutely fine. There were plenty of non spicy options all of which were incredibly tasty, they really knew how to get good flavour out of the fresh herbs and ingredients.

Finally to round off long hot days of exploring we went for a massage on a couple of occasions. While described as a foot massage we'd actually sit for an hour as they slowly work on our feet, up our legs, onto our arms and hands before finally working on our head, neck and shoulders. While we discovered a few tendons we weren't sure existed and questioned if we were flexible enough for some of the moves in general it was a very relaxing way to finish of the day.

And that was it. On Wednesday we spent 20 hours travelling to return once more to the UK; three months of travelling all done with, finished. Home at last.

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Photo Friday - Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem

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A Postcard from Sydney

Much of this week has been spent travelling, or preparing to travel. We packed up all we could from our two months in New Zealand and on Tuesday we headed for Auckland and our homewards flights. The first of our two stops on this final leg was three nights in Sydney; not enough to do justice to this interesting city but we gave it a go with a whistlestop tour of the highlights.

We stopped by the harbour a few times as it was a central area in the city with ferry terminals, shops, bars and restaurants and was always buzzing with life. We enjoyed getting up close to the opera house, seeing the details of the materials and textures that it's made from. The harbour bridge was also ever present as we moved around the city and one of the first things we did was to walk its length, enjoying the panoramic views it offered.

Shortly after leaving the harbour we were into the botanic gardens, a wonderfully calm green area in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. Joe was intrigued by an orchid comprised of many smaller flowers in place of the more common larger ones - but it turns out Sydney Botanical Gardens is the only place with one! The water lilies were also just coming into blossom and rather pretty.

On our second day we hopped on the ferry and headed to the zoo hoping to see some of Australia's native animals. Kangaroos, koalas, wallabies and alligators all hit the spot as well as appreciating the usual elephants, giraffes and big cats. The reptile house had interesting collection of snakes and lizards, including an Inland Taipan - the most venemous snake in the world, and we loved watching the spinifex hopping mice in the nocturnal house; they ran at an incredible pace and were happily scarpering about their case.

And that was it. Friday we had another of those extra long days that come from getting up early for a flight and gaining a few hours as we changed timezones. We'll tell you all about Bangkok next Sunday in the final instalment of our travelling diaries.

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Photo Friday - Lake Waikeramoana

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Wineries and (more) Waterfalls

So, it finally comes to an end. This has been our last week in New Zealand and I both can't believe that two months has gone so fast and feel like it's been an age since we last saw friends and family in the UK. We started this week with a trip to Lake Waikaremoana; a stunningly large lake set high up in the mountains. We took a long afternoon to climb to the top of one of the peaks surrounding the mountain which was a nicely wooded walk, though often more of a scramble than a walk.

After leaving the lakeside we then continued our tour of the coastline to spend several days in the Hawkes Bay area. The weather has been generally warm and sunny adding to the Mediterranean feel of this famous wine growing area, fields of vines stretching out in all directions. Not wanting to break with any traditions we've enjoyed visiting a couple of the wineries and working through the tasting menus offered!

We've added several more to our waterfall collection this week too, with two particularly tall specimens at Lake Waikeremoana, a walk to visit another couple as we drove around Hawkes Bay and a extra surprise waterfall seen from a parking area as we paused to stretch legs on our way inland at the end of the week.

The two main towns in Hawkes Bay, Hastings and Napier, offer much in the way of interesting architecture. The region was mostly flattened during an earthquake in 1931 and then completely rebuilt in the Art Deco style most of which has been preserved. We've wandered the shops, stopped for coffee and enjoyed dinner courtesy of the Hastings Night Market. 

We've finished the week driving back inland to visit Cambridge and our friends at Earthstead, reminding ourselves of the wonderfully hilly landscape that we saw at the start of the trip and preparing ourselves for the next stage of our journey; the homeward leg. 

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Photo Friday - Waihi Beach

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Hobbiton and Hot Springs

We've had a fairly quiet week exploring the Bay of Plenty for the most part. Life has taken on a slower pace with plenty of time spent reading, knitting and watching the world go by. Each night we've parked the camper up on the sea front, relished the lack of effort needed to get the kettle on and then had a good peer at any sea birds in case we might spot something new hiding among the gulls. Our main successes this week on that front have been seeing NZ dotterels and a flock of lesser knots. 

NZ Dotterel

As well as making our way slowly along the coastline we nipped in land for a couple of days to tick a couple of things off our "must see" list, starting with a trip to Hobbiton. This marvel in set making is now a permanent feature of this stretch of farmland and takes a two hour guided tour to see. The level of detail on each of the 40 or so different hobbit holes was impressive. We were very pleased to find that the gardens outside each hole are real and loving cared for, each giving a different aspect of an English country garden - be it a small vegetable plot or a wonderfully scented lavender. Along with the variety of general hobbit holes, be they to hobbit or human scale, we also got to see the outside of the infamous Bag End complete with "no admittance" sign and a completely fake, and incredibly realistic, oak tree over the top. Our guide was disappointed to find that no one in our tour group wished to propose from the steps of bag end though. 

The only place "real" enough to go inside was the green dragon where they kindly handed out flagons of ale, cider or ginger beer and we happily found a spot by the fire to dry out as it was a rather showery day. All in all a good trip, and certainly gives food for thought as to the level of detail they went to for background shots that might not even have made it.

Steaming sulphurous mud - a Rotorua speciality...

The following day we went for a walk around Rotorua, home to many geothermal sites. We found the sulphurous smell that lingered in the air everywhere a little unsettling but it was fun to see the ground mysteriously steaming all over the place. The boiling mud along the lakeside and the yellow patches of earth, along with a variety of interesting buildings certainly made for an unusual walk. 

And with that we were back to the coast and more beaches. Did I mention we did a lot of knitting this week?

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Photo Friday - Tutea Falls

The highest waterfalls in the world that are commercially rafted. 

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Sailing and Storms

Having got off the ferry on Saturday evening we continued our quick trek up the North Island, pausing on Sunday morning at Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre - in particular the kiwi house. Unlucky at our attempts to spot these creatures in the wild we couldn't leave New Zealand without seeing one. The kiwi house is kept dark as kiwis are nocturnal (hence the red photo) and the two adult kiwis there were constantly on the move both hunting for grubs and having a bit of a fight with each other, much to the amusement of the watching visitors. They're hoping these two will become a breeding pair, but I think there's a way to go yet! The centre is also part of operation nest egg. Kiwi chicks currently have incredibly low chances of survival in the wild, part of the reason they're so rare, so various wildlife trusts are involved in finding eggs near to hatching and taking them for incubation (kiwis aren't particularly paternal which is part of the problem). They then raise the chicks through the first 6 months and release them back into the wild hopefully giving them a much better chance at life. Mt Bruce had one 27 week old chick in care at that point; a very cute pile of fuzz.

The last stages of our run north included popping back in to see Alastair (Suzie was away) where we both donated the remains of our tent to whatever cause they'd have, and got to sample the Brie Joe had left in a cool damp corner several weeks earlier. We were incredibly amazed to find that it looked smelt and tasted like a moderately ripe Brie; a real success! Finally we got to the reason for our dash to the north. When our tent broke we decided to treat ourselves to our last few weeks in a camper for a much more luxurious touring experience. We'd spent a fair portion of our time on the road discussing that that was surely the way to travel and maybe we should try it sometime and here was a ready made excuse. Unfortunately our hire car company were insistant that our 4x4 must be returned to Auckland and only Auckland - so to Auckland we went.

We spent a fair portion of Tuesday first collecting our campervan and then dropping off our car. When booking our camper we'd been looking at the larger 2 birth vehicles but it was pointed out to us that the smallest 4 birth were a very similar price so we happily booked one of those - we were going to be in it for a while after all. When we arrived they gave us a 6 birth and it's a beast! Wonderfully comfortable when we've chosen our camping spot for the night and with an over the cab bed that's nice and roomy and we can leave set up all the time, but not an agile vehicle for travelling in and particularly not for parking! Joe is getting to grips with it now and we are loving the extra space though.

Having done our vehicle swap we headed into Northland - the area north of Auckland - well known for its Mauri culture and interesting coastline. Unfortunately we saw little of the west coast as we drove up due to rather poor visibility and a storm that woke us up early on Wednesday morning, knocked out the power to the campsite and continued to rumble on for a good portion of the morning. Having stayed the night on the west coast we then took a fairly quick route over to Kerikeri on the east coast - not least because that's where mechanics connected to the campervan company were and we left the van with them for a couple of hours so that they could replace a missing valve on the waste water pipe and stop it piddling everywhere.

Having acheived so much distance over the last few days we then spent the second half of the week around the Bay of Islands, which is as it sounds; a stunning section of coastline covered in lots of islands. We found a lovely campsite on the waterfront near Haruru Falls and relaxed there in the sun that finally came, watching the birdlife come and go. We walked along the river edge as far as Waitangi and the Treaty House there and had a very pleasant day indeed.

The highlight of the week though came on Friday. The best way to see the Bay of Islands is naturally by boat but we weren't overly tempted by the tourist laden motor boats that would take you out to visit a particular feature of the coastline. Imagine our delight therefore when we discovered that for a similar cost we could have a day learning to sail with just us and our instructor on a 20ft yacht. We had a really good day out on the water, though were rather sore at the end of it. The best bit was when a pod of dolphins came by to say hello and swam with the boat for a few minutes - I don't think we could have asked for more.

p.s. We appreciate all your comments - sorry we don't have enough internet to be able to respond!

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