We decided we couldn’t visit Wales without seeing a ruined castle, so this morning we took a bus to the village of Dolwyddelan, where there is one built by a local king, Llwelyn the Great in 1210 -1240.
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Tag: river
Betws Y Coed
Tonight we’re in Snowdonia, Wales for a week of hiking. The village we are staying in is very pretty; the Conway river rushes through town just across the road from our hotel, which like most of the buildings is built from the local slate.
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Brixton
When we visited Erin Pizzey on Thursday, I mentioned the fact that we hadn’t seen much sign of real poverty in London. She suggested we go to Brixton, so we set off this morning, on the assumption that most of the really bad, dangerous people would probably not be out of bed yet.
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Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs
The summer weather is back to normal in London; grey, cool and slightly drizzly. Undeterred, we set off to a free outdoor jazz concert at Canada Square on Canary Wharf.
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Twickenham and Regent St
Today Felicity and I travelled to Twikenham to visit Erin Pizzey, who is one of our heroines for her groundbreaking work on Domestic Violence. We arrived half an hour early, so went for a stroll around nearby York House.
Grand Union Canal
I’ve been on my first English bike ride today; along the tow path of the Grand Union Canal. I have been a bit ambivalent about buying a bike, because the roads around West Hampstead are very narrow and busy, which is not my idea of a great riding environment. So I decided to try hiring a “Boris bike”.
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Woolwich Arsenal
Now I know why there is a football team known as the Gunners. The Woolwich Arsenal is where many of the British Empire’s weapons were manufactured, and what started as a factory football team is now one of the English premier league clubs.
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Kaiwaka No2 Island
Tonight we are camping on an island in the middle of the Waikato river. Felicity is cooking steak for dinner, and the rest of us are getting our gear sorted before it gets dark.
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Puhoi River Paddle
We discovered where the masses go to paddle their kayaks when we took a trip upriver from Wenderholm.
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Lake Ohakuri
When we looked at the weather map, the central North Island looked like the place to be over Anniversary weekend, so we’ve been exploring one of the hydro lakes on the Waikato river.
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Tongue Point blunder
Our plan today was to kayak up the Matakana river. We left home soon after 10 AM, with a plan to stop by the farmer’s market to pick up some goodies for lunch, then launch around midday.
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Thakhek and Konglor Cave
For our final adventure in Lao, we travelled six hours south of the capital to the town of Thakhek. Continue reading Thakhek and Konglor Cave
Vang Vieng
This town is a bit of a culture shock after the rural north of Lao. It is fairly swarming with tourists, although the number of half empty restaurants, bars and guest houses tell us that in past years it has been far busier.
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Nam Ha River
We’re back in civilization after two days kayaking through the Laotian jungle. When I first saw that the boats we would be using were the inflatable variety I was a bit disappointed, but it turned out that they were ideal. This time of year the water level is only just high enough to be navigable, with quite a few rapids to negotiate. Continue reading Nam Ha River
Pak Beng
We stayed overnight in this village on our way up the Mekong River. We are travelling on a slow boat for two days, so it is fortunate that I’m feeling healthy again.
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Pak Ou Caves
I was woken about 4am this morning by the beating of the big drum at our local wat (temple). Presumably the monks have to chant or meditate for an hour or so before they start their procession through the town; I went back to sleep. Continue reading Pak Ou Caves
Whau River and Wairau Creek
It started raining quite heavily as we left home this morning with our kayaks on the roof, and we wondered if we had made a bad choice of activity. The rain radar at the Met Service hadn’t shown much coming, but I have experienced showers in the past that didn’t officially exist.
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Mangapurua Trail to Bridge to Nowhere
I’m sitting in the bush at the lookout over the Bridge to Nowhere, on the Whanganui River.
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