Luxembourg - April 2023

JC and I spent nearly a week recently in Luxembourg visiting his parents.  We flew from Stansted and used my Dad's as a staging post to drop the car, stay over, and launch ourselves from.

Thursday 13 April

Well didn't South West Trains serve us well? After convincing JC that trains would be better than driving - OK, perhaps a tad more expensive but more environmentally friendly and not too much longer - SWT cancelled all trains to Waterloo!  They wouldn't even let us download our tickets from the ticket machine at Basingstoke, but I convinced them that we had a Plan B (involving Reading) and that they really should let us get our tickets and chase a train.  So we made it to Stansted Airport on time but it was more of a stress than it should have been.  

We made it over the Channel and JC's cousin collected us and delivered us to his parents.  Result.

Friday 14 - Saturday 15 April

Friday and Saturday involved lots of pottering around at JC's parent's house plus the odd trip to Cactus, the local supermarket. JC naturally helped his parents with bits and pieces whilst I occupied myself with puzzles and reading.  On Friday we went for a walk to Huncherange and enjoyed watching the trains pass, and on Saturday took ourselves out for another amble around local fields.

Sunday 16 April

JC disappeared with a Belgian today to photograph an abandoned site in Germany, so I took myself off to the City to explore an outdoor sculptures trail.  I was on the eastern edge of Luxembourg City, Kirchberg, the home of the EU institutions, Luxembourg financial institutions and an Olympic sized swimming pool.  It was a super easy tram ride up from the station - I do so love the free transport system of Luxembourg, not to mention the lovely stained glass in the station - and I started at the most north easterly point and headed south.

I walked through the Parc-Klose-Groendchen and spotted the granite boat and some funky wall art.

As there are many financial institutions it made sense to have a banker.  And I found a Luxembourg book bank - a lot posher than the British home-made versions!

Plenty of unusual buildings, creative architecture and sculptures to spot.

I even found a cow.

I walked down the route of the Roman road from Riems to Trier into Central Park where there were plenty more sculptures to see.

And a somewhat brutalist kiosk (sadly closed).

There was a brilliant play park here and I couldn't resist climbing on some of the wooden logs they had laid out.  This would have been fine if I hadn't slipped off (how embarrassing!) and bashed my hand and back, so I decided to call it a day and slink off for lunch at Snack in Joy.  Although vegan, it wasn't my favourite as it had a lot of mock-meat dishes - however there wasn't much else open on a Sunday.

Monday 17 April

Monday's highlights included a delicious meal out at La Celula, where I sat under a cow,

followed by an impromptu visit to Dudelange to pick up some shoes. We had a short amble around the town centre and I was pleased to find a benchmark on their Hôtel de Ville.

L'Église Saint Martin.

Tuesday 18 April

Today JC and I visited Luxembourg City for the afternoon and took a tour of the Pétrusse Casements, one of the two sets of underground passages in the city.  They run short 45 minute tours with small groups and a guide and we were able to book on an English tour.  

These defensive tunnels, built variously by the Spanish and Austrians, were actually never used in anger and were repurposed for varied activities such as mushroom growing and a spacious wine cellar.  They came in most handy during the Second World War as refuge from the overhead bombing.

We exited into the Parc de la Pétrusse (named after the river which flows through it) and discovered a church carved into the rocks which we'd never spotted before, the Chapel of Quirinus. 

As we walked back up into the city JC spotted two flood level markers.  Boy, big floods!

And back up in the Place d'Armes I found another you-know-what, on the Centre Municipal.   

We ate out with JC's friends that evening, in a new-to-us local Lebanese restaurant, Chiche!  This is a social enterprise, set in a house setting (so small rooms and less noise) with delicious food.  Win win.

Wednesday 19 April

Home day today.  Leaving Luxembourg via the airport wasn't a fun experience.  We decided that the airport likes to play mind games with their passengers.  First off we had to sit in a room waiting for the passport control to open, then, once shunted through that, we had to queue to get into the boarding gate area. Entry was controlled with priority passengers first, then others, and the priority passengers dutifully queued up against the exit ready to be first onto the plane.  Then the airport staff opened a door across the other side of the room and we all jumbled up onto buses.  By the time we got onto the plane there was no boarding order, people were getting onto the wrong end of the plane and it was all a bit not-great.  It's one of the few things that Luxembourg doesn't seem to excel at!

Once back in Stansted it wasn't much better as my passport didn't work in the eGates so I had to queue, with dozens of others in similar predicaments, for the 2 passport control officers to clear us into the UK.  Then it was 4 trains back to Basingstoke and a long awaited cup of tea!  A quick catch up with Dad, a drive home and an unpack and ready for work on Thursday.

East Devon Way - Part Two

Sunday 09 April 2023

Another fine day beckoned so we left one car at Knapp Copse Nature Reserve and drove back down to Aylesbeare/Harpford Common to start where we left off yesterday.  20 km today :-)

We started with a pleasant stroll across the common and woodlands.  

We then skirted around the north side of Newton Poppleford. The origins of the name come from the pebbles around this area.  Over 300 million years ago a river, ~5 km wide, flowed from Gloucestershire to France and laid down a gravel bed and sandstone ('Bunter sandstone').  There were pebbles everywhere yesterday on Woodbury Common and in the first part of our walk today.  The paths were pretty and I loved this creative gate comprised of garden tools and wine stoppers hanging above.

We then crossed the River Otter (in a dry way) and walked into Harpford.

As we entered Harpford Woods we realised we'd been here before, when we did the Coleridge Memorial link walk the other year (shame on me, I didn't blog it).  We remembered the fun tunnel though, a Victorian relic from the days when the railway ran down here to Sidmouth.  I went through it, of course, and on my route back took a shot of JC photographing from inside the tunnel out.  Love the silhouette!

We walked under the disused railway bridge and on up to Beacon Hill.  It was a stiff climb but the views were magnificent, although a tad hazy.  Once at the top we bumped into the Sid Valley Ring walk which we'd done in June 2022 (again, not blogged.  I'm going to sack my agent).  Somehow I forgot to take any photos, probably because I thought I'd already photographed the trig at Beacon Hill, East Hill Strips and the walk down to Sidbury before.

Anyway, we squelched our way down to Sidbury, me being very grateful that the cows who had blocked the gate last time (so much so that we had to detour around another field or two) were absent.  We popped into the Red Lion in Sidbury where everyone was in a happy Easter mood and we put our feet up, temporarily, with a drink and crisps.

It was a very stiff climb up through the Buckley Plantation.  At one point JC spotted a tree - "go on," he said, "stick your head through".  "Go on," I responded, "why don't you?".  And the rest is history.

Then it was a pleasant walk along the ridge, especially as the blustery southwesterlies were behind us.  Despite the lack of sunshine, the views were still lovely. 

Further on we entered a small conservation area complete with board walks.  I do so love a board walk.

And more beautifully-Devon gorse bushes.

Not so excited about the sign for the field. 

More down and more up.  Then a final drag up via Lower Mincombe Farm which apparently did a fine line in hedgerow daffodils.  The Knapp Copse was a pretty nature reserve, will need a revisit.

Rain stops play tomorrow (yes, I am a fair weather walker when I have the luxury to choose it) and then we have a Luxembourg interlude so EDW Part Three will be a while. 

East Devon Way - Part One

Saturday 08 April 2023

I have been eyeing up the East Devon Way ever since JC and I bumped into a couple when we were walking the Sid Valley Ring who mentioned it.  I tracked down the guide book but never quite found a time to do it. I'd been contemplating doing it in a single 3/4 day stretch (it's 64 km, 40 miles) but realised our leave was usually otherwise spoken for.  Easter weekend is perfect to start this as we can walk for some of it but still have time to do other exciting things such as a dump run, weed the garden, move my work gear back into the study (hurrah) and try to fix the toilet seat (it was glued on!).

Anyway, having two cars it was easy - we drove to Harpford Common and left a car, then drove to Exmouth and left the other one.  A ~17 km walk between the two.

The walk starts near the Point at Exmouth, but we couldn't find anything that said "here's the beginning" so I plumped for this sign.  

We started walking up the east side of the Exe alongside the railway.  Very exciting when a train went past!

We went past Lympstone and into A la Ronde.  Annoyingly, unlike other National Trust properties, you have to enter to buy a coffee, so JC (who is a member) went in and bought me a take out so we drank our drinks in the carpark.  Mind you, it was a lovely day to stand just outside A la Ronde, see glimpses of the Exe and enjoy coffee in the sun ;-)

The walk then took us around the northern edge of Exmouth and we appreciated getting away from suburbia into Lympstone Common and onto the heathland.  We passed Black Hill quarry which is now disused and being re-wilded by the RSPB.

Lunch was at Four Firs,

then we walked up to Woodbury Castle.  

Past the castle we traversed Woodbury and Colaton Raleigh Commons before finishing off at Hawkerland Valley with its ponies. I did like the fox and hare roof thatch addition to this property at Morish Cotley.

Day two beckons, hopefully Easter Sunday.  Stay tuned readers.