Lac de Lauzon (2018 m.), Cirque glacière de Gioberney - Parc national des Écrins
Fantastic hike surrounded by granite peaks over 3000 m. Great views in ideal weather, enough melt water to power the waterfalls but still ice and snow higher up to top off the views. And autumn berries on the bushes.
More photos: Lac de Lauzon (2018 m.), Cirque glacière de Gioberney - Parc national des Écrins
Corsa 1.2 turbo (2025)
2025 petrol Corsa 1.2 turbo at the Col du Festre (1442 m.)
It’s a pleasure to drive this zippy 2025 petrol Corsa 1.2T, the T indicates a turbo. At last, a car from the hire companies that is both what I reserved and that’s enjoyable to drive. Yes enjoyable: the little Corsa is light, goes where I want it to and is nippy. The Sport button gives a useful lift in power at low to medium revs, eg for overtakes on mountain roads. The turbo comes in smoothly and unobtrusively, without a lurch to scare passengers. The one I’ve hired comes with the parking aids package etc and a previous hirer has sorted out the driver warnings so that they’re not annoying and distracting, as they often are on hire cars still on the default profile.
Cactus flowers
Great to be greeted by large flowers on one of the cacti in my balcony cactus garden in Marseille. Probably a variety of Echinopsis, maybe Echinopsis Formosa.
The Old Coach Road by MTB - Lake District National Park
Looking back towards Blencathra, Skiddaw, St John’s in the Vale and Keswick
C2C off-road
Mountain bike ride on The Old Coach Road east of Keswick (U3132 & U2236). It’s a struggle up to Hausewell Brow (437 m.) from St John’s in the Vale, both the climb and the rocks in the roadway. But there are big views as you go of Blencathra (868 m.), then from the road’s summit the view opens out towards Great Mell Fell (547 m.) and the Pennine Ridge, even seeing by eye the outline of the Lowther Hills across the Solway Firth in Dumfries.
Round and home to Keswick over Calvert’s Bridge and Brundholme Road, avoiding the parkrun traffic on the K2T trail.
More photos: The Old Coach Road by MTB - Lake District National Park
‘The Marriage of Figaro’ from Glyndebourne at the Proms 2025
A lively, modern performance of W.A. Mozart’s classic comic opera at the Proms. Figaro harks back to an earlier and apparently simpler time, of servants and Countesses; nonetheless there is a war somewhere. But seeing “The Marriage of Figaro” in a semi-staged version of Glyndebourne’s new production is an escape from the realities of our era with some of W.A. Mozart’s most sublime music.
Read more: ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ from Glyndebourne at the Proms 2025
Brighton August Holiday Monday
Postcard from sunny Brighton Madeira Drive as Mods, scooterists and bikers gather for their traditional August Bank Holiday runs. Zip-wire and Volks railway running too.
Isle of Man TT Mountain Course 2025
Pits, grandstand and start/finish
Cronk-y-Voddy
Road riding is my thing, not track days, so when the forecasts looked fine for a ride round the TT Course on the Isle of Man, I was happy and excited to book the trip.
Gris in the garden - Gris, Pays d’Oc 2024
Gris, Pays d’Oc 2024. Les Pluviers.
Gris is a variation of French Rosé wine that’s popular in the South: it’s much lighter and usually fresher, not sweet and needs to be drunk young. It’s not a sin to add an ice cube to chill your glass of gris. The principal varietal grown in the Languedoc is Grenache Gris but there are also Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Gris etc.
This bottle, labelled Pays d’Oc 2024, that I brought back from a supplier in Marseille, has the typical pale colour, a fresh nose of the smaller red fruits with a slightly acid after-taste that’s refreshing on a hot summer day. We enjoyed my personal import with Terry’s copious Salade de Chèvre chaude in his garden in Preston Park, Brighton, now luxuriant with growth and flowers that are reminders of the Mediterranean and the sub-tropics.
Wasdale Head - Lake District National Park
Photos exploring the textures of landscape and buildings around Wasdale Head in the Western Lake District. Wasdale Head (85 m.) is overlooked by some of the highest peaks: Kirk Fell (802 m.), Great Gable (899 m.) and Scafell Pike (977 m.).
Amusing myself on the Grands Cols
Mt. Blanc (4808 m.) from the Col de la Madeleine (1993 m.)
Provence heat
Once again... riding the Grands Cols of the French Alps on my CBR600RR. Lots of sportsbike fun: challenging stacks of hairpin bends, big sweeping transalpine routes and little roads across the alpages. Concentrating on the high tarmac while surrounded by glaciers and snowy-topped mountains. Enjoying the Alpine tradition of hospitality and fine food. A great ride but the heat, traffic and unpredictable weather are all getting worse year on year. When the fun stops, it’s time to do something else.
Bike ride to the Swiss Alps - July/Aug 1983
Embarking at Newhaven and first night at Compiègne
Hydration stop in the Jura
Seeing Mont Blanc fully-white rising above the cliffs, then the immense glaciers and the view along the Valais from the Forclaz made a huge impression on me. It wasn’t my first time in the Alps but it was my first on a motorbike that I’d ridden from London.
My Yam FJ750 was a year old and I set off with new tyres; it was riding great but these were my first attempts at mountain roads and it was a steep learning curve. Although there were frontiers with border police, they didn’t bother with bikers but the currency and language changed.
