Hadrian’s Wall - Northumberland National Park

Hadrian’s Wall and VALLUM ditch system 

Hadrian’s Wall Tourist Trail

It was a fine clear morning, the sort you get in the North. I landed on time in Newcastle and headed for Keswick. I diverted off the A69 direct route to take the Hadrian's Wall Tourist Trail and seek the Roman stones. I stopped a couple of times around Housesteads VERCOVICIVM and enjoyed a short hike on a section of the Wall around Caw Gap, also a view of VALLUM, the ditch system to the South of the Wall. The stones in the ground are impressive as are the commanding views of the topography.

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An afternoon with a little black devil of a bike - CBR600RR 2026 test ride

CBR600RR 2026

The man with the tattoos handed me the key to the devil bike. He knew I would play. From the first corner, a roundabout on a slope out of the bike boutique, I was hooked. The little black devil of a bike hooked up with the devil in me. We knew the roads, they were dry and clear and we let it rip.

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Goldilocks and the three carpe diems

“The Rossi pose”

Lucky with the February weather, this has been three straight days of riding my CBR600RR sportsbike on the varied regional roads of Provence as three day-rides out from Marseille. A day in the Var to the east, then the Carmague, Arles and the lovely Alpilles hills to the west; then thirdly a ride inland up to Manosque in the valley of the River Durance.
The weather’s so important to enjoy sporty riding, If Goldilocks was a biker she’d be happy with the weather of these February days: not too hot, not too cold and no wind, just right. And fantastic visibility, right out to the snow at the ski resorts in Haut-Provence. It’s been a great opportunity to finish off the tyres as the roads are dry and clear of traffic. And fun.

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GR51-GR98 : Cols de Morgiou, des Baumettes et de Sormiou - Parc national des Calanques

 Col de Morgiou (198 m.) - Col des Escourtines (183 m.) - Col des Baumettes (210 m.) - Col de Sormiou (181 m.)

Crisp hike in the stunning limestone of the Calanques, the cliffs and inlets that border the Mediterranean outside Marseille. Hiking from bus 23 terminus up a richly forested valley to reach the GR51-GR98 ridge path. Varied hiking on this sharp rock,  partly footpath through the maquis (undergrowth of rosemary and low shrubs), partly gravel track but also sections of three-point scramble on the sharp limestone that’s been bleached and hardened by the sun and rain. Brisk and blustery Mistral wind keeping the air clear for plenty of sun and UV exposure. There was an unusually clear view back over urban Marseille to the snow on Mt. Ventoux (1910 m.), about 105 km to the north-north-west.

More photos: GR51-GR98 : Cols de Morgiou, des Baumettes et de Sormiou - Parc national des Calanques

The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny - ENO at the London Coliseum

Brilliant new production in English by ENO at the London Coliseum of The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny. Brecht tackles the big themes: food, sex, fights and whiskey: so basically decadence. Weil’s music fortifies this, both in songs and underpinning dialogue and speeches. The Coliseum is one of London’s largest stages but the austere staging and lighting managed to convey the aesthetic of an intimate production, as in the early Berlin performances at the Kroll theatre.
The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny is an opera that is still difficult to take in because of its overt political commentary, much of which seems simplistic and now dated. The first night of Mahagonny in Berlin in 1930 was besieged by protesters, not the only opera in history to trigger riots but these were Nazis and eventually they destroyed almost all of copies of Mahagonny when the publishers were raided then burnt out.

Read more: The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny - ENO at the London Coliseum

Keeping my hedges and me in trim - Lake District National Park

Workout outside today: a session on my garden’s hedges is at least as good a workout as a session in the gym. Keeps the hedges and me in trim: that’s the hedges less spiky and my upper body and core worked, plus chats with my Keswick neighbours.
Great to workout in such lovely cloud forest scenery! And then off to the council tip to recycle the four bags of cuttings.

Ashness Bridge - Watendlath - Lodore Falls: Lake District National Park

Watendlath Bridge

Ashness Bridge

Riding routes I avoid in the tourist season. It’s a leg-warmer to pedal up to the ever-popular Watendlath Bridge, passing over the lower Ashness Bridge. Plenty of flow in the beck making Lodore Falls roar, and a treat to visit almost alone. Even the road round the far side of Derwent Water under Catbells was quiet.

More photos: Ashness Bridge - Watendlath - Lodore Falls: Lake District National Park

Château Langoa Barton 2004, Saint-Julien (Médoc)

Bottle of the 2005 vintage from a château favoured for his cellar by my Father in recognition of the name Barton, the same as our neighbours’ in Trumpington, Cambridge.

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Cilaos crater hike, Forêt du Grand Matarum GR R1 - Parc national de La Réunion

Piton des Neiges (3070 m.), view from Cilaos (1150 m.)

View of Cilaos village from GR R1. Indian Ocean horizon beyond the crater.

Hiking up the inside of the volcanic crater from the town of Cilaos on the GR R1 long-distance hiking route. This, the Forêt du Grand Matarum, is primal tropical forest, never harvested. But all the species have arrived from somewhere since the volcano went quiet so there’s a hotchpotch of trees and plants we know from Europe plus many from elsewhere.

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Route forestière de la Roche Merveilleuse, Cilaos - Parc national de La Réunion

I hired the only hardtail bike available in Cilaos, a Scott Aspect 50. There’s a forest bike park just outside the town with a selection of graded trails. Unfortunately the road tyres and brakes really won’t do that - I turned back after 10 m. down one of the red trails. So just the loop up to 1500 m. altitude on the forest road, but good enough to ride through cloud forest of Cryptomeria trees with the track lined with Ginger plants.
Cilaos (1150 m.) also has a mini BMX pump track, hidden and away from tourists. The locals made space for my efforts, then showed me much more. Anyhow great to feel the Gs of a different track to Keswick and Marseille and the bike was fine for that.

More photos: Route forestière de la Roche Merveilleuse, Cilaos - Parc national de La Réunion