Curly's Capers

Saturday 1st June 2013. Just  a couple of miles away from 'Puzzlewood'  Pwood and  opposite to Clearway Caves, in the Forest of Dean is the new enterprise (open just one year)  the "Secret Forest. ".  It is excellent value for money at £3 for adults and £2 for children. Once inside, well laid paths lead you through the trees,  up to a round house village at the summit. The above video shows the walk into the well-thatched main house. Here are some photographs I took, in a delightful visit with D. yesterday (31/ 5). A very nice touch was a number of poems,   placed at points along the walk-ways. Here are two examples. A good day out and well worth a visit. secretF 4**** I am currently reading " Folklore of Gloucestershire, "  by  Roy Palmer . I was amused to read about the story regarding Queen Elizabeth 1, which came from the village of Bisley, near Stroud. Whilst still a chil...

  Saturday 25th May 2013 The above video was taken on our visit to the Dean Forest Railway, last Wednesday (22/5 ). For those of you who have had difficulty viewing this video, here are three of the still photos from it. Here is the Dean Forest Railway standard timetable for the day in question. On the timetable I have indicated the actual train time we used. You will notice Norchard, where we parked the car in the large car park, was not the actual start of the line; this was at Parkend. So it was rather disconcerting, when we reached Lydney Junction to have to reverse our journey and travel past our starting point at Norchard to arrive at Parkend. The staff were unfailingly courteous and the actual journey, using a diesel was very smooth. However as the trip was billed as a 'blue bell' view; I have to say that much of the vistas were not particularly scenic; Lydney, for all its undoubted virtue, can not be viewed a...

Friday 17th May 2013. Last Saturday, D. and I travelled to Much Marcle, near Ross on Wye to replenish our cider supplies from H. Weston  and Sons, proud makers of cider for over 100 years. The above photograph was first shown in my blog of 13/ 10/ '10, at which time I also paid a visit to this fine place. Coming last Saturday, we noticed Weston's Edwardian Garden, which looked in fine fettle. I have faded down the colours to give an aged perspective. Here, in their right shade  is a lovely clump of heather. As a parting note, it was interesting to see an advert for "  Stowfords, "  one of the brand names of Weston's cider, on the boundary boards of Lords' Cricket  ground; proof that they are indeed  spreading their marketing wings. CcccccccccCccccccC Today D. and I visited the  Dean Forest Railway, at Parkend, near Speech House in the  Forest of Dean. Forest Rail This train travels from Parkend to Norchard...

A few weeks ago, you may remember D. and I found the grave of the Gloucestershire poet Frank Mansell in the grounds of Miserden Church. Whilst there, we entered the church and discovered a man photographing a burial vault. I asked him, if he knew anything about the whereabouts of Mansell's grave. He replied,  he had just found this place by chance, having driven back from holiday. Admiring his expensive equipment, I then asked did he maintain a blog? "Well" he replied, " some photographs will end up on the web-site '  Geograph.' " It is part of an online project called "  Geograph British Isles."  It's purpose: to collect photographs for every square kilometre in the British Isles. A very interesting concept you will agree. Geograph If you want to see his photos,  use site plus profile/10423. PppppppppPppppppP Cheltenham Town A.F.C.  (The Robins) have concluded their season. Having reached fifth place in the t...

This video shows aspects of the amazing waterfall Pistyll Rhaeadr, in Powys, Wales Waterfall Last Monday (29/4 ), my family stayed the night in the  18thC building, which lies near the bottom of the Fall. From the lounge, in our apartment, was a balcony. Here is the view: and sitting in the balcony, you saw: Soon after arrival and meal, we made our way to the top of the fall. From this height you get a great view of the valley below. Walking at a lower level streams and water abound. In the field, near our apartment could be seen some interesting rock formations. The waterfall, according to our landlord,  has only ever  completely frozen over in 1969. Here is a scanned image of that event. This visit was an exhilarating experience. It was great to be outdoors in the fresh, clear,  air again, and feel in touch with nature. I have tried to respond to the timeless nature of this place w...