Blooming wonderful - 16 May 2009

Another London hidden gem we recently heard about is the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park. This is a glorious display of rhododendrons and azaleas. Sadly, they were probably at their best two weeks ago, but we managed to see them before the end of their 2009 season. Richmond Park itself is so extensive, a car (or horse) is a good way to get around.

By way of contrast, we headed out to Buckinghamshire in the afternoon, to visit Nether Winchenden House. It was, started in the 13th century, had a fair bit of Tudor work, including some wonderful chimneys and then the “new” modifications, done late 18th century to modernise it, now have the interest of antiquity. The same family have lived in it for the last 400 years, and we were fortunate to be shown around by the current owner. This made it extra interesting, as he was able and willing to show off items of furniture, one usually wishes could be opened.

We detoured home via Long Crendon and Denham, to see some magnificent wisteria we had hoped to see when flowering; both were, like the morning's blooms, just a little past their prime.

Cotswold caper - 10 May 2009

The Annual gathering of and Spring Run for MG Y Type cars was held this weekend and we intended to be there with 'Clara'. There had been a problem with rough runninng at speeds above 45 mph and after much deliberation it was decided that the issue was caused by the charging system not delivering enough amps when running off battery power alone. The regulator needed to be allowing the dynamo to charge the battery properly and it was not.

Finally, late on Friday night the garage told us the problem was fixed and so, after collecting 'Clara' we set off full of hope and enthusiasm. Just outside Oxford I noticed that the ammeter was indicating that charging had stopped and then the rough running returned.

Decision time: Did we carry on for another hour, expect to do a 1.5 hour run on Sunday and then travel 2.5 - 3 hours home with a faulty car; or did we limp home there and then and change vehicles? We chose the later.

So, instead of turning up in a 1950 MG Y Type, like all the others, we arrived in a 2009 MG TF, looking just a little out of place.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the run through the Cotswolds, starting and ending at the GWR Steam Railway at Toddington. The run was a relaxed affair with time allowed for lunch at any one of the many pubs that the run passed. We, however, had enjoyed a large full-English cooked breakfast so felt no desire to stop for lunch and instead made a detour to re-visit Sudeley Castle.

We also had time to take the steam train to Cheltenham Race-course and back before setting off back to London.

Windmills that you find - 4 May 2009

Although we weren't quite in the neighbourhood, UNESCO dangled a World Heritage site 'carrot', and we decided we couldn't miss the Kinderdijk site and its 19 preserved windmills in a dual canal system, dating from the 14th century. The canals had been dug by hand and when they could not keep pace, the windmills were added from 1738 to 1740, and the windmills drained the surrounding countryside, into the nearby River Lek. It really is an impressive sight, a real piece of quintessential Dutch history.

After a pleasant stroll around, we set of to catch the ferry back from Calais. The guide book told us that Breda was a pleasant town, and we had enough time for one more stop before we left the Netherlands, so it was a great place for lunch. Breda could almost be said to be wall to wall cafes. As it was Monday and a working day, the town was relatively quiet, but we enjoyed a fabulous lunch in the sunshine, within sight of their magnificent gothic cathedral, said to be the best in the Netherlands. We decided that the Netherlands do the best bread of any place we've visited. Each morning the two B&B's we stayed in had superb fresh, soft, yet crusty bread, as did this cafe. We heartily recommend sampling bread when travelling in this part of the Netherlands.

It was then a bit of a mad dash across Europe, getting tangled in the Antwerp motorway ring road and on across Belgium and France to get back to Calais in time for our ferry sailing. We made it with time to spare, had a rest on the ferry then a dream run home on the M20/M25 which we were dreading as it was the end of a Bank Holiday weekend.

Delta Project - 3 May 2009

The day got off to a very interesting start when we decided to collect the car from the overnight carpark building before breakfast as rain was threatening and it would have been an unpleasant walk in the rain. We got to the carpark only to find it locked up like Fort Knox and accessible only with the bar-coded parking ticket that the machine had dispensed when we parked. Unfortunately said bar-coded ticket was safely locked inside the car inside the locked carpark. Had our Dutch been a little better, we may have seen a sign saying to take the ticket with us.

There was an intercom button by both of the pedestrian entrances to the building but neither elicited any response. In desperation I flagged down a passing motorist who, fortunately for us, spoke excellent English, and he agreed to drive his car to the vehicle entrance at which point the doors automatically opened allowing us access. Problem solved, we drove back to the B&B for a well earned breakfast while the rain poured down outside.

Leaving Middelburg we drove a short distance to the very attractive town of Veere. Clearly a tourist trap as even on Sunday there were parking charges.

After walking around the town we headed off for to see the Delta Project. After a storm surge in 1953 that killed 1835 people and flooded a huge swathe of the Netherlands, the Dutch embarked on a massive engineering project to prevent any such recurrence. The last section was completed in 1986 and comprised a closeable storm surge barrier across the Oosterschelde. A man-made island was created as a construction site for the project and this island has now been turned into the visitor centre and theme park.

It is quite expensive, €18.50 each plus €6.50 parking, plus high priced food inside, but really worth a visit. There are films about the project; displays about the history, the flood, and the construction; a 45-minute boat trip; a walk though the barrier for a close-up look; an aquarium; seals; a 'grave-yard' of interesting pieces of equipment from the construction phase; a whale exhibition; a fun water feature to amuse the young and young-at-heart; a water slide; and play areas and rides for the kids. It was very easy to fill in the better part of a day; they have clearly set out to make it an interesting day-out destination for families.

But, it was time to move on to Zierikzee. The guide books we read were not overly complimentary about Zierikzee but we thought it was a lovely cute settlement with houses from the 14th C (even our B&B was built in 1650). The historical centre, inside the old moat is only a short walk from side to side and there a plenty of sights to be seen with the old and new harbours, the ancient gates and so forth. We came across a 1953 flood-level marker on a building that was at least 3m above the foot-path. It made the information we had seen earlier in the day that much more real and relevant.

Dinner was in the pub at the end of our street that had also been chosen by the local football team as a suitable venue for a farewell party for one of the team, They were a jolly and noisy bunch as they serenaded their mate. I could not understand why all these burly lads had jackets emblazoned with 'The Dancemasters' but discovered that that was the name of the team sponsor.

The reason we picked that particular establishment was that we had noted on the menu earlier that they served Orange Roughy, a delight we have not seen on this side of the world before. It seemed particularly appropriate to be enjoying one of New Zealand's best export fish in Zeeland.

Zealand to Zeeland - 2 May 2009

As Kiwis abroad, we decided it was about time we took a look at the original Zeeland.

We always thought New Zealand was named by it's first European discoverer, Able Tasman. But apparently it is thought to have been named by Dutch cartographers.

An early start got us to Dover for an 8.30 sailing. A three hour drive, including a 6k tunnel, brought us through France and Belgium to Zeeland, the south-western province in the Netherlands.

Middelburg is the largest town. Like one of our favorite towns in Holland, Horne, Middelburg was also a base of the Dutch East India company.

It has several grand old buildings and our B&B was right beside the Abbey, a wonderful complex, now housing several museums and churches. The only draw back, was the Abbey bells, housed in a fabulous bell tower we had admired during the day, marked every quarter hour and rang out the hour, right through the night. But the B&B was still an excellent location, and attached to the Desafinado Jazz cafe, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner.

The Pleasures of Spring - 26 April 2009

There are a number of markers in the British spring that we enjoy celebrating every year: the snowdrops; the daffodils; the wisteria; the bluebells; the seemingly overnight appearance of the horse chestnut leaves; the fresh green of the soft new beech leaves and so on.

Today was the day to enjoy the purplish carpets of bluebells strewn generously under the fresh spring green beech canopy. Since the weather was fantastic we enjoyed another spring attraction, driving in an open top sports car with the green canopy all around us.

We began bright and early with a loop drive through the Chilterns and Oxfordshire, including a stop at the Maharajah's Well in Stoke Row. Built in 1863 it was a gift from the Maharajah of Benares. After the loop drive we met up with a bunch of other 'topless' MGs for a short run to a pub for lunch. Leaving them, we set off for a walk that brought us back through some wonderful bluebell wood just near Wheelers End.

By Royal Appointment - 25 April 2009

To celebrate 85 years of the MG marque, the Windsor Rotary Club and several MG clubs organised the Royal Windsor MG Heritage Festival as fundraiser for The Prince Philip Trust Fund and other Rotary charities.

The aim was to get a representative of every MG model from 1924 to 2009, the very newest 85th Anniversary Edition TF, which was unveiled to the public at the display. The earliest models that made it were two from 1925, one of which had spent most of its life in NZ. It was a fantastic turnout of some extremely beautiful examples of the MG Marque down through the years and we were chosen to represent 1950 and the YA model.

To get 221 cars assembled and into the right order after the requisite security checks meant that it was a farily early start to the day. We were car number 77 in the parade as we made our way though the crowds in Windsor and then enjoyed the rare privilege of driving up Castle Hill and through St George's Gate into the private area of the Castle. We then drove around the Royal Quadrangle where HRH gave us a wave and then out of the castle and through the private grounds into Frogmore Drive and down to a parking area by the cricket grounds.

Once we were all assembled there HRH drove himself down in his Range Rover and planted a tree, as did Mr He Xiaoqing the Chairman of MG Motors UK. Mr He then presented HRH with the keys to a brand new MG TF LE500 to be auctioned as part of the fundraising. With the formal bits over, the public were allowed in to look at the cars and we were allowed out so went for a walk down the long drive to see the other 600+ MGs that had assembled there to be part of the day.


Just around the corner from Windsor is The Valley Gardens, which have an extensive area of Azaleas and Rhododendrons and they were in absolutely glorious form. We thus enjoyed a beautiful walk through the gardens, especially the Punch Bowl area that was a blaze of colour.