Loving Lubeck - 20 June 2009

The best way to maximise a weekend in Europe is to get up before the sparrows and catch a flight at 0625 which, even with the lost hour, had us on the ground in Lubeck well before 0900,

We dropped our bag at the Hotel and set off to explore the old centre before the promised rain arrived. Unfortunately, the rain arrived a little sooner than forecast so we were forced to shelter in a cafe that served the best apple strudel in Germany and the best Florentines we have ever tried.

When there was a short pause in the rain we made a dash for the station and caught a train to Hamburg as this was our alternate wet-weather destination. The rain was just beginning in Hamburg as we arrived at the Miniatur Wunderland in the redeveloped warehouse and dock area. The Miniatur Wunderland is the world's largest model train set and is absolutely amazing.


Currently there is more than 12km of track over two floors and when completed they aim to have in excess of 20km of track. To get the “world's largest” accolade they have to be able to drive a train from one end to the other so that means the trains have to climb 6m between floors.

More than 500,000 man-hours have been spent on the model and the modellers clearly have a keen sense of humour as there are so many sight jokes to enjoy. One could easily spend a week there and still not see all the detail there is to see. As well as trains, trams, funiculars etc there are chair-lifts, gondolas, aerial rope-ways and model ships sailing in real water with a tidal rise and fall. A working airport is the project currently under construction. There is an outdoor concert with 20000 miniature attendees and a football stadium with another 12500 cheering spectators many of whom are taking flash photos of the action on the pitch,


But the feature which really sets this model apart, and is apparently unique, is the traffic management. Cars, trucks and buses move around, brake for traffic lights, indicate for turns and circulate around the model on roads that do not have groves or tracks for them to follow, it is all very impressive,

You think you have seen it all and then you arrive at the main fire station in Knuffingen: the alarm is raised and a fleet of model fire engines and emergency vehicles rush out of the station and off to an emergency call-out. Having caught wind of this from across the model you position yourself near the “burning building” so that you can have a good look at the “action” next time. Sure enough, after a night time sequence, the alarm is raised again and the emergency vehicles race out once more; not to the building that you are positioned by waiting for the flames and smoke to appear, but to a truck fire on the motorway on the far side of the model from where you are patiently waiting.
Click here for more pictures of the model

We had time for a quick look around the dock and warehouse area and the redevelopment that is underway and then walked back to the city centre before catching the U-bahn and train back to Lubeck.

Dinner that night was in the old Sea Captains' Guildhall; possibly the oldest such building in Germany, but certainly in Lubeck. Hearty local German fare was efficiently dispensed to dinners sitting on benches at refractory tables that you shared with other patrons. It is probably quite 'friendly' if you can communicate with your randomly assigned neighbours.

Ahoy, me hearties - 14 June 2009

The Epping Area MG Club had arranged an outing to the Historic Chatham Dockyards, so we tagged along. We set off bright and early and took a scenic route from near Guildford along the southern edge of London outside the M25.

We spent a little more time than we expected exploring interesting finds like the Silent Pool. The surroundings were anything but silent as there is a boarding kennel next door and the dogs were attempting to change species by barking themselves hoarse.

Having run out of time we had to abandon the scenic route and resort to the motorways to get ourselves to Chatham for the start of the day.

The dockyards will keep you happily occupied for hours as there is so much to see and do: ships and submarines to visit; museums and historical displays; a Royal Lifeboat museum; a tour of the rope making facility with its ¼ mile long rope-walk room and so on. There are apparently more listed buildings on this site than in any other comparable site in the UK. Many were built in the mid 1700s and some, such as the rope walk are still used for their original purposes to this day.

A rose, by any other name - 13 June 2009

Early June is the best time for roses, and the sun was promised to the west of London, so we set out to visit Waterperry Gardens.

These gardens, attached to a garden centre, have extensive borders, which will look stunning in a few weeks time. They still looked colourful today, and we were able to enjoy the wild and free growing roses. The most attractive section was the formal garden.

Blenheim Palace is not far from here, and their rose gardens were stunning. Blenheim Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and last year their gardens won the Christies' Garden of the Year award: both awards are well deserved. There is a variety of gardens – water gardens, formal gardens, rose gardens and a very charming secret garden; all looked stunning today.

In addition to the state rooms, the house now has a synopsis of the life of the house, from the time the foundation stone was laid to now. It was extremely well done, with various techniques, such as animated models who 'spoke' into mirrors. It was promoted as the 'untold story', which introduced us to some of the past faces at Blenheim.

Equally interesting was the parallel stories of the military career of the first Duke – John Churchill, and the more modern day leader, Winstone Churchill.

It's easy to spend a whole day at Blenheim Palace but we reserved enough time for a picnic at Minster Lovell ruins, before heading home.

Wet and wild - 7 June 2009

In contrast to last weekend's perfect weather, the forecast for today was extremely volatile, with thunder storms waking us up, and nowhere totally free of showers today. But by mid-morning it had cleared up to bright sunshine, so we decided to join the Oxfordshire MG owners for their outing at the Cotswolds Wildlife Park.

We enjoyed several hours of warm sunshine and photographed their wide range of animals, which included most of the favourites for zoos, and a few new animals we hadn't seen before, like a very 'energetic' sloth. There was also quite a good selection from NZ to remind us of home. The zoo is in the grounds of a stately home, and they had an entirely new use for a walled garden. Unlike yesterday's colourful display of flowers, they had a great display of animals including some very colourful birds. One double door enclosure contained many ring tailed lemurs. They posed very happily while photographers, fascinated by their antics, clicked away.

The MGs set off on a 30-mile run through some of the best Cotswolds' towns, just as an dark and ominous weather front moved in. So there was no chance for photos from the open top, as most drivers surrendered to the elements and put their tops up as the rain got progressively heavier and, in spite of the forecast suggesting that the rain would have moved through by 3 pm, it was on and off showers and heavy rain all the way home.

Grace and Lace - 6 June 2009

Typically one thinks that going west from London to the Cotswolds is the place to find cute stone villages however, north of London there are also some equally attractive villages.

We spent the afternoon in three lovely villages to the north, starting with Olney. This is a sizable market town with many lovely cafes and clothing shops. It was once a lace making town, and we saw one lovely old stone building which was involved in the trade.

The church has a very elegant stone steeple and tucked away in a back corner is John Newton's pulpit. Newton was the Curate-in-charge at the Parish Church and it was here that he penned his most famous hymn, Amazing Grace.

A short drive away is Turvey. This town is smaller, but equally lovely. The approach in is over a beautiful old stone bridge, and overlooking the bridge is Turvey House. This was open to the public, and we enjoyed their large colourful walled garden. The house tour was equally enjoyable, still lived in, it really appealed as a house to live in. Lots of interesting details were given, like one owner decided to make the back door into the front entrance. This left the kitchens and butler's pantry by the front carriageway, so needed to be hidden behind a wall. However that still left a problem with servants accessing tbe utility areas from across the drive so the owner built a tunnel from the outbuildings, under the new carriageway, for the servants to reach their part of the house without the guests observing them going back and forth.

In the library we were able to examine an original Captain Cook tour globe, and find New Zealand looking pretty much as we know the geography today. The globe plotted his voyages of discovery around the world.

From Turvey we drove further north to Harrold, where we had a town trail to follow. At first glance, this town does not appear as picturesque as the other two, but on the walk we discovered many interesting features. In centuries past, this was the site of about five tanneries and leather works.

Thames Path - 31 May 2009

The Thames Path provides miles of pleasant walking, level and easygoing for a hot summer day. We decided to combine a boat trip along the Thames with a return walk along the Thames Path.

Various ferry companies ply their routes along stretches of the Thames from Oxford to London. We choose an eight mile stretch starting in Abingdon and finishing in Oxford. Abingdon is well worth exploring in it's own right, but unfortunately road works held us up, so we only made it to Abingdon in time for Salters' 11.15am sailing.

The trip was delightful on such a beautiful day; there were plenty of people out having picnics, punting, rowing eights and even swimming. Oxford was relaxed in the sunlight and after a picnic lunch on the lawn at Christ College, we set out on the return walk.

The Thames Path starts and finishes on this stretch with a pub, and there are two more on the route, so there was no shortage of refreshments. We had an early dinner at the excellent pub at Sanford Lock.

A highlight of the walk was Iffley, where we visited the 12th century church. As we neared our destination in Abingdon we collected Elder flowerheads to make this summer's batch of Elderflower cordial, another British treat we have come to enjoy.

Kent Cruising - 30 May 2009

Rochester's Restoration House, the finest pre-Civil War town house in England, is only open to the public one Saturday a year, on the day of the Rochester Dickens' Festival.

We parked in the nearby town of Stroud and walked the short distance over the Medway bridge, and entered Rochester on foot. It seemed as if the whole town was out in their Dickens' finery, thoroughly entering into the spirit of the occasion.

Restoration House is still a private dwelling, and the name dates from the era of Charles II and the restoration of the monarchy. Charles stayed as a guest here, before being crowned King of England.

The house is probably better known as Satis House in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the home of Miss Havisham. We saw 'her' in the high street, which was probably why she wasn't home when we visited.

The house is amazing. It just exudes history and has a real charm of long gone eras. Very old wood panelling, narrow winding staircases, nooks and crannies, all asking posing unanswered questions about why they are there, who has climbed them and so on.

The garden is wonderful, with an old brick wall dividing it in half, but a formal pond runs underneath the wall uniting the two halves.

We followed this lovely garden with two other garden visits; it really was the perfect summer day for it. Ephraim Gardens spread over 10 acres, and Belmont Gardens, which comprises two walled gardens. Both were looking lovely, as were the attractive villages we encountered on the way.

We also visited some market towns and the effects of the recession were so evident in these small centres with at least ¼ of the shops empty or boarded up.