Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2018

Day 11 on the Thames Path - Staines to Old Windsor

When I read in my Cicerone Thames Guidebook that the path from Staines to Windsor was 7 miles I knew it probably wouldn't be possible for me to walk that far.  Not just because of the 7-mile thing but I knew I would be having a major stop along the way.  With a bit of research, I discovered there was a bus running between Old Windsor and Windsor so decided to make Old Windsor my goal.  So the night before I booked my train ticket to Staines and then back from Windsor.   So on Tuesday May 8th off I went... From Staines railway station I made my way to the riverside...retracing my footsteps from my arrival in Staines the month before for a few hundred metres.  Here is a statue of a Swanmaster.  Back in the 12th century, the Crown owned all the Mute swans in the land. Apparently, they are delicious!  Although nowadays they are not eaten of course. The Crown still owns all Mute swans in open water and in early July the Swan Master and his team of Swan Uppers row along the Thame

An active time in Yala National Park (in more ways than one)

One of the activities that attracted me to my G Adventure tour of Sri Lanka  was that it visited Yala National Park.  I love animals, always have.  Let's just say this was an eventful 20 hours but not in ways I had anticipated.   Yala National Park comprises a strict nature reserve with a national park.  With nearly 130,000 hectares of land comprised into five blocks, two blocks are open to the public.  Yala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and then a national park in 1928. It is home to 44 varieties of mammals and 215 bird species.  It lies in the SE of Sri Lanka with its coast on the Indian Ocean.   In the Tsunami of 2004 approximately 250 people in and around the park were lost but no animals that they know of, confirming the theory that animals can sense danger. Interesting.... So from the town of Ella we headed south to Yala.  I was so excited as this was going to be one of the highlights of the tour although truth be told I knew nothing could compare to see