WEEKLY BLOG EPISODE 120 | OLD FLAMINGOS

I didn’t quite make Tuesday this week, but the I guess the beauty of a weekly blog is that the episodes can be published any day! Or at least that is what my friend Sarah said to encourage me yesterday. And she’s right… she often is!

Anyway, how has your week (and two days) been? What have you been up to? Have you been getting your daily One Hour Outside?! What’s been your favourite meal of the last week? Your favourite view?

I often open my weekly blogs by saying that it’s been a super busy week, and this one is no exception. The last two days have been especially busy, both at work and in my other commitments. But despite the fact that this has got in the way of blogging, it’s all good – a busy life isn’t all bad.

We did have a really fantastic weekend, though. My mother-in-law came to visit, and we used her being here as an opportunity to tick off a couple more places on that to-visit list I mentioned in last week’s episode (read episode 119). It helped the weather was stunning, for sure. We spent lots of time outside, ate very well, and made the most of it being the weekend.

Old Flamingos and Other Birds

Did you know that flamingos can live up to 80 years? I didn’t until Saturday when we got chatting to one of the employees at WWT Slimbridge. It’s true – the flamingos we were looking at were 65 years old, having been brought to the UK (when it was still considered acceptable to collect exotic animals…) back in the early 1960s.

I didn’t realise they had flamingos at Slimbridge but seeing the various flocks of Chilean, Caribbean and Greater Flamingos were probably the highlight of our visit on Saturday morning. Gorgeous things, clearly sun worshippers, and making plenty of noise.

We had an absolutely lovely few hours wandering around the wetland centre. We walked for miles (well over 10,000 steps!), taking in all the hides and observation towers. I even remembered to take my binoculars so we could join in with all the regulars looking out for rare species – we did see cranes, avocets, and a huge variety of ducks and geese, but failed to spot nesting kingfishers.

Small World

When in the Antarctic area I spotted a plaque on the wall which said: “Special thanks to Peter and Myra Woods for their kind donation to this research hut”. Well, I know a Peter and Myra Woods, so I messaged my mum and dad with a photo of said plaque to say how weird that was… Turns out it’s the very same couple, who made a large contribution to the construction and furnishing of the research centre, and who have been closely associated with the work being undertaken at Slimbridge for several decades. It’s a small world!

Unfortunately, the otter lake is currently closed for refurbishment, and bird flu means the aviary was out of bounds, but that just means we’ll need to go back another time. It really was an excellent visit, helped along by the lovely weather (would be miserable in the wet!). Being a wetland, it’s hard to know what you will actually be able to see, and even without much knowledge of birds and other wetland creatures, we had a great time.

Antiques at Tetbury

After lunch at Slimbridge – a slightly pricey but very tasty bowl of tomato soup and slice of Victoria sponge – we headed to Tetbury for a wander, another place from our list. The second largest town in the Cotswolds (there’s a fun fact for you!), Tetbury is best known for being the home of Highgrove, along with its antique shops.

We spent an hour or two mooching around the streets of this pretty little market town. We didn’t do any shopping; we stuck to looking through the windows of the (many) antique shops, wondering where on earth we’d put the rather random selection of items on display, and were not really the right clientele for the dress shops. For Cotswold-style shopping, I would say Broadway is better, as the shops lend themselves better to informal browsing. Tetbury was, though, a nice place to explore on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

If you visit (whether antiques hunting or not), there’s free parking at the Goods Shed Arts Centre, a short stroll into the town centre.

Stratford Upon Avon

After coming up with and discounting several ideas for Sunday, including the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway from Cheltenham to Broadway (just seemed far too expensive at £75 for the three of us), walking to and climbing up Broadway Tower, and wandering around Tewkesbury, we settled on a wander in Stratford-upon-Avon.

We parked a little out of town (always!) and walked in, stopping for an excellent coffee at Box Brownie Coffee on Henley Street (very close to the Shakespeare Birthplace Museum), before heading to the canal basin and River Avon, and walking along and over Lucy’s Mill Bridge and back along the other side to the Tramway Bridge.

A few years ago, we had two narrow boat holidays from Alvechurch Marina which meant we’ve slept in that basin a couple of times, trips which I remember fondly and would love to repeat sometime. Weirdly, one of my core memories from the second trip was sending a starter back at Pizza Hut because it was still frozen. The things you remember after 17 years!!!

Stratford was very busy with people, as it often is, but it was still possible to find a free bench for some people watching over lunch. We got some samosas and doughnuts from the market, and very much enjoyed the sunshine – as was everyone else.  

Preparing to Hike the Cumbria Way

The (quite frankly ridiculous) business of the last couple of weeks means that I don’t feel entirely ready to head to Cumbria this weekend. I’m meeting up with hiking buddy Jenni for our next long-distance hike on Saturday – the Cumbria Way. And it all feels a bit rushed and unorganised.

I mean, it isn’t really rushed and unorganised. We have our usual shared spreadsheet, and given that we are stopping indoors rather than camping, we have accommodation booked for the whole week. I wrote a little more about some of that stuff back in weekly blog episode 117.

But right now, as I write this weekly blog, I feel stressed out and nothing close to being ready to hike. Honestly, Saturday morning both can’t come soon enough but also this week needs to really slow itself down – there’s so much to do and I’d really love to get my to do list in check without feeling like I’m running around like a headless chicken.

At Least I’m Packed

One thing I have done, and which is one of the reasons this weekly blog episode is late as I prioritised that over this, is pack. That process included my usual wobbly about the weight of my pack and reflecting on the things I can’t possibly do without, naturally. I made the mistake of actually weighing my pack – my Osprey Tempesy 40l – which made me cry a little bit, and not just on the inside. I’m not going to share that here because to be quite honest, the internet is far too judgey, and it makes no difference as I’ve taken everything out I am willing to. I’ve made a couple of compromises that I’m a little sad about, and time will tell if those decisions were the right ones. And what’s left in there I will simply have to carry. Done.

One thing I have done which I thought was a genius idea of Jenni’s, was post a set of hiking clothes so they can be sat in the boot of her car ready for when we get to Keswick halfway through our hike. Sending supplies ahead isn’t something I’ve done before, but I already know I will be grateful for the clean clothes – especially the clean socks.

I Won’t See You Next Tuesday…

Given that I’ll be hiking in Cumbria, there won’t be a weekly blog episode next week. I rather hope that before I get on the train on Saturday morning I will have scheduled a couple of posts for while I’m away – a gear review featuring the Bob and Brad C2 Massage Gun I’ve been testing out over the last month or so, and the next in my Cotswold Way Adventure Journal. I guess you’ll have to wait and see if I managed to get those done! 

In the meantime, here’s to a calmer and less fraught couple of days leading up to my week hiking. Pray for good hiking weather for me, won’t you?!

Buy Me a Cuppa?

If you enjoyed this weekly blog episode and fancy supporting me and my mini adventures in 2023, you can “buy me a coffee” (well, tea, if that’s okay). Head over to Ko-fi to find out more. Thank you.