Hoping to grab some autumn sunshine and warm weather we decided to head for Mallorca (Majorca). My man had done his usual research and found a studio apartment in the small town of Puigpunyent just twenty minutes drive from Palma. It was perfect, very quiet, newly constructed with stunning views of the Tramuntana mountains.
Secluded terrace with beautiful views of the Tramuntana mountain range.
This is a hilly island with a great coastline. Plenty of beaches away from the popular tourist spots and lots of great walks to do. Don’t make the mistake that I did by thinking my little dinky trainers would be fine …they weren’t. I should have sacrificed some space in my case and taken my walking boots, it was a lesson learnt!
Old smugglers route from Banyalbufar to Port des Canonge
The coastal hike from from Banyalbufar to Port des Canonge is a popular one. Even in October the car park at the starting point was full but eventually we found somewhere. The hike takes you through pine forest along high rocky crags and after 6km down to the beach to the small port. I’m grateful to the cafe owner for giving me iodine and a dressing for my knee. I was much more careful about where I walked on the way back! It’s a stunning walk but make sure you wear appropriate footwear.
100-year old narrow gauge railway from Palma to Soller and the old tram to the Port
Most tourists visiting Mallorca go on this little train, so we did too! Good bus service from Puigpunyent to Palma and cheap too. We found the terminus with minutes to spare and sat back enjoying the 50-minute journey to Soller. No time to look round as the next stage of the trip is to take the old tram so you join the queue with the rest of the tourists. The trams wind their way through Soller before going along the coast a short distance to the port.
Sollar port.
Even at this time of year Sollar Port was heaving. Beautiful weather as you can see. We weren’t too bothered about eating in one the many restaurants along the harbour front or tempted by the souvenir shops so after a short walk and a beer we got the tram back to Sollar. We had an inexpensive lunch in a sandwich shop away from the main square with entertainment provided by the owner who was quite a character. The Japanese tourists just couldn’t work him out!
A quiet beach just by Saint Elm.
With the weather still holding we headed the next day for the coast to the small seaside town of Saint Elm. This place is beautiful! We had been tipped off that if we walked down from the town a little way we would find a quiet little beach and we did. Five people including us, it was perfect, as indeed was the lunch we had later back in the town.
The 18th century monastery in Valdemossa and the gardens of The Palace of King Sancho.Inside the monastery with the old monastic pharmacyOne of the decorative tiles on a house in Valldemossa
The guide book on Mallorca says that Valldemossa is the destination of thousands of visitors every year. You can see why it’s so popular. The winding roads up to this mountain village are interesting to say the least and the town is very cute. There are flowers everywhere, decorative tiles on the houses and some great shops! You have to visit the 18th century monastery which includes the pharmacy used by the monks. We didn’t pay extra to go into the rooms used by the composer Chopin. The guides want you to, but we are a bit too shrewd to fall for that. The Palace is interesting too and is included in your ticket.
I think this Blog is quite long enough! Part two on our trip to Mallorca will follow shortly …
After two very enjoyable days in Liverpool we headed off towards Howarth in Bronte country. Gosh what a busy little place and packed with tourists even on a murky day in October! There are plenty of tea shops to choose from but I won’t be putting a hyperlink to the one we chose because it was overpriced and not a good choice. The tea was OK as you’d expect in Yorkshire but the minuscule piece of cake definitely wasn’t worth the money. Still it didn’t matter, we had a train journey to look forward to!
The busy main street in Howarth.
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway has its terminus at Oxenhope which is where we caught the train. This iconic heritage railway reopened in 1968 and is run entirely by volunteers. One of the stops along the route is Oakworth station which shot to fame in the film ‘The Railway Children’. The journey is just over 4 and a half miles long with six stations each reflecting railway architecture of the 19th century. Although the weather wasn’t brilliant we still enjoyed the views and the Victorian stations. The decline of the textile industry in this area though is very evident with several derelict woollen mills lining the tracks outside Keighley.
Waiting to board the train at Oxenhope stationEngine 75078 at Oxenhope stationKeighley Station retains many of its original features.Engine 75078 coming back from the turntableAlmost ready to reverse and connect with the carriages.75078 with a full head of steam and ready for the off.
After our train journey we headed off to catch up with friends who live just outside Howarth. We’d not seen them for a while so there was plenty of nattering going on washed down with a few glasses of vino … (ha! ha!). Then the following morning we were off again to see more friends who live near Silverdale Cove which is on the Lancashire Coast.
We hadn’t seen these friends for a while either and this was another lovely catch-up. Their eldest daughter who is eight was a baby when we were last up there and we hadn’t of course met their youngest little girl but we hit it off with them straightaway. Having said that it wasn’t long before the girls left us to our chatting …after all adult talk is so boring!
After mugs of tea and cake around the kitchen table we noticed the sun had come out …it was time to go for a walk. A short drive and we were at the coast and what stunning views to have on your doorstep! Silverdale Cove is beautiful and a great place to explore and photograph.
The stunning Silverdale Cove.
We rounded off the afternoon with an excellent pint in one of the local pubs before saying goodbye to our friends and headed to our hotel for the night in Clitheroe. My man decide we’d go along the top road heading for The Trough of Bowland. It was getting dark but light enough to see some of the amazing landscape along the way, avoid sheep in the road, flooded bits and see (to our delight) a barn owl fly past us. If that wasn’t reward enough the fabulous sunset definitely was. Hope the pictures do it justice. This road is not for the faint-hearted with twists and turns and heart-stopping moments in case a car comes the other way. We made it but when we told the receptionist at the Waddington Arms how we’d got there she was pretty amazed!
Capturing a beautiful sunset heading towards The Trough of Bowland
We had an excellent meal that night in the hotel and a good room and were surprised at how cheap it was compared with prices around here in Gloucestershire. After a hearty breakfast we wandered around Clitheroe on a wet Monday morning before heading south down the motorway and home. It was a great four days away, the weather had been typically British but that didn’t matter and anyway we might find some sun on our next trip which will be to Majorca.
We’d been planning to visit Liverpool for ages and eventually got round to it in October 2018. As well as spending a couple of days in the city we’d also arranged to stay with friends in Keighley and round our trip off visiting a couple of old Uni friends who aren’t old at all! A lot younger than me but we all graduated together in 2003! They live just near the coast on the Lancashire/Cumbria border.
My man had booked a hotel right in the middle of Liverpool with the rather quirky name of The Nadler. Yes I know there’s something funny about it but it was a really nice hotel and not expensive. We were chatting to the helpful guy on reception who asked if we had any specific things we planned to do and of course we mentioned the usual tourist things which you’ll see we did quite a few of them. He asked if we’d thought about going to Port Sunlight and when he told us a little about it we decided to go.
Different examples of Arts & Crafts architecture are everywhere in the village.
The village of Port Sunlight is on The Wirral and was founded in 1888 by William Hesketh Lever to house the workers at his factory, Lever’s ‘Sunlight Soap.’ It has 900 Grade II listed buildings which were designed by 30 different architects and is an absolute gem of a place and well worth a visit.
As well as designing houses the architects created memorials and monuments set in 130 acres of parklands and gardens.
We spent a very pleasant afternoon there walking round and visiting the Museum, popping into the Victorian schoolroom and one of the worker’s cottages. The star of the visit for me was the Lady Lever Art Gallery with so many pre-raphaelite paintings – what a find! We’d planned to go back on the ferry but we were too late so we got back to the city by the very efficient train service using the Walrus card. (Unique to Liverpool).
Next day was overcast and chilly but we had one heck of a schedule so a bit of seasonal October weather wasn’t going to get in our way. The first stop was just up the road from our hotel, St Luke’s Church which is commonly called the Bombed Out Church. It’s a ruin but has been revived recently and is used as an exhibition space and arts venue. Shame we couldn’t get inside but I loved the sculpture outside of the British Tommy shaking hands with a German soldier with a football at their feet. I took a few pictures and then we were off to to the next iconic Liverpool church, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest Catholic church in England. In the city it’s affectionally known as ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’.
A short-lived truceYou can probably see why its known as ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’
What an interesting building! Loved the design with no supporting columns in the main body of the church so a clear view wherever you sit. The Lutyens Crypt is interesting too which is accessed from a relatively new staircase co-joined now from the upper building. No photography allowed here but I managed to sneak a quick picture of the font with the sun on it and the ‘spider’s web’ window in the background.
No time to hang about though, we had another cathedral to go to! What a morning! This time as we rounded a corner to the Liverpool Cathedral we both felt disappointed. Yes it’s big but definitely not the prettiest of churches on a grey day … inside though is impressive. If you go there be sure to walk right to the back of the building where there is a second nave in the oldest part with some very interesting stained glass. There’s lots of things to photograph and a lot of walking to do so it wasn’t long before we headed for the cafe and a sit down. You get a great view from there which was even more interesting as they were setting up for a venue that evening with trolley after trolley of food arriving from a large lift which appeared to rise up from underground! The lighting technicians were busy too getting some great effects around the chancel area.
Great lighting effectsThe older part of the Cathedral
Some great architecture.
After our quick lunch we headed off in the direction of the Royal Albert Docks. It just so happened that on our way there we passed that traditional boozer with its cellar-brewed ales, the Baltic Fleet pub. How could we go past the door without popping in for a pint?! So we did. I ‘lift’ here a couple of sentences from their website which says it all …
The Baltic Fleet, dating from the mid 1800’s is a traditional pub in the heart of Liverpool. Ask any of the 3 ghosts that inhabit the pub and I’m sure they’d agree that the Baltic Fleet is part of the very soul of #Liverpool.
With 2 secret tunnels leading from the cellar to the docklands and another leading to the old red light district of Cornhill, the Baltic Fleet connected crews of the square rigged ships with their two most fundamental needs, beer and ladies of the night.
We didn’t see any of the ghosts and although we were tempted to have another pint, we had a rendezvous with The Beatles.
China town and the Baltic Fleet and now the Royal Albert Docks
I can’t imagine anyone visiting Liverpool and not going to ‘The Beatles Story’. It’s in the Albert Docks and is a museum about the ‘fab four’ and their history. If you grew up with the Mersey Sound then a visit to this museum is a must. We thought it was done very well and the replicas of Mathew Street and The Cavern were particularly good although it was ‘The White Room’ which brought a lump to my throat. Standing there listening to ‘Imagine’ brought the memories flooding back.
Afterwards we decided to walk to Mathew Street which housed the original Cavern Club and what a tacky street it is now! Loads of bars with guys outside touting for your business. I took a couple of pics including one of the statue of Cilla Black before heading quickly round the corner to get away from the crowds and the blaring music.
Mathew Street
And just around the corner is the iconic figure of Eleanor Rigby symbolising homeless people everywhere. More relevant today than ever …
Eleanor Rigby
The afternoon was drawing on but we’d not finished yet. If you’re still reading this Blog, well done! It’s going on a bit but there’s so much to do in Liverpool and we still hadn’t gone on the ferry across the Mersey. It had to be done! It’s the only way to see The Three Graces properly. They define the skyline and consist of ‘The Royal Liver Building with its two Liver Birds on the top, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. They look a little grey in the picture below but they still look impressive, if slightly at an angle. (Blame the photographer!).
The Three Graces.
So that was our day in Liverpool finished off by an excellent Italian meal that evening which we thoroughly deserved! If it spurs you on to visit the city then my enthusiasm for Liverpool has come through in this Blog. We had a great time and I’m sure we’ll go back.
Travels with the Booths.blog 