Monthly Archives: August 2018
Border Country
It was Sunday morning, and time for our first ever UK orienteering event. The local club, Newcastle and Tyneside Orienteers (NATO), were staging an urban race in Killingworth, which is an outer suburb of Newcastle. It was very relaxed, with a “choose your own start time and course”. We felt that we’d done our share […]
Across the Country to Carlisle
With a forecast of heavy cloud, showers and a fresh breeze, we turned the itinerary on its head and decided to pursue indoor activities. So it was off to Carlisle, which is on the other side of the country, but only about 75 minutes’ drive away. First stop was the Solway Aviation Museum, which was […]
Roamin’ Amongst the Romans
It’s amazing what 11 hours solid sleep will do to revive you, followed by a leisurely breakfast, a lazy morning, and a lunch of bacon and fresh farm eggs. You may guess that we were not very energetic this morning. We both needed some time out. My ankle no longer looked like an ostrich egg, […]
Germany to England
Transit days are never fun. My watch, Ian’s phone, and the neighbouring church bells, all told us it was 5am and time to get up. We embarked on a major repack, wondering how we’d accumulated so much food! We ate mounds of cornflakes for breakfast, and sloshed down lemonade for morning tea. It was a […]
A Proper Castle and a Big Brick Tower
We farewelled our Schloss in the morning, but before long we were headed to another castle – Burg Trausnitz, which is perched on a hill above the city of Landshut, and which was the venue for the final day of the Bavarian O Tour. We’d been promised orienteering in and around the castle and on […]
Running Around Regensburg
It was just a short hop to Regensburg for the fourth race, as we resumed our orienteering program. We had a 900 metre walk to the start. Normally this is a chore, but today we headed off through wooded parkland beside the river, then past colourful houses, a fountain in a platz, under an arch, […]
Nie Wieder
An eagerly awaited rest day saw us lazing around until late morning. Our plan was to drive north to Nuremberg. The itinerary suggested a visit to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, followed by a walk around the Old Town. But our midday departure put paid to the second half of the day’s plans. We decided […]
Passau
Day 3 of the Bavarian O Tour was what we’d been waiting for – sprinting! We were promised a “long sprint” in the Old Town of Passau, which lies on a peninsula between the two rivers – the Danube and the Inn. You can see the confluence of these two rivers, as well as the […]
Doing It Tough
Sigh … another 25-degree sunny day, another Bavarian forest to orienteer in, another drive through impossibly picturesque rolling hills punctuated by impossibly picturesque Bavarian villages … life’s tough. The Merc purred down the gravel driveway. The electronic gate swung silently open. We turned left onto the main road, passing the Schloss, the first bridge, the […]
Bamberg
Day 1 of the Bavarian O Tour required an early start for the two hour drive to Bamberg. My ankle was iced, medicated and strapped, and my plan was to walk/hobble to the start, take my map, and pick two or three controls, just to get a feel for the forest. We were crossing our […]
dipidydoo 