Category Great Britain
The Roar of the Merlins
Our final day in Lincolnshire – definitely an aviation enthusiast’s dream! We had several hours to fill between checking out and checking in, so we detoured to East Kirkby, to pay a visit to the excellent Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. LAHC is the proud owner of two very special heritage planes. The star attraction, “Just […]
Plane Spotting Part 2
Lincolnshire is full of RAF bases, some of them still active. The most well known is RAF Coningsby, home of the Typhoon, the RAF’s current combat aircraft. Coningsby is also home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). This was an opportunity to see almost 100 years of military aviation history, all in one […]
Here Be Dragons
This morning we completed the Lincoln City Race – an annual event that drew about 250 orienteers. Our maps covered the northern, flat end of the city, so we didn’t see the Castle or Cathedral on our courses. We began with a few very short legs in a university campus, then out into fairly standard […]
Gluten Free Indulgence and a Stroll Around Scopwick
We are still in recuperation mode, and after a couple of busy days of sightseeing and driving, we declared today a rest day. After a good sleep and a late start to the morning, we headed to nearby Navenby, to visit Robin Rose Bakes and Books. This is a completely gluten free bakery café, with […]
Cum On Feel The Noize
First you hear a high pitched whistling noise, which becomes a whine. You look up to the left, over the trees. A small black bird-like shape appears, tilted on a 45 degree angle. It straightens, and you can see this is no bird. As it approaches, the whine turns to a screaming roar. You are […]
Breaking Codes
We came to Cambridge for several reasons – orienteering at Wellingborough, a visit to Duxford for Ian, and a visit to Bletchley Park, the country estate where the British carried out top secret intelligence operations, including cracking the codes of the German Enigma machine. Bletchley was top of our list, so we left it until […]
Cambridge
With Captain Kumamon for company, I made up a picnic lunch and headed for Cambridge. I’ve been there before – back in 1978, on my first trip to the UK. According to the giant scrap book that I compiled (complete with airline menus, paper slippers, and even a pebble from Brighton Beach), we went there […]
Out of the Freezer and Into the Fryer
I’ve had a cold/infection for the past few days, and inevitably Ian came down with it as well. By departure day I was starting to feel better, but Ian was copping the worst of it. It was not ideal to have a 5am wakeup, a full pack up, a steep flight of stairs to get […]
Dignified Anticipation
I can’t say that Captain Kumamon is excited – it’s more dignified anticipation. Why? Well I’m not sure he’s quite forgiven us for the lack of a cruise last year. Cosy as the Newcastle-Amsterdam ferry was, it’s not quite the same thing. His major complaint was the distinct lack of towel animals, trivia quizzes, and […]
2026
Happy New Year! Our plans for 2026 are: Orienteering on the Central Coast NSW Flying to the Faroe Islands (and crossing fingers and toes for reasonable weather) Acquainting ourselves with the UK Midlands and its many aviation museums (and a bit of urban orienteering thrown in) Completing the 100 km long Steel Cotton Trail between […]
