Tag: Travel

Gorge Warning

Travels

I read this report with more than a little interest:

Cheddar Gorge locals are facing a 21-mile detour this week as filming crews descend on the iconic Somerset beauty spot to shoot scenes for Danny Boyle’s new horror movie 28 Years Later. 

Somerset Council has announced that the B3135, the main road which runs through the attraction, will remain closed until this weekend, and maybe longer, to accommodate the film crew.

The way that I see it, closing this road is a blessing, not a curse.

You see, I’ve been through the Cheddar Gorge (it’s the road leading into the town of Cheddar) and it’s unusual for the area in that one minute you’re driving through the normal exquisite West Country farms and pastures, and the next you are plunged into a deep ravine, which goes on for miles and miles until you reach the picturesque town itself.

Unfortunately, this being Britishland, tens of thousands of people think it would be a nice place to visit, so the road is crowded not only with cars driving on it, but miles and miles of cars (and buses!) parked along its verge.

These pics were taken in late summer, and the traffic congestion spoiled the entire trip for me.

As for Cheddar itself:   standard gorgeous little West Country village, marred by the fact that it has no parking for the jillions of cars that invade the place all through the summer.

For tourists, don’t bother trying to get some of the famous Cheddar cheese there — it’s sold all over Britain anyway, and there’s nothing special about buying it there.  (The little ice cream shop on the main street, however, sells possibly the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.)

As far as I’m concerned, the locals should look on the closure of the Gorge road as a chance for some blessed (and rare) peace and quiet.

Tourist tip:  during the summer, avoid like the plague.  It may be worth a visit during late fall or winter (don’t know for certain), but I wouldn’t risk it.

Go to Norton St. Philip (it’s on the way to Cheddar) instead, and spend a few hours in the George Inn pub (fantastic food and… 6X!!!).

You’ll thank me for it.

RFI: Ireland

Advice, Friends and Family, Travels

From Adopted Daughter:

“Hi Papa.  Could you ask your Readers for advice on visiting Ireland?  I’ll be staying at Lough Rynn Castle near Carrick-on-Shannon in August, but other than the castle itself, I don’t know anything about the area (County Leitrim).”

Here’s Lough Rynn, which appears to be a shabby little place:

I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ babies  traveling in Ireland, never having been there myself, so all advice, experiences and warnings will be welcome.

Snap Of The Fingers

Travels

Watching the Brit TV show “24 Hours In The A&E” the other night, one of the characters asked an intriguing question of another:

“If you could snap your fingers and be anywhere in the world, where would you choose?”

New Wife and I talked about it for ages.  Where to go?

  1. A place that you’ve been to before, and loved?
  2. A place you’ve never been to before?
  3. By yourself, or with a partner / wife / buddy etc.?
  4. For how long?  A day, weekend, week, or a month?

Here are mine:

  1. Never been to Lake Como, always wanted to, also a week.
  2. By myself: on a driven bird shoot, somewhere in southern England, for a day or two.
  3. With New Wife: somewhere scenic in the U.S., either where I’ve been before and she not, or where neither of us has been.  Whatever the choice, for two weeks.
  4. With my buddy Trevor: somewhere in Europe where neither of us has been to before, for a week.

(New Wife, by the way, chose only one locale:  any Indian Ocean island — Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives — for two to three weeks.)

And now it’s your turn.  Feel free to work the conditions, any way you please.

Snap your fingers…

RFI: Eastern Wyoming

Travels

“Well I’ve been all over this crowded planet… etc. etc.” (with apologies to Paul Williams).

One part of the world that isn’t crowded is eastern Wyoming — you know, the part that isn’t full of Hollywood trendies of the Jackson Hole variety.  Or at least, as far as I know.

My knowledge of that corner of the U.S. is limited to a brief sojourn — and I suspect I’m not alone in this — to Rapid City SD en route to Mt. Rushmore (where I got into a fight with the Parks Dept. asshole who was manager of the gift store, another story).

I have to say that I thought the area was very pretty, if on the rugged side, but I have always wondered what it’s like to live there, be it the climate, people, whatever.

I know that South Dakota is famous for its windiness, but surely the Black Hills act as some kind of a windbreak?  Is Sundance WY as windy or unpleasant as Spearfish SD, for instance?

As I said, I know little to nothing about the area, and when I was at Mt. Rushmore in early April it was wonderful:  cool breezes, morning mist and so on.  As I recall, I stayed in a motel in Keystone and while the town is something of a dump — or was when I was there — the surrounding country looked magical.

Here’s the general area:

…and the scenery which I found so appealing:

The reason that I ask all this is because I want to take New Wife on a little trip to parts of the U.S. she hasn’t seen before, but I’d also like to go where I haven’t been, either — or at least, only driven through, like this part of the world.

All personal anecdotes, experiences and recommendations are welcome.

Prole Drift

Food & Drink, Travels

I think it was the late (and much-missed) Paul Fussell who in one of his books (either Class  or Bad ) coined the term “prole drift” to describe how American society was shifting inexorably towards the working classes in terms of clothing, manners, taste and so on.  (Aside:  I love books written by ur-patricians like Fussell because I’m one of them, and unashamedly so.)

So I gladly admit to bias when I read articles like this one:


Almost a quarter of the population of Marlow in Buckinghamshire are aged over 65 and many of them think a Wetherspoons pub will attract ‘the wrong sort of people’.

For Readers of the non-Brit persuasion, Wetherspoons is a massive chain of pubs found all over the place, whose modus operandi  is typically to buy a failing pub (or any failing business, for that matter) and reopen it (sometimes under its own name even) as a place that sells cheaper fare — beer, wine, food whatever — to attract a large and it should be said loyal customer base.  Needless to say, the toffs and trendies tend to look down on Wetherspoons because inevitably, the kind of people attracted thereto are quite definitely Not Our Kind, Dear.

So this latest kerfuffle in Marlow should be seen in that context.

As it happens, I’ve actually been to Marlow simply because in looking for a place to have lunch while on a road trip, I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up there.

It is undeniably beautiful, as these English small towns go, but like the curate’s egg, only in parts.  While the main street is lovely, there are also parts that resemble Typical Brit Suburbia (i.e. fugly semi-detached dwellings) with a population to match. Not Yorkshire Mining Town, to be sure, but not a place where Mr. Free Market would feel at home either.

Here’s what I discovered when I retraced my steps and went back up to Marlow Road (the main drag):  fucking hell, it’s an expensive place to eat and drink, even by Brit standards.  Worst of all, the high street pubs are of the gastropub variety — at least, the ones I looked at were — and when I finally did find a place to eat — off the main street —  I ended up ordering a simple cheese sandwich, chips and a pint which still set me back close to £10 (which was a lot, back in the early 2000s, when the same meal in London cost me just under £5).  I don’t remember which pub it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t The Coach (as mentioned in the article).

So I can see why Wetherspoons would choose to open one of their corporate or franchise pubs there, because if you’re not one of the Snooty Set, there’s nowhere to get a decently-priced pub lunch in Marlow.  And while the Snooty Set are well represented in the town’s demographics, there is also a sizable percentage of people like, well, you and me;  and that that makes for a sound business case.

Finally, I find the outrage at the “prole” Wetherspoons to be hypocritical.  Why?  Because on that same Marlow Road can be found a Domino’s Pizza and Subway sandwich shop.

And if that ain’t prole, I dunno what is.