Simon Duringer's Blog, page 13
October 6, 2015
Scafell Pike
‘The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.’
The Western Fells ( Book 7)
What a wonderful quote. Well I am no Wainwright but can empathise with the man’s views. There is no such feeling as being on top of the world. The views. The fresh air and the feeling of omnipotence. Where better a place to be than with one’s best friend. I’ve been there. There are so many other places I’d like to be… Kilimanjaro, Everest… will I ever get there?
So… It’s 3pm, you’re in Bristol and you have a choice; Go home or go to the lakes… The lakes are several hours away, but hey ho so is home!
You’re escaping. It’s been eight months of tyranny and you’re in love with your escapee. They’ve seen you at your worst but still stand by you. Is it really a choice? So you go…
2.30am and it’s raining. You arrive… West water. A most beautiful lake. But given the conditions it’s hell. Get the tent up… No really, we have to… got to be up early to get this done. Tent erected. It’s time for bed…and…
Morning arrives and the weatherman has it right. 11am the mist clears. Let’s go…
It’s not difficult but it is steep. 920 meters straight up… the highest peak in England and I couldn’t have done it with a nicer lass. Just a shame she’s faster than me!
Simon Duringer
presents The Chorley 102.8 FM Art & Lifestyle Show with co presenter Hannah Winstanley. Simon is an award winning blogger, interviewer and author. His own books can be found on Amazon too by clicking any of the following icons…
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Now y’all have a nice day!
September 2, 2015
Flat Out Flat Broke goes BACK to Number 1
Good friend and Original STIG has done just that with his hilarious, tragic and inspirational #kindle autobiography; FLAT OUT FLAT BROKE - The Original Stig...
Again Well done Pel... The Number #1 man in Motorsports!
http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Out-Broke-...
August 29, 2015
Home and Away in Dawlish
So, what are the merits of taking a UK holiday if you already live here? What have I been up to this week? How on earth does this sleepy town put on events of a national scale?
Click to find out!
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Home and Away in Dawlish
I thought that might grab your attention! (If anybody knows the creator’s name please let me know as I would like to credit their work!)
I’m away at the moment but feeling right at home in the often sleepy town of Dawlish. For Devon really is my home. It’s where my mother’s family hail from and where I have spent a good number of years of my life. So, it’s good to be back… As the saying goes; A change is as good as a rest!
Dawlish is anything BUT sleepy at this time of year with the hustle and bustle of the grockles massing in the area; feeding the economy with their spends in shops, holiday camps, B & B’s and hotels. But I seem to have hit the timing of this visit just right. Either that or they’ve laid on some great entertainment just for me! *In my dreams*
So, last week we had the air show… Spectacular! You can read up and see the pictures by checking out my previous blog on the show; The Dawlish Air Show and this week Dawlish didn’t disappoint either with their spectacular fireworks display down at the warren.
This week I am camping at an Oakcliff Holiday Park; Lady’s Mile to be precise. It’s another first for me, but my parents deserved a break from my constant pacing up and down the length of the living room whilst they have been attempting to enjoy the Athletics World Championships on the telly. Besides which they have friends visiting and so one might consider there to be no room at the Inn! Good timing all around really and it has given me a new perspective on holidaying in the UK.
Previously, holidaying abroad has been a no brainer for me. Prices starting at around £250 for a week – half board, transfers included and guaranteed sunshine! Holidaying in the UK can be equally expensive without the half board or any guarantee of good weather…
So, what are the advantages of holidaying in the UK for somebody domiciled in the UK? Well, for a start you won’t find any cockroaches or other such nasty’s here! Parents are unlikely to have to deal with the ordeal of sun stroke… There are British doctors on hand, and on the NHS, should anything untoward happen to a member of the holidaying group. Those camping or caravanning can take vast amounts of home comforts with them, and believe you me they do! The telly addicts can keep up with their soaps (not that I would want to watch TV whilst on holiday or any other time really). Everybody speaks the same language (ermmm…sort of!) and if the holiday turns out to be a wash out, there are club houses, indoor facilities and entertainment to keep both adults and children occupied! In the week I have spent at Lady’s Mile I have been in the outdoor pool, which was surprisingly warm, and worked out in the on site gymn. I have spoken to people from all manner of backgrounds and everybody has been extremely pleasant and helpful. But, I imagine the biggest advantage of holidaying in the homeland is that if all this pampering fails to keep one pleasantly occupied then the car is parked right outside and the exit is very close. I did meet one individual who seems to have taken his children home a day early, I might add more through exhaustion than boredom, on an overseas holiday one simply couldn’t do that without incurring huge additional financial costs especially when there is an entire family involved!
So Rock-On Britain!
Now, having mentioned the Holiday Park I am currently staying on it is perhaps only fair to mention a hotel in the vicinity that, in the past, I have also stayed in and offers incredible facilities, albeit perhaps a tad too expensive for those on a tight budget or towing a caravan!
Some years ago I stayed in the Langstone Cliff Hotel in Dawlish, Set on 19 acres of landscaped gardens, this seaside hotel is a few hundred yards walk down to both Dawlish beach and Dawlish Warren train station. It’s great to see the facilities, if anything, even better than when I stayed. Whilst lacking finesse at the game of snooker I do enjoy attempting to play and this hotel has a great snooker room! Traditional rooms come with free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, and tea and coffee making facilities. Upgraded rooms add private balconies, and suites offer separate living areas. Family suites include extra bedrooms. Breakfast and parking are complimentary. There’s a fine dining restaurant, a bar, and 4 sitting rooms fronted by a cast-iron veranda with sea views. Other amenities include indoor and outdoor pools, a gym and a hair salon, plus a kids play area and tennis courts. Now you can’t get much more pampered than that…
That’s it from me today. I pack up the tent in the morning and will be sleeping back under the luxury of bricks and mortar, or perhaps pacing again from tomorrow night…(Sorry Mother!) Darn that insomnia!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures taken from my phone so not too bad!
Happy #BankHolidayWeekend to everybody. Rule Britannia… Even though we most certainly don’t rule the waves these days!
Simon Duringer
is an award winning blogger, interviewer and author. He is the presenter of the Chorley 102.8 FM Arts and Lifestyle Show and member of The Lancashire Authors Association. Find his books and those he has strong affiliations with by clicking any of the following icons…
Scroll down the page for more pictures of the Dawlish Warren Fireworks display! Thanks for visiting…
August 24, 2015
The Dawlish Air Show
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August 23, 2015
The Dawlish Air Show
First of all one must make reference to the tragedy that occurred at Shoreham this weekend. It is the worst nightmare of all concerned for such an accident to occur at an air show within the grounds of the airfield itself let alone on the outskirts where people who are not even spectators may be harmed, or worse, as happened yesterday. Our thoughts must go to all of those families involved.
I speak with a little authority of such matters having been the joint 2IC (Second in command) of security at one of the largest air shows in the world some years ago. Certain information has been blocked out of the letter below for obvious reasons!
I was at an air show myself on Saturday when two flight performances; The Red Arrows and The Battle of Britain commemorative flypast… the finale to the show, were both cancelled on Safety grounds thus demonstrating that, whilst this may have been disappointing for the thousands of spectators, safety is always paramount at such events. Here are just a few of the emergency services present at yesterday’s show…
The Dawlish Air Show used to take place above the town centre many years ago. Common sense prevailed and now all activity occurs over the nearby English Channel. Of course as the show’s profile has been raised over the years this has created more hazards as every man and/or woman with a boat take to the sea for a birds eye view of the show and many people from nearby seaside towns also sail or motor down to Dawlish to join in… Just take a look at this lot in a bay where usually not a single boat can be seen!
This additional hazard has been covered as best as can be expected on a number of levels. Firstly, as seen above, there is the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) who not only play a part in the show but also patrol the bay throughout with a number of vessels and then of course there is airborne Search and Rescue (SAR) who also take part in the show (see below) but have a number of helo’s, static and airborne keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings…
So, before we get on to those exciting pictures, let’s just take a look at how busy this usually sleepy seaside town gets on Air Show day and lend some perspective to the difficulties of policing such an event… We’ve seen the flotillas and they’re all covered, but when an Air Show is not held at an airfield the hurdles for security staff to put in sufficient safeguards for the public good become that much more challenging…
Ultimately Air Shows are both for public entertainment and to display the skills of some of the best pilots in the world. The Safety record of UK Air Shows is probably the best in the world. It gives those considering joining the armed forces an opportunity to speak with those already serving and allows enthusiasts to see aircraft that would ordinarily be out of sight. It is extremely sad and distressing to see/hear of fatal incidents at Air Shows especially when it affects people not involved in any way, shape or form with such a show. But, sadly, as with other sports such as motor racing there is an inherent danger to both drivers/pilots and spectators alike. I am almost certain a review will be carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) into the incident at Shoreham this weekend and I am equally certain that if any further safety measures can be put in place this will follow very swiftly afterwards.
Thankfully there were no airborne incidents in Dawlish this weekend or indeed back at RIAT all those years ago in 2002 and whilst my thoughts and prayers are with those families and indeed the family of the pilot involved in the Shoreham incident I would like to share some of the finer points of an Air Show with some pictures taken of a few aircraft at Dawlish this weekend…
Let’s start with one of our newest frontline aircraft the Eurofighter…
Next up comes the Naval Blackcat team who did things with their helo’s I didn’t think was possible!
Before I get to the mighty Vulcan which had its last flight in the South West this Saturday, here are a few miscellaneous but quite dramatic shots of aircraft taken during the show…
It was decided only one week ago that the Dawlish Air Show would benefit from a visit by the mighty and last surviving Vulcan aircraft before it was removed from active service. The response from members of the public was quite astonishing. Merely from charity buckets and donations from members of the small Dawlish community the £10,000 required to hire the Vulcan was raised in under a week and the deal was struck. A mighty aircraft indeed and the UK’s frontline nuclear delivery platform for decades the Vulcan will be sorely missed. At the show it certainly did not disappoint the crowds!
Once again, thoughts and prayers to all those at Shoreham. Thanks for reading this post.
Simon Duringer is an award winning blogger, interviewer and author. He is the presenter of the Chorley 102.8 FM Arts and Lifestyle Show and member of The Lancashire Authors Association. His books can be found on Amazon by clicking any of the following icons…
July 27, 2015
The Garden Path
Take a look and please leave a review!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012O0W9ES
July 26, 2015
Friends in high places!
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Friends in High Places!
Before I start I should say that Alfred Wainwright MBE was not a friend of mine in person, I never knew him. But he was/is the most prolific writer and illustrator about walking around the Lake district. So much so that his female hiking buddy, and indeed second wife Beth McNally, carried his ashes to the top of Innominate Tarn at the top of Haystacks. He planned and wrote seven volumes about the lakeland peaks, which took him 13 years to complete!
On a personal basis, I have re-discovered a love of hiking, long since disappeared since my Royal Air Force days… Ermmm; actually did I enjoy it back then as I was made to do it often under fairly arduous conditions!? But these days arduous or not, I am finding that hiking, especially with my equally ambitious and very much more talented and knowledgeable hiking buddy, Jennifer Lyon, to be rewarding on so many levels…
Yes, ok, ok, I look knackered! Unlike Jenny, (click on the pictures to expand!) who is also a talented fell runner (and puts me to shame!) and she’s an equally talented proofreader and editor for any authors out there needing assistance, I don’t ‘run’ up mountains… It’s more of a crawl! And she also keeps catching me eating chocolate and swigging coffee from my oversized flask on a fairly regular basis when hitting the slopes. LOL.
However, stressed as I have been of late, the one place I find solace is up the top of a mountain, in great company, and that is exactly what we did once again yesterday!
Over seven hours of hiking up and down mountains, some 20 kilometers of fairly arduous terrain… yes, we got a little lost too (probably shouldn’t admit that) and I don’t take that danger lightly. But my gosh, what a day and an adventure we had and it ended well with tea and cakes in good old military fashion!
The weather was absolutely awesome. At the peaks we hit a few clouds, some rather windy areas and a spot of light rain. But I can imagine Alfred Wainwright up there with his sketch pad. The views were incredible!
I had originally arranged to carry up the bergen with tent and camp out on a peak… My feelings on that are both one of disappointment and relief. That bergen is simply too heavy for the terrain we went through…and for my current level of fitness and the speed we ascended at! But, hmmm… we downsized our daysack probably a little too much for the task at hand!
We initially headed up to a place called The Knott and then even higher… the views were incredible! I always said I had friends in high places and here she was, alongside me, at the highest peak in the area, or was it? Ok, not huge in worldwide terms, but at over 800 meters don’t knock it! I even thought I saw an old school buddy and prolific climber up there… turns out he was also up a mountain yesterday too but in Snowdonia!
Anyway, so we kept heading up and to a place called High Street… a very long ridge, no chocolate shops in this High Street though so was very happy to have brought our own… and then the adventure really began as to be honest the legs were waning a little following the initial climb… got to slow down!
We met a lovely chap, as smiley as you could imagine, and stopped to have a chat about the terrain, the weather and the fact he was pitching his bivvy overnight. Alfred Wainwright would have been proud… Perhaps he had known him? This gentleman certainly knew every peak in visible range like the back of his hand. You meet some really interesting and friendly people mountainside!
Then as we descended slightly we came across a very distressed sheep. It’s horns stuck in fencing wire… How Jen managed to calm that sheep was quite astounding, ermmm yes please? LOL. Seriously, I was fairly astonished at how she wrestled this sheep until it calmed down and then very carefully assisted it to gain its freedom. Again, I was put to shame… Actually, I think I wanted to be that sheep! But I doubt I would have run off once freed.. ha ha..
Things took an interesting turn as we saw people appearing from nowhere… Lots of people… It turned out there was also a 100km fell run taking place. These people had already made it around 60km *Ouch*. Maybe one for the future!
Ermmm, then I think it really happened. Tired and a tad low on provisions we are on the wrong side of the mountain. Actually, two, as we have to descend one, ascend another (one or two) before finding another descent path… Oh bottom! It was really quite warm too and dripping sweat and sun lotion into the eyes wasn’t really helpful. So, we hunted out our potential descent route. No, we didn’t. We found a fern filled mountain descent. That’s not easy to walk down… So we looked for an alternative and found what I can only describe as a naturally formed winter time dried river bed running down the side of the mountain, through trees, rocks and nettles, with perhaps a bit of scree thrown in… Let the acrobatics commence! THAT SO HURT!
I suppose given the arduous nature of the descent it should be heralded a success. Legs were now jelly and I couldn’t help thinking that water might be nice… We found it. In fact got very wet going across it and then of course there’s the thought that the car is on the other side of the mountain I’m now looking up at!
Possibly, my worst thought of the day… No water; well, no purification tabs anyway! Hot, BIG hill and still a long way to go… But you know sometimes that’s what it’s all about! If it was easy everybody would do it… right Alfred?
It was a heck of a climb, but to be fair taken at pace with several stops along the way… Only thing was when reaching yet another summit from ground level it seemed like one heck of a sheer drop down to the car park, which dammit was in sight! Lol…
After a lot of map consultation we had to head some way back away from that lovely area now in view, where the car was, traversing across a few peaks until we reached some people on the known bridleway… We found the way down and the relief at getting to the car was gleeful! I’ve never been a fan of pure water but my goodness did I drink some last night…
Home now, and you know what, if it wasn’t for the fact that 24 hours later there are a few twinges going on in the upper legs, I would do it all again tomorrow… and will do something similar soon!
The 214 fells described in the Pictorial Guides are now generally known as the Wainwrights, and visiting them all is a common form of peak bagging. The Long Distance Walkers Association maintains a register of walkers who have completed the Wainwrights; as of 2013 there were 674 people on the list, of whom 40 had completed more than once. Dave Hewitt estimates that the total number of completers could be over 50% higher than the LDWA’s figure. The Ramblers Association reported in 2008 that a boy of six years, four months and 27 days had become the youngest person to complete the Wainwrights. In April 2009 a boy aged five completed the round and became the third member of his family to do so after his older sisters held the ‘Youngest 214 Completer’ previously. Wainwrights On The Air is a scheme whereby amateur radio enthusiasts aim to make contact with or from the Wainwright summits. (Wiki 2015). Now wouldn’t that be something!?
Here are the two warriors at the highest peak of the day… The great news is whilst as usual, even whilst massively exhausted, I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, I also didn’t spend a single moment thinking about the PTSD issues I have been incurring this year. Just so darned invigourating. Thank you so much Jennifer Lyon for being such great company!
Simon Duringer is an award winning blogger, interviewer and author. He is the presenter of the Chorley 102.8 FM Arts and Lifestyle Show and member of The Lancashire Authors Association. His books can be found on Amazon by clicking any of the following icons…
