rachel.blog

Category: Photos

  • Cycling the Solar System part 2

    Daniel was home sick from school today and so what better thing to do with a sick child than take him on a bicycle ride through the York Solar System. I visited the Solar System back in early September, just after taking possession of Busby the bakfiets, but I only made it as far as…

  • Bristol

    We have come to Bristol for the weekend to see some friends. Bristol is a very cool city. Where Edinburgh is perhaps a little too perfect, Bristol is a little rough around the edges in an endearing sort of way. A bit like Glasgow. There’s some good cycling infrastructure here too. Bristol is famous for…

  • Edinburgh

    Our last stop before returning to York is Edinburgh. Edinburgh is magnificent. Bill Bryson wrote about it in his book, Notes from a Small Island, but he painted it in a slightly unfavourable light. His objection, if I recall correctly, was that Edinburgh is full of all the same high street shops that plague most…

  • Geneva

    Another day, another city, another sister. This time we’re in Geneva visiting Ben’s sister. I have never been all that fond of Geneva because it has somewhat of an exclusive feeling to it. It also seems to be full of banks and shops selling expensive watches. Something that they do very well here though is…

  • TukTuk Azur

    My sister and her partner run a Tuk Tuk business in the South of France around Antibes, Cap d’Antibes and Juan les Pins. Today we got our first ride in one of these three-wheeled contraptions. They are electric, nippy and very, very cool. The electric motor makes them quiet and environmentally friendly but the best…

  • York Minster with kids

    We finally got around to venturing inside York Minster today with two small children in tow. Yes, it is beautiful and magnificent, but unlike other cathedrals we’ve been in, York Minster has hands-on activities for adults and children. There was this thing inside  (called an orb apparently) that looks a bit like a cancerous growth,…

  • Durham

    Yesterday we went to Durham – “a perfect little city” – according to Bill Bryson. In his book Notes from a small island, Bill Bryson summarises so well the feel of the place, so I’m going to copy and paste his words here: Why, it’s wonderful – a perfect little city – and I kept thinking:…

  • Yorkshire Museum of Farming

    We cycled to the Museum of Farming on Sunday. It was just outside York so a fair distance for me on the bike but easily manageable and very, very enjoyable. I feel truly alive at the moment with all this physical activity. The museum itself was a great deal more than just a museum. There…

  • Jorvik and the Vikings

    York was once a thriving Viking city called Jorvik. Archaeologists in the 70s and 80s discovered the houses, workshops and backyards of these Vikings as they were 1000 years ago. They are now on display at the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. I took the kids there to have a look and it was fascinating…

  • Knaresborough

    Today was a fabulous day. It was one of those days that was completely unplanned with the decision to go somewhere made at the last moment. This morning, on impulse, we caught the train to Knaresborough, a market town less than half an hour away. Knaresborough is a gorgeous and fascinating place and I thoroughly…

  • York Museum Gardens

  • Rowntree Park

    York’s Rowntree Park is an absolute gem. It is public green space which was gifted to the city of York by Rowntree (the chocolate company) in 1921 in memory of employees of the company who died during the war. It’s now a huge park with children’s playgrounds, bowling and putting green, skate park, tennis courts,…

  • More pics of the main streets of St Andrews

  • The Himalayan Putting Course

    Someone suggested to me this morning that we visit the The Himalayan Putting Course in St Andrews and by strange coincidence we just happened to be on our way to this very spot.  The Himalayan Putting Course is run by the Ladies Putting Club and is open to everyone, including beginners and children but only…

  • When in Rome…

    We’re in St Andrews, the birthplace of golf, and what better way to introduce the kids to the sport than by visiting the British Golf Museum? It’s not a free museum but I think we got our money’s worth. It’s filled with cabinet after cabinet of old golf clubs, golf balls, trophies and medals and…

  • More from St Andrews

    You can’t go to St Andrews without visiting the world-famous Swilcan Bridge and this we did today. I’m not sure whether you’re allowed to walk onto the green for the purpose of taking photos but we did and no-one told us off. Here are our tacky tourist photos. Ben is attending a conference here so…

  • St Andrews

    We are in the lovely coastal village of St Andrews, Scotland. The Ricoh British Women’s Golf Open is currently running (not the reason we’re here) and the place is heaving with golf enthusiasts. An English friend of mine who recently spent some time in New Zealand (you know who you are!) told me that British…

  • Day 2 in Glasgow

    We have word from a Glaswegian that it rains twice a year in Glasgow: for three months over the summer and nine months over the winter. I like a city that can make fun of itself. Today was a rainy day so we took the city bus tour which was terrific and I highly recommend…

  • Glasgow

    We are in Glasgow. I’ve never been here before and have wanted to visit the city for some time so yesterday we caught the train from London to Glasgow which was a very fast 4.5 hour journey covering over 540km. I love Glasgow. It has quite a distinctive look to it with lots of grand…

  • London: Day 3

    Yesterday was a day of museums. Our plan was to visit the Natural History Museum but when we got there we found an enormous queue to get in. So instead we went into the Victoria and Albert museum which is right next door and was queue-free. We barely touched the surface of this museum which…