Wednesday 29 August 2007

What a (Bank Holiday) weekend! (warning, picture heavy!)

Gosh, so much has been happening, I've had no time to blog! So, apologies for the lack of weekend entertainment, but at least I had my camera for some of it!

I've suffered physical injury in the process of stash diving (head connected with underneath of stairs...ouch!); celebrated the MIL's birthday with a meal on Sunday; had an extremely funny e-mail exchange with Romelda...and then there was Monday...when we went here...


...To fill in the gaps, bro had got the taste for walking again after a hol with the parent types and so we downloaded a pile of walks in our area and narrowed it down to West Kirkby (where we could have plenty of choice for lunch afterwards). One slight flaw in the plan was the mass tailback of traffic through Hoylake (more about that later), but, being intrepid souls, we knew a back route so arrived a bit later than anticipated- about 1pm!

Anyway, we headed up the hill away from the hurly burly to the column.


Unfortunately, the sun was ahead of us, it wasn't nearly as mean and moody as it looks, it's a sandstone column that is a major feature of Caldy park. I didn't get a pic of the steps we took to get up here, but this route we saw further along looked so intriguing, I had to snap a shot.


It's amazing, it could be heading anywhere, just disappearing into the distance like that, really fires the imagination!


This was the path we took, it's somewhat more rustic than some routes, we had to squeeze through the Wirral gorse at points but that made it seem all the more remote, and very atmospheric!


Had to snap some heather, aren't the colours really vibrant? It seemed, the further along the path we travelled, the more we'd come across a different landscape. First there was the gorse and masses of fruit laden blackberry bushes, then the common land and mases of sandstone rocks and heather...


Here's himself checking the route, unfortunately, half the landmarks had disappeared but as it was essentially a straight path, we couldn't go that far wrong. can you see the pine tree on the left?


This is bro up to mischief (again!), we came to a mass of pine trees (and pine cones), so he thought it vital to fill all the benches with pine cones! lord knows what the next person to use them would have thought!


Here's some more of those sandstone boulders, it was actually a realtively dull day but it seems to have made the pictures extra vibrant!


We ended up in Caldy village, lots of pretty houses but not a single shop in sight, the Post Office long since closed down. It costs a fortune to live here and you have to get in your car for a loaf of bread, that seems sad to me. It leaves the place a little like a film set, lots of black and white houses, the date on this one was the 1700's, but somehow a little make-believe.


After a short trip along the wirral way, we followed the cliff path back to civilization. The lump on the horizon is actually Wales, just a sandbank away! See all the brightly coloured dots? those are pleasure boats waiting for high tide.



We were taking the path around the marina, when we saw a familiar sight, a group of red planes fly by...I got my camera ready...but the battery had gone so low, I had no picture so I Kinneared it!


Here was what I was actually trying to take a picture of, all by chance, we happened to be watching a Red Arrows display! We later found out the readon for the traffic jam, an R.N.L.I. (lifeboats) fun day, by all accounts a spectacular affair, just down the road from where we were in Hoylake. Shows what you miss when you don't read the local paper!

By the time we got back to civilization (and watched the display), it was about 3.30pm so we settled for a chocolate cake and hot chocolate lunch- which was very nice!

Anyway, on to Tuesday, a very busy day (I finished my Reiki Masters course) and, of course, knitting night. So when everyone said was I watching the fireworks later....?

Well, it turns out (which I knew then temporarily forgot) that Tuesday was Liverpool's 800th Anniversary, how anyone knows the exact day, I don't know (but we don't dwell on this too much!). The culmination was a spectacular firework display starting at 10pm, setting fireworks off at two points in the city (both cathederals), and on the waterfront, and on a barge in the water.

So, a few phonecalls later, we walked from New Brighton a little closer to the action, there were four of the knitting group (and a boyfriend for support), we settled in and watched the action.



I've been promised proper pic's later but as we were pretty far away, this will give you an impression of what it was like. The display was AMAZING! They had the timing to perfection, there were even clever fireworks that burned in a circle in the air, spelling out 800! There were displays on both cathederals, at one point the whole top of "Paddy's Wigwam" (the catholic cathederal) was aflame in a column of sparks then two "arms" of fire spread outwards, a firework cross!

I was so pleased to have been a part of this historic event, I love fireworks with a passion and it was an amazing night. Plus, with one of the knitters living a mere road away, I had company on the way home.

There's been very little knitting content this time, and for that I am sorry, I just couldn't cram any more in! I still have tales to tell, knitting to show but that'll have to wait 'till next time.

Hopefully sooner than the weekend, got to catch up with the quotas!

1 comment:

Romelda said...

Ho Ho Ho it's your extremely funny e-mail pal!
I loved the fireworks description. I could sit for hours and watch them. We have quite a display for our July holiday (I won't mention the name) that we usually see from the beach. There are 4 different groups plus locals shooting and we are literally surrounded on all sides . . it's a real bang up of a show! 800 years,, that makes us pikers. tee-hee