Conference in London

The interior of the Hydrogen

I have been down south again for a conference in London and  then I spent the weekend with my parents in Essex. On Saturday we walked down to the Hythe quay in their town to look at the estaury .Despite being sunny it was quite cold so we repaired to the the tea room on board the sailing barge Hydrogen. It was warm and snug down below. The Hydrogen was built in 1902 and is the largest sailing barge in existence, it is also where my sister had her wedding reception.
I pulled a muscle in my hamstring last week so my running was curtailed but I still managed to visit some of my favourite haunts- Beeleigh , the  marshes and  Purleigh.

Northey Island from Heybridge Basin

Dun Deardail

View from Dun Deardail

On Thursday I went for a run on the West Highland Way but was disappointed to find that the trail is closed between Glen Nevis and Lundavra until April . I went as far as I could before the path was blocked by felled trees.
Retracing my steps I visited  Dun Deardail - the remains of an Iron Age fort on a hillock overlooking Glen Nevis. It is a great site for a fort but very little is known of its history other than the fact that it was once burnt and  that the fire was so hot that it melted the rocks; a process known as vitrification.
On Thursday it was warm enough to sketch the dramatic view from the fort although my fingers were numb by the time I had finished. I soon warmed up on the  long jog home.

Quick sketch  from the Lochailort Road yesterday

View today from The Commando Memorial Spean Bridge

Trip to Norfolk and Essex

We are just back from a trip south to Norfolk and  then  Essex. Some friends had very kindly lent us a cottage in Sherringham on the  north coast of Norfolk . Sherringham is a picturesque town that seems to have everything - a small theatre, railway station , pubs, cafes and lots of fish and chip shops.

Running near Sherringham

For us the main attraction was the coastline ; miles of virtually deserted beaches and endless horizons. On Monday we did a long run west along the coast. It was very warm for the time of year and hard work running on the shingle beach. We took hats, gloves and warm tops but it was definitely T-shirt weather. Not far from Sherringham we saw a long eared owl sitting on a post.
There is something  special about running by the sea. I love the sound  of waves crashing on a shingle beach; as the water rushes back there is an evocative whoosing noise as the pebbles are sucked seaward.

Shingle beach near Sherringham

 We paused in Cley ,a hamlet  of quaint  flint faced buildings that boasts a windmill, art gallery , shop and  tea room.
In Blakeney some  miles further we visited another art gallery with some  very good etchings and had  a drink in the pub. Having enjoyed warm  sunshine all morning  the mist now closed in . We  carried on to Wells next the Sea but there the lure of the secondhand  bookshops was too great. Having  bought two hefty tomes we took the bus back to Sherringham.

Sketch of the Funky Mackerel; a cafe in Sherringham

Later in the week we travelled to Essex to see my parents. Inspecting  my dad's garden he told us that there hadn't been any rain for months even though it is now November. Despite lots of watering  there were  brown patches in his lawn and he had lost quite a lot of plants. The upside was that there was no mud on the footpaths when we went running. However as we ate lunch before heading  for the station it started to rain and soon it was hammering down !

A corner of my in-law's sitting room

We took the overnight  train back to Fort William.  We awoke to see the mountains near Tyndrum orange red in the early morning  light and topped with a dusting of snow. We really enjoyed our trip south but our return showed how breathtakingly beautiful home is.