Recent content on Sam Hooke
Distance 7.13 km / 4.43 miles Elevation gain 106 m / 348 ft Duration 2h30m Moving 1h40m This walk took place in Dalby Forest. The visitor center sells a map with numerous walking trails of various lengths and difficulties. We originally set off to follow the Dalby Beck Trail, which goes up a steep hill to a viewpoint overlooking Low Dalby Valley. However, part way up we encountered some tree…
Distance 2.25 km / 1.4 miles Elevation gain 30 m / 98 ft Duration 2h Moving 35m We visited RSPB Bempton Cliffs to see the puffins, but the main attraction on this stretch of coastline were the gannets. There were some puffins here, but we saw far more on the walk yesterday along Flamborough Cliffs. Still, both sections of coastline are well worth a visit for all the sea birds.
Distance 7.81 km / 4.85 miles Elevation gain 109 m / 358 ft Duration 5h Moving 2h We visited Flamborough to see the puffins. This walk took us from North Landing, following the coastal path down to the lighthouse at Flamborough Head and back again. There was ample parking, the trail is unmissable and in good condition. There are toilets at both ends. There are good spots for a picnic on the trail,…
Distance 17.4 km / 10.81 miles Elevation gain 684 m / 2244 ft Duration 7h Moving 4h Ascent to Wansfell Pike We set off from our cottage in Blue Hill Road at 8:50am. The road quickly turns into an old track with stone walls on either side. While it was technically after sunrise, and Ambleside itself was in sunlight, the lofty heights of Wansfell Pike cast our hillside into shade. This provided…
Distance 6.74 km / 4.19 miles Elevation gain 387 m / 1270 ft Duration 3h40m Moving 1h45m First leg of ascent The ascent begins straight away, with a gravel path the zig-zags its way upwards. Looking back from the first corner towards the car park. Looking towards Keswick from the first corner. We’ve only just begun and the view is already pretty good! At the switchbacks and the rain is…
Distance 3.59 km / 2.23 miles Elevation gain 144 m / 472 ft Duration 2h25m Moving 1h A walk around Aira Force in hopes of spotting a red squirrel. While no red squirrels were sighted that day, the scenery was still as pleasant as ever. Ascent A channel near the start. Stone steps winding up the trail. An oak tree catching the sunlight. Water flowing around rocks. A dipper bobbing about on a rock…
Distance 9.59 km / 5.96 miles Elevation gain 246 m / 807 ft Duration 3h20m Moving 2h10m A walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water, nipping into Rydal Cave on the way. Grasmere to Rydal Cave We began at Grasmere, heading anti-clockwise around Grasmere and Rydal Water. The route follows the main road through Grasmere initially, then goes past Dove Cottage and ascends up through the woods, following the…
Distance 3.11 km / 1.93 miles Elevation gain 145 m / 476 ft Duration 1h25m Moving 50m A short walk from our cottage through Ambleside, Stock Ghyll Force and back again. Ambleside to the waterfalls We began at our cottage in Blue Hill Road, walked down to Ambleside and then up towards Stock Ghyll Woods. The road from Ambleside up to Stock Ghyll Force. The first of several waterfalls. A trickle…
Somehow, we had already got further than planned. We had made it past Reading, got through 22 locks, and only had four left before Abingdon. However, today I needed to get back to Cambridge, and wanted to be at a train station for 3pm, so we only had half a day left to work with. We wasted no time in leaving early, and were underway just after 7am. (7:00am) A view of the field we moored against…
We lost a few hours yesterday through the combination of a late start, stopping for diesel, topping up our water tank, and the engine trouble. It was looking unlikely that we would even reach Reading, let alone Abingdon. We set off in good time before 8am with the plan of finding a boat yard to try and get a professional to take a look at our engine. (7:24am) Not an ideal mooring spot, but given…
We woke up to a magnificant view of Windor Castle from our boat. We had used stakes hammer into the ground to moor up, since there were no bollards. Since many others had staked here before, it easy quite easy to make use of a pre-existing hole. The river bank was a straight and sheer vertical drop, which made it easy to moor very close to the bank. (8:15am) Looking towards Windsor from our…
We picked up a canal boat at Weybridge. Our goal was to take it 63 miles up the Thames, all the way to Abingdon, but given we only had four days (and two of them half-days), it was looking like realistically we’d only make it to Reading. Leaving Thames Lock at 13:09, where the River Wey joins the River Thames, we navigated to what would be the first of 26 locks: (L01) Shepperton Lock . The…
SITE 1. ADMINISTRATION Cambridge Road Wimpole Road Haslingfield Road Barton Road Lord's Bridge Station AMI Small Array COAST AMI Large Array †Pulsar Array 4C Array †Half-Mile Telescope (small) & †One-Mile Telescope (large) †One-Mile Telescope Track continues 1km eastwards e-MERLIN †CLFST †CAT Unknown? Unknown? †SKA †HERA Unknown? †SKA Prototype array Prototype individual Prototype Ryle Control…
Coming many years from now… the even more confusing sequel to Iteration II and Hovertank ! Unit of Time takes a more advanced approach than Iteration II . You’re always free to rewind time, and everything is completely deterministic in all directions and dimensions. Time travel events fork a new timeline, which may have their own surprises. Paradoxes can be made, broken and fixed…
Ingredients For two people (four pieces, two per person): For the liquid: 2 large eggs. 120g of milk. 15g of plain flour. 25g of granulated sugar. A pinch of salt. 1 tsp ground cinnamon. 1 tsp vanilla extract. For frying: Butter. 4 slices of bread (thick but not too thick, preferably a day or two old). Method Mix all ingredients for the liquid. Heat up a frying pan with some butter. Pour the…
Ingredients Makes 8-12 yorkshires (or ~275ml): 70g plain flour. 2 eggs. 100ml milk (both cow or oat milk work well, though oat may fizz a little when baking). Oil (avocado or sunflower). Equipment: Muffin tray with 8-12 holes. Pouring jug. Whisk or fork. Plate with paper towel. Method Make the mixture Pre-heat oven to 210°C fan (230°C without). Put flour in bowl, beat in eggs until smooth.…
Less than a month after seeing the Aurora Borealis for the first time during a holiday in Iceland , we saw them from our own back garden in the Fens. This time the lights were more of a blurry glow without any defining shapes, but they were quite bright at times, with a strong red hue easily visible to the naked eye. As best I can tell, the Kp-index was about 7 or 8 out of 9.
Glymur Falls hiding in the canyon. Glymur Falls is a popular day hike with stunning views of Iceland’s second tallest waterfall. The main trail passes through a small cave, has two river crossings and follows the edge of a deep canyon. The trail is fairly challenging, with a relentless 1,200ft ascent that often hugs sheer drops, so I would not recommend it for new hikers. If you’re not…
During our stay in Iceland, in a rural area 20 minutes north of Selfoss, we were fortunate enough to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) two nights in a row. The skies were relatively clear, and there was a solar storm with a Kp-index of between 6 to 8 out of 9. These are some of my favourite photos: This time-lapse shows 7 minutes of aurora activity in 6 seconds, so is 70x faster than real…
Strokkur The main attraction at Geysir is Strokkur, a geyser that supposedly erupts about every 10 minutes. While we were there, it seemed to erupt about every 5 minutes! We saw more than half a dozen eruptions, and the height varied a lot. Geysir The namesake of Geysir, this geyser is a stone’s throw from Strokkur, but nowadays is dormant. Still, it was exciting to see Geysir up close even…
Ruins The remains of past industry are scattered throughout the valley. At some point, we passed this abandoned grindstone: The river bends left, then as it bends right again there is a small clearing. Several stone brick pillars remain standing, overgrown, on both sides of the river. Presumably they used to form some sort of bridge that has long since collapsed. Here is one such pillar:
Despite the title of this trip, there is no single route called the Lathkill Dale Valley Loop . There are countless paths that weave through the valley, so if you search for routes, you’ll find numerous possibilities of varying lengths. Some are loops, others are there-and-back again. Some start at Over Haddon, or Monyash. My goal was to take a route that was a loop, in the 5 to 10 mile…
Map SITE 1. ADMINISTRATION Cambridge Road Wimpole Road Haslingfield Road Barton Road Lord's Bridge Station AMI Small Array COAST AMI Large Array †Pulsar Array 4C Array †Half-Mile Telescope (small) & †One-Mile Telescope (large) †One-Mile Telescope Track continues 1km eastwards e-MERLIN †CLFST †CAT Unknown? Unknown? †SKA †HERA Unknown? †SKA Prototype array Prototype individual Prototype Ryle Control…
Map SITE 1. ADMINISTRATION Cambridge Road Wimpole Road Haslingfield Road Barton Road Lord's Bridge Station AMI Small Array COAST AMI Large Array †Pulsar Array 4C Array †Half-Mile Telescope (small) & †One-Mile Telescope (large) †One-Mile Telescope Track continues 1km eastwards e-MERLIN †CLFST †CAT Unknown? Unknown? †SKA †HERA Unknown? †SKA Prototype array Prototype individual Prototype Ryle Control…
Map SITE 1. ADMINISTRATION Cambridge Road Wimpole Road Haslingfield Road Barton Road Lord's Bridge Station AMI Small Array COAST AMI Large Array †Pulsar Array 4C Array †Half-Mile Telescope (small) & †One-Mile Telescope (large) †One-Mile Telescope Track continues 1km eastwards e-MERLIN †CLFST †CAT Unknown? Unknown? †SKA †HERA Unknown? †SKA Prototype array Prototype individual Prototype Ryle Control…
Perhaps best known for the discovery of the first pulsar , by Jocelyn Bell Burnell , the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO) is located on the outskirts of Cambridge, located on the site of a former WWI mustard gas factory. The MRAO is home to many radio telescopes and antennas, with some equipment dating back to the 1950s, scattered across the several miles wide site. While most of the…
Parked on the little gravel car park near The Bridge at Clayhithe (the name of a pub, but it is by a bridge). Room for about half a dozen cars, but it was almost empty. Crossed the road brige and walked anti-clockwise around the loop. The first leg up to the lock was very peaceful, with several swans, coots and mallard bobbing along the river. Bottisham Lock is actually quite far from Bottisham,…
While living in Seattle, it was fun when we came across British things that reminded us of home. Most of the time we just happened to stumble upon these things, though we were actively seeking out the best place to get proper fish & chips. Now that I’m back in the UK and can reflect upon on my 3.5 years in Seattle, I thought it would be interesting to record them all here:
Ingredients For two people: 1tbsp oil 2/3rd cup of popcorn Method Heat up oil in a large pot. Add popcorn (and lid). Cook until rate of popping slows down to below one per second. After removing from heat, avoid leaving the lid on else the popcorn can go soggy.
We walked anti-clockwise from Southwold, along the edge of the sports grounds, and then through the sand dunes. There were quite a few people about, and lots of dogs. At the mouth of the River Blyth you can see the ferry crossing to Walberswick. It was then easy going on the sand back to Southwold, with even more people and dogs, since it turned out to be a remarkably warm and sunny day for March.
No trip report yet.
Seals at Horsey Gap We arrived at Horsey Gap at 12:45pm on a Saturday. There is a dedicated, paid car park, which is the only option for those who have come by car. The fee is reasonable, and although the car park is not very big, cars generally seem to leave frequently enough that you soon get a space. Following are some of my favourite photos I took of the seals and their pups. While most of the…
No trip report yet.
Arrived at 11:15am on Sunday. The main parking lot has room for about four cars, and there is an overflow parking lot just a stone’s throw down the road that looks like it can fit another two cars. We had no problem finding a space. The hike is very pleasant, through tree cover all the way until you reach the summit. The trail is very easy to follow and in great condition, with some sections…
We chose Garfield Ledges for a short afternoon hike on a beautifully sunny Saturday. The drive near the Mailbox Peak parking lot had been rather slow, having to squeeze past an almost unbroken chain of parked cars about half a mile long, starting at the Valley Camp junction (where the one-way road ends). However, once past that traffic jam the road to Garfield Ledges was clear and quiet. The road…
Trail is still snow covered, but both fairly compact and yet rather slushy. I used snowshoes, but others in our group were fine with Yaktrax, so long as they stayed on the well-trodden trail. The lake (pond) still appears to be frozen, apart from the north end where the creek flows in, though the surface is somewhat slushy and seems to give way easily. We arrived at 2:30pm on Tuesday and were able…
Arrived at 2pm for a brief visit. High tide had been 8.3ft at 1:05pm, so the tide was still very high. No tide pools accessible but still lots of fun to be had. The little stream to the north that flows from the pond into the sea was too wide to jump across, and too deep to walk through in boots. However, with the help of some strangers we built a very primitive bridge out of the driftwood. Though…
Can confirm: is muddy. Though beware the mud doesn’t really begin until about 1 mile in. The first half mile or so is mostly board walks, which are in good condition and keep you safe above the squelchy terrain. After the board walks you join the old road, which is a little muddy but not too bad. The road ascends gently, turns to the left and levels out, then gradually gets more and more…
Viewpoint #3. Arrived at 9:30am on Tuesday. Plenty of space in the parking lot. Pretty much had the trail to ourselves! On the way out we only bumped into a couple of other groups going the other way. The trail is in great condition. At worst there are a few muddy patches, though typically with logs for stepping stones, but nothing challenging. The latter half of the trail is mostly board walks,…
View up towards Heather Ridge from the rock garden. Summary The ascent on this showshoe hike is relentless, but the views are spectacular, especially if you push past the lake a bit further on up to the “rock garden”. We saw many people hiking using microspokes/yaktrax rather than snowshoes, and they were able to reach the lake but no further. The snow up to the rock garden is very…