marshes and mud

Part two - Monday and Tuesday 26,27 February 2018 (and a Friday surprise)

So, the birthday happenings didn't stop with the weekend (and if you've missed that see Landmarks first).

After a late night run dropping off the younger members of the Famous Five across London, we carried on forging East to our late night destination, the lovely Bell Inn in the quaint hilltop hamlet of Horndon on the Hill.  Felt like a treasure hunt, finding the key in a little box and a note directing us up old wooden steps to our cosy room above the 15th century inn.

and after a good night's sleep we could see better where we'd climbed last night in the dark

and the front of our pub

and explore the lovely Horndon on the Hill 

with it's ancient Woolmarket. 

We'd hoped to peek inside the interesting looking Grade 1 listed church of St Peter and St Paul, built in the 13th century, but sadly it was all locked up.

So no chance to warm up there and I tell you - it was absolutely freezing cold.  The Beast from the East was forecast to start tonight and already snowflakes were trying their best in this little corner of Essex.

But, hardy Northerners that we are, we wrapped up and headed down to the Thames Estuary, just 5 minutes drive away, to the lovely little nature reserve - Thurrock Thameside Nature Park  - beautifully thought out, overlooking Mucking Flats and marshes and Canvey Island.

Note how the new visitor centre mimics the shape of the oil terminals on Canvey Island - and inside they had an amazing log burner surrounded by seats, sort of Viking friendship hut style - very welcome on a day as cold as this!

Just look at that snowstorm working it's way across to us from Canvey Island - to our right

and to our left the sky is still blue- but we had to quickly dive into the visitor centre as the snow storm created a complete whiteout for 10 minutes or so!

But we soon venture out again 

it's so very wild and very beautiful - and see how quickly the sky changed as yet another snowstorm passed over

Bit of warmth in the hide and spotted a kestrel

But now it was back into the car and overland to the town of Maldon - famous for it's salt

Fascinated by the last of the Thames Sailing Barges, lovingly restored and moored up.  These were built late 19th century and early 20th and you can even take trips on them in the summer around to Mersea.

A kindly local let us peek on board

But it was onwards and upwards and a little hike out to St Peter's Chapel on the edge of the marshes of the Blackwater estuary at Bradwell-on-Sea on the Dengie Peninsula

wild and totally wonderful and icily cold

with an amazing fragile coastline made of cockle, beyond the salt marshes

But it was back to our cosy Bell Inn for the most fabulous meal and a blazing log fire.

Tuesday

We set off from Essex as the 'Beast' started and just got back to Sheffield before it caught up with us there and we were snowed in for 3 days!

And finally, a week or so later, Mike had another post-landmark birthday celebration, this time at the cosy Packhorse Inn at Little Longstone - more log fires and more fabulous food and lots of lovely friends

 'twas hard to drag ourselves away from the fire . . . 

But we were soon revitalised by a quick hike around the lovely dale of Water-cum-Jolly, through the eerie drippy tunnels of the Monsal Trail and back along the muddy banks to Monsal Dale. 

Fabulous week all round!

red sails in the sunset

Wednesday 26 to Sunday 31 October - 'Five go to Antwerp and Rotterdam'

(or if you'd prefer to start this holiday at the beginning, please start with "in the midnight hour")

SUNDAY

So this was the view we woke up to from our nhow hotel windows - what a joy!

 and we waited patiently for the lift to breakfast on the stylish heated seats

 Loved the edge of the impressive theatre on the edge of the river

 bit weird that the Metro sign looks horribly like the Ronald MacDonald's M

 but it was very snazzy down below

We were soon at the fun and amazing cube houses Piet Blom's Kubuswoningen, built 1984

by now the sun was warm, quite incredible for a late October day.  Loved seeing the immense bike parks all over the place, this one double deckered!

We enter the huge cathedral like Markthal only built a couple of years ago by the MVRDV practice and teaming with people and incredible food stalls.

fabulous wall murals on the inside and double decker cafes, while the apartment dwellers peered down from their little windows.  Enjoyed watching some waffle making but avoided temptation!

 and we found a great little coffee stop just outside - the tea lab

 and not far away was another Rem Koolhaus, his Timmerhaus, built just last year

But the afternoon was now drawing in and we all made a spur of the moment decision to take a boat ride on the Maas from the Erasums Bridge, which was great fun.

And here's the nhow hotel from the water - our 19th floor was only half way up - just near the joins!!

all aboard, full steam ahead and all that

and here's a good classic to float along to:

 past the immense container docks, busy loading and unloading every day of the week

past the rather incredible art deco ventilation shafts for the Maastunnel.
These ventilation buildings, designed by city architect Van der Steur, are also entry points for the bicycle and pedestrian tunnel.  And reading the Maastunnel article, it looks like there are original escalators running down there too, like Antwerp.  Amazing

Full circle: that little old building dwarfed by the new giants, houses the New York bar where we had our nightcaps last night!

So now it was a super dash to get to Centraal Station in time for our trains to Brussels and London - but we had one more feast to go - our intrepid foodies had caught word of Fritez for the best ever (and I mean that) take away homemade-skin-on chips, dowsed in beef stew, that you have EVER tasted.

 and we make it - dodging bicycles and trams - the incredible beautiful Centraal Station, remodelled a couple of years ago by Benthem Crouwel Architects

and I know this is horribly blurred, taken through the glass on a high speed train - but I needed to share the deep pink sunset that blazed in the sky as we sped past Antwerp.

End of a perfect holiday - over all too soon but packed with fun and wonderful things and the best of companions.

If you feel the need to go back and see it all again from day one, just click here "in the midnight hour"