The contrail free sky but...

RIVER AVON within the city limits of Bristol.

Welcome to a contrail free sky over Britain as volcanic dust grounds all aircraft but it can cause some problems...
However few problems for 'greenish' travellers except overcowded long distance and overnight trains etc.
TIPS
A pedestrian place with a cycle could be had last night on the Portsmouth Le Havre ferry for today for £28 and on day boats there are places Harwich-Hook of Holland from Tuesday (£33 with a cycle or £29 without). From Hook of Holland trains East and North can be booked even as far as Helsinki or Moscow ALTHOUGH NIGHT TRAINS ARE HEAVILY BOOKED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. Try German Rail website and booking number in UK 08718808066 or of course Seat61.com.
But it probably a good time to stay closer to home and use the diamond bus pass!

update on 'When it rains...'

sadly the *Michelin Restaurant in Foye has closed. Any recommendations on where now to eat in th rain would be welcome!
When it doesn't rain or even when it does Trebar Gardens near Falmouth are terrific and reachable either by the South West Coast Path (with a little difficulty) or by the 500 bus every couple of hours or so Mon-Sat. Why not Sunday we may ask?

When it rains in Cornwall...

...inevitably it costs twice as much. A short summer cycling trip became a short gourmet break when we saw the final definitive appalling forecast for Cornwall. Committed to travel by advance-booked cheap rail tickets down to St Austell and a night’s bed and breakfast, we set off into the gathering rain. Anticipating the weather, one partner had succeeded in making a secret late reservation at a Michelin* restaurant in Fowey.

The free senior Diamond national bus pass now came into its own.

A Stroll to Teignmouth and the Torbay Express at Dawlish

Sixteen Westbury Park Strollers fom Bristol went to Dawlish, Tiegnmouth and Shaldon this Sunday. Half walked on to Newton Abbot up the Etuary . For earlybird Senior Rail card bookers the rail fare was only about £9-00. From the 0ver bridge, we saw another type of day out - the Torbay Express Bristol etc to Torbay on Summer Sundays but NO DISCOUNTS for Ancient Brits, I'm afraid:

Visiting Malta and Sicily by Rail and Ferry?

ENJOY THE STATION -Taomina

Travelling home from Malta by ferry and train through Sicily, I chose to stop off at Taormina-Guardini simply to enjoy the station. In setting and architecture it is arguably the finest in Southern Europe. Approached from the South (from Catania) it springs out after a short tunnel. Approached from the North (Messina), the headland of Taormina first comes into sight, then again after a tunnel the line curves steeply down the cornice, displaying the station with an immediate backdrop of cactus covered cliffs and with the might of Etna, snow topped and smoke plumed behind.
The finest treasures of the station are inside the building, designed by architect Ernesto Basile (1857-1932), who had developed an especially Sicilian

Bristol-Hanoi the post - see page also

February to March 2009 Train Itinerary for David and Diana Bruce.

Stroll with Huskies: another update from David and Di

A stroll in the Urals in winter

Take a beat up old ex-military four-wheel-drive mini bus with seven dogs for 17 miles West back into Europe, then plunge through snow packed roads and forest tracks for 7 miles North; de-bus and wait for dogs to be