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Posted on by Debbie

I’ve not been everywhere but it’s on my list #WBOYC

Exploring during June

As we’re still away from home, spending almost two months in the UK visiting our daughter and her family, June has been full of travel – hence the title of this post – a bit tongue in cheek!

Pentire views Cornwall
Pentire views Cornwall

So what have I been up to? Some highlights…

  • spending fun times with family and also doing just day to day stuff too
  • eating out
  • cars, trains, buses
  • relaxing days
  • beach days
  • visits to National Trust properties – Tyntesfield, Lanhydrock, Sutton Hoo, Pentire
  • a week in Cornwall
  • Dottie time
  • a few days with my Aunty in Dedham (Essex)
  • history lessons via National Trust properties and museums
  • enjoying superb weather
  • catching up with friends
  • staying in touch with family at home
  • collecting Dottie from Nursery (daycare) and big school on her transition days
  • had my hair done
  • some shopping
  • bike rides and we bought Dottie a new pedal bike for her upcoming birthday
  • walks – yes I walked through the village carrying this inflatable crocodile 🙂
Debbie with crocodile
Debbie with crocodile

Exploring with family

In a recent post We’re all going on a summer holiday in Cornwall, I finished by saying there were a few more things to do before the week was over:

Still to do – hire some bikes, and a bike trailer for Dottie, and ride the Camel Trail to Padstow, and wander around some of the other little Cornish villages…

Well I can say that we did those things and more!

on the ferry from Padstow to Rock
Family photo on the ferry from Padstow to Rock

In case you don’t know where Cornwall is in England, I’ve included these maps below, I know it helps me work out exactly where I am.

Source of maps

map of Cornwall in UK
map of Cornwall in UK
Cornwall map
Cornwall map

We stayed in the northern part of Cornwall and found some amazing places to visit. Polzeath and Rock became favourites, mainly for their beaches and quaint (to us) villages. Everyone talks of St Ives as the place to go in Cornwall but we didn’t make it that far down, maybe next time! The distances to drive aren’t that far (for us Aussies anyway) but the roads can be quite narrow, scenic and busy. It was great having a whole week there and basing ourselves somewhere for that time. Plus we had the most perfect weather! We will definitely do it again.

The beach at Rock
The beach at Rock – Melanie and Dottie in the foreground

Exploring the Camel Trail

We enjoyed our ride on the Camel Trail, on a magnificent day of glorious sunshine. The trail is so named as the Camel River’s Cornish name is ‘Dowr Kammel’, which means “crooked river”. It’s a beautiful area and as you may know we have a special interest in rail trails, particularly our own Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail back home.

The Wadebridge and Bodmin Railway Line was one of the first railways in the world. opened in 1834, it carried the first steam trains in Cornwall and was the first railway in West Britain to carry passengers. The North Cornwall line closed for all passenger services in 1967 and the disused line is now the Camel Trail. Source

Camel Trail bike hire in Wadebridge
Camel Trail bike hire in Wadebridge
Camel trail ride
Camel trail ride

Exploring Constable Country

Car, buses, trains…

When we went to Dedham in Essex, we got a lift with Melanie to Bristol, used the Park and Ride bus into the city and caught a train to Paddington, a few changes and tube rides, then onto Manningtree in Essex. It was a very pleasant train trip and had a great few days visiting various sites around the area with my aunt as our guide.

Dedham is in what’s known as Constable Country due to John Constable’s paintings of the area. It’s a beautiful part of the world and we throughly enjoyed exploring Sutton Hoo a National Trust property where burial mounds uncovered a Royal Burial Ship. The movie The Dig was based on the true story – so much interesting history. We also visited the Tide Mill Museum at Woodbridge which was fascinating!

Canoeists Flatford Mill
Canoeists Flatford Mill
River Stour at Dedham
River Stour at Dedham

Exploring Bath by Bike

One of our last day trips out and about was to Bath (again). I had the idea that I could go to the Thermae Spa for a relaxing soak in the natural thermal pools, look over the beautiful city from the heated rooftop pool and reflect on my wonderful holiday, as I’ve done in past years, it’s sort of become a tradition of mine, while the Mathematician did his own thing.

The hot springs in Bath, from which the City derives its name, are a wonderful, natural resource which deliver over one million litres of mineral-rich water every day. Uniquely in the UK, the mineral water is hot. Bath and its waters have a long association with well-being and the word SPA is related to the Latin phrase ‘Salus Per Aquam’ or ‘health through water’. Source

But as it was a lovely sunny day, I decided to join the Mathematician in hiring bikes and riding around the city instead. It was a real hoot riding on the Royal Crescent, around the Royal Circus, along Great Pulteney Street then out onto the Avon Kennet canal paths through the two tunnels. We stopped for lunch along the canal before heading back into the city. It was over 21km of riding and very enjoyable.

on the streets of Bath
Grant on the two tunnels trail
Riding along Great Pulteney Street Bath
Riding around the Royal Crescent in Bath

Exploring the differences

It’s always interesting going away on holidays – yes it can be stressful at times but also fun.

When you’ve been married for 43 years you somehow know what to expect, but it’s always good to acknowledge the differences and I do like honesty!

The two of us in the Mediterranean biome at the Eden Project

Neither of us is perfect, but the main thing is we complement each other as we both have different skill sets and we acknowledge our various positives.

The adrenaline and stress of an adventure are better
than a thousand peaceful days.

Paulo Coelho

My Word of the Year for 2023 is EXPLORE

Exploring means taking advantage of all the opportunities that come my way and embracing the unexpected moments. It means being open to new experiences and not being afraid to step out of my comfort zone.

Explore can relate to creativity, food, ideas, travel, books, music, exercise, relationships, fun, fashion – it’s a word that exudes adventure and curiosity – and I love these words! I’m definitely exploring my options this year.

What’s Been on Your Calendar plus Word of the Year

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s all about exploring for me this year, so what better way to recap my month than in this monthly linkup with friends – Jo, Donna and Sue – where we look at what’s been on our calendars (#WBOYC), what we’ve been doing and updates on how our word of the year (#WOTY) is going.

What: 2023 Monthly Wrap-Up Link Party – To stay true to the purpose of this linkup, please ensure that your linked post is focused on what’s been happening for you this past month. 
When: Last Thursday PM (Northern Hemisphere)/ Last Friday AM (Southern Hemisphere) of the month. The link will be open for 7 days.
Why: A space to share highlights from your past month.
Where: Link Party, Blog, Blog Comments, Instagram or other social media.
Who: This linkup is open to everyone.
How: You can share in the comments, with a blog post, or on other social media of your choice. Include the hashtag so that we can find you and include your link in our posts.

Hosts for WBOYC
Your hosts for WBOYC – Deb, Sue. Donna, Jo

Away travelling (still)

Just letting you know I’m currently in and out of the blogosphere 🙂 due to being away on holidays. In case you’ve missed any of them, you can read more here in recent posts. I must say considering I’ve been on holidays I haven’t done too bad with writing posts, mainly so I have the memories of these special times, but I’ve been lax in reading other posts and commenting I’m sorry to say. I will do better once I’m back home in my normal routine.

I’m trying to stay in touch but I’m also reminding myself that I am on holidays. It will soon be over so normal transmission will return then!

So there you have it, June is done and dusted! Just a few of my explorations during the month. I have many more stories to tell but won’t bore you!

I’m keen to know what you’ve been up to during the month, so I look forward to reading your posts.

Happy Days 🙂

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js…

Deb xx

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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52 Replies to “I’ve not been everywhere but it’s on my list #WBOYC”

  1. Lots of places here I’ve never been to – Dedham / Constable country and Polzeath and Rock. So many places to explore, and that’s just England. Looks like a wonderful holiday. So glad you had mostly good weather.

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    1. Thanks Gail, it’s fun introducing English people to parts of their country like this! The weather was amazing for our whole time bar the last day or so when it was drizzly, we were so lucky! It really was a great trip

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  3. Hi Deb, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing your photos of your trip and family visit to the U.K. You’ve certainly made every moment count and lived up to your 2023 WOTY. We hope to visit the U.K. next year after our cruise to Norway and Iceland so I’m keeping tabs on where you have visited. Thanks for being a bright star in our lives and a fab co-host as well. Safe travels home xx

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    1. Thanks Sue, your kind words are very much appreciated. I’d love to help out with your travel plans if you need any suggestions. Your Norway and Iceland cruise sounds amazing! We loved Iceland. x

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  4. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #343 – Thistles and Kiwis

    1. Yes it was a fun walk through the village holding onto the crocodile! It was part of my husband’s Steve Irwin outfit for our daughter’s 40th birthday and we ended up leaving it and the shark with our granddaughter for her to play with in the pool. I got a few weird looks as I walked along with it in my arms 🙂

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  8. Pingback: June – At Home and another Road Trip – Wandering Dawgs

  10. Ah Deb – this was a fun post.
    I’d love to do similar travel, but work, family and life have all made that dream something for later. My biggest adventures have been limited to my backyard where I try to get in my 10K steps each day without tormenting our blue belly lizards too much.
    Thanks for raising my sights a bit.

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  12. Cornwall looks lovely. Thanks for the map because I had no idea where it was. You are definitely making the most of your days and weeks in the UK. It’s so nice to be able to pack in lots and then rest a few days in between. Bath is one of my favorite places. It’s just so beautiful. If we ever make it back, perhaps I can convince the husband to rent bikes. Thanks for the link party!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. I’m glad the map helped Marsha, it makes a difference if you can where things are! We’ve certainly had a great time without pushing ourselves too much. Going home will be hard!

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  14. Glad you’re getting out on bikes over there too. Enjoy…and understand on the commenting – I think all the hosts where away when I linked to the book one! Better to have some time off line from time to time anyway, to clear out our heads 🙂

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  16. Looks like you have really made the most of your time in the UK. So many wonderful memories. I’ve been impressed by how many blog posts you have still managed to produce. I have had good intentions whilst on my travels, but have achieved zero posts!

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    1. We have made the most of our time Janine but without punishing ourselves in the process. It’s very hard blogging while travelling but I’m glad I’ve made some effort, more for my sake really!

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  18. What wonderful places to explore! Looks like you’re having a great time with family and all the things you can see and experience. Cornwall looks like it should be near the top of my list if I ever make my way to the UK!

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  19. You have definitely made the most of every minute of your time over here! Cornwall is beautiful, and you were so lucky to have such gorgeous weather during your stay.
    We are not far from ‘Constable Country’ – in fact we stopped at Flatford Mill for a picnic en route to Southwold when we had a long weekend there in May. You can understand why Constable loved painting that area!
    I bet you are making the most of all that precious time with Dottie – you’ve made lots of happy memories with her.

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    1. Deb you are lucky to live so close to that beautiful area! We have had the best time and Dottie has grown so much while we’ve been here. She starts school in September and is enjoying her few days a week transition. So many great memories made x

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  21. You have done amazingly well to keep up some blogging and that you will be grateful when you look back just as we, your readers, are. I will never travel OS again and whilst I can accept that I can enjoy and marvel at the places you (and Joanne T) have been to in UK as those places interest me greatly from my family connections to the areas. So THANK YOU…and sending my best to you and G. I so agree that even being together for “almost all of your lives” little niggles still niggle at times. Especially when so much emotional connection is going on. Thanks for the link up…Take care, Denyse

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    1. Thanks Denyse, I’m pleased with what I’ve managed – mainly late at night or early mornings when nothing else is planned. I agree, it’s more for me to look back on in many ways. Glad you get the differences bit I added in, as it’s all part of finding ways to explore.

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  22. Hi Deb – it’s been beautiful weather for you and that’s just highlit the loveliness of the countryside. Your choice of wardrobe also adds to the pictures – so pretty and colourful and joyful (much like yourself!) Enjoy these last hazy, crazy days of your UK summer. x

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    1. Thanks so much Leanne, the comment about my choice of wardrobe is interesting because the cottage we’re in doesn’t have a full length mirror (which I’m used to at home) and so I never know how I’m looking from the chest down! It’s not that I’m vain but I just want to know things are sitting as they’re supposed to and I’m looking somewhat OK. It’s done me a favour in some ways! I’m not looking forward to packing it all up and going home to the cold!

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  24. Love this – “Exploring means taking advantage of all the opportunities that come my way and embracing the unexpected moments. It means being open to new experiences and not being afraid to step out of my comfort zone.” Happy Trails!

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    1. Thanks Donna, it really has been wonderful and everything I wanted it to be. My posts have been more for me in some ways, so I can look back at what we did and how Dottie has grown. It hasn’t been easy to keep up with it all though.

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      1. Hi, Debbie – I can relate! My best posts (or at least my favourite ones) are the ones that I have written for me so that I can have a record. Most of my Camino posts have had that motivation — but I find it harder and harder to keep up with blogging when traveling and visiting family. Well done to you!

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    1. Thanks Toni, it’s coming to the end of our trip so I’m feeling a bit sad as you can imagine. The good news is they will be out in Aus for Christmas with us this year!

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