Planet Ruby Starrs

We had a great weekend at Margaret River staying with some friends in their house.  ....Dr Fred went climbing 2 days running - Wilyabrup (pictured... Dr Fred halfway up..his climbing partner on the top) and Cosy Corner and now he's totally knackered but he did have a really good time.   We had a little wander around Margaret River.  It's a small bustling town with quite a lot of nice shops and a couple of interesting galleries plus some interesting street art. There was actually one painting in the gallery I would loved to have bought but I don't think we could have carried it home...(or justified cost). I nearly bought a load of tat for the girls but decided that tat could be bought anyway so I would wait.  There were some nice coffee shops and a very beautiful tree - see photo it looked like a conifer with dreadlocks...  On Sunday we went for a walk at a  coastal cove called Cosy Corner.  After brewing up on ...

At last a wee trip off in the van - just for two days wandering the North York Moors - curlews, lapwings, rabbits, hares, fantastic scenery, climbing opportunities for Dr Fred and a fantastic Andy Goldsworthy art trail thrown in!!!  We met up with some friends who were holidaying in Castleton.  We had a scenic tramp across the moors at Westerdale and after an almost (by my standards) intrepid cross country rumble through the bushes, bilberries and bracken we found some rocks to climb... well.... they climbed - I sketched and pondered and read my book while Dr Fred impressed himself by still being able to climb a few routes up the rock.   It was a sheltered spot and while a tad cloudy to start with it morphed into a beautiful evening bringing out the amazing colours across the hill side.  We were quite high up and had fabulous panoramic views across the moors with only the sound of the odd falling rock and birdsong to break the silence. The climbers did very well...