More pre Xmas pottering....

After the house and hound sitting excursion "up north" life in Penarth continued on its usual enjoyable course for a few days, until we headed to the wilds of Cornwall for more house and hound stuff. Norman and Julie were also off to a wedding so we spent a happy few days in the lovely Cornish countryside, amusing and being amused by the two labradors and the less grumpy than usual Jack Russell.

You just have to take the labs to the beach as they enjoy it so much:

After beach time for them, it was fun time for the adults, the Watergate Bay.Beach Hut is rather good. Click on the link to see why it is not quite a hut. They also make some impressive patterns on coffee  that seem to last right to the end of the drink:

Not quite like the Lanzarote happy faces though, a little more traditional in keeping with the setting in a classically beautiful bay.

Waking up to this sight is a little different to waking up on the boat:

Two hopeful animals waiting at the bedroom door who know they are not allowed in but being dogs, live in hope. Amazingly well trained Julie!

We also had a trip to see Amanda and Chris in St Austell with a guided tour of their splendid B and B / house and a wander along the cliffs to Charlestown harbour (Poldark setting for the TV addicts). On the drive back we enjoyed a beautiful Cornish sunset too:

Yes, we know, it could have been taken anywhere. Little to prove the Cornish identity and amazingly clear considering it was taken from a Defender on the move through a dirty windscreen.

Back at base, the boat needed a run to warm up all the mechanicals and electronics. Our track around the bay, in mist / fog, looks a bit strange:

We blame that on Steve the waterbus man who was at the helm. Please don't let you put this off going on his boat, he normally finds the landing stages at each end with no trouble. With the main and wing engine nice and warm, on oil change seemed sensible too.

Maintenance news:

The raw water pump on the genset is the original one and has now started to weep a little. A new one from the Northern Lights dealer is stupidly expensive as is an overhaul kit. We've used a kit that we bought from the USA before to reseal and put new bearings into the wing engine pump and the even better news was that the supplier agreed to cut down the contents to remove the wear items (wear plate, cam, faceplate) and hence reduce the cost of one significantly.

Our "spare" rebuilt pump will be fitted to the genset and the leaky one fixed using the kit. For any folks who have the Northern Lights genset or Lugger wing engine have a look at item number 112658598938 on eBay. I will get around to measuring the bearing etc sizes one day to source them locally.

That Lanzagrotty time of year

Yes, as usual it had to be done. A couple of weeks away from the boat enjoying some winter sun and warmth. Since we love the area and the Rubicon Palace Hotel so much, where else would you go?

The hotel has been through a serious makeover and gained a star since our last visit. That together with the Brexit devaluation of the pound meant it was more expensive of course. Somehow the temperatures and pampering made it worthwhile though.

As part of the general upgrade, they seemed to have trained the staff to liven up a cappuccino:

They also have installed 4 turtles in one of the ponds inside the atrium area. Watching for any signs of movement amused simple souls like us for hours:

What to do on the island? Well, as the northern contingent were around (Northern contingent = John and Irene, sadly no Archie the Lakeland Terrier) we took them to Lagomar for a look around. Have a look at the history and pictures on Lagomar website. To whet your appetite:

More Manrique ideas in an amazing "house" with an interesting Omar Sharif ownership period too.

The regulation walk to Marina Rubicon to admire the boats and eat huge amounts of apple cake (one of your 5 a day after all) had to be completed frequently too. Some of the craft moored there were entertaining. Perhaps this owner has several dogs or likes golf:

Cannot imagine having to cut the grass as well as wash off the boat. Most strange. On the walk along the waterfront there are several cat houses run by a local charity known as Freddys which feeds (and neuters!) the local wild cat population. We reckon this is one brave or very stupid bird:

Meanwhile, back on board the boat, it seems that the recently quiet Patrick is up to badness again. Steve the waterbus man sent us this worrying picture of Patrick and Kylie:

"Bring me a present or the bird gets it" post it notes indeed. We have some serious sorting out to do when we get back. Of course, that might include sweeping up a few feathers. We will let you know if our on-board stuffed menagerie is now smaller.

Dogdate County Durham continued

The travelling around thing continued with Tynemouth and a visit to the Priory and Castle ruins:

Fascinating site with real atmosphere. A priory come castle come World War 1 fortification come WWII fortification. Well worth a visit with a few relics of the more recent past still in place:

Another excellent walk was from Bellingham to the waterfall at Hareshaw:

Of course, with all this activity some down time was needed. Archie enjoyed his by licking the crew most fastidiously:

Linda on the other hand proved that the ride quality of a Defender isn't that bad by managing to sleep in the back of it underway:

Publishing this less than flattering image might seriously damage our already limited popularity but if you can't live dangerously from time to time......

Back in Corbridge again, the two dogs were desperately keen to get to a tiny little mouse that was on the pavement:

They both tested out their harnesses and leashes to the maximum but the mouse survived. It came close to a sticky end when someone walking by, glued to their mobile phone, nearly trod on it. Andrew rescued it and put it into the nearby churchyard. The Vicar is probably so pleased about this.

On the survival note, this print on the kitchen window of John and Irene's house was worrying:

There was no sign of a dead / stunned owl outside though so we reckon that it survived with perhaps a bit of a headache.

On Whitley Bay beach, Archie and Izzy met Boris the schnauzer:

Then the fun kicked off - working as a team, then pinned him down rather effectively:

Archie looked rather pleased with the way things worked out:

There were plenty of good local eating and cake establishments. After a good walk or beach fun with the hounds, you feel as though you deserve cake somehow. Two miles from the house was The Kitchen Cafe with the most wonderful home made offerings. Go there for the blueberry and mango cake, backchat form Garry the owner and to meet all the local elderly ladies who frequent the place. You get life histories fast and often....

For those who understand Geordie, here is a Whitley Bay restaurant frontage:

For those who don't and who think that a Hinny is a cross between a male horse and female donkey, we are pretty sure that was not on the menu,

Being responsible for Archie - no pressure at all

You have met John and Irene on here before. You have also met their rather important Lakeland Terrier, Archie (he came over to Guernsey with us earlier this year for example). Well, the poor lad was abandoned to our care by his strangely trusting owners who went off for a family wedding on the other side of the world. What do you do to amuse a typical nearly 9 years old terrier? Well, first of all, you give him a 2 year old girl to play with:

Yes, Anne came along for a few days and then left Izzy the spoodle with us. Somehow having a younger woman around seemed to put a spring in Archie's step. No comment.

Then we tried to offer lots of stimulation - John and Irene live in Hamsterley Mill (Google it!) near Newcastle and there are many great walks in the area. Also nearby lives Colin the BA Captain who owns another Nordhavn 47 (Albatross) and who let us see his splendid riverside flat at North Shields.

Plenty of dog walking followed. One wander near Wylam along the river was particularly good, taking in an impressive disused railway bridge  :

The Boathouse pub at the end of the walk was interesting. The lunch menu was a toasted sandwich or Pie and mushy peas (no potato involved). The choice was a no brainer - and a good decision too as the pie was stuffed full of meat. As were we afterwards.

Both dogs love the beach of course and there are some excellent ones on the local coastline. Izzy enjoyed digging at South Shields:

although Archie treated her efforts as a toilet afterwards:

We didn't know the area at all well and so we felt the need to explore a little. Durham is such a lovely city and the cathedral is quite something - although with two dogs in tow it has to be admired from the outside:

Corbridge suffers from having a must visit spot - the Bike cafe that we were introduced to a couple of years ago by John and Irene. A repeat visit with Anne and then Andrew and Linda (who also came "up north" to see us) was a must do. Why? Well, here is the cranberry, white chocolate and pumpkin seed scone:

No more proof needed - although the savoury stuff is excellent too. What else, well, the poor Defender had a moment - starting became hit and miss so he was recovered by the Land Rover Assistance service and taken to the best local dealer, Team Valley Land Rover.  We had a loan car from Land Rover:

A Range Rover sport autobiography at about £83K. Frankly, no! Typical example of a modern "sports" suspension SUV with huge low profile tyres and an unnecessarily harsh ride. Much prefer the normal Range Rover - perhaps age is something to do with the desire for a better ride quality on our crowded and poorly maintained roads. Mind you, we own a Defender......

Archie liked the back of the Range Rover though:

However, he also loves his nest in the back of the Defender:

which the good guys at Team Valley fixed. What was wrong?  The wiring for the Tracker system that was put in by the Edinburgh dealer at purchase time had caused the ignition switch to have burnt contacts. Thanks Pentland Land Rover. Thanks a lot.

As part of the "keeping the dogs stimulated" approach, the river walk at Hexham was fun too.  Someone with a Tonka Toy Japanese truck seemed to have either a sense of humour or was very sick indeed:

We did wonder why they hadn't claimed any mobility scooters - they would be a prime target for us.

A trip to Newcastle and walk along the river showed the Tyne bridges at their best:

and the rather futuristic Sage building:

On the river, we saw one white ensigned craft that we doubt is a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron or the Royal Navy:

Wonder where they got the ensign from. Might look impressive, if slightly illegal, on our Nordhavn.