South Downs flowers - South Downs National Park
Spring flowers on the South Downs Way around Ditchling Beacon (248 m.). The abundance of colour is striking on the green of the grassland, a surge of spring after the bleak straw of winter. No particularly rare species, the orchids aren’t flowering here yet.
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My Marseille cactus garden
A few flowers in my cactus garden on my balcony in Marseille; this plant works in fives (five main flowers, ten off-shoots). But the aromatics (lavender, thyme and rosemary) have again failed. These plants survive in abundance in the harsh conditions on the calcaire mountainsides of Provence so I’m disappointed that specimens from nurseries can’t take the more reasonable conditions I’ve offered them.
Pointe Rouge, Marseille
Fountains working again in Marseille Place Castellane with the tram line installation nearing completion on the far side. Onwards to the beach for fun on gravel and sand on my classic Marin Palisades Lite.
Oh to ride in Provence now that Spring is here
Gorges de l'Ardèche - Belvédère du Serre de Tourre
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Three day’s excellent touring in Provence, Dévoluy, Ardèche and the Cévennes plus the Pôle Méchanique circuit. My CBR600RR running great. Variety of roads, marvellous spring views and friendly, family-run hotels with fantastic food.
Checkout ride: col de l’Espigoulier (723 m.)
Checkout ride to the col de l’Espigoulier (723 m.) just out of Marseille. An afternoon in preparation for a couple of days’ riding in Provence and maybe the Alps. A reminder of the fun and rush of the high revs riding style. Rider and bike largely OK but a scare with the battery: I had to bump start after my photo stop at the top of the hill. Rode home OK, a session on the optimiser and the battery seems good, this one was new only last year. New boots wearing in nicely.
Easter fizz
Comparing three bottles of fizz for our Easter entertainment; all are made by the additional fermentation method, equivalent to the méthode champenoise.
Conegliano Prosecco Superiore DOC 2024. Brut. 10.5%
Light. Not overly dry. Bit melon bit vanilla. The label suggests apricots but that wasn’t our impression.
Different and more refined than Valdobiane Superiore DOC. Principal varietal Glera. Bottle from a UK supermarket.
We enjoyed our bottle with sauté chicken breast in a beetroot sauce to a recipe by Keith Floyd.
Crémant de Limoux AOC (Pierre Chanau) 2023. Brut. 12.5%
Plentiful fine bubbles. Light but we struggled to specify a fruit taste analogy: slightly vanilla, not apricot, not star-fruit or melon. so fruity but not any fruit we could think of. Enjoyable - Crémant de Limoux is a long-time favourite following stays in Carcassonne and around. We enjoyed this bottle with our salad for Easter Bank Holiday Monday. Principal varietals: Chardonnay, Chenin and Pinot Noir. Personal import.
Sekt: Reisling Brut 2019 (Von Buhl, traditionelle Flaschengärung). Brut. 12.5%
Strong and insistent bubbles. We enjoyed this with poached plaice on Good Friday, the strong flavour of the fish matching the strong flavour of the wine. It resolved to apple or pear flavour; a texture not unlike perry. Principal varietal Reisling. The bottle glassware was by far the most sturdy of the three. Ordered online.
The Boat Race 2025
Cambridge ahead by more than a length at Hammersmith Bridge
Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race 2025
Rowing Eights on the Thames are a wonderful sight and sound: athletes working as a team. I was lucky to see the winning overtakes by Cambridge Women and also Cambridge Reserves; Cambridge Men’s boat had already pulled clear of Oxford before Hammersmith Bridge and also went on to win. Oxford have more uniform style amongst the oarsmen but Cambridge’s greater individualism is clearly a winning strategy.
Of course it’s about winning (Go Cambridge!) but it’s also a day out, either in the organised Fan Zones or the vernacular picnics on the Surrey station, ie the Putney/Barnes bank of the Thames: strawberries and fizz with smoked salmon dips or just beer and BBQ treats. Today’s total crowd estimated to be more than 300,000 people.
April showers after the Men’s boats had passed cleared the banks but sent many on to a Post-Boat-Race party.
Seatallan (692 m.) and Middle Fell (582 m.) - Lake District National Park
View over Wast Water to Scafell (910 m.) and Scafell Pike (978 m.), on the right, also Gable (899 m.)
Greendale Gill - Tongue Gills
Up on the fells and away from the crowds. Seatallan (692 m.) summit gives a fine view of the coastal apron of Cumbria, reminding me of the coastal apron typical of mid-ocean volcanic islands; also a fine view down to Blengdale. The path is unmarked but there are fell runners’ routes and precipitous turf staircases.
Middle Fell (582 m.) isn’t as high but has one of the stunning panoramas of the Lake District. There’s an unbroken view over Wast Water to Scafell (910 m.) and Scafell Pike (978 m.), on the right, also Gable (899 m.) and hazy views of Skiddaw (931 m.) and Blencathra (868 m.) in the distance. Great spring sunlight and visibility though the outline of the Isle of Man was only very indistinct though the mist.
Thanks to Samuel for another great choice of route
More photos: Seatallan (692 m.) and Middle Fell (582 m.) - Lake District National Park
Late afternoon play: Latrigg and Brundholme - Lake District National Park
Out for a late afternoon play ride on the mountain bike after a busy day in Keswick. First the slog up to Latrigg Saddle (300 m.) from Applethwaite then down the ever-changing trail through Brundholme Woods. Fab spring weather still, great to feel the breeze under the arms again after covering up all winter. Tracks quiet but the flyboys were out aloft. Spring sunshine and blue sky all round.
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Shap - Garsdale - Hawes (Yorkshire Dales National Park)
Shap Summit (426 m.)
Ride round the Dales and North Pennines in the fabulous spring weather. Firstly Shap Summit (426 m.), for that top of the world feeling; the A6 is also one of the great biking roads in Cumbria, big rides up and down and round.
Turning off to the pretty little roads around the River Mint between Kendal and Sedburgh, the Ninja Z250SL is good on these as well as holding its own on the big sweeping old-style A roads. Through Sedbergh to Garsdale and Garsdale Head (324 m.) then down Wensleydale, more and more bikers on the A684, another wonderful biking road that keeps on throwing thrills at the rider.
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Yves Castagnet at the organ of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
Well that was an extraordinary recital, I’ve never been to anything like it. Firstly the restored cathedral looks fantastic inside, the masonry is clean and white, the rose stained-glass windows newly bright too. The huge space of one of the tallest of the Gothic cathedrals seems both enhanced but also relatable somehow: it doesn’t recede in to the dim distance like I think it used to, the bright stone and new lighting imposes on you.
I haven’t heard this organ since I passed through Paris on my way back from Lausanne before I went to university, when fortuitously the organ was being played. I’ve never quite forgotten the impact of this big instrument in a magnificent Gothic cathedral with the reverberations being as much a part of the music as the notes.
Read more: Yves Castagnet at the organ of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
London lemons 2025
Nice lemons growing on my patio in West London, a reminder of Mediterranean lemons in Menton. Lemons are not the only fruit, there are a few mandarins ripening but my lime tree is disappointing this year. Anyhow, some tidying up and up-potting in the warm spring sunshine, that’s a Rosemary and an Oleander.
Hiking the levadas of Ponta do Sol - Madeira Island
Levada Nova da Lombada (425 m.)
Probably the most satisfying hike I’ve done on Madeira: spectacular views and waterfalls though difficult as a circular hike because of the narrow path, the rocky overhangs, tunnel and the opportunities for a cold shower. Madeira Island is renowned for its extensive levadas (irrigation channels) which are great hiking routes as well as aqueducts and sources of hydoelectric power. In particular, the levadas of Ponta do Sol have a long and complicated history, including fatalities during construction, a violent riot in 1962 over the right to water when the Levada Nova was proposed and grim origins as supplying water to the sugar cane plantations founded by João Esmeraldo (died 1535) using slave labour. Christopher Columbus stayed in his palace in Funchal on his return from his third trip to the Antilles in 1498, married his daughter and himself became a sugar cane magnate at the time when the product became known as “white gold”.
More photos: Hiking the levadas of Ponta do Sol - Madeira Island
