To be honest... dawn on a Saturday

I have several half-written posts waiting to be polished and published but to be honest, I'm not in a great place right now.

I've woken up early the last two days, tired but with my brain going full speed so I can't get the sleep I need.

I'm tense and achey. I'm starting to comfort-eat. I feel somewhat overwhelmed.

I'm resting as much as possible in evenings and weekends but it's not enough to get me back to some sort of equalibrium.

I'll leave you with with pic which kind of sums things up...

Exploring Bristol - hidden treasures

Oh, the bliss of a quiet January! I am just loving staying home, eating vegetables, staying off alcahol (mostly) and getting a bit more exercise. We had a lovely quiet weekend.

On Sunday afternoon we headed off walking along the stunning Avon Gorge path toward the village of Pill. (Yes, there's a place called 'Pill'. Don't ask me why!)

I've been along that path several times. It starts off in some slightly rough-looking areas with derilect old industrial buildings, bridges and lots of grafitti but soon gets onto a pretty river-side walk.

(See Andrew Withers' blog for more photos like the one here.)

So beautiful but not interested in cuddles

It then passes by the Avon and Somerset mounted police base. I love police horses so I had a friendly chat through the fence to a couple of completely un-interested horsies.

After trekking along the slightly muddy path for a while, I was surprised to discover an entry to Leigh Woods.

I'd only ever strayed briefly into Leigh Woods from the top near the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I had no idea it was so extensive. There are miles and miles of paths all up and down along beside the river Avon.






 The path up from the riverside was super-pretty but quite steep and very muddy. We sloshed up for about 15 minutes then gave up, promising to come back in dryer weather.

So now I'm looking forward to lots more walking up and down and around the lovely woodlands in the months to come. What a treat to discover all that nearly on our doorstep!

Top travel destinations of the last year

So I worked out that during 2014 I managed to go to nine countries (including England where I live). In order, I went to:

New Zealand
Singapore
Italy (specifically Venice)
Scotland (twice)
The Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Wales (several times as it's just over the bridge from Bristol)
Hungary  (specifically Budapest)

That's pretty good going, I think. Of that list Italy, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Hungary were new to me.

Singapore is a perennial favourite. If only it were closer, I'd probably make an annual pilgrimage, I love it so much. I'd just love to be basking in the warmth and swimming in a hotel pool right now!

Budapest is a new favourite - I expect we'll be back there at some point to have a better look around. Possibly in Spring for a change.

I love Scotland with my heart and will be back there whenever I can make an excuse. I'm still keen on seeing the real Shetland ponies and exploring some remote whiskey distilleries in the north.

So what about travel for next year? Well, we're off to Bruge and Ghent in Belgium for a few days just after New Year's. I've been to (and loved) Bruge and am looking forward to Ghent.

Easter will probably be somewhere a bit warmer and sunnier like Spain or Portugal. We loved Alicante in Spain so are keen to see some more of that country.

Due to getting my visa renewed, I'll probably be grounded for months during the middle of the year so summer holidays might need to be a road trip around Scotland. What a shame! (Kidding!).

Just clicking on the EasyJet 'where do we fly' tool opens up a world of possibility (literally). There's Greece, Croatia, Iceland and we need to get to Prague at some point... I guess we'll see how things go.

Happy travels to you!