Tag: adventure

Norfolk Broads at 21

17th June 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Its been a while since I updated johnsunter.com

Ive been catching up on a series called Jericho. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after season 2, but its pretty ace, so if you get a chance, have a look.

Well, an old friend from years ago, got back in touch recently, and sent me scans of these photos from a barge trip many year ago.

We went on a few other adventures, including a camping trip to Llanberis and a rented cottage in Llanwrust. Still, our most ambitious adventure, was the barge trip, you can see some pictures bellow.

Its a while ago now, and I cant remember that much about it, so the naration may be limited.

One of the great things about my youth, was that cider was less than a pound a pint. Another great thing about travelling on a barge, is that each evening you stay over in a different destination, so its like several holidays in one.

On the left, is my brother David, next to him is the illustrious “Mac” in the center of the picture, is Frank (more about him later) next a girl called Janeen, who Caz picked up from somewhere (Caz is taking this picture) then Me, then Lee.

The barge actually had a maximum number of occupants, but we were young then, so we just chose to ignore it.

We had friends sleeping in the kitchen, on the sofa in the main cabin, and just about everywhere else.

The actual boat from the trip. Traditional longboats might look more romantic, but they are more expensive, slower and an absolute bugger to turn around !.

As we travel across Bradon water, you can see that it was a very choppy section of open water.

At one point, smoke billowed from the engine and it appeared that we might be in distress. As it was, we were okay, we simply poured a can of coke over the engine, and everything seemed to be alright

The engine was probably scrapped later, but we weren’t around for that.

Showing just how small and pokie the rooms were. The jumper I was wearing was a Jo Brown sweatshirt.

Lee had seen me admire it in Wales, and bought one by post for my birthday. Even when we were young and skint, we were always kind.

This is a one off picture of the cottage we stayed in at Llanwrust. I only stayed for the weekend, as it was New Year, and I was starting a new job.

I remember around the town square, we got a bit drunk, and actualy offered some Police Officers a fiver to take us back to our cottage (it was about 2 miles out of town) they said that ordinarily, they would, there were just too many people about.

I believe later in the week, Caz got drunk, fell down the stairs and ended up coughing blood, but he was okay in the end.

Back to the barge trip, we had moored up for a pub lunch, and since we were only just finding out feet with the controls, ended up driving away and Lee had to run and catch us up, after unhooking the boat.

The first of the main adventures on the trip, when Frank drove the boat away, without uncoupling, and damaged the boat (a piece was ripped off, I was sat in the barge at the time, and I felt the boat “stretch” 3 feet).

Later, the excellent Janeen, dropped a kitchen knife in the water (never to be seen again) while trying to “disgorge” the landing rope from the Jetty.

The 2nd adventure, involved being stopped for speeding. Apparently 7mph is the fastest a boat may go on the Norfolk Broads, as the wash from the boat damages the broads.

But we didn’t know that, so after a brief warning, we were stopped and fined more than £100 (at the time, a kings ransom).

I also remember Frank going to negotiate with the River Policeman, wearing Union Jack boxer shorts. Not surprisingly, his plea for clemency fell on deaf ears !.

A brilliant trip, and a defining moment in my life. Thanks to all of you that came.

I have some of my own pictures from the original barge trip here.

Around the campfire and stepping into the rope.

25th May 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Bret and Jeff went camping. Sounds like they had a really good time, but they said when they were preparing for the trip, there was a nagging doubt that they had forgotten something.

To invite me.

Well, hopefully, they’ll remember next time, and I can get out and about in Wales once again (there has been a bit of an adventure lull since the fairly successful BT Adventures).

While I was talking to Bret, it reminded me of something I heard a couple of years ago.

I make no claims that this is factually accurate, it could be a modern myth I have no idea (I was flying to Thailand several years ago, and a female backpacker I was sat next to, told me about it).

The way its explained, is how conflicts and disputes are resolved in the Navajo, native American culture. Basically, if 2 braves have a dispute, the Chief will call the whole village together and arrange for a length of rope, to be tied together, to form a ring.

The 2 braves, each stand outside the ring, and then take it in turns to make a statement, and then step into the ring. If the other person agrees with the statement then he also steps into the ring (referred to as stepping into the rope).

The idea here, is if say the 2 men are both in love with the same woman, one of them for example would say “she loves me and not you” he will then step into the rope. The other person will disagree, and not stop into the rope, so the first person, must step out again.

On the other hand, if one of them says ” to be happy and in love with someone, is one of the finest things that can happen to a person” and steps in, the other will probably follow suit.

In principle, no discussion, can ever start until both people are inside the rope. Since this can only happen, if they agree (at list in principle) on one fundamental thing.

I’m not advocating that offices around the land should have ropes on the floor, but whenever I try to resolve an argument, or something like that, I always try to agree some common ground first. It saves so much time.

The begining of the end of budget airlines.

25th May 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Ive never been a great fan of budget airlines. My main criticism, is that you should be able to reduce your costs, without lowering your standards, and I simply don’t believe that most of the budget airlines do that.

I personally experienced this on the way back from Krakow 3 years ago, and since then, have only flown “sleezyjet” and the like, when there was simply no other way, to get where I was going.

But enough about me and my opinions, what about reality. Well, you tell me ?, if you could get a “proper” flight with a major airline, and the return cost was only £20 more than the budget option, which would you pick (just to name one advantage, on a BA flight, every member of the cabin crew will have been trained to a high standard in first aid and be able to re-start your heart should it be necessary).

A friend of mine is flying to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. KLM are actually £25 cheaper than the equivalent from Easyjet. Its the beginning of the end.

Do you agree/disagree ?. Why not post something.

Williamson Tunnels

14th May 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

With the last couple of quid, from our BT “windfall”, I head to Liverpool for the day, to see the famous Williamson Tunnels.

The Liverpool “loop” train wasn’t running, so it was a half hour walk across town. The thing that amazed me, was that as the train came to a stop at James Street station, loads of people were complaining about having to walk. I wondered how many of those people pay £45 per month in Gym membership !.

Considering my skint status, I consider it safe to wander into Cotswalds outdoor shop. Right in the middle of the high street, its one of the biggest outdoor shops I’ve ever been in, and contains some pretty cool stuff (luckily I had no spare cash, so didn’t blow £50 on something I probably wont use, but which looks nice.

As I wander further, I see some break-dancers performing. They have a 6 foot x 6 foot piece of lino taped to the floor and are performing all sorts of acrobatic things, as they used too in Manchester when I was a teenager.

One thing which has changed, is the contribution. In my day, a small plastic cereal bowl was placed out for people to put coins into, if they were suitably entertained. These guys had a washing up bowl. Inflation must have hit hard :).

I arrive at the Williamson tunnels and pay my entrance fee (about £4, but it promises to be pretty interesting). A tour has just started, and instead of making me wait for an hour, they put me on the one that is already running. There are a man an woman on the tour with me, and our guide (pictured above). We all have to wear hard hats.

First off, our guide tells us something about the history of the tunnels. He was obviously fascinated by the tunnels and spoke with a great deal of empathy for their creator.

Its mentioned that at one point, James Stevenson (digging the railway line tunnel that would link Liverpool and Manchester and create the first industrialised Railway) dug a hole in his tunnel, that “punctured” into the Williamson tunnel bellow.

There was an explanation about why the tunnels were created. Its pretty well accepted that they were designed as a job creation scheme, after the Napoleonic war. Although the people that worked on them, started out as Nave’s they soon acquired skills, which would benefit Liverpool massively, once development of the City began (at the time, Liverpool was a City of 8,000 people (today it has 800, 000) of which 350 worked on the tunnels.

After Williamson died, people made money by collecting rubbish (people paid to have Rubbish taken away at the time, there was no local council as there is now) and throwing it into the tunnels. Work still continues to clear them out, but as you can see from the picture above, a lot of the “rubbish” tells a fascinating historical story.

I did enjoy seeing the tunnels, but to be honest, I thought they would be a lot bigger and deeper. Still, I only know that, because I’ve actually been.

I wander back towards town. I pass the Victoria gallery and Museum. It was opened to the general public in 2008, but before this, it was the first building to coin the phrase Red Brick University. Its free to visit, so I decide to pop in.

They have a cafe, that serves fresh soup and fare trade coffee. I decide to eat my sandwiches on the walk back to the station. There is a really interesting Museum on the 3rd floor. It has Egyptian artifacts, animal skeletons (did you know, that a rattle snake actually has bones !) and a 3 foot wide dinosaur footprint.

My favourite artifact was reconstructed dental operating theatre, complete with foot powered drill and reclining dentist chair (you could see the “wear” marks on the chair, from people who had gripped it under duress.

On the 2nd floor, was a small art gallery. The pictures and sculptures in the different rooms, were nice, but if you know me, you know that art isn’t really my thing, and I’m unlikely to use phrases like “I love the drama and aggression in this painting” or any sort of rubbish like that. They were just nice pictures.

I loved this corridor in the building. It just captured the whole Victorian thing for me.

As I wander back to the station, I contemplate the BT project. Ive managed to “do” 7 different half day adventures, for £36. Im going to carry on budget adventuring whenever I can, and continue to blog it. For now, I think Ive achieved my goal.

Have you got any thoughts or comments on the BT Adventures. Why not post them bellow.

My “Official” birthday in Liverpool.

12th May 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Most people who live in Chester, have been to Liverpool dozens and dozens of times. I think the reason for this, is that Chester is a relatively small City (in reality, its more of a town, but whats in a name) and when people need to go shopping for elaborate things, they head for the nearest big city.

I grew up in Manchester (I lived 4 miles out of town). There was never any need to visit Liverpool, as everything that we needed was in Manchester city center. To date, I have only made 2 Major trips Liverpool.

1. To get a passport more than 10 years ago (needed it at short notice, had to go down in person).

2. Spent the day exploring, seeing the cavern, traveling in an amphibious vehicle etc (read about Liverpool 1 and Liverpool 2).

In addition to this, I have been on a couple of nights out there, and I spent a Sunday afternoon, having a few drinks with my old friend Mike Delafield, who now lives there.

It was the latter trips that inspired me to celebrate my birthday there.

In times gone by, we used to all go out for drinks around Chester “exploring” different pubs, that I’d never been in. Problem is, Ive lived in Chester for 8 years now, Ive been in every pub, and although a trip to the pub on a Sunny day is always fun, there is no really mystery or adventure to it.

I decided that I would go to Liverpool. I don’t know hardly any of the pubs there, but I had Sean, Mike, Ralph and Aud, to act as guides. I also had some cultural assistance, from my old friend Matt Bridges (a scouser himself) who he advised me on the best way to interact with the indigenous population of Merseyside.

A scouting party of Dan, Sean and I head into Liverpool on the 11:45 train. A mixture of tiredness, recovery from Alcohol and hunger, made for an unlikely group of pub-crawlers.

As we get off the train, Sean shows us this statue of Queen Victoria on the corner of Lord and Castle street. Apparently, its well known by the locals, that when viewed from a certain angle, the sceptre that the queen is holding, appears to give her an appendage, which wouldn’t occur naturally on the female body :).

Luckily, Victoria isn’t around anymore, so nobody got beheaded or anything. As we wandered through the City, a guy was talking on a mobile. Nothing unusual in that, but he was talking so loud, that he could be heard clearly 150 metres away, and one wondered, if he actually needed a phone at all.

Sean promised us an experience of cultural contradiction.

As we arrived at the Adelphi hotel, we walked through the main doors. Rooms in the Hotel, can cost up to £400 a night, and its very elegant inside.

I wondered which one of my organs I would need to sell, in order to buy a round of drinks there. I needn’t have worried, as we turned to the left and walked down some stairs, we found ourselves in a bar called Fridays. It has the feel of the working men’s club in Get Carter and pints of lager are only £1.50.

It looked a bit rough, but bellow the surface, people were just relaxing, and considering where I grew up, I always have time for that sort of earthiness. The toilet (the first of 2 interesting one’s that day) was like something you’d expect to find in a prison.

After leaving here, Sean, full of apologies (completely un-needed) wishes to redeem himself by taking us somewhere up market. We head up the hill, towards a pub called the Philharmonic, which had been recommended by several people. It used to be a Gentleman’s club and is a grade 1 listed building. The Gents toilets are also listed, said to be the only graded listed toilets in the country, due to their grandiose styling.

We sat towards the back of the building, in one of the themed music rooms. Mike appeared a few minutes later, followed by Bret (who to his credit, had worked the previous night, and still made it out) then Ralph and Aud.

One annoying thing, ill remember for next time, is to check all relevant mobile numbers are up to date. Jon (who I first met on a survival course. desert survival 1 , desert survival 2) had travelled all the way from London by motorbike, he had my old number, I had his, and he had turned up at the original pub, after we had left. Luckily, an email from his Blackberry to my IPhone and we were back in action.

Couple of hours catching up, the time flew by. We had arranged to leave at 5pm, but were having such a good time, decided to stay (Dan and Sean had to leave, as they had prior engagements).

I hadnt eaten all day. We headed around the corner and found a cafe serving folded Pizza’s for £3 (you just dont get value like that in Chester).

Down the hill back towards town, we pop into a pub called (puzzlingly !) the fly in the loaf.

Everyone is pretty drunk now, and the evening descends into mayhem. I demonstrate how my Rohan jacket can pack down small into a pillow and various silliness.

There were too many funny and interesting things to go into here, but suffice to say, old days at Corning, fellow travellers on our trip to Jordan and conversations about the desert survival course in 2005 were mentioned.

One person that seemed to really enjoy it was Brett. I always feel lucky and proud, when my friends meet each other. Its great to see a room full of really kind, interesting and fun people, all hitting it off.

My lasting memory of the “do” will be Ralph, who donned my coat and phone, and did a non flattering impersonation of me.

Id like to thank everyone that came, it was a fantastic day. Like I’ve said before, when times get hard, you realise that its the simple things in life that bring you pleasure. In this case, the company of some amazing people who I’m proud to call my friends.

Cycling the Wirral Way.

28th April 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

I decided to spend the afternoon out on my bike. The Wirral way, is a great ride, and runs from Hooton to West Kirby.

Ive walked it a couple of times, and normally set of from West Kirby, and walk to Hooton (means a longer train journey on the way out, but a shorter one on the way home).

On this occasion, the weather was really nice, and whilst a train journey can be done in any weather, cycling is preferable without rain. 10 minutes on the train from Chester, and im in Hooton.

The picture above, was actually taken in the hills surrounding Llangollen as I couldn’t find anyone to photograph me on my bike.

The trail is a converted railway line. The overgrown trees around it, give it a sheltered and peaceful feel. Its possible to wonder along different paths and stand on the hills overlooking the Dee estuary, towards Wales.

I took about 4 hours to complete the route (I could have done it much faster, but wanted to enjoy it, and frankly hadn’t ridden a bike for a while).

Arrive at West Kirby, wander along the water front, treat myself to a sausage roll at the bakery, and then jump on the train home.

Promenade trail, Rowing boat and Museum trip.

25th April 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

I spent the morning wandering around the Riverside Promenade trail here in Chester (the leaflet from tourist information is free, or you can download one, from the link above). The highlights of the walk for me, were the Water tower, the Grosvenor Bridge and the Suspension Bridge (sometimes annoyingly called the Holyoaks bridge, as its featured in the opening titles. That program went downhill, once Becka left).

After spending 2 hours exploring I debated having a Pie and Pint at the excellent Boat house pub (previous winner of the credit crunch lunch award here at js.com).

Instead, I decided to content myself with my trusty packed lunch and bottle of water, and instead, use the money to rent a rowing boat. Okay, your not exactly navigating the channel, but the feeling of freedom and exhilaration of “piloting” your own boat, are remarkable.

Ive lived in Chester now, for 8 years and the Chester regimental museum is somewhere Ive never gotten around to seeing. At only £3, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

I couldn’t believe how many interesting artifacts and displays were there. The picture above, shows a replica of a WW2 fighting trench. In the middle of the picture (a bit hard to see) is an authentic periscope, used to look “over the top” without getting shot.

There was a great deal mentioned about the Cheshire regiments involvement in Bosnia, and elsewhere, an account of the 2 VC’s awarded to the regiment.

One that I found interesting, was where a private in the regiment, had jumped out of the Allied trenches, and jumped back into the enemy trench having noticed that their machine gunner was dead. From here he was able to traverse the gun down the length of the enemy trench, take the position, and 42 prisoners with no loss of life on either side.

Some of the displays showed barracks and some of the activities performed by the regiment, throughout the world (it was pointed out, that even outside of wartime, soldiers will routinely be sent to places like Borneo and Norway for advanced training. Above an imaginary scene of a soldier in the Borneo jungle). Having spent time there myself, I can tell you its authentic.

One other aspect of the museum, was its honesty and sense of humour. A display showing all the different ranks of soldiers and what they do, mentioned the Colour Sergent major, who is responsible for quarter-mastering and supplying the regiment. It was stated, that when he isn’t there, he is referred to by everyone as “the colour bloke”.

The museum was run by former soldiers of the regiment. As I entered, they told me the rules about photography, gave recommendations for things I might find interesting (they were extremely helpful) and politely, asked me to show respect at all times.

He said with humility that brave people (some of them his friends) had died in uniform. It was a humbling experience.

Hill Walking in Llangollen

25th April 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Its not possible to get the train from Chester to Llangollen directly. You normally get the train to Chirk or Ruabon, and then get the bus. I decided to get the train to Ruabon, walk to Trefor (the site of the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct) and then follow the Canal into Llangollen.

The Weather was better, throughout the day, than this picture gives credit, however it does show some of the countryside, nature and serenity of the walk.

According to the map, it was 7 miles, but took nearly 3 hours, each way, so not sure what that’s about. On the way, I was passed by a barge. It travels from Ruabon to Llangollen and back again, and costs £11 one way. I thought this was a bit expensive, when you consider that you can hire your own barge for around £100, as I did on my birthday one year.

Arriving in Llangollen itself, I immediately make for the steam railway there. I have been in submarines, flown in helicopters, travelled in amphibious vehicles, and even driven a tank, but I have never actually travelled on a Steam Train.

There was a major Steam Train event taking place, with hundreds of enthusiasts. I have a strange kind of reversal of luck. The ticket seller, explains to me that its my lucky day, and that for £16 I can travel around on different Steam Trains, all day. All very nice, but I only want to go on one, and was thinking more like £3.50. Because of the Gala event, the standard ticket prices aren’t available, so I have to put off this adventure for another day. I take a few minutes to snap a nice picture of a Steam Train anyway.

I continue wandering around Llangollen. I visit the Pro-Adventure (a supplier Ive used several times for equipment and outdoor activities). After wandering around further, I see that the credit crunch has taken its toll on local adventure businesses, but this has created opportunities for people like me.

Normally a days hill walking, mountain biking etc with a guide costs around £100 per day. Now they are offering deals where you can do this for and average of £45. I haven’t done any Kayaking in a good while, so make a mental note of this for the future, when I plan a weekend camping in Llangollen.

No trip to this town would be complete, without a walk along the river. About 250 metres outside the main town is the riverside park. Its pretty quiet, so I buy some tea and a chocolate brownie, get out my notebook and start writing stuff down (its easy in the excitement of the day, to forget things).

A wander around some more, have a good look at the campsite, look around a few bunk houses and camping barns and take down telephone numbers. I see the shop doorway of a charity shop. I remember that several years earlier, my friend Frank had some acting work here. He was working for the BBC on a local news story called “Keep a welcome in the valley”.

The basic idea, was that Frank would stand in the shop doorway, and try to convince passers by to try on a horrendous dressing gown, which he told them he was considering buying for his sister (Ive known Franks sister since she was a small child, and she would have strangled him, if he had ever seriously delivered such a gift).

Frank being Frank, actually got all 5 people to take part and put on the dressing gown.

Back to the Canal, and a long but peaceful walk to Ruabon. The station, it is overrun with Steam Train enthusiasts. travelling home (ironically on Diesel trains !).

I sit there, and wonder how they can get so excited about something like that. But then it occurs to me, how many people would think wandering along a Canal is such a fantastic experience, yet to me it is.

WW2 U Boat and Birkenhead Park

25th April 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the German U boats in WW2, and Alan Turing’s attempt to catch them by decrypting the Enigma code.

I caught the train to Hamilton Square. The U-Boat story exhibition is just nearby. The main things to see, were various artifacts which had been recovered from the Sub, and the Sub itself, which had been cut into sections to enable it to be viewed more easily.

At the center of this picture, is the rear section of the sub, which show damage inflicted by anti-submarine planes, which ultimately sunk the sub.

At the end of the war, the German high command, ordered all submarines to surrender. Its still unknown, why U534 (the submarine featured in the exhibition) didn’t. It was sunk by the RAF, but its mission always remained a mystery. It was theorised it was carrying hi ranking officers to South America, that it had gold and jewelry, and one other theory, is that its experimental torpedoes were being taken to Japan, to continue the war effort.

Karsten Ree, believed it contained treasure, and decided to raise it. There wasn’t any treasure in the normal sense, but endless information about U-boats and life on-board, which the exhibition attempts (and I believe achieves) to capture.

A working Enigma machine (the Sub carried two, one in general use, and one in storage. The one in storage was in near perfect condition).

Looking inside the sub, you could see just how tiny it was. This section shows the engine room, but in other places, there were 2 small hobs, where food was cooked in shifts, around the clock.

It was said that life on board was very hard (52 men in an area the size of a small terraced house). When they weren’t working they were either sleeping or eating. There was always plenty of food to eat, to keep moral high.

I spent about an hour there and then moved on. About half an hour’s walk away, is the famous Birkenhead park.

Its famous, because quite simply it was the first public park, open in the word. Central Park in new York one of the worlds more obviously famous parks, is based on it, and from the air, the 2 are almost identical.

Using my Iphone, and the trusty google maps, I was able to find the entrance without much trouble. It was much bigger than I expected. On a beautiful day like this one, there are few things more fun than wandering around and exploring in the outdoors.

I continued on through the park, and passed the boathouse, alongside the parks lake. Bit further along, they have re-opened the victorian tea house (I think the Victorians would have been pretty unhappy, as its now called Cappuccino’s. I stop and have the now ubiquitous coffee, and a chocolate muffin.

I spend another hour wandering around the park, and then back to Hamilton Square. Ive passed through the underground station at Hamilton Square many times, but never seen the outside. Apparently, some of the best Edwardian buildings in the country are located there.

BT cheque lands on my doormat and adventure calls

20th April 2009 admin Uncategorised Leave a comment

Unemployed. Not a lot going on.

A lot of people will read this and think that its the end of adventure for the time being. In one way, you’d be right, it can be pretty difficult to get to Kuala Lumpur claiming job seekers allowance.

However, this gives me a chance to prove something I’ve said often before. That Adventure is everywhere, and all you need to do to find it, is research and planning (oh and a small amount of money).

Additionally, since this website is subtitled the adventures of an ordinary person, a lot of ordinary people are feeling the pinch right now, and a couple of budget adventure ideas should help those in a similar position to myself.

On a practical front, I am still unemployed and its urgently important that I get another job. Its nearly 20 years since I was previously unemployed, but I remember specifically, that one really important thing, was to establish a routine.

Each morning, I get up, go for a run (although sometimes its more of a walk), get back, eat a sensible breakfast and then get ready. I then spend about 2 hours scouring the internet, calling agencies and emailing CV’s.

In the old days, I would have had to sit in the house all day, waiting for people to call me back. With the advent of mobile phones, I can get out and do something, while waiting for emails and phone calls, so most of my afternoons are free.

Well, the other morning, I returned from my run, and I found a letter from BT. They had overcharged me, and had sent me a cheque for £36. I decide to find out how many budget adventures I can do with this money (which obviously, I hadn’t planned to receive). Since BT have sort of “sponsored” this project, its going to be known as the BT Adventures!.

The other blog entries will show some of the stuff I do in the coming days.