Flickr shows which of your photos is the most popular by views, favourites or comments but also has an algorithm to give you your most interesting photos. So here are my top 10 interesting photos as calculated by Flickr.

#1 Gorse and Heather

This is the colour of the Manx countryside in late summer. This photo was taken between the Chasms and The Sound just off the coastal footpath.

#2 Water Wheel in Groudle Glen

A lovely water wheel maintained in Groudle Glen, Isle of Man in Autumn.

#3 A moody Port Erin Bay

This is an old photo I took from the footpath out towards Bradda Glen from Spaldrick. It was late evening as the sun was going down (I know this because I don’t do early mornings!).

#4 Moss on a Manx stone wall

A typical Manx stone wall in the South Barrule plantation covered in Moss.

#5 Sulby Reservoir Mist

This is a photo from a summers day up at Sulby Reservoir. The mist was just in over the water and creeping into the nearby plantation.

#6 Cregneash Window

Thatched Cottage Window at the working museum at Cregneash. I think this is the carpenters house judging by the old plane in the window.

#7 Healthy Strawberry Plants

This is the first year Don and I have tried our hand at Gardening. We’ve got a whole range of plants including spring onions, daffodils, hyacinths, Sweet Woodruff, Clematis, Winter Jasmine and others I cant’s remember. Really enjoying it!!

#8 Isle of Man Mountain Road

View from Hailwood Heights southwards on the Isle of Man TT Circuit. Beautiful Manx day with the sun in your eyes all the way home!

#9 On Top of the World

Standing on top of the world in the Isle of Man.

#10 Balladoole Viking Burial

This is an old Viking Burial Site on the Isle of Man. It’s on a small mound that gives views over the surrounding land for miles. It’s pretty near the coast and a stones throw from the old quarry. A beautiful historic site.

Hat Tip to Alistair Humphreys and Tom’s Bike Trip for the idea.

After a flask of coffee and a couple of snaps we headed on down and Izzy showed herself as a true downhiller. I had fully expected to carry her down but she was loving it. It was a bit icy in places with some of the puddles have a thin layer of ice and the rocks’ frosty surfaces glistening in the headlight.

The walk has taken its toll on Izzy now though and she’s out for the count. Hopefully a quieter day for Don with the little monster tomorrow!

Light Play

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

I always hear “If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get the same results.” but when it comes to trainers I’m perfectly happy with the same results.

Nothing makes me happier than navy and white Adidas Classics. When one pair start to look a little tired I get a new pair. I’ve tried other trainers but they just don’t do it for me. They always stand out and I feel like I’m looking at somebody else’s feet. They’re either too narrow, too bright, too dull, too wide or too long. Adidas classics are just right.

Here they are – Third Generation Adidas Classics. (Middle pair are Gazelles as I couldn’t find Sambas at the time!)

They smell good too!

And they look good from where I’m standing:

They also came at a discount thanks to Sports Direct on Amazon. When they arrived they also came with a free gift from Sports Direct but I won’t tell you what it was as that might spoil the surprise.

But despite their newness, nice smell and great view from where I’m standing the dog still prefers the oldest pair.

Here’s a little tribute to all the Adidas Classics I’ve known before, to those who’ve stood below me and those who’ve made my view that little bit better.

Having just struggled through three and a half miles, the thirteen for the event itself seem a long way off!

Somewhere along the lines it all went a bit wrong – the cake was a weird shape to start with, despite being in a round cake tin!, and deciding it would rather sink in the middle than rise. This did however leave a nice pool for the over runny frosting to gather for a nice deep chocolatey topping.

Don enjoying chocolate cake mix

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 14

Great match and brilliant seats. All three goals scored at our end.

Of for a Subway to sit and watch my debut at Goodison Park…

QUICK LINKS:
Walk Description
Walk Stats
Walk Photos

Walk Description:

Leaving Grasmere we followed a short section of road, rescuing two escapee lambs on the way, for about half a mile. At this point a footpath took us down to Grasmere Lake’s waterside and trailed along the waterline to Loughrigg Terraces. The views from here were beautiful and there were quite a few people chilling here enjoying the sun so we stopped for our picnic. My kind of walk when we stop just over a mile in for food! The weather was so good there was a guy in swimming.

From Loughrigg Terraces we took a low path through some stunning Bluebell fields which took us away from Grasmere Lake and linked through to Rydal Lake. From here to Rydal was fairly short but had views of the amazing hills beyond. At Rydal we managed to get lost by following a sign for Rydal Mount into Dora’s Field. By looking at the map I was convinced I’d found us a more scenic route to our footpath than the roadway our guidebook suggested. Rather than being the path we were looking for this was just a nice loop walk round a pretty field… Don and Mum took this pretty well I thought.

After walking through the church grounds we got back to the road we should have been on climbing up to the top footpath. After a short steep road we reached Wordsworth’s Rydal Home where the footpath lead from. This was called the coffin trail as before there was a consecrated church in Rydal/Ambleside they had to carry coffins all the way to Grasmere along this route. Although not all that taxing to walk I wouldn’t fancy it with a coffin on my shoulder.

The Coffin Trail was a really nice route. We were up above the Lakes and above the Lakeside Road so had good views through the trees over Rydal. It didn’t seems too far before we were dropping down into Grasmere past another of Wordsworth’s Homes – Dove Cottage and back to the car. It was a really nice short walk and great to see a little bit more of the Lakes that I hadn’t before.

Back to Top

Walk Stats:

Start & Finish: Grasmere (via Rydal)
Distance: 5.35 Miles
Time: 2 Hours
(We took it easy and had a picnic half way round so took 2 hours 30mins)

Back to Top

Walk Photo Gallery:

Back to Top

The Outgate Inn is about a 20 minute stroll away and does some great food. It’s also a dog friendly pub which is such a nice change from home. Every where in the Lakes is so friendly and geared up for tourists; from the maintenance of walking and cycle paths through to the dog friendly accommodation, shops and pubs.

There are some really great walks right from the doorstep of the Barn too. We’ve walked the Tarn How route twice which as just under 5 miles and was mentioned in Rough Guide as one of the prettiest places in the Lakes.

Photographs of Knipefold Barn are on our Flickr Gallery and in the slideshow below.

It was great to get out this early despite not being able to sit on the seat for the first couple of miles. Certainly felt yesterday’s cycle in my legs and the energy levels were a little low, especially on the hills. Ended up on my ass at one point but thankfully I was stationery at the time. Came to a halt at the foot of a decline just before a steep incline that I forgot to change gear for. I think a mixture of early morning head and tired legs meant that when I tried to get going again I just fell sideways.

Great to get out and I’m sure I’ll pay for this later… perhaps at 5-a-side tonight.