How to travel by train

Well, I'm on my way home now after my lovely mini break in sunny Bristol. Sadly the sun doesn't seem to be following and the sky is getting more and more grey the further north I travel.

4 hours into the journey so far with another 4 to go. I'm just about managing to stave off boredom with my knitting, a selection of magazines and food.

My eco halo is, however, gleaming!

Art for art's sake

For my last day in Bristol I decided to have a look at some culture.

First stop was Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. The very same place that ran the hugely popular Banksy exhibition this summer. Sadly it's now over but for those like me that missed it, if you keep your eyes peeled you can see some of his work in situ outside. This one is on the side of an office just down the road. I don't know if it's genuine or added to complement the exhibition but it is impressive.

Tonight, to finish my day of culture, I'm going to Bristol Old Vic. But just now I'm worshipping at the temple of mammon, otherwise known locally as Cabot's Circus.

STOP PRESS!!!
The theatre was... well, strange. I know 6 Characters in Search of an Author is meant to be strange, but this was well wierd! I think I enjoyed it, but to be honest I'm not really that sure. Hmmm!

Sunday morning

Sunshine, good coffee, yarn and the opportunity to eavesdrop other people's conversations. What more could a girl on holiday ask for?

This was my coffee stop this morning at the Watershed Arts Centre where I sat out on the terrace in the blazing Bristol sun, had breakfast and did a few more centimetres of my knitting. (In case you're wondering, I'm making a waistcoat with the yarn I got at Mcaree's in Stirling, who also sell online if you're interested!)

After that I wandered off to meet a friend of a friend who very kindly saved me from eating alone. We had a couple of really great mezze plates at the River Station restaurant, which (as the name suggests) is next to the water).

I then took the opportunity to work off lunch with a homage to my previous years in Bristol with a (longer than I remember) walk up Gloucester Road to where we used to live in Horfield. I completed the round trip by walking back to Whiteladies Road where I stopped for a beautiful pot of jasmine tea at a place I now can't remember the name of. Apparently the tea leaves were all handtied into pearls - but sadly not by the rather nice young man that served me my tea!

I was hoping to end the day with a visit to Bristol Old Vic to see 6 Characters in Search of an Author - but sadly it's not running on a Sunday, perhaps tomorrow night?

This is the life!

Day 2 in Bristol and the sun is still shining. Today I'm rediscovering Clifton and Whiteladies Road.

So far, so good!

The cafe was a nice little spot I found before heading off into the wilds of Durdham and Clifton Downs. The only place you can say, I'm up in the Downs!

I wandered around until I found the Clifton Suspension Bridge - one of Brunel's great Victorian civil engineering marvels for those of you not in the know, and a truly iconic bridge. After that I made my way down a really steep hill to Hotwells and across the Avon to CREATE, Bristol City Council's Records office and sustainability centre. From there I walked back through Bristol's industrial heritage and made my way back to Clifton Triangle, and the Berkley Square Hotel where I'm staying.

Sadly, my room hadn't finished being cleaned so I was 'forced' to pop across the road to Brown's Bar and Brasserie for a (large) glass of rose. It's a hard life, but somone has to live it!!

Indian summer?

Well, here I am on my much belated summer holiday. And who would have thought it, almost the end of September and I'm sitting outside having my lunch without shivering. In the UK! And without 16 layers of jumpers.

As part of my own environmental challenge, I'm having my summer holiday somewhere I didn't need to fly to get to.

So I'm here in Bristol. It's a city I haven't been to in 15 years and I must say so far I'm impressed. Although I suspect the sunshine helps.

The view in the photo is of the much regenerated harbour area, taken from the upper terrace of Mud Dock Cycle Works cafe. And very nice it is too!

The rest of the day was spent perusing Bristol's various shopping areas - St Nicholas Market, Broadmead, the spectacular new Cabot Circus & nearby Quaker's Friar, Christmas Steps and Clifton Triangle. Sore feet at the end of it all, but worth it - and mostly window shopping. I even managed to find my former favourite Bristol shop - the Guild. 101 years old this year - way to go!

Autumn is here!

So back to the yarn projects (courtesy of Macaree's).

Here's my first foray into knitting for a while. A nice slouchy hat all ready for my trip to Bristol tomorrow.

More yarn for the train journey so expect some work-in- progress pics over the next few days.