Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Sunny break

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

294I had some holiday to use up and it’s a while since we’ve had a break so we’ve taken a few days off for a trip to the exotic Isle of Wight! This morning we drove to the Portsmouth to get the ferry over to Fishbourne. It took us less than half an hour to get there and consequently we were just able to sneak on to the back of the ferry before the one we were booked on. The ferry terminal is adjacent to the new Spinnaker Tower which would have afforded great views on such a clear day.
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Britannia redeem themselves

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007

288I was back up in Warwickshire again this week with a colleague and we gave Britannia Hotels a chance to redeem themselves by staying at the Bosworth Hall Hotel in Market Bosworth, close to the site of the Battle of Bosworth. As I suspected, there is actually no accommodation in the hall itself with the rooms in various buildings of assorted ages tacked on to the back. As I also suspected from the bargainous £55 per night, the hotel is primarily a conference venue (we were joined by the Wildlife Trusts).
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Watery end

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

Having not got much exercise last week I attempted to sneak out for a run this morning. I set off south from Kidlington down the canal towards Oxford. At Dukes Lock I noted the branch off to the right for the Thames and concluded that I might be able to make a loop. I therefore continued along the canal to Port Meadow and then turned right through Wolvercote. I then turned north again up the Isis (Thames). Unfortunately, unlike canals, rivers have a nasty habit of branching and it wasn’t long before I found myself paddling across some flooded field not entirely sure where I was going. Eventually I ended up at the ring road but mistakenly turned right again, ending up back at Wolvercote. Looking at the map this evening I realise that the footpath that I had seen turn off never crosses the river and therefore my cunning route was always doomed to failure. Still, my 45 minute run ended up being twice that!

Blenheim Palace

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

282We were up near Oxford this weekend visiting friends. On Saturday afternoon we headed over to Blenheim Palace. On previous occasions we’re sure there was a price per car but we baulked at paying £7.30 for each of the four adults just to get in to the Park and Gardens. Instead, we parked in the free car park in Woodstock and wandered down to one of the gates where the public rights of way enter the grounds. Having enjoyed a pleasant stroll we went up to the palace in search of a drink. Whilst browsing the gift shop we accidentally left via the exit from the palace and hence found ourselves in one of the courtyards. We could therefore take a peek at the water terraces before finally parting company with some money for a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Rain stops tourism

Friday, March 9th, 2007

I’ve spent the past four days in Turku, Finland, on work. Unfortunately there are no direct flights which meant changing in Helsinki and 7 hours travel time door-to-door on the way out and nearly 10 on the way back. I arrived mid-afternoon on Monday to blue skies and a snow covered landscape. Sadly, by the time I came to think about exploring the city the following evening, the skies had turned grey and the snow was rapidly disappearing from the streets under continual rain. The combination of cold and rain was enough to confine me to my hotel room.

Things didn’t improve a great deal on Wednesday either. Only when it was time to leave on Thursday did the sun deign to show its face again. It was by then too late to visit the cathedral and renowned castle. Nor, despite being closer than our last Finnish trip to Salo, did I make it to Moominworld!

Narrow escape

Friday, February 9th, 2007

I was meant to spend the second half of this week up in the Midlands on work. Fortunately, on two grounds, I was only up there for Wednesday morning. Firstly, it meant I was safely back home before the snow arrived. Although the couple of centimetres we had here were gone by Thursday lunchtime it sounds like things were a lot more different further North. Secondly, it meant only having to stay one night in the Britannia Hotel Coventry. The hotel itself is pretty decrepit and the blurb seems to major on its proximity to the cathedral, conveniently not mentioning that the other end of the building is perched on top of the bus station with the road passing underneath. One to avoid in future!

Sightseeing and SOAP

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006

228I wasn’t due to present until late afternoon today so decided to make the most of the bright sunshine and do a little sightseeing. I repeated my route from Monday morning although this time I had to pay to get in to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Some of the internal attractions were a bit naff but the audio tour was worth the wait if only to make it out on to the top tower.

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Presentation and dinner

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

Many of the presentations at the conference are repeats from our internal services conference earlier this year which means I have some spare time to catch up on other work. One session I did go to today was Eric Herness (Chief Architect for WebSphere Business Integration) presenting the new content in Version 6.0.2 of WebSphere Process Service and ESB. I think it’s safe to say this is a refresh pack with more than a few functional enhancements!

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