On This Day - 2010 Biking Birder I
So, after the hospitality of the Craig family
at Chew Valley Lake, I went around the same area as yesterday once more,
searching for the Fudge Duck but no luck there. Did see the reported Lesser Scaup
though, up by the dam whilst I stood in pouring rain and whilst being battered
by a rather strong gale. British weather at its best!
Having seen the rare
American duck, actually a drake, I cycled northwards to the beautiful village
of Stanton Drew with its impressive set of Prehistoric stone circles. Rain now having stopped, the gale from behind propelled me forward. I had
never been to Stanton Drew before but considering they are only ten miles or so from
Bristol it is an amazing place with three extensive stone circles, one being the second largest stone circle in Britain after Avebury, with large stones
associated with each. Even the local pub had three Neolithic stones in its beer
garden. Actually the stones in the beer garden are dated at being 1,000 years older than the stone circle stones, dancers turned to stone.
Whilst there I met an excited group of young ladies from the US of A but I was made to promise that I would not mention who they were until the end of April! They didn't want anyone in Britain to know they were here. Strange but I kept a promise. Eventually I revealed that the group of young American ladies consisted of Druid Priestesses! My complicit silence over their visit was due to the perceived threats .
Into Bristol and what a wonderful city. I had only been through it once before and that was thirty plus years ago on the way to seeing Villa against Bristol City, a match Villa lost 3 - 0. I remember how we, my Villa supporting friends when I was a mid-teenager with whom I went to every Villa away game; Bridgy, Dave Perkins and Rossy, gave a lift to another Villa fan who had hitchhiked his way down from Birmingham for the game. We dropped him off at a service station on the M5 because all he wanted to talk about was hooliganism, with not word about the match or the mighty Aston Villa.
I soon found the recently refurbished youth hostel and then went to both the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and Bristol Cathedral.
I love museums and always find artefacts that fascinate. This one was no exception with its Egyptian mummies, Roman coin hoards, Icthyosaurs and even the Dodo!
Bristol Youth Hostel felt more like a night club than any youth hostel I had been to before, with loud music in the lounge area and a modern feel to the decor and layout. Everywhere seemed recently decorated, spic and span so to speak and quite sterile. I prefer old youth hostels in rural locations and maybe the old feel of youth hostels such as St Paul's in London, or Earl's Court. Still the banter was good over a coffee and the usual snoring by the other weary travelers in the dormitory kept me awake.
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