Feed from The Ed

Anglesey with the North West Sea Kayakers

No sooner had I unpacked my bag from Rome than it was time to load up the kit bag and hit the road over to Anglesey for a weekend's sea kayaking at the NWSK End of Season Gathering. I'd been invited along my guidebook author, regular CKUK contributor and NWSK member Jim Krawiecki. After a grueling 5-hour drive I finally arrived at the Outdoor Alternative bunkhouse at about 12.30. The guys were still going strong and made me very welcome. Ray, Chris and Jim kept the party going until 3am! Next day and the conditions weren't ideal, so we headed for Moelfre. A mellow paddle and a lunch stop at a pub. Perfect. Saturday night saw a brilliant communal curry cooked by Kev & Gill. Really was fantastic with two different kinds of curry, two different rices, plus veggie options. nans, pickles. And followed up by a cracking crumble and custard. What stars! Once we were stuffed to the eyeballs it was time for two great slide-shows. The first was about a trip to Alaska by members of Liverpool Canoe Club and the second a pictorial diary of recent NWSK adventures presented by Kev. The next day saw a bright sunny day and most people decided to head out on a trip around Puffin Island. Great banter and paddling and there were a ton of seals on the sea-side of the island. One quizzical pair decided to check out my kayak and at one point it even had its front flipper on the bow of my boat. Brilliant! A big thank you to all the NWSK folks for a great weekend. You can check out a selection of images from the weekend in the gallerey.

Posted by Jason Smith

The Eternal City

Once issue 117 was off to the printer I took a few days off and headed on a little mini-holiday with Faye. No boots, boats or bikes this time around we hopped on a cheap flight and visited Rome. Noe city breaks aren't usually my cup of tea but I have to say I absolutely loved it. I've been to Italy lots of times but nearly always to the mountains (for obvious reasons) but never visited the capital before. With four days we managed to squeeze everything in. The Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the forum, Spanish Steps,the piazzas, the Vatican and it's museums including the breathtaking Sistine Chapel and my personal favourite the Pantheon. On every corner theirs a church or bassilica with paintings by renaissance grand masters. Amazing. Add to that the usual Italian flare for food and drink and, for me, it was a winning formula. There's even scope for a spot of paddling next time as the Tiber runs through the heart of the city. I even spotted a wee bit of whitewater where the River Tiber is split by Isola Tibernia. Fantastic trip.

Posted by Jason Smith

More Air Miles Than Alan Whicker!

That man Ross is off again! No sooner does he return from a week in Scotland than he's firing in his next two Toolbox articles and packing up his kit and heading to the airport again with his lady for a month in the high Himalaya on the wonderful rivers of Nepal! Jammy git! Not that we're jealous or anything. Hey may even squeeze a paddle in at HPP next week ; )

Posted by Jason Smith