It is a superb series of programmes written and presented by the historian Michael Wood. If you have not had chance to see it I highly recommend it. You can view it on BBC iPlayer. The series explores the history of the world's oldest continuous state, from the ancient past to the present day. It is so good I have watched them for a second time! The photography is truly breathtaking. He travels across China to explore the landscapes, peoples, stories and cultures that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over more than 4000 years.
This photo is of Lynne and I on the Great Wall of China in 1981. I have always been fascinated by the history and geography of this incredible country. I also love the wilderness poetry of ancient China. In recent weeks I have really enjoyed the new BBC documentary series 'The Story of China'.
It is a superb series of programmes written and presented by the historian Michael Wood. If you have not had chance to see it I highly recommend it. You can view it on BBC iPlayer. The series explores the history of the world's oldest continuous state, from the ancient past to the present day. It is so good I have watched them for a second time! The photography is truly breathtaking. He travels across China to explore the landscapes, peoples, stories and cultures that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over more than 4000 years.
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No I'm not an 'Englishman in New York' but a 'Lancastrian in Yorkshire!' As a missionary in this amazing county I must admit its a beautiful place! Yes it might be a far flung Lancastrian Territory but it is rather special! This morning while Lynne was at the gym I did one of my regular walks from Valley Gardens and up through the Pinewoods. The panorama above, taken on my new smart phone, is looking northwards from the edge of the Pinewoods. I could just make out the snow covered tops of Upper Nidderdale. It was frosty with a bright blue sky.
I was so moved by the awesome beauty of God's creation I decided then and there to add a 'Yorkshire' photo gallery to my website! Yes thats official a 'Yorkshire Gallery' on a Lancastrian's website. In the next hour, just before dinner, I am going to put some photographs of Yorkshire in 'Photographs' on 'Beyond the Sacred Mountains'. I hope my Yorkshire friends enjoy the views! Have a good evening! David The photograph below was taken at the top of Valley Gardens. My map of the area around Mount Everest on the Tibetan side arrived a few days ago! I now have a full set of maps for our trip to Tibet in a couple of months time. I love maps! Our first trip to Tibet was in the spring of 1985. It was an exciting adventure. We had flown to Shanghai from Hong Kong with the intention of travelling along the Silk Road by rail. We were seeking permits for our proposed journey, in a Public Security Bureau in Shanghai, when the man infront of us whispered "Tibet's open!'. Up until that point only expensive tour groups with China Travel Service had managed to go to Tibet and only then to the capital, Lhasa. The PSB official looked at us in a very serious manner saying that unfortunately our Irish friend who was travelling with us could not be granted a Tibetan entry permit. We were really taken aback and so disappointed! But then the smart official suddenly broke into a smile and said "April Fool!" We are still amazed that this young official was so well read that he knew the significance of the date, 1st April 1985! We were overjoyed at gaining permission to go to Tibet. But how do we get there from Shanghai? Luckily Lynne had managed to pick up a CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) flight booklet. It was mostly in Chinese but the destinations we're in English. The rest is a longer story for another time! We did manage to get a flight to Xian. There was an onward flight to Tibet via Golmud but this very early morning flight was cancelled due to the weather. However that gave us the opportunity to visit the amazing sights of ancient Xian and the incredible Terracotta Warriors. The journey from the runway to the capital of Lhasa took us a bumpy seven hours. In 1985 they were still building the road! We even went through rivers! I will have to leave the rest of the exciting story of our travels in Tibet to another time. However if you go to the 'Photographs' section you will find that I have added a new gallery of photos from that journey to the 'Roof of the World'. I have also uploaded a journal entry of our visit to The Jokhang in Lhasa. This is the holiest place in Tibet and a truly incredible place. Hope you are having a good week. David * Below is the view of The Potala we had from our bedroom window of our guesthouse as we woke up next morning after arriving in Lhasa. I say guesthouse! No water, no heating, no food, etc but that is another story! What a glorious day! Beautiful winter sunshine and a bright blue sky. The air was sharp and the views crystal clear. This morning we walked to Knaresborough from Bilton along Bilton Lane and the Beryl Burton Cycleway. I love these 'edge-lands'! They are described brilliantly in Rob Cowen's excellent book 'Common Ground'. Last year we went to hear him give a talk in Waterstones about his book describing the edge-lands of Bilton on the outskirts of Harrogate. The book is a very personal and poetic portrait of the pylon-strung land of fields, woods and riverside on the outskirts of our own town. If you have not read it I highly recommend it!
On reaching Knaresborough we decided to have an early lunch in 'The Black Mulberry' cafe on the riverside. We both enjoyed a sausage bap while I had a mocha and Lynne a hot chocolate. We decided the calories would be soon 'walked off' on our return journey. The cafe has been refurbished since our last visit and has a new name. The cafe is named after the 400 year old mulberry tree in the waterfront garden of the nearby Old Manor House. It is believed to have been planted around 1608 when James 1 was trying to encourage the establishment of a national silk industry. The attempt failed because the black mulberry was planted to feed the silkworms instead of the white mulberry, which is what they actually eat. So next time you are on the riverside I recommend The Black Mulberry. So why is my blog entitled 'Two Bridges'? Well as we came out of the cafe I looked back at the railway viaduct over the River Nidd. It looked fantastic in the bright sunshine with a clear blue sky above. I took a quick shot with my phone (see above). Earlier in the morning I had been looking through some photographs of our visit to California in 2012 ready to upload to my website. The shots of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco were taken on a similar day as today with crystal clear air and bright blue sky. I immediately compared both bridges! The similarity being not just the weather but the fact they both look fantastic in their respective locations. So if you go to 'Photographs' on my website you can see shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and other photographs of San Francisco. It is such an exciting, colourful and vibrant city. You can also find some scrapbook pages devoted to SF in 'Scrapbooking'. Thank you for visiting 'Beyond the Secret Mountains'. I would love to hear from you either through my 'contact' page or just a message on this blog. Take care and have a great week. David I am sat here at my writing desk looking out into the garden. It is still pouring down! I am enjoying a coffee and watching the birds on our feeders next to the black bamboo. In the last five minutes I have seen blue tits, great tits, sparrows, chaffinch, starlings, blackbirds and a robin. Yesterday our local great spotted woodpecker was enjoying the fat-ball feeder. The snowdrops have been out for a few days and the daffodils are well on the way. I love the seasons! This morning while Lynne was at the gym I did one of my regular walks through Valley Gardens, the Pinewoods and up to Harlow Carr. I know what you are thinking? I bet he called into Bettys for a mocha and a fat rascal! No I didn't! The snowdrops and crocuses were all out in the lower gardens. I love this part of Valley Gardens next to the stream as there are many plants such as rhododendron and bamboo that remind me of valleys in the foothills of the Himalayas. I now call this part of the gardens 'Little Sikkim'! We are so fortunate in the UK to have the beauty of the changing seasons. Each day on my walks, in recent days, I sense that Spring is just around the corner. We are all fed up of the amount of rain we have had over the Winter but there have been a few good days in-between. We had a lovely walk, bathed in Winter sunshine under clear blue sky, on Wednesday last week. We walked from Bilton to Ripley and back on the cycleway. The day before we had walked around Fewston Reservoir in a howling gale! Our travels in the past have taken us to another country that enjoys the beauty of the changing seasons. We love Japan, especially the ancient city of Kyoto! We have been in the cold of Winter, enjoyed the cherry blossoms festivals in the Spring and the glorious colours of the Autumn foliage. Our first visit to Japan was in December 1983. We stayed in a traditional Japanese guesthouse called a 'ryokan'. At the time I was training for the Coast of China Marathon and did my best to get out in the evenings for a run. We were staying near the old Imperial Palace. Its perimeter grounds were perfect for training runs. One evening I was out running when heavy snow began to fall. It was magical! So in the Travel Journal section of my website you will find a journal entry describing my experience of running in the snow at night around the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. Obviously while out running I didn't have my camera with me (smart phones hadn't been invented!) and so I have used a painting by Eiichi Kotozucha entitled 'Snow at the old Imperial Palace in Kyoto' as an accompanying illustration. I hope you enjoy reading it! I have also uploaded some travel photos of Bhutan and Ladakh in the Photography section. These are new since my last blog at the end of January. www.davidastott.weebly.com |
David A. Stott'Beyond the Sacred Mountains' is a website embracing my poetry anthology, photographic gallery, travel journals and scrapbook pages devoted to travel. My blog enables me to share my love of travel with others. Archives
March 2024
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