10th May 2026 – After a leisurely morning at our overnight hotel, we spent the day bombing about the Portsmouth area… we didn’t get to Farlington Marshes as the weather was a bit rainier than promised – it also seemed to us that, despite the warm weather on our arrival down “sarf”, the Scottish, cold, nippy wind had followed us, so we spent most of the day dodging showers, changing our clothing in the car to warmer stuff, buying warmer stuff from Millets (Ooo, not seen one of those for years!) in Fareham and trying to keep out of the aforementioned wind!
Our visit to Fort Nelson – part of the Royal Armouries (royalarmouries.org) – was great. I have been to the Royal Armouries in Leeds which is the National Museum of Arms and Armour and to the Tower of London but, despite covering Southampton for a while in my previous work, had never heard of this one before. It’s well worth a visit if militaria is your thing as it houses the national collection of artillery and is home to the “big guns”!
Fort Nelson was built to protect the city of Portsmouth from a possible invasion from the French in the 1860s.
It took 10 years to construct this massive fort, {it covers over 19 acres and includes tunnels – my favourite bit as it was out of the wind! 🤣🤣 – and ramparts} which formed part of the ring of military defences called “Palmerston’s Follies” – which were designed to safeguard the naval base.
In the end there was no French invasion, but Fort Nelson did go on to play an important role in the First World War as a holding fort for soldiers being sent to the Front, and later as an ammunition store for anti-aircraft guns along the south coast during the Second World War.
The museum houses over 700 pieces of artillery from across the world, which span 600 years of history.
From: royalarmouries.org
Following our day out in and around Portsmouth (Sorry Billy – didn’t realise you were so close!), and a chippy tea at Mother Kelly’s Fish Bar & Restaurant in Paulsgrove (https://motherkellysfishbar.co.uk/), we headed off to the port to wait for our late ferry departure. We reckon everyone must have been on time as the ferry left 15 minutes early at 9.45pm instead of 10pm!
After sorting our stuff out in the cabin and a quick walk around the ship, it was straight to bed for me and, whilst it took a while to nod off, the gentle swaying of the boat resulted in me sleeping for over 7 hours! Magic 😊
Ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain
Left = waiting to go;
The rest are on the way including a shot of the helicopter out our cabin window which was a bit grotty… the window, not the helicopter!
Monday 11th May was a full day on the boat… we had breakfast in the cafe – not the best breakfast we’ve ever had but not the worst either – did some shopping for smellies & face products & then got confined to cabin for a bit whilst the captain detoured nearer to the Brittany coast for a helicopter to come from mainland France to deal with a medical emergency… a few thoughts – (a) feeling sorry for whoever might be involved & who might have just had their holiday or working week cut short – hope they are ok (b) excitement at seeing a shoreline out the window which we were not expecting (a fellow passenger confirmed our current location) and a helicopter circling the boat (obviously not allowed on deck until it leaves…) & (c) hoping that the person who’s not well doesn’t have anything contagious like Hantavirus… 🤞🙄🤞
Once we were allowed out of the cabin, the sun was out so we ventured on deck and, after finding a few chairs and a nice sheltered spot towards the rear (🤣), had a few hours reading & snoozing in the sunshine.
Dinner in the ship restaurant was ok although Pete said his fish (supposedly of the fish and chip kind) was more like a fishfinger texture and not that pleasant. I had lamb with hot hummus… who knew hummus was something you could eat hot? Reminds me of Catherine Tate’s Janice & Ray characters… “the dirty b’stards…” – hope the link works – always makes me chuckle (worth the 15 seconds of adverts in my opinion!):
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ndcPtU6Imc0&si=HHT5XC1yUx1rNbJx
The ferry docked in Bilbao as expected at 8am Spanish time on Tuesday 12th May, which meant a bit of an early start for us what with us still being on UK time!
Despite all the talk about delays caused by the new border checks before we came, we were through customs pretty quickly and only had to pop out the car to have our photos taken (no fingerprints given!). Once that was over, our first journey on Spanish soil for a few years began – a relatively easy, 5-ish hour drive down to Santa Maria de la Alameda and our first accommodation of this visit.
It was a pretty good journey with just one short hold up where a lorry appeared to have driven off the edge of the north bound carriageway and landed some 10-15 feet below on the south bound carriageway 😧.
The weather was not great – threatening stormy clouds accompanied us most of the way and some heavy rain / lightning at times – but we took our time, stopped every few hours for a break & some munchies, and also spotted a lot of Red Kites, Vultures, Storks and even some Deer during the journey!
After a stop at the supermarket about 20 km from our final destination, we got to our little mountain hideaway in the tiny village of Santa Maria de la Alameda in a hail storm & thunder!
The accommodation was not quite what we imagined – we were a bit disappointed on arrival but, a bit like the breakfast on the ferry, soon decided although not the best, it’s not the worst we have ever stayed in either so would do us for the 4-nights we had booked. One thing it definitely has going for it is the most comfortable bed I have slept in for ages so definitely no complaints there!
Top Left & Middle = our mountain hideaway; Bottom left = the view from our balcony!
On our first day in the mountains (Wednesday 13th May), we decided to have a day out of the car and enjoyed a walk through the village and up to the view point – the Panoramica De Sierra De Gredos – which was lovely as the weather, although cloudy & a bit cold, was at least dry… I got to see my first Wood Lark (& then realised the top of the hill was stuffed with them! 😂) and we saw our first Griffin Vultures up close. Hoopoe, Northern Wheatear, Whitethroat, Red Kite, Stonechat were amongst other birds spotted during our stroll as well as a Nightingale which was heard & identified on the Merlin app but did not see… we spotted numerous plants & flowers too. A really nice start to our break even if we have the heating on (well, we are at 4,800 feet so it’s cold up here when the sun’s not out! 🥶🤣) and are wearing our jumpers and trackies! 😂
Some of the birds spotted during our first walk of the day
Top, L/ = Wood Lark / Griffin Vulture;
Middle R = Whitethroat; Bottom L / R = Wheatear / Woodlark
Right T / B = Stonecrop / Early Purple Orchid;
Middle T / M / B = Wild Tulip / Common Stork’s Bill / Eschscholzia Lobbii (a type of poppy whose common name is Frying Pan);
Right T/ B = Not quite sure… might be Linaria bipartita? / Spanish Bluebell
Oh, I nearly forgot – being a girl borne of a family of boys, whilst we were watching the vultures fly over our heads, I happened to ask Pete what he thought it might be like to be crapped on by a vulture and would you believe it, about 10 minutes later, it happened 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hahahahahaha – hilarious!
Bottom Right – Pete showing off the vulture crap which was a bit like milk! Might have been vulture pee instead??
Still hilarious though 🤣🤣🤣
Left T = Stonechat; Right M = Linnet doing the splits!
Yesterday, 14th May, we headed to Segovia – a world Heritage site – to see the Roman aqueduct overlooking the Plaza del Azoguejo and Cathedral. The weather was a lot better and we enjoyed the 1.5 hour drive through the countryside. We had a Golden Oriole fly in front of the car for a few seconds and then, higher up in the mountain, a Griffin Vulture did the same… honestly, I felt like David Attenborough (remember when he flew alongside the geese?) driving alongside this huge bird for 20 seconds or so – lovely to see such a big bird up close!
Later in the drive, we also spotted a vulture taking a rest on a pylon next to the road along with several storks in the fields, followed by two separate minks crossing the road in front of of us! Again, great to get so close to these birds & mammals! Although the mink was a bit too quick for a photo, I did snap this one of the Griffin vulture 😊
On arrival in Segovia, despite my best planning, the Satnav of course took us a different way in which meant I got to drive a bit more of the city than I had hoped! Fortunately, the traffic wasn’t that bad as it’s not a massive place and, following signs for “Aqueduct” parking, we got parked up and were able to walk the short distance down to the Plaza… what a great sight to see! Here’s the photos of the day…
Out & About in Segovia, Castile & Leon, Spain
The Aqueduct & Capitoline Wolf Statue
Info from the Spanish Tourism site (https://www.spain.info/): “The best-conserved section of the Aqueduct is in Plaza del Azoguejo, although other sections of the monument are still standing and in good condition. However, these parts have been reconstructed, as you can see from the style of the arches or from the stones themselves. The rest of the aqueduct extends to the mountains for about 14 kilometres… you can also see interesting details, especially the perfection of the masonry, with no mortar or other adhesive material to keep the blocks together. Each of them (weighing up to two tons) is simply placed on top of another, demonstrating the perfection of the Romans’ work. If you look closely, you’ll see that apart from some of the lower ones, the stones all have grooves on their sides. These are the marks caused by dragging the stones and raising them into position”.
“The Capitoline Wolf statue in Segovia, located in the Plaza Oriental near the Roman Aqueduct, is a bronze replica of the iconic Roman sculpture depicting the she-wolf nursing Romulus & Remus”. This statue was gifted to Segovia by the City of Rome in 1974 to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the construction of the Aqueduct & the City’s Roman Heritage.
The Cathedral, one of many, many churches & Puerta de San Andres (St Andrew’s Door) – the gate into the Jewish Quarter
According to the leaflet we picked up on entry, Segovia Cathedral was the last to be built in the Gothic style in Spain. When the old cathedral went into ruin, they started work on this one in 1525 – it was consecrated in 1768. It has 22 chapels, 161 stained glass windows, 167 pinnacles and probably enough wealth stored inside to feed a small nation… but it was nice to see and, with many religious sites, offered a little respite from the outside world, peace & quiet for a while. It was also only 7€ to get in (Pete getting a 1€ discount due to being a “Senior” 🤣👍)…
According to Wikipedia, the Alcazar of Segovia is a medieval castle which has existed since the 12th century and is one of the most renowned castles globally & one of Spain’s most visited landmarks.
It stands on a rocky crag at the western end of Segovia’s Old City (we were reminded of our trip to Ronda during our last visit to Spain the way the Old City sits on the bluff overlooking the surrounding countryside) and has been a museum, military archive, state prison, artillery college and military academy.
It has also served as a royal palace & fortress for the Castilian Monarchs. Apparently the crown of Castile was stored in one of its towers from which funds were secured to finance Christopher Columbus’s first voyage…
We didn’t go in as we were both feeling a bit knackered by the time we got there but we’re glad we had taken the time to take a look at the outside & view as it meant we also got to see these White Storks nesting in the trees next to the Alcazar!
White Storks nesting by the Alcazar de Segovia. The one bottom left has two chicks!
We also saw this lot during our stroll around the City…
Left T / B = Blueblossom (a Californian Lilac) / Carpenter Bee;
Right T / M / B = Poppy (lots of these around, fields of them – beautiful) / a Serin (new one to us! 😊) / Mock Orange smelling Devine…
I have decided to try new things whilst I am on my holidays… On our trip to Segovia, I had a Ponche Segovian which translates as Segovian Punch – sadly not of the alcoholic beverage kind though… This one is a cake which, according to the internet, consists of a “rectangular sponge cake soaked in syrup, filled with crème patisserie and covered with a layer of marzipan & icing sugar” – needless to say, it was delicious!
We had a nice drive back although there had been a nasty looking accident at one junction… sadly, because the roads are pretty empty, I think a lot of people probably drive a bit too fast… and got home just before 8pm – it was a great day out but we were a bit knackered! It’s probably the most we have crammed into one day since Pete’s chemo so we are taking it easy today, relaxing in the hideaway… we might go for a walk later but it is currently hail stoning again!
Thankfully, the latest forecast for where we are going next (approximately 270 miles south of here…), the weather is looking like it will be sunny and nearer 30 degrees! We will no doubt be saying it’s too hot then 🤣🤣🤣
It looks like it will be heating up in the mountains too next week – we should have come a week later! 🤣 But for now, it’s 9 degrees and, according to the chart above, feels more like 6 degrees in the wind!
That’s it, I am refusing to do another blog until it is sunny and hot! Hahaha, until then, adios mi amigas! Xxx
All the gubbins… 
Leave a comment