Chestnuts and Trains

I went back home for Christmas on the Thursday evening and spent Friday sorting out things and sleeping! On Saturday dad and I decided to to go to Arley for a walk (mom didn't want to join us)

Sunny day.

When we were little, every year we would get the steam train for Kidderminster to Arley to see Santa. So it was packed the day before Christmas Eve.

Train!

Arley station

Smokey.

Changing the time of the next train

Gone

Train drivers contemplating life.

Another reason to go was to get roasted chestnuts. I only ever seem to eat them at Christmas and dad hadn't had any this year. And they were lovely.

Munching chestnuts

We spent some more time thing photos before heading back across the river for a cup of tea.

Riverside cafe.

One the way home we stopped into my Aunt and Uncles house for a gin & tonic (or 2 for me) and a chat. I was hoping they would come over during the break but unfortunately they came down with the bug that's going around.
Christmas Eve was quiet, just getting things ready for the big day and of course watching the Hogfather, which is my and moms Christmas film and the best Christmas film there is! We also made some eggnog. Mom and dad hadn't tried it before but it was a success (though I had to use more booze than the recipe said to make mom happy!).

Eggnog.

Arley

As I am stuck in the house all day (bar gym visits), I dragged mom and dad out over the weekend to Arley for a walk. I am going to go insane if I don't get out the house occasionally - working from home sucks!
Arley is by the river and the ducks are great. Me and Dad were giggling at them, cackling away to themselves and fighting over bread. (Mom was not so impressed.)

Duck Attack!

They keep coming

Bottoms up.

Done

Once the bread was gone, they trundled back to the water on mass. Up at the church and arboretum the snow drops were out.

Snow drops

And we had to stop for a coffee at the top of course. (I also got ideas for other fun places to drag them while I am home!)

Coffe break

It seems everyone in Arley loves the ducks and most bring bread for them. (We forgot.) They were back being fed on our way down, so we stopped for some more photos.

Dad getting a little bit close

Where's the bread gone?

Success! Run!

Waiting

We also had a walk over the bridge to the railway station. I am trying to convince mom and dad we should go on the train one of the days. I haven't been on the steam train for years! So far they do not seem very convinced. 

Bridge over the river

Not as romanic as Paris but still

Arley railway station

They also have the red phone boxes around Arley - most have been shut down around the UK. Though even here, some are not being used for their original purposes. Tourists beware: you do not want to mix up which are which.

real telephone box

Do NOT use as a phone!

Mom and the train.

Arley

The weather here is looking reasonably good though cold, so hopefully more outings in the future. (And my sanity may remain intact.) We are heading shopping this weekend for Mom's mother of the Bride outfit, which could be interesting (and long!). Now, I am off to get some baby cuddles! :)

Kuranda

Tuesday I had intended to chill out on the beach during the day. However the weather forecast was not looking good so I booked a ticket on the Kuranda Scenic railway, which goes from Cairns train station to Kuranda. As it turned out the weather was beautiful but I was still really glad I went. The trip was lovely. Normally I would have come down on the Skyrail but it undergoes maintenance for 3 weeks every 20 years. And you can guess what they are doing now.

Kuranda Train

100 yr old cabins

I was really lucky as I had the carriage up pretty much to myself. (The railway is a lot less busy because the sky rail isn't running.) The carriages were the original carriages, 100-80 yrs old and very posh.

180 degree turn, to allow the train to gain speed.

The views from the railway were fantastic. The railway is 37km long, traveling to 328m above sea level, passes through the Barron Gorge National Park, and was built to move products from the gold rush. It was started in 1882, and has 15 tunnels and 37 bridges and numerous cutouts.

There are some great views over Cairns from the train. In the photo below the silvery patches are all the sugar cane fields, one of the main products of the region. The silver is a flower on the top of the cane which signals it is ready to harvest. (They are just waiting for all the rain to stop before starting.)

View of Cairns from the railway

Stoney Creek falls

On the bridge at Stoney creek falls

The commentary on the train was great, pointing out all the interesting parts and fun facts. The staff on the train were really good too, offering to take photos and pointing out anything we might have missed.

Enjoying the railway 

View over Cairns bay

 The train stops at Barron Falls for 10 mins before finishing the trip to Kuranda. The falls are quite impressive (and even more so in the wet season - apparently this is the dry season but it doesn't feel like it).

At the lookout of Barron falls

Barron Falls 

Close up

View down the platform

At Kuranda, there are lots of things to do but I was only there for half a day so decided to do the Butterfly house and some shopping. The butterfly farm was cool, though expensive (I got around it in about 15 mins).

After the farm I headed to the Heritage markets which was very cool. As usual I spent too much money. There was also an old plane wreck behind the markets.

Inside Geronimo, built 1942

 I also went to the mall markets and though they were very pretty, not much was open. So I just wondered around with a tuna sushi roll for a while.

Mall market 

Huge ants everywhere.

Hippie part

The town is quite hippie with lots of cool little shops. I found a great little cafe which sold GF crepes and cakes (I got a piece of lemon cake to take home and had it for breakfast on Wednesday - not very healthy but tasty!). I had also been recommended the Mango wine so found the shop for that. I tasted the sparkling and the liqueur and couldn't decide. So I got one of each. I am sure we can put away the sparking in Port Douglas!

The first part of the trip back wasn't as fun as I was stuck in a crowded carriage with screaming children. But at the Falls, they offered to move me (and some others) to a much quieter carriage where I got the whole booth to myself. Much nicer.