Tag: Coastline

Plunkett at Samphire Hoe - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

White Cliffs and Teeny Trains

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Knitted Beasties, Paddy and Plunkett

White Cliffs at Samphire Hoe - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesPaddy and Plunkett’s tour of the southeast of England continues! Today they’re down by the famous White Cliffs of Dover, which are shining brightly in the sunshine. In fact, Plunkett seems to be quite dazzled by them!
Plunkett at Samphire Hoe - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesWhile they were here, the boys decided to have a look around Samphire Hoe Country Park. It’s a relatively new attraction in these parts – when work on the Channel Tunnel began in the 1980s, this area was given the (questionable) honour of being the dumping ground for all the chalk they dug out of the sea bed. The soil was used to reclaim 30 hectares of land from the sea, and a wall was built offshore to create an artificial lagoon. Then Mother Nature was left to recolonise the park as she saw fit!
Habitats at Samphire Hoe - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesThere are a variety of different habitats to explore, and the lads even met a sunbathing adder on their travels – unfortunately they just weren’t quick enough with the camera to get a picture!

Then in the afternoon, it was time for something completely different!
At the Model Railway - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesOooh, look at that lovely old train! But all is not as it seems…
Paddy Watches the Trains Go By - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesWelcome to New Romney station, on the Romney, Hythe and Dimchurch heritage railway line – home of Britain’s largest model railway! Even Paddy and Plunkett felt like giants among these miniature landscapes!
At the New Romney Model Railway - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesThey especially liked this part – well, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a monster day out for all the family?
Triassic Park! H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesBut what really got Paddy’s attention was waiting just outside – real trains, scaled down to one third their usual size! Perfect for a little woolly monster… Let’s just hope Plunkett managed to stop him from taking one for a test drive!
Paddy Plans to Borrow a Train - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesWe’ll be back on Tuesday with more monster antics! In the meantime, have a super weekend… and please get in touch immediately if a small green monster in an Aran sweater careens past you in what looks like a stolen miniature train!

So, Where Are Paddy and Plunkett This Week?

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Paddy and Plunkett's Mystery Destination! H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
We left them here last week… but what on earth is that in the background?

(If anyone guessed correctly, I’ll be super impressed!)

This unusal-looking bridge is part of the newly revamped and reopened Gobbins Cliff Path, which is about half an hour’s journey outside Belfast, on the County Antrim coast! The original Gobbins path opened in 1902, as the expansion of Northern Ireland’s railways helped to open up parts of the province which had been difficult to reach before. The Gobbins was a genuine old-school tourist attraction, purpose-built by the Chief Engineer of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway Company to encourage people to visit this part of the country, and to show off the area’s spectacular coastline!
Paddy at The Gobbins Visitor Centre - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

However, the Depression in the 1930s and the growing popularity of cars meant that the railway company could no longer afford to maintain the system of bridges and walkways that made up the path. And when the Second World War broke out, finding people to look after The Gobbins was hardly a priority! It started to fall into disrepair, and a partial reopening of the path in the early 1950s was scuppered by a landfall shortly afterwards. The Gobbins closed in 1954, and was fully abandoned seven years later. Since then, there have been a couple of attempts to reopen the attraction, but nothing came of them… until now! Thanks to a combined effort (and some all-important funds) from the local council, the EU and the Ulster Garden Villages charity, a full restoration started in 2014… And now it’s open for business!

Hey, it looks like the boys are ready to start the tour!
Paddy at the Entrance to The Gobbins - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesHere we go! It was a bit breezy, so they had to hitch a ride with some of the human visitors…
Plunkett at The Gobbins - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesPaddy on one of the Bridges at The Gobbins - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

…But not the whole way! Here’s Plunkett posing with the restored Tubular Bridge, the most distinctive part of the path.

Plunkett at the Tubular Bridge, The Gobbins - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
And again, at Sandy Cave. Apparently, this spot was popular with Victorian picnic parties… and smugglers! My Secret Seven-reading 8-year-old self would have loved this place!
Plunkett at the Sandy Cave, The Gobbins - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
The path carries on for nearly a mile and a half, and includes five bridges and a narrow cave tunnel! Check out some of the highlights…
https://me.sh/vhdbvd4

But even walking on little short Beastie legs, the tour was over all too soon… Time to get the train home, lads!

Paddy and Plunkett wait for the Train - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
We’ll see Paddy and Plunkett again soon, I’m sure… And if you’re in the neighbourhood, why not take a trip to The Gobbins yourself? You can find out more about booking here.

See you next time!