Tag: Days out

Right on Kew… Beasties Explore the Gardens!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie

Explorer Beastie & Garcia Beastie

My trip to London over the weekend wasn’t just for me… It was also the perfect opportunity for Explorer Beastie to catch up with an old friend! Garcia Beastie left his skis behind for a day to join us at Kew Gardens for a spot of horticultural exploring… as you shall see.
Beasties set off for adventure!

Luckily for us, the Great British weather decided to show its finer side! We got one of those perfect early autumn days for our visit – warm, bright sunshine with just a hint of coolness in the air. Lovely stuff! Also, it turns out Beasties get into Kew Gardens free of charge! But of course, it wasn’t long before they were up to mischief…
Beasties Climbing Olive Trees

I turned my back for five seconds, and the pair of them were halfway up one of the gnarly old olive trees in the Mediterranean Garden! Since they were so intent on climbing, I thought they’d enjoy the Xstrata Treetop Walkway…

Beasties in the Treetops
Up here, you can stroll around in the treetops to your heart’s content! Explorer Beastie scaled the barriers to make sure he got the best views…
Explorer Beastie scaling the fenceExplorer Beastie surveying the lie of the land…And he did get to see some surprising things!

Sweet Chestnuts on the treeGreen Parrot at KewSweet chestnuts growing at the very top of the tree, and an unusual bird having them for lunch! Kew Gardens is full of these green parrots, which are actually wild – they’re the descendants of escaped pets. We saw several large groups doing fly-by displays during our visit, and they’re hard to miss… they’re pretty noisy! The scenery up there wasn’t bad either…

Treetop walkwayTemperate House from the Treetop Walkway

Back on dry land, we made Beastie-sized tracks towards the Pagoda, a 10-storey Chinese-style folly that has been standing in Kew since 1762!

Beasties Walking to the Pagoda

The building is doubly impressive up close…

Pagoda at KewPagoda Closeup

 

 

 

 

 

 

…And there is also a Japanese-style gate and zen garden nearby!

Beasties with Japanese LanternBeasties at the Zen Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

But we couldn’t stop for long, because there was plenty more exploring to do! Our next port of call was Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, where Garcia Beastie helped out a lady who seemed to have lost her head over something…
Garcia Beastie StatueGarcia Beastie Statue Closeup

 

 

 

 

 

And then, a spot of lunch.

Giant Picnic Table
Suitably refuelled, we took in some of the Intoxication Season exhibits…

Explorer Beastie with Hallucinogenic Cactus… had a wander around the Princess of Wales Conservatory…

Explorer Beastie with Cactus
… explored the world of underwater plants…

Underwater Plants at Kew

…And took a trip to the top of the Palm House!
Explorer Beastie at the Palm House

As the light began to fade, there was just enough time to take some final pictures with the rather imposing Plantagenet Falcon, one of the “Queen’s Beasts”. These ten heraldic-inspired sculptures line the path outside the Palm House, and are replicas of statues that stood outside Westminster Abbey during the Queen’s coronation in 1953. Perhaps I should arrange something similar along the street outside Beastie Towers…
Beasties with the Plantagenet Falcon

And so ended another monster day out! More London-based Beastie adventures next time!

 

Beer Monsters!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Beer Spectrum!

For the last couple of years, the first weekend in September has meant one thing… Beerfest! Or, to give it its full title, the Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival. If there is a better way to herald the beginning of autumn than sampling an array of tasty beers, I’m yet to hear about it!

This year, I thought it might be fun to bring a new woolly friend along… Meet Red Ale Beastie! I felt he was the perfect festival-going companion, given his penchant for fine ales and his all-Irish (ie, knitted from 100% Irish wool) roots.

Red Ale Beastie at the Bru Stand

Here he is at our first port of call… The Brú Brewery stand! Neither of us could resist the lure of their Autumn Ale, flavoured with cinnamon, coriander, orange peel and a hint of butternut squash! Yum!

Having got the day off to an excellent start, we decided to treat ourselves to a late lunch/early afternoon tea… This was mostly due to Boyfriend reappearing at the table with one of these:
Pulled Pork Sandwich

That’s a pulled pork sandwich, made with free-range pork cooked sous vide with cider for around 12 hours, served with barbecue sauce and caramelised onions. WOW. So we made a beeline for Jane Russell’s stand and picked up one for ourselves… and Red Ale Beastie made a friend while our sandwich was being assembled!
Jane Russell's Pig

Suitably refreshed, we had to give The White Hag brewery’s Meabh Rua Bog Ale a try… this tasty treat is a bit of a heavy hitter at 8.2%, but it was absolutely delicious. They claim it’s perfect for a cold Irish night, and they might just be right… the bad news is that it’s an export-only brew! Overseas readers would do well to keep their eyes peeled for this one, and their Black Boar Imperial Oatmeal Stout, which was Boyfriend’s pick of the day!
Red Ale Beastie at The White Hag

Some of our other Festival favourites included Independent Brewing’s Coffee Stout…
Independent Coffee Stout

…And Trouble Brewing’s Chasing The Dragon Double IPA!
Chasing the Dragon Double IPA

As always, we had a great day out… but the immense selection on offer defeated us! I’m pretty sure we barely scratched the surface of the beery delights available to us yesterday. Oh well, I suppose we’ll just have to go back next year… Happy weekend, everyone!

Viking Beastie has Landed!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Viking BeastieYesterday my wanderings took me along Fishamble Street, in Dublin city centre.
Fishamble StreetFishamble Street 2

Looks pretty ordinary, doesn’t it? But Fishamble Street has quite the historical backstory! Its origins can be traced back to the 10th century, when it was used by the Vikings as a thoroughfare connecting the riverfront to the main market centre in what is now High Street. In fact, its distinctive curved shape is a deliberate design feature – it’s to make it easier to pull carts up the steep hill!
Curve in Fishamble StreetFishamble Street’s varied history also includes a spell as a fish market (“Fishamble” is a running-together of “fish shambles”, “shambles” being an old word for open-air meat markets and slaughterhouses) and it was the site of the first ever performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in 1742. However, I will always associate this street with the people who put it there in the first place. The majority of the Viking artefacts currently on display in the National Museum of Ireland were found right here in Fishamble Street – they were excavated when Dublin City Council built their civic offices here in the 1970s. If you know where to look, you’ll see plaques in the pavement showing which items were found there.
Plaque in Fishamble Street Plaque in Fishamble Street 2

So, given all that history, I was hardly surprised when I came across a very confused Viking Beastie. He was all at sea amongst the trappings of 21st century Dublin.
Confused Viking Beastie
And you can’t blame him. I’m sure the view has changed a bit since the Vikings first sailed up the Liffey more than a thousand years ago!
Not-so-Viking Dublin

Fortunately, I knew a place where he’d feel right at home. We walked around the side of Christ Church Cathedral…
Christ Church Cathedral

…To Dublinia, where you can experience life in Viking Dublin for yourself!
Viking Beastie with Longboat 066

We even found a longship! Feeling a little more at ease, Viking Beastie agreed to come back to Beastie Towers for a cup of tea. And on the way there…
A Longship... in the Park!

What’s that? A longship… in the PARK?
Viking Beastie in the Park
Nope, just a children’s playground. All the same, the apparently thriving Viking community in modern-day Dublin has helped this Beastie to feel right at home! I think he’s going to stick around for a while!

Exploring the Kaziranga Forest Trail… and then some!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie

Explorer Beastie with ElephantsExplorer Beastie Watching the Elephants

Sounds exotic, doesn’t it?

The best part is that we didn’t even need to leave Dublin to do it! Explorer Beastie was most miffed when he found out that I haven’t shared the photos of our trip to Dublin Zoo yet, especially since he had so much fun posing with the animals. So, to keep the peace at home, here some of the highlights of our day out!

One of the first places we went was the Kaziranga Forest Trail – isn’t that so much more exciting than “the elephant house”? Since I was last in Dublin Zoo, they’ve built a whole new enclosure for their Elephant Poolgroup of Asian elephants, which more closely resembles their natural habitat. It’s surrounded by trees (that covers the “Forest Trail” element, then) and there are pools of water for them to swim in as well!

Our next port of call was the African Plains, where Explorer Beastie put his climbing skills to good use to get a proper look at the giraffes, rhinos and gorillas!

Explorer Beastie with GiraffeExplorer Beastie with RhinosExplorer Beastie with Gorilla

 

 

 

 

 

But the highlight of our visit was meeting the newest addition to the Dublin Zoo family… an okapi! These incredibly pretty creatures live in the dense forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they’re related to giraffes. It was a real treat to be able to see one of these beautiful, graceful animals so close to home!
Explorer Beastie with OkapiOkapi at Dublin Zoo

 

 

 

 

 

Well, after all that exploring, we both felt a little like these orangutans…Sleepy Orangutans

… And we figured it was time to head home for a nap! But we’ll be back for more Beastie adventures soon!