Exploring – Page 3

The Jade VIne - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Paddy, Plunkett and Some Plants!

Posted on May 23, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

Plunkett has been in architectural heaven since the lads headed to Cambridge a few weeks back…… And he’d happily continue on in this vein indefinitely.“Oooh, look! It’s the Norman doorway of the famous Round Church. Paddy, did you know that it’s one of four mediaeval round churches that are still in use in England todaaaaa…”

“No way, Plunkett! It’s my turn to decide what we’re doing! Come on, we’re off to…… The Botanic Garden! Mad plants ahoy!”There are over 8,000 species of plants crammed into this 40 acre garden, from every imaginable habitat. Deserts, bogland, jungle… You name it, it’s here! And of course, Paddy was determined to see (and climb) as many of them as possible. This photo was taken just as he spotted something good. Seconds later, only a Paddy-shaped dust cloud remained.But Plunkett takes things at a more sedate pace. That has its rewards too… Look what he found!This is a jade vine, which hails from Indonesia. If you can believe it, this crazy-looking hanging plant is a member of the legume family – it’s a long way from your average runner bean though!In the wild, the jade vine is pollinated by bats, which up until recently has stopped it from producing any seeds. However, thanks to one devoted research student getting stuck in and pollinating the flowers by hand, the vine has set seed for the first time. Now seeds are being sent to other botanic gardens around the UK – maybe even one near some of you!

Meanwhile, Plunkett finally caught up with Paddy…… Just in time to take the stepping stone path across the bog garden’s lake!And on the other side, they were first plunged into the cool green depths of a bamboo forest…… Before emerging in the arboretum!“Hey look, Plunkett! This tree has a wall in it!”

“Hmmm… I wonder why?”

Later research revealed that this wild pear tree had split, and the brickwork is there to keep it together. The tree doesn’t appear to mind though – it certainly seems to be doing just fine!

And further down the road in the pinetum, Paddy found ample fodder for some really terrible puns!Uh-oh! He’s had enough, and scarpered to The Mount to check out the view. Fortunately, he’s still happy to share the chair he found here with his old buddy – as long as Paddy promises to keep quiet!
Have you had any horticultural adventures recently? If so, please be sure to leaf a comment below! Or feel free to share your worst plant-based pun… Paddy’s always on the lookout for new material.

Here’s wishing you all a super week, catch you next Tuesday!

Explorer Beastie in Dusseldorf - CrawCrafts Beasties

Explorer Beastie in Germany

Posted on May 17, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Explorer Beastie, Knitted Beasties

Wilkommen, Beastie-Freunde!Explorer Beastie and I are just back from a great few days in Cologne and Düsseldorf! And there’s plenty here for both humans and monsters to enjoy… care to join us for a spin through the highlights of our trip?

First stop – Cologne! And of course, we had to go and have a look at the famous cathedral. This twin-spired Gothic masterpiece dominates the city skyline, and it only took 632 years to build! Still, the extra effort seems to have been worth it… The Kölner Dom is still the biggest cathedral in Germany, and thanks to those spires, it has the largest façade of any church in the world.
It is also, it turns out, really difficult to photograph. I’m still kicking myself for leaving my proper camera in the baggage lockers at the station and only bringing my phone with me!
But take our word for it – this is a real-must see. From the outside, which is just dripping with statues, flying buttresses and gargoyles, to the stained glass and high arched ceilings of the interior, it’s stunning from every angle. Oh, and it’s free to go in too – WIN!

As it turns out, we got a better view of it from further away. This is what you see from the rail bridge over the Rhine, where Explorer Beastie enjoyed a bit of boat-spotting and clambering among the padlocks attached to the fence as well!
Of course, sightseeing can make a Beastie pretty thirsty. Time for a glass of Kölsch, the region’s speciality beer… Prost!
Better not have too many of those, Explorer Beastie – day 2 is THEME PARK DAY!

Phantasialand is just outside Cologne, and I last visited it -gulp- at the turn of the century, when I was still in my teens. Eeeek! Despite much monster cajoling, I’m sad to say that my zeal for rollercoasters has waned somewhat since those days. Explorer Beastie was a little disappointed, but I was able to get him back on side by letting him hang out with a dragon for a while after lunch.
Plus there’s always plenty for a Beastie to see, even when you’re technically too small to go on most of the rides.
After all those high jinks, it was time for a stroll through the streets of Düsseldorf, our home for the long weekend.

We frequently found our feet (or paws) leading us down Königsallee, a leafy canalside walk near the centre of town. It’s lovely for a stroll…
… A sit…
…Or a chance to take a moment and watch the world go by.
We also enjoyed meeting the creatures who grace the ironwork on the side of one of the bridges, even if we didn’t spot their living counterparts in the water below!
A little further down the road, the view is quite different. First, you pass the Rheinturm, Düsseldorf’s tallest building…
Officially, it’s a telecoms tower, but there’s also a revolving restaurant and observation deck up there for those with a good head for heights!

But for us, the sunny riverside location of Düsseldorf-Hafen beckoned, so we kept our paws on the ground and took in the sights of this redeveloped dockland area instead. These unusual buildings greet you as you head towards the water…
The white, silver and red brick “Neuer Zollhoff” blocks were designed by Frank Gehry, and are supposed to represent a family – the shiny silver building, the “child”, reflects its brick and white plaster “parents”. But, as you can see, its warped stainless steel walls double up as a handy funhouse mirror, perfect for monster shenanigans!
Some of the older buildings in the area have been given a fresh new makeover, too. Explorer Beastie’s favourite was this former storage facility, now being scaled by 29 brightly-coloured “Flossis”, created by Stuttgart-based artist Rosalie.
There are a few nods to the area’s industrial past here, too…
High five, old-school dockland crane!

And as the weekend wound down, we spent a lazy Sunday morning in the park…
Although thanks to this rather dramatic signpost, we elected not to feed the ducks!

Don't Feed the Ducks! CrawCrafts Beasties — “Entenbrot ist Ententod” – literallly, “Duck bread is duck death”. Erk!

And what would a holiday be without a few friends in tow? Some of you may recognise my first Goth Beastie, Miss Chelsea Wool-fe, in this photo where she’s accompanied by Explorer Beastie and her chum Marge the Glamorous Pug.
A perfect end to a super weekend!

Where are you all off to this summer? Let us know in the comments!

Paddy and Plunkett, Random Punters - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Cambridge – Worth a Punt!

Posted on April 25, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

I’ll be honest with you… Paddy and Plunkett were more than a little miffed that Explorer Beastie didn’t invite them along on his recent trip to Copenhagen. So, when they had the chance to hitch a lift to another bike-loving city (one a bit closer to home), you won’t be surprised to hear that they were off like a shot!

And where did they end up?
Aha! In beautiful sunny Cambridge!

Although it’s most famous for its universities – Plunkett actually considered applying here, but was disappointed by the human-centric approach these institutions take to the history of architecture – this little city that sits just outside London has plenty of other activities to keep a pair of curious little monsters entertained.

…Like these!
“Awww, Plunkett! Let’s have a go – the humans make it look so easy!”
“Hmmm, let’s see… Yeeees, it feels stable enough! But maybe we should let someone else drive?”
“DEAL!”

As it turns out, Plunkett took to these little boats (called “punts”) like a duck to water. He appreciated their sturdy construction, visibly-displayed safety information cards and the fact that they packed cosy blankets and umbrellas for the inevitable quirks of the British weather. And after a few minutes of gliding gently under the weeping willows, he was utterly sold!
A punt can hold 12 humans, plus a couple of stowaway Beasties, so Paddy and Plunkett were happy to share theirs with a family from the US. Strangely, they’d never met a Beastie before – what are the chances?

As for Paddy… Well, you know Paddy. Not even the “Bridge of Sighs” could dampen his mood!
This Bridge of Sighs got its name courtesy of Queen Victoria, who said it reminded her of the famous Ponte dei Sospiri in Venice. It didn’t matter that she’d never been to Venice, and that the two bridges actually look nothing alike… I don’t think even Paddy would have dared to contradict her!

And although the bridges gave Plunkett plenty to look at, he was also interested in the brick walls that line the river and keep the banks in check. These walls are carefully maintained, and repaired when necessary.
Further along, the boys came to the part of the river known as “The Backs” – so named because you float past the back doors of some of Cambridge’s most famous colleges.
“Look at this, Paddy! The guide says this is King’s College…
… I think I’d like to go here next!”

Join the boys when they return to dry land in a couple of weeks. Next week, I hope to have something new to share with you, so stay tuned!

Cherry Blossom, this season's must-have fashion accessory - CrawCrafts Beasties

Cherry Nice!

Posted on April 18, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin, Knitted Beasties

Aaaah, cherry blossom! When you see those trees turned out in their delicate pink and white flowers, it’s usually safe to say that spring has well and truly sprung… Even in Ireland!

In St Stephen’s Green, right in the centre of Dublin, there’s a short walkway by the bandstand that’s lined with cherry trees. It’s one of my favourite places in the city at this time of year, so I decided to take Explorer Beastie out for a stroll there the other day. He seemed quite taken with it, and was happy to pose under the trees for a few photos… Spot the Beastie!
Then he realised that you can have WAY more fun kicking through the fallen flowers, and pretending that they’re pink snow.
Oh, and they make a pretty natty fashion accessory, too…
Very nice. But is this really the best place to view this seasonal spectacle? Of course not! We need to be up higher.
Aaah, that’s much better!
It took more than a little coaxing to get him back down again, but fortunately there were some colourful displays in the flower beds in the centre of the park that needed closer inspection…
…Even if that meant breaking a couple of rules along the way.

Oi! Can’t you read?!
Luckily I was able to scoop him up and sneak him away in my bag before the park attendants came along, but there’s every chance Explorer Beastie is now officially on the run from the law!

We’ll be back with more monster adventures next week – Paddy and Plunkett have been on another expedition, and they’ve sent me some great photos which I can’t wait to share with you! Until then, you can get a second dose of Beastie goodness this week, courtesy of Melissa at Knitting the Stash, who published a really lovely feature about us on her blog over the weekend!
Fellow yarn and fibre addicts will find lots to love in Melissa’s posts – a knitter, spinner, vlogger and occasional sheep farm visitor, there’s really nothing this lady can’t turn her hand to! Be sure to check out Knitting the Stash if you haven’t already, and thanks again to Melissa for letting us join the party!

Traces of Days Gone By

Posted on April 11, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties, Paddy and Plunkett

I really wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today. I have a lot of things on the go at the minute, but none of them are at a newsworthy stage yet, so this morning found me (only a little desperately) trawling through my copious Beastie photo archive, plus ALL my emails, in the hope of finding some pictures that I haven’t used before.

But the good news is that my search wasn’t in vain! What are the chances?! I found a series of lost Paddy and Plunkett pics from an adventure they had last spring, at a time when I was super-busy. I had kept them back for future use, and then forgotten about them (sorry lads)… Until today! Let’s take a trip into the past, shall we?
And perhaps in more ways than one…
“Hey Plunkett, where are we? And what’s with the coins stuck in the tree?”
“Glad you asked, Paddy. See that water down there? We’re at an ancient holy well!”
“Oooooh!”

There are hundreds of holy wells dotted all over the island of Ireland. And while some of them are marked with big, glitzy shrines decorated with flowers, statues and religious trinkets, many of them are so simple you’d hardly notice them. They’re often found in wild, remote places… like this one, tucked away in the corner of an ancient forest.
Like many holy wells, the water here is said to have healing properties. In fact, some wells are specialists, offering relief from dental problems, diseases of the eye, back pain, digestive trouble… You name it, there’s probably a well for it! This one was allegedly used by St Colmcille (also known as St Columba), an Irish abbot from the 6th century who brought Christianity to what is now Scotland. The sign beside the well says he “performed many acts of healing” here, although it doesn’t take a stance on whether he or the water deserves the credit!

Further down the road is another well. This one is a specialist… in the treatment of warts!
The rags in the tree branches are tied there as part of the cure. As the fabric rots away, your troublesome wart should also magically vanish. But before you start thinking this is an especially warty part of the country, don’t worry! The rags can also signify a request for help, which will be answered once the cloth has disintegrated. The well itself is just underneath the trees, bubbling up from this moss-covered boulder.
After this, the boys had time for one more well before they headed home for dinner. St Aidan’s Well seems more formal than the first two, and is associated with nearby St Aidan’s church.
Although St Aidan’s (formerly St Caden’s, after a follower of St Patrick) has been the site of a church since the 13th century, the well has been in use much longer and suggests that the area had spiritual significance back in pre-Christian times too. In fact, although most wells are now associated with a Christian saint, it’s thought that these places were considered sacred or significant long before Christianity arrived on these shores.

I think that definitely makes them worth a closer look, don’t you?
Are there any interesting ancient places near you? Tell us all about them in the comments!

And as usual, we’ll be back next week – hopefully with at least one finished monster project to share! See you then…

Explorer Beastie's Copenhagen - CrawCrafts Beasties

Off The Bea(s)ten Track in Copenhagen!

Posted on April 4, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Knitted Beasties

Goddag!

Yep, Explorer Beastie is back today with more snaps from our recent trip to lovely sunny Copenhagen!
For this second post, we thought we’d stray away from the more typical tourist haunts and go hunting for the two places we always seem to end up in whenever we travel – graveyards and botanical gardens. We were pretty excited to discover that Copenhagen had examples of both! Care to join us?

After a hearty breakfast at the Laundromat Café (it’s a laundry, and a café, AND a second-hand bookstore – what more could you need?) we pointed our feet/paws in the direction of Assistens Kierkegård… Turns out it was pretty much just around the corner!
If you’re looking for somewhere ghoulish and spooky, this place isn’t going to be your cup of tea at all. With its wide open spaces and tree-lined walkways, it’s really more like a park than a cemetery – and the locals seem to use it as one. That morning, it was full of people taking the baby out for a stroll, or cutting through on their way to work… All of them enjoying the bright sun and the peace that reigns inside the gates.
Assistens Kierkegård is the last resting place of many famous Danes – in our wanderings, we came across the graves of Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr – but one of my favourite spots was the small Russian cemetery, tucked away in a quiet, shaded corner.
I could have stayed here all day… But Explorer Beastie was anxious to get to our next port of call, the Botanisk Have. It was back towards the city centre, and conveniently near the Torvehallerne food hall – that was lunch sorted! Suitably refuelled, it was time for some springtime fun among the crocuses…
Followed by a chance to view the gardens from higher ground…
…And indulge in a little early sunbathing!
Oooh, what’s in here?
The Palm House is the main attraction in the Botanical Gardens… And unlike the one in Dublin, you can climb a winding spiral staircase to the top and look down into the treetops! But WOW, is it hot up there – within seconds, my camera lens had completely steamed up!
Explorer Beastie would NEVER be seen in public without his trademark beanie hat, so he retired to the cooler environs of my bag until we came back down. But once we moved to one of the more temperate houses, he was up to his usual tricks again…
It was nearly impossible to persuade him to hop back into the bag and head for home. So, look out Copenhagen! I have a feeling we’ll be back…
What do you always look out for when you visit a new city? Let us know in the comments!

Explorer Beastie in Copenhagen - CrawCrafts Beasties

Beastie on Tour!

Posted on March 28, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie

Things have been a little quiet on the exploring front these last couple of years. Between one thing and another, Explorer Beastie and I haven’t managed to get further afield than Donegal in a long time! But all that changed last week…
Look! We’re on a plane! And that’s a pretty good indicator that we’re leaving the island… But where are we off to?
Well, this is a good start – a nice bit on sunshine on our first morning! Time for a quick stroll around this lake, I think.
Beautiful! Now maybe we could try getting a bird’s eye view of this city, so that the good folks watching at home can see where we are…
Aha! So, we have spires, verdigris…
… And in the distance, the bridge to Sweden. Welcome to… COPENHAGEN!
One of our first ports of call here was the Rundetaarn (Round Tower), which gave us these great views out over the city, and helped us to plan our wandering for the day. This tower was built by King Christian IV in 1642 as an observatory (it’s actually the oldest functioning observatory in Europe) and it is also Denmark’s “zero point” – when the country was first surveyed by Thomas Bugge in the late 1760s, he took the Rundetaarn as the starting point for all his calculations of distance throughout the kingdom. And there’s more to the tower than the viewing platform at the top. You can see this working model of the solar system on the wall as you come back down…
… And that (unfortunately hazy – it was dark!) picture in the bottom right is the tower’s hollow core, where you can stare 25m straight down through the plate glass floor. As you can see, Explorer Beastie wasn’t fazed by this at all, but the most I could manage was placing one foot on the glass while the other remained firmly planted on the stones at the edge! Although it turns out that I really needn’t have worried – in 1880, a choirboy tumbled out of a toolroom at the top of the core and fell the full distance to the bottom, where he remained trapped for the better part of a day before being discovered, alive, with nothing more than a scrape on his arm and a few missing teeth!

Copenhagen’s skyline is packed with beautiful tall spires, but one particularly caught our eyes from the top of the Rundetaarn. So when we found ourselves back at street level, we made a Beastline right for it!
This is Børsen, the old Danish Stock Exchange. If you look closely, you’ll see that the tower has four dragons at its base, and their intertwined tails form the 50m tall spire. Beast-tastic!

And, although this was our favourite, there were plenty of other elaborate buildings to distract us as we wandered through the city streets.
We also found some monuments on a more Beastie-sized scale. Well, we could hardly visit Denmark and not set foot inside a Lego store, could we?
And after a long day’s meandering, our weary paws brought us to one of the most iconic parts of the city – the tall, colourful townhouses at Nyhavn! Of course, I couldn’t resist taking one more photo before it got dark…
Perfect!

You can see more of our Nordic adventures next week – but what do you think of Copenhagen so far? Have you ever been, or is it on your travel-to-do list? Let us know in the comments!

Road Trip 2 – Extreme North!

Posted on February 17, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Knitted Beasties

This time last week, we left Explorer Beastie on a breezy hilltop overlooking Five Finger Strand in Co. Donegal…
… And now it’s time for us to push onwards and upwards, to Malin Head – the very northernmost point of the island!

There’s some pretty wild coastline up here…
… And before we headed up to the viewpoint, we took advantage of the last little bit of daylight (always in short supply at this time of the year) to wander along the shoreline. There are plenty of places for a Beastie to explore here!
Of course, sometimes just LOOKING at those rocks isn’t enough. The best way to experience them is definitely to get up close and paws-on…
…Because that’s when you discover hidden gems like these! Wouldn’t that pool be just heavenly on a hot day? Mind you, I’m not sure they get many hot days up here…

We also had a chance to watch the waves rolling in off the Atlantic, and see them meeting land for the first time in thousands of miles…
But as you can see, the light was fading fast… So we cut short our stroll and headed back uphill to the official lookout spot.
Here’s the proof that we were there! Oh, and the view isn’t bad either…
Apparently locals would gather here to catch a last glimpse of friends and family as they left in ships to seek an easier life elsewhere. Malin Head also has a military past – those incredible panoramic views made it an ideal spot to put a watchtower! There’s one here that dates back to the Napoleonic wars, and another signal station from around 1902.
I’m guessing my photo shows the signal station – although at the time my main motivation for taking the picture was the fact that it looked kinda like a monster singing into a microphone from this angle.

With a jam-packed camera and only slightly cold paws, it was time for us to hit the road again. But Donegal had a couple more surprises in store for us… First of all, a rather spectacular sunset!
And further down the road, a warm welcome at the Drift Inn! We’d barely entered the cosy bar before some locals sat us down at their table, in front of the most roaring open fire I’ve ever seen – seriously, there was half a tree on there – and started chatting away to us like we were regulars ourselves. They even treated Explorer Beastie to a pint of the black stuff!
That’s a lot of beer for one Beastie – no wonder he looks a little blurry around the edges! Cheers!

It really is amazing what you can discover when you journey even a short distance away from your usual haunts, isn’t it? If any of you have had a fun “staycation” or day trip recently, we’d love to hear about it! Share your story in the comments… and we’ll be back on Tuesday with the last of the pre-Christmas Beasties!

Roooooad Triiiiiip!

Posted on February 10, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Explorer Beastie

Alas, poor Explorer Beastie! He doesn’t get out nearly as much as he’d like. So last week, when an opportunity for a bit of an adventure in Ireland’s wild north west presented itself, it was all I could do to stop him from sleeping in the car the night before.

Ready? Off we go!
Because this is such a small island, we soon felt like we had left the city far behind…
… And of course, it wasn’t long before all this fresh air gave us a bit of an appetite. Time for a pitstop – and that most important meal, Third Breakfast.
YUM! We also had a chance to hang out with some of the locals…
… And sign the visitors’ book!
Tempting as it was to stick around for dinner, there was exploring to be done! We piled back into the car, cranked up the cheesy 90s dance music to 11 and made for the coast. Next stop, Five Finger Strand!
Nice to feel the sand under your paws, Explorer Beastie? Thought so!
There’s plenty to do here – look for bird tracks, clamber over driftwood, hide in the grass… And the view’s not too shabby either!
In fact, it would all make a Beastie feel very small and insignificant… Well, if he wasn’t busy photobombing all my pictures.
As the daylight started to fade, we took the high road away from Five Finger Strand… and stopped on the side of the road to get a different perspective of the beach and the surrounding countryside.
How cool is that isolated little church?

Next stop, Ireland’s northernmost point – Malin Head!

Buuuuut in keeping with the coastal theme, we’re going to leave this post as a cliffhanger! Part two will be coming your way this time next week, AND there’s a marine-themed new Beastie for you to meet on Tuesday too!

Are any of you hitting the road this weekend? Tell us all about it in the comments!

FYI – We got our delicious fry-up in Café Donagh, Carndonagh… Highly recommended if you’re planning a hectic day of Donegal-based exploring and/or Beastie-wrangling. This quirky little café serves generous breakfasts all day long, and I have it on good authority that their coffee is excellent too!

Strangers in a Strange Land

Posted on February 7, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

It’s been a while since we heard from intrepid globetrotting Beasties Paddy and Plunkett, hasn’t it? And now I’m beginning to think there might be a good reason for that… Take a look at their most recent set of holiday snaps and you’ll see what I mean!

What a weird, alien landscape… Are they even still on Earth?
“Paddy, look at these – they go on for miles!”
Of course, Plunkett was in his element – a field full of precariously-balanced rock towers? YES PLEASE!
But then Paddy spotted something else off in the distance, and he just had to climb down for a closer peek.
“Hey! Plunkett! Check it out…”
“…ROCK POOLS!”
And they were absolutely teeming with wildlife…
…Including this sea anemone, hermit crabs and one rather luxuriant sea slug!
Paddy could quite happily have watched this fellow grazing away on the rich pastures of underwater algae all day, but Plunkett was a little less keen…
Sorry, Plunkett! I promise we’ll stick to rocks next time!

What’s the strangest creature you’ve ever found at the beach? Let us know in the comments!

Oh, and be sure to join us again on Friday… I’m doing an extra bonus post this week to share photos from the day trip Explorer Beastie and I took to Ireland’s northernmost point! See you then!

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