Where in the World Have I Been?

I'm not the most well traveled person in the world but I'm making up for lost time.
There is an entire world out there to explore and sometimes the most fascinating and beautiful things are on your door step. I hope some of my pictures at least lets you know that everyone has beauty in their world... you just have to open you eyes and look.
Here are some of the places I've been so far during my little stay.
Mapping it out makes me realize that there is so much more to see.
High on the list is Ireland and India. How about you?

A Little Bit of Country in Theydon Bois and Epping Forest

The adventure of the weekend was going up to Epping Forest. We came out in the beautiful village of Theydon Bois and came across a Country Music festival for Charity. It has been a surprise to me how popular Country Music is on this side of the pond. Dolly actually sold out Wembly Stadium in 20 minutes! It was strange to walk down through the village and to hear live county music coming out of the local village hall and to see men in cowboy hats.

I have also added some of the pictures from the forest. It's another one of the remaining remnants of ancient forest in the Greater London area. We actually walked from the Laughton Tube Station. It's another Art Deco treasure while the Theydon Bois station looks like something out of a story book.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

East Finchley Festival

It's the social event of the season!!!
The East Finchley Festival is held every year in Cherry Wood Park and is the longest running community festival in London.
They have something for everyone with two stages, lots of community involvement and wonderful food.
Hope you enjoy the pictures of the festival and other sights around East Finchley.

New Forest, Lyndhurst

Lyndhurst was the starting off place for the adventure in The New Forest. They have a great welcome center with maps of the entire are including individual walks around the forest.
There is a great camping and outdoor shop with very reasonable prices and several traditional Tea Shops. We stopped at the Mad Hatter Tea Room with an Alice in Wonderland theme... why not? Good food, good prices and a little roof terrace for sunny days.
Once again, enjoy and let me know what you think!

New Forest Horses and Wildlife

The New Forest is one of the few remaining areas of England where animals can roam on common areas. It's amazing to see horses, cows and other farm animals in their natural habitats roaming free. The horses get amazingly close. It's amazing to stand in the heath and have a heard run by just a few yards away.

New Forest Marsh Orchids and Other Beautiful Plants

A very kind gentleman was nice enough to let us know where we could find Marsh Orchids. I think we actually found two varieties but I'm not an expert on Orchids. I have also found some English Sundew in a bog and did not even know this country had carnivorous plants. Let me know if you know the variety of any of plants and flowers especially the little yellow one in the close up.
Thanks again for taking a peek and enjoy!

The New Forest

Went to The New Forest yesterday. It is an amazing area of natural beauty. One of the few places in this country where the rights of common folks to let their animals range free is still practiced. You can see horses, cows, deer, rabbits and many other sites of wild life. I don't think I've ever taken so many pictures in one day. We started out in Lyndhurst and made our way to Cadman's Pool and had a ramble through the forest and heathland.

New Forest is an interesting name since it was first planted by William the Conqueror in 1079. Good job William!

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I am going to divide the posts by category since there were so many photos.

Let me know what you think!