Scandinavian Trip - Norway Or The Highway

Last October my wife and I went on a two week Scandinavian road trip taking in Norway, Sweden and Denmark with a final stop in Berlin. I've finally gotten round to sifting through the digital mounds of photos from the journey and will be posting in bite-sized chunks.
  The first stop was a rainy but beautiful Bergen. We wondered the city and labyrinthine wood-panelled Bryggen area then caught a funicular for the breathtaking view from Fløyen. In the evening we had some heart-warming grub at Pingvinen then imbibed the local Nøgne Ø beer at the cosy Henrik øl og Vinstove pub.

On the second day we hit the road and our route took us through the stunning Hardangerfjord area onto the vast glacier of Hardangervidda (Livin' le Hardangervidda!) via the Vørringfossen waterfall. After a full day behind the wheel we parked up in pretty Rjuken.

For our anniversary we continued south through some amazing autumnal landscapes to the coastal Strand Hotell in Fevik, a favourite retreat of Roald Dahl's apparently.

After a drive up the coast we spent a couple of days in lovely Oslo soaking up the sights. Highlights included a walk on the Opera House roof and a tour of the seriously impressive, and slightly warped, Vigeland sculpture park. Evenings were spent playing old school arcade games at Tilt, eating American style at the Nighthawk Diner and drinking in Japanese Bar Isayaka and cool boozer Revolver.

Giffery From Brussels

I've been sitting on a bunch of photos from various trips over the last six months that I wanted to blast into the blog-o-sphere somehow so I'm going cutting edge, circa 1987, with the latest in gif - with a hard G - technology. Firstly, here are a few scenes that stole my eye on a lovely trip to Brussels late last August. You can find more photography over on my Instagram account if you fancy a gander.

Primavera Sound

At the end of May we took a fourth annual trip running to Barcelona for the Primavera Sound festival held at the large Parc Del Forum along the coast. It was a biggie this year with highlights including QOTSA, NIN, Pixies, Arcade Fire, Factory Floor, Andy Stott and Kronos Quartet. Great fun was had at the festy as always with an extra day of recovery in the beautiful city consuming plates of padron peppers.

Cornish Pip

My wife and I spent the Easter weekend down in Cornwall again, this time staying in Pip the Shepherd's Hut and Pip's Cabin on a lovely farm in Rezare near Launceston. We strolled around the local woodlands before hitting the seaside towns of Polperro and Looe in the blazing sunshine before the drizzle arrived on the last day for visits to Tintagel and Port Isaac. Evenings were mostly spent drinking bourbon and eating red meat around the open fire. Cracking.

Saints Ives And Foy

Christmas and New Year seem like donkey's yonks away now but here are a few snaps to help myself recall shenanigans of the distant past a few weeks ago. As has become a personal tradition my wife and I decamped to wonderful St. Ives in Cornwall for a relaxing bit of Chrimbo-on-sea and that really is gift enough, along with some socks. As soon as 2014 hit I fled to the mountains of Sainte Foy in France for a cracking snowboarding trip in celebration of my old mucker Linguistine's 40th birthday. Had an enjoyable stay with The White Room and took a couple of daytrips out to explore Tignes, Val d'Isere and Les Arcs. Smoshing.

Camber via Venice

Here are a few pics from recent escapades taken from the canals of Venice to the chalets of Pontin's, Camber Sands. In October we spent a lovely week in Italy getting agreeably lost in the stunning maze of hustling alleys and bustling waterways that make up Venice before moving on to the relative calm of Lake Garda in Sirmione and Desenzano. Naturally we were forced to consume many amazing pasta dishes and copious Negronis for our sins.

In November it was the End Of An Era for All Tomorrow's Parties British holiday camp music festivals. The last ever two of which were held at Pontin's, Camber Sands over consecutive weekends and we attended both for the craic. As usual there was a great, eclectic mix of bands and ATP stalwarts including Mogwai, Shellac, Television, Loop, Haxan Cloak and Har Mar. The last night saw attendees wearing black tie evening dress to commemorate. Adios Pontin's!

Elsie

Doing a bit of blog catch-up today after a lengthy period of silencio. I've been busy working away on a new animation project amidst the regular illustration commissions so time has been scarce. Will report on all that soon. In the meantime here are a few pics from a recent weekend away in the Wye Valley, Herefordshire. My wife and I spent the last few days of Summer in a lovely 1950s Stirling caravan that went by the name of Elsie. Toured the local area visiting Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Hay-on-Wye and Symonds Yat by day and relaxed with Elsie, a stunning view and a cosy campfire by night.

Life Begins

My wife and I hit the big 4-0 recently and celebrated with a couple of weekend reality-breaks. For Liz's birthday we headed off to Iceland for ATP's latest music festival staged in the unusual, semi-deserted environs of a former NATO Base in Keflavik. Highlights included Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Fall, The Notwist and local talents Æla. In the downtime we gave the old bones a geothermal soak in the amazing Blue Lagoon and spent the last day in Reykjavik, enjoying a birthday cocktail in the stunning new Harpa concert hall.

For my 40th we popped down to Bridport in Dorset to see The Wedding Present play on their Seaside Tour at the fantastic Electric Palace. The weather was playing ball that weekend so we toured the Jurassic Coast visiting West Bay, Portland Bill and Lyme Regis while munching on some ace seafood at the Crabhouse Cafe on the Fleet.

In between those two trips we had a joint birthday do at Dalston's Cafe Oto and a lot of fun was had, if my hazy memory serves! Here's a souped-up tractor flyer invite I designed for the bash. The second illustration features an Icelandic food highlight, and our staple diet at the festival, the delicious hot dogs of Baejarins Bestu. Their jogging sausage-dude logo formed the basis of this birthday card design I made for Liz. Now, on with this 40 lark, harumph.

Barcelona Mad

Another year, another glorious trip to Barcelona and the Primavera Sound festival. Musical highlights for me this year included The Knife, OM, The Breeders, Neurosis, Roll The Dice, Meat Puppets, Phoenix and Blur. After three days of festy mayhem we spent the rest of the week absorbing (a lot of) the city's amazing food & drink and checking out the incredible sights. Trips up to Montjuic, Gaudi's gorgeous Park Güell and nearby Montserrat cliff top monastery were ticked-off before tucking into great tapas at Picnic, ales at Le Cerveteca and noiry cocktails at Gimlet.

Glamping Matilda

Here's an overdue post on a recent Easter getaway to Pembrokeshire, Wales for a spot of chilly glamping. We spent a long weekend in the cosy converted truck 'Matilda' set in the woodlands of a nearby working farmhouse. A spot of country and coastal strolling by day with log fires and whiskey by night. T'rrific.

Winter Escapades

Here's a little photography from recent Winter breaks. First up are a couple of lovely sunsets from Porthmeor beach taken during a cosy Christmas week in St. Ives, Cornwall. Followed by some shots from a great week of snowboarding in Morzine, France, staying at one of the fantastic Riders Refuge chalets. Cobwebs well and truly blown away.

Time Out

October was mostly spent away from the studio this year so here's a little photo compilation of my escapades. The first week saw a trip to a peaceful Treyarnon Bay beach house in Cornwall for a spot of cycling, walking and amateur hour surfing to wash away the cobwebs. For the second week my wife and I jetted off to the ridiculously picturesque Amalfi Coast region in Italy. The dramatic cliff-hugging town of Positano was our first port of call and the weather was good enough for dips in the sea and a ferry trip to lovely Capri Island for a lemon slushyfest. We finished our trip in the more cosmopolitan Sorrento with it's spectacular views over Naples bay and Vesuvius, a breathtaking area despite the hellish Naples traffic that can only be described as mentalistic. For the third weekend we brought it down to earth in style at the excellent Supersonic Festival in Birmingham's Custard Factory where I saw some great music I'd not been introduced to before. Highlights for me were Devilman (pictured), JK Flesh, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, Gnod, Ufomammut and Zoltan (pictured).

In Wales

Recently took a trip to south-east Wales for a long weekend of rolling valleys and coastal diversions. From our spot in Llandeilo we zipped around Carmarthenshire visiting Laugharne, LLansteffan beach and the spectacular moody ruins of Carreg Cennen Castle perched on the Brecon Beacons. Next up was Pembrokeshire and a visit to seaside town Tenby before a bracing coastal walk around St. David's Head to clear the cobwebs. A fine old time despite Liz grumping it out for the photo shoots!

London Scene

London's so hot right now! (weather aside). Here are a few Instagram-ified snaps I've take from around town recently.

Pippin Time

For my wife's birthday recently we took off for another glampy getaway to South Devon to stay in a charming gypsy caravan going by the name of Pippin. It was placed in a lovely orchard where we could kick back with a drink, cook on the open fire, chat to the pheasants and even take a dip in a hot tub (minus time machine capabilities) tucked away in a corner of the field. In the day we toured the local towns and beaches, including a laid-back Totnes, Salcombe and Bigbury-on-Sea with it's sea tractor to murder-central Burgh Island, the setting for a couple of Agatha Christie novels.

Barcelona Redux

Here's a little montage of sights and sounds from a recent trip to the beautiful Barcelona. From our base in El Born we ventured out to the excellent Primavera Sound festival for the second year running to watch some amazing music from the likes of The Cure, Mudhoney, LFO, Matias Aguayo & Rebolledo and Brum metal legends Napalm Death and Godflesh amongst others. Spent the rest of the trip taking in the city, spectacularly so from the top of Tibidabo, recovering by the hotel pool and munching muchos tapas. Tremendous.

Hastings Jack

Bit of a delayed post but spent a barmy day in Hastings over the May bank holiday soaking up the madness of the annual Jack-In-The-Green parade. The Old Town is overrun by a huge procession of leafy folk and morris dancers wielding aloft effigies of mermaids and giants en route to the West Hill castle. It's proper bonkers with more than a whiff of the Wicker Man about it and it's huge fun. We stayed in a hotel opposite the once grand, now burnt and crumbling, pier I based an illustration on not so long ago, hopefully to be restored one day.

The Lakes

Managed to escape the swirling smokes of 'Landan' over Easter and took my first trip to the Lake District for a spot of glamping. That's camping with mod cons, a proper roof, fire-pit and, if you're lucky, a glitter ball. We stayed at a lovely spot called Scales Plantation in our very own shepherd hut and journeyed around the gorgeous Lakes area for strolls in Keswick and Buttermere whilst dodging some serious raindrops. Managed to squeeze in a roaring fire and barbecue though so all was right with the world.

The Getaways

I'm physically and mentally back in the studio now after a generous Cornish Chrimbo break in St.Ives followed by a snowboarding trip to La Plagne in the Alps to smash the January gloom. Here's a montage of schnaps from the last few weeks. Full steam ahead for 2012.

Flame On

Here are a few belated shots from a recent trip to lovely Dorset over bonfire night weekend. Stayed in the market town of Bridport and popped to Lyme Regis on the Saturday to take in fireworks at the Cobb and an inferno on the beach. Blazin'.