My apologies for the lack of a blog last week, one of our walkers had a problem and so we had a short walk. I hope that you’re feeling better Margaret Mac, we missed you.
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| Nordic Walking along Anzac Road to the Market |
Our intrepid Nordic Walkers arranged to meet Sunday at Valley Road car park in Browns Bay. I met one of the walkers already parked early at the car park and we discussed the probability of just taking a coffee as the weather was looking particularly grim. In fact this year after the wonderful long summer we have had a real mixed bag of weather and it’s definitely taken a turn for the worse lately. As other members of North Shore Nordic Walkers arrived the weather started to improve so we chanced a walk though the shops along Clyde Road, our thinking being that if it did pour down at least we had somewhere to duck for cover.
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| Corner of Clyde Road and Anzac Road |
It did rain that horrible drizzle for a while but we managed to stay relatively dry, so we pushed on a bit further and made a detour into Browns Bay market which runs every Sunday on the car park along Anzac Road. As usual and despite the cold and damp weather the market was bustling with activity.
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| Browns Bay Sunday Market |
We caused quite a stir at the market and we actually came across a fellow Nordic Walker who had taken a class at Northcote College a couple of years ago, and a lady on one of the stalls was so impressed she took the http://www.nordicwalking.net.nz/ details.
Browns Bay market has been established for many years and proceeds made from the day go to the Coastguard and the North Shore local community. It’s open on Sundays until midday and is organised by the Browns Bay Market Charitable Trust. To get a stall you have to be a real early bird, you can get the details and more information here: www.brownsbaymarket.co.nz.
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| One of the many food stalls |
The market is a true treasure trove for Collectaholics and not a good place to take my husband, who collects and hoards stuff ‘just in case’. It’s a seriously excellent venue for a browse around; you'll find everything from toys, jewellery, clothes, preserves, spices, books, pre-loved items, fruit and bread can be found there at a reasonable price. I would also like to give a mention to the gentleman who is a regular down at the market that sells rocks and polished stones, this is a great little stall for my kids, who have a particular interest in this area and are also aspiring Collectaholics! The collection of rocks is astounding and he generously gives you an explanation of each rock, stone or pebble when you make a purchase, the colours and shapes are really quite something, my kids can spend hours poring over the many items he has on offer at his stall, and if he takes a shine to you he's more than likely to make you an offer on a semi precious bargain.
The smell of fresh bread and coffee is delightful and all stallholders are exceptionally cheery and very friendly.
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| Nothing like the smell of fresh bread in the morning |
We passed on through the market back along Anzac Road crossing over onto Beach Road where we joined a walkway which led us onto Philson Terrace and then onto Beechwood Road. Taking a right turn and following the footpath it eventually brought us to Rothesay Bay Road. This is where we encountered every lady walker's dream, a large red fire truck, with a bunch of very perplexed fire-fighters looking up at an extremely high tree just outside the loos opposite the beach; the said tree was jauntily sporting a bright orange traffic cone right at the very top. It was quite comical really and most probably the result of high jinks during Saturday night after a couple of beers. Anyway, we wanted to quiz the fire-fighters but as we were making our way across they suddenly upped and left, leaving the cone swaying gently up top in the breeze, can you imagine how disappointed we were!
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| Cone capped tree at Rothesay Bay |
Of course we had to console ourselves with thoughts of a nice warm cup of coffee so we headed back turning on the walkway behind the loos where we walked along Masterton Road and back to Browns Bay where we all met at the car park and made our way across to Ben Gusto on Clyde Road. If you do make a visit to this wonderful establishment be sure to try the cheese and spinach muffins and the coffee is excellent too!
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