Date & Time: Saturday 28th November 2009.

Location : Camberley in Surrey - The Sandhurst Lakes.

Places visited : A local walk from our daughter Cathy and Richard's home.

Walk details : 2.5 miles, virtually level . . . but not quite, all within the Academy grounds.

This walk with : Myself and all the dogs, Saffie, Theo, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Cold, frosty, blue skies and not a drop of wind.

We usually spend our Christmas here in the Lakes, leaving the rest of the family to enjoy their Christmas celebrations in their own homes

so this short holiday was designed to meet our three daughters and exchange presents and cards.

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After all the recent bad weather and subsequent flooding the weather has suddenly improved beyond all recognition

and our pre-Christmas excursion started with a long car journey on a fine day.

This was the view that greeted us as we drove over Whinlatter Pass

The Skiddaw Massif complete with beautiful snow cap and whispy clouds.

Bassenthwaite Lake, still slightly over full with water.

A close up shot of Skiddaw Little Man . . . really beautiful.

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For those that want to see more of the recent seasonal weather ( that we missed !)

we can do no better than to point you at Sean's Striding Edge web site for Monday 30th

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A slight scene change now to the south of England.

Don't panic . . . it's not that tropical . . . it's just that I liked the Christmas like colours of grandson Sam's aquarium.

The last evening of November means that Alexander can hang up the Advent Calendar.   - - - o o o - - -   This environmentally friendly, fabric pocketed, sweet holding, wall hanging calendar can be used year after year to count down the days to Christmas.

First select the right number of sweets . . . then place one in each pocket.

Ann Cathy and Sam watch Alexander as he fills each day in turn.

Sam offers a little help to identify the pockets he missed . . .	. . . then places 24 extra so that he can enjoy one each day too.

I fancy one of those but Sam keeps putting them in that red thing on the wall . . . If I'm not careful they'll all be gone !

Look . . . there goes another one !!! . . . [ Hold your cursor over the picture to see ]

Oh Mum . . . can't I put in a few extras ?

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Next morning, with Ann and Cathy taking the boys off to school, it was left to me to walk the dogs . . . all four of them.

A frosty start as I make my way down to the lake.	Silvered grass as the sun breaks through the trees.

On the banks of Upper Lake in the grounds of Sandhurst Academy.

The calm morning is allowing excellent reflections.

More colour this side as I look down the length of the lake.

Crunchy ground, lots of water . . . and new smells to explore.

A fishing walkway down to the water's edge.	Staff College House at the head of the lake.

Viewed from this side, the sunshine brightens the colours in the trees.

A surreal picture of this quiet mixed woodland scene reflected beautifully in the still waters.

[ Hold your cursor over the picture to see the photo I actually took ]

A new outflow from Upper Lake and a new seat to relax on . . . if the water level isn't too high.

More woodland surrounds the Lower Lake

There's a lot of bird life taking advantage of this quiet location, ducks, geese, swans and a resident heron.

A close up of the morning fisherman.

The Academy Boathouse on Lower Lake.

The Sandhurst Academy itself.

You may recognise this as the Army Training School that Princes William and Harry (and many other soldiers) have attended in recent years.

A close up of the main buildings and parade ground on this glorious sunny morning.

The black spec is a Coot . . . not a dog or submarine by the way.

Lower Lake outfall is a small technical masterpiece in itself.

The water cascades over the perfectly level sill and disappears under the road.

It is noticeable that good engineering often takes on the appearance of Art

A statue to Queen Victoria near the parade ground.	A view across the lake to the spire of Camberley Church.

Swan Lake.

Wings open to gather the morning warmth as they cruise around.

The playing fields and more Academy buildings.

Holding four of them on their leads was interesting especially when we met other dogs

but around the other side of the lake I could let them off their leads again.

Staff College House as I retrace my steps around Upper Lake and head back for a morning coffee.

Time to be packing our bags and heading north to meet our youngest daughter Jen in Peterborough.

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Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon 75 or my Canon G10 digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . blue skies, sunshine and an overnight frost.

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Previous report - 25th Nov 2009 Cumbria is OPEN

A previous time up here - 2nd December 2006 A Christmas visit to Camberley

Next walk - 1st/2nd Decr 2009 A pre-Christmas trip to Peterborough