Okay, as a paranormal fiction writer I'm used to coming up with weird and wonderful ideas of the supernatural.

And I've had two or three personal paranormal experiences.

But this absolutely incredible one has me completely stumped. A couple of weeks ago I was on holiday at Lake Bled in Slovenia. My hotel was on the edge of the lake and had an absolutely beautiful view across the water, showing the castle in the centre, the church to its right, and the small island to the left, which also has a church on it.

The picture was taken using the panoramic function on my android table. I simply pointed the camera, held the button down and panned. Lovely, isn't it.

I also took a similar shot on another day -- again using the panoramic sweep function. No need to stitch individual shots together -- it's one complete photo. Here it is, below. As you'll see, it's a slightly different angle. But there's one very big question: WHERE THE HELL HAS THE CASTLE GONE?

My wife and daughter say it must be hidden behind the tree in the foreground. But I prefer the opinion of the people who run the castle, when I showed them the pictures: "Our castle in lost in medieval time."  

​Any comments or ideas, please?

Day 4 – Patterdale to Haweswater reservoir (13 miles)

This part of the walk was very hilly and having climbed the first couple of mountains the cloud came down and we became very disorientated as to where we were as we could not see anything in the distance and the path was very unclear.

The rain and wind were blowing straight into our faces and at points we found it very difficult to stand up straight in the wind as it was so strong. Team members became very worried so we walked on a north east bearing until we got down off the mountains, fortunately we ended up on the correct path after checking with some passers-by. After climbing the Knott we began our decent to Haweswater reservoir. The decent was difficult but the views were very picturesque once we reached the reservoir.

Day 5 – Haweswater Reservoir to Kirkby Stephen (30 miles)

Not only was this also an extremely hot day but we also managed to walk 47km which was our longest distance in one day. We stopped at the Co-Op in Shap to replenish the essentials for the remaining days. We stopped here as we finally had a signal and BBC Radio Leicester were in contact to see how we were getting on with our walk!

After this the terrain seemed to remain at a constant level but the heat and distance made it hard to keep going. It was also difficult to navigate across the fields around Bents Farm as the sign posts were very limited. We finally reached Takoda campsite where we had a very well deserved fish chips from the Coast to Coast fish and chip shop, before a night of much needed rest. There were a lot of nice shops here and places to eat if you finish your walk early enough, and also a good walking shop if you need to restock on any equipment.
 
Day 6 – Kikby Stephen to Ravenseat (9 miles)

We left Takoda campsite and had to begin our decent past the Quarry up to Nine Standards. We got a little lost when trying to find Lady Dyke Head, so walked to the road and followed this to Ravenseat. We recommend that anyone wanting to walk to Lady Dyke Head takes a bearing on their compass as the footpath is a little unclear.

It was really exciting to reach our destination this night as we got to meet the lovely Amanda Owen the Yorkshire Shepherdess where she was able to sign her book for us. We also had an amazing homemade cream tea which was much needed after the weekend.

​
Day 8 – Reeth to Richmond (12 miles)

In the morning after our newfound energy we stopped at the local corner shop where we got our lunch for the day ahead. We walked along the river to Marrick Priory where we began our ascent until we reached Marske. In Marske there was a church where we had the chance to have a cold water and a chocolate bar.

Once we reached Richmond we took advantage of the afternoon tea provided by the Black Lion Hotel. We then continued our walk with our full tummies to Brompton Caravan site where we pitched up our tent and ordered a pizza for dinner. By now we were very short on clean clothes so had chance to wash our clothes in the laundry room for £2.50, and they dried out nicely on the top of our tent.

Day 9 – Richmond to Ingleby Cross (19 miles)

We woke up bracing ourselves for our next big day. We had to walk along the A6136. The terrain for this day was fairly flat through farm land, we saw lots of different cereals including wheat and barley being grown in the fields. We stopped at Kiplin Hall for afternoon tea, quite possibly the best scones we have ever tasted. We had to cross the A19 for the final part of our walk, which was very busy and difficult to cross, we just had to hope for the best! We then stayed at the Blue Bell Inn and also had our evening meal there. This was the best evening meal we had had so far and was also the cheapest. It was also a lovely little campsite. We met some friends who were also completing the Coast to Coast and they recommended having the breakfast there.

Day 10 – Ingleby Cross to Great Broughton (11 miles)

Day 10 came about and we were very excited for our first cooked breakfast. As expected the breakfast lived up to the evening meals expectations and prepared us for the day ahead. These friends also advised us of an alternative route of the lower path which we followed.

Although this was not as hilly it was difficult as there was a vast amount of felled trees, so we had to adapt some monkey features to get through the forest. We continued along the Cleveland way to Clay Bank Top and then stopped for a drink in the Lords Stones café.

After refreshing ourselves we continued to Great Broughton and stayed at the Jett Miners Inn Caravan and Camping site, where we also had our evening meal.

Day 11 – Great Broughton to Glaisdale (20 miles)

We woke up feeling nervous about our big day ahead. We realised we needed more fuel for our legs, so called into the local post office near to the Jet Miners, which certainly didn’t disappoint. We had freshly baked homemade pork pies in an assortment of flavours.

We walked back to continue on the Cleveland way and reflected on how far we had come so far. We followed the Cleveland way onto Dale Head and stopped for lunch at the Lion Inn at Blakey. Here we had to re patch some newly arisen blisters before continuing onto Glaisdale where we stayed at Bank House Farm where we stayed in a bunk barn.

​They kindly gave us a lift to the pub in true farmer style where we stayed for our evening meal at Arncliff Arms. 

And you can follow Market Bosworth Young Farmers on Twitter:   ​https://twitter.com/MBYFCUK

For over a year now the Bint garden has benefited from three water butts. Two in the back, one at the front. I was absolutely amazed at how quickly they fill up, and they service all the plants and our three water features without the need to resort to the taps or hose.

At first it was more to do with planetary conservation than saving money, as we had fixed water rates. Talking of which, everyone was astonished at how expensive our water rates were. So, taking that latter point into account we looked into water meters.

With the water rates system, the cost of your HIJKLMNO (H to O, H20 gettit?) is based on the rateable value of your property, not on the amount of water consumed – so how much you pay won’t relate to how much water you use. If you live on your own, if you have a small family or if you live in a house with a high rateable value, chances are you’re probably paying too much for your water services.

Yep. We were. And believe me, since we had a meter installed recently, it’s really opened the floodgates to saving money.

When the man came to install it we were given tips and hints on how to save water, and even given some handy little devices for slowing the water flow from shower heads. Oh, and an egg-timer. Don’t forget the egg-timer, which is for placing on the shelf in the shower, and woe betide you if the water is still running when the sands aren’t. He actually gave that to my daughter.

I’m now looking at bringing in my own water-saving strategy as well, which I think is extremely sensible: Imposing a five-pence charge for everyone diluting a glass of squash;  The budgie’s water pot is only half-filled, and on every other day instead of daily;  Our coffee is made with all milk and heated in the microwave (extra saving there on electric, too – no kettle to boil); and I replace all my other water-based drinks with wine and whisky.  
​
Scrooge, drink your heart out!