http://mcgresty.com/index.html as it happens en Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:19:50 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/youre-gonna-love-california.html My father told me to go out and make some friends. I stood on a small front lawn of the little 3 bedroom house with the thought that all my life I'd been told not to and didn't know how. After Dad got out of the intelligence game and went full time military, we ended up at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington. In September I would enter my tenth school as a Sophomore at nearby Medical Lake High School, a ropey little place which always makes me think of swimming in a pond of cough syrup. An entirely new episode of life lay before me. I had no bodyguards, no one was trying to kidnap or kill me and I honestly hadn't a clue of what to do with a bit of freedom. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 08:43:21 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/youre-gonna-love-california.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/i-have-to-carry-less.html From the 16th of July to the 5th of August was a somewhat miserable time. I needed a place to stay and actually had one in Valladolid run by a guy who teaches English there. I was told he would arrive on the 18th of July and looked all over the city for a place to stay the night of the 17th. I walked miles, my backpack weighed about 14-15 pounds (more than I am supposed to carry) and the streets were not all that easy to walk on. Finally gave up and found a 4 star hotel open, at 4am, I was exhausted. Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:11:04 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/i-have-to-carry-less.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/biarritz-was-okay-but-not-madrid.html I stayed at a friend's place in Pamplona for two weeks and it was fine. Then I decided to head for Morocco after not finding another place to stay in Spain. To do that I grabbed a train to Madrid and that is where I spent four days of misery. Normally I just travel through Madrid, but this was different, it was the 1st of August. Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:48:39 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/biarritz-was-okay-but-not-madrid.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/baranain.html After taking bus to the end of the line and having a somewhat interesting time in Atarrabia as a result. I wondered what was at the opposite end of Pamplona's number 19 bus route. Both journeys were about the same distance. Once the bus had reached its final stop I stepped out and stopped for a moment. Ail I saw was this modern town and park not far from the bus stop, talk about opposites. Thu, 30 Jul 2026 06:33:31 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/baranain.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/atarrabia.html Over the years I have found that riding a bus to the end of it's line has proven quite interesting. Sometimes it was a waste of time, but mostly I enjoyed the trip and what I found there. So, in the mid to high 90's heat, I set out one Sunday morning on the number 19 bus and rode it to the end of the line. Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:21:15 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/atarrabia.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/because-it-was-bad.html It was the 14th of July. I had been awake since 0630 and just could not sleep when I tried to take a nap. A train had been boarded at 2010 to head into the center of London, grab the Piccadilly Line Tube (Metro) for Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. Arriving earlyish, due to London shutting down most public transport around midnight, except for night buses. My destination was Pamplona, to visit some friends. I used to write up the journies on my old blog and enjoyed them, but have not done that here. So why am I doing it now? Because it was BAD! Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:41:31 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/because-it-was-bad.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/reaching-saturation-point-with-travel-writing.html When I first began travel writing, there were not that many around who were doing the same. That was in November 2011, today there are millions to the point it's become overdone in some ways. It is July 2026 and there must be around five million tourists in London, the place is crazy with them all. Getting into the center area I see them taking photographs with cameras and smartphones and quite a few are travel bloggers, to me they are all just tourists, in the same place doing the same thing. I want something outside the box, otherwise I will not waste my time any more. All this is a run up to me flying out to Madrid then getting the train to Pamplona to visit my friends there. Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:09:06 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/reaching-saturation-point-with-travel-writing.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/penn-wood-day-out.html After seeing a note about a place named Penn Wood, I wanted to head toward it. The reason was because in the wood are supposed to be different kinds of deer, badgers, foxes, and other wildlife. It is an ancient woodland and would take a while to get there due to it being located near the town of Amersham, on the opposite corner of London to me. A decision was made to not list the trip as a bus run, but a trek. The temperature was forecast to be around 80. Most public transport in England does not have air conditoning and I would have to ride a bus to reach the area (yes I like the heat, no I don't like high humidity). Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:28:34 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/penn-wood-day-out.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/abinger-hammer-and-gomshall.html I boarded a train to Dorking Deepdene, in Surrey, then went around to the main Dorking Station for Bus number 32 toward Guildford. A place enroute with a population of around 500 might be worth a visit. The village got its name because it was historically a center for iron production in the 16th-century. There was a water-powered iron forge that used a large hammer for forming hot iron. It was a few miles from where I lived many years ago and I rode my motorcycle to there once, but did not take any photo's. After the first run in this subject being a bit of a time waster. I reckoned Abinger Hammer would be a good place to visit then walk the half mile to Gomshall and write it all up. Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:58:09 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/abinger-hammer-and-gomshall.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/a-little-trip-to-westerham.html To understand Westerham you have to go back a very long time. First of all it is a large village in the County of Kent, population about 4500 and bus number 246 from a place named Bromley goes there. It is a longish ride, passing the Pilgrims Way and is spread out all over the place. Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:56:09 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/a-little-trip-to-westerham.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/sydenham-hill-wood.html There are those times you set out to do something specific. This thought went through my mind as I was negotiating a narrow trail. My Leki pole had been set high for a very much needed third leg and at the same time it was difficult to see due to the dense woodland where it was quite dark, with the occassional blast of bright sun light bursting forth in a few gaps of the high overhead leafage. The reason I had come to this place seemed to be diminishing. Underfoot there lay long sort of viney threads which my feet went under a few times and almost tripped me up. To make matters worse there were a number of vinelike growths from other trees which had long thorns on, ouch! Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:08:51 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/sydenham-hill-wood.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/aylesbury.html On my about page I say, if somewhere is good, I'll say so. If not, I'll trash it. That has only been done once on my old site for Sevenoaks, Kent, England. I had chosen Aylesbury for it's buses to visit and write up 8 small villages. There are two bus stations there and I tried to find the information booth. Two people pointed in two different directions. I asked a third guy who said he knew and took me there, if he hadn't I would've left the place immediately. It was outside the bus stations and the woman there was very helpful, she printed out time schedules but the number of the buses were not on it, only the time and she told which way to go and which bus number. Fri, 15 May 2026 12:25:40 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/aylesbury.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/spring-2026.html Spring is approaching and as usual I headed for various places as the colors burst forth during the annual rebirth. No doubt it will see more rain, but then that's the norm for England. The ground is waterlogged, so hopefully I can find a pair of waterproof boots to try and keep my feet dry without spending too much. Suffering the unreliable public transport no doubt will take place as usual. Here goes. Fri, 01 May 2026 06:52:06 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/spring-2026.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/holmer-green.html Making the decision to ride the buses to some villages and write them up, I headed to Amersham on a Friday. The concept for village posts is that they must be a small place, not huge like some previous ones. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:41:14 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/holmer-green.html http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/mini-waterfall.html Following months of wet and cold weather, it warmed up somewhat. One day the thermometer read 58 F degrees and the sun was shining with a mild wind, so I set out for a short walk. Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:58:16 GMT http://mcgresty.com/mgrp/mini-waterfall.html