RED MK II is 9.9 kilometres (6.2 miles), mostly on the flat, with a steepish ascent of 182 metres (597 feet) at the end, which proved of surprising interest.
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| The route starts by following the Ahr downstream, the river, bolstered by overnight thunderstorms, shown here flowing past part of Bad Neuenahr kurhaus, with the associated Steigenberger Hotel in the background |
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| You eventually leave the river and head for a conical hill that used to be the site of a Roman watchtower |
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| The area looks prosperous, especially the village of Heppingen |
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| Nearby Gimmigen is not quite so swanky, but claims seniority by virtue of age |
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| Fine views on the climb |
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| Barley(?)field |
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| Approaching the summit of the hill, whose modern name, Landskrone, is taken from the ruins of the imperial castle of Landskron |
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| How the castle may have looked in its medieval heyday |
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| View from the top |
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| Taking a more direct route downhill allows for a small detour to a 13th century chapel whose name, Maria Hilf, literally translates as Mary Help |
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| I could not go inside as I did not have a 50-cent coin for the front door (it would not accept my one-euro coin) |
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| The path down - this photo does not begin to do it justice -reminded me a little of the zig-zag at naturalist Gilbert White's Selborne Hill in Hampshire |
The RHS app says your photo of a field of some crop is common rye (most likely), followed by bear barley and spring wheat as 2nd and 3rd choices. It works better with close up photos of plants though, so may not be right.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was fairly sure it wasn't wheat ...
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