The Coldswolds

The green at Stow on the Wolds 

We planned to take the van to Broadway CC site for the lights and festivities on Friday evening but it was -5c in the morning and there were still icicles on my water tanks drains. So we decided to just go for the day in the car. Not much snow in the Cotswolds, but at Stow on the Wolds it was -3c with frost and fog making it feel very cold indeed. Retreated to a bistro for mulled wine and lunch - after shopping of course.

We spent most of the time in Boughton on the Water as there was a Victorian street market and the lights were being switched on that evening. There were lots of (free) drinks and mince pies from the local shops for the thousands of sightseers milling around in the freezing conditions.

Main St Broadway

Finally headed for Broadway at about 7.00pm which was just as busy for its second late night shopping evening of the season. Great difficulty finding somewhere to park. Recession/austerity? Not in this part of the country!

Drove back via Stratford on Avon and arrived home just before 10.00 o'clock. I guess we would have been tucked up in bed at Broadway CC if we had taken the van - but never mind.

Crafty weekend in Sandringham

Mikes new Clubman on Saturday morning

We set off East for Sandringham to meet Mike and Margaret at the CC site, on the royal estate, in order to visit the Food and Craft fair. It was also Mikes first trip out with their new Clubman caravan. We arrived in mid afternoon on Friday with a very wintry weekend forecast.

Sure enough it was a very cold night and we awoke with 2 or 3 cm of snow on the vans - very picturesque.

The craft fair was really big and just up the road from the site. We went in Mikes car to spend a few hours shopping for some xmas presents and partaking of a few samples in the food tent. Margaret ran out of money first so went off with Mike to find a cash machine, while we pondered the purchase of a clock for the mantle piece. Having bought a nice hand turned walnut clock and chatted to some exhibitors from the next village we walked back to the site.

It was a bitterly cold night, our fresh water tank froze as did the site taps, but it did not snow again! We both decided to return home a day earlier after seeing the weather forecast. We helped Mike get away first so that he could get back on his steep drive before any more snowfall. My wipers and heater fan refused to work but after the engine had warmed the engine compartment for about 10 mins they both sprang to life - what a relief!

Our van before we left on Sunday

Rosemary wanted to visit the farmers market at Sandringham House visitor centre so we just had to stop for an hour or so. I sipped a cappuccino and took in the 'snow scene' from the coffee shop, while the boss shopped, before heading back to Leicester. The snow gradually lessened until we hit the high ground in Leicestershire where there was several inches still lying on the ground. We arrived back just as it was getting dark to find that our neighbours had managed to get the central heating turned up for us. Well done Catherine and Jacky.                              

Leaf Kicking in the Cotswolds

 A large Acer just turning golden at Batsford

Spent a couple of nights in the Cotswolds at Moreton in the Marsh. Picnicked at Batsford and then strolled round the garden centre before going to the Caravan Club site at Moreton. There were only 4 pitches left, by the road, so it was a bit of noisey until later on. Tuesday was mostly occupied by walking down to the market and having lunch at ASK (with a discount voucher of course). There was a hail storm in the evening with a flash of lighting thrown in and some heavy rain for about an hour. The sky had cleared overnight and there was a frost with ice on the van the next morning. However it was sunny and crisp with a gentle breeze, ideal for returning to Batsford Arboretum. We had an early lunch in the van then walked the 'golden mile' and bought a piece of original work from a chainsaw artist in the arboretum before getting back to Leicester by the late evening. It was about two weeks too early to see the trees at their best so we may need to make a return visit soon.

Kite Flying - postscript

Kite flying in Yorkshire was not a great success (see below) but Saturday was nice and breezy back home in Leicestershire, so my birthday kite had its real maiden flight from the top of Croft Hill.

There are some more photos of the whole Yorkshire break here on Picasaweb.

A lot of running about - but not much flying

Home via Beningbrough Hall

A vintage Morgan

The fine weather was coming to an end and Mike had exhausted his CPD supplies so it was time to set off for home. We drove back along the Thirsk road stopping off in the small market town of Helmsley for an hour to have a look around. The ladies went to a craft fair while 'the blokes' checked out some the vintage cars in the market square. This seems to be a popular 'half way halt' judging by the number of bikes and bikers in the square.

Beningbrough Hall

We then drove south avoiding the steep hill at Sutton Bank to spend a few hours and have a late lunch at the NT property of Beningbrough Hall and gardens, just off the A19 near York. The hall is mostly used to display a large portrait exhibition in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery. Mike and Margaret headed home, closely followed by ourselves after a short excursion to the adjacent farm shop.

Thornton le Dale

It was another sunny day so I tried to fly my new pocket kite on the site, but there was not enough wind and too many trees. We took the bus into the popular tourist spot of Thornton-le-Dale and walked the half mile out of the village beside the brook to the Overbrook caravan park. This was a very nice site which explained why it was full when we had tried to book a pitch on two occasions. We walked back thru the woods and found a cafe with a sunny courtyard for lunch time snack.

Afterwards we took a circular walk around the village while Mike and Margaret went back into Pickering to meet an old friend who does voluntary work on the NYMR. We met them, one hour and one bus later, to return to site. We all walked over to the Black Bull pub opposite the site entrance in the evening where we dined on enormous home-made steak and mushroom pies before staggering back to the vans.

A steamy birthday treat on the NYMR

Its a long haul up to Goathland

It was my birthday on this day, so after opening the cards and enjoying a full English breakfast we caught the bus into Pickering and then spent the afternoon on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway. We stopped first at Grosmont and had a rather large 'snack' lunch in the railway cafe while waiting for the return train to take us to Goathland. This picturesque moorland village is also famous as Aidensfield in the TV series Heartbeat.

Hogsmeade Station?

We walked up into the village, browsed the Heartbeat influenced gift shops and had an ice cream to pass the time, until our return steam train into Pickering. The station and railway at Goathland have featured in many films and TV programs, most famously now in the first Harry Potter film as Hogsmeade station - more here.. We arrived back just after the shops had closed! After another tiring day and lunch out we decided to put off my birthday dinner until the following day.

Edge of the Moors

Mike and Margaret at Haven site 

We moved on Sunday to Pickering to be close to the North Yorkshire railway and the moorland villages. We stopped on route to check out a CL at a rather bizarre craft centre before going on to our next site opposite the Black Bull inn a mile south of Pickering. A very nice commercial site with mostly long term caravans and hard standings for tourers like us. We will miss the hog roast later in the week - wrong timing again!

A Haven near Scarborough

Scarborough beach and harbour

We only pre-booked the first site for this trip and I was surprised to find that most of sites around here were full, so we ended up at a cheap and cheerful Haven Holiday camping field between Filey and Scarborough for the weekend. The field rapidly filled with week enders many with enormous tents. Mike and I took pity on a couple by helping them put up the awning on their recently acquired old caravan.

An inflatable in Funworks

We used our fun pass to have a drink in the 'Funworks' on Friday evening - and that was enough fun. However it was very convenient for the bus routes and we spent Saturday walking down to the harbour, where we indulged in a 'compulsory' fish and chip lunch, then walking along the sea front to the imposing old Grand Hotel. We came to the hotel many years ago with Mike and Margaret for a jazz weekend.


The site was very close to the Cleveland Way and a short walk along the cliff path took me to a high point from which there were views north to Scarborough and south to the cliffs at Filey.

The National Railway Museum

Mike and I went back into York and walked down to the railway museum while the ladies had a bit of retail therapy at the outlet centre close to the caravan site. Many old locomotives from around the world to browse around, the bullet train brought back memories of business trips to Japan for both of us. We took the little petrol train back up the hill with a couple of Canadian tourists who had escaped from Popes visit to Edinburgh. The ladies joined us with surprising little shopping and we had a good tapas lunch at La Tasca restaurant before returning to site again.

A day in York

Took the bus, from just outside the park entrance, into York for a site seeing day with bus pass at the ready! Walked around the Shambles and old market area and had a quick look in the Cathedral. After a late lunch in the courtyard of the old 1331 pub we went on to visit the Jorvik viking museum before returning late afternoon to Naburn. Mike and I watched Arsenal thrash another team 6-0 on TV, while Rosemary and Margaret watched a program on how to stay young.

North Yorkshire autumn break

Set off on a very blustery day for a short break in Yorkshire with Mike and Margaret. Rendezvoused at Naburn Lock caravan park which is just outside York and close to a picturesque lock that bypasses a weir on the river Ouse. The river is tidal beyond this point and is the terminus for a river boat trip to the centre of York when it sails on summer weekends. Its also handy for buses into York and the outlet shopping centre.

Dorset

Well, as we left the boat at 8.00am and the weather looked good, it was decided that a night or two in the UK to finish the holiday was in order. So off we went to Charmouth stopping on route in Bournemouth for a full English breakfast on the sunny seafront - very pleasant. Wood Farm site is a CC affiliated site and also in the ACSI discount book at €15 a night so we gave it a try and were charged £14 - not bad.

It was a nice warm day and a relaxing afternoon was spent fishing in the lake, catching a few roach and rudd. Next morning was completely different, well we were back in England,  cold damp misty - so returned home early afternoon.

I drove a total of 2700 miles this holiday during the 66 days we were away, a lower daily average than previous years. Despite staying 5 days on one site (that was at Roda de Bara and a record for us!) we still somehow managed to stay in 24 different places.

Cherbourg

We awoke to a wet and miserable morning so we decided to drive across and then up the eastern side of the Cherbourg peninsular. First Utah beach for a paddle and then stopped briefly in St Mere Eglise, the first town to be liberated in 1944. Noted that it has a very convenient MH aire right by the famous church (remember the parachute in 'The Longest Day') about 1 hour south of Cherbourg. We had our last 'moules and frites' and a glass of Muscadet in the old town square before boarding the Cap Finistere for a smooth overnight crossing to Portsmouth, arriving at 7-45am.

Mont St Michael

Drove north thru Pornic and over the Loire on St Naziare bridge to stop at Mont St Michael for the night. Had a meal in one of the little restaurants and browsed around the shops.

Outrageous tourist prices in restaurants and shops as usual.

Rosemary was going on about the exorbitant price of sweets in a gift shop with a Chinese looking lady who turned out to be the owner. Oops - la la.

Pornic - La Boutardiere

This is our next to last stop before catching the ferry from Cherbourg on Monday and so we are stopping for three nights. There is a lot activity on the site as we have hit peak season and lots of French caravans are arriving. Its getting too hot and its time to be returning home.
There are nice walks along the cliffs to the local village in one direction and Pornic in the other (but 16km is too far!). Tried in vain to get the satellite receiver working again to catch the last of Wimbledon.  Walked in to the local village, Le Berniere en Retz, just caught the market and bought some cheese and seafood (ie oysters). Paddled back along the beach as the tide was now well out exposing even more seafood. Walked the other way towards Pornic to look at the traditional fishing nets called 'carrelets'. (video on YouTube) based along the cliffs.
Did a bit of whittling and made Rosemary a necklace out of a small oyster shell.

St. Emilion

We left little England to head for the coast around Rocheforte and called en route at the world famous wine town of St. Emilion. Its actually a very interesting old town although it is 99% dedicated to selling the wines from the numerous chataeau, some of which eg Petrus are at astronomical prices. The many restaurants serve nice meals with the famous wines by the glass. Well you only go to St. Emilion once so we treated ourselves to lunch and I had a small glass of a good premier cru wine to go with it.

Rosemary is still going on about her goats cheese, duck and walnut tartine which was rather good!
We bought a couple of vines to bring home and try growing our own grapes togther with a bottle of the 2006 vintage from the same chateau for xmas (just in case!).       

Camping de la Bastide

This is like being back in the Cotswolds. Its a small site between Bordeaux and Bergerac on the banks of the Dordogne on the edge of a pretty village St Foy la Grande, but it looks and feels like a caravan club site and is 90% English campers. Owned and run by a very friendly English couple who are building up a good business with regular Brits. I think Rosemary will know everyone on the site by the time we leave tomorrow. Cracking storm last night!

Carcassone

Left the Pyrenees for the spectacular walled city of Carcassone, which is the biggest and most well preserved in France. It has a castle and cathedral within the double walled defenses and a maze of old streets and squares which are now turned into cafes and shops of course. Had a very nice dinner of regional specialities (duck for Rosemary and casoulet for me) and as it was dusk plenty of photos. We stopped on the car park with 20 other vans where we had also watched England get thrashed by Germany 4-1 earlier in the afternoon. A thunderstorm was circling below the town during the match - surely an omen.  

Ax-les-Thermes

We are finally in France on route to UK stopping a few days in a nice ACSI site within walking distance of the small spa town. Still in midi pyrenees region so the walk is by the side of a fast flowing mountain river. We are going into town twice a day and immediately, on having a coffee, noticed that prices are much higher than in Spain.  Dangled our feet in the municipal spa in the square where the water comes out of the ground smelling of sulphur dioxide and at 54 degrees C - ie its hot! There are St. John the Baptist celebrations all over France/Spain over last few days with fireworks (tragic accident in Barcelona on the news) and there are some in town on Saturday which we will go and see. Nice market for Rosemary to buy some chic trousers.

The 'do' was a dance in the square to Silvie Nuages (Silvie was the feisty lady accordion player) followed by burning what looked like last years Christmas tree. It was finally put out by a fireman dressed for a space walk rather than dowsing a few embers. Much amusement when an assistant fireman in T-shirt and shorts had to untangle his hose.

Andorra

Took a round about route to Andorra via the 5km Cadi tunnel which avoids the long drive over the Toses pass. The weather was fine and the scenery very impressive although it makes for tiring driving. We were heading for a site near the border with Spain, which we overshot and ended up doing some unscheduled shopping in Andorra. The approach from Spain is actually downhill, which came as a bit of a surprise and the site is only 300yds from the border.

Met a Danish family on the site with a huge caravan towed by a Rover 75 which had burnt out its clutch getting here and lost so much power he couldn't tow the van home. Now waiting for SOS to help. Told us that England had beat Slovenia - a result at last !

Drove thru middle of Andorra which opens out into a town packed with shopping centres and then further north the mountains start in earnest as we reached the ski resorts of Encamp and Soleu which are not motorhome friendly with height barriers. Reached the border with France via the Elvira tunnel emerging at 6500ft to a border duty free shopping centre at the appropriately named Pas de la Casa. Stopped to do a bit of shopping of course and a last 'menu del dia' before a long winding descent of 4000ft down to the small French town of Ax-les-Therms.           

Pyrenees - Ripoll

Stopped on way into mountains at Besalu, an historic fortified village with old Jewish quarter and much photographed castellated bridge. Huge, like 4ft, Aliquera(?) fish swimming around in the river below. Shopped in Ripoll and then diverted down a very narrow one way track, with over hangs, due to road works. Only just made it out onto the main road over a hump backed bridge.

Stayed a few miles further on for 2 nights at a small hill farm site (2900 ft) full of rallying NL's. A basic rural site by a small river in a wooded valley. No TV, no Wifi , no mobile phone - but very peaceful. Had a wander round the farm doing 'sheep spotting' and then had a really nice, home cooked meal of lamb in the little restaurant. The farm, which used to be a mill, has been in the family for 3 generations, its a shame the farmer/owner 'just' has 4 daughters and 3 sisters.     

St Pere Pescadore

We have actually moved further south again, but only by a few miles, to spend the weekend on the beach. The Aquarius site is owned by Germans (has a lot of them on site too) and is very modern and immaculately maintained. Another dismal display by England (0-0 to Algeria) last night but the Germans lost to Serbia earlier, so we did not get any stick at all! Spanish TV is taking the p... out of Rooney and Cappello, not that they have anything to shout about yet!   By coincidence we were here in St Pere on our way home during the last world cup.   Spotted crested larks and warblers in the dunes and assorted naked birds on the beach. Thunderstorm yesterday afternoon and it is sunny but blowing a near gale now (up at 3am to wind the awning in!) so the weather is definitely changing. Its off into the Pyrenees on Monday and Andorra on Thursday/Wednesday.

Dali Country

We came to Masnou near Empuriabrave for 3 nights in order visit the Salvadore Dali museum in Figures and his house in Port Lligett. The museum in the old theatre is a work of art in itself and full of weird paintings and exhibits, in fact quite difficult to describe but an enjoyable afternoon was spent roemin around. His house and workshop are converted fishermans cottages in an idyllic location on the coast at Port Lligett. We just managed to get in (limited entry) to see where and how he lived until his wife died in 1982 when he stopped painting. A fascinating view of a surreal hose and artist. We stopped on route at Cadeques, another very picturesque old fishing village, for a walk along the refurbished front (3m euro project!) and a snack.

Our site is near a 20th century man made 'Venice' of canals lined with expensive villas occupied by well heeled French ad Germans with a boat at the bottom of the garden. Main road is full of boat showrooms instead of cars. There is a skydiving field next to the site where we have been watching some sort of competition. There have been hundreds of drops every day of upto 8 at a time. Very spectacular the way that they free fall for about a minute and then come 'roaring' in to the field and land so gently.                

L'Estartit

We could have walked to this site along the Pals beach if the river Ter was not in the the way. In fact we are not moving very far at all at the moment waiting for the weather to settle down before heading into the mountains - there would not be much point at the moment with all the low cloud and heavy rain around. Estartit is a nice resort with a good beach opposite the Iles de Medes, an aquatic nature reserve and a good number of diving schools/trips. We parked the van on the beach when we arrived, to look around, but are now on a small site with a lot of NL's. A steady walk into town, had a nice Spanish lunch with NL football supporters much in evidence and now its raining. It was Holland 2 Denmark 0 so the site was quite happy despite the rain.   

Playa Brava Pals

Stopped at Playa Brava site on the end of Platja Pals for a couple of days. Its right on the beach but not in any of the discount books, so its not very busy even at the weekend. We walked/paddled to the other end of the beach, a round trip of 4 miles and the longest paddle ever. Swimming costumes were optional on this part of the beach it appeared. Rosemary had a shower with a tiny frog (no - not a Frenchman) which she bought back in her towel. It crawled up the rear tyre to hide under the wheel arch and may still be there! Tried a bit of fishing in the salt water lagoon but to no avail. Watched England try to beat USA in World cup also to no avail, it was 1-1.

Callella, Begur and Pals

Left the site in Llafranc and drove into Callela on route to Pals. It was raining which was a pity cos it is a really attractive resort with sandy coves backed by an old fishing village now mostly small bars, restaurants and hotels. We had a coffee under the sun/rain shades by the port before heading for Pals via the coast road. This was now running with rain water which did not do a lot to help with the front wheel grip on the steep windy roads. We stopped in Begur which is situated on top of a rocky outcrop a few miles inland and has a commanding view of the coast and surrounding land. We had a pizza for lunch (and watched World Cup 2010 opening ceremony) before 'marching up to the top of the hill' where the, now mostly ruined, castle was used as lookout for pirates in days gone by. Amazing views despite the rain which was now easing. Arrived at Pals to stop for 2 or 3 sunny days (we hope) on a beach site called Playa Brava.               

LLafranc

Llafranc is in a very picturesque part of the coast (next to Callela de Palafruegel) and has been popular with British tourists for many years. The campsite has a large contingent of Brits who come for the season (even found one with a NuVenture van!). Walked down to the old harbour area, in the drizzzle this morning, there seem to be more English nationals here than in Leicester. The downside to picturesque is that everything is either up or down a very steep hill, including the Kims campsite, but the walk is doing us good - I think. This is a small site compared to many but well equipped including a very nice warm swimmimg pool and free WiFi.

We seem to be stuck in a weather pattern of cloudy/showery days and clear evenings for about week so we are off touring a bit today.   

Camping Cala GoGo

Here we are again - and it does not seem to have changed much at all. A steeply terraced site with a 'tractor train' to the idyllic little sandy bay, with its beach bar, about 200 metres below. The last time we were here was actually 41 years ago and it was quite an adventure.
Our first time abroad, we were towing a caravan with friends and their young son in an Austin Cambridge. Needless to say no-one had driven on the right before and I had not towed a caravan. It took three days to get here. The ferry broke down mid channel and we were towed into Cherbourg, cold and seasick, at 3am instead of 6pm. Then we had two breakdowns, one a puncture and the other a broken fan belt in Toulouse. I remember we sat in a bar for about 2 hours before the engine was cool enough to put a new belt on. The other indelible memory is that Cala GoGo 'champagne' was cheaper than a litre of bottled water and we brushed our teeth with it! Sadly it is no longer available but a bottle of girlie pink cava is only 2.31 euro v 1.75 for 5 litres of water.  After 9 days of getting sunburnt and drinking bacardi and coke (very trendy then!) we set off for home, breaking down yet again with a blocked carburettor on the Cherbourg peninsular. Guess which ferry was waiting to make its first return crossing since being repaired!

We were here for 2 nights this time - enough for a quick dip in the sea, bacardi and coke with a Cala GoGo sandwich under the thatched beach umbrellas and a welcome ride on the GuaGua train back up the hill.            

Montserrat

Not just a monastery but 'a whole community' on the Mountain of Monserrat as the guide book says. This is certainly true as apart from the basilica and other religious sites there are several restaurants, huge souvenir shops and accomodation for several hundred 'pilgrims' with associated services. Its a big tourist attraction with dozens of bus tours a day even out of season. This is more than compensated by the spectacular location of the main complex on MontSerrat 2300 ft above the surrounding plain. There are numerous hermitages and others sites scattered around the main complex linked by 'walks' (but not for the fainted hearted or geriatrics) although 3 funiculars do make the highest places at 3500ft accessible.  We took the longer more spectacular drive round the mountain to get to the monastry (not entirely by design!) and the steeper descent down to the 'cog railway' station, which would have provided an easier and more convenient way to the monastery. We had a very interesting afternoon and early evening here, which was not enough, so it is well worth another visit when/if we are on the Costa Brava again.

We left it a bit late leaving in fact and managed to find a campsite open at 9 o'clock on the coast near Matero. Turned out to be a nice site and in the ACSI book. Our NL neighbours took quite a fancy to our van. We only stayed one night here.   

Palamos

Nice drive up the Costa Brava coast which has many lovely coves and sandy beaches as well as the popular 'British' resorts of Tossa de Mar, Callela, etc now abandoned by the package tour operators I think. But they are still very busy so we drove further north to the more Spanish resort of Palamos, or Sant Antonio to be precise which is still a working harbour, only to find a cruise ship berthed there! We did a good shop on the way so will be here over the weekend. There's a nice long promenade and sea food restaurants for Sunday lunch.   The sun is still shining most of the time, its nice and warm and no rain for almost 3 weeks

Vilanova Park

Back to the coast for the weekend to a big camping cheque site 3km from the beach in the modern pedestrianised town of Vilanova i la Giltru. Hundreds of chalets on this site. Needless to say a lot of Brits are here and we are entrenched in the British/Dutch sector where some people have been for between 4 weeks and six months. Satellite dishes and Coronation street rule! We did the market and beach yesterday on the bus (with nice local sardinas for lunch) and chilled by the pool today (with a token swim). Doing a bit of washing and tidying on Monday before moving on to the Costa Brava via Montserrat (another  monastry) for the start of June.

My EZPC overheated and gave up the ghost after 8 years of service, so Glady(P)S can no longer guide us. May have to get a Tom Tom, or Jose Jose, or whatever they are called over here (or rely on Rosemary). Satelite receiver has not worked since I foolishly re-initialised it to the FreeSat network, which we cannot receive till back in northern France, but it has not been missed. Latest score Spain 1, Technology 0, Mosquitoes 3 - better than Eurovison, hope football team do better.

Pobedela

After 5 nights on the 'all singing and dancing' coastal site we have moved up into the hills behind the Costa Daurada and it could not be more different. The road here goes over a 2000ft pass and we are now on the edge of the small village of Pobelada in a lovely terraced site all on our own. In fact we have not even seen the owner/reception yet! We got stuck in the very narrow streets and overhanging balconies as the preferred route thru the village was being blocked by a builders lorry for several hours. It does say in the guide not recommended or larger outfits.    

Roda de Bara

Arrived at the med coast near Roda de Bara, 50miles south of Barcelona, on Friday afternoon. Visited two monastries at Poblet and Santa Crues on the way, the former still has a few monks in residence but the later was abandoned a century ago and is now being restored to is former glory. We enjoyed the tours (in Catalan unfortunately) and collected the leaflets in English for later!

Its a holiday weekend in Spain and the huge 5* site we are staying on (website) is now full to bursting.

Site is more like a holiday resort with its 1400 person Roman pool area, open air forum that seats 500 for the entertainments and a shopping complex. Even has the Sunday Mail on Sunday morning - so Rosemary is very happy here! Good sandy beach and a nice promenade to next village, in each direction, which will keep us happy till the crowds are gone again on Monday night. The price for pensioners - 12 euros per night.

Rosemary cooked a paella for Sunday lunch, which went down well with a litre of Sangria. Very friendly Dutch neighbours going home tomorrow. Weather is settled, sunny and 25 deg'ish with a gentle breeze off the sea - ideal geriatric weather in fact.

Walked down the coast path to typically Spanish resort of Le Roc de Gaita and had a nice but pricey lunch on a terrace overlooking the sea. Path closed for repairs on the way back, so a hot detour was required - planked out by the pool and had a cool swim to recover.   

Its our 42nd wedding anniversary today, the crowds are all gone so we had a quite relaxing day with a stroll down the beach, siesta and an excellent evening meal in the site restaurant (with 10% discount for pensioners).  

Montblanc

Not THE Mont Blanc of course, but a medieval village with a Cistertian monastery, on our way to the coast. It was a quick run down the A2 with thousands of Athletico Madrid fans going to Barcelona for cup final. Staying a couple of nights here, site overlooks the village with nice views, to see some of the other monastries in the area. Found a bargain 'eat all you can buffet' in the village where you pay 4 euros to go thru a turnstile then eat anything from the cold buffet bar or cook your own meat/sausages etc on mini hotplates. Excellent idea and full of locals too. Walking down to town later when its cooler (cos its 1.5 miles and uphill back) to have a better look around the historic parts.       

Zaragosa

This is nice! A camp site with free Wifi and its sunny at last! Travelled down from Mendigoria (last site) thru the Navarre wine country stopping at Olite the regional wine capital with a fairy tale castle and wine museum to look around. Wine museum good value at 2 euros each and a free bottle of wine! Used the old N road instead of motorway and passed thru some of old spain. Municipal site at Zaragosa is very modern staying for 2 nights and taking the bus to town tomorrow. Cooking veal escolope and mussels tonite!

Took the bus into Zaragosa for site seeing. Very impressive palaces and basillicas by the side of the river Ebro and a generally clean and friendly city to roam around. Menu del Dia is around 10-12 euros with bread and a glass of wine, so not too bad as the euro is getting weaker. Much TV coverage of Spanish austerity measures - it will be UK before long it seems. Well done Gordon!

Navarre

Left San Sebastion on Saturday morning, in more heavy rain, heading south thru the mountains into Navarre region. Drove thru Pamplona (famous for bull running) but did not stop cos it was very busy and nowhere convenvient to park. Then we hit pilgrim trail at a place called Puente de Reina where an ancient bridge crosses the river Arga. Lots of pilgrims looking very bedraggled - what a week to be walking! Stayed 2 nights by the river on a big site but only few tourers around. Weather has inproved a lot but still cool and now rather windy. The walk up to the nearby old hill top village was very interesting, not many people around and seems to be summer holiday retreat. Cooked and ate outside for the first time - till the sun went in!  

Rain in Spain

That about sums up the last 4 days. Low clouds, heavy rain, hail and thunder storms for at least 50% of the time.  Found the MH aire in San Sebastion (in the student area of town) and stayed on it for 2 nights along with 20 assorted nationalities. After another morning of rain it cleared in the afternoon so we took the bus into the old town for a wander round. What a nice resort it is -  if you don't try and drive around.

Superb crescent shaped beach and an interesting old town and harbour area. Walked round the headland and then had lunch at the old fish market, now a nice bar/cafe area and watched the world go by. The forecast is sunny and warmer next week - so let the holiday begin! .

Playa Joel again

After an uneventful crossing from Plymouth to Santander we made our way to Noja where we are staying for about 3 nights. Pleasantly warm and dry for the start of our holiday. Very quiet, no one on the beach and I've been for a paddle already! However, torential rain and a thunder storm overnight, weather forecast for northern Spain is not much better for a few days so will we head for an aire in San Sebastion, which will give us more options if it stays wet.

Ready4off

All packed up and ready to go tomorrow. Leaving at 8:30 for Plymouth to catch the 16:30 ferry to Santander in Northern Spain. Looks like we are in for a few days rain (well its not Green spain for nothing) so may stop in Playa Joel till it clears up. At least it should be warmer than it is here.

Ferry Booked

Ferry booked to Santander on 9th, a few camping cheques ordered, travel guides and insurance sorted. Just need a calm sea, a bit of sun and get the Spanish phrase books out again!

Euro 2010 plan

Looks like we are off to Spain again this year. Plymouth to Santander on 9th May then east to the Costa Brava via the Pyrenees, Lourdes and Andora. Probably return home thru central France (Millau bridge route) diverting to Carcassonne, Tarn and Ardeche getting back by beginning of July.  

Oxford and home

Had a pleasant few hours orientation walk around Oxford, looking for Morse & Lewis (or was it Marks and Spencer!) and the famous colleges. Took some photographs and noted a few places to come back to see, when we are not on a flying visit like today. Lunched at Zizzi's (Rosemary had a voucher as usual) and we stopped at Baddesley Clinton (NT property) for 'a brew' on the way home, arriving back early evening.

We travelled around 420 miles and found that we had packed all the essentials, so it was good trail run. The 'squeaky springs problem' started again so a bit of DIY with PTFE and spray-on grease is needed somewhere!  

Swans in Dorset

Left Charmouth after breakfast and went to West Bay to walk along the
beach under the towering weathered sandy cliffs (a bit like Petra maybe).
Then to Abbotsbury swannery which we had never visited before.
Very well behaved swans nesting everywhere and a field of spring lambs
on route. Coffee and cake in the cafe with the birds singing - a very
English afternoon.

Stopped at C&CC site in Oxford for the night without hook-up to check the battery and gas heating (bit cold at night). Expect to have a walk round Oxford in the morning before returning home after lunch.

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Charmouth and Lyme Regis

Made it to Charmouth by 5:30pm on Monday afternoon  and found a space on the touring field at Seadown Park for 2 nights. Set out to walk to Lyme Regis along the beach for lunch - a bit too early as it turned out. Nearly reached our destination but had to wait almost an hour for the tide to go out enough for us to negotiate the Lyme Regis breakwaters. We finally arrived at 3-30 but the fish and chip lunch was just as welcome. Caught the bus back! 

Pre-season trial run

 Just 2 or 3 nights away to check if everything (including the driver and passenger!) is still in working order before deciding to go abroad. Heading for Dorset/Charmouth area but may end up anywhere in between depending on when we get away and the traffic. It would be nice to see the sea again as the weather forecast is sunny by day but cool at night.

Baveria or Pyrenees?

Its decision time - need to escape the election!

Testing from Scribefire

on the EZPC at Home

Testing

Another test using Vodafone 3G dongle on netbook with Moblin

Back Home - cruised

Arrived back home at midnight to -3 degrees, it was +30 a few hours earlier.

Celebration had to anchor in the harbour at Sharm al Sheik and we disembarked by tender. The Costa Europa cruise ship was tied up on the wall (left) after being damaged trying to dock last week.  3 crew members of the Europa sadly lost their lives in the accident - see bbc news.

It meant a lot of extra work by our already hard working crew

After the other accident near Marseilles a few days later, cruising is getting a lot of attention. Elf and Safety and 'No win, no fee' lawyers will be rubbing their hands with glee no doubt!

Checkout a selection of our photos here.

Luxor and the Nile

A night away from the boat in 5* luxury at the Nile Palace hotel for a visit to the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Not allowed to use a camera in the valley! How did I cope? - by taking sunset pictures of the Nile of course. Just as we imagined it would be. Maybe we will go back for a cruise on the upper Nile some day. 

Petra trip cancelled

Who would have thought that a trip to the hidden city at Petra in Jordan could be cancelled due to fog and snow! Well it happened - the road thru the mountains was closed so the 16 coaches were turned back by the police. Very disappointing so we spent the afternoon browsing around the old town instead. Apart from that - an enjoyable cruise so far. (original blog from boats internet 'cafe' - photo added later)