On the beach

the shell hunter

It was a cracking morning so before starting for home we took the van down to the Pembrey Sands country park. We parked behind the dunes  and had a bracing walk along the sands collecting a few shells along the way. The tide was right out, so no paddling this time. Just the odd dog walker on the huge beach  and Santa's grotto open for the kids in the park.
Lovely winters drive home along the 'heads of the valley' road pausing in Abergaveny for a sandwich and arriving home at about 6:30.

The Journey

Today we have been on a journey, a shopping journey (in an X factor sort of way). In the morning Alan drove us to Carmarthen where we did most of its shops, some of them three times. Then M48 to Llanelli to do a few more! The journey finally ended at 6:00 after finding presents for Jean and Adam.

We stopped off at Josh's to see baby Markus and Rosemary prepared a multinational meal for us back at Jeans of Pizza, Chinese spring rolls, Mexican fajitas, French fries and salad.

Pembrey Sands

the car park at Pembrey country park

It was actually dry over night at Cardiff but turned into a very wet day for the drive to Pembrey. We stopped at the Outlet Centre near Bridgend for some Xmas shopping before dropping Rosemary in Trimsarin at Jeans scout group party.
I checked in at CC site before going to see Alan. There were only three other vans on site. Another inch of water in the footwell - Houston we have a problem.

Wales

We are on our way to see Jean, Alan and Adam and have stopped at Tredagar Park near Newport to break the journey. Arrived after the park gates had been locked at dusk (actually about half an early by my calculations), so a walk in the rain to get the key from the wardens office was required.

It poured with rain for hours and there was about an inch of water in my drivers footwell.

Chatsworth and Matlock

Sunny morning on pitch at Chatsworth CC site

Another bright but chilly morning after yesterday evenings rain and its time to go home.

We visited the Chatsworth farm shop again (so that's Christmas goodies nearly sorted) and wandered round the garden centre that we passed on the edge of the estate. Picked up a few reduced pansies, herbs and daffodil bulbs and had a coffee and mince pie (2 already and not even December!) in the garden centre cafe.

It was a pleasant drive back down the A6 with the sunshine on the autumn foliage. We stopped at Matlock Bath to have a look at the historic Richard Arkwright mill, now a museaum and shopping complex. A bit more of Christmas sorted before arriving home around 5:00 pm.

Chatsworth Christmas Fair

some of the stalls at Xmas market

No snow, but it rained heavily for most of the night and then cleared to a brilliant sunny day just in time for us to go to the Christmas market. There was a good selection of interesting stalls with many of the foodie ones offering samples and lots of visitors bussed in to take advantage.

The house main was decorated in a Chronicles of Narnia theme with the main features reserved for the  Witch and Lion. It was very well done but too crowded for comfortable viewing. The hog roast in the stable yard was half price by the time we left so we grabbed two to eat in the van. We stayed overnight on the Chatsworth CC site, arriving just before the rain set-in for the night again. Found our pitch was occupied by 3 pheasants but they did not stay for dinner ;-). 

Castleton

the main street at dusk

This was just a short winter break in the Peak district to visit the annual Christmas market and decorations at Chatsworth House.

First night was at nearby Castleton caravan club site. We stopped en route at Chatsworth farm shop for the ingredients for a mixed grill, then walked in to the village just after sunset to see the Christmas lights on the main street.

There was not a lot to see without going to the caverns but the main street was quite pretty. We had a mulled wine, Caribbean coffee and mince pie before walking back for dinner. By now the ground was glistening with frost and snow was forecast overnight.

Autumn Holiday Epiblog

A nice English holiday and an extended birthday break for me, with warm and mostly sunny weather for the 10 days. Visited some new places and went back to some familiar around North Devon.

Here is a link to a selection of our photos Picasa web album.

Burnham on Sea

It rained for a few hours in the night but it had stopped by the time we left the Blue Anchor campsite. Rosemary had read about a food festival at Burnham on Sea, so that is where we went for a couple of hours. We left mid afternoon with the object of finding another overnight stay but the weather remained dull and overcast well into the midlands. So we came all the way home instead and we arrived back home at about 6:30pm.    

Lynton and Lynmouth

Heading towards home and seeing some more of North Devon and Somerset on the way. Drove up to Lynton to park then took the cable car down to Lynmouth. Browsed the shops, took some photos, had a pastie and took the cable car back up again. Then I made the mistake of going to Hunters Inn down a road marked "Unsuitable for caravans" to get to the Heddon Valley and the inn. It was unsuitable for practically anything. The NT warden cheered me up by saying 'you should never have come down there - there's no passing places! The proper road out of the valley back towards Combe Martin was much better with excellent views along the coast.  

Joined the A39 again and stopped off at Watersmeet where we walked down the steep path to the river and had tea on the lawn at the NT Edwardian cafe. Finally negotiated Countesbury Hill and Porclock Hill, stopping briefly for Exmoor pony pictures and found a site near Minehead for the night just before sunset. An interesting day!        

Ilfracombe

Took the bus pass into Ilfracombe for a couple of hours in order to get some cash and have a fresh crab sandwich. Sea food is still landed at the harbour every day. A grey murky day does not do much to help lift an ageing seaside town. The controversial Damian Hurst sculpture of Verify at the harbour entrance seems strangely out of place here. On the plus side, still no rain and its warm and sunny at times. We had a DIY cream tea, from the excellent site shop, in the evening sun back at Damage Barton.

Clovelly

Moving on today from Cornwall back to Devon. Drove A39 stopping at the picturesque village of Clovelly. The last time we were here was over 40 years ago and it is much more commercial now. We walked down the steep cobbled streets to the quaint harbour to find a film crew doing some seafood ads for Youngs. Took the land rover back up the hill and had fish and chip lunch. Looked around Clovelly Manor gardens where Rosemary did a bit scrumping/foraging before we continued on to the Ilfracombe area for a couple of nights. 

It was hot and sunny on the quay at Clovelly, but it's murky at Woolacombe. We are on a dual club affiliated site at Damage Barton for two nights.

Bude and fishing

Wall to wall sunshine this morning, what a difference between north and south coasts again. Took the van into Bude and I went for a wander and a paddle while Rosemary did the shops.
Then we went fishing for the afternoon on the sites fishing lake. Didn't catch much but some regulars had the same problem - so it wasn't our problem. It turned cloudy later with a brief shower.

Bude

Headed to north coast and found the sun at Bude. Parked up near beach and walked along the cliffs to Lifes a Beach cafe for a fishy lunch, then back along the beach. The surf was up took some surfin photos. Found the Woods Farm site easily and were given a nice pitch with distant sea view. Walked down into the valley to find the fishing lake and struggled back up the hill. Good place to see the sun set and it's the autumn equinox!

Abbfest 2

Walked up to the festival again at the garden centre which had switched from food to crafts and stuff. Still warm but much brighter.

There were 151 real ales from 31 local brewerys and only 200 staggering yards from the van.  Hardly anyone on this site has towing hitch - lots of seasonal vans.

Abbfest

Started early to head for Newton Abbot food, cider and beer festival otherwise known as Abbfest. Opened by Edwina Currie and featuring several celebrity chefs including one of Rosemarys favourites Michael Caine. We are staying at a small but very attractive site just 200yds from the festival entrance. 

Disappointing grey and humid day but the Hog roast was good.

Birthday in Glastonbury

Always wanted to go to Glastonbury but seem to have missed the festival by about 3 months. Lots of interesting things to see and do, all a bit hippy and mystical. My cappuccino was OK with just a hint of incense or something. Maybe it was in the sprinkles but it seemed to make the van go slower :-)

We headed for Devon and stopped overnight at The Trout Inn which is a free Britstop near Tiverton where we had dinner. Met an interesting old chap in the bar who had played cello in the Halle orchestra for many years. Family had pots of money!

Wells Cathedral and Ask

We were offered a lift into Wells while waiting for the bus on a rather wet morning. Wells is a lovely compact, historic, city boasting a fine cathedral which is very well presented for visits. Its also free in marked contrast  to York and Canterbury which are both expensive!. The garden of the nearby bishops palace was the source of water (ie the well) for the city's inhabitants, in days of old. 

We had lunch in ASK Italian restaurant (with a voucher of course) at a nice table overlooking the palace garden entrance.  We had a quick shop at a new Waitrose and walked back to the site. A good day but we had walked a few miles and knew it!

The cathedral from bishops palace gardens

Wells Touring Park

looking towards Wookey Hole

Set off at midday for Somerset on a bright day. GPS took us through the centre of Bristol for some reason! Eventually arrived at a nice listed site in walking distance, about a mile, of Wells and Wookey Hole.

Birthday Break to Devon

As its customary to disappear for our birthdays I decided we would go to Devon and Cornwall until the weather gets too wet/cold/miserable, or the 29th September which ever comes first.
Booked a site next to Abbfest beer and  foodie festival for the weekend.
Found a Britstop at a nice country pub for my birthday meal out on Friday.
Hoping the weather settles down a bit so that we can set off on Wednesday stopping at Wells overnight.
 

Much Wenlock and Croft Castle

Stopped off at Much Wenlock on the way home to call at Rosemary's favorite butchers shop. Here is a typical review . It was my turn to experience the hi-tech automatic loo, with voice guidance, in the car park.

Then to Croft Castle for a late morning coffee break (too early for lunch unfortunately) and a few photos.
We went to the castle, its a NT property, in 2002 for a fungus forage in late October. The grounds have many old mossy trees making it very damp and ideal fungus growing conditions. Dodged the heavy showers to look round the walled garden where Rosemary "found " some apples. 

Hereford Fishing

We had a day fishing at the C&CC site between Ledbury and Hereford, to catch some carp. I caught lots of rudd and Rosemary had lots of roach, but neither of us caught a carp. Really warm day for the start of autumn but it rained heavily overnight.

Fishing trip

Just off to Hereford for a spot of fishing. Rather a late start as the cavity wall insulators decided to be late.

Ashbourne and home

After a very wet night, it rained steadily for around 12 hrs, we left Mike and Margaret and drove home through a short sharp deluge near Ashbourne. Stopped briefly to supermarket shop and fill up with diesel. We called to see Clare and Jack in Derby and caught another even heavier downpour on the M1. The hard shoulder was flowing like a river all the way down from Copt Oak to the LFE services with a long queue to exit at the Leicester junction. Arrived home safely at 6:00 to find the insurance docs I was expecting from Privilege.

Chatsworth

Sunday promised to be mostly dull so we all went to Chatsworth House and shop.  We had a lite lunch in the foody area of the stable yard at Chatsworth before driving the pretty way back to our site, stopping briefly at Haddon Hall and Tissington village for some retail therapy at a craft fair. 

The evening and night were wet .

Battle on the Railway

We went in Mike's car to the Peak Rail station at Rowsley where there was a 40's themed open day. We had a steam train ride to Matlock and watched a mock battle featuring an exploding guards van. We had pasties and shandy for lunch. The old telephone system workshop brought back memories of my apprenticeship at Ericsson's Telephones in 60's. It was a hot sunny day and so we cooked chicken and pork outside on the Jamie to complete the day.

Carsington

It was a slow drive to the site near Carsington Reservoir due to Friday afternoon traffic on the M1 and Derby ring road, but arrived early afternoon. We found two vacant pitches close to each other in the sun. Mike arrived before tea and the site seemed to be full by the end of the day.

Derbyshire for a change

Packing to go to Carsington Water, near Ashbourne, for the weekend where we are meeting Mike and Margaret. Hoping to go to the 40's weekend on the Peak Railway weather permitting.

Llangollen and home

Definitely going home today. Stopped at Llangollen for a break and for lunch, the roads (A5) seemed very quiet so far. Bought some award winning sausages from a local butcher. I can't imagine how many sausage awards there must be cos every butcher in Wales seems to have won one!  

River Dee at Llangollen

The M6 was a  nightmare going north, but it was OK for us heading south, thanks(?) to an accident near Thelwell Viaduct. Finally arrived home home at 7:30 after doing the weekends shopping at Sainsburys in Nuneaton.  

Bala Lake

Set off towards home but did not get very far. Drove round to Tywyn, which was tedious and not very inspiring but Aberdovey a few miles further was much better. There is a sailing club in the Dovey estuary, good beach and plenty of  nice tea and coffee shops. Still lovely weather so decided to go to Lake Bala. The drive along the estuary is very pretty as is the road around the mountains from Dolgellau. We are staying at a C&CC listed site at Pen y Bont which is just 200yds from the lake and the Bala narrow gauge railway.  We will try heading home again tomorrow, maybe.

Phwelli and Criccieth

Started sunny so we took the early bus into Barmouth and jumped on a train to Phwelli, which was a bit of a disappointment, so jumped on the next train back and got off at Criccieth. Much better - a proper small Welsh seaside town. Enjoyed the train ride along the coast, gave me time to admire the scenery which is excellent in this corner of Wales. BBQ tonight then moving on tomorrow towards home.

Crossing the estuary towards Portmadoc from the train

Barmouth site

 A lazy day on site today. It started cloudy but was clear and sunny by noon. We walked down to the beach about half a mile away for a paddle and an ice cream. Sea breezes keeping us comfortable on site. 

The pitch at Transdir near Barmouth overlooks the sea 

Portmadoc and Harlech

On Monday morning we took the van up to Portmadoc for shopping and there were few photo opportunities around the harbour and narrow gauge railway. Came back via Harlech, by which time the sun was breaking through, so we stopped and visited the ruined castle overlooking the beach and then had afternoon tea with panoramic view of the castle.

Harlech Castle

Barmouth via Bedgellert

Arrived late afternoon for 3 days on nice pitch with sea views to the Llynn peninsula. It is handy for Barmouth and the coast north to Portmadoc with a bus and train nearby.
We had Sunday roast enroute in Bedgellert where Rosemary re-established contact with an acquaintance from her International Sheep Dog Society days, after chatting to a tourist information lady. Remarkably she lived next door to Laura Dunn who is now 92 and Rosemary's boss's wife from 45 years ago. They spoke on the phone and updated addresses. 

Lunched at The Royal Goat Hotel in Bedgellert

Betws y Coed

Left earlyish for out next stop at the Tree Top Adventure centre. No, we have not gone completely bonkers -  its a free overnight Britstop for motorhomes. Rosemary spotted a food festival at Oswestry, as we were passing on the A5, so we called in for an hour for samples etc.
Arrived at Betws y Coed in early afternoon so wandered around the touristy bit and watched some youths jumping off the bridge into the river. Well it was hot, but they were breaking the law and apparently some on the spot fines were handed out earlier in the day! We have the adventure centre to ourselves for the night, except for a swarm of midges which I discovered a bit too late! 

The giant swing at Tree Top Adventure  

Wales and Wenlock

Back from cruising and already we are Roemin Around in the van again. Booked a few days on the North Welsh coast to take advantage of the summer weather and stopped at Much Wenlock on the way. Very nice old Shropshire market town with novel PAYG loo and the best butcher in Britain, both tested and approved by Rosemary. Nice CC site on a disused railway station a few miles away, good for Wenlock Way walks apparently but no toilet block!

We are going Roemin Aboat

In order to keep this blog for our motorhome travels I have created roemin aboat for our cruises. You can access it from here or you can create your own link directly to www.roeminaboat.blogspot.com .

Riverside Park and Stratford

We all went for the famous 99p breakfast at the site cafe before taking the electric shuttle boat down the Avon into Stratford. The river passes the back gardens of  "millionaires row" where some of the theatrical rich and famous have their literary homes - very nice too.

Rosemary had some M&S coffee vouchers so we had a late morning coffee and did some (food) shopping before taking the river shuttle from the marina back to site. Mike and Margaret were staying another two nights but we had to return home and left mid afternoon to avoid the traffic.

Very short break at Stratford

Meeting Mike and Margaret later in Stratford on Avon at the Riverside park. We are on house sitting duty so only away for one night.

Arrived early afternoon and made the best of the sunshine before cooking some chicken on the portable grill for dinner. We all ate in Mikes awning to keep out of the cool breeze.      

What a difference a day makes

We met M and M at Rutland Water fishing lodge, which also has a very nice Italian restaurant. The sun came out again and the scene over the water from the restaurant was perfect for a lunch with friends.  

Winging it!

Meeting Mike and Margaret for lunch so thought it would be a good idea to take the van away and have a night at Wing Hall camp site which also boast a fishing lake. Turned out to be a cool and overcast day and after surveying the lakes, which were at the bottom of Wing Hill about a mile away, decided to abandon the idea of fishing!

The sites main feature is its location with good views around Rutland. The farm shop was disappointing, the facilities a bit basic and the cafe not exactly kicking, but it was mid week. Good site for weekend tent camping.  

Time to go home

East Beach

At last the wind has dropped and the sun is out so time to spend a few hours on the beach again looking for fossils before we head home. Found a few likely looking stones to crack open later but bought a couple of ammonites from the beach shop - just in case.

Stopped at Barrington Court (NT), in Somerset, on the way home for a lunch - it was our wedding anniversary. Passed lots of holiday traffic still crawling south on the M5 in the late afternoon and we arrived home at about 8:00pm.

Nice break but a bit more summery weather would have been welcome.

Weymouth

Decided to stop another night on the south coast to avoid the forecast rain and gales on the way home. Its  another cool blustery day so its off to Weymouth and straight to the Weirdfish shop (25% off) and M&S for complimentary coffee. Walked up to Nothe Fort, which was out of bounds during the Olympic sailing, but did not bother going in as we would likely have been blown of the ramparts. Back on the bus which takes 1 1/2 hours but its a nice scenic run high up overlooking Chessil beach and passing thru some pretty Dorset villages along the way. 

Lyme Regis

Golden Cap from the Cobb

A much brighter start so another walk to the beach and then we took the bus to Lyme Regis for lunch. A crab sandwich with morning coffee followed later by fish and chips and a stroll out along the windy Cobb.

A few showers and a bit of very fresh fish shopping later we returned to site by mid afternoon. I packed the chairs and table away ready to leave on Friday.

Bridport and Beach

Not exactly a delightful start to the day so off we went to Bridport on the local bus where Rosemary was delighted to find a Waitrose. When we returned the sun was out so, shorts on and a walk to the beach. Then we cooked (on the hot plate and gas cooker) and ate outside in the evening before the sun went behind the hill and the cool wind picked up again.

Neighbours thought we were "very brave"  for eating and cooking outside.  

Charmouth

Charmouth Main street

Arrived just before 5.00pm and set up on a nice pitch. Evening stroll to the beach with some layers on before a sea food supper courtesy of Tesco fish counter.

Red sky tonite - campers delite!

Late Spring Break in Dorset

We are off to the south coast tomorrow to see the sea and walk along the beach. We are heading for the Seadown Park site which has direct access to the beach and a bus stop nearby for the Jurassic Coast hopper which goes from Poole to Exeter.

Britstop at Ellenden Farm Shop

It rained overnight and more wet and windy weather is forecast so it's off home till the next sunny spell.

Hidcote NT

Hidcote Garden 

We went to the local arboretum at Batsford and then onto Hidcote Gardens before finding the Britstop near Evesham for a free overnight stop. It also had a nice carp lake, although it was about 1/2 mile walk away, so a chance to catch the first fish of the year. Actually we caught three averaging about 3 lbs.

Rosemary topped up the fridge with some locally grown lamb, vegetables and plants in exchange for the free stay. 

Cotswolds

It was a last minute decision to take advantage of the warm holiday weekend so we delayed booking until bank holiday Monday to avoid the crowds. It was a pleasant evening stay at  Moreton on Marsh with an evening meal cooked and eaten outside just like it should be.

Ely

We returned home after the weekend via Ely which we had never visited before. Did the tour of Oliver Cromwell's house, he lived in Ely for 20 years before his rise to power and defeat of Charles 1st at Naseby. Had a quick look in the cathedral which was being taken over by a film crew for a Shaun Bean sci-fi film (Jupiter Uprising out next year apparently). Walked down to the river and had lunch in the Cutter Inn by the river and bought a couple of plants from Church Cottage. It had turned cool and windy again, in marked contrast to the weekend, so we decided to just return home.    

Ashwell and Wimpole

Moved from the fishing site to CC Ashridge Farm site at Ashwell just 10 miles away, a small quiet site. Met Mark etc again at the Wimpole Estate as it was one of the the free NT open days. We all walked around the manor house and I played frisbee with Conner and the others while Rosemary prepared a pasta meal for the six of us. We all managed to squeeze in to the van to eat, as it was quite cool and breezy outside by now,  before driving back to Ashwell in the evening.

Henlow Lakes and the Dragon

Our first day away this year was to a St Georges festival at English Heritage's Wrest Park near Luton on one of the warmest and sunniest days of the year so far. We met Mark and Christina's family to help celebrate Marks birthday. Mark was dragged into a "performance" with a children's entertainer much to the amusement of the rest of us. Katie joined us later but missed Mark and the jester.   

We put the van in Henlow Bridge Lakes caravan site for one night and all went for a birthday pub meal in Henlow village. The site has two big carp lakes, as well as very good caravan facilities, which we had a walk round before leaving, but did not see anyone catch anything. 

First days away in 2013

After a very cold spring we have finally got our act together and are taking the van away to meet Mark and Christina at a St Georges Day festival near Luton at the weekend. We should be going to France at the beginning of May so this is our trial run to check the systems are working and we have packed all the essentials.