Denby and Derby

We left the Chatsworth site mid morning and drove down to the Denby pottery visitor centre and outlet centre near Ripley. We had lunch there after finding a few more bits.
We called in to see Clare and Jack in Derby for half an hour, by which time it was raining.
It was very wet and dark by the time we arrived home at 5 o'clock

Chatsworth Awayday

We are at the Chatsworth Christmas Fair today. Last night we stayed in a pub yard at Wingerworth and had a nice pub meal. We bought a few interesting goodies for Christmas from the fair which was much the same as last year. Missed the house Alice in Wonderland tour which sounded a bit tacky.
Then we finished off in the farm shop with a tea cake and coffee and bought some more nice seasonal food to take home.
Stopping at the Cc site tonight. Nice fresh November weather and it stayed dry for us.

Cotswolds and Dinner

typical Burford inn

Fed the goats at the Britstop with corn cakes and set off for the final leg home via the Cotswolds, should have been sunny but turned out very overcast. First stopped at a trout fishery near Lechlade for a look round (its too expensive), then Burford for a browse on the picturesque high street. Finally Batsford for a lunch stop where the garden centre at the side of the Arboretum has a nice terrace cafe.

Wait(rose)ing for the shopping to end

Decided to go through Stratford upon Avon so that Rosemary could do a shop at Waitrose and got held up for about an hour in very slow moving traffic on the Warwick bypass, due to the road works where the A45 and A46 junction is being reconstructed. Did not get home until 5:30pm.

Rosemary cooked the trout for dinner  - which was epic!

Total miles about 750, 2 nights in CL's, 2 nights at Britstops, 6 nights in CC main sites and 5 nights in commercial sites.

Homeward Bound

Coleridges's home for 3 years

We stopped at the CC site at Exebridge again last night so we  gutted the trout before we left and will cook it on Friday, when we are home. Nice morning so I drove cross country past Wimbleball Lake to Coleridge's Cottage, (NT) near Bridgewater. We had a Poets Lunch, Cheese scone, Somerset cheddar cheese and chutney. Its October and I have still got my shorts on!

Stopping overnight at Britstop 60 just a few miles south of Swindon. We will have dinner in the White Horse Inn as its the last night of our holiday. Home tomorrow :-(

Chard to Trout Fishing

Focussed

Left the CL in Chard and drove back into Devon to return to Exebridge to do some fishing. There is still no rain, despite forecast, so spent (it was quite expensive) an afternoon at Exebridge Trout lake and finally caught a fish to cook.

The fly fishing is not good at the moment because the water is too warm at the surface and the fish mostly stay in the deeper cooler water. No one was catching anything! After a couple of hours I finally caught a nice rainbow trout weighing about 2lb - just right for the table.

Hunter/gatherer with 2lb rainbow trout

I was so focused on fishing that Rosemary had to take all the days photos and she forgot to take of picture of the trout.

Here it is back on site.

West Bay and Cerne Abbas

West Bay

Left Seadown to start heading slowly home. Stopped at West Bay (Broadchurch) for a last paddle and Rosemary bought some fresh mackerel to griddle for supper.

Cerne Abbas Giant

Then we went to medieval Cerne Abbas where there is a giant sculpture on the chalk hillside of a rampant naked warrior. Only 3 of these chalk 'mega-doodles' exist in the UK. The short walk to the village, which has a ruined abbey, was also very pleasant.

We are stopping in a CL near Chard tonite before trout fishing tomorrow. Weather forecast says rain tonite, if so, it will be first rain for 10 days.

Burton Bradstock

Decided to stop another night at the Seadown site, but had to change pitch due to hedge cutting. We went over the road to the big outdoor Charmouth market, the last one of the season apparently. I bought a new carpet and 4 butane cannisters for the van, all for £10.

just checking

Then we 'bus passed' it again to the nearby village of Burton Bradstock so that we could walk part of the Dorset cliff path. There just happened to be an excellent beach cafe, called the Hive, which for lunch did a fish pie almost as good as Rosemary's. The plaice was also very good.

We walked the walk, only about a mile over the cliffs and had a coffee in the Anchor Inn in the village before bussing back to Charmouth. I walked up the East hill to catch the sunset and we had a Mexican focaccia and salad for supper, purchased from the morning market.

Bridport and Sparrow Hawk

early morning looking towards Golden Cap

It was a nice misty morning, with the sun just breaking through, so Rosemary decided it would be a good idea for me to go to the beach and take some atmospheric photos. It was only 7:30am - but it was quite a good idea.

After a late breakfast we went to Bridport for some shopping at Waitrose. Unfortunately the winter bus timetable started today, only one bus every 2 hours, so we had to fill in a bit of time at a Costa again. We went to the beach for an hour before dinner to try (unsuccessfully) to find some fossils.

don't stare while I am eating

When we returned a sparrow hawk had just 'hit' a pigeon at the side of our van and was busy plucking it! Undeterred by us and our neighbours, it dragged the dead pigeon to the side of the hedge and spent the evening it. What a wildlife photo opportunity.

We had a tapas style meal later, with chicken wings!!!

Walk to Lyme Regis

getting some paces in

Walked along the beach at low tide but had to cross a big boulder field which I don't remember from last time. The winter storms have re-routed the river so maybe they moved a few boulders too. It was warm and dry but overcast today - OK for walking, its about 3 miles to Lyme Regis including wandering.

beach and Cobb at Lyme Regis

We wandered around the shops etc and found a place for fish and chip lunch near the famous Cobb. Rosemary bought a shopping bag and I bought some fudge. We caught the 5 o'clock bus back after a Costa coffee.

Sidmouth to Charmouth

As we were starting breakfast at 10:00am the lad who tows caravans to their pitches stopped by to tell us that we should have vacated our pitch by 9:45am! We rushed (not really) to nearby Sidmouth to find a Macmillan Coffee morning, which we did and to buy some steak to BBQ later.

Rosemary with Diane and Cliff

We were just walking back down the prom when we bumped into our next door neighbours Diane and Cliff with their dog Jake. What a surprise as neither of us knew we were in Devon!

Seadown Park entrance

Arrived in Charmouth mid afternoon and just got in to our favourite site, a short stroll from the Jurassic beach and the coastal bus route. More cloudy today than of late but still warm and dry enough to eat outside. We are here for at least 3 days.

Luxury site at Buddleigh Salterton

Ladnam bay beach and stacks

After a night at the CL we left for the Devon coast to stop at Ladnam Bay, a holiday park with everything. Restaurant, shop and entertainment including bingo! Enroute we stopped for a quick lunch at Otterton Mill, a working water mill with cafe serving local produce and bread made from their own flour.

The site is on a steep slope with terraced pitches. Relaxed in the sun for the afternoon after first going down to the beach which is mostly shingle, but has three impressive sandstone stacks just off shore and sandstone cliffs. Two evening meals in the restaurant were £10 - and not bad too.

Missed the bingo - yessss!

Paignton and Fishing

We have had 3 days/nights without mains power but the battery and gas has held up very well.

We left Totnes bound for a fishing CL near Cullompton. Detoured via Paignton where we were able to park on the harbour wall. We walked along the beach at low tide as far as the pier and watched seagulls digging holes in the sand to find food. So they don't just eat chips after all! Strolled the length of the pier and then shared fish and chips back at the harbour.

Arrived at the fishing location to find that it no longer offered fly fishing. So went to find Hollies Trout farm and fishery down some very steep and narrow roads.  May call again on way home. Returned to CL, had a couple of hours fishing on their silver fish lake and caught a nice mirror carp about 4lb.

It was very dark all around the site which made the stars really bright on a crystal clear starry night.

Totnes Steamer Quay

Elizabethan dancers in market

Spent the day in Totnes, an interesting small town with a long main street that starts at river level and is topped by a Normal castle ruin. Lots of nice shops and coffee stops on the way. The old guildhall was worth a visit and the Tuesday market is made special by Elizabethan costumed stall holders and dancing. 

Cruising to Dartmouth

A river boat makes a twice per day trip to Dartmouth from Steamer Quay where the CC site is located. In the main season this is a coal fired paddle steamer.

A guinea pig made regular visits to our pitch from the undergrowth between the camp-site and a row of houses behind the site. It seemed quite happy eating clover and our biscuits.

Sunshine and shorts in South Hams

Thurlstone Rock

Full sun again today and the shorts are on. We had a great breakfast at the Britstop farm shop cafe before we set off for the beach again.

Stopped briefly at Kingsbridge for coffee and cash machine, then went to Thurleston beach nearby. Rosemary collected some pebbles for doing a bit of beach art.

River Dart at Totnes

We are stopping 2 nights at Steamer Quay Totnes, an unusual site with no EHU - so a testing time for battery power.

Summer is back at Abbfest

military wives

Glorious sunny day from the start and we are on our way south. We Called in at Abbfest a long standing beer and food festival near Newton Abbot. we had a hog roast and I sampled some real ale. There were hundreds to choose from. We just made it in time to see the military wives choir perform a short concert.

Young beach fisherman

Then went on to Slapton Sands in South Devon and sat overlooking the beach where there were some beach fishermen. Actually saw mackerel and mullet caught from the beach. We stopped in a Britstop at a farm shop near Torr Cross overnight.

Birthday, Dulverton and Dunster

Dunster Castle

Dunster church and castle gardens

A rather dull start to the day. But it brightened up when I opened my birthday cards and presents. We went out to Dulverton which was also rather dul. Then on to the attractive village of Dunster with magnificent castle. There should have been fine views over the Bristol Channel but it was - well dull. Toured the castle, very fine place and then had tea in a nice tea shop in the village. Rosemary judged the ginger cake as the best she has ever had - praise indeed.


We returned to Exebridge and had a really good evening meal at the Anchor Inn. We shared mussels in cider and cream marinade to start, then I followed with Lobster risotto and Rosemary had the Portuguese fish stew. It was all washed down with a bargain bottle of NZ sauvignon blanc, but that's another story.

There was a hedgehog sitting in my coiled up EHU cable when we returned to the van! We also heard owls and saw grass snake on this site. Lots of wild life!

Thunderous start at Exebridge

Nicely landscaped coarse fishing lake

Awoke to crash of thunder and torrential rain. The good news is that the UK is still in one piece after yesterdays Scottish referendum.


It only rained for 3 hrs so plenty of time for fishing in the afternoon. I did not catch much but it was a relaxing afternoon in nice surroundings. Rosemary just kindled!

Last of the summer in the West Country?

Nice pitch looking down the Exe Valley

We are off to the the south west to (hopefully) catch some of the late English summer sunshine. We have booked a CC site in the Exe valley, in Somerset, that has a fishing lake and a gastro-pub for my birthday weekend. After that it depends on the weather.

We arrived at Exebridge Lakeside at 5:30pm. A very nice site with good fishing lake and nice walk to the riverside pub. Its hot and humid, the wardens say we need a storm.

Denby and Derby

We left Poolsbrook at about 10:30, calling at Morrisons supermarket in Staveley for breakfast and to make use of the two £5 discount vouchers Rosemary had clipped out of the Sun newspapers on Thursday.
We stopped at Denby Pottery on the way home for a coffee and to buy replacements for broken pasta and cereal dishes.
Then we called in to see Clare and Carl and young son Jack in Derby. Jack had been in A&E overnight with an attack of croup but was full of energy when we arrived so the steroids were working well! Hope he is OK for his second birthday party next week.

Andy's Wedding

Andy and Lyn's wedding took place at the Hotel Van Dyke, Clowne, just 10 mins drive away from the site. I walked into Staveley in the morning  to get the paper while Rosemary put on her wedding frock etc etc etc. The Van Dyke is a really nice venue and the wedding went off without a hitch. Even a few heavy showers did not spoil the day for the happy couple and the 40 or so family and friends, or put off the hyper active photographer.

We left about 11:00pm with the disco still going strong and drove quietly into the caravan site - a bit controversial on Caravan Club sites. It was now full, but I don't think we woke anyone up!

A day spent fishing

The plan was to fish in the morning until the forecast showers arrived and then go to Denby pottery. The showers didn't arrive, so I carried on fishing most of the day. Rosemary fished for a while then walked a mile along the Trans-Pennine way into Staveley village.

Its always a bit hit and miss fishing an unfamiliar water but after a bit of advice from the bailiff Rosemary and I both caught two fish each. Two bream, one roach and the nicest looking a 2-3lb tench. The lake is much bigger and deeper than the usual carp ponds that we fish so it was a pleasant change to catch something different. When Rosemary walked into Stavely to get the Daily Mail she came back with the Mail and two copies of the Sun, more about that later.

There was a good downpour for several hours in the evening that put an end to any thoughts of a BBQ.      

Wedding and Fishing

We have been invited to Andy Payne's wedding 'up north', so after finding that there is a CC site within 10mins drive, we decided to take the motor-home and have a few days away at the same time. Turns out that the Poolsbrook caravan site is adjacent to Pools Brook Country park which has three fishing lakes - perfect.

We left around noon and arrived early evening after delays on the M1 and stopping, for provisions and a fishing permit, in Staveley.

Back home again

The weather was poor on Thursday and with a holiday weekend looming we decided to just drive straight back and arrived home just after 6pm. Had to stop twice to empty the water out of my foot well. It only seems to happen when driving in torrential rain but I must investigate to try and find where it is getting in.

Just checked the mileage and we did 1900 miles on the trip, about 500 of which was in England and Wales.   We were away for 5 weeks altogether, 4 of those were in Ireland. We stopped at 17 different campsites in Ireland,  3 in Wales and we had 2 free nights at Glendalough and a Britstop on the Wye.

Another day in Carmarthen

Jean walked to the site and then we met Alan and Josh to drive down to the beach. Walked around a bit and had another paddle. Then we went into Carmarthen again for a meal in the Harvester restaurant as a treat for everyone who had a birthday or anniversary to celebrate. That was all of us, Josh is 21 next week.

Ferry Bound

Coast near Rosslare

Both alarm clocks worked so we made it to the ferry at Rosslare  in plenty of time. The checkin lady put us in the wrong waiting lane and we were about to be loaded onto a Stenaline ferry. Fortunately we noticed we were heading in the wrong direction and a bit of cone moving fixed the problem and we were soon aboard Irish ferries and enjoying another flat calm crossing. It was sunny in the Irish sea but pouring with rain by the time we arrived in Pembroke. We are stopping at Pembrey to see Jean for a couple of days.

Waterford

Well it rained continuously from 2pm yesterday until 2am this morning. Too far for UK TV and Irish TV is all politics, with elections this weekend. We watched our emergency DVD Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy last night.

Typical Vikings !!!

Today we are on our way to catch the ferry at Rosslare tomorrow morning. We had a quick look at Dunmore East, that's all it needed, then we spent some time in the old part of Waterford. It was settled by the Vikings in 900 ish  and has been an important sea trading town ever since. Waterford was the only town in Ireland not to be ravaged by Oliver Cromwell and has a strong national identity. The Waterford crystal factory is a magnet for US tourists visiting the historical sites at Cork and New Ross so the prices seem to be set accordingly.

Waterford Glass showrooms

We stopped at New Ross again for lunch and ate in the bistros of a theatre/cinema that until 1960 was a
catholic church. It was quite bizarre, but the best value lunch we have had all holiday. Now on a small site on the coast just 15 mins from the ferry and need to get up at 7am - that's going to be a strain.

Kilmore Quay

The summer did not last long its 10deg cooler and rain forecast. Drove down to a fishing village on

south coast for a fishy Sunday lunch and to check out the free overnighting spots recommended by an Irish man we met. Very nice lunch and but it's raining again, as promised, so not a nice place for a free night. Next stop was going to be Waterford for some holiday shopping, so I put the destination in GPS and set off. Just rounding a bend when "in 400 metres turn left on R273 and board ferry".

Gladys (our GPS) had  planned a route via one of only two car ferries in Ireland. By now the option was to take the ferry to Passage East  or drive an extra 30 miles in the rain. Fortunately it crossed every 15 minutes even on Sunday so we took it!  We are spending the night at a Golf complex with campsite near Dunmore East, very posh toilet block. It's still raining, but at least my cold is getting better.

Morriscastle Strand

Dunes at Morriscastle Strand

Spending another night here and having a rest day to help shake off my cold. We found the easy way to walk to the beach where there were a few families on the sand and not much else. Its probably packed in the summer holidays as there are several large caravan sites with cabins and static caravans. Reminds me of the English east coast near Skegness. The weather is great so I may light the BBQ tonight. Its just like being on a summer holiday now!

I found that we could just about get a UK Freeview signal from one of the transmitters on the Welsh mainland about 30 miles away, so I watched the cup final until it was too late to eat outside. Arsenal won 3-2 after extra time.

Hugging the Coast

We are spending the last few days on the south-East coast. The weather now is just right. Blue skies, warm sun and a sea breeze.

Travelled down the coast road to Courtown Quay a nice harbour village and then the weekend shopping in Corey, a busy market town hosting an International sheep shearing competition.

Arrived early at Morriscastle Strand site where we picked a nice spot sheltered from the breeze and got all the outside furniture out and cooked some trout on the Jamie. We tried to walk to the beach over the sand dunes and gave up - they were much too steep.

Mountains and Coast

We enjoyed Kevin's hospitality and a good chat with the Irish motor-homer who loved our van. Then we drove up to the Wicklow Gap to admire the mountain views before heading for the east coast at Britas Bay. By now the sun was out, so on went the shorts for an Irish Sea paddle and to collect some shells on the almost deserted beach. We popped into Arklow town for some steak and salad and doubled back to another good 4* site at Redcross in the Wicklow mountains.

We got there just in time to cook the steak on
the Jamie (portable gas stove) and eat outside for the first time this trip. Good forecast for the next few
days too. Shocked to discover that it was Thursday when we checked in, we thought it was Wednesday!

Glendalough Heritage Site

Rosemary did some washing before we left the Hidden Valley site then we went to the famous monastery ruins at Glendalough, the second most visited tourist destination in Ireland. We have been here briefly before but spent more time today in the visitor centre learning about Saint Kevin who founded the original monastery. Then we did the 2 mile circular walk to the upper lake in the picturesque valley. Glen-da-lough means valley of two lakes.

It's a pity about the weather, last night's clear skies have turned into dull overcast, but at least it has not rained.

We are stopping overnight in the large wooded parking area with Irish and Austrian motorhomes. It's free, Rosemary loves it!

Man versus Fish - round three

It hasn't rained at all today! We spent most of the day at a trout lake at Annemoe and at last I have caught a fish with my fly rod. It was a beautiful 3lb rainbow trout and as it was too big to cook in the van or the BBQ I had to put it back! That was the only fish I landed as another pulled the hook from the line (my fault) and I lost several flies (my faulty again). 

Man 2 - Fish 2  - Flies 5.

It was a very picturesque lake and we enjoyed the day in the sunshine. We have moved a little way south now to Rathdrum, another nice site by the river, hoping for another dry day.

Wicklow Jail

I walked into the village to get the morning paper (just like being at home) and bought some croissants back for breakfast.

Then we went directly to Wicklow jail visitor centre, it has a well presented history of the county jail and some of its infamous residents since the 1700's. We even had a light lunch in the prisoners cafe before walking down to the quay where fishing boats land lots of welks from the  Irish sea. They are processed locally and then exported to Korea. Rosemary bought some fresh sea trout from a shop on the quay which we had with sea bass for supper. There were Netherlanders and Germans for company on the  site when we got back. It rained again!

Roundwood caravan site

The site is excellent and the owner very knowledgeable and helpful. We have real hard standings instead of a patch of gravel in a large puddle (last site at Mountshannon) with a view to the mountains and nearby reservoir. Its Sunday and a rest day except for a 10 minute walk into the village for Sunday lunch. Roundwood is actually the highest village in Ireland, although only 240m asl, so we ate at the second highest pub in Ireland (the highest was just over the road). Daniel Day Lewis has a house here overlooking the reservoir.

 There we sat in leather seats, by a wood burning stove, in an award winning gastro-pub - this is more like it! The lunch was substantial, to say the least, but we walked a little bit off by going down to the reservoir on the way back to the site. Rest of the day was spent on Sunday papers (Rosemary) and copying photos to the netbook (me). If it stays dry (the sun is actually shining occasionally then maybe another walk to the village tonight, although it is cool in the the breeze.

I don't think the temperature has been above 16 deg since we came to Ireland. So no barbeques, no breakfast outside and no shorts - but we live in hope! We intend to stay here another couple of nights to go to Wicklow and a trout fishing lake for round three of Man v Fish.  

Loch Derg to Wicklow

We have had enough wind and rain in the Shannon waterways  so we heading East after finishing the tour of Loch Derg by going round the southern tip. We stopped off at Kilacoe enroute for an excellent coffee and cakes in a French cafe. This part of the Loch is less bleak than the northern lochs, more like our own lake district or Derbyshire. We went up the East coast of the Loch as far north as Dromineer, which has a large pleasure boat/cruising marina and was very quiet for a weekend. Hopefully just out of season or bad weather or the Irish tourist industry has a problem.

We joined the M7 to head towards Dublin to do some quick miles, in more pouring rain, before turning off south east through the Wicklow mountains to a campsite at Roundwood. The GPS took us over the Sally Gap, a narrow mountain road with few laybys (and not much traffic fortunately) , which in the weather conditions, was quite interesting. We had everything from hail storms to rainbows in the 20 miles. I managed to find a few spots to take photos of swollen streams tumbling down the mountains but the scenery would be much better in good weather.