Rainy run to Stratford on Avon

There was some heavy rain in the night and it was raining on and off all morning. We set off for home just before midday and stopped for a break at Stratford on Avon, by which time the rain had given way to a few sunny intervals. We found a handy parking place and Stratford also had a small food festival and craft market in the streets. We picked up a few things to eat, had a coffee and arrived home after 6 o'clock.

Food festival

After breakfast outside again we packed up and are heading for Abergavenny for the food festival.

We parked in the Park and Walk by the river and spent the afternoon wandering around the free street markets and farmers market which fill the whole of Abergavenny. It wasn't worth a wrist band for the demos and talks so we just wandered around the free street markets. Very warm and sunny day and the town was packed. We had a cheap coffee and cake at the Methodist church and had a long chat with an 87 year old tea lady.

The farmers market was really interesting and I spent a while listening to a very enthusiastic lady author talking about her new book on bees, Dancing with Bees, they sound absolutely fascinating.

We walked back to the car parking field and it took 40min to get out.
We are staying the night at Pandy CMC site 6 miles away where we enjoyed the BBQ beef ribs from the festival with some salad from nearby Waitrose. Heavy rain is expected overnight and a wet drive home.

Birthday fishing

78rpm today so after opening cards it was a whole days fishing in the onsite lake. We (Rosemary had a go too) caught plenty of small silver fish from gudgeon to perch to bream, but no carp. Lovely sunny day again. Steaks were very nice later with glass of birthday Tio Pepe.

Hereford and Abergavenny

We set out for Ledbury, after the postman had delivered my birthday cards, where we stopped for coffee and cake and some bait for fishing. Rosemary bought two huge steaks for my birthday dinner. We arrived at the Hereford CCC site at 5 o'clock where we had a nice pitch to enjoy the last of the sunny evening with a glass of wine followed by seabass and salad.

Hidcote Gardens

We left Riverside late morning and did some food shopping for the weekend before heading to nearby NT property at Hidcote. Its an unusual old garden with a plant centre but being on the edge of the Cotswolds is a popular tourist day out and was quite busy. It was a rather overcast and breezy day so the vegetable curry in the cafe was welcome despite the wasps.

We returned via Batsford Arbouretum  for a coffee and were home by 6 o'clock.

Fishing and shopping

It was a nice sunny day so we just had a walk into the local village of Tiddington to check out the Deli and Tapas bar, which turned out to no longer be a deli. So we just had a capuccino on the outside terrace and then picked up a few bits from the Spar.  Then I tried a bit of fishing in the Avon (not very successful without using maggots as bait) but I did catch one small roach. Rosemary went back into Stratford on the ferry for an hour and returned with a blouse and some £1 bargains from the pattiserie including a huge cream scone and a piece of pie.

We decided to try the on-site restaurant rather than the Tapas bar and had a reasonable meal, a bit overpriced but its in a nice location and there is a 10% discount for campers.

Meeting Gill and Alan

Gill and Alan were staying at a guest house in Stratford so we took the electric boat down to meet them for lunch. There was queue, there are only 2 boats taking 6 passengers at a time, so we had to wait over an hour for the 10 min cruise down the Avon.



We had time for a short walk into town to get some milk before having lunch at the Pen and Parchment and then we all went back to the site.

We showed Gill and Alan around the Riverside site and we had afternoon tea, with jam and cream and home made scones, back at the van before they took the river shuttle back to town.

Riverside Park

We have stayed at the park before when one of its USP's was a 99p breakfast. Times have changed and a new very scandinavian looking two level restaurant and bar has been built on stilts near the river. The closest to a 99p breakfast is now a £6.50 bacon butty. The rest of the site is much the same except it now has some pods and beehives and more static homes.

It was much busier than last time we were there, with Libby and J, but that was out of season. We arrived mid afternoon after calling at Waitrose for some provisions and pitched up in the second field with a few dozen other caravans and motorhomes. Apparently we had just missed a torrential hail storm.

Stratford on Avon

Spending 3 nights on the Riverside caravan site at Tiddington just outside Stratford tomorrow.