England
Thursday 1st July 2010
Looking after Charlie, I'm wore out!
Friday 2nd July 2010
Had a good afternoon fishing at Curborough Fisheries, Michael joined us for a short time to watch an “expert” fisherman
Saturday 3rd July 2010
The specimen fishing pools at Kingsbury Water Park are now open on a day ticket instead of being an annual membership. I decided to fish the “Gibson Pool” and caught my biggest Tench, ever!
Sunday 4th July 2010
Sharon, Michael and Charlie came early afternoon and Michael and I walked Around to the Kingsbury Model Boat Lake to meet my brother Brian who was joining his 2 mates there to see the model boats on show. However only the “IC” (internal combustion) boats were on the water, very quick but also very noisy.
Monday 5th July 2010
A relaxed day before once again visiting Curborough Fishery for the afternoon and evenings, Michael fished this time and caught the largest fish!
Tuesday 6th July 2010
Cathedral Grange Caravan Park, Lichfield, 52 41 82 N, 01 50 52 W, (11 miles)
A return for one night to Lichfield, to shop for our weeks stay in Herefordshire. I drive over to Sutton Coldfield to visit Brian who was sailing his model Yacht at the Sutton Park Model Sailing Club venue at Powell’s Pool. In the evening Michael, Sharon and Charlie came over for an Indian take-away, Charlie wasn’t keen on the Chicken Vindaloo, he liked the prawn one though (joking).
Wednesday 7th July
Little Tarrington Camping and Caravan Club Site, near Hereford, 52 03 96 N, 02 32 75 W (83 Miles). After returning the hire car to Enterprise (great service from them) we stopped briefly at Tesco to fill with diesel, making great use of the 5 pence off voucher as we hadn’t refilled since Annan on the 2nd June and the tank was below a ¼, we had 25.59 miles per gallon from the last “top up” and 23.06 average since new so we are very pleased with that from our 3.0 litre engine. We couldn’t have asked for a better pitch at the campsite, we are overlooking the picturesque lake and the nearest “fishing peg” is just 10 yards from the motorhome, my cups of tea won’t get cold when Jenny brings them to me when I’m fishing and she can call me when my dinners ready!
Thursday 8th July 2010 – Sunday 11th July 2010
Spent fishing and relaxing.
Monday 12th July 2010
* * * Happy 41st Wedding Anniversary to my wonderful wife. X X * * *
Tuesday 13th July
Spent fishing and relaxing.
Wednesday 14th July 2010
Cathedral Grange Caravan Park, Lichfield, 52 41 82 N, 01 50 52 W, (87 miles)
An uneventful drive down up to Lichfield, it was my intention to get up early and do a spot of fishing before we left, it didn’t happen! After “setting up at the campsite we (or rather Jenny) decided WE would walk down to Enterprise Vehicle Rental to collect the hire car, she “confessed” later she didn’t realise how far it was, luckily we were rescued by the welcome sight of Michael driving along Eastern Avenue who was on his way to visit us and he duly dropped us at the hire depot, a Vauxhall Corsa this time, not a patch on the Fiesta “Titanium” we had last before.
Thursday 15th July 2010
A drive into Cannock to-day for a “tune up” on my new hearing aids.
Friday 16th July 2010
An 8:30 am appointment at Good Hope Hospital for a check up on Jenny’s eye’s which we were relieved to find out were OK. Because we needed to get up early we hadn’t had breakfast, so on returning to Lichfield we decided to go to a restaurant for a “fry up”, Jenny went to the counter to order whilst I sat down, unfortunately when she returned to the table we did not realise that her seat was wet, urghh, wet right through to her skin, we had to cancel the breakfast and return to the motorhome for her to change. We did have a nice lunch though at the Kingfisher café at Fradley Junction before having a stroll along the woodland walk, around the lake and then along the canal tow path.
Saturday 17th July 2010
A relaxed day reading the papers, etc.
Sunday 18th July 2010
I went to Coppice Lane Fishery at Hammerwich which is owned by a couple of old fishing pals of mine from my match fishing days with the Good Hope Hospital Social Club, had a very pleasant morning there chatting to Paul and Lawrence. Jenny in the meantime continued to make the new curtains for the motorhome, we have decided to have cream voile material and put the original darker and heavier ones into the storage unit, they are only for “cosmetic” purposes anyway as we lower the blinds for privacy at night.
Monday 19th July 2010
After a short drive to the Fishing tackle shop in Lichfield for a few “bits and pieces”, the Bose shop in New Oscott, was our next destination today, we decided I deserved some new Headphones and after testing a pair with my own music choice by taking my ipod to the store, we chose a pair of Bose “noise reduction” type which shut out most external noises, it means I will be completely ignoring Jenny when I am listening to my music, except (of course) when she tells me my dinners ready! We then stopped at my brothers for a cup of tea, however he kindly made us lunch as well, before we went to the large Foster Tackle shop near Witton to purchase a new fishing reel, my old ones now showing wear after many years of use. Our last stop of the day was the Reindeer Caravan Park (with real Reindeer) near Coleshill. Our friends Jenny and Ian who we first met during the winter at Kingsbury Water Park Camp Site are staying there so we “popped” in for a chat and of course a cup of tea.
Tuesday 20th July 2010
A quick dash over to the Storage unit at Tamworth with a few items we won’t need in the next couple of months. Lunch time Jenny had an opticians appointment and I drove over to Aldridge to see my old work mates at CST Pharma, it was nice to see Sue, Daniel, Keith and Laura again. A short drive then to Sutton Coldfield to Sutton Park to meet my brother Brian at the model sailing club on Powells Pool, I must have made a right mess the last time he let me use his model yacht, he didn’t offer me a go this time! We decided to have a meal at the Raj Duth restaurant in Lichfield, Mr Hussain (as usual) made us most welcome and once again we had a delicious Indian meal. Last stop this evening was Tesco for a “top up” of our food before moving to Shropshire tomorrow.
Wednesday 21st July 2010
Ebury Hill C & C C , Near Shrewsbury, 52 44 61 N, 02 40 38 W, (53 Miles). After a bit of last minute shopping, I emptied the grey waste tank at the camp site whilst Jenny returned the courtesy car to Enterprise. We were then on our way to Shropshire, stopping at the services on the M54 to top up with LPG, the first time we have filled up since Fort William on the 25th May, we have now used £89.65 since we first had the motorhome March last year, very good considering we use it for most of our cooking (although the cooker has one electric ring that we always use when we are on 240 volt), heating and hot water. While I was waiting for Jenny to come out the Service Station pay kiosk I noticed that the services had a “Burger King” and also plenty of parking spaces, so as it was lunch time we decided that we would have a burger and drink there instead of waiting until we arrived at the campsite, (if it had been a McDonalds we wouldn’t have bothered). Suitably fed and watered we arrived at Ebury Hill mid-afternoon our first visit to this Camping and Caravan Club Site, one of the few club sites without toilets and showers (yes, of course we have our own facilities) which obviously reflects on a lower price of camping here. People have been staying at Ebury Hill for the last 3,000 years. Developed as a hill fort in the Iron Age, it is the perfect place to spend a few quiet days relaxing and fishing.
Thursday 22nd July 2010
A good thunderstorm last night and this mornings weather wasn’t much better with the rain bouncing off the concrete for at least a hour. However by late morning the rain had stopped enough for me to go fishing, albeit under the umbrella, the pool (an old quarry with depths up to 12 feet) is covered in weed and is quite a challenge to fish and 5 Perch and 3 small Tench was my total for the day. We did see just as the light was fading a man catching a Common carp of about 20 pounds a fantastic fish in “tip top” condition. Jenny finished off the motorhome curtains, just need to purchase hooks now to fasten the tie-backs to.
Friday 23rd July – Saturday 24th July 2010
Managed to get a digital television signal here, so I watched all the practice sessions and the qualifying for the German Grand Prix from Hockenheim before spending the afternoon’s and evening’s fishing, not very successfully on Friday, 2 large Tench on Saturday, I also got broken by what could only have been a monster Carp! Jenny read, did some knitting and hand washing (no launderette at this site).
Sunday 25th July 2010
Michael, Sharon and Charlie came early to spend the morning and afternoon with us. I watched the F1 race whilst Jenny took them to visit the town of Shrewsbury about 4 miles away. A mammoth Television session of the Grand Prix due to the controversy over the Ferrari team orders, started at 12:05am and didn’t finish until almost 5:00 pm, great. Finished the day fishing, however the fishing was dire, only 1 bite and I got broken, again!
Monday 26th July 2010
A relaxed day
Tuesday 27th July 2010
Ryton Farm Certificated Site, Near Shrewsbury, 52 38 00 N, 02 44 75 W (17 Miles). First stop this morning at Tesco to top up the “larder” then a short drive to the fishing tackle warehouse close by for some “bits” before continuing to the camp site at Ryton. From our first site of the camp site we knew we would enjoy our stay here, good hard standing pitches, power, landscaped surroundings with views of the hills of “ The Long Mynd” near Church Stretton about 5 mile away and 4 fishing pools! After “settling in” we got our bikes out and cycled to the farmhouse which is approximately a mile away to pay and collect the key for the electric socket, thank goodness the road was almost flat, we have not used our bikes for quite some time. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the lakes and after a chat to some fishermen I made a decision where to fish this evening, which turned out very successful as I caught some very large Carp.
Wednesday 28th July 2010.
Fished the pool today near the entrance and once again caught some good Carp and plenty of quality Roach. Jenny read and finished knitting my pullover
Thursday 29th July 2010.
We like this camp site so much we are going to spend another 7 days here. We obviously need to get some extra food to last us the week so we drove to the “Park & Ride” near Tesco on the outskirts of Shrewsbury. We had got the directions from Ebury Hill our last stop to avoid the height barrier at the park & ride car park, however we thought that this would be a “back way” into the car park, when we arrived there were fences preventing us getting into the car park “proper”, luckily an “official” looking man spotted us asked us whether we wanted to use the park & ride when we said “yes” he directed us to a parking space which was ideal for the bus stop, we only had to walk 50 paces! A 15 minute bus ride found us in the centre of Shrewsbury, now those that know me are probably aware of my dislike of shopping, but I must say with it’s mix of new buildings and quaint old Tudor buildings and with a good variety of shops which weren’t the usual, Boots, next to W. H. Smith, next to Jessup’s, next to a derelict Woolworth’s, etc etc, Shrewsbury has one of the best shopping centres we have visited for a long time. We even found a “proper” fabric shop with hundreds of different materials, the lady in there directed us to a “proper” wool shop, where we purchased the wool for Jenny’s next knitting project, an Arran Jumper for me (yes, I know she has only just finished a 4 ply jumper for me, but I deserve another one). After a cup of coffee (and a Muffin) we walked back to the bus stop and caught the bus back to the Park & Ride near Tesco. We (yes, really) have decided that in my “old age” I need to be more comfortable when I am fishing, so out goes my trusty old Shakespeare box and in comes a fully adjustable chair and a tackle carry bag, purchased from the tackle shop we visited on Tuesday, I deserve to be spoilt! Our next stop was amusing, we wanted a hook to hang my new “BOSE” headphones on in the bedroom. We had seen a “Homebase” on the way to the park & ride and drove in the entrance with no problem, however the exit had a height barrier (how absurd, you can drive in but can’t get out, after driving around the parking area and unable to find an exit without a height barrier, there was only one alternative, exit through the entrance (if you get my drift). Apart from one driver who gesticulated with his fingers that the time was 2 o’clock, (he was slow it was 10 past 3) we drove out without any further dramas and in fairness to that driver, he noticed my predicament and went in through the exit!
Friday 30th July 2010 – Tuesday 3rd August 2010
Relaxing, reading, listening to music and fishing, Jenny started my new Arran jumper.
Wednesday 4th August 2010.
We have decided not to continue our intended tour of parts of Wales, it will have to wait for another time. Instead, we are staying at Ryton Farm in Shropshire until we return to Lichfield on the 20th August for my sister-in-laws birthday party on Sunday 22nd. We have everything we need here for a comfortable stay, it is so peaceful and at times we are the only people on the camp site although a few come to fish during the day and we even have our own Rumanian gardener who keeps our site nice and clean and tidy. We once again today visited Shrewsbury, driving to the “Park & Ride” at Tesco, after a short stop at the fishing tackle store on the trading estate close by. We purchased a pair (well, one would be no good) of Walkie Talkie’s from Maplin, I thought that instead of me shouting “loudly” from where I am fishing for a cup of tea and a bun, I can now shout “quietly” for a cup into the speaker, (just thought if somebody is on the same channel I might end up with 10 cups)! What a lunch, we don’t like cooking fish in the motorhome, so when we have the opportunity we buy them to “eat out”, however their was an upstairs restaurant at the “Town Fryer” so we decided to eat there, we ordered Haddock and Chips and when it arrived the Haddock was hanging off either side of a large plate, delicious and only £4.20. After another look around the shopping centre and some of the quaint shops in the narrow side streets we walked back to the bus stop and returned to Tesco, topping up with grocery’s before driving back to the camp site.
Thursday 5th August 2010
A nice chat today with the lady who’s husband owns the farm and camping, she was so passionate about the landscaping at the fishing pools and campsite, when we cycled down to the farm to pay the extra for the rest of our stay.
Friday 6th August 2010-Saturday 14th August 2010
Mostly spent relaxing, fishing and reading, just wish the weather would improve. My brother Brian had intended visiting us on Thursday but the weather was rather poor. We didn’t go out at all on Saturday it was so wet, although it was dry for a time in the morning which enabled me to cycle to the village of Dorrington for the newspapers.
Wednesday 18th August 2010
My brother Brian came over today to visit us, he came down to “Hughes Pool” and sat with me for a short time, taking the “pxxx” out of me when I was slow at seeing “bites”. Brian drove us to a pub for lunch before we continued to the popular beauty spot at Church Stretton called “Long Mynd”, Brian used to visit the area to go “Slope Soaring”, (a type of model gliding), I remember coming up here in the early nineties for some “real” gliding lessons for a day, a “prize” I won when I worked at Hamer Ford, I will never forget the instructor asking me if I wanted to do a “loop the loop”, Wow, no “sick bag” in those aircraft either!. When we arrived back at the camp site we (Brian and I) once again went to the fishing pool and I was very pleased to catch a Common Carp of about 7½ lb while he was there.
Thursday 19th August 2010
Well it looks as though we will have to leave here tomorrow, we are running out of food! However I did cycle to Dorrington and bought some Potatoes and Butter, “Murphys’ Law” as I cycled back to Ryton, a Tractor had spilt some potatoes on the road, I needn’t have bought any and some of them were already “mashed”. The last day of fishing today and once again I fished Hughe’s Pool my favourite for its mix of species of fish. It didn’t disappoint as I caught some nice Rudd, Bream and Roach, a Tench as well as 4 large Carp. Once again though I was fishing underneath the umbrella in the heavy rain, I will have to tidy up my tackle in the morning, hopefully it will be drier.
Friday 20th August 2010
Cathedral Grange Caravan Park, Lichfield, 52 41 82 N, 01 50 52 W, (54 Miles). What a great time we had at Ryton Farm over the last 25 days, so relaxing a perfect place for a long stay. Our plan to visit some of Wales went “out of the window” so we will save that for another time. After an easy drive back we stopped at Enterprise Car Rental to pick up a hire car for the weekend. It was a good job we were not travelling West along the M54 motorway, it is the “V” music festival at Weston Park this weekend and the traffic on the motorway was stationary for mile after mile. I have had a complaint from a couple who shall remain anonymous (ha ha) that there are not many photo’s of Jenny recently on the web site, I will amend that shortly and feature her in the Piscatorial pages. But I must point out that “The Old Trout” weighs in more than the 8 stone I first caught her at in 1968, hope that this will placate Judy and Brian from Wellington in New Zealand!
Saturday 21st August 2010
A catch up day shopping, library, etc. I also did a bit of family history “investigative” work on the internet with some positive results.
Sunday 22nd August 2010
Lunch invitation today at Jimmy Spicie’s Restaurant in Sutton Coldfield to celebrate sister in law Linda’s 60th birthday on Tuesday. Jimmy Spicie's is a multi cuisine dining experience, with a sumptuous range of Indian, Thai, Italian and Chinese dishes served up fresh every day. As its Multi Cuisine, we could have gone back to the food counters and tried each of the different cuisine’s. However both Jenny and I decided to eat the Indian food which was delicious, although I think we may have “strayed” when it came to the range of sweets!
Monday 23rd August 2010
A relaxed day, not!
Happy Birthday Linda, Love Jenny & Alan xx
Tuesday 24th August 2010
Moorland Farm , Banwell, Somerset, 51 20 44 N, 2 52 26W, (131 Miles). A busy morning preparing for our drive to Somerset, Jenny took the hire car back to Enterprise and Michael picked her up to bring back to the camp site, pity she left our coats on the back seat! When she rang them up the car had been taken to pick up some other customers from Rugeley, however by the time we had emptied the grey waste, etc (and eaten some plums off the nearby tree) and drove back to the hire depot, which luckily was on our way, the car was back and we retrieved our coats. We didn’t bother stopping on the way and were at the campsite mid-afternoon. Another great find from the Caravan Club sites handbook a “5 only caravan site which is in a paddock at the back of the old farm buildings (although the property is no longer a farm. John the owner found us a pitch within yards of the pool in an absolute idyllic spot. The intention was for our daughter Rhiain to collect us and take us shopping, unfortunately she had been “called out” for a flight Heraklion (Crete), we hadn’t bothered to stock up at all so we had a short walk up to the village of Banwell and bought a loaf of bread and some beefburgers and with some apples we I “scrumped” from a tree (well they were overhanging the road) we won’t starve.
Wednesday 25th August 2010
Weather warnings for the area today, high winds and torrential rain, needless to say we didn’t do a lot other than stay in the motorhome and read and listen to music, I did manage to ride up to Banwell for a newspaper before the “heavens opened”!
Thursday 26th August 2010
Relaxed and fished whilst Jenny knitted, baked scones, biscuits and cake and went with Rhiain to Tesco for grocery’s, it’s a hard life.
Friday 27th August 2010
Another day similar to yesterday and with a bit of “tele” watching for the Grand Prix practice from Spa, Belgium, and the weather is getting better.
Saturday 28th August 2010
Rhiain flew to Dalaman (Turkey) early, so Jenny went over to Rhiain’s and helped Ian (Rhiain’s boyfriend) to do a few “jobs” around the house. I had a surprise when I was fishing when I spotted a Grass Snake swimming past! I managed to scoop him/her up in my landing net to take a few photographs before I let it slide away into the undergrowth.
Sunday 29th August 2010
A couple of relaxed days.
Monday 30th August 2010
A great lunch at the Sidcot Arms near Cheddar a restaurant we have visited several times before and we have never been disappointed
Tuesday 31st August 2010
Up early this morning as we need to be at West Country Motor Homes at Lower Weare for 9am, the motorhome will be there until Friday for some warranty jobs to be carried out. Skoda Octavia courtesy car (no jokes please, it’s a very nice car). Ain’t it typical, we are staying at our daughter Rhiain’s and the weather is warmer than it as been for a couple of weeks and we are indoors. Looks like I am being cajoled into doing some DIY jobs too!
Wednesday 1st September – Thursday 2nd September 2010
At Rhiain’s
Friday 3rd September 2010
Moorland Farm , Banwell, Somerset, 51 20 44 N, 2 52 26 W, This morning West Country Motor Homes rang to say the motorhome was ready so we went into Weston-S-Mare to “top up” with grocery’s, etc. before driving to Lower Weare to collect the motorhome. We have decided to return to Moorland Farm and stay for an undetermined period it will give us an opportunity to see more of Rhiain. We pitched in a different spot than last time, again we are close to the pool and right next to a decent fishing spot. This CL is so nice, the owner John is so helpful and the site is very private in the paddock at the back of his property and at least 2 mile from the main road.
Saturday 4th September 2010.
That was fun this morning. There have been notices for some time now that the main and only road through the village of Banwell will be closed for road works for this weekend necessitating a long diversion. When we walked up to the newsagents this morning for the newspapers the assistant was “wetting” herself laughing as people who hadn’t read the notices attempted to turn around in the narrow road, it was chaos. We suggested we ought to go back to the campsite to fetch our chairs, we could sit outside the newsagents all day and watch some free entertainment!
Sunday 5th September 2010
Great, Jenny saw a Grass Snake today, the first time she as seen one so close.
Monday 6th September 2010
There’s a thief and vandal on the campsite! I had been fishing yesterday and left a plastic bait box underneath the motorhome with some luncheon meat wrapped in aluminium foil inside. When we went to the amenities this morning the box was about 5 yards away from the motorhome with the lid chewed off and the luncheon meat missing, most strange was that the aluminium foil was completely intact, Fox? Badger? Mouse? Rat? Hedgehog? Or perhaps even a Mink, whatever it was it was intelligent.
Tuesday 7th September 2010 – Sunday 19th September 2010
Spent most of the time between Rhiain’s and the motorhome, relaxing, fishing, reading etc, etc.
Monday 20th September 2010
Invited Jim and Margaret from Cheshire, who were on the pitch next to us, for a cup of tea before they left for Tewkesbury. Laugh last night, I went out late and met Jim, we talked outside for quite some time, when I returned Jenny asked, “where had I had been?” “Talking to Jim”, I replied, “What, you’ve been talking to a dog for half an hour?” John (the owner of Moorland Farm) has a Border Collie called…………Jim!
Took Rhiain out to lunch. Ulterior motive, we wanted some aluminium steps for the motorhome, Jenny was struggling to reach the top of the motorhome when she was polishing it and as she is to heavy to lift. only joking, actually we have taken the ladder extension off the rear of the van (weight and security) and we thought that a pair of light steps would serve a “twofold” purpose, we will be able to reach the top sides of the motorhome to wash and polish it and also still be able to get on the roof to clean the skylights, etc. Where was I? Oh yes, ulterior motive, Rhiain drove us to the hardware store in Cheddar to purchase a pair, then to West Country Motor Homes to collect a Thetford winter cover for the refrigerator outside air vent. Here’s a thing, Canwell Caravans near Sutton Coldfield only had one in stock last year and it cost us £21.15, we purchased the other this week (2 required) and the one from West Country Motor Homes only cost us £16.50!
Tuesday 21st September 2010 – Wednesday 22nd September 2010
Rhiain took us shopping, we bought some carpet tiles from B& Q for the washroom, which I fitted on Wednesday afternoon. They looked so good I had an idea, why don’t we fit carpet tiles throughout the motorhome, looks like we will be paying another visit to B& Q tomorrow. I also found the perfect place in the garage for the aluminium steps, fitting 4 hooks to the roof (also the floor of our bed) and suspending them by strong tent rubbers, perfect.
Thursday 23rd September 2010.
Rhiain collected us lunchtime straight from work, (a flight to Faro in Portugal) and after a quick “stop-off” at her house we went back to B& Q for some more carpet tiles, looks like I will be busy tomorrow.
Friday 24th September 2010.
Well I was right, a busy day cutting and fitting the carpet tiles, just a few pieces to finish off. If I hadn’t been “interrupted” by the 2 F1 Grand Prix practice sessions from Singapore I would have finished them. Jenny finished knitting my “Aran knit” jumper, looks and fits great, what a clever girl. Next knitting project is Hat and Gloves for Ian (Rhiain’s boyfriend) much to Rhiain’s “disgust” she thinks her Jumper ought to be next!
Saturday 25th September 2010
Promised myself a last day of fishing today, before, in between and after the 3rd practice session of the Grand Prix and the afternoon qualifying respectively , wish I hadn’t bothered as I only caught 2 small Perch and I could have finished the carpet tiles. Slight problem though, the mats are “moving” on the surface of the new carpet material, didn’t do that with the original carpets, looks like Jenny will have to put her “thinking cap” on!
Sunday 26th September 2010
The first frost of the Autumn last night, however a lovely sunny morning, needed to put the heating on in the motorhome though. Rhiain came over mid-morning to take us to her house, we are watching the Grand Prix there. We have really enjoyed our stay at Moorlands Farm CL and we certainly will return here again, tomorrow we are moving to Wellington in Devon for a couple days before driving to the coast, possibly somewhere near Lyme Regis. Our intention is to drive along the coast towards Weymouth and then Poole and Bournemouth, however, we need to return to Somerset before 18th October for West Country Motor Homes to complete the warranty work on the motorhome.
Monday 27th September 2010
Cadeside Caravan Club Site, Wellington, Somerset, 50 59 20 N, 03 13 01 W, (38 Miles). I “readied” the motorhome this morning, whilst Jenny went shopping with Rhiain to the Tesco in Weston Super Mare, I also had time to fit a couple more of the carpet tiles, which need careful cutting around the various shapes and corners. Should mention that John the owner is so trusting that only today have we paid for our 24 day stay, fishing, and fresh eggs and vegetables, we did however pay by cheque, not leaving cash in the jam jar near the water tap! After saying our goodbyes to John, telling him that we would probably see him again in October we drove the short distance along the M5 motorway South to Wellington, arriving just after lunch. The reason we have decided to stop 2 days at Wellington before continuing further is the cost of the camp sites. We are on a Caravan Club site which has no amenity block, i.e., toilets and showers and obviously because we have all we need in the motorhome we don’t really require them and the cost is only £9 a night. We shall also stay 2 nights at a CL (certificated location) camp site on the 29th and 30th of September at a similar cost. Then, October 1st we are in both the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravan Club Site “low season” and “hey presto” the cost reduces by approximately £5 per night, a worthwhile saving.
Tuesday 28th September 2010
A wonderful start to the day, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We decided to walk into Wellington a short distance away which took us about 15 minutes. A really good high street with a new Waitrose and also Asda. We found a shop called “Buy & Save” which we thought was only a small craft shop, wrong, it was an “Aladdin’s Cave” which just went “back and back” and appeared to sell almost everything, we managed to purchase exactly what Jenny wanted, bias binding, elastic, knitting row counter and a pair of “Crocs”, we would have preferred to go back to Kuranda in Northern Queensland to purchase another pair for $5 put weren’t sure whether they would have the colour. Any way these only cost us £4.99, still over twice as much as we paid in Australia 3 years ago though. I hope Jenny looks after this pair better and doesn’t wear the sole out so soon! Typical went into a cafe for coffee and cake and the sun was shining, came out 30 minutes later (having completed the crossword in the Daily Mail ) and it was cloudy. Finished the carpet tiles this afternoon, another successful job.
Wednesday 29th September 2010
Little Bulstone CL, Branscombe, Seaton, 50 41 98 N, 03 09 99 W, (33 Miles). A wet late morning short drive to Devon. We took a chance on the small “5 van” camp site having a space for us, as we couldn’t get a response on the phone before we left Wellington. Although borrowing 6 Ordnance Survey maps from Lichfield Library for our visit to the area, Murphy’s Law, we did not bring one for this part, missing the adjacent sheet map by about 2 mile! However the gentleman on the next pitch has explained where the public right of way footpath is to Branscombe along the South West Coast Path and hopefully we will find our way across the fields to the village tomorrow, when the weather is said to be improving. In fact as I type this (5:41 pm) the rain clouds are disappearing and it looks as though we will have a nice evening. We are pitched on a very pleasant sheltered hardstanding site in a paddock, with absolutely no traffic noise whatsoever as we are at least 3 mile from the nearest main road, although the cow that woke us up mooing so loudly this morning at Cadeside appears to have followed us and is residing in the adjacent field!
Thursday 30th September 2010
Unusually for a small 5 van camp site this one has a washing machine and at £2 a washing cycle which is extremely good value, Jenny decided to do 2 washes. As the morning was so warm and pleasant we were able to sit outside and cut each others hair, without any injuries to either party! The owner of the site was also selling fresh eggs at £1 a half a dozen and without the little lion stamp, Brian, (family joke), so Jenny cooked delicious cheese and ham omelettes for lunch. We decided this afternoon to walk to “the seaside” and despite not having an ordnance survey map we found the public footpath to the South West Coastal Path and walked along the top of the cliffs to Branscombe Mouth and despite this being “The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site”, I only saw one “fossil” in fact “it” followed me for the duration of the afternoon! It did take us a couple of hours to reach Branscombe Mouth, delayed in no small part by Jenny insisting that we stop at every Blackberry bush to sample some “bush tucker”, if she has stomach ache in the middle of the night its not my fault, although I must admit I did partake somewhat myself! We did finally reach the beach, or to be precise, “The Sea Shanty” tearoom, and they were advertising “Devonshire Cream Teas”, well, we needed no second invitation, We spoke of fond memories of the last time we had one when we went for a day out to “The Dandenong Ranges National Park” and stopped at “The Snooty Fox” with our Australian friend Runa (now Doctor Runa Daniels, see photo). Devon Tea in Australia? Strange but true. There was so much cream left in the tub, plus, a small jar of Strawberry jam, that when we had finished Jenny carefully packed both in the rucksack, guess what is the first item on her baking list tomorrow? We had forgotten until we read the information board that this was the location in January 2007 of the infamous beaching of the MSC Napoli a 62,000 tonne cargo ship, which was carrying 2,400 containers. Treasure hunters came from all over the UK to plunder the containers. I was amused by the last paragraph on the board. “The people of Branscombe and the Parish Council are to be congratulated on the patience and fortitude in the face of this unwelcome visitor” Unwelcome? The bed and breakfasts establishments , hotels, cafes, shops, etc, for miles around must have thought all their Christmas’s had come together! We left the beach front and walked back along the public footpath to the village where I took some photographs of the Old Forge, The Old bakery and (unusually for me) a Church, Branscombe Church intrigued me with its odd square tower with a round turret and with the floral decorations made for a good photo. We arrived back at the caravan site just as it started to rain, so we had a bit of a rush getting the dried washing off the line, just as well, it has not stopped raining since.
