This was scheduled to be another relaxing day and we had planned to spend it messing about in the boat but it was very breezy, with white horses on the lake so we gave it a miss. We spent the day reading and blog-writing, punctuated by food and drink. We popped into Interlaken in the early evening for more supplies – mainly fruit – although I did pick up a bar of chocolate called Ovalmaltine. It was lovely. A bit gritty in texture, but a lovely flavour. Paul was less keen, but that didn’t seem to stop him scoffing it!
The evening brought football. The first time the TV had made an appearance all holiday. It was the Wales versus Portugal match and sadly gallant little Wales could not withstand the might of the Portugese team and their run of luck ran out. I spent the evening browsing the internet, reading and sighing LOUDLY.
Base campReady for a barbie.
Day 8 – to the hills! 7th July
Off to the mountains again today. We set off for the very pretty town of Wilderswil, effectively the starting point for most tours of the Jungfrau region It has many hotels, accordingly. Our next stop was at Lauterbrunnen, where we viewed and took the obligatory pictures of the most famous (of many) and impressive Staubach Falls. At just under 300 ft, most of it freefall, it’s a great sight amongst valley of waterfalls. There are 72, apparently, in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, including the equally famous Trummelbach, which – rather annoyingly – we missed completely! Next time! We had a coffee at a cafe with great views over the valley towards the Schilthorn mountain.
Staubach Falls – Lauterbrunnen
On the way to our next destination, Grindelwald, we went through a very unusual tunnel. We had noticed an odd circular-looking road on the satnav and it turned out that it is this 1200m long tunnel that is virtually circular, climbing steeply throughout its passage. It was also a single track road with passing places – an altogether different experience! At least!
Screenshot from the satnav showing odd round thing!Just because she’s beautiful
Grindelwald is a ski town, obviously so, with all the requisite shops, bars and hotels/lodges. It’s an attractive town nonetheless, with a selection of cable cars. We stopped and had our picnic in the shade, overlooking the again shrunken Oberer Grindelwald glacier (gletscher in German Swiss).
After lunch, we set off for the Pfingstegg Cable car, which Arch was quite happy to ride in. At the top, where there are stunning views, there is also a sommerodelbahn (this video gives a great impression of the ride) – or summer toboggan run. Someone had to look after the dog and I knew Paul would love it, so I was left with dog and camera. I am not the most expert with an SLR and I thought I had taken two really good shots as he raced down the curves. Sadly not! My bad! I did manage to get a couple of shots of him on the climb back up, which is a slow rack and pinion affair and not ideal for action shots – Oh dear!
Going up! View of GrindlewaldView from the topArchie admiring the view – and looking for PaulPaul – at the end of his summerodelbahn run. Oopsie.
By now it was very hot and we beat a hasty retreat back to the van. The weather was perfect for the boat, so we dug it out of the car and blew it up. Didn’t take long and we were soon out on the water. Archie was quite happy, being used to boats, and we had a very pleasant time, followed by a swim for all of us. The water was refreshing – cool but refreshing.Sadly no pictures because i was “advised” not to take any photographic equipment with me. I did manage to grab a shot of the boys in it though, from the shore.
Our new boat
Day 9 – at leisure 8th July
It was a sunny day so we had breakfast and then jumped in the boat for a quick row and a long bob around and then another swim. So glad we got the boat – gonna be a lot of fun. For those interested, it’s an Intex Excursion 5 inflatable. It gets great reviews and we saw it for a good price. It’s really tough and durable and you can also get an outboard for it, which we will do at some point – maybe after we have got over the Swiss cost of living!!
As we were moving on the next day, we did a little desultory tidying up before returning to our books and snoozes.
We dried the boat out in the hot sun and deflated it – which again didn’t take long – and replaced it in the handy carrying bag it comes with, ready for next time.
The evening was largely spent packing away the awning and the awning carpet and then we went for an early night as we thought we’d make an early start on our journey to our next lake! We will be very sad to leave this lovely spot, a real wrench. Let’s hope our next pitch is as nice – although it will have to go some!
After our long day of travelling, we decided to have a day off from being on the road. We spent most of the day relaxing in the sun and reading – with maybe the odd snooze thrown in. Around 6pm we decided that we needed to stock up, so we went off to the small town of Unterseen where we knew there was a Coop. That done, we went for a quick spin around the edge of Lake Thun and then back to the on-site Italian restaurant (Restaurant Landhaust) where we had a very pleasant meal before returning to the van for some strawberries and cream.
I should mention here that, as we had expected, the cost of living in Switzerland is considerably higher than France (or home). What I would consider to be a fairly meagre shop, came to over £70!
Not much more to say about day 5, other than that relaxing by a lake surrounded by mountains is a pretty cool way to spend the day.
The view from our pitch – Thunnersee
Day 6 – Exploring the Mountains 5th July
We set off for our first destination of the day which was Brienz , a town on the banks of Lake Brienz or Brienzersee, the second of the two lakes between which Interlaken is sandwiched and, of course, which gave it its name. I had visited this town as a young teenager and at that time it was famous for its wood carving shops. Uncle Derek had visited not long before me and had given me the money to buy a carved figure for him. Today we could only find one such shop (Huggler) and the cost for a similar figure was a small fortune. Shame.
We went and got a coffee and a pastry at a restaurant on the shores of the lake, and sat for a while drinking in the view. The colour of the lake is incredible.
As we were driving towards, our next destination, Meiringen (alleged birthplace of the meringue!), we saw that someone was using an ex cable car cabin as a shed/garden room in their front garden. Great idea and a nice bit of up-cycling. We saw much hay-making going on. The Swiss make even the smallest patch a source of hay and it looks like very hard labour for the small man. We saw whole families raking, turning and gathering the hay. Important winter fodder in a snowy country, I guess.
From Meiringen, we pressed on up into the mountains, driving through the low cloud and eventually reached the still snowy Susten Pass, which at 2224 metres, is the highest Archie has ever been. We marvelled at the Steinglestcher Glacier, today, sadly considerably smaller than it would have been 100 years ago.
On the way up to the summitStein GlacierArchie and the snow at the summit of Susten Pass
Meandering around in the mountains takes far longer than you would estimate and we eventually found ourselves well over an hour away from home, even by the fastest route, and by now it was late afternoon. We thus picked up the fast road to Lucerne and then bashed back to Interlaken. We so love the mountains and had had a great day. Incidentally – the temperature down in Brienz had been around 24C and up at the pass we recorded only 14C. Brr!
Luxembourg may be a small country, but too big to explore in just one day. We had thus decided to concentrate on the Mullerthal region – also known as Luxembourg’s “Little Switzerland” or Kleine Schweiz. We’ll see! As we had to pass through the City, we decided on a brief look round but, as cities often are, it was pretty busy so we had a quick look and continued our journey. As we arrived, though, on the hour of 11, a carillon was playing a tune. It gradually dawned on me that it was Hosanna from Jesus Christ superstar! Interesting. We thought the city had some fine buildings.
Carillon at Notre Dame Cathedral,LuxembourgLuxembourg – Adolphe BridgeOfficial Building in Luxembourg CityLuxembourg War Memorial
Our first destination on the Mullerthal tour was Beaufort, which has a pretty fine mish-mash of a castle, being built in 4 separate periods. A good photo opportunity.
Beaufort 1
Beaufort 2
We then passed on through the Mullerthal Gorge, where we stopped for a while at an amazing spot where steps have been built into a crevice in the rock which lead up to a high rock – very like a priest’s pulpit. It’s called Predigtstuhl– which I now find actually means pulpit. Who knew? Amazing place.
Pulpit RockApproaching Pulpit RockPaul and Arch about to make the climbThe 39 Steps (or more!)Nearly thereTop of the world Ma
Whilst there a trio of old – really old – VWs roared up. The camper, as you can see had only a couple of inches clearance from the ground! How they get around without bottoming out all the time, goodness knows. They made a fine sight though – and noise!!
Could it be any lower? CamperLow flying Bug!Rusty bug
After this, as we running close to the border, we poked our nose into Germany and I popped into a Norma supermarket. It wasn’t great. No Aperol or Asparagus darling?! Slightly below the standard of a LIDL/ALDI, I would say. LOL
We stopped to see some cows on the way back and Archie took the opportunity to have a rest after his exertions in the Gorge.
Hello girls!Rustic bench
Then it was home and a bit of prep for leaving tomorrow and then we popped down to the on-site fritierie and had a beer (Bofferding seems to be the most popular round here) and some croquettes and chips. Reminded me a ittle of FEBO food. Was delish though. A bit of work on the blog and bed followed. Oh – and as for Little Switzerland? No. I don’t really think so. Beautiful, but only a very teeny tiny Switerland.
Day 4 – to Switzerland 3rd July
This was always expected to be a long day of driving and indeed it was. Some 310 miles. We find that long journeys are made more bearable by stopping little and often and this is just what we did. We set off and soon crossed back into France and through Thionville, where the mighty Moselle river flows and which also featured heavily in WWI and II. We also crossed the Maginot Line. We next passed through Saint-Avold. I went to school with a chap named Avold. His surname was Carter – as was mine but not a relation. What an interesting aside!
St Avold is home to the largest WWII American cemetery, with 10,500 graves. A staggering figure. All this time we had been travelling through the Lorraine Region and then we crossed into the Alsace region. Shortly after we had crossed the border, we saw that, as well as the usual signs for deer, we saw a sign for Wild Boar. Alas we did not see one in the flesh.
We passed through Strasbourg – which grandly advertises itself as the “crossroads of Europe”. Our next stop was at the Haut Koenigsbourg aire just outside Colmar, where we were surprised and delighted to see storks (European White storks to be precise). They had obviously spent quite a while at the site and had sadly become far too accustomed to humans feeding them and they were behaving like seagulls or pigeons at the seaside!
It was great to see them though. We also had a great view of the castle after which the aire was named.
Stork Nest
Big bird!
Are you storkng me?
Storking about
Haut Koeningsbourg
By now it was 16.30 and the journey was starting to pall a little by now and we still had another couple of hours to go. We had a lively game of Trivial Pursuits to entertain ourselves, which whiled away some time. By now we were in the Haut Rhin region and soon (finally!) crossed into Switzerland. Our first task was to stop and purchase our vignettes at the border crossing (one for the car and one for the caravan – total €80). The vignettes are in lieu of road tax.
With the technicalities taken care of, we got back on the road and came to our first Swiss town – Basel. We went through Basel largely in tunnels. In fact, we had been in Switzerland only a short while and already been through half a dozen tunnels!
We were now on the last leg of our journey and began to see glimpses of the views we had come all this way for! Exciting.
We arrived at our destination – Camping Manor Park, Untersee near Interlaken – at 1830. The site is in the shore of Lake Thun (or Thunnersee) and I had booked back in January I had been able to select what I hoped would be the perfect pitch. It actually exceeded my expectations and I had to keep pinching myself, so beautiful was the view. Definitely the best ever pitch – in Europe at least.
Our amazing lakeside view to the leftThe view from our pitch – looking ahead
We set up for our 6 night stay and I made a curry for dinner, which went down very well indeed. We retired full of anticipation of seeing that view again in the morning, with good weather forecast. What ho!
Weeks of planning and research had finally come to fruition. Everything was packed in the car, the bikes were on the roof and Archie had a shiny new pet passport. Paul had actually, finally turned his PC off and we jumped in the car. We drove to the bottom of our very short road, had just rounded the corner when it happened. BANG!! One of our neighbours had reversed out of their drive without looking and hit the caravan squarely on the corner.
Ouch!!!
We were devastated. We thought it was our holiday down the pan. On inspection, whilst our pride and joy was looking very sorry for itself and will probably cost quite a lot to repair, the damage seemed to be pretty much cosmetic (although none the less annoying) and after consulting with another neighbour, caravanner and key witness, we decided to go for it.
We were delayed by about half an hour by the incident, by the time we exchnaged insurance details and had consoled our poor neighbour who was distraught and very close to tears. I ended up feeling very sorry for her despite the damage she had caused, no one was hurt, it was all repairable and we had a very good witness. It could have been SO much worse.
Luckily, we had allowed plenty of contingency time and we set off up the A3 in reasonable spirits. All was going swimmingly and then just as we approached the Hindhead Tunnel portal, we noticed brakelights coming on and then we ground to a halt. Here we sat for 45 minutes, finally ascertaining that the cause of the delay was a load of spilt gravel ! Could things get any worse ?
We continued our journey, hitting a few rough spots on the M25 but arrived in time to check in at Eurotunnel, by the “skin of our teeth”. Check-in was a simple matter and there was no requirement to show Archie’s new passport, so we sailed straight on to the train.
BoardingDriving through the train
We were a little concerned about how Archie would react to the train, as he is a bit of a wuss when it comes to trains, but he did not bat an eyelid. In fact he snoozed all the way across, until that is, we started eating our late lunch !
The journey to our first overnight spot was uneventful and we were greeted by Guy, the proprietor like old friends. We had checked ahead and been told by his wife Bridget that the on-site restaurant would be open, but on checking, we were told it was not open. We ordered our bread and Viennoiseries, for tomorrow’s breakfast and went to our allocated pitch.
We had decided to do a very rudimentary set up, to save time, so we did without hook-up, used an old washing up bowl for our waste and employed a kettle to fetch water from the tap – we have done this before and it worked out fine.
We did not fancy cooking on our first night, so went off in search of food. We had heard tell of a friterie in nearby Lederzeeler, but sadly this was closed, so it was off to Saint-Omer the nearest “big” town. Sadly it seemed that Saint-Omer was also closed but we did take the opportunity of having a little explore, despite our grumbling tums.
There is a canal (canalised portion of the River Aa) running through St Omer, which connects with the Neufosse canal before exiting in to the North Sea. We also particularly liked the old ruined St Bertin Abbey, closed during the revolution and demolished in 1830 – all but the tower.
The 157ft high Tower collapsed in 1947 due to WW2 shelling. The ruin created a suitable backdrop for the dramatic statue of St Bertin, who unlike most Saints had a fulfilled, long and happy life lasting 94 years.
The ruinsSt BertinThe canal in St Omer – lock view
By now we were getting desperate, and to our eternal shame, we had to resort to the local “Drive In” McDonalds, although I must say the French Franchise does seem to produce a higher grade of burger and very good coffee ! Worth bearing in mind if you find yourself in similar desperate circumstances.
Day 2 Buysscheure to Luxembourg 1st July
Camping La Chaumiere (where we have stayed before) really is in the sticks and there was not a sound to be heard all night. We slept until 9 and then Paul went to collect the bread. Whilst out on his walk, he met another camper who told him that the lovely Bridget has left Guy and he is managing the site alone now, very sad and perhaps the reason for the restaurant closure.
After breakfast, packing up was a quick matter and we were on our way to Luxembourg. The first large place we passed through was on an unusually high (for this region) piece of land. It was called Cassel and there were some beautiful Gardens of Remembrance. It was particularly poignant as today was the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The gardens have a vantage point over the fields of Flanders and we took a moment to think of our poor dead boys.
Actually, the entire trip was like a tour of WW1 battlefields as the route took us near such famous names as Armentieres, Loos, Bethune , Tournais and Mons.
We crossed into Belgium around midday. We thought it was time Arch stretched his legs and relieved himself. We stopped at the very first aire in Belgium and it was like a dirty, disgusting run down car park. We would have driven straight out but the traffic was backed up so we had a quick stretch, Archie performed and Paul found some – er – human waste. Yuk!
We pressed on towards our destination and eventually found a very pleasant aire, complete with a Starbucks so we stopped for lunch. I hastily knocked up some rolls whilst Paul went to get the coffees. Very nice it all was too.
Belgium is pretty flat and – dare I say it – unremarkable. Sorry Belgian people. We crossed quite a few rivers and canals – some very wide, with some large locks and commercial shipping. But the most impressive was at Namur, where the road crossed the river Meuse. Namur is the capital of Wallonia, one of the 3 regions of Belgium (the others being Ardennes, home of pate and the Flemish region – home of er……) and hosts the Walloon Parliament.
We crossed the border into the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg around 3 pm and found it to be very woody. It is, apparently, the size of Northamptonshire and, interestingly, it is the only Grand Duchy left in the world.
We were heading for Camping Kocklescheuer which is just south of Luxembourg City. We are staying for two nights, giving us a day to explore a bit. We found the site easily and did a proper set up and then had a snooze (or beepy, for the initiated). It’s very pleasant on the site, although it does seem to be on the flight path for the airport!
We awoke refreshed and eager to orientate ourselves. We set off towards Bettembourg in search of food but once again, struck out. We really need to get better at this!! We are too fussy (OK it’s me. I am too fussy). We weren’t that bothered as there was an on-site friterie. We arrived back on site at 8.10. The friterie closed at 8 pm. I hope this run of bad luck ends soon!
Luckily, I had brought a couple of pouches of ham and cheese risotto in case of emergencies, which this seemed to be. I have had worse things to eat. But not much! It was fuel at best. We read for a while to let it digest and also did a little work on this blog and then it was time for bed. Fortunately the aircraft noise had more or less subsided and we had another peaceful and restorative night.
Really looking forward to this one – complete with bikes – all perched on the new Thule bike roof rack for their longest journey to date. It’s actually the second outing for the roof-rack but the first was only maybe a mile! Off we set, remembering to monitor what effect the bikes would have on fuel economy. Our destination was Tudor Park Caravan Park, in Slimbridge – home of the famous Wildfowl and Wetlands trust set up by Sir Peter Scott. The caravan park is right on the banks of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal in the prettily-named Shepherd’s Patch. The road to the site leads only to the Slimbridge visitor centre and is thus very quiet.
We arrived after closing time but there was a little docket with our name on it on the notice board, together with a plan of the site. We were on Pitch 1 in The Orchard – a child-free area of the park. We completely misread the map and ended up doing a circuit of the site. Easy mistake! It was a nice pitch, under a willow tree and we soon had everything set up and comfy. We cooked the dinner and then settled down to watch a bit of television before turning in.
Our pitch at Tudor Park
Friday 27th May
It was a quiet night – punctuated only by our frequent coughs! We slept late, but Friday had dawned bright and fair and it was then that disaster struck. Well OK – that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But we had omitted to bring our medication with us. So after a lovely breakfast of bircher muesli (prepared by me the previous evening) we set off in search of the nearest pharmacy. We checked with the camp-site warden and he advised that there was a Boots one quite nearby, in Cam. We found it really easily and they were very helpful – especially as we were rather vague about dosages and things. They even rang our surgery to check. Great service. We had a short wait and used it to get a coffee from the cafe nearby and then popped back to pick up our supplies. Disaster averted!
Next was a trip to lovely Stroud and a visit to Waitrose for supplies. We went there via a scenic route and stopped for a look at the view at Coaley Peak Viewpoint, which at 233 m has a magnificent vista over the countryside to the mighty Severn. We also passed by a lock on the disused Thames and Severn canal, which was obviously being restored. Great to see.
We eventually arrived at our goal. As it was hot, we could not not leave Archie unattended in the car and so I went off to do the shop whilst Paul made a few work calls and kept the dog cool. It was getting late by then and so we returned to caravan to unpack and have lunch. This, again, was a circuitous route via Uley and beautiful Rodborough Common, where cattle graze on unfenced land.
After lunch, we set off on our bikes and rode along the canal towards Sharpness. The tow-path started off very smartly surfaced but soon deteriorated into grass and ruts made by other bikes in wet weather. They were a bit tricksy if you got your wheel caught in them. Archie was in his element. He loves running with the bikes. I believe he would do it all day if he were allowed to. But as he’s getting on a bit – and also for roads – we have a backpack into which he can be popped for a rest. He’s not keen but it’s certainly safer on the road and also gives him a break from running.
Archie taking easyRest timeBoat – sigh…..
The last time we went to Sharpness was quite a few years ago on my Dad’s narrow-boat. We were then accompanied by our good friends Sue and Paul and two young dogs, brothers Archie and Freddie. It was a particularly poignant outing, today, as we have recently lost darling Freddy and miss him so much. Fred lived with Sue and Paul and they feel the loss very sharply. He was like a second dog to us, too, as “the boys” (as we call them) saw each other frequently. RIP Fred. We love you.
Young Fred and Archie. Sharpness Canal. AUG 2004Fred August 2004 ♥
It was a lovely ride and my heart ached when we saw boats making their way to and from the terminus. I miss boating so much. Just can’t get enough of it. As we had a snooze in mind and needed a shower, we didn’t cycle all the way to Sharpness. We returned to the van and had a quick siesta followed by a shower and then we were off out for dinner. We were bound for the dog-friendly Ragged Cot in Minchinhampton. A lovely pub, with a nice ambience and great food. I had moules followed by steak with blue cheese sauce and divine thrice-cooked chips. Paul had ham hock terrine and Old Spot gammon and eggs with same gorgeous chips for main. Delicious and very filling. We enjoyed the drive home. I love country lanes at this time of the year, all decked out in sharp greens and frilly white petticoats from the cow-parsley. They make me feel so happy. We had a coffee and retired feeling contented.
Sat 28th May
Another poignant day today, as it would have been Mum’s 84th birthday. But it was also the day we were to meet with my Cousin Angela and her husband Austin. As it was a lunch engagement, we took our time over breakfast and set off to find a scenic route the to lunch venue. I had selected the pub on the internet from a dog-friendly pub site. It looked attractive and had reasonable reviews. It was also easy for my cousin to find (they were coming from Herefordshire). As we approached it, we both suddenly realised exactly where it was. We must have driven past it hundreds of times on the A417. It was called the Golden Heart Inn and located in Nettleton Bottom, near Birdlip. The pictures make it looked very attractive. What they don’t show is how close it is to a very busy road which, today (and very often) was more like the M25 near Heathrow. Not perhaps the best choice! But I knew we’d make the best of it.
We arrived first, very shortly followed by Angela and Austin. The food was reasonable – not great, just average. But we had lots of catching up to do so it wasn’t that big an issue. We retired to the garden for coffee, by which time the traffic had died down a little, so i was quite pleasant. It was lovely to see them, but all too soon time to part – they back to Herefordshire, where they were staying for a couple of days, and us to our caravan – eventually.
We decided on a visit to Tetbury – if it’s good enough for HRH, then it’s good enough for us. It’s a very pretty town and we had a wander round the largely independent shops and charity shops. We paid a visit to the Highgrove shop but nothing tempted us. I did see a lovely lime green suede handbag which tempted me sorely. I resisted and now regret having done so. Once we had finished mooching, we made our way back to the van. On the way home we saw a cottage that would be perfect for our friend Linda Mary and also a property for us. In our dreams!
Tetbury Market HallFlagsTetbury church – St Mary the VirginLinda’s HouseOur house
Sun 29th May
After a tradition breakfast of toast and duck eggs, we set off on our bikes for Sharpness. It was a beautiful day for a ride and we had taken plenty of water and some fruit to sustain us. All the bridges are swing bridges and are manned from 0800 to 1800 in the summer. Purton has a double whammy – two bridges roughly 200 yards apart. It also has a very interesting feature, known as Purton Hulks or Barge Graveyard. By the time you get to Purton, the Severn is very close. It is also quite erosive so a large number of boats (81) were deliberately beached on the berm that separates the river from the canal, holes were then drilled in them so that they would fill with silt and forma barrier to stop the erosion. It’s a fascinating bit to explore.
Purton Lower bridge
List of boats in the grave yard
We made our way on down to the terminus, passing the remains of the swing section (over the canal) of the once-magnificent Severn Railway bridge. The bridge is no longer in existence as a result of a nasty accident in the ’60s. More info here. We arrived at the end of the canal, by which time – although it was still sunny – a stiff breeze was blowing. We ate our bananas and cherries (both favourites of Archie’s) and then attempted to recreate a picture that we had taken back in 1994 – with a little success, I guess?
The return journey left us gasping for a cuppa and when we got back to the van, we quenched our thirst and had a little snooze. We’d had such a lovely ride and met a few other cyclists who all cooed over Archie in his papoose. We really like it here.
We went on a little excursion to the “Severn villages” in the early evening, starting in delightful Frampton on Severn with its famous Green – reputed to be the longest in England – it has three ponds! I wish we’d stopped to take a photo as it’s very pretty. There used to be a Cadbury’s factory there – opened in 1916 and closed in 1983. Boats used to go between here and Bournville, transporting chocolate crumb for processing.
Our next stop was Saul, where there is a large marina. We then drove down to a pub called The Old Passage Inn at Arlingham. It is right on the bank of the Severn and looks across to Newnham on the opposite bank. They do Bore & Breakfast/Dinner events, so that you can watch the Severn Bore and then have a sumptuous breakfast (or dinner). Sounds like a great idea. One for a future visit maybe? Our final port of call was Framilode, where we were rather taken by its cute Victorian church.
The Old Passage InnLooking towards the old Cadbury factorySt Peter’s FramilodeEvening on the Severn
The sun was getting lower in the sky as we made our way back to the van. A tiring but lovely day.
Monday 30th May
As the time for quitting the site was 11 am, we had taken the precaution of paying an extra £6, which enabled us to stay until 3 or 4 pm. We planned to give the van a jolly good clean ready for our forthcoming summer break. We always leave it clean and tidy but this was a super-clean. We dusted, hoovered, disinfected, bleached and stripped the bed. Paul also cleaned the sun shade ready for all that that summer sun we are expecting. What usually happens is that – the minute we leave home -GB is plunged into a heatwave of epic proportions which ends on the day we return. Watch this space!
We finally left around 1pm and made it home by 4, whereupon Paul quickly mowed the lawn and washed the pigeon mess off the van while I unpacked the car and van. A really lovely, relaxing break. We will be returning for another visit. By the way. The bikes took the fuel consumption below 30 mpg so we won’t be taking themon our summer break as previously planned. Sad but we can always hire if we fancy it. It’ll probably be cheaper than taking them with us. And we’ll be taking the papoose, just in case. So – just less than a month and we’ll be on our next adventure.
Well this is an unusual post as it covers two trips in one for reasons which will become obvious. It has also taken me a while to write, as I needed to wait until I was ready to do so.
Trip 1 – Easter near Tunbridge Wells
We had chosen this area as it was largely new territory for us. I had been to TW before, but it was in the region of 40 years ago, so memories are a tad hazy. We set off mid afternoon on Maundy Thursday (24th April) and had a very smooth trip to our site – Apple Acres. Strictly speaking, it is nearer Tonbridge than Tunbridge Wells but there’s not much in it. The site was easy to find and there was a friendly welcome awaiting us. We selected our pitch and set up. The kettle was soon singing on the hob and we were both feeling the anticipation of exploring this part of Kent. The site was in an old apple orchard – hence the name.
Apple Acres
There was one dark cloud on the horizon, though. Whilst we were on the road the Doctor rang to say that he thought that Mum’s health was deteriorating. I asked if we should return home but he didn’t think it was necessary, so we continued our journey. It was a little worrying but we had taken the doc’s advice and we had arranged for Mum to be visited by our son George and her brother – my Uncle Derek.
We nipped out and did a bit of shopping and then settled down for a cosy evening. Despite the site being near a couple of main roads it was a quiet night and we awoke refreshed. To sunshine! A beautiful Good Friday. We were soon washed and dressed and setting off to explore. We set off with no particular goal in mind – more of a reconnoitre, a familiarisation with the lie of the land, as we were new to the area.
One of the first things we spotted was a very attractive Victorian gothic-looking tower. It transpired it was called Hadlow Tower. Upon further research, it was started in 1838, built to a height of 175 feet and was actually constructed of brick and then coated with a render known as Roman Cement, to make it look like stone. It was badly damaged in the tempest of 1987 and has recently been restored. It is certainly a striking feature.
Hadlow TowerCoffee Time
As it was coffee time, we stopped at the Hadlow Bar and Grill and sat in the gardens as we drank our coffee, as it was so pleasant. Refuelled we pressed on and decided to explore (at least part of) the area known as the High Weald, which is an AONB. And it is indeed beautiful, studded with Oast Houses, almost military-looking orchards and rolling hills. We drove around, admiring the views and eventually stopped at a very nice pub near Wadhurst, The Old Vine, for a very nice freshly made BLT.
Oast HousesFruit treesEaster Lambs
It was shortly after lunch that we got the call from the home where Mum had been living since Christmas. They had rung to say that Mum’s health had sharply and unexpectedly deteriorated and that if we wanted to see her again it would be advisable to come straight home. Plunged into shock we drove back to the site and packed up – less than 24 hours after we had arrived. We hadn’t even fully paid the camp-site ( apart from a deposit) but they were very kind and refused to take any further money from us. It was a horrible journey home, what with tears, making calls to family and explaining the situation, more tears and wondering with every mile if we were going to make it in time. Luckily we did. Paul dropped me off at the home and I began the 27 hour vigil (accompanied mostly by Paul) at her bedside. All the family came and said their last goodbyes and she eventually slipped peacefully away with me holding her hand on Easter Saturday evening. RIP Mum. We’ll miss you so much.
Easter Primroses
Trip 2 – New Forest Centenary Site – Spring BH 2016
We were both in the mood to have a total relax and were looking forward to our return to this very pleasant Caravan Club site in the New Forest, not far from Christchurch. It gave us an opportunity to use up the remainder of the Caravan Club vouchers that Paul had received for his recent significant birthday. A big th♥nk you to Linda and Anna.
The Friday traffic was not too bad and we arrived on site early evening with plenty of daylight to spare, it being nearly summer. We had an early night and awoke to the sound of birdsong and a reasonable day. We had a relaxed morning and then set off to do a bit of shopping. Our mission was to find a new house phone for Uncle D and Curry’s was pleased to supply it. It was also pleased to supply an (impulse purchase) boiling water dispenser. Exciting – especially as it was on special offer! Then it was a quick trip to Waitrose for “essentials”. It was then around lunch time. We made our way back to Bransgore, where we ate at the Three Tuns. We can particularly recommend the Corned Beef Hash fritters.
There was a wedding reception just about to start there (lovely location) and we (I) did a fair bit of people watching. Interesting watching a procession of really quite orange people tittupping across the grass in their high heels. And sinking.
After lunch we went back to the van for a quiet afternoon of reading our books and the papers. It’s rare for us to take time out to do nothing and we relished this opportunity – although I’m sure it makes for pretty boring reading. But before this, on the way back, we decided to pop to the nearby New Forest Airfields Memorial, which was around half a mile from the camp-site. The Airfields played a major part in a successful conclusion to WWII.
The hot water dispenser, by the way, was quite a success and we may take it away with us next time we are away in the van.
New Forest Airfields Memorial
Sunday was a slow start too but we eventually went out for a drive and actually visited parts of the Forest where we had never before been. Lunch was, however, near Brockenhurst at the Forest Park Hotel. It feels, sadly, as though this hotel has seen better days, although it does look as if attempts to restore it are currently being made. The lunch – a roast – was adequate. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to write home about either. We continued our meander until mid afternoon. Here are a few photos from our travels
New Forest PonyFallen tree – and ArchieFallen tree
The remainder of the weekend was a fairly somnolent, battery re-charging affair and we look forward to a more active time on the next bank holiday weekend, when we are bound for Gloucestershire.
We began our journey a little later than planned (OK – nearly an hour!) but such is life. We arrived at the Caravan Club site site – formerly, and rather more romantically, known as Sheepcote Valley- with just enough daylight to do the outside jobs. The check -in was swift and efficient and we used some of the CC vouchers that our dear old chums Linda Mary and Anna had given Paul for his birthday – essentially a free weekend! Thanks girls. Much obliged to ye.
We picked a lovely spot on the upper level overlooking the Downs and got cracking. It was pretty chilly outdoors! But soon, the van was warming up nicely ad we settled down to a cuppa and then disaster struck! NO MILK. Plenty of milk left at home, languishing in the fridge, but none here in the van. We made a quick mercy dash to Waitrose and whilst on the way, we realised no bread either. The person in charge of supplies (and indeed everything else!) needs a good kick up the rear, it seems.
We arrived back to a toasty van and put the oven on, ready to receive the lasagne that “the person in charge of supplies” (let’s call that person Kay) had made earlier. We ate it with a lovely rocket and watercress salad and watched a bit of television (good signal) before retiring to bed for an early night.
Sat 13th
It seems we very much needed that early night as we didn’t actually wake up until 10.10. a good 12 hours. Lovely. We made contact with Linda Mary and Anna and, as it was a vile rainy morning, invited them over to the van for lunch. They were in the middle of packing for a change of address, so they were happy to take a quick break. We had a lively and convivial lunch, watching people coming and going. One thing we saw struck a chord with us. Instead of fiddling around with hoses to fill his water butt, some chap had a length of 1 1/2″ white plumbing pipe which he was using to great effect. We thought this a great idea and set off with the girls – them to return home to continue packing and us in search of a B&Q to buy 1 1/2″ white plumbing pipe!
We drove to a very run down shopping centre (Pavilion), on Lewes road, where B&Q was the only surviving retail outlet. The Halfords and Currys were both boarded up and the pub opposite the site was also boarded. Sad times. The pipe comes in 2 meter lengths and would require cutting to an optimum length for the job in hand. The trouble was – what was that optimum length? We pondered and then spotted something that might be even better and thus bought a telescopic waste pipe of the same bore, a bit like the one in this link. We will see how how that gets on – there’s a slight query about the durability of the telescopic bit. We’ll let you know.
Driving back to camp with our new pipe!
We drove back to the van and spent the afternoon reading and snoozing, while the rain rained on. This is one of the things we love about our caravan. At home, there are always jobs to do, but in the van we can totally relax if we want to,. And we often do want to!.
Soon it was time to shower and dress ready to pick the girls up and go out for dinner. We had chosen the divine Fato a Mano, a place we had visited before for Lind Mary’s birthday. It is a very authentic pizza restaurant, dominated by a huge blue and white mosaic-tiled wood-fired pizza oven. They produce great pizzas with lovely springy crust. The staff are very friendly and it’s always heaving, with people (those who hadn’t booked like we had) outside waiting for a table. Even on a chilly evening. We had a mixture of starters, some lovely pizzas and all this followed by a beautifully presented affogato. Scrumdiddlyumptious. It was a lovely evening spent in a very pleasant atmosphere of a crowd of apparently fun-loving people enjoying their Saturday evening. And we were with the Babbies. Treat!
Nightime in Brighton
We dropped the girls home, had a coffee and went to bed. We set an alarm as we had another old friend coming to visit in the morning.
Sun 14th – Happy Valentine’s day!
The alarm went off at 9 and we sprang into action. OK. We didn’t spring. We loafed a bit and then yawned a bit and then cuddled a bit and then we got up. We exchanged cards, made brekker, ate it, washed up and did a bit of packing in preparation for a 12 noon departure. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day on the Downs.
Our view of the DownsOur pitch
Shortly, we got a call from Emma – a friend of some 25 or 30 years standing who also lives in Brighton. Paul went and picked her up and we had coffee and a lovely long catch up. That’s the beauty of old friends. You can just pick up where you left off. It was lovely to see her but all too soon it was time for her to go and tend to her family and for us to quickly pack up and go. We did this in record time and left the site only 2 minutes late. We arrived back home at about 1.30 and thus still had plenty of Sunday left to see Mum. cook dinner, unpack and relax. George brought the dog back (we had not taken him this time because of going out for dinner). It was strange in the van without him and he’ll certainly be with us next time. That will be at the end of March, when we have a a long (Easter) weekend near Tunbridge Wells planned. Roll on Easter!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 380 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
We set off later than planned at about 9.15 and had a long but pretty reasonable (A34, M40, M42, M6, M54 and then windy local roads) drive. Reasonable until the last minute, as we arrived in Beddgelert, that is, when we were faced with a choice -I tentatively suggested that the road to right looked a more likely choice but Paul decided to take the left turn, over a narrow bridge. We continued on his selected path until we arrived at the Royal Goat Hotel on the outskirts and we decided to stop and ask. You’ll have guessed the answer by now. We had to turn round and take the road back over the narrow bridge and then take my suggested route. Apparently I hadn’t made it clear enough that I wanted him to take that route.
A three point turn in a 4.8 metre long car with a 7.5 metre caravan on the back is no mean feat, but we managed it by unhitching, turning the car to face the required direction and then manually moving the caravan and re-hitching up. We arrived at the site – Beddgelert Forest – with a little time to spare as dusk fell. Access to the site is quite tricky, but Paul managed most adroitly and we were soon on our rather sloping hard-standing pitch. We fiddled about a bit until Paul was happy that the van was level. He must have misread the level in the failing light, though, as once on board it soon became evident that we were pretty far from level.
By now, though, the rain had set in quite hard and we agreed to live with it for one night. Lots of jokes about going up to bed! How we laughed. Well – I did! I realise that I may appear to be making out that Paul is an idiot. He’s not. I’d wholly and unreservedly trust him with my life. But he is fallible, bless him.
We were soon cosy and full (left over ham, egg and chips – one of our favourite post Christmas repasts). I am not a fan of oven chips and would rather avoid them, but there are occasions, such as this, when only chips will do. I highly recommend McCains “Gorgeous” chips. They are the closest thing to proper chips I have ever found and very much safer than a deep fat fryer (even if I actually possessed one) in a caravan!
As gorgeous as their name would suggest
There was quite emphatically no phone or TV signal so we watched one of the DVDs I had brought with us and then went to bed. It was a noisy night, with a fair bit of rain hammering on the roof. I quite like being cosy and hearing the rain, though. It’s kind of a smug feeling.
Day 2 – Tues 29th Dec
We had a slow start, taking the opportunity to hike the caravan up so it was (more or less) level. Then it was off to Caernarvon for a look round and some much needed phone and 3G signals. We had people to see and plans to make! We filled up with petrol after the long journey at the new Morrisons. The location beside the Menai Straits must be one of the most picturesque for any supermarket ever (unless you know better?) in the UK, as the aerial photo shows.
New Morrisons in Caernarvon
We had a look round the walls of the castle, which is a pretty spectacular one. No wonder they chose it for the investiture of the Prince of Wales, back in 1969.
We stopped and bought some Welsh cheese at a deli – notably some Teifi with laverbread (seaweed), which is made in Ceredigion and has a lovely taste and texture. From there, we made our way to Llanberis, at the foot of Snowdon. Sadly, both the Snowdon Mountain Railway and the Llanberis Lake Railway were closed for the season. Clearly we need to come back in the summer – although I doubt parking would be so easy! We parked in the car park for the National Slate Mine and there were numerous spaces.
We then made our way to the Llyn Padarn Country Park and took Archie for a chilly, breezy walk, before making the drive through the Llanberis Pass, which is as spectacular a drive as you could wish for in Wales. Finally it was home for the night, with plans to meet some old chums (who have moved up here recently) tomorrow evening and a rendezvous with my stepmum – Nanny Lyne, who lives in not too distant Oswestry,
Llyn PadarnThe motorLlanberis Pass
Day 3 Weds 30th Dec
Wow! That was a noisy old night, thanks to “Storm Freddy”. I think we were sheltered by the forest but the noise through the trees was tremendous! I haven’t said much about the site, which is very much to our taste, being quite wild (but with hook-up!). The River (or Afon) Colwyn runs through the site, tumbling over the rocks in a very wild fashion – especially after all the recent rain. It is also bisected by the Welsh Highland Railway, which makes its way from Bettws y Coed to Caernarvon, calling at the campsite on the way. This train WAS running and we heard it several times from our pitch. Archie is not a fan of a little steam train. I remember a journey from Devil’s Bridge to Aberystwyth which we humans absolutely loved, but Archie and his brother Fred trembled and shook throughout the entire journey, poor boys.
The next station up the line from the campsite
We had a lazy day planned for today. After all the rushing about to hospital before Christmas with my Mum and then the panic of getting her into a Care Home and then Christmas itself, life had been a bit crazy. We spent the day reading and snoozing until it was time to get ready to go out for dinner with friends. Andrew and Claire had moved up from Whitely to St Asaph for work reasons and we had not seen them for some time. We had agreed to meet for dinner at the Kinmel Arms, near Abergele. This was about an hour’s drive for us and we took the coast road (the A55), agreeing to pretty much bash along there this time, but to repeat the journey in a more leisurely manner on the day after next.
The Kinmel Arms was very nice indeed and my review appears here. Very stylishly decorated with a Fish theme. They had a nice range of gins and a couple slipped down very nicely as we waited for our friends. The menu was full of tasty things and there was nothing on the menu that I wouldn’t have eaten. The food was delicious as anticipated and we had a really lovely evening. We arrived back at the campsite around midnight, still full and ready for sleep.
Day 4 – Thurs 31st December
We had the heaviest rain yet overnight. It was very noisy indeed and my rash (which I have had for a couple of days) was also very itchy, so it was not the most refreshing of nights. The plan today was to meet my stepmother – known universally as Nanny Lynne – at Bala Lake. She lives in Oswestry, so it’s about half way for both of us.
It was a nice drive, although it was pretty rainy all the way. We met Lynne and she transferred to our car and we drove to The dog-friendly Bryntyrion Inn nearby. It had a very welcoming fire, a typical pub menu and free wifi. We had a very tasty lunch and caught up on all the gossip before making our way back to Bala and a circumnavigation of the lake , which really is beautiful, although perhaps not so much today! It has its own lakeside railway, but you’ll have guessed it was closed.
Bala Lake Railway StationLake Bala
As it was still raining, and she had encountered a lot of water on the drive to Bala, Lynne decided to beat a hasty retreat and I don’t blame her! We took a rather more circuitous route, passing through Blaenau Ffestiniog (BF) , on the way. BF was once known as the slate capital of the world but has reinvented itself as an activity centre, with ziplines, underground trampolines and ziplines, mountain biking and so on – not to mention the famous Ffestiniog railway.
Blaenau Ffestiniog
On the way home, we caught a couple of glimpses of Snowdon, which now has a layer of snow on it. This has happened since we arrived here.
Snowy Snowdon
We were soon home and settled for the night which, being New Year’s Eve, we hoped would be fairly firework free (for poor Archie, who hates them). And a quiet evening it was until midnight, when all hell was let loose! Poor Archie.
Day 5 – Friday 1st January
Happy New Year! Or perhaps Blwyddyn Newydd Dda as we are in Welsh Wales! So today was our planned coastal trip. We drove to Conwy so that we could see the Castle in the daylight, having seen it all lit up on the evening of Day 3. We went via Trefriw and the Fairy Falls. We arrived in Conwy around lunchtime and the castle is equally impressive in daylight. They knew what they were doing when they built this place! Our photos just do not do it justice.
Conwy CastleConwy Castle
We walked around town for a while but many of the interesting shops were closed as it was New Years Day. We did, however, find a little gem of a dog-friendly Bookshop Cafe and my review appears here. I spotted a very pretty bit of yarn bombing – even the baubles on the tree are knitted. Very nice. As the cafe had no toilet, they had a an agreement with a nearby hotel. This had a very futuristic tap/hand-dryer from the Dyson stable, the like of which I have never seen before! See the photo! Posh!
Yarn bombing!Dyson tap/hand dryer
After Conwy it was a whistle stop tour of the famous North West seaside towns, notably Llandudno. We could not visit without a trip up to the top of the Great Orme. Needless to say, the impressive tramway was not running! And the Marine Drive was also closed. We really do have to come back in the season!
Great Orme Tramway depot
On the way up there is a bronze age copper mine and there is also a cable car but, yes, you’ve guessed. Closed. At the top there is a visitor centre with cafe and bar. This was once owned by our old friend, boxer, Randolph Turpin aka “The Leamington Licker”, of whom we have written before.
On a good day, the views can be spectacular. This was decidedly not a good day but we had fun feeding some seagulls and Archie and Paul had another breezy, wet walk.
Llandudno PierView from the top of the Great Orme – inc. seagull friend.
We popped into Penmaenmawr for a quick walk on the beach and then made our way home via Caernarfon for petrol. On the way back, just as the light was starting to fade, we noticed a puff of steam! It was the elusive Wales Highland Railway train – at last! We quickly dove to the station nearby (Tan y Bwlch) and dashed out of the car to catch a glimpse. It was flipping freezing! But such a delight to actually see it at last.
We returned to base and spent the early evening doing as much packing as was practical in preparation for the long journey home tomorrow, before falling in to our cosy bed for the last time on this trip. Here are a few views of the site:
The view from our door.,
An intrepid Camper
As we were leaving, we spotted a tent. Rather too chilly for my liking but good on him or her. The 278 mile journey home took around 6 hours again, with stops. We arrived home in the daylight, with enough time to unpack an pop and see Mum, who is now ensconced in a care Home, poor love.
Back in 2012, as some may recall, we did a 3 week tour of the Canadian Rockies. We met some lovely people, and meet one couple (Bob & Barb) quite regularly, but until this weekend we had not managed to meet up with Martin & Rachel Smith, with whom we had found a pretty instant rapport on the trip. We had been in touch fairly regularly by email but finally we had a date, a venue and a plan. And a new tow car to boot! We set off feeling excited and also a little apprehensive – three years is a long time. What if they or we are not the same?
The Chertsey C&C site is right on the Thames by Chertsey Lock and was a first for us but not, I suspect, our last. The fact that it seems to be on the Heathrow flightpath would not deter us. It is otherwise quiet and very easy to get to. We had a reasonable Friday evening journey up the A3 and round the M25 and arrived on site to see the Smiths already in situ. They had kindly reserved a space just opposite them and we were swiftly set up and raring to go. And we needn’t have worried – it was as if the three years had been just a couple of weeks ago and we soon fell into our old easy conversation. We went to the Smith’s van for drinks whilst the lasagne I had made was heating and then we repaired to our van for dinner. We had a very pleasant evening, retiring fairly early as we had an early- ish start the next day.
The new rig
We set off in our car for the short journey to Datchet, where we were scheduled to pick up our boat for a day on the Thames. We were hiring a little cruiser from Kris Cruisers, which we found easily. Whilst the weather could not have been described as jolly fine for boating, it was reasonably bright – although there was a chilly breeze and grey clouds were threatening. We decanted our stuff for the day from the car, sat through the briefing and were off towards Windsor and beyond. Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats (The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham – an old favourite of mine). And so it was. I had forgotten how beautiful the Thames is and we saw a great variety of birds – Kingfishers, Herons, Swans, Geese, Great Crested Grebes – even Cormorants – as we made our way upstream.
Swans and GeeseHarry HeronCormorants
We passed through several locks – stopping at one for a comfort break as there were no facilities at all on board. It was a nice little boat and we all had a go at steering and took our turn on the ropes. We passed through Windsor, and went upstream as far as Cliveden – of which there were great views – before we turned round and tied up to a tree for lunch.
Rachel at the helmMartin on ropesEntering a lockIn the lock – Martin & RachelCliveden
After a short lunch break, we turned round and retraced our steps back towards Datchet, past Monkey Island and the imposing Oakley Court Hotel and thence back to Windsor, where we got great views of the Castle. We saw some amazing and probably hugely expensive riverside properties too, one of which had the largest TV screen I have ever seen! We also saw more wildlife – quite unexpected.
Oakley Court HotelCrocGiraffeWindsor Castle
We arrived back at the boat yard a little earlier than planned so we went downstream for a way, having fun turning large circles on this wide bit of the Thames. All too soon, though, it was time to hand the boat back. We’d had a lovely day but were now looking forward to a cuppa and perhaps a little snooze before dinner. Lovely.
We had a selected a dog-friendly pub – The Alexander – in nearby Weybridge and had a lovely meal there and then it was back to the site and to the Smiths’ van for a nightcap or two. It got late! But a good time was had by all. We left on tiptoe and fell into bed, tired and happy.
The next day – Sunday – was a beautiful day. Bright and sunny – ironically, the perfect day for a trip on the river. We breakfasted on eggs, borrowed from the Smiths and then began the packing up process. Martin & Rachel were staying a extra night, so we joined them for a coffee before taking our leave, vowing not to leave it 3 years before we met again. I seem to recall some mention of an awning for the Smith’s motorhome at various times over the weekend. I must ask them about that some time……..
