{"id":254,"date":"2013-04-03T17:29:22","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T16:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesumpnersagain.wordpress.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2013-04-03T17:29:22","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T16:29:22","slug":"glastonbury-27-mar-to-1st-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"Glastonbury – 27 Mar to 1st April"},"content":{"rendered":"

In view of the unusually cold weather and risk of snow, we decided that\u00a0Herefordshire\u00a0was possibly too\u00a0risky\u00a0and had a last minute\u00a0change\u00a0of plan. A quick call on Wednesday (the day before we were due to set off) confirmed\u00a0that a fully serviced pitch was\u00a0available\u00a0at The Old Oaks<\/a> near Glastonbury<\/a> and so we quickly snapped it up.<\/p>\n

We set off at lunch time (fortified by an abundance of sarnies!) and, stopping\u00a0just once for coffee, we arrived at The Old Oaks around 3 o’clock. We quickly pitched up, made a quick cuppa and then set off to have a quick skirt round the shops in\u00a0Glastonbury town. We being Paul and I plus our old buddies and\u00a0veterans\u00a0of many holiday with us, Sue & Paul Rogers and\u00a0their\u00a0dog Fred (Archie’s\u00a0brother).\u00a0 This is the first time we have shared Mr Munch with anyone else and thus a new experience for all of us. Not being in the market\u00a0for\u00a0any\u00a0crystals\u00a0or other new age accoutrements, \u00a0which seem to be the\u00a0main\u00a0items on offer in Glasto, we returned armed only with some extra alcohol.<\/p>\n

Since our last visit to the site in January 2011, a new facilities block had been built and we could not resist a quick look around on our return. It is indeed magnificent. Warm, spacious and scrupulously clean, with individual shower rooms complete with basin, mirror and toilet – all with\u00a0underfloor\u00a0heating. \u00a0Marvellous! And an\u00a0indoor\u00a0washing\u00a0up area to boot. Whilst the overall block is larger and grander than Daisy Bank<\/a>‘s I have to say (sorry\u00a0Old Oaks – this is being VERY picky indeed) Daisy Bank’s just<\/strong> have the edge, for me, because they have a shower head you can actually remove\u00a0rather\u00a0than a fixed one. \u00a0This really is just a personal preference\u00a0and the facilities cannot otherwise be faulted. The grounds are beautifully\u00a0maintained\u00a0and there is a real sense of\u00a0privacy on the pitches. There are also great views out over the surrounding plains of Somerset. \u00a0The Old Oaks have honestly thought of everything – \u00a0from freshly baked cakes every day to a hot water dog washing facility. They even lend you a bird feeder so that you can do a bit of close-at-hand twitching on your pitch. Free wi-fi – good signal too! And quiet? You could hear a pin drop at night. No road roar at all. Just how we like it. It really is worthy of the AA Campsite of \u00a0the Year 2013 award – which was presented\u00a0to them just the day\u00a0before\u00a0we arrived.\u00a0It is interesting\u00a0to note that both Daisy Bank and the Old Oaks are part of the same , adult-only campsite collective – a group of 28 sites<\/a> which rank among our favourites. It would be nice to\u00a0visit\u00a0all of them (we have done five to date). Maybe one day?<\/p>\n

\"With<\/a>
With new amenities block behind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good Friday dawned fair but with a biting wind. Wells <\/a>\u00a0– dubbed the smallest city in England –\u00a0was our first port of call. I had\u00a0forgotten\u00a0how beautiful the\u00a0cathedra<\/a>l\u00a0is. A stunning edifice and little wonder that it took a\u00a0couple\u00a0of hundred years to complete. \u00a0Sadly –\u00a0with\u00a0dogs we were unable to enter. \u00a0Wells is also\u00a0famous\u00a0for swans, who are trained to pull a bell rope when they want feeding! True! Read this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are some nice independent shops and we commend the\u00a0council\u00a0for the stunning loos! The old-fashioned sweet shop caused a bit of a stir among\u00a0our\u00a0party with squeals of “Floral Gums” and “Cinder toffee”!!! and much\u00a0smacking\u00a0of lips. I also bought a rather nifty spatula in a fab\u00a0cook\u00a0shop<\/a>. Just right for Welsh cakes.<\/p>\n

\"PaSuPa\"<\/a> \"SUnny<\/a> \"Wells<\/a><\/p>\n

Next on our\u00a0itinerary\u00a0was a trip to Cheddar Gorge<\/a> which was – ahem – gorgeous.<\/p>\n

We had a quick scale of its slopes but it was bitter – as\u00a0witnessed\u00a0by the icicles you can see in the pic below. \u00a0Sadly tawdry, tacky tourism has taken its toll(some fine alliteration there, I feel!) on the village. It’s pretty awful and even has a Costa (globalisation at its worst). We had a look round but it was not really to our taste.\u00a0Scarecrow\u00a0figures (like this<\/a>)seem to be very popular this year. The good Lord in\u00a0heaven\u00a0only knows why. Clearly others like it as it was heaving and Trip Advisor<\/a>\u00a0bears witness to that fact. We prefer it “au naturel”. \u00a0Again – dogs prevented us\u00a0from\u00a0visiting\u00a0the caves<\/a>, which is a shame. I can’t\u00a0recall\u00a0much about them as I must have been no more than 8 when I did visit them!<\/p>\n

\"P1010401\"<\/a> \"P1010402\"<\/a> \"P1010405\"<\/a> \"P1010406\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday took us to Bristol – specifically Clifton<\/a>, via the Suspension Bridge<\/a> of course. I loved\u00a0Clifton\u00a0 A very cosmopolitan feel with lots of\u00a0niche\u00a0shops and an\u00a0abundance\u00a0of coffee\/shops\/eateries. I would\u00a0definitely\u00a0return –\u00a0preferably\u00a0sans chiens.<\/p>\n

\"P1010411\"<\/a> \"P1010413\"<\/a> \"P1010414\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Can you spot Archie in that pic on the left? Camera shy!<\/p>\n

After a couple of\u00a0hours\u00a0in Clifton, \u00a0we set off for the coast, with quaint little Clevedon our destination. We\u00a0managed\u00a0to park although it was pretty busy with Saturday afternoon strollers. Also pretty chilly again, mind you. We strolled along the prom and down on to the historic pier. Fact Time! Clevedon’s elegant pier is 312 metres long and made of cast iron. It experiences a difference of\u00a047 feet between high and low tide – \u00a0the second highest tide in the world. Construction\u00a0on the\u00a0original pier started l\u00a0in 1867 and was completed in 1868. More info here<\/a>. Love\u00a0their\u00a0logo.<\/p>\n

Whilst on the pier the sun came out – albeit only briefly and we had a bit of fun with the – what are they called? Photo cut-outs thingies? You’ll see what I\u00a0mean below.<\/p>\n

\"P1010421\"<\/a> \"P1010425\"<\/a> \"P1010426\"<\/a> \"P1010429\"<\/a> \"P1010430\"<\/a> \"P1010431\"<\/a> \"P1010432\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After our stroll, we popped into Tiffin\u00a0Tea\u00a0Room<\/a> for a cuppa (Assam) and cakes, courtesy of our dear friend Linda Mary Wise. Thanks Bab. \u00a0Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

So Easter Sunday. Guess what we had for brekker? Yeah. I’ll\u00a0spare you the detail.\u00a0\u00a0So – there was a Medieval Fayre on in Glasto so we\u00a0thought\u00a0we’d pop along. It was \u00a37 for the entrance fee and sadly didn’t seem to be very large so we decided (after a team conflab) to give it a miss. Lots of medieval\u00a0types\u00a0plodding\u00a0around\u00a0the town\u00a0though. I’m sure they had great fun and I imagine a lot of work went into the\u00a0organisation\u00a0so please don’t think I’m knocking it.\u00a0\u00a0Had to make do with sitting outside a pub in the sunshine instead. \u00a0We popped back to the campsite for a couple of\u00a0hours\u00a0in the sun, which\u00a0was best described as\u00a0transient.\u00a0Lovely when it was out but b freezing\u00a0when\u00a0it went behind\u00a0the\u00a0clouds.<\/p>\n

After tea and\u00a0sustenance\u00a0we strapped on our\u00a0walking\u00a0boots and set off for the Tor<\/a>, home to Gwynn ap Nudd aka the King of the Faeries. \u00a0We didn’t see him, but there were loads of folk making their way to the top and it was well worth the climb. There are some great views over the Somerset level<\/a>s and all around. A superb\u00a0vantage\u00a0point. \u00a0The dogs loved it, being allowed off the lead and they behaved like puppies, running madly up and\u00a0down. Lovely to see. Words cannot express just how icy it was at the top. I lost all feeling in my earlobes. I doubt you’d last an hour up there without hypothermia setting in, it was so cold. Maybe we’ll\u00a0visit\u00a0in summer another time?<\/p>\n

\"P1010440\"<\/a>
Do you come here often?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"P1010442\"<\/a>
Don’t let go!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"P1010438\"<\/a>
The tower on the Tor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"P1010439\"<\/a> \"P1010441\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We had a lovely stay at Old Oaks and I’d be very glad to\u00a0return\u00a0any time. \u00a0Our next trip is to Brighton over\u00a0the\u00a0May BH weekend. Let the sunshine, let the\u00a0sunshine\u00a0in! A bient\u00f3t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In view of the unusually cold weather and risk of snow, we decided that\u00a0Herefordshire\u00a0was possibly too\u00a0risky\u00a0and had a last minute\u00a0change\u00a0of plan. A quick call on Wednesday (the day before we were due to set off) confirmed\u00a0that a fully serviced pitch was\u00a0available\u00a0at The Old Oaks near Glastonbury and so we quickly snapped it up. We set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[211,230,255,257,297,389,705,1086],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-caravan-glastonbury","tag-cheddar","tag-clevedon","tag-clifton","tag-daisy-bank","tag-glastonbury-tor","tag-old-oaks","tag-wells"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesumpnersagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}