taraabit

November 3rd-5th 2023

We decided to echo our trip of 12 months ago and for Layla’s benefit get away from the noise of fireworks and visit Cirencester again, the campsite is far enough from civilisation for the noise of fireworks not to be a problem. We decided to stop en route at Broadway but as we drove along the low tyre pressure light came on, I pulled into a service station put my £1 coin in the machine set the gauge at the correct pressure and pressed go, a few minutes later it stopped so assuming all was well we set off again. The warning light came on again this time indicating the pressure was even lower, the air pump appeared to have sucked more air out. I travel with a small pump so on site I tried using it but unfortunately it only achieves a max of 60 psi so that wasn’t good enough, looks like I’m going to have to purchase a new pump.

We enjoyed a slow and relaxing walk around Broadway buying a few small items and enjoying the atmosphere.

It was a weekend of participating in the game of “dodging the heavy showers” sometimes we were lucky other times not getting quite wet, thankfully we had extra coats and other clothes. We managed to get back to Homer in Broadway just as the heavens opened so we sat out the weather and had a leisurely lunch. From there we drove on pausing for a while in Stow on Wold before getting to the site late afternoon. It rained heavily from 5 a.m. onwards and on Saturday morning we set off on our walk into Cirencester in heavy drizzle.

We had booked lunch for 12.30 so we mooched around the shops including a fascinating antiques centre, however our purchases were from a charity shop😊

Although we didn’t take any photos one place we enjoyed was a visit to an arts centre where the goods on display were for sale, the pottery, lamps, paintings etc had a distinctly Danish feel, we could have spent a fortune there.

I took quite a few more photos over the weekend but for some technical reason they are refusing to open on the blog and now late on a Sunday evening I’m too relaxed to try and solve the problem so unfortunately the blog is slightly shorter than normal.

Sunday 29th October 2023.

We are still limited in our ability to get away in the motorhome as much as we would like so today we had a quick trip in the car to the above arboretum next to the River Severn.

The arboretum is divided up into areas some more formal than others.

The gardens overlook the River Severn and on the opposite bank is Arley station one of the stops on the Severn Valley Railway.

The arboretum has over 300 species of trees, magnolias, camellias and acers.There are enormous pines, giant redwoods, monkey puzzles, huge oaks, beeches, walnuts lime trees amongst others.

On the extreme edge of the arboretum is a children’s play area and next to it is the home of the little people of the woods.

We finished our visit to the cafe for a well earned coffee and scone which we shared with a friendly Robin.

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September 2023

There was a fair bit of road noise overnight but for free stopover who can complain, we would stay again. After leaving the stopover we drove 10 miles to Bala following a large lorry transporting straw, the front of Homer began to resemble a hay stack. There is a large car park at the end of the High Street and it’s fine for parking the motorhome.

We wandered around Bala, didn’t take long as it isn’t a large place and strangely most of the places there didn’t open until 10.00 a.m. There were a few quirky things that made us smile.

We drove from there to Porthmadog and parked in the same parking bay as we did a few months ago, dedicated motorhome spot, £2.20 for 3 hours. We wandered around town and then had lunch in Homer. From there we drove on, couldn’t park in Criccieth no spaces but stopped in Pwllheli on an Asda car park free for 90 minutes. We spent about 45 minutes there, not enough to form an honest opinion.

We had pre booked two nights here in Aberdaron on Morfa Bach Camp site, however as we arrived it began to rain and the wind began to blow strongly.

We have spent the last 24 hours being buffeted by a gale force wind inside Homer it’s like being on a cross channel ferry in bad weather. I have turned Homer round and parked diagonally on the pitch pointing the bonnet into the wind, it hasn’t helped a lot but hopefully the wine won’t slop out of the glasses.

Today whilst there was a slight lull in the rain we donned our waterproofs and walked down into Aberdaron, it was hard going as the wind buffeted us. We knew the village was small but being Sunday only the two pubs and the shop were open so there wasn’t a lot to linger for.

We had intended to stopover in mid Wales tomorrow to extend the trip but yesterday we received the sad news that our two year old grandson had fallen and broken his leg and is going to be in hospital for three weeks so we are cutting short our trip and heading home tomorrow to offer whatever support we can.

Friday 22nd September 2023.

After filling up locally with LPG (66p a litre) and Diesel with headed towards todays destination, we had a smooth journey and decided to stop 10 miles short of Rhug Estate and stop for lunch in Llangollen. We have visited many times before and on on one previous visit with Alison and Peter I remembered there was a large car park at the Pavillion where major exhibitions and events are held.

It was a short walk into town and as usual we had to stop on the bridge and admire the force of the water flowing beneath it.

We had a wander around town treating ourselves to a couple of items and visited an amazing hardware shop that had a small frontage but went back about 100ft.

All the time we were there we could hear the steam train going back and forth but never saw it until we were driving out of the car park and it steamed past, we just caught a glimpse.

Last Monday the Welsh Government brought in new legislation which reduces driving speed in towns and villages to 20 miles an hour. There are signs up showing the limit so you naturally slow down, but as it isn’t embedded in our minds if you stop in town and then set off again it’s easy to forget the new limit😵‍💫 also finding a gear to drive in at that speed isn’t easy.

Rhug estate covers 12,500 acres, the 6,700 acre in hand organic farm is the core of the estate along with Rhug Mansion being the main residence. It is owned by Lord Newborough and the family has lived in North Wales since the 11th century. It prides itself on the organic production of its food which it sells in its own farm shop, cafe and takeaway.

The shop etc closes at 5.30 p.m and as long as you give them your number plate details you are welcome to stay overnight free with no obligation to spend any money in the shop.

We bought a few items for our evening meal and other meals over the weekend, not cheap but good quality.

They have a range of electric car charging points that would put any motorway service station to shame, people were pulling in to use them, not to visit the shop.

There is a 45 minute walking trail around the part of the estate we are on but unfortunately today every time we stepped out of Homer it decided to pour down with rain, we managed a short section of it but beat a hasty retreat when the rain became rather heavy.

August 24th-26th 2023

We left Woodhall Spa and drove a short distance to Horncastle which dates back to Roman Times and is in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was claimed to be owned by King William.

The town gained a Crown Market Charter in the 13th century and was famous for its Great August Horse Fair that continued until after WW2,

The Romans settled here and built a large stone walled fort, part of that wall is visible on the corner of the library.

The town is also well known for its antique shops and second hand shops one defied belief, inside everything was stacked metres high with just enough room to squeeze in between and outside it was even more chaotic.

We took a slight detour on route to our next destination and stopped at Cleethorpes for our lunch. Cleethorpes is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in N.E, Lincolnshire. It dates back until at least the 6th century and fishing was its main industry until the town developed into a resort in the 19thC.

From Cleethorpes we drove to a campsite at Fraisthorpe Beach where we spent two nights. The beach is at the end of a long one track wide twisty turny lane but it’s magnificent when you arrive.

On Friday we did a round trip walk of approx 7 miles along the beach to Bridlington, which is a seaside town in the West Riding of Yorkshire with two award winning beaches. It is known for its seafood with fresh fish and shellfish being landed daily, it it known as The Lobster Capital of Europe. It’s a very popular seaside resort with all the attractions to entertain thousands of visitors.

Thursday 24th August 2023.

We have spent the past two days here at Woodhall Spa, having stopped off en route at Market Deeping a pleasant small town and Sleaford which was a little run down.

Woodhall Spa lies about 15 miles south east of Lincoln, it is noted for its mineral springs, historic cinema and 2nd World War association with the RAF 617 Squadron commonly referred to as the Dambusters.

It seems poignant and the completion of a circle as last year whilst touring in Germany we found ourselves purely by chance at the Mohn Valley Dams that the Dambusters bombed.

During WW2 the hotels and other accommodation was requisitioned for the RAF Woodhall Spa which was built to the south of the village.

Much of the village has a Victorian elegance, but there is now a large amount of modern housing being erected on the outskirts of the town. In 1811 attempts were made to mine coal but the shaft kept filling with water and it was abandoned. About 1834 the Lord Mayor discovered that the water was a spring that flowed from 520ft below the surface and that the water contained iodine and bromine in high quantities. He spent £30,000 sinking a new well, erected a Spa Baths, and a new hotel and the town boomed with tourism. Sadly in 1983 the well collapsed and the Spa closed down.

We spent the morning with Alison and Peter wandering around the village and enjoying its charm, we visited a small museum “The Cottage Museum” which was the home to local photographer John Wield and much of his work is displayed in the museum. The cottage is a cedar wood frame clad with corrugated iron sheeting and came in kit form, delivered to the local railway station!

After lunch Alison and Peter went for a long bike ride along the local river and we walked back into the village and visited three other places of interest.

Jubilee Park which opened in 1937 and has an outdoor heated swimming pool, tennis court, cafe, rose garden, bowling green and two croquet lawns.

There is also a well used tea room in the woodland to the rear of the town, unfortunately it closed at 4pm so we didn’t get to sample its wares.

A few metres past this is the Kinema in the Woods, a cinema that opened in 1922 and has a back projection system as the roof is too low for traditional projection.

Altogether a pleasant visit and the area is worthy of a future return.

Monday 21st August 2023.

When we arrived yesterday we hoped to take advantage of the one time a week you can visit the Mill without booking, unfortunately it was so busy no more people could fit in. We had an ice cream instead.

The pool/ river in front of the mill is a Mecca for people who want to swim, paddle board canoe etc, it is very popular, the above shot was taken early in the morning.

This morning we walked from the site across two rivers (on bridges) the foot path took us across a recently mowed hay field until we emerged on the lane leading to the little village of Hemmingford Abbots.

A very houseproud man.

Apart from from some very wonderful and expensive houses the village only had a local pub and a marvellous church.

The initial church was built of wood in approx 974, other parts date from the early 1300s with more additions added later.

There are 22 carved images of angels in the roof, holding open books, musical instruments and shields. Sadly this was the only one I could get a clear photo of.

This afternoon we took a riverside path and completed a circular route covering a couple of miles.

Sunday 20th August 2023

We left the site and had an uneventful trip (well apart from an unseen speed hump) to Saffron Walden which we decided was a good halfway stopover point.

Saffron Walden is a market town about 15 miles south of Cambridge it retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period, it has an air or affluence.

Its original name was Chepyng Market but in the 16/17th century the saffron crocus was widely grown thanks to the town’s favourable soil and climate. The stigmas of the flower were used in medicines, as a condiment, an expensive yellow dye and as an aphrodisiac .

There was more to see at Saffron Walden and I’m sure we will return in the future.

We are now spending 2 nights on a NT campsite at Houghton Mill, Houghton Cambridgeshire. The camp site is on a stretch of the Great Ouse River. It’s an expensive site and very much like CandC sites very regimented but the facilities are superb.

After setting up we walked into Houghton Village, very little here in the way of commerce but very interesting buildings.

Friday 18th/ Sat 19th 2023.

We are going to meet up with motorhome buddies Alison and Peter next Tuesday in Lincolnshire, so it was obvious we head south away from the destination. We have never visited Hertfordshire before so a new experience for us.

The journey down on the M6/M1 was a nightmare in heavy rain, not a pleasant experience at all, thankfully it stopped raining when we arrived at Hertford Camping and Caravanning Club. It’s a large site with 245 pitches but well spaced out as the site is divided into small areas by trees and hedges.

Heavy rain lashed down Friday evening and into Saturday morning but Saturday morning it was dry and sunny and we undertook the 1.5 mile walk into Hertford. It is obviously a prosperous area, the cheapest house we saw for sale was £650,000 for a 2 bedroom semi! Obviously reflecting the proximity to London.

Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire and grew around a ford on the River Lea near its confluence with the rivers Mimran, Beane and Rib. The Lea is navigable from the River Thames to Hertford.

There were just enough shops in the town centre along with street market to keep us occupied for a while and we eventually had lunch outside a cafe that uses its profits for charity and employs people with learning disabilities.

Hertford Castle was initially built in 1066 as a motte and bailey castle just across the river from the current one which is now an iconic Grade 1 listed building dating from the 15th century and is now a venue for events, this evening the gardens are being used for an outdoor cinema.

We took a leisurely walk along a section of the River Lea and then headed back to the campsite covering 4.2 miles in total. The afternoon was spent chilling out.

Malvern Three Counties Showground.

Sunday 30th July 2023.

We are currently unable to travel in the motorhome due to a family bereavement and a personal health issue that means regular visits to the hospital over the next few months. We are instead going to take advantage of days out and short trips if we can. So today we went to the above food and drink festival.

It seems wrong to start on a negative but entrance fees are £15 ( £12 if you prebooked ) and we didn’t feel we got our monies worth, to do so I think you would have to make a day off it so that you could enjoy the talks and demonstrations that go on throughout the day over the two days of the show. There was a fair degree of repetitiveness over the types of stalls there, fine if you want to buy loads of cheese, gin, smoked meats etc. Having said all that we did enjoy what we saw and didn’t spend a fortune.

Celebrities at the show included- Chris Bavin, and chefs Matt Pritchard, Rosemary Shrager, John Waite, Pookie Master Chef Finalist , Matt Tebbutt and Jean Christophe Novelli. There were demonstrations for children at the childrens cookery school and a good play area for them.