Wednesday 2nd April - Balmers CL
We didn't want to take the normal route up the
A34 so went a slightly different way to join it at Newbury. We went through some lovely villages and
there were some beautiful hedgerow flowers enroute.
Our first port of call was Balmers CF at Wigginton near Tring. It was a field on a small farm that opens to disadvantaged children so there were a few animal noises around which was lovely.
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| The chickens kept following Mike around |
The field's slightly bumpy and were slightly nose down but it was only for one night. After a cuppa, we unlocked the bikes and set off for Aldbury. We raced down the hill and all I could think of was that we'd have to come back up this way!
Aldbury is a lovely quaint village and has been the centre of a few TV programmes. Unfortunately, the café we had found out about was closed so we settled for a seat by the village pond, until, that is, I was ‘christened’ by the pigeons in the tree above.
We set off back up the hill following some serious cyclists - and managed to keep up with them but we do have batteries on our bikes. They turned off before the real hill though - they obviously knew what to expect. In actual fact, the hill was OK and not too arduous at all. We went over a canal and it took me back to our canal trip last year. The towpath would have certainly made for easier cycling.
We stopped at the café/shop in Wigginton and sat outside with our tea and cake. The sun was really hot - a lovely change. It was a real central hub for the village and many people converged there when the schools finished for the day.
Back to the field and sitting out in the sunshine was lovely but the wind was chilly so only stood it for an hour or so. Good nights sleep.
Thursday - The Plough, Caton near Cambridge
Our stop today is Cambridge, or rather just outside at Coton at a pub called The Plough, found on Search4sites. It was an easy entrance and parked up in the field through the carpark and we are the only ones here. Looks like they use the field for gatherings such as bonfire night. A few broken bits of glass but nothing too drastic. Gorgeous weather and sitting outside, there is plenty of bird song but you can also hear distant road noise but that's not too bad
We got here around 11.30 so after a cuppa and a check of the indicator bulb, we set off on our bikes into Cambridge. The cycle way took us through some of the new buildings of the University of Cambridge. We had to ask about where the cycle route went and luckily there were some staff who were able to help us.
In Cambridge market place, we had to look for a free bit of fence to padlock our bikes to as there are plenty of bikes around! We had to carry around our batteries which became heavy and when Mike wanted to sit for a while, I continued having a look around and left my battery with him.
It was great to be in a University City and it took me back to by student days when my parents lived in Bristol and I wandered around Bristol up and around the University there. I passed by Kings College, which looked rather impressive.
I passed another rather ornate gate which may have also belonged to Kings College, I saw the Round Church, although I didn't go in and I also saw the Corpus Clock which has a grasshopper type insect moving a disk while a pendulum swings below it.
On the way back along the cycle track, we saw many punts in the river (at £20 each person) and a house with an observatory on its roof.
Dinner at the pub - not brilliant. It's a gastro pub and all the dishes on the
menu had posh sounding names. We had olives and Bruschetta with Balsamic and
Olive Oil to start which was lovely. The olives reminded us of the ones we used to marinate - gorgeous but the rest was a let down. The Fish and Chips
were oily and stodgy and the spinach & ricotta ravioli with tomato sauce was
bland and not very flavoursome at all. Still it was payment for our stay
overnight and we have been fed so can't complain too much. It is a very good stop for getting into
Cambridge on the bikes though!
Further travelling today across roundabouts with sculptures and canal barges on the River Cherwell. It really is warm for April. Even the wind is warm. The site at South Newington is a lovely site that is run in a nature-friendly way. So quiet. The field was rather on a hill so we had to park at the bottom near other vans. The grass was well cut and there was a small wooded area with short walks through it. Also well appointed picnic tables.
I took myself off for a walk across the fields (I found maps in the information area). A well gated and signposted walk. It went through the village of South Newington which is a lovely little village, very olde worlde and picture postcard.
Once out of the village, I took a slight detour down to the ford and sat there a while.
On the way back up to the road, I heard a very loud songbird in the tree so I stopped to look for it. As the trees are not in leaf yet, you'd think I'd be able to find it but no, not until it flew away. It was singing from the lowest branch of all as I was looking to the upper branches. No wonder it was loud! I remembered to set my Strava app for this walk and found that I had covered 2.3 miles - not a bad ramble on a hot day. The temperature in the van said 25°C!
On Mother's Day, our daughter Amy had given me a Daisy pot plant that she had crocheted. It's really good so I made a macramé holder for it and it fits quite well hanging from a hook that we didn't know what to use it for!
We sat outside for a while and even after dinner although I had a jumper on by that time. It was a clear night and we were able to see the stars too as there was very little light pollution.
Saturday - Elm Lea CS, Cerney Wick, Cotswold Water Park
We travelled along a few Roman roads on our way here. The owner came over to us when we arrived explaining about the field that was almost under water a few weeks ago! We managed to park on top of a mound (part of the old ridge 'n' furrow) just in case.
He also told us about the walks
around & about, the lakes, where to catch sight of birds and where to
go cycling. Unfortunately there was too
much information to take in.
After a cuppa, we set off for a walk and got a map from the information board. We found a bird hide that the owner was talking about and decided to go for that. We couldn't get down to any lakes, all the paths were tree lined, which was lovely but when you are wanting to see water, it was a little disappointing. The first lake was private and we had to circumnavigate that before arriving at another lake (not that you'd notice it) before heading down the path to the hide.
We returned the same way otherwise our walk
would have turned into a hike! 2.6
miles. Our feet felt like it was further
though. A nice cool beer when we got
back.
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| It's good to be retired |
It has been a wonderful trip away and I expect the beautiful weather had something to do with that but I didn't really want it to end - so that bodes well for our 'Highland Fling' in May/June/July.
Travel back home with about 40 mins hold up
through Marlborough. Yes you've guessed it - no work men to be seen just
someone operating the traffic lights and I swear our queue was missed on one
traffic light rotation.
