Cross Keys Inn, Lydford on Fosse

Friday

    Arrived around 2pm. A quick set up then settled down with a cuppa and the paper in the sun. It was quite windy so the paper took some control!    I decided to go for a walk. When we arrived the person seeing us in told us about a walk down beside the site which takes you to a nature reserve and the next village along. So I set off and soon realised I had to watch where I was going due to irresponsible dog owners! That does annoy me especially when you want to take in the views as you walk. However that didn't matter for this path as the hedge on both sides were too high to see over. It was quite boring. So I watched where I was putting my feet instead. I eventually came to a T junction and decided to turn left where I then came to a small brook that several vehicles had crossed making the water more of a ford than a stream. Not being able to cross the water without getting my feet wet I turned round, then noticed the blackberries!   Loads of them!   Well, it would be rude not to help myself to some. They were lovely!
    Back at the T junction I could have gone the other way but as I'd had quite enough of looking down by then decided to retrace my steps back to the caravan. At one point I did look up and noticing a caravan in a field and wondered whether it was ours. Stepping back I felt a soft tread underfoot.  Yes, all that looking down watching where I was walking instantly ruined. Ugh!

    Down to the pub for a swift pint. It's a lovely, unpretentious pub. The man who initially showed us was there so we got talking over our pints. Eventually Mike and I sat down and took in the pub. So much to look at, from money notes from all over the world stuck on the wall to a 'Last man standing' (football we think) blackboard to bar stools made from old tractor seats. You don't want to sit on one of them with very short shorts!

Saturday

    Saturday saw us going to Wells.  I managed to get on to a High Tour of the Cathedral while Mike did his own thing in his own time.

    The Cathedral tour was really informative (not that I can remember much now or course) but building started in 1175. We went right up into the eves from inside and saw all the very old timber holding up the roof. Fire proofing was intriguing with pipes being fitted so that the weight of water didn't cause the ceiling to cave in.

    The clock mechanism was designed by the same person who did the one in Salisbury Cathedral and was the second one of its kind in England,  Salisbury Cathedral being the first.
    The tour took almost 2 hours so it was around lunch time when I emerged. I strolled back through the town (there is a Joe Brown's shop here!) and met back up with Mike. We then drove towards Glastonbury looking out for a café en-route. We came across a little village called Somerton where we had a cup of tea and chees scones for me and rhubarb cordial and courgette and lime cake for Mike. Mmmm.
    During our driving around we saw a few signs for CL sites around Compton Dunford with a pub nearby.
    Fantastic weather! but not long after writing that, the the rain came!  Although not heavy.
    Had a meal in the pub in the evening. Beautiful pie! I don't usually have meat in a restaurant because you don't always get good cuts and may include fat and griddle so I was taking a risk getting the pie but I'm glad I did. It was lovely!     Full of meat and a good cut too. Couldn't finish my chunky chips but made sure I finished my pie! Mike also had pie and also thoroughly enjoyed it but like me didn't finish his chips. Mind you he did have a pasty at lunch time!
    Could have stayed in the pub if we were a little comfier. Mike was uncomfortable due to his hip and I found my chair was digging into my leg. We tend to look for comfort these days!

Whitegates CS, Caerwys, North Wales

     While travelling up to North Wales from Worcester, I saw a field of marshmallows by the side of the M6!  On closer inspection, I found that they were round bales of hay or straw wrapped in white or pink plastic. As Mike said, you would need a large vat if chocolate to dip them into!
     We arrived at Caerwys to a wonderful view.  The owner had earmarked a pitch for us and at first, we thought was a little on the slopey side.  Once we got set up, we could appreciate our views and I thought it was the best spot on the site!  The front of our van looks directly over to the hill opposite and to the valley with Denbigh in the distance.  There are sheep in the field immediately in front of us and we are relatively distant from other vans.  Idyllic!

Looking Southwest towards Denbigh

     

     We had to hunt out the shade initially as it was very hot.  Such a shame but after setting up the awning that was the best thing to do.  There are a few families staying who all know each other and it is so nice to see the children all playing together on their bikes or playing football.  After a little snoozette, we took a short walk around the little village, which is lovely, then dinner when the sun went down.  What a lovely start to a restful stay.

     Everything was slow time and peaceful. Went for a drive and did some shopping at Denbigh then went to the Craft & Antiques centre nearby. Some very memorable things there, "my parents had a crockery set like that" "mum had a teapot like that" and some paintings with artist in residence with some tales to tell! Then a well earned sit down in the cafe with a pot of tea and Welsh Rarebit. That was soooooo filling that we didn't really need any dinner later, but still did!
     We borrowed the Dingbats game from the site to play but they were so difficult, and the game was really frustrating, that we didn't actually finish a game. So, spent the rest of the evening talking. It was lovely!
     Tuesday saw us visiting Sandra and Vern at Tabley near Knutsford. What a lovely cottage they have. They've been very busy with decorating it.  A real show home. It was a lovely day, so had a gorgeous lunch outside then drove out to see Knutsford.  The town was a lovely with some lovely old buildings.  I could have taken more time to browse really. Later, Sandra made a lovely dinner of Lamb Shank and what a size they were! Real  Flintstone meat on bone!  It was lovely seeing them again, we get on so well together and all from a chance meeting on holiday.

The days before self-service

     Wednesday saw a very rainy day travelling back from Sandra and Vern's.  We chilled for the rest of the day although I did walk around the village.  I saw more scarecrows and also walked a bit further than I had before and saw an old petrol garage with three old Hillman Imps outside. Very fitting with the old pumps too.

     Uneventful evening but the wind really got up during the night. It was still windy in the morning.

    We had planned to go up Snowdon one day but the view from a webcam nearby had it in cloud cover every time that we looked.  The weather didn't look all that promising either, so we headed to the Great Orme.

     Well, we found it and Llandudno which was a little run down as you approach it. We drove around to find the tramway to the Orme, saw a lot of cars parked along the road thinking it was a bad omen and sure enough it was; not only was there nowhere to park but the queue for it was colossal! So we kept driving and made our way to Conwy.

     Conwy has a castle and a cute little town which is on a hill, as is most of Wales!  We parked up then started to walk not knowing how far anything was so Mike took his wheelchair.  I'm glad he did even though his bones were rattling a bit going over the cobbles!

     I left him at the top of the hill in the chair whilst I wandered down the hill to the harbour and back up again. We then looked for a cafe that had seats but weren't lucky so headed back to the car.

     We then journeyed to Bets y Coed not really knowing what was there. It is a lovely village and it seems the start point for walkers. We did find a cafe and I had a huge cheese and ham sandwich. It was lovely! The views of the river across the bridge were spectacular!

     A meandering trip back to the caravan and we are both shattered! We did stop in the village to get something for dinner (pork pie for Mike & a dragon roll for me) from the local shop first. I think it might be an easy day tomorrow in readiness for our zip wire on Saturday! In the evening, We watched the swallows & house martins flying around and teaching the yougnsters how to catch flies. and resting on the telephone wires.

     Yes, it turned out to be an easy day. After a late breakfast, we drove over to a factory outlet called Tweedhall Mill. The cafe there wasn't up to much so we went into Denbigh to a cafe there called Vanilla Bean which was lovely. It was attached to a gift shop where Mike bought me a little necklace with a blue heart on it. It is lovely!

     More relaxing then a walk around the grave yard which isn't as weird as it sounds.  It has been exceptionally windy these last few days and we are wondering whether our zip wire experience will actually take place. It was cancelled for today.  We'll know for sure tomorrow!

     Well the wind has certainly dropped and yes we did our Zip Wire! All my friends had contributed to a Red Letter day gift token and I'd chosen to do this!  

It reminds me of the swallows on the wire!

      Absolutely fantastic! A little trepidacious but so exhilarating!  Trouble was that there are so many emotions, all going on at once that it's difficult to remember everything about it.  I had a head-cam so have a bit of footage but I wish it was facing forward so that I can relive the flight again to see what I've forgotten.  I would certainly recommend it to everyone even if you have a fear of heights as Mike has.  He also enjoyed it although may not do it again given the chance.

     Walked to the pub for dinner, the Piccadilly Inn. Food was lovely!  Can definitely recommend this place.

     Sunday saw us packing up, showing Margaret the video from yesterday and leaving the site. Margaret certainly surprised me by saying for her 80th she went skiing for the first time in her life! She is certainly an inspiration! and she's got a wonderful well kept site.  We will come again!!!

Brookside Farm CS, nr Worcester

     We stopped here en route to North Wales. We stayed here when we went up to the Lakes and is a good stop over and close to the |M6.  The only downside is that there is no electricity and I'm told that the toilets and shower block are quite rudimentary.  Not that it affects us as we always use our facilities and we've got a solar panel to keep the battery topped up.  There's a  lovely lily pond which can be fished but a licence is required.

    As we arrived relative early, I took myself off to Spetisbury Park Gardens to look around and see the many sculptures on view. It was a lovely afternoon and I found benches to sit on in the shade all around the gardens. Lovely and peaceful.

 

     Went out to The Oak for a meal again. We went there the last time that we were at the site.  Unfortunately, the seafood linguine wasn't on the menu this time.  The food was still very good.  Mike had the steak which was cooked just as he wanted and I had surf 'n turf gumbo which was also very good. We shared a starter which was lively with cold meats, sun dried Tom's, mozzarella and breads with dip. That would have satisfied us alone so we were unable to finish our main meal.
     The last time that we were here, I took a shine to the various gins on offer but couldn't partake as I had volunteered to drive.   No problem, I just asked them to put a double Quince Gin & tonic in my jogging water bottle so I could enjoy it when we got back to the caravan! Lovely :)

Kentsford Farm CL, Watchet

     Mike took the caravan to the site on Tuesday as he had to attend his dad's funeral and he would see us later when I brought the grandkids on Thursday.  We've been before and it's one of our favourites.

Thursday

   We arrived just after midday and after having a spot of lunch, we headed out to Dunster Castle for a look around. 

    In one room, Josh & Sophia enjoyed dressing up, they kept referring to it as Hogwarts Castle.  Mike was suffering with his hip so we didn't do too much walking around but as members of the National Trust, it didn't really matter as we can go back any time.

     After a cuppa back at the campsite, we then went into Watchet to try and find the Red Herring tile that I'd made in the Pebbles cider bar and was going to be displayed on the sea wall.  There were hundreds there and we eventually found it looking a bit weather beaten.

    Alongside this display, is a mural depicting Watchet's history through the ages and Josh had the fantastic idea of posing by them for the camera.

   

   After all this, we went to the Star Inn and had a well deserved meal, the kids were ravenous.  It must be all the energy that they had been using up.

   When we got back, it wasn't long before we were all in bed. Zzzzzzzz.

Friday

    After breakfast, we went into Watchet to have a bit of a fossil hunt and a mooch around on the beach.  It was very stony and difficult to walk on so Mike stayed at the edge of the 'beach' as it would have been too painful for him.

 

    We found the 'swimming pool' which fills when the tide comes in.  It was full of rocks from previous storms and a local character was playing there with his dog Pickles.  He went on to get quite friendly with J&S and telling them all about the geology, skimming stones technique and how Pickle got his striped tail.  The world needs more people like him.

    Afterwards, we had a walk along the seafront and we saw a bronze statue of Yankee Jack.  He was a famous  Watchet  sea shanty singer. 

   Back to the campsite and we went to make friends with the ducks as Mike made dinner.  They gave them all a name, The 'Ducksons' with Grampy, Ma & Pa, Little quack quack, and little canard. 

    Sophia also lost her remaining front tooth, it was quite comical and she made the most of it.  She's certainly got a sense of humour.  

   Dinner was liver & bacon, with mash & peas. Josh & Sophia hadn't had it before and we were amazed that they loved it.  It was the start of a weekend of firsts.

Saturday
    At breakfast, Josh tried apricot jam on toast, another first.  After clearing up, we decided to head off back to Dunster Castle as there was an invertebrate exhibition.  Mike stayed in the car as he didn't fancy walking up the hill again. 'I've seen enough creepy crawlies to last me a lifetime' 

    Josh held a large snail but Sophia was loath to get anywhere close to them.

    On the way back to the camp site, we decided to get on the train at Washford and Mike would drive the car to the caravan and get a picture of us as we passed and then pick us up in Watchet.  While waiting for the train to arrive, I decided to buy the kids some sweets. When I went to pay, I didn't have enough cash!  The volunteer station staff took pity on me and let me off the odd 70p.  What stars!

    On the train, we kept a look out for Pops (Mike) and weren't sure whether he would see us go by.  We saw him but he was stationary - he saw us fleetingly, look out for Sophia's yellow t-shirt.

 

   Whenever we heard the train, aka Hogwarts Express, approaching we would try to run to the gate by the line to wave to people.  Josh was always the winner but most times we all  made it in time, obviously Mike just watched us.  I must admit after a few days doing this I was glad when the kids didn't want to run any more so we just stood in the field and waved instead.

    One evening we all stayed up until it was fairly dark just so we could do a bit of star gazing but it was too cloudy so that turned into bat watching but we only saw the House Martins as they zoomed in for their bugs.  We also saw a few seagulls heading home for the night - then it started to rain.  Bed time!

Sunday
Sadly home.  We have had such a wonderful time!  Of course we had to say goodbye to the 
ALL the Ducksons.

Albion Farm CL, North Warnborough

     Another weekend at Albion Farm, I don't remember much about it apart from the Edwardian Day in Alton on the Saturday - I'm updating the Clog and putting content in the ones that I've missed.

I don't fancy riding that one - looks a bit uncomfortable

The lady owner was kind enough to let me pose on her bicycle

    On the evening, we went to the local again but couldn't get our usual table and had another great meal.  While I was having my Benedictine Coffee afterwards, I noticed this painting of a monk holding a drink.  In my mind's eye, it was a Benedictine Monk testing the quality of his labour.

Bottoms Up!

The row of cottages just outside the entrance to the CL

Mosbergh Farm CL and Streetway House CL overnight on return

Mosbergh Farm CL Kendal, Lake District

Saturday

    We travelled up together in convoy with Carol & John.  We'd agreed to meet up at Shap services before leaving the M6 and head south to the CL.  This slightly longer route avoids going through Kendal but also gives us some wonderful views on the A6

    It's an amazing site with really brilliant views.  It's a working farm with beef cattle and sheep. Very quiet & absolutely peaceful.

After setting up, it was a bit of shopping and then it was time for a relax and chill.

Sunday

    Went into Kendal for a look around. Some places shut so will return especially as I found a stained glass shop.  Kendal is very historic and has a number of plaques around the town with historical information.

    On getting back, Carol & I decided to go for a little walk up the hill while the men had a chill and a beer  The views up there were even better.

    Back at the caravan, we had a good chat and Mike made some Greek leg of lamb on the BBQ.  Gorgeous.  We've certainly been lucky with the weather, it reminds of our week in York back in 2010!

Monday

    Today was the day that we'd decided to walk up Catbells and along Derwent Water.          Obviously, we went on our own as the men weren't up to it. (little did I know that I'd be needing a new hip a year later!) 

    It was a wonderful day with fantastic weather. 5.6 miles. I think Carol and I did very well! 

 

   I think that Mike and John saw a great deal of Keswick while they were waiting for us. Desperate for a toilet break, we headed for the Derwent Pencil Museum.  It was amazing with the world's  largest pencil but what blew our minds were the World War 2 stuff for the spies.  They made working pencils that had maps secreted inside them.

Tuesday

   We thought that today, we'd drive over to Hawes to visit the Wensleydale Cheese Centre.  On arriving at Hawes, we also discovered that the market was on.

Cleggy, Nora Batty & Compo 

"She doesn't like Wensleydale!!"

     Hawes itself is a lovely town. The Wensleydale Cheese Centre was really informative telling you how to make butter and cheese and of course we had a go at making butter.  It'll be something that we try with the grandkids.   After a good long look and tasting in shop, we bought a few blocks.  It was hard to choose, I think that Mike would have had the lot!

    Feeling very tired after yesterday!

Wednesday

    Another quiet day with a late start and into Kendal for breakfast at the Bristly Hog.
    I had Eggs Benedict for the first time! Chilled around site when we got back.    

   Another lovely sunny day.

Yes, it is that steep!

Thursday

    Mike wanted to show Carol & John the delights of Wrynose & Hardnott Passes, or as one of his friends calls it, Should Nott Pass.         It's a pass going over the mountains west of Coniston - single track roads with 1 in 3 gradients with tight bends.  Carol was having kittens at one point as she looked out of her window and couldn't see any ground apart from some a couple of hundred feet below!

    We stopped at the Hardknott Roman Fort for a while. it must have been a horrible posting in Roman times. The peace and views were spectacular, even the journey had been a little hairy getting there!  Mike's used to it as he's spent a lot of time up here either on bike rallies or going diving in Wastwater.

    A long drive way back via the west coast and Ravenglass and then back to Coniston.     We stopped there for a while and had our first ice cream. Unfortunately the weather was changing so it was too cold to sit at the waters edge to eat it. Mind you the waters edge was quite a way from Coniston Town.      We had a quick look around the Ruskin Museum that told the story of Coniston through the ages.  I think that Mike spent more time looking at an engine outside the museum than actually inside.  (apparently it's a V12 Merlin engine from a Halifax bomber that crashed in 1944 above Coniston)

  While we were in Coniston, we saw a shop selling 'I climbed Catbells' mugs so we had to have one each. 😀😀

    Back at the campsite, we packed up the awning ready for the first leg of our journey home tomorrow.

Friday

    We said our good byes to the people who we'd shared the site with, the beautiful views and set off. We were extremely glad that we weren't travelling north on the M6 as there was about 20 miles of almost static traffic! All due to the road works! 

    Arrived at our stop over. Streetway House CL,.  It was a little awkward to get into and were glad that we had a mover. John over-shot the entrance so you have to know where you're going (good old Google Earth).

    In the evening, we had a meal in The Bell pub. Not brilliant but edible. Another game of Yahtzee. That seems to be our game this trip. The road was noisy nearly all night including lorries!

Saturday

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