Woke to heavy rain. It stopped at 0700hrs and the sun came out, quite hot so everything dried out quickly. Packed up and left site for the short (59 miles) trip to Parkend in the Forest of Dean. Made a stop at Monmouth for a look round.
Looked in a few Charity Shops, and had a coffee in Cafe Nero. Then a diversion to Ross on Wye. Into "Morrisons" for provisions and fuel. Then into the Forest of Dean, arriving at "Whitemead Forest Park" at 1400hrs. Checked in and found our pitch.
Weather was still nice so took a stroll to the village. There is a steam railway, but only runs on certain days, typically not while we would be there. Then to the "Woodman" for a pint. They had live music on.
Sadly the band was awful, as was the beer. Very unusual for me we left without me finishing my beer. Then back to Eevie.
The Park has lots of Lodges with the touring areas scattered amongst them,
none of which a large enough to be obtrusive. The evening remained warm so we stayed outside for a time.
Each area has its own shower/toilet block,
all built of timber and environmentally friendly. We made use of this before dinner, then dined and watched a DVD before bed.
May 9th.
Had some heavy rain overnight, and woke to a grey drizzly morning. The rain stopped, but not much sun. Decide to cycle to Coleford. I missed the cycle path, so we did it by road. Not to much traffic, and mostly uphill. No problem on our E bikes though. Arrived in the main square, where the War Memorial is sited.
Strolled around the very small centre, naturally visiting the charity shops. Hazel got some bits for herself, I spent most of the time looking after the bikes. Setting off back, I managed to find the cycle path. Much nicer ride with the bonus of being mostly downhill. I'm glad we did find it, as on the way back we found this.
In the middle of nowhere, and overgrown. Luckily for us it was explained on a plaque.
So the birth of steel took place here. There was also in information board giving more details. Of most interest to me, the steel which the "Titanic" was constructed from was made here. Of course it was not to blame for her loss, it was never designed to slide along an iceberg. We then continued the tranquil path
back to Whitemead and Eevie. All in all it had been a pleasant and interesting ride. Back in Eevie I checked in to Facebook, glad I did, a chap in Bracknell had just put a Fiamma Ultra Box 500
on for sale at £100. We had been trying to get on for ages to fit on the back of Eevie. A bargain price and on our way home.
I promptly messaged him saying we could pick it up tomorrow. He agreed. So lucky with the timing as there was a lot of interest, we just got in first. Decided then we would not do another overnight on way home, just pick up the box and go home. Had a cuppa, then off to the pool for a dip.
It was delightful, nice swim, then relaxing in the spa. Back to Eevie, couple of beers, dinner then bed.
May 10th.
Left site 1000hrs, 10 miles later a road was closed, a 70 mile diversion in order to cross the river Severn. Eventually joining the M4 at Swindon. Called into Bracknell for the box, then on home. Arrived at 1530hrs. Ending another nice trip.
