Trip to Le Touquet. May 2016.

22nd May.

Decided on a quick overnighter in Le Touquet. So picked Eevie up in the evening in order to catch an early boat in the morning. Thought we'd give the "Plough and Harrow" at Tilmanstone a go, it's only 10 minutes from ferry. Parked in the car park at 1630hrs.

As can be seen there was one other van there, we never saw the occupants to speak to. Went for a beer in the pub,

Sadly we were to late for food as it was Sunday. Will have to remember next time. The landlady and locals were all very friendly and sociable. After a couple of drinks we returned to Eevie, and dined on tins of "Big Soup", not gourmet but filled the hole.

23rd May.

Left the pub at 0640hrs. No delays in the port, and ferry sailed on time at 0740hrs. Had breakfast in the Brasserie, did our bit of shopping, wine and spirits mainly. 

 Docked on time and we cleared the port by 1030hrs. Quick diversion to Adinkerke, for the evil weed, then straight back to Le Touquet. Decided to try the Aire at the pony club this time, arriving 1430hrs.

As you can see there weren't many there, I think 8 altogether. Had a cuppa the walked into the centre. Bought some fish pate at our favourite shop. Then some dinner plates in the chinaware shop. Checked our usual restaurant, but wasn't doing meals until 1900hrs, so opted for another nearby. Moule Marinere as usual.

They were very nice, but, very small so eating them was hard work. I gave up with the red tool they gave us and reverted to the empty shell method. Washed down with a couple of Pelforth Brune it was an enjoyable meal. Saying that I would use the other restaurant given the choice. Strolling back to the Aire we saw a Cemetary opposite the entrance. Had a look and their were some war graves.

Always moving, and so young some of them. 

 Then back to Eevie for a quiet peaceful evening.

24th May.

Had a cuppa then hit the road, leaving 0930hrs. Arrived Cite Europe 1030hrs. Went for breakfast and found our usual place had changed hands and wasn't so good. I don't think we'll be using it again. Did our usual wine and food shop then off to the ferry. No hold ups and got the 1440hrs, smooth crossing. 

 Used our local knowledge to dodge the Dover road works, put Eevie to bed and home by 1630hrs. A nice little trip.

Spring Tour. England and Wales. 2016. Final Part.

May 8th.

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.

 

Spring Tour. England and Wales. 2016, Part 5.

May 6th.

Weather was still good, packed up, and left site 0945hrs. Quite a nice scenic drive to Brecon. Arrived Brecon Beacons CC site at 1300hrs. Checked in for 2 nights and set up.

After a cuppa we set off to walk along the Monmouth and Brecon Canal into the town of Brecon. 5 minutes from the site to the canal, across 2 very busy dual carriageways. We managed that unscathed and descended to the towpath from the bridge.

Weather was still holding good. It's about 1.5 miles into town from here. On arriving in town there is a basin that's been fairly recently developed I would think. Some boats moored 

and people enjoying a drink. From here we walked into the town centre. We found it rather drab,

lots of vacant shops, and sort of grey and tired looking. 

With a couple of redeeming features. We spent an hour or so looking round, before retracing our steps along the canal.

Back at the site we continued our walk, looking for the "Three Horseshoes" pub, which we had been told was very good. We missed the short cut, but found it eventually.

Had a couple of beers, checked the menu, and decided to book a table for tomorrow evening. We were given a choice, bar or restaurant. Bar is dog friendly, restaurant isn't, we opted for restaurant. Then made our way back to Eevie. It was still warm so I sat outside for a while.

Then we had our shower, dinner and relaxed for the evening. 

May 7th.

Another nice morning, we were starting to feel spoilt. After a recommend from a friend we decided to cycle the canal in the opposite direction to Talybont on Usk. Navigated the hazards getting to the bridge again, then set off along the path. Not far into the ride we came to an Aquaduct over the River Usk.

Naturally we had to do a photo stop. 

Something always beautiful about waterways for me. Then back on our bikes to continue our ride. The pleasure of cycling towpaths is, for the most part, virtually no hills. Although our bikes are electric pedal assist we never used the power at all on the way out. At Talybont we had coffee in the local cafe.

Very nice it was too. Then time to return to the site, we did use the electric on the way back, after all that's what it's for. Stopped for a photo,

a house with its own lifting bridge. I assume it had been a farmhouse, and gave access to the fields or animals. Either way it's lovely. Back on site, checked the log, we had done almost 13 miles in total. The bikes were proving to be a good investment. Relaxed for a couple of hours, then off to the pub for our meal. 

The food was very good, but, the room was very hot and stuffy. Also there was a table of 12 ladies on a hen night, they weren't rowdy but they were loud. For us the noise and the heat was too much, finished our burgers and beat a hasty retreat. After all the good reports and looking forward to it, we left quite disappointed. Moving on tomorrow.

Spring Tour. England and Wales. 2016. Part 4.

May 3rd.

Leaving the lakes today. Left the site 0930hrs, rural roads for about 45 minutes then M6 south. Trouble free run, and nice weather. We arrived at Chester Fair Oaks CC site at 1215hrs. (Much nearer Ellesmere Port than Chester). Set up.

Then a cuppa. A 15 minute walk took us to "Cheshire Oaks" a large retail and entertainment complex. Had a stroll round that for an hour, then into Sainsburys for supplies. Because of the hot weather we made a refreshment stop on the way back to Eevie.

As you can see we were well loaded with supplies, thankful for the trolley. Then back to the site, shower, dinner, bit of tv then bed.

May 4th.

Left site 0940hrs, headed for Beddgelert in Snowdonia. Some lovely scenery en route, stopped in Caernarfon for a look round, and had a coffee and sandwich.

Then back on the road for the short drive to the site. We arrived 1200hrs. Beddgelert Forest C&CC site is a camping in the forest site, but with all facilities. We selected a pitch and set up.

At last we had the opportunity to use our E-bikes. It was a mile into the village, downhill all the way. We found it to be a very picturesque village.

With the river running through it. We had a drink in the "Saracens Head" before tackling the hill back to the site. Of course with power turned on the hill was a non-event. When back at Eevie we decided to christen our Cobb, which we'd bought in Brighton a while back.

We were more than pleased. Sitting relaxed after our meal, some locals paid us a visit.

Seemed they have free range of the site. After what had been a very good day, we went to bed content.

May 5th.

Woke to another lovely day. After breakfast we set off on our bikes to visit the Copper Mine, when we got there, there was nowhere to secure our bikes so we gave it a miss. Cycled back to the village, then along the river in the other direction. Here we found "Beddgelerts Grave".

True or false, it's an interesting tale. We then followed the river until we reached the railway bridge.

Pure luck, but we arrived at the same time as the train. There is still something very stirring about steam trains. Then we retraced our steps to the village and a coffee stop.

Back to the site, then we cycled up the track behind the site, a signpost said to the Gallery. When we got there it was a cottage. A man came out and spoke to us. He lived here, sold hot and cold drinks, plus a selection of lovely photographs taken in the area. The view from his home was stunning.

He chatted for a while, told us which mountain was which. We asked about the train as it runs along the rear of the campsite. He informed us that there was a halt for the campsite, and the train would stop if you put your hand up. We thanked him for his time then went to check out the halt.

Superb, to late this trip, but if we return, I'm sure we would give it a go. It had been another lovely day. Rounded it off with a lovely Shepherds Pie cooked in the Remoska.

Had an early night, heading for Brecon tomorrow.

Spring Tour. England and Wales. 2016. Part 3.

April 29th.

Left Gretna 1000hrs, bound for Keswick. It would only be an hours drive so we took a little tour. Needn't have bothered, weather was horrible, as was the traffic on poor roads. Arrived at Castlerigg Hall campsite 1230hrs. Got a superb pitch, right next to the shop, cafe and facilities block. At the top of the site so excellent view.

Absolutely stunning. We took a walk into town, about 1/2 an hour, all downhill. Strolled around, did the charity shops. Had a couple of beers, then to Booths, the towns supermarket. Certainly different to the usual Tesco, Sainsbury etc. Bought some supplies. Right outside is the bus station so we caught the bus back. £2.20 for Hazel, free for me, love my bus pass. Back to Eevie about 1730hrs, had our showers and settled in for the evening.

April 30th.

Awoke to a better day, sunshine and very little wind. After breakfast walked into town again. When we got there we found it was market day. So more people about.

Hazel got some Lavender Honey for her mum. We walked to the Pencil Museum, only to find it hadn't reopened since the floods caused by storm "Desmond". It will reopen once repairs are complete. We then visited the "Puzzling Place".

 It's full of optical illusions. Many are interactive. Spent a fascinating hour there. We then walked to the waterfront on Derwentwater.

Very pretty, there are numerous boat trips, or hire boats to do your own thing. Had coffee and delicious coffee and walnut cake at the Theatre by the Lake cafe. It had been a very pleasant day. We got the bus back again. When we got back we discovered a couple of Hazels favourite animals.

She just loves donkeys, say that rounded of the day nicely. Heading for Coniston tomorrow.

May 1st.

Left site at 0940hrs, destination Coniston, but with a visit to Bowness on Windermere en route. The main road had been destroyed, storm "Desmond" again, so we had to do the 40 mile diversion over Kirkstone Pass. The foul weather had returned, constant rain and brisk wind. As we climbed into the pass visibility became negligible. The road was narrow and lined with dry stone walls, with continuous bends. It was becoming a nightmare, then we caught up with a stagecoach bus. Salvation, I tucked behind it, even waiting at bus stops til it moved off. It worked a treat, the bus driver did all the work, I just had to follow. Thanks that man. Arrived at Bowness 1100hrs. Found a parking space near the lake.

Just visible beyond the tennis courts. We took a walk, but crowds and rain made it very unpleasant. After half an hour we had coffee for a warm up.

Then back to Eevie, and on to Coniston. Arrived Park Coppice CC site 1230hrs. Found a pitch near the lake, and set up in the rain.

You can see how wet it was in the photo. Stayed in Eevie for the remainder of the day, hoping for better weather tomorrow.

May 2nd.

A better day, dry and sunny. Walked via the footpath,

to the village. Very pleasant, Hazel collected clumps of wool the sheep had shed, to use in her crafting. Very small village but pretty.

I went in a hardware shop, it was like a time warp back to the fifties. The little old lady shopkeeper probably been there all her life, still I got the funnel I was looking for. We then walked down to he lakeside.

This is where the various boat trips depart from. Bit to blustery for a boat trip, we made do with a coffee in the "Bluebird Cafe".

Didn't want food, but it did look nice and was popular. Had a look round the craft shops, Hazel bought some fudge, the back along the path to Eevie.

Quiet evening, leaving for Chester tomorrow.