Westfield Farm CL Site.+ 12th to 19th September

This is a large open CL, set behind a posh used car area and farm buildings. The site slopes gently down towards the farm buildings. There are plenty of electric points around the field and extra cables are available from the owners if yours are not long enough, so it is easy enough to find a pitch that suits. There are also plenty of leveling blocks strategically placed around the perimiter of the field. The grass is kept short and the ground drains well.

The owners of the site are friendly and welcoming. They are also on site all day working on the cars that are for sale, so security is very good.

Westfield Farm is ideally placed for visiting Bridport, Chesil Beach, Dorchester and Weymouth.

Well that is the review I put on the Caravan Club CL web site, where they ask you to review the site you have stayed on..

When we got to the site there were already 9 Caravans on site, so we made ten. They are only allowed 5 caravans by law!  Huge field though so no problem. 

There was another van, some 20 yards from us.  When they returned to the site he started on at me that they would not be able to get out as the Discovery he drove had a poor turning circle.  I pointed out that I also had a Discovery, and would have no trouble getting out.  I then pointed out, very politely that he had a motor mover so he could turn his caravan on the spot.  I also offered that when he wanted to go I would hith my Freeelander2 to his caravan, and turn it for him. So off he went quite happy.

Beautiful weather on Thursday, so we drove along the coast to West Bay.  The road along is very scenic. You  are up very high so can see for miles.

I have not been to West Bay for over 30 years, and boy!  has it changed in that time!  lots of building!

On the Friday the weather was again quite beautiful.  Clear blue skies and hot sunshine. We travelled the other way to Portland and Weymouth.  

I do not recall ever having been to Portland before, so we climbed to the top and admired the view.

Then off to Weymouth, where it was heaving, so a quick cup of char, and we went back to the caravan, where we sat outside reading for the rest of the day

Saturday was another gorgeous day, so we went to meet Mary, an ex colleague and really good friend of mine.  Lunch was taken at the Sun Pub, just outside Dorchester.  We were able to sit outside all afternoon.

Mr Grumpy cleared up on Sunday morning.  His wife spun the caravan round with the motor mover, then hitched it up to the Discovery, climbed into the drivers seat, him in the passenger seat, waved goodbye and they were off.  They were intending to drive for 4 hours without a break.  Rather them than me. 

As the weather was so beautiful, we went to West Bay, where we enjoyed Fish and Chips and people watching!

On the wayback to the caravan we went to Hardys Monument. Hardy was Admiral Nelsons side kick at Trafalgar.   The monument afforded tremendous views.

We should have come home on the Monday, but with such beautiful weather we stayed on.  We popped up the road to 'Lady Bailey caravans'  just to view new models.  The site though was very dissapointing compared to CS Caravans.

We then went to Lulworth cove, via Bovington Tank Testing area, where unfortunately there was no tank activity to view.

Lulworth was lovely though.  An excellent lunch then a short walk around the cove.

Cleared up on Tuesday morning.  Just as I was taking the Awning down we had a two minute shower, so the awning came home wet

Eastnor Park Land Rover Show.

Time for another Land Rover Show with 'Landytown'.

It took us just over an hour to reach Eastnor Park which is near Ledbury.  When we got there the ground proved to be rather muddy!  We piched up on a very steep slope, which was a bit challenging.  Our Landytown stand site was rather small for the numbers that we had to get on. During the Friday afternoon everybody else turned up, so we were able to put the Event shelter up as well. The show was open on the Saturday and the Sunday, and despite it being wet and muddy lots of people came.

Robert and Cathy arrived, and we spent a fair bit of time with them.

On the Saturday afternoon i went with Craig in his Disco 1 on the intermeadiate Off road course, where we had lots of fun and did not get stuck  We did enjoy seeing the J**p in front of us that kept getting stuck!  I will add some pictures later! He, He, He!!!!!

On the Sunday afternoon we took our Freelander2 on what was called the Scenic route! Lizzie, Zoe and Joe piled in and off we went. It was not a lot different to the intermeadiate one.  There were a few scarey moments as we waded through deep water, thick mud and ngotiated some very steep scarey slopes!   The electronics of the Freelander were able to control the vehicle perfectly though, whatever obstacle we faced. We did not get stuck and it really was great fun. Never the less  I was very relieved when we finished!

Lots of pictures to you to enjoy!

Well I hope that gives you a flavour of our off roading!

We cleared upon the Monday, and getting off the site was even more scarey than the off roading. The grass and mud was easy. The road however was a totally different kettle of fish. It was covered in very wet mud. As we drove along the caravan and the Freelander2 were sliding all over the place. What made it even worse was the road sloped to the side so we kept sliding off. Eventually though we made it.

A thoroughly excellent she that we hope to be at next year!

Walkeridge Farm, 18th to 21st of August

We arranged to go to this site as it is close to where my brother lives. as it was quite close we left at one and were on site by two. As we drove in it was like a ' Darling Buds of May ' scene. The grass was a bit long, about 4 inches. Only one Electric box, so we linked two leads together to reach it.  it was very hot.

Superb views on site over rolling countryside. Another caravan and a motor home turned up! I cooked pork tenderloin with a honey and mustard glaze.
Whilst cooking dinner a Biplane took off from the field next to us. Unfortunately there was a large hedge so we were unable to get any pictures.
Sunday was so hot. Unbelievably we had arranged a barbecue some three months ago.  Kim, Graham, Abi and Harry turned up. We had a very good afternoon.Especially as we had the site to ourselves.

After they left another caravan turned up.

Monday was overcast but very warm. We went out to a National Trust property called the Vyne. A superb country house that was once as big as Hampton Court.

Two more caravans turned up. One was pulled by a Freelander 2, but was poorly due to the driver constantly slipping the clutch.

One thing about this site was the amazing views across rolling countryside.

We cleared up on Tuesday in very warm weather so everything went away dry for once!

We will probably use this site again when we visit Kim and Graham.

Start Bay 12th to 15th August

We do not usually do this in the UK but on this occasion we moved from one Caravan site to another. I have written lots about Start Bay Caravan Club site in the past in the past.
We arrived and set up quickly, as Zoe and Joe were on their way down from home by train, and had to be collected from Totnes station. They were very lucky to do this as I have wanted to do this rail journey but have not had the chance yet.
We watched the closing ceremony of the Olympic games.

Monday was a lovely day, so after a Full English Breakfast, we drove to Salcombe for coffee, and to check on the crabbing conditions.

We returned and all went Sea Fishing from Slapton beach!  Only Zoe caught anything, a Mackerel.  Then back to the caravan where I cooked a roast Turkey dinner .

We spent Tuesday morning at Bee Sands before going into Salcombe in the evening for some crabbing followed by dinner at the Fort.

It was so wet on Wednesday morning as we cleared up. The rain finally stopped as I took the awning down.  We got home in three and a half hours, which is a really good time.

Menehay Farm CL, Falmouth. 5th/12th August

As usual this summer we set off down the M5 in horrific wet conditions. However as we trundled over Bodmin Moor the sun came out. We arrived in Falmouth to be told that the rest of the family, Jade, James and Jack, along with Andy and Val (James's parents), oh and of course Amy, James's sister had been on the beach all day. We set up and James and Jade came up to collect the steak that we had transported down for them.



The next day dawned bright and sunny, so we popped into Falmouth for morning coffee and then it started to rain. I do not think that I have been to Falmouth for about forty years!

 We drove on to Glendurgan Gardens (NT)for lunch.

Low cloud marked the start of Tuesday. Fog horn had been going off over night. We had arranged to drive down to the Lizard with the rest of the family. Not much of a view, and of all things parking was free! We came back and stopped at the viewing area by RAF Culdrose but did not see any activity. Then a pleasant drive back through some very narrow lanes!

Jade Lizzie and Jack

Jade, Jack and James

I could not resist popping this one in here showing Andy's and my Land Rovers

Wednesdays weather was much improved, with clear blue skies. We popped out to for coffee and to read the papers.  We stopped for coffee at the 'Cove@ on Maenporth beach. Here we were able to park for free again. Then we sat on the verandah, enjoying several coffees and teas whilst we read the papers an watched the stunning views over the crowded beach.

The only way to describe Thursday was hot!  We went shopping at our favourite store, Lidl, to get the supplies for an evening barbecue. We prepared and then sat reading.  They all arrived at about 7.30, and it was an almost perfect summers evening.

As a few bottles had been consumed the previous night, Andy had left his Discovery 4 with us, so I popped down into Falmouth to collect him. The flat they were staying in was huge, with stunning views over the sea, and a myriad of boats, large and small.  Lizzie and I spent the rest of the day reading until we got a taxi into town.
We spent the evening at Rick Steins Restaurant.  I have to say it was exceptional, both the food and the cost. It was £19.99 each, for a starter, main and dessert, all chosen from the menu.

On Saturday, the rest of the family were departing.  i got the papers early, and then we had a proper cooked breakfast. Yet again the great yellow globe in the sky looked down graciously over us. We again went to the 'Cove' at Maenporth beach for coffee, before driving some very narrow roads as we followed the coast to Coverack.

Unbelievably we parked just like that. We found a nice pub where we had a beer, before wending our way back to camp, where it was warm but becoming cloudy.

Time to leave this lovely site.  Two other caravans were leaving as well. We all left at about 11.45.  They were moving to North Cornwall, whilst we we were heading to Start Bay.

Greenacres Farm CL, Bibury. 19th-24th July

Hooray the weather has changed at last! It is bright and sunny. Greenacres Farm CL is just a short jaunt of thirty miles for us. We were on site by 1.00pm, and there was only one other caravan there. The site was very large, so we chose the end of the field, in the corner where we could be relatively private. I have to add that the pitches were 18m apart, and each had its own plug and tap.

On the Friday we had a prior arrangement to collect Lizzie's mum and  Roy from Gordano services on the M5. They had been on a coach trip to Ireland. We set off to collect the, going via Chipping Sodbury caravans to pick up a proper television aerial. Driving down the M5 was not a lot of fun as it was the first day proper of the school holidays, they were duly collected and dropped to their home in Winterbourne and we returned to site. As we had gone through Chipping Sodbury, we had called in at home to collect the post. The Caravan Club's guide to sites in France had arrived so I was able to look forward to reading that over the next few days and get more planning done for our proposed trip to Corsica next summer.

On the Saturday, it was so hot. We only went into Bibury for afternoon tea and a visit to the local tea rooms at the Trout farm. It certainly is a nice place, but was rather full of tourists, fortunately none when I took this picture!

We drove though part of the area as we had spotted some green lanes we thought we could drive. When we got to them they were so overgrown that we could not attempt them in the Freelander2.



Some super gardens though.

Three more caravans arrived on site, so it was now full!  One chap kept visiting the rest of us, inviting us to come up to his awning to share a drink and chat. We decided that a short visit was ok, so we popped up for half an hour. That was plenty!  we were soon back in our own area.  Enough said!!!!




The Sunday was even hotter so we popped into Cirencester to get the papers and some salad stuff. On the way back we stopped at 'The Village Pub' in Barnsley.  This is a delightful village and the pub looked interesting!

Well it was very nice, but also very, very expensive! A glass of wine was £7.50.
 It was nice to park amongst all the Range Rovers and Discoveries!   At least ours was the newest!

We decided to stay for an extra night, so the following morning it was off to Chedworth Roman Villa. Driving through the countryside was rather enjoyable!

Then it was back to our pitch, where Lizzie wanted to get back to reading that book!

We cleared up the following morning, and set off home. I was a pleasant drive, spoilt only by a few drivers who pulled out in front of us and then proceeded to drive slowly in front of us. We travel on normal roads at about 50mph, which is the limit when towing, so having somebody driving in front of you so slowly is annoying. It also makes the traffic behind us think that we are holding them up. So a hasty pull into a few laybys, to let the traffic clear, and also let vehicles following see that we are not the cause of the hold up.

Anyway, that was our trip to Bibury.  We shall definitely use this site again.
Home now for a few days before our next trip.