Cheddar CC Site. 19th to 23rd of March

Only home for a couple of days then off again, this time to Cheddar Caravan club site!  This is a typical Caravan Club site with lots of 'elf and safety' warnings The first is that the access road is difficult as it is narrow and you must not arrive before 1pm.  For goodness sake the entrance road is only 120 paces long, and if you cannot reverse a caravan you should not be towing one.

Anyway I digress.  We drove down, via our favourite Burger van. Rolled on to the site and set up on pitch 8.         One rule during the winter months is always find a south facing pitch. That way you benefit from any sun that may be around.
This really is a very small site, only 65 pitches for which they charge you £18.00 per night.  The only facilities are the ablutions block, dish washing and laundry area.  In fact the facilities were nowhere near as good as Northam Farm,where the charge was £13.00 per night.
Next door was a commercial site that looked very good and only charged £13.00 a night.There is even a CL across the road that is probaly cheaper.

The site is very close to the centre of Cheddar, and the walk into town is via the Strawberry line, (one of Dr Beechings casualties), which is now a Cycle/footpath.  The other way is out of the gate, turn left and wall up the road, that has no footpath into town. Elf an safety rears its head again with CC signs warning you not to go that way!  Guess which way I went?

On my first trip into town for papers I could only find Tesco's!  Got a third degree grilling from the assistant over why I refuse to have a Club Card.  She did not like it when I expressed my opinion of Tesco's.  Soon found a Budgens so that got our support!

Next door to us was a motorhome using an Aus Tent as a Dog kennel!  That sure is a pampered pooch!

On the Thursday we went into Wells, and had coffee at the Bishops Palace Coffee shop. This really is an excellent setting.

 Then it was on to the Cook shop where a new kitchen timer and various other bits and pieces were purchased. This is a lovely little shop which is not overly expensive.  www.kitchenmonger.co.uk

Street was the destination for Friday. We wandered around the retail outlet centre, spending money at Marks and Spencers, and the  Procook shop, knives and things for me. Drove across some of the levels and saw many sandbags piled up still.

Saturday was a lovely day, nearly as good as the previous week.  We went to the market, overpriced and not particularly interesting.  More coffee in the Bishops Palace!  We then drove over the top of the Mendips,and down Cheddar gorge back to camp. Can you spot the mountaineering goat in the photo?

Langostines with salad, followed by Duck pancakes for dinner!  Yum Yum!

Cleared up on Sunday morning and left the site by 12.15.  Probably got a black mark from the CC for leaving late.  Home via our Burger Van again,

Neat site, but not in a hurry to visit it again!

Northam Farm Caravan Site. Brean. 12th-16th of March.

Well we have been sat at home for too long,so we looked round for something different. We settled on Northam Farm at Brean. This is a commercial site, not the sort that we would normally use,but we are looking for somewhere to take Izzy, Freddie and Ami for a long weekend in the summer.  It is also considerably cheaper at £13.00 a night, than a Caravan Club Site at nearly £20.00 per night.
We drove down through Keynsham and Chelwood and over Chew Valley Lake.We had forgotten how narrow Blagdon is to drive through!  A bit like the Kingsbridge Start Bay road.
We got to the site at about 4.00.  The site was easy to find and we were soon set up on the Dog free field, a real bonus! The hardstandings were block paved, so in order to put the awning up the caravan had to be sited right on the edge of the pitch.

The site was very quiet, although there were hundreds of caravans there, mostly empty. There are many fields full of caravans, mostly tourers pitched up for the season, and a few static mobile homes. We soon discovered that the club house, a must when Izzy and Freddie are with us was 600 yards down the road, which is quite busy. Do not think that this site will be suitable for the children as the club house is so far away.

On Thursday it was into Weston Super Mare where we had morning coffee in the very posh restaurant at the end of the pier!  Would reccomend anybody visiting WSM to visit this restaurant. The pier is good fun as well. Bit of retail therapy in WSM, I bought some more cook books, then back to Berrow where we found Morrison for essential supplies. It was such a glorious day that we sat on the beach at Brean for a couple of hours in the warm sunshine watching the Sand Yachts.

We had lost a bolt holding our grill door in place, so a good rummage in my tool box, essential for any caravanner,brought forth a replacement bolt, so all was fixed.

Friday dawned foggy, a real good thick sea mist. we drove to the northern end of Brean beach, to the National Trust shop for coffee. The fog lifted, leaving another bright sunny day. Drove back along the beach and spent more time watching the sand yachts.

When we got back to the site loads more caravans had appeared, and most of the previously empty ones were now occupied!  Our peace was shattered!

Saturday dawned bright and sunny so we set off into WSM to meet Donna and her family for coffee.  Had a wandere alongWSM front in the sun before returning to Brean beach to enjoy the sunshine and the sand yachts.

On the Sunday we did not have to leave the site until late afternoon, unlike CC sites where you must be gone by noon. We did some clearing up, made tea and coffee and put the drinks in our thermos mugs,then armed with the Sunday papers set off for the beach.  Proper Sand Yacht racing today!  Rather exciting as they travel up to 50mph (allegedly)

Quick clear up of the caravan then off home.  A really excellent few days days. May use this site again as it is close to the beach and very cheap

Hunters Moon CC Site, Wareham, Dorset.

Well we should have gone to Minehead CC site, but that is really a bit of a dreary site with lots, and I realy mean lots of gravel and not much grass!  So we settled on Hunters Moon site,which was to be a new one for us!
It really is a pleasant drive down to Wareham through Bath, Warminster and Blandford. When heading this way it always makes us feel as if we should be on our way to France, as we travel this route on our way to our channel crossing from Poole.   Oh well that is a few weeks away!

We set upon pitch 47, and then realized that we had forgotten a few things, principally the awning!  That is a result of not making a list of what needs to be moved from the garage to the caravan!  During the winter we tend to keep a few thingsin the garage rather than storing them in the caravan.

After a good nights sleep,I was up early for a quick trip home! Despite the bad weather we have been having it was a beautiful day!   Fortunately without the caravan on the back it is not too much of an arduous journey.  I was back at the site by one, to be greeted by a full cooked late breakfast prepared by Lizzie! Then it was off to explore Wareham, and a bit of afternoon tea! Itisamazing how our life revolves around food and drink.

On the Wednesday, another beautiful day it was off to Poole as we needed toiloet fluid.  We then drove through Sandbanks, admiring the expensive houses. We then did a first for us and crossed on the chain ferry to Studland!

There was a market advertised in Wareham for Thursday, so we decided to visit it.  One stall,so that was a waste of time. We decided to head back to camp via Bovingtion Tank museum. Did not pay to go in, as I have been before,but enjoyed looking at the static exhibits.  Then we went round to the viewing area where we were able to see some tracked personnel carriers running about!

Friday was wet all day, so time for some reading!  When I say wet, it was absolutely horrible!

Saturday was bright and clear, but very windy, so as we were going out for the day the awning was packed away.  We set off for the Norden station on the Swanage railway.  This railway operates every weekend of the year,and for late spring, summer and the autumn it operates everyday of the week. We caught the train and had a super journey through beautiful countryside to Swanage. I have to say this is another superb railway. Everything was neat and tidy.

 As we rode through their storeage area, everything was lined up really neat and tidy!  I think we will ride on this railway again in late spring or summer.  After coffee in Swanage, we returned on the train,sitting on the other side of the carriage, so we could enjoy different views.

From there we drove down through Studland to the ferry to Poole, as we needed to purchase some evening dinner.

Sunday was a beautiful day. No need for coats as we cleared up.

We had intended to stay here for only three nights, but as the railway was open and the weather, apart from Friday was excellent, we stayed for six nights!

One comment about the Hunters Moon site is that as it was very quiet, one ablutions block was closed, which I have no problem with. However, even though it was closed, the heating was going full blast and the lights were all blazing away.  I thought that the Caravan Club were trying to save money by not using so much electricity.

Home now,planning our next trip!

2014 Gets Underway

On the 10th of January we set off for Broadway Caravan Club Site, which is at Broadway in the Cotswolds.

We pulled on to the site, which is built on the old Broadway Station Goods Yard.  The site was nice and bright in the sun. We pitched up ready to set up which usually takes us about 45 minutes, Lizzie doing the inside and me doing the outside! But inside there were signs that we had been invaded by little furry things that could have made themselves at home!  All the big things were emptied out, fortunately it was dry and sunny. I made sure there were none in residence and Lizzie went throught th caravan making it cleaner than it had ever been before.
Slept well that night considering.

The Saturday dawned bright and sunny so after a leisurely breakfast it was off to Broadway for coffee. Brodway is certainly a lovely Cotswoldy place - lots of Antique shops and  very busy with visitors.


We then drove on to the spectacular Broadway Tower, 300m above sea level, where it is said you can see 16 counties!

Then home for prawn cocktail and steak for tea, cooked on the Cadac of course!

Sunday was a contrasting day to the Saturday, dull and a bit Chilly.  We drove to Toddington station which is on the Gloucester Warickshire railway. It had been advertised that the station cafe was open,but unfortunately it was not!  However the station looked immaculate, unlike the Dean Forest Railway that we visited a few weeks ago.Next time we are up this way we will come back to visit this station, and have a ride on the railway.


We drove on to Winchcombe for coffee. I have never been here before.It is a rather typical Cotswold town, with plenty of little independent shops. We found a building that was once a Doctors surgery, and had been converted to an antique shop with a small cafe.  Enjoyed excellent beverages and were able to browse the antiques at the same time.

We left Winchcombe, heading west for the ridge high above the town, when the fog came down. There was nothing for it but to head back to the caravan

Monday produced good weather again, so we decided to visit Evesham as we needed to get Jade a 21st birthday present. Before doing that though we went to see the very first touring caravan that is displayed in the old goods shed on the site. This caravan certainly is spectacular. It was pulled by two shire horses.  There is a full record of it travels displayed on the walls around the caravan.

From there we went to Evesham to complete the shopping before heading back to Broadway for coffee.

Tuesday was another nice day so we were able to clear up easilly before leaving the site and heading back to storeage!
Another good break!

The last trip of the year!

Well it is December so it must be Exmoor House Caravan Club Site in Dulverton.

On the Monday we had the Caravan cleaned at Chipping Sodbury Caravans. I clean the caravan regularly, but find the roof difficult to do so they did it properly for us.

Drove down through Somerset, stopping for our customary burger in Wells.  Then we discovered that every farmer in Somerset had decided to go muck spreading, so that when we arrived on site  the caravan was filthy.  We set up on pitch 13. Venison for dinner and then bed!

Pheasant squawking outside the caravan woke us at 6.30 am! One of the advantages of this site is its location right in the middle of town, so I was able to walk in and collect the papers.

Then when Lizzie had roused herself we went into town for coffee and some retail therapy (Christmas shopping)

We then set off to Morrisons in Tiverton. I do love these empty country roads that twist and turn,so it was into sport mode and a good old trash down the lanes!  Back to site and the Christmas tree and lights were put up!  The Caravan was also washed!

On Friday we drove out to Woolacombe and Coombe Martin. The colours over the moor were amazing. Lizzie took lots of pictures on her ipad, so at some point, when I have worked out how I will transfer them to here.

Saturday began very wet, but we were not worried as we were going to Dunster by candle light. We drove into Minehead station car park. We then caught a bus up into Dunster. There were 12 coaches running a shuttle service from Minehead to Dunster. There were also 8 coaches running a shuttle service from The other side of Dunster. As you can imagine it looked very pretty, with the street lit by candles in Ikea lanterns.

 All the shops were open, but there were only four stalls in the street.  It looked very good, but I do not think it was as good as Chipping Sodbury Victorian Evening.It got so very crowded that after a couple of hours we got the shuttle bus back to Minehead and had a pleasant run home before a Fish and Chip supper.

See
dunsterbycandlelight.co.uk

On the Sunday it dawned very cold,and the valley was filled with mist!

Today it was Dulverton by Starlight, so we spent the day writing Christmas cards and then wandered up into Dulverton.  What a contrast to Dunster. All the shops were open. There were lots of stalls and it felt very good. Even the Policeman had entered into the spirit of things.

We spent a very enjoyable few hours just wandering around, sampling a few beers and spending money on the stalls.  This is one event we will aim to return to next year.

See     dulvertonbystarlight.co.uk

Then it was back to the caravan to cook a roast chicken dinner, and to watch the finale to Dulverton by Starlight that was a spectacular firework display from Dulverton Church.
A really super day to start off our Christmas festivities

On the Monday we cleared up in a leisurely way before driving home, stopping again in Wells for a burger and a brew from our favourite burger van The caravan was popped back into storeage until early in January 2104..


So ends our 2013 caravan year. We have been away every month and have had a truly wonderful year!
Hopefully 2014  will see some major changes, but more of that in 2014.

Cirencester Park CC site. 19th to 24th November.

It may seem strange to zoom off for a few days so late in the year, but we really started to miss our caravan, and we are trying to get away each month of the year. All UK based children and grandchildren came up for the usual Tuesday lunch and general mayhem, so after we had eaten Lizzie and I set off. The site is only 40 minutes or so up the road so a very short jaunt for us.

The caravan was terribly cold so the first thing on once we had pitched was the electric heating on full. The pitch we were on was 127, a south facing plot, which we got the full benefit of the sun during the limited hours of daylight.






Then as we were setting up a minor problem! One of the arms of the aqua roll handles had disappeared! It had probably fallen through one of the ventilation slots in the front locker! Fortunately our neighbour let us borrow his so I was able to fill both Aqua rolls ! Dinner went in the oven and was soon served in a now toasty caravan. TV reception was very poor, so tomorrow's job will be to set up the satellite system so we could watch the news from our region.
Slept well, I always do in the caravan.

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Wednesday dawned bright and sunny, so after breakfast and having read the papers, Lizzie decided to I take her pills! She realized she had forgotten some rather important ones, so despite the fact that it was now absolutely hammering down I jumped in the Freelander and set of on a rather hazardous journey home. As I was passing Chipping Sodbury caravans I popped into buy a new Aqua roll handle. Pills collected from home I returned to the site, having to wear sunglasses for the return journey!  English weather at its best!
Then it was into Cirencester where we spent time Christmas shopping and updated our emails at Costa coffee! as the Internet on the site was not working properly.

On Thursday we went to Malmsbury, principally to visit the Abbey and it's Christmas shop. We then wandered round Malmsbury, which used to be a lovely town, but is now going down hill rather fast, caused mainly because there are so many empty shops, we drove on to Swindon outlet centre, where yet more Christmas presents were purchased.  Back the to site where Venison was prepared for Dinner.

Friday morning was very frosty, so I took the opportunity to prepare breakfast specials! I watched a chap a few caravans away from us shaking his blue gas bottles as he thought they were empty!  They were not it was just too cold for the gas to vaporise.
We then set off for Gloucester Quays where there was a Victorian market. We enjoyed wandering that for a few hours, watching all the people in Victorian dress and looking at an amazing array of stalls, non of which inspired us to buy anything!
There was a rather good 'folk trio' playing though!

We got back to site and watched the new arrivals pitching up! Which is always an interesting experience! When you pitch up there is a peg on the site, that your rear off side corner of the caravan should be lined up against.   Many caravanners can not reverse, so they just get out and move the peg!  This means many caravans are not correctly positioned as far as fire breaks are concerned and some wardens get a bit miffed!   Why the do not put the pegs in the ground permanently I will never understand!

On the Saturday we drove up to Bourton on the Water for yet mor Christmas retail therapy! Then on to Stow on the wold, wher parking was horrendous! The weather was crisp and clear with bright sunshine so it was lovely drive through the Cotswolds.

There was no frost on Saturday night so on Sunday we cleared up in a leisurely way, even getting a dry awning down.

This is a good site that we enjoyed, although due to its size, 200 plus pitches means it would be very busy in the summer.

Burrs Country Park, Bury. 17th -21st October.

We delayed leaving on this trip as the morning was very, very windy, and towing under those conditions is no fun! The weather forecasters got it right though and the winds subsided by lunch time.
The run up the M5 and M6 was very wet, with lots of spray. 3 hours 50  minutes to the site. We were fortunate to get on to pitch 68 which has an excellent view of the East Lancs Railway.

The reason for this trip was to see Robert, Cathy and the boys, and also to enjoy the steam gala weekend on the railway.

We popped up for a brew with Robert and co, then back to the caravan. We did not put the awning up as it was very windy. Slept well, always sleep better in the caravan than at home.
Woken the following morning by a Steam train. It was Duchess of Sutherland, on a photo special. It steamed past the site, stopped, reversed back and did it again.

This went on for a couple of hours!
We drove over towards Bacup for coffee and to take in the scenery which is really amazing before returning to the site, where the train reappeared for yet more steaming for the photographers.

On the Friday we spent much of the day in Bury Market, where we added a bit to the local economy! Had been looking everywhere for a muffin tin to be able to make our breakfast specials in! Asked at one of the cookware stalls and the lady found us one!  www.burymarket.com

We then spent the evening at the local pub with Robert and Cathy.

On the Saturday morning there was another photo opportunity at 8.00am.

This was a mixed goods train on a photo run!

Not as good as the one on the Thursday though.
I spent much of the day helping Robert cut down Zak's bunk bed and desk to make them fit into the bedroom better. We ended up with a job well done.

On the Sunday we decided to have a day on the railway.eastlancsrailway.org.uk A free vintage bus was running from the caravan site upto Bury station, so we took advantage of that. The bus took me back in time to King Alfred's Motor company in Winchester, back in the late 60's

We did the whole of the line travelling from Bury through Summerseat, Ramsbottom and  Irwell Vale to Rawtenstall.

Ramsbottom Station

  We went past the caravan Club site. Hope that you can spot our caravan!

 Then all the way back to Bury and on to Heywood before returning to Bury. I have to say this was just like travelling in the old days of British Rail. We even had authentic delays.

This is the engine that was pulling our train!

Then it was back to the site using the Vintage bus!  The route back took us via Bury Transport museum which looked very good so we will pay it a proper visit next time we are in Bury.
We then went up to Robert and Cathys for a magnificent Sunday lunch.

Monday dawned very wet, so i got soaked clearing up. Robert called in just as we were about to leave to wish us a safe journey.
The journey home was very wet until we got into Gloucestershire when it dried up!  A good journey that took us 3 hours 40 minutes!


Popped the Caravan back to storeage where it will have to sit until our next trip in November