Bath Marina & Caravan Park

Woke up to a hard frost. Thought it was cold in the night. The overhanging part of the awning above the front had ice 10mm thick. Unfortunately the awning was wet so we had to put it away and dry it out on Sunday.

We left just after Midday and called St Gloucester services for a wee and snack. 

We arrived back at Mirey Lees just before 5pm.

Tyntesfield and Clifton Suspension Bridge

Although we had some we rain overnight it was again a nice bright morning. We did have a few showers on and of throughout the day but it was generally a nice warm day with a bit of a nip in the wind.

After breakfast we set off for Tytensfield. A lovely YU Gothic style we building, op need by the National Trust, who managed to beat off Kylie Minogue, since 2001.

On the way back we diverted to Clifton Suspension Bridge. A beautiful bridge across the Avon Gorg we, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in

Dyrham Park

A bit colder today but still nice and bright. After breakfast we headed to Dyrham Park

The car park is just inside the main gate at the top of the hill. The house is 15 to 20 minutes walk down the hill. There is a shuttle bus to take you ther but we decided to walk down an catch the bus back up.

The house looks lovely as you walk down the hill but inside is a little disappointing. It is not as grand inside as it looks from the outside.

We had a walk around the formal gardens and the church.

After the tour of the house we went to the tea rooms for the traditional cuppa and crisps, although this time we had a nice cheese scone as well. Then onto the bus for the ride back to the car.

On the way back we had a detour to Halfords at Yate to pick up a couple of spare inner y
Tubes for the bikes.

We drove back to the van for a nice cuppa, before getting changed and heading back to the cinema to watch Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bath to Bristol Railway Path

Another lovely sunny day again. After breakfast we got the bikes out and headed off in search for the Railway path. With the help of a couple of dog walkers we managed to find it.

We rode all the way to Bristol and decided to have a look at the SS Great Britain whilst we were there. We eventually managed to find it and had a nice cuppa and sandwich in the Cafe.

We headed off back to the caravan. A 32 mile round trip. The longest bike ride we have ever done so far. We has a well earned chilled evening resting our weary legs and sore bum.

Bath

Another bright mainly sunny day again today. After breakfast we again walked to the Park and Ride and caught the bus into Bath.

Again we jumped on the City Tour bus and got off at the assembly rooms. We had a look around the assembly rooms which is where the unmarried women of Bath used to go in search of a husband.

Just next to the Assembly Rooms is the Kings Circus. A circle of houses with a green in the centre containing some magnificent trees.

We hopped back on the bus to Bath Abbey. It has the most magnificent ceiling I have ever seen in any building. Next to the Abbey was the Roman Baths and Pump Room. Due to the fact that there was a very long queue and that it was £16.50 to get in we didn't bother going in.

We went to the nearby Costa Coffee before having a stroll around the shops before heading to Wetherspoons for dinner.

After dinner we went to the Odeon to watch First Man. A film about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

After the film we caught the bus back to the caravan and chilled for the rest of the evening.

Bath

A nice bright if not a little chilly morning. After breakfast we walked along the river to the nearby Park and Ride to catch the bus into Bath.

We had already booked tickets online and caught the bus for the city centre tour. It was a lot colder in the wind on top of the open top bus. We did the full tour and then walked around the corner for the Skyline tour around some of the places of interest outside the city centre.

    

We jumped of the bus and headed to Subway for lunch before catching the city tour bus again back to Royal Crescent where we had a walk around.

We Jumped back on and rode back to Pultney Bridge. We had a walk around the park before hopping on the bus again to head back and catch the park and Ride bus back to the caravan.

We spent the rest of the evening chilling in the caravan.

Two Tunnels Greenway Cycle Path

It was a very nice sunny morning. I checked the fuse in the electric heater and it appeared to be blown.

After breakfast we showered and got the bikes out. We cycled down to reception and paid for our stay, then headed off to find the start of the Two Tunnels Greenway cycle route. On the way we passed Toolstation and popped in to buy some fuses.

The Two Tunnels Greenway was well signposted and we found it quite easily. It was all uphill to the Devonshire Tunnel. A quarter mile long ex railway tunnel.  Almost immediately followed by the Combe Down Tunnel. A Victorian tunnel,which at 1.03miles is the longest cycling tunnel in the uk.

We stopped at to see the Dundas Aqueduct at Brassnocker Basin. We had a nice chat with a couple of volunteers for the Canal And Rivers Trust and we signed up to be friends of the trust.

Maddy had a flat tyre so we repaired the puncture before setting off again but after about 20 minutes Maddy's tyre was flat again so we stopped and changed the inner tube.

With about 3.5 miles to go we stopped at the George at Bathampton, a nice Chef and Brewer pub right next to the towpath, for Cider and Gin and Tonic, before riding the last few miles back to Bath Marina.

After tea we had a nice relaxing chill for the rest of the evening.

Bath Marina & Caravan Site

 Left Mirey Lees at about 9:15 AM and called in at Stonebridge Island Toby Carvery for the traditional pre-holiday breakfast.  After a nice steady drive with no hold-ups we arrived at Bath Marina and Caravan Site at approximately 1 PM.  A lovely little site by close to the river Avon.

 We soon had the caravan settled and had a nice cuppa before popping to Morrisons in Bath for a bit of shopping.

TV reception was not great but the electric hook up box had a TV point on it which sorted the reception very quickly.  This site has excellent free Wi-Fi and I was able to watch Derby v Sheffield United on sky go with no constant buffering.  Although the toilets amenities were of the Portakabin style they were  quite posh and very nice.

We settled down  for tea and had a quiet evening relaxing.

Tyddyn Du Touring Park nr Conwy

Littlesea Haven Holiday Park, Weymouth

Abbotsbury Swannery. 

Abbotsbury Tea Rooms. 

Woodlands Country Park nr Woodhall Spa

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

We woke up to sunshine again. After breakfast we had a ride to Lowestoft and parked up near the seafront again. 

We cycled from Lowestoft through Holton and onto Gorleston. 

We parked up and had a nice ice cream. Not really very much at Gorleston so we had a walk around for about 10 mins before cycling back to where we parked the car.

We moved the car a bit closer into town and did a little shopping. We found a new cycle lock in Wilko and some solar powered lights in Poundstretcher. 

The we walked to Wetherspoons Joseph Conrad for tea. The service wasn’t great today. We had to remind them after about half an hour that we hadn’t had our main course yet. 

We called in for fuel on the way back to the Caravan. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

Woke up to bright sunshine this morning. We drove to Gapton Hall retail park in search of a new bike lock to replace the one I lost in Lowestoft a couple of days ago, and some new solar powered lights for the Caravan. We found neither. 

We drove across the road to Pizza Hut for a buffet lunch. 

We headed into Great Yarmouth to the Elizabethan House Museum. 

About a 100 yards up the road we popped into the Merchant’s House. 

Then we drove to the sea front just down from the Pleasure Beach where we parked up and cycled along the front. We stopped for an ice cream before continuing up to the Britannia Pier where we parked up for a while. 

We had a short walk into town and then onto the pier for a cider. We then rode up to to North Denes and then back to the car and on to the Caravan. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

Full cloud cover this morning. After Breakfast, We cycled to Burgh Castle. 

A tiny little Tearoom with only four tables, this was the best afternoon tea we have ever had. We had 16 finger sandwiches each, a scone and clotted cream each and four full sized slices of cake between us. The service was excellent and the owner kept topping up the teapot and looked after us really well. 

Later we had a sit by the river opposite for a while. A truly lovely spot, before heading back to the Caravan

The late 3rd century 'Saxon Shore' fort at Burgh Castle was built as part of the Roman network of coastal defences, and probably abandoned just over a hundred years later. Three of its imposing stone walls survive, almost to their original height, making this one of the best preserved Roman monuments in Britain. The fourth wall collapsed into the surrounding marshes a long time ago.

The land around the fort is a wildlife haven and offers panoramic views over Breydon Water.

We cycled back to to the Caravan to shower ang get ready for today’s afternoon tea at Rosie Lee’s Tearoom in Lodden. 

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Tattershall Castle & Thorpe Camp

Very overcast this morning. By the time we were ready to go out it was raining quite heavily. 

We went to Tattershall Castle, mainly because the last time we were there Maddy forgot to get her National Trust passport stamped. 

There were lots of Knights in Armour and fighting displays planned for the day but that had all been moved inside the castle due to the rain. 

We spent an hour listening to a talk about armour and how to put it on which was very entertaining. 

On the way back to the car we nipped into the church for a cuppa and a slice of flap jack. 

We went to Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre in Tattershall Thorpe. The centre was formally part of number one communal site, RAF Woodall spa and was built in 1940 with the planned lifespan of only 10 years. 

At the end of the war, when the RAF vacated the site it became a target for squaters and was taken over by the Horncastle Rural District Council who converted it into temporary housing for which it was used until the early 1960s. 

By 1987 the site was completely derelict an overgrown. Part of it came with the area acquired by the woodland trust when they purchased the adjacent Carr woods. The trust planned to demolish the buildings which led to the formation of the Thorpe Camp Preservation Group to restore the site and create a visitor centre depicting the story of RAF Woodall spa and it squadrons together with civilian life in Lincolnshire during World War II.

Then it was back to the van for tea and chill. It finally stopped raining about 6pm. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

Overcast and windy this morning. 

After breakfast we headed into Norwich for the day. We hopped onto the City sightseeing bus and got 2 for 1 tickets for being in the Caravan Club. Good value at £12 for both of us. 

We did a full lap on the bus and on the second lap we got off to have a look around the Anglican Cathedral. 

The cathedral was begun in 1096 and constructed out of flint and mortar and faced with a cream-coloured Caen limestone. An Anglo-Saxon settlement and two churches were demolished to make room for the buildings. The cathedral was completed in 1145 with the Norman tower still seen today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead. Several episodes of damage necessitated rebuilding of the east end and spire but since the final erection of the stone spire in 1480 there have been few fundamental alterations to the fabric.

The large cloister has over 1,000 bosses including several hundred carved and ornately painted ones.

Norwich Cathedral has the second largest cloisters in England, only exceeded by those at Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral close is one of the largest in England and one of the largest in Europe and has more people living within it than any other close. The cathedral spire, measuring at 315 ft (96 m), is the second-tallest in England despite being partly rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1169, just 23 months after its completion, which led to the building being set on fire. Measuring 461 ft (141 m) long and, with the transepts, 177 ft (54 m) wide at completion, Norwich Cathedral was the largest building in East Anglia.

When we came out it was raining. We walked back and did some shopping before heading off to the Bull Hotel to wait for Steve and Julie Wheeldon, friends also on holiday in Norfolk, who were joining us for a bite to eat. 

When we came out we had missed the last park and ride bus so we got a taxi back to the car and headed back to the Caravan. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

Bit overcast this morning but reasonably warm and bright.

The gas ran out half way through cooking breakfast. They had no gas on the park so I went in search. Everywhere I went they had none until I finally found Simpson’s Garage who did. So we finally had brunch instead just before 1 pm. 

After brunch we eventually headed off to Horsey Windpump. The windpump is still undergoing restoration and currently the ground floor only is accessible to the public at this time. The sails have been reinstated and you can find out more about the history of the windpump and its exciting £500,000 restoration project. They hope to get the sails turning again by the end of 2018.

On the way back we called in at Caister Roman Fort. The fort was built around AD 200 and was occupied until AD 390,towards the end of the Roman period in Britain. It protected the estuary of the rivers Yare, Bure and Waveney, am important trade and strategic route leading inland. 

On the way back we called had a gentle ride through the seaside villages of Scratby and Hemsby, and a ride through Yarmouth seafront before heading to Great Yarmouth stadium for a lovely meal and a night of dog racing. 

After a nice evening, I lost £2 and Maddy won about £4, we had another ride along Great Yarmouth seafront in the dark before heading back to the Caravan. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

We had some rain in the night but woke up to a nice warm and sunny morning. After breakfast we decided to go on a bike ride. 

After an hour and a half trying unsuccessfully to find the car par for the start of a ride we downloaded, we decide to head into Lowestoft to ride along the sea front. 

We called in at the toilets by the pier the lifeboat siren went off so we rushed out to the lifeboat station to catch the launch of the lifeboat.

It must have been a false alarm because it just did a lap of the bay and came back in after about 10 minutes. 

After all the excitement we had a nice double scoop ice cream before heading further along the front. We came across The Jolly Sailor pub, with live music ringing out, so we decided to stop for cider and G&T in the sun. 

Then we headed back to the van for tea and a relaxing evening. 

Wild Duck Holiday Park Nr Great Yarmouth

We left home around 8 am and were on the road by 9. We called at The Gap in at Muston for the traditional all you can eat breakfast, and after a good journey with no hold ups, arrived around 1:45 pm.

Wild Duck is a Haven site at Belton, near Great Yarmouth. As expected the facilities are excellent with 10 showers toilets and plenty of sinks. Tv and phone reception was excellent. 

We soon had the caravan set up and went in search of cider and gin.

After a quick look around the entertainment complex we dropped into the Sitting Duck for a pint of Thatchers Gold and Gin and Tonic for Maddy.  

Then we headed back to the caravan for tea and relaxation. 

Woodlands Country Park nr Woodhall Spa

We left Mirey Lees about 3pm and after a steady drive without any holdups arrived at Woodlands Country Park about 5:20pm. There were lots of black clouds about and we did have one torrential shower on the way. 

We managed to get the main part of the awning up before another heavy shower hit. By the time we got the sides on the sun had come out again, and we managed to finish setting up. 

After a nice cuppa we headed off into town for milk and Fish and Chips. We had to queue for about half an hour for the fish and chips but they were worth the wait. It had dropped quite cold by now. 

After eating the fish and chips in the car we headed back to the van for the evening. 

Woodlands Country Park nr Woodhall Spa

Nice sunny morning but there was a bit of a cold wind when the sun went in. 

We had a ride to the Co-Op in Woodhall Spa to get some Cobs for today’s barbecue. Glynis, Jim, Martin and Jackie were coming for Maddy’s belated birthday celebrations. 

We had a nice barbecue in the sun for the most part but the wind was a bit fresh at times. 

We had a nice gentle walk around the site, then back to the caravan for s few dunks before they headed off about 8pm. 

Tyddyn Du Touring Park nr Conwy

Another lovely sunny morning. We had breakfast before packing up the caravan and heading off just before midday. After an uneventful journey, we arrived back about 15:30. 

Llandudno & Conwy

Whilst we were having breakfast it rained quite heavily and did so on and off for about an hour or so.

By the time we headed off for Llandudno it had brightened up and although there were the odd black cloud looming on and off during the day it didn't rain again, in fact for the most part it was a nice, warm and sunny day.

We parked up and headed for the Great Orme Tramway. Open from late March to late October, it takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme headland.

It is Great Britain's only remaining cable-operated street tramway, and one of only a few surviving in the world, and it is owned by Conwy County Borough Council. The line comprises two sections, where each section is an independent funicular and passengers change cars at the halfway station. Whilst the upper section runs on its own right of way and is very similar to many other funicular lines, the lower section is an unusual street-running funicular.

Whilst the street running section resembles the better-known San Francisco cable cars, its operation is quite different in that it adheres to the funicular principle where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable, unlike San Francisco where cars attach to, and detach from, a continuously running cable.

When we got to the top we went for a coffee and pasty in the Summit Complex. Then we spent some time in the visitor centre before heading back to the half way station so we could have a look at the Bronze age mines.

Then we caught the tram back to the bottom and headed off to the walled town of Conwy.

We parked up and then had a walk to Aberconwy House, a medieval merchant's house and

one of the oldest, datable, houses in Wales. Constructed in the 15th century it is, along with Plas Mawr, one of the two surviving merchants houses within the town. Its historical and architectural importance is reflected in its status as a Grade I listed building. The house is administered by the National Trust.

We walked down to the quayside and had some prawns, followed by a lovely ice cream, before walking the city walls in an anti-clockwise direction.

We then headed down to the castle to have a look at Thomas Telford's suspension bridge

but unfortunately it was closed so we could only look over the wall.

 We then headed off to Colwyn Bay to The Picture House, a beautiful old cinema, refurbished into a J D Wetherspoon pub, where we had Fish and Chips. On the way back to the caravan we stopped off at Tesco's to fill up the car ready for getting off home next day

Bodnant Gardens & Betws-Y-Coed

Nice and bright again this morning. After breakfast we headed off to Bodnant Gardens.

Bodnant Garden is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy, Wales, overlooking the Conwy Valley towards the Carneddau mountains.

Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was gifted to the National Trust in 1949. The garden spans 80 acres of hillside and includes formal Italianate terraces, informal shrub borders stocked with plants from around the world, The Dell, a gorge garden, a number of notable trees and a waterfall. Since 2012, new areas have opened including the Winter Garden, Old Park Meadow, Yew Dell and The Far End, a riverside garden. Furnace Wood and Meadow opened in 2017. There are plans to open more new areas, including Heather Hill and Cae Poeth Meadow.

Bodnant Garden is visited by around 190,000 people every year and is famous for its Laburnum arch, the longest in the UK, which flowers in May and June. The garden is also celebrated for its link to the plant hunters of the early 1900s whose expeditions formed the base of the garden's four National Collections of plants –Magnolia, Embothrium, Eucryphia and Rhododendron forrestii.

After a few hours of enjoying the beautiful Garden and two coffees, a packet of crisps and a piece of Chocolate Orange sponge cake, we headed for Betws-Y-Coed.

Betws-y-Coed ("Prayer house in the wood", Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbɛtʊs ə ˈkɔɨd]) is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Prior to 1974 it was located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire.

Betws-y-Coed is one of the honeypot locations in Snowdonia. It lies in the Snowdonia National Park, in a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by the River Llugwy and the River Lledr, and was founded around a monastery in the late sixth century. The village grew very slowly with the development of the local lead mining industry. In 1815, the Waterloo Bridge, built by Thomas Telford to carry the London to Holyhead road (now the A5) across the River Conwy and through the village, brought considerable transport-related development. The village became a major coaching centre between Corwen (to the east) and Capel Curig (to the west) on the Irish Mail route from London to Holyhead, which led to the improvement of the roads south to Blaenau Ffestiniog and north to Llanrwst and Conwy. It is a primary destination for the purpose of road signs.

Construction of Betws-y-Coed railway station in 1868 heralded the arrival of the railway line from Llandudno Junction railway station, and resulted in the village's population increasing by around 500.

The village has a large village green which is the playing field for the local football team. The green is bounded on its western side by the A5 trunk road, with 19th century buildings, including shops, hotels, and the Church of St Mary. This church was built on the site of a former cockpit and fairground, and although it is of early English appearance, it was completed as recently as 1873, the internal roof timbers testifying to this relatively young age. The interior also features various types of stone: local bluestone, sandstone (and floor tiles) from Ancaster, and black serpentine from Cornwall. The square bell tower was added in 1907, and the integral church hall was added in the 1970s, the commemorative stone being laid by the Earl of Ancaster in 1976.

On the southern side of the green is the railway station with cafes, tourist shops and a car park. In the former railway goods yard, reached from the station, is the Conwy Valley Railway Museum with its extensive miniature railway.

The village is also a centre for outdoor activities and lies within the Gwydyr Forest.

We had a lovely if not quite expensive two scoop ice cream and headed to the Black Bull Inn in Bangor,  J D Wetherspoon pub for tea before heading back to the caravan.

Llandudno

The sun was out again this morning but whilst Maddy was having a shower we had quite a heavy downpour for about 10 minutes, then the sun came out again.

The weather stayed fine for the rest of the day although it was quite windy, and at times it had quite a cold nip to it.

We went to Llandudno and planned to catch the tram up the Great Orme but there was a very big queue and we only had 3 hrs before afternoon tea, so we had a walk down onto the pier. We had a nice cider and Gin and Tonic at the bar at the end of the pier. then we had some prawns and cockles, before sitting on th prom for an hour to wait for tea.

We had afternoon tea at The St George's Hotel opposite the sea.It was a Christmas present from Martin & Jackie, and lovely it was too.

We the popped in a couple of shops before heading back to the caravan for the evening.

Ffestiniog Railway

It was raining when we got up today. The kind of rain that wets you through.

We had a quick breakfast and set off for Blaneau Ffestiniog to catch the 10:10 train into Porthmadog. It was about a 45 minute drive and we only just made it due to being stuck behind a lorry on the narrow country lanes. 

The Ffestiniog Railway  narrow-gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a

major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.

The railway is roughly 13 ¹⁄₂ miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. 

The Festiniog Railway Company which owns the railway is the oldest surviving railway company in the world. It also owns the Welsh Highland Railway which was re-opened fully in 2011. The two railways share the same track gauge and meet at Porthmadog station, with some trains working the entire 40 mile route from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon.

By the time we got to Porthmadog it had stopped raining and turned into a nice warm day. 
We had a nice walk around Porthmadog and caught the 16:30 train back.

After a nice bag of chips we headed back to the caravan via the more Scenic A5.

Penrhyn Castle, Plas Newydd, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and Beaumaris

Although it was a nice warm day, it was cloudy with the sunshine a little sporadic. After breakfast we headed off to Penrhyn Castle. Unfortunately, when we arrived, I found I had forgotten my wallet so we had to go back to the van to collect it.

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, designed to look like a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he

founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

There was an art installation called Harrison's Garden.The installation is made up of over 5000 clocks and creates an imagined landscape in the derelict "unloved" rooms of the keep.

After the traditional Coffee and Crisps, we headed over the Britannia Bridge into Anglesey.

Plas Newydd is a country house set in gardens, parkland and surrounding woodland on the north bank of the Menai Strait, in Llanddaniel Fab, near Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales. The current building has its origins in 1470, and evolved over the centuries to become one of Anglesey's principal residences. Owned successively by Griffiths, Baylys and Pagets, it became the country seat of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and the core of a large agricultural estate. The house and grounds, with views over the strait and Snowdonia, are open to the public, having been owned by the National Trust since 1976. On the way back to the car we saw a beautiful red squirrel running along the fence by the adventure playground.

After another Latte and piece of shortbread we headed off in search of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch station. The place with the longest place name in Britain with 58 letters. The station was actually closed, so after taking a couple of photographs we headed up to Beaumaris.

Beaumaris was originally a Viking settlement known as Porth y Wygyr ("Port of the Vikings"), but the town itself began its development in 1295 when Edward I of England, having conquered Wales, commissioned the building of Beaumaris Castle as part of a chain of fortifications around the North Wales coast (others include Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech).

The castle was built on a marsh and that is where it found its name; the Norman-French builders called it beaux marais which translates as "beautiful marshes".

After a nice ice cream on the quay we headed back to the caravan, calling at Tesco on the way for bread and fuel.

Conwy RSPB Nature Reserve

Woke up to a lovely warm morning. After breakfast we headed off to Conwy RSPB Nature Reserve and had a nice couple of hours walking around the lakes and watching a few birds.

Then we dropped into the RSPB cafe and had some traditional coffee and crisps. 

On the way back we dropped down onto the sea-front and had a walk along the promenade. We had a nice Kelly's ice cream on the front before having a steady ride back for a chill at the caravan. 

Every night around dusk hundreds of starlings fly noisily over the caravan to roost in the trees opposite.

Tyddyn Du Touring Park nr Conwy

We left Mirey Lees just after 9am and headed for our usual Toby Carvery breakfast, today at Trentham Village in Stoke-on-Trent. 

We were back on th road by about 10:45. Traffic was bad today and we were constantly dropping down to 20 mph ish. 

We arrived about 1:30 pm but had to wait until 2 pm before we were allowed to pitch. It is a lovely site with excellent facilities. The only slight downside is that there is not quite enough room between pitches. 

This is the view in front. 

This is the view behind 

After we had set everything up we had a short ride to Tesco to pick up a few bits, then back for a relaxing evening. As we chilled in the van there was a beautiful sunset over the sea. 

Littlesea Haven Holiday Park, Weymouth

Lovely day again today. Bit windier this morning but it was a nice warm breeze. 

After breakfast we drove to Abbotsbury Swannery. 

Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens, West Bay, Bridport and Brewers Fayre

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens.

West Bay. 

Bridport. 

Brewers Fayre, Lodmoor Country Park. 

Abbotsbury Swannery and Abbotsbury Tea Rooms

Abbotsbury Swannery.

Abbotsbury Tea Rooms. 

Hardy's Monument, Max Gate, Hardy's Cottage, Clouds Hill and Tolpuddle

Hardy's Monument

Max Gate

Hardy's Cottage

Clouds Hill

Weymouth and Harvester