Sunnydale Farm Camping And Caravanning Club Site, Southampton

We decided to travel down to Southampton for our Week on the Isle of Wight, so that we could visit Maddy's son Toby who is currently studying at Southampton University. It was a little dull when we got up but the sun was breaking through by the time we left at around 11:00 am, although when we arrived around 3:00 pm it had started to rain a little although it didn't amount to much. It was clear though from how wet the pitches were that they had had a lot more rain in Southampton. Sunnydale Farm Camping and Caravan site is a family run site 3 miles East of Southampton with 47 level serviced pitches. Electric Hook Ups were 10 amp and TV reception was very good. We set up the caravan, had a nice cuppa and then headed off to meet Toby at the house he is sharing with eight other students. After a quick tour we took him out for dinner at the local Harvester Restaurant. We dropped him back at about 8:00 pm and headed back to the caravan.

Buxton Caravan Club Site

It rained all night and was still raining heavily in the morning. We had a leisurely breakfast and then packed up the awning, unfortunately it was still raining so we put it in the car boot to dry out at home. We left around 12:30pm and got home around 2:00pm.

Lyme Park

A nice bright start to the day. Although a little cloudy, it was nice and warm. We decided to drive the 14 miles to Lyme Park. Now managed by the National Trust it was the home of the Legh family for 600 years. The park has around 1400 acres of parkland and is home to Fallow and Red Deer.

We did the tour of the house and Gardens before heading down to the Old Timber Yard Café for a cuppa and a slice of cake. Then we walked up the hill to The Cage. The cage is a folly built as somewhere that the ladies could watch the men hunting. It was inhabited until 1920 when the last tenant moved out, and lay empty until it’s renovation in the 1990’s We went back to the caravan via the A537 better known as the Cat & Fiddle.

Buxton

The sun was shining again this morning. After a nice cooked breakfast we walked through the woods, down past Poole’s Cavern, through the Pavillion Gardens and into Buxton.

There was a craft market in the Pavillion and we had a stroll around the stalls and shops for a couple of hours.  We had a walk up to the old Market Place and had a nice glass of cider at the pub by the Town Hall. We had a burger and another pint of cider before starting the long walk back up the hill to the Caravan.

Buxton Caravan Club Site

This beautiful 150 van site is set in an old quarry on the edge of Buxton Country Park and a few miles from the Derbyshire Spa Town of Buxton.I had half a day’s holiday so that we could get away a bit earlier, and got home around 11:30 am. Maddy had the day off so she had already packed the car. We called in at Heanor for a tray of chips for lunch on the way to the caravan and were finally on the road by 1:30 pm and arrived at the site around 2:30 pm.

The heavens opened as we arrived so we had to wait for the rain to subside before erecting the awning. After a nice cuppa we had a walk into Buxton Country Park and up to Solomon’s Tower on top of Grin Low. We climbed to the top of the tower and enjoyed lovely views of Buxton and the surrounding area. When we got back I tuned in the TV and the reception was pretty awful, so we bought a TV cable to allow us to plug into the site TV system on the Electric Hook Up point. Then it was Pizza and salad for tea and a night of cider and TV.

Beadnell Bay Caravan Park

Very much cooler this morning, only thirteen degrees, and looking like rain. We decided to put the awning down before having breakfast. We eventually left about 11:30am and arrived home around 17:30pm.

Holy Island

Another nice day although still a little windy. Went to Holy Island for the day. You can only reach Lindisfarne, as the island used to be called, when the tide is out.
First we went to Lindisfarne Castle. It was built in the sixteenth century to protect the island from the Scots. In 1901 it was just a decaying shell when it was discovered by the founder of Country Life magazine, Edward Hudson, who had it restored as his holiday home, to designs by Edward Lutyens, who tried to keep the austere spirit of the castle alive.

It was on Lindisfarne that St Aidan of Iona founded a monastery in 634. The monks established a reputation for scholarship and artistry exemplified in the Lindisfarne Gospels which are now kept in the British Library. The most famous bishop of Lindisfarne Priory was St Cuthbert who, never really settled here and after 2 years, headed back to his hermit’s cell on Inner Farne, where he died in 687. His colleagues rowed his body back to Lindisfarne, which became a place of pilgrimage until 875 when the left the island in fear of the Vikings.

 On the way back we called for take away Fish and Chips in Seahouses.