Category: 2020 trips

Adventures in Bronte Country; Haworth , Yorkshire

Posted in 2020 trips, Yorkshire5 Comments

Ruby the VW is parked on her lonesome, at a Topfield, a Camping and Caravanning club Certified (5 van) site on the outskirts of Haworth.

The owners suggested we park sideways to accommodate our rear awning

We had a smooth journey from Norfolk north although it rained most of the time this didn’t bother us as we were driving. As we neared Haworth our farm shop radar kicked in and without even looking for it we happened upon a large and well established farm shop, Robertshaws. We made a stop and gave the budget a hammering filling Ruby with lots of local produce, ales and gin.

When we arrived we had a quick set up and set our stall outside and had a cheeseboard and ploughman’s for a late lunch. After a chill at the campsite the weather improved so we went for a wander to the town of Haworth. It took about 30 mins but was mainly down hill so we decided to investigate taxis for our return! We enjoyed a lovely drink in one of Haworth’s oldest building, Haworth Old Hall, before moving up the picturesque high street to The Kings Head. We had a final drink in the Fleece Inn (recommended to us by a VW Camper Chick) and eyeing up the menu made a decision to eat here tomorrow.

We got our cab back (£5) and heated up a Spag Bol I’d brought from our freezer at home before crashing out for the night.

Tuesday dawned with mixed weather but it wasn’t going to stop us. Today we were walking the Bronte way taking in some famous Bronte Sights along the way! After a full English we loaded some snacks into a backpack and off we went, back down the hill into Haworth, and back up the gorgeous high street to the old school rooms where the Bronte sisters went to school, taught at and even had their wedding reception at. We passed their graves and went pat their family home- sadly due to covid the museum was closed.

Pics my own (I’ve managed to recover them!)

We picked up the Bronte Way and walked about 2 miles across Penistone Hill to the Bronte Falls. The weather was mixed- one minute pouring with rain and the next glorious sunshine. The views were beautiful!

At the Bronte Falls I was trying to get a great shot when disaster happened! I lost my footing and ended up IN the Bronte Falls! 🤦‍♀️😂 luckily I didn’t injure myself but my phone got the brunt of it and sadly died on me two hours later – I smashed the LCD screen.

We enjoyed seeing Bronte Falls and the Bronte bridge despite that not being the original one as that washed away some years ago.

The walk continued up to Top Withers; said to possibly be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. Regardless of whether it was or wasn’t, it was a spectacular walk and the ruin of the farm house a good insight into remote farm houses.

Following a shower!

At this point we joined the Pennine Way back to Stanbury, where we popped into both the local pubs (the Friendly was the better of the two IMO) and mourned my phone breaking! We continued back to Haworth in time for a quick drink at the Steam Work Brewing for a local gin and a local lager. I could have stayed there all night working my way through their comprehensive gin menu- all made in Haworth! But sadly their licensing meant they had to close at 6pm. We had one across the road in the Black Bull before going and grabbing the last table at the Fleece for dinner. The meal was terrific and we’d certainly worked up an appetite.

By half 8pm we were back at Ruby where we complete crashed out! We’d thoroughly enjoyed our time here despite me trashing my phone! It is so incredibly beautiful and the small town oodles character.

Wednesday dawned sunny which was good as it was time to pack up and love on to our next location. Via an o2 shop to sort myself out with a new phone!

Until next time

Lx

Hop

Adventures in Southwold

Posted in 2020 trips, suffolk8 Comments

Ruby the VW Campervan is parked up on her own private glade on the outskirts of Southwold. We are plugged into the electric and have a water tap and loo disposal. We have 4 other neighbours but due to the lovely landscaping of this campsite we can’t see any of them! We’re pitched up at Jubilee Certified Campsite, a 5 van site linked to the Camping and Caravan Club and at £15 on we feel like it’s a steal!

Thursday; we were working until 11:30 at which point we closed our laptops, bid our final students a fond farewell for the summer and literally RAN into Ruby and set off towards Southwold.

It’s actually an amusing story as to how we ended up here; it was an accidental booking a few weeks ago, as we were emerging out of lockdown I hit the phones trying to secure a couple of local breaks. When I rang this site, I thought it was one elsewhere, and when he told me he literally had one night free in the whole of July- I snapped it up thinking oh my god, we’ve missed the boat. When I realised my error I understood; walking distance into Southwold is always going to be attractive and the reviews for the site glowed. We decided to keep the booking and go and enjoy some Adnams to mark the end of a very strange and stressful school year!

The campsite is just lovely. Everything I hoped a CL with no facilities would be. Check in was relaxed, we literally just found an empty glade, plugged in and then tried to remember how to set the awning up. It went up quickly and easily and we had another couple of new gadgets to play with – our sun canopy and two Ruby red zero gravity recliners.

We decided to have a bbq lunch and just enjoy the quiet campsite for an hour or so which was bliss. I cracked open the fizz and we toasted getting through the last few months of utter chaos work wise!

Around 4pm we made our way the short distance on foot (20 mins) into Southwold. It’s been ages since we’ve visited, despite it being only an hour away. The colourful beach huts against the lovely sandy beach made us instantly feel on holiday.

We made our way to the Adnams shop to stock up- but had mistimed it so our summer budget breathed a sigh of relief! Instead we made our way to the historic Lord Nelson Adnams pub, who have adapted brilliantly to COVID requirements by closing inside – there are too many nooks and crannies; instead serving drinks out of a hatch and allowing you to enjoy a beer on benches overlooking the sea. This view would rival any beer garden! Having found a prime spot bench, we decided this would become our office for the evening, so we ordered fish and chips for takeaway from the pub for later on and spent a couple of hours sampling some Adnams with a view that just never got old.

After our delicious Adnams beer battered fish and chips, we made our way back to Ruby and had a chill outside the van until the mosquitos came out to play! They completely caught us off guard- we were totally unprepared for them and as such spent 2 hours before bed trying to make Ruby a mossie free zone- then realised there is a gap in the tailgate awning so had to reluctantly close the tailgate and start again!

Somehow we woke up with only 2 bites but high on today’s agenda is to get some repellent!

We absolutely LOVE this campsite so much! For us this is the perfect CL. It’s no surprise it books up very quickly.

Friday

Shortly after writing the blog section above, we began thinking about packing up ready to move on, as sadly our campsite (when we booked in June) could only fit us on for the one night. We therefore were thrilled (despite sharing the campsite owner’s annoyance of people’s lack of courtesy) when he popped round as we cooked breakfast to say he’d had a no show and we therefore would be welcome to stay an additional night. It was a no brainer and we thanked him for giving us first dibs, settled up for another night and put the kettle on; our day ahead looked leisurely and with no time commitments we couldn’t have been more relaxed and happy.

Trying out our new fry up saucepan!

Late morning we decided to have another wander into Southwold, and this time take a walk towards nearby Walberswick along the coast. The weather had been a bit grey and drizzly so far but as soon as we reached the centre the sun came out and as luck would have it a beer table became available outside the Sole Bay inn. Well it would have been rude not to have stopped to sample an Adnams cider and we happily people watched for a while, whilst sat in the shadow of the lighthouse.

We moved on towards Walberswick picking up some mozzie repellent on the way and followed the dune path towards Southwold harbour and passed the exceptionally busy and hemmed in Southwold campsite. We felt pleased to not be staying there this time.

We joined the queue for the small foot passenger “ferry” which would take us the very short distance by water, but save us a much longer walk. There has been a ferry here since 1236 and it’s usually and traditionally a small rowing boat, but Covid restrictions have meant that the rowing boat is too small for social distancing. We were surprised to see our campsite owner driving the ferry! He seemed pleased to see us as he’d recommend the walk to Walberswick.

On the other side we happened across a pastry shop which just happened to have some fresh out of the oven sausage rolls for us to enjoy for our lunch. We washed it down with a drink at The bell, before hopping back across to Southwold on the ferry.

Opposite the ferry drop off point was a traditional fishmongers and as we are suckers for local food and the weather was good we picked up some fresh scallops and sea bass fillets for a bbq tea.

As we passed the Adnams shop on route back to the campsite we stocked up on lager, cider and white wine ready for our fishy feast!

We enjoyed our fish bbq so much! We had a delicious cheese board for supper (including some local Baron Bigod soft cheese) and retreated to bed before we got attacked by mosquitos!

Keith has made some effective mosquito nets to cover the gaps in the tailgate awning, so we were able to sleep with that open last night which was comfortable- although we both managed to screw a few bites between us!

Friday

The awning and canopy came down really easily and quickly as we packed up this morning, and after a fairly quick pack away we waved a fond farewell to our campsite- we have loved our stay here!

On the way home we stopped off at Woodbridge, to do a walk and also see the last remaining original tidal mill in the country. The town of Woodbridge is pretty and has lots of listed buildings. Thomas Seckford, Master of the Court of Requests of Queen Elizabeth I lived here in the 1500s and we passed many very pretty and quaint (and some less so 😉 ) properties around the centre of the town.

The tidal mill has been there since the 1700s, although there has been a tidal mill on that site since 1170 which is just remarkable to imagine. It’s recently been fully restored to working order and is looking fabulous standing proudly against the River Deben. Across the river is NT Sutton Hoo – well worth a visit (we’ve been recently). We passed some lovely looking house barges along the quay.

We were thrilled that the weather held out for our walk and only changed as we neared home.

We arrived home feeling refreshed and relaxed; we’d had such a lovely mini break! We’d fallen out of love with Southwold a few years ago, we can’t even really remember why, but it’s safe to say after this visit it’s lodged firmly back into our heart! We’ll be back!

We’ve actually only got a couple of days at home before we venture out again; this time we’ll be pointing our wheels northward.

Stay tuned! Until next time

Lx

PS: COVID-19 measures within Southwold

There is currently a one way system on the Main Street- with one pavement for each direction. This helped us feel secure and mainly worked well. All pubs and shops had sanitiser stations and on the Friday the law changed regarding masks and every seemed to be obeying the new rules. The pubs all did things differently and according to the space they each had available. The Lord Nelson served only from a hatch outside, and served takeaway food in the evening (pre book via phone) The Sole Bay Inn had a one way system and plenty of Perspex screens. The Bell at Walberswick were hugely limiting numbers, even in the garden. The Walberswick ferry sterilised every contact point as people got off after every trip. We felt safe and welcome at all times.

Review: Eurotrail Off-road Tailgate Awning and 12v Solar Shower

Posted in 2020 trips, Gadgets, Review2 Comments

It’s not that we don’t want to ever use campsite facilities again, it’s more that at the moment, we’d prefer to stay on smaller sites with no facilities, as we feel they will perhaps be quieter than those with facilities.

So we decided quite early into lockdown to invest in an awning and 12v shower. We picked the Eurotrails tailgate because that way we could aim for a cooler sleeping area during the hotter summer months. Our one criticism of Ruby is that during the height of summer we can get a bit hot in bed and the air around our face becomes a touch stuffy. The idea of a tailgate awning excited us as the prospect of being able to have fresh air around our faces during these summer months would hopefully make for more comfortable nights.

We picked the Eurotrails off-road awning as it looked spacious and very easy to assemble. Everyone refers to awnings as “divorces in a bag”, and we were keen not to be included into that generalisation thanks very much!

The awning is stored in a small tent sized bag and has just two poles for the entrance shelter. You hook the edge of the awning in to the hinge of the tailgate, line up the window in the awning with the window on your tailgate and open the boot! There are handy magnets which keep the awning secure onto the van.

There are two zipped entrances, one on the offside and one on the behind. There is also a window and a vent with net. The space is large enough for two small chairs to shelter in. Our only criticism is that with it being a European design, the side entrance is on the opposite side to our living area on our van, but to be honest I’m not sure we would use the awning to lounge in anyway and it was nice to have some privacy with the entrance being at the back of our pitch.

On our first use, the waterproof-ness was put through its paces as the moment we’d finished setting up the heavens opened and we found ourselves in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. We are happy to say no water got into Ruby and we were watching it like a hawk!

After our first night of sleeping with the tailgate open, we realised the boot light (inside) had remained on and therefore drained our battery! So we’ve since disconnected the light as we never used that anyway.

We were especially pleased to discover that we could close the boot without any drama, we leave the awning pegged in and just close the boot and lock up when we go out as we didn’t fancy leaving the vehicle wide open. On return, it’s really easy to just open the tailgate again and the awning pops up.

We’re really happy with the awning, and although it’s perhaps a little pricey at £200 , it’s going to massively enhance our trips. As well as a private area to shower in, it was wonderful as a dressing room. Another downside of Ruby has been getting dressed in the morning and not being bale to stand up whilst getting our clothes on. Now we can jump out of bed straight into the awning and get dressed whilst standing up!

Shower:

We have this 12v shower which we are really pleased with. You fill the bucket (Included) with water, dip the motor in and away you go. The pressure is actually very good, and the lead for the 12v to the shower head is so long we can plug it inside the van and run the cable through the bed area. You can turn the water on and off with a switch and on the shower head too.

We used an old solar shower bag to heat the water during the day, (topped up with a couple of kettles) and then poured the water into the shower bucket. We stand in a folding dog paddling pool to collect our used shower water.

I didn’t take a pic of us showering! But you can see the solar shower bag heating up in the sun here!

Adventures in Lincolnshire – our first out of Lockdown

Posted in 2020 trips, LincolnshireLeave a comment

Ruby the VW Campervan is parked up at Hilltop Farm, CL (a caravan and motorhome club 5 van site) just on the outskirts of Saltfleet. Hilltop Farm is an adults only site and one in which we carefully selected as we mulled over our return to the big wide world following the COVID lockdown period. We were desperate to get out and about but carried nerves having been very cautious for the past 3 months. We decided to pick a site that had no facilities other than electric and emptying and this way we would be completely reliant on our own on board facilities.

We also wanted somewhere grassy to try out our new tailgate awning. This is going to double as our shower room and also will help air the van out during hot summer nights.

On route to Saltfleet, we made a (pre booked) stop off at Gunby Hall, a National Trust estate and gardens. Its always a treat to find dog friendly gardens to peruse, and this is one of them! The walled gardens were absolutely stunning. We really loved our visit here, and were pleased that the rain stopped literally as we pulled into the car park. The hydrangeas were just spectacular. If you are local to here or passing – its well worth a visit. I’d actually go as far as saying I’d make a special journey just to see these beautiful gardens.

Gunby Hall National Trust

We arrived at Hilltop Farm to a friendly welcome from the owners and pitched up sideways alongside the dyke- a rare treat for us as VW owners. The moment we finished our set up – which took a little longer this time as we had to remember how to get the new awning working – the heavens opened and we found ourselves in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. I ended up napping for an hour whilst it the storm passed over, but thankfully it cleared up to a dry evening although we decided not to cook outside as there were ominous clouds hovering! We were treated to a lovely sunset however and we enjoyed a little wander around the perimeter of the site – and even a little look in the nature hide over looking the surrounding fields.

Saturday dawned much brighter, and we enjoyed a bacon butty for breakfast. There really isn’t anything better than campsite smells on a Saturday morning – I believe every single van chose to cook bacon and the smell was immense. We were enjoying being side on to the pitch as the views were lovely – but it did compromise our privacy a touch so Keith put both our windbreaks up.

We were particularly pleased with our new tailgate awning, as we were able to lock the boot yet leave the awning pegged in in position which cleared up our worries of ” are we going to have to leave the van open”. Answer “No” – phew!

We went on a great walk – taken from the Country walking magazine routes – direct from our campsite. The route took us along the dykes and down to Saltfleetby Sand Dunes, where we almost got attacked by a horse- true story – and had to do an emergency hop over the fence to safety! We enjoyed a walk along the coastal path all the way back to Saltfleet and out through the absolutely horrific (IMO) static caravan park (Sorry I can’t stand them and this one was really really hemmed in..) to the New Inn, which was a really interesting building – it looked like an Old Mill, but inside it had been turned into a modern sports bar type place. Still – we were starving and decided to have a pizza for lunch here, which was actually really nice and dirt cheap!

Saltfleet Walk

After our walk, which turned out to be almost 6 miles long, we had a big relax on site, we even napped again – this was a treat before Keefy fired up the BBQ. It was a beautiful evening and we sat out until late playing monopoly and watching the barn owl(s) hunt for their dinner.

Saturday evening on site

Sunday morning soon came round, and we packed up Ruby with an audience- everyone was sat outside their units watching intently. Thats our pet hate – even if I’m sure I’m do the same! 😉

We waved goodbye to Hilltop Farm and made our way to the Lincolnshire Wolds. We stopped at Tealby, which is apparently the most pictureqesue village in the Wolds. We absolutely agree, it was beautiful – charming and quaint – with rolling hills surrounding it. 1 in 8 of the buildings are listed and the village school even has a Victorian copy of a hammer beam roof. The stonework on the buildings is lovely sandstone and, as a complete surprise we managed to find the oldest thatched pub in Lincolnshire hidden within the village too. What more could we ask for; history and a beer garden!

The Village of Tealby in the Lincolnshire Wolds

After a quick drink we moved on towards Old Bolingsbroke – home to the ruins of the castle in which Henry IV was born in. Despite being a site of ruins, there was a very good artistic impression of what the castle would have looked like in its day – something like a traditional fairytale castle with beautiful white exterior and rounded towers, with the entire castle sat within a moat. The moat still remains, as does the foundations and actually some really well preserved sections. We throughly enjoyed our visit here and again would recommend a stop here if you’re in the area.

Old Bolingbroke Castle; English Heritage free entry

We were going to have a picnic within the castle walls but we couldn’t get parked near enough so left the grub in the fridge and after our walk to the castle and back found the highest point of the Wolds and a convenient lay-by for us to turn into a picnic area where we enjoyed lunch before making our way back to Norfolkshire..

Lunch Views

We’d had a lovely mini break and are looking forward to some more of the same over the coming weeks. We’ve decided we are going to remain in the UK and take short breaks for this summer in a bid to be cautious.

We enjoyed the views in the Lincolnshire Wolds

I will do a full product review of the Tailgate awning and solar shower next week – We’ve just ordered another gadget to add too and will do a round up of them all together!

Until next time

Lx

Day adventures in Thetford Forest

Posted in 2020 trips, Day trips2 Comments

Hi everyone, we hope you are keeping safe and well? We are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has grounded all our travel plans and adventures for the foreseeable future. As it continues, we find ourselves wondering daily what it means for the rest of year. Having already lost (or rather rescheduled) our Vietnam trip, our second trip has just been cancelled. This Thursday coming we should have been fleeing south after work for a late Eurotunnel crossing, heading to Colmar, France and then into Switzerland for May Half term and our 5th wedding anniversary. The mountains will still be there and when it is safe to visit we will, so although we feel sad, we are still thankful that we and our family remain well. Eurotunnel have given us a voucher valid for a year, so as soon as we get the green light we can make the trip that we have looked forward to so much.

This week in England, lockdown restrictions eased a touch, and whilst the message is still clear that this is far from over, we are now allowed to go for longer and unlimited exercise and travel to do so. We are now allowed to picnic and sit in the park in the sun. The message changed from Stay at Home to Stay Alert. It took us by surprise – we would have been happy to have a full lockdown for another couple of weeks, and we felt disappointed at first that this would encourage people to be irresponsible and therefore bring a new peak. This, I believe, triggered a wobbly week for us both. We both struggled through the week and after a stressful trip to Morrison’s on Friday followed by a stressful walk on the way home we both realised that we were struggling being out of our bubble at home. I think we’d become or were starting to become institutionalised perhaps. We decided we needed to try and push ourselves to get out a bit further than 15 mins from our house- Keith has only been out of the village twice to Diss and then he stayed in the van. I’ve been to Tesco each week – a 15 min drive. It was taking its toll.

I picked a spot just 25 mins from our house- but one weirdly we’ve not been to before. I made a quiche, scotch eggs and we gathered some tasty treats into Ruby’s fridge. We felt a bit nervous about once again leaving our bubble – but this time we were taking our bubble with us. We have a loo, water, soap, food and drink and shelter in the form our trusty little campervan.

We arrived at St Helens Picnic site in Santon Downham, part of Thetford forest, just after midday. The car parking was busy but we found a space easily and although there were plenty of people about, everyone was social distancing. The main difference was the space. There was tons of it. We checked the fridge was on and set off on a 5 mile walk.

As soon as we left the car park and got onto our trail head, we saw only 3 other people the entire way round. The space felt huge and the fact we hadn’t walked that trail before was liberating. Each step we took felt like one step closer to feeling ourselves again. By the end of the walk we wondered if actually the government easing the rules slightly was to aid our mental health. (This is not an invitation to start a political debate – it’s just how we felt in the moment)

After our walk, we’d built up an appetite. We had planned to eat lunch in Ruby, but the sun had come out and there was an inviting glade right next to the river. We loaded up the picnic basket which lives in Ruby, grabbed a blanket and a chair and bagged the private glade. Whilst we could hear others doing the same, we couldn’t see anyone – the space was huge. We set ourselves out facing the river, tucked in and again felt the stress sweeping out of our bones. We watched the ducks as they built their nest, waved at several kayakers paddling by and we even grabbed an unscheduled nap each.

We retreated back to Ruby for a cup of tea and an eclair – why does tea made on the gas hob in Ruby always taste better? We sat and pretending we were camping for half an hour before packing up and driving home. We’d driven 16 miles each way but we had crossed the border into Suffolk, not had a panic attack and felt like we’d had a mini break. It felt like a huge achievement.

I feel guilty for not coping so well. We have it easy really. We have a roof over our heads, we’re healthy- we don’t work on the front line, although my mum does and I worry about that constantly. We have a garden, we have Netflix and all the other channels you could hope for. We are managing to do some work so don’t have financial worries. All we’ve been done is been asked to stay at home, but when you’re used to being free and doing as you please it feels hard at times. I have to keep reminding myself that actually it’s ok to not be ok. Our friend sent me this poem the other day when I admitted on Facebook we’d had a wobbly week.

It’s OK to have good days.
It’s OK to have bad days.
It’s OK to cry about absolutely nothing.
It’s OK to cry about absolutely everything.
It’s OK to find this hard even if you know there are other people in much worse situations that you. This is not a competition.
It’s OK to feel frustrated.
It’s OK to feel anxious.
It’s OK to feel scared.
It’s OK to feel.

I didn’t start this post with the intention of sharing all this info, it was to share our happy day yesterday and the joy of being out in Ruby- but when I write these blogs I write from the heart so this is what I’ve ended up with. I nearly amended it but as it’s Mental Health awareness week next week, perhaps it’s rather fitting.

We hope you are keeping safe and well, we’re going to continue to take each day as it comes- I’m sure there will be more wobbly days ahead and when they do come we will remember that as the sun goes down it signals that it’s nearly the start of a new day tomorrow.

Until next time

Lx

A Royal Retreat; Part 2

Posted in 2020 trips, Attractions, Historical places6 Comments

Ruby the VW is parked up in Windsor, and we can see Windsor Castle from our window! We are parked up in a sectioned off part of the Coach Park in Alexandria Car Park and amazingly they allow overnight parking/sleeping in Campervans/Motorhomes.

We arrived late morning having had a lay in and a full English Breakfast. The weather had been unsettled over night and the wardens at Chertsey C&CC were quite rightly closing the Island part of the campsite due to fears of flooding. Overnight the river had burst its banks and water was getting close to the pitches on the island area.

We made the short journey to Windsor (about 25 mins) from the site and arrived at the car park just before noon. The Security team showed us where we could park and we felt very pleased to be “wild camping’ for the night. We paid £15 for our parking but this was from 12 noon through to 9am the following morning. Considering we paid £6 to park at Hampton Court Palace for 4 hours, we felt this was fairly reasonable. There is a toilet near the station however this closes in the evening and overnight. There was also a tap near to the coach area but not sure if that’s for use by campervanners.

See video here

Feeling pleased to be parked up we made the short walk to Windsor Castle entrance. I’d been very excited to make this visit – I have just recently finished reading Lady in Waiting and am watching The Crown so am totally in ‘The Zone’ when it comes to the Royal Family right now!

We’d pre booked our tickets through the Windsor Palace website (£23.50 pp) and arrived just after noon to no queues or anything. It was just a shame that the weather was drizzly and wet.

We first visited St George’s Chapel – the site of the most recent Royal Wedding of Harry and Meghan. We also saw the tomb of Henry VIII which tied in well with our visit the previous day to Hampton Court Palace. The chapel is beautiful, especially the roof and the organ. Sadly no pics were allowed.

We then moved on to the State Apartments and also the Queen Mother’s Dolls House. The Doll’s House was incredible – made in the 1920s its a full scale model of a Royal Household, and everything inside it works! The scale is 1 foot to 1 inch. Even the grammerphone plays real LPs, and the miniature wine bottles had real wine in!

From here we walked through the wonderful collection of State Apartments. Its hard not to be impressed here, especially given that they are still in use for Royal Receptions and the such to this day. St George’s Hall was destroyed in the 90s by a terrible fire, but has been rebuilt and was the venue for the most recent Royal Wedding.

After visiting this section of the castle the rain had nearly stopped so we went to look at the outdoor courtyard where we could see the current Queen’s private apartments. We were told by a guide that she regularly comes to Windsor Castle, in fact she’d been there a couple of days prior to our visit.

We enjoyed looking at the round tower, the oldest part of Windsor Castle, and hope to return in August or September as it opens up to the public then. Our ticket today got stamped so we can return for free again within 12 months.

We really enjoyed our 3 hours or so exploring Windsor Castle – the audio guide was really informative and for me it was a big bucket list tick.

After our visit, we decided to enjoy the fact that we were parked up for the night. We went for a drink at the nearby Horse and Groom – opposite the Castle. Keefy soon spotted a Windsor and Eton Brewery ale trail leaflet, and so the rest of the afternoon was spent dodging the rain as we made our way around the trail – we may have added in some extra pubs too! We really enjoyed the pubs it took us to and the ale was really tasty too.

About 8pm we realised we hadn’t eaten since our breakfast, so made our way back to Ruby where I cooked up a Carbonara before we both crashed out – we were asleep by 9pm and enjoyed a very peaceful night in the carpark along with one other motorhome. I fancied trying the BBQ restaurant in town but as we’d been on the go all day (and had a few jars) we were ready to turn in! We will definitely return and will make a point of eating there next time.

We’d had a marvellous day exploring Windsor and really commend the council for having the business sense to make this scrap part of a car park a place for us to park up overnight. If we hadn’t have stayed here, then there were no other campsites for us to stay at within the range of public transport and therefore we would have been unable to take part in the pub crawl.

Well done Windsor! See our video Here

Tomorrow we are making our return journey home but not without a visit to Bletchley Park to see if we can bag a a new job as a codebreaker.

Thursday Dawned another wet and grey day. We waved goodbye to Windsor Castle just before 9am and the new day’s parking charges kicked in and made the 1.25 hour journey north to Bletchley, near Milton Keynes.

Bletchley Park has been another place on our ‘to visit’ list and we were excited to be finally ticking it off. Despite the grey and murky weather we arrived just after 10am and after having a quick late breakfast/early lunch in the carpark we entered the very important historical site.

During WW2 Bletchley Park would have been a hive of activity and the people who worked here were instrumental in ending the war. It was here that mathematicians and scientists worked tirelessly trying to crack the codes that were being intercepted from Germans to their Army. It was also here that Alan Turrin and his team developed the Bombe machine which was instrumental in deciphering and decoding messages from the German Enigma machines. If you haven’t already seen the film, Benedict Cumberbatch plays a fantastic Alan Turrin in The Imitation Game.

Visiting Bletchley Park is an all day affair. The site is large and there is lots and lots of information to read (perhaps too much) and quite a number of interactive code breaking multi media displays. There are numerous huts to visit, including the famous hut 11a and 11 where the Bombe machine was made and also Hut 8 which was where Alan Turrin had his office and team. There is also the mansion – although half of it was closed sadly.

In Block B there were a number of original Enigma machines to view, but aside from these and a few original facsimiles and essays written by Turrin we found the original artefacts lacking and this was disappointing considering that the entry price was £20 per person – and that was booking in advance price. Buying tickets on the day would have been more. Whilst we very much enjoyed being on the site, and found being in hut 8 very interesting and atmospheric, the endless multimedia displays and projections of actors and recordings of the actors voices very repetitive and just not needed. We were also incredibly disappointed that there is no original (or replica) Bombe machine here. Very sadly (and not the museums fault we realise) all the work that Turrin and his team did was ordered to be demolished at the end of the war and this included the codebreaking machine and everything to do with it. A working replica was made around 10 years ago but this is not housed at Bletchley. This is down the road at the National Computer Centre and requires additional entry fees.

There is an original Bombe machine in Maryland USA so we’ve decided to go and see that sometime instead as you know we love USA!

As I said, we enjoyed visiting the site, and rewatched The Imitation Game last night with nothing buy admiration for this who worked there. But, we felt disappointed by our visit – we should have read up beforehand, but didn’t, and as such felt disappointed not to be able to see originals. Also we felt there was an overload of repetitive and complicated information. It was hard to follow as it didn’t flow brilliantly well. I suppose its always going to be difficult to understand the information there unless you have a very mathematical and scientific mind as the formulas etc behind the code breaking machines were just so advanced! We would have liked to have read more about the people who worked there and their lives.

Like Windsor Castle, our tickets are valid for 1 year of return visits, so perhaps we will revisit later in the year with fresh eyes and without the expectation of seeing an original Bombe machine.

It’s worth noting by the way, if you plan to visit here, they won’t allow dogs in the car park. We didn’t have Jazz as we had booked three days of none dog friendly attractions so he went for a holiday at my mums, but there was a security guard checking vehicles on entry for animals and even if someone is sitting in the car with them, you would be turned away.

It was a shame to be finishing our mini break feeling flat. We’d really enjoyed our time away, and felt we’d made the best out of a disappointing week of weather, but I could do with a couple more days away to recharge and am desperately craving some mountain vistas.

We’ve got a very busy 4 weeks ahead, with no free weekends as we are gigging and holding exam days etc –  but then we travel to Vietnam and Cambodia for almost 3 weeks! I’m hoping we may manage a night away at a Britstop before then – our new Book was waiting for us on our return home!

For this weekend, we have more rain and more wind on its way so it”s time to batten down those hatches again!

Until Next Time

Lx

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A Royal Retreat; Part 1

Posted in 2020 trips, Camping and Caravan Club, Historical places, London, Sightseeing2 Comments

The trouble with writing a blog post having had some fizz, is it ends up in the wrong place!

So please click on the link for this mornings blog list about our first day on tour yesterday at Hampton Court Palace!

A Royal Retreat; Part 1

Our morning view at Chertsey Camping and Caravan Club site

Plan B

Posted in 2020 trips, Trip prep2 Comments

We made it to half term- yay!- and Ruby the Campervan SHOULD currently be ooop North. We were due to be heading to West Yorkshire yesterday, but the impending Storm Dennis has resulted in us delaying our departure. Since the reason we were heading there was to do plenty of walking in Bronte country, and high winds and torrential rain was forecasted we opted to stay in the warm and comfort of our house until the storm passes.

Instead, we spent yesterday at the Beach. It was actually a lovely sunny but rather blustery day in Aldeburgh, Suffolk and we enjoyed fish and chips and some Adnams Old Ale and a brisk sea front walk to blow our cobwebs away.

Beach Selfie at Aldeburgh Beach on Valentines Day.
Fish and chips on the beach

It’s great what a bit of sea air does. I started the day feeling a bit grumpy that we’d had to change our plans. I look forward to hitting the road once our work commitments are done, and I don’t think we’ve ever had to cancel because of weather. But, as our day progressed, I could feel myself relaxing and the starting of a new plan was formulating. Helped I’m sure by the Old Ale.

The best winter ale in the world – Adnams Old Ale

The weather is looking consistently awful in Yorkshire for the week ahead. As we have lots of walks planned in Yorkshire, and neither of us are THAT dedicated that we will start a walk in the wet- unless it looks like it will improve, we were starting to wonder if we should see if the weather looked any better elsewhere next week. Sure enough, it looks better down south, and a chance comment about how we had been meaning to visit Windsor Castle led onto an official plan B being formulated.

Cheers to plan B

We will batten down the hatches and have a weekend at home whilst we get battered by Storm Dennis, then as soon as we can on Monday, point Ruby in the direction of Berkshire. We’ve booked onto Chertsey C&CC club site and will visit Hampton Court Palace first, then Windsor Castle the next day and then have a visit to Bletchley Park on route home. All three have been on our list of places to visit for a couple of years. We feel really pleased with our new plan B and are keeping everything crossed that we can get away easily on Monday.

Hope you are all keeping safe and warm. Are any of you out and about this weekend?

Until next time

Lx

Camping in the Forest – Norfolk camp and walk

Posted in 2020 trips, Mini Break, Norfolk, suffolk, walking8 Comments

For us when we arrive at a campsite, once we are set up, we don’t want to move the van if we can help it. I spend all week chasing around in between schools and gigs so once the journey is out of way, I want to hang up those car keys and embrace not having to drive. Because of this we are always on the look out for campsites with walks or bike rides from our pitch.

For the second year running Keith and I have signed up to “walk 1000 miles”. Last year we smashed it by walking over 1100 miles which we were thrilled about- crossing the 1000 mile mark in mid November.

As usual its been a busy start to the decade, and with some pretty rough weather and my lingering lurgy, the 40 odd miles walked so far this year by us have been mainly in the dark either first thing in the morning or last thing at night. But this weekend a welcome break in the weather arrived at the same time as a welcome day off.

As we only had the day spare we opted for a local walk just 5 miles away from our front door. However seeing as we have a really rather decent campsite in the middle of the walk and various attractions around us – we felt it was well worth a write up to add to our ‘Campsites with walks from the pitch’ list.

Campsite:

Dower House Camping About 7 miles away from Thetford, Norfolk. Easily accessible from the A11.

This campsite is right in the heart of the forest. The pitches are really pictuesque and there are decent facilities and even an outside pool for the summer months. It gets very busy, we even know neighbours who go there on holiday despite it being 3 miles from our front door. It is open from Mid march to mid October.

The Walk:

9 miles but many shorter (or longer) routes available.

Because we live so close obviously we didn’t camp. We parked Ruby at Knetttishall Heath which has two large and free carparks. Knettishall Heath also has miles of trails to follow and is the start of the Peddars Way.

Our route began in the main car park which we walked away from by turning left out of the main gates, following the road back towards the A1066. After about half a mile we took a small footpath towards Riddlesworth Hall Private School. The path goes behind the school and you get good views of Princess Diana’s former school – the impressive Riddlesworth Hall.

We then crossed the 1066 and took a quiet lane through the forest towards Dower House Campsite. We took the campsite entry road and followed it for the mile or so before breaking off to the left following the path towards Thorpe Woodlands (Forest Holidays). This is a good place for a refreshment stop as there is a pet and child friendly bar/cafe which serves decent food and is open to non residents.

We carried on to the Peddars Way National Trail which we followed all the way back to Knettishall Heath. Our route covered 9 miles and was really enjoyable.

If we were staying at the campsite we would head towards Riddlesworth Hall first then Knettishall Heath as that way you get the road walking (albeit quiet road) done first.

There are enough walks directly from the campsite to occupy you at least 2-3 days so it’s perfect for a weekend break.

East Harling is just about walkable from Dower House – or cyclable on a very quiet lane. There are two decent pubs, one that serves exceptional food – The Nags Head and one that is a drinkers pub, The Swan. There is also a traditional tea room, Peppers, a village store, fish and chip shop and post office. The 2 pubs and the tea room are all all dog friendly. If you don’t fancy the distance, there is a great cab service that is based in the village.

Just outside of East Harling is England’s oldest Whiskey Distillery. Its well worth a trip if you like Whiskey or Baileys – they do a very nice Norfolk Nog which is similar to Baileys. There is also a restaurant and cafe at the distillery too.

A little further afield but less than 10 miles away there is Snetterton Race circuit and also Banham Zoo, or Bressingham Steam Museum.

Did you know that the legendary actor James Stewart was stationed nearby to here in Old Buckenham, about 8 miles away during WW2? You can visit the small museum on the airfield and visit Jimmy’s cafe. Or perhaps come and watch the very popular and really great air show in July.

As you can see we are blessed with where we live. If you decide to come and try the campsite out do let us know, we’ve love to meet up! This truly is our stomping ground! In fact during this walk we bumped into two of our followers randomly! Great to meet you Eric and Pam!

We’re always on the look out for inspiration of where to visit for a night or two which requires no driving once on site. If you have any spots you’d like to share, please do so in the comments below.

Our next Ruby adventure is just 3 weeks away, we’re looking forward to seeing some hills in West Yorkshire.

Until next time

Lx

A new year ahead – welcome 2020!

Posted in 2019 trips, 2020 trips2 Comments

Welcome 2020! A new decade lays ahead of us, and it feels like a freshly laid road lies ahead. New memories to make, fresh eyes to see the journey with. Miles upon miles of roads to be discovered, countries and continents to explore. It’s a great time to stop and reflect, and get planning some adventures for the year ahead.

2019 was a phenomenal year for us. We ticked off more bucket list items – despite adding more to the list, we worked harder than ever and travelled more than we could have dreamt.

Camping wise we ticked off two bucket list adventures – our stay at Dufton last year and led us to complete a walk I’d been itching to do, High Cup Nick. We also took Ruby the VW across the Irish Sea and did a fantastic tour of Northern Ireland – ticking off the Giants Causeway.

We managed our earliest ever outside BBQ during feb half term in the Lake District of all places!

Worldwide adventures went off the scale – we travelled to Canada and Alaska, and saw some incredible scenery and wildlife.

I took my first cruise and got hooked and I also overcame my two biggest fears – firstly taking a sea plane in Alaska and then later swimming in the deep ocean with whale sharks in Mexico. I can still remember how scared I was on both those occasions- I genuinely thought I would die but the sense of achievement and adrenaline afterwards will never leave me!

Keith ticked three bucket list items off by visiting Colditz Castle in Germany, Chitchen Itza in Mexico and Gettysburg Battlefield in PA 🇺🇸.

As a couple we celebrated a whole decade of being together and booked a indulgent but marvellous trip to New York for Thanksgiving. A day we’ve always celebrated (despite not being American) for 10 years – this year we watched the Macy’s Day Parade from the front row on sixth avenue.

Blog wise we started a sister site to Adventures in Motorhome – a specific place for us to share our non Motorhome travel. We introduce WanderLeefy.com.

Please pop and give us a follow. We’ll be keeping this site more specific for camping trips and pairing worldwide on WanderLeefy. We have a new Facebook page and would love you to follow us on both.

Despite all our worldwide travels last year we still managed 43 nights in Ruby – that’s one more than the previous year! This year, we’ve got some exciting adventures planned for Ruby including Switzerland in May – and Yorkshire in February and much more I’m sure. Worldwide adventures include Vietnam and Cambodia in March/April and possibly a couple more USA trips if the January sales are good to us!

Thank you to all our followers – we love sharing our adventures and hearing from you.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2020!

Cheers

Lx