Local Food – Page 4 – WanderLeefy Adventures (formerly Adventures In a Motorhome)

Cornwall/ Devon – Summer 2014; Part 3

August 24, 2014August 25, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, BritStop, Cornwall, Devon, Historical places, Local Food3 Comments

Wednesday
Bluebell the Motorhome is parked up along with several other motorhomes in the village carpark in Tintagel. For £3 we’re allowed to park overnight here, within walking distance (50m!) to the nearest pub, half a mile to the English Heritage castle site and across the road from the National Trust Post Office site.

you can see Bluebell tucked up on the left

On leaving Barnstaple we visited the most beautiful Heritage Village of http://www.clovelly.co.uk
We paid £6.75 each and headed down through the visitors centre and down to the village. Words can’t describe how pretty the village is so here are my pics so you can see for yourself.

the Main Street lined with pretty houses

looking down over the Harbour

more pretty houses

the harbour and the hill we’d just walked down

the hotel on the harbour

a very picturesque refreshment stop!
After a good couple of hours, we marched back up the hill to the car park: Clovelly is totally traffic free, the locals have to use sledges to transport their gear up and down the hill- once upon a time it was donkeys!
On the way back up, Keith was able to hold and have his picture taken with his favourite animal- A Little Owl

Next we headed towards Tintagel. We hoped to stop at Boscastle, but it was heaving and we couldn’t even get in the carpark to check for spaces (although I’m fairly sure it was chocka block) so we carried on and found a space in the car park at Tintagel much more easily.

Once we’d got our ticket we walked down the hill to visit the impressive site where it’s believed King Arthur lived. It was a beautiful day to visit and although it was VERY steep (something which freaks me out a little!) we had a great visit

After a tiring days exploring we naturally found the pub, and tried a few local pints of cider/ale, wobbled back to the van and chilled out for the rest of the evening!

Thursday
Thursday we parked up at Brit Stop #003, a pub near Redruth. We didn’t have the best day to be honest, everywhere we visited we had trouble either parking or exploring due to restrictions made by the council. First stop, Port Issac, saw us turned away from the main car park as we were over 2.5 tons (daytime parking). We then struggled to get back out due to ignorant drivers and got stuck whilst driving up a 1 in 4 single track hill road with hairpin due to an impatient 4×4 who wouldn’t wait and let us pass him. Next stop was Polzeath to relive some of Keith’s old childhood memories of hols down here with his parents. We managed to get parked easily, despite the very heavy no overnight parking signs, but then couldn’t take Jazz our dog on the beach. We left him in the van reluctantly, because we’d already paid for parking (clever that!) but nevertheless we enjoyed a (dog less) walk along the shore

We carried onto Padstow, hoping to have a fish and chip lunch, but seeing as we got turned away from the park and ride, then got stuck in the middle of Padstow with tourists ten a breast walking in the middle of the road with no awareness of us and the other cars driving down the road, we were frankly relieved, if not slightly hacked off once we got safely out of the town. We rang over 10 campsites trying to find a local one with a last minute cancellations to no avail, so ended up carrying on to Redruth, to a very welcoming Brit Stop pub, where we drank away our troubles of the day!

We did manage a little dog walk around the local area and stumbled (literally!) across an interesting site just down the road, Gwennap Pit, an interesting open air amphitheatre that was originally formed by mining in the area.

It’s now used (and has been since 1700s) as an open air preaching area and is owned by the Methodist Church. Very interesting place to visit!

On our walk back we also passed an old mining chimney, a stark reminder about the history of tin mining in this area.

Friday
Bluebell the motorhome is parked overlooking the sea, on the cliffs in the community carpark at Treen.

We came this way as we are off to the Minack theatre tonight to see Keefy’s brother lead in Monty Pythons’ Spamalot. We also were in desperate need of facilities, and were hoping to get on Treen Farm camspite, which is a short walk away from the theatre. Sadly, by the time we arrived at 09:30, there were already over 50 early birds who had got on the list before us- this campsite offers a no booking policy, so you have to just turn up and hope for the best, hence the early start! In an amazing act of generosity, despite us not getting a pitch, the owners of the campsite allowed us to fill/empty water and loo and pointed us in the direction of the community carpark where we were allowed to park up for £3.50 overnight and £2 all day. The views from here were better than the campsite to be honest, and substantially cheaper, however we spent a lot of money in the campsite shop/farm shop on local ales, ciders, sausages, and even marshmallows!

We were meeting some of Keith’s old friends at the local pub for what turned into a liquid lunch

– this Cornish Tribute Ale is lovely!
By mid afternoon we thought it would be wise to check out the coastal path down to Porthcurno and the Minack ready for our trek down that night.

Porthcurno beach in this weather rivals Greece

managed a dip or 4 in the sea- it was a bit nippy, unlike Greece!

Keith’s brother and sister in law and some of the cast

That evening we watched the show at the Minack and it was fab. Definitely recommend a visit. I’ve never been before but Keefy has played in various show bands here before.

Keith’s brother Neil, playing King Arthur in Spamalot

Saturday
The weather was great but forecasted to change on Sunday, so we decided to stay another night at Treen carpark. We enjoyed a walk to Logan’s Rock, then a massive chill in the sun and a BBQ! Perfect

the view to the Minack on the left and Portcurno bay from Logan’s Rock

The Minack on zoom from Logan’s Rock.The chain of people you can see is the next theatre company passing their set down from the carpark to the stage

Logan’s Rock
We finished off our Saturday with a mahoosive chill in the sun, then a BBQ- steak and sausages accompanied by a bottle of Pape. Perfect

We then tucked into the marshmallows for the first time EVER- we’ve clearly missed out. It was amazing!

As the sun went down the stars came out and what a sky it was- we sat and saw loads of shooting stars. Absolutely cracking day.
Sunday
Bluebell the motorhome is parked up right beside the seaside, at Praa Sands.

We’ve managed to find another place that welcomes motorhomes by allowing us to stay overnight for £5. We’ve paid £8 and this gives us 24hrs parking.

Cornwall is slightly confusing with its attitudes towards motorhomes, and dogs for that matter. Some carparks seem to be happy allowing us to stay whereas others a mile or so down the road have several ‘campers and motorhomes prohibited” signs per carpark. Some beaches allow dogs, others don’t. Lands End, you pay £6 to get in but then you can take your dog into every shop there. It’s all very confusing, but we’ve been lucky and only had one day of anti motorhome/anti dog stress (so far!)

We nipped up to Lands End today, as Keefy’s been wanting to get a matching sticker to go next to our J O’G one from last year. I have to admit, the £6 parking charge seemed steep initially, but on thinking about it, I suppose it’s not too bad- if we had 4 passengers it’d be a cheap to visit. Also, once the £6 is paid, there is no extra admission charge, although there are plenty of outlets for you spend extra money once inside, including an official picture next to the sign (an extra tenner!)

We stopped off at the Famous First and Last Inn on our way out, intrigued to check out the camping area we knew about. We could have stayed over for £10 with no services, not even a water tap, in their back field, but frankly we thought that it was a rip off considering our location the previous two nights for less than half of that. If they’d said free for diners, £10 otherwisewe’d have stayed and eaten/drank. We did enjoy a quick drink there though before carrying on to Praa sands.

Sorry for the lengthy blog this time- a mixture of relaxing offline and lack of signal has results in no updates this week, however you are now up to date 🙂

Our plan for the next week is to Brit Stop along the south coast, hope the weather gets better though as today isn’t great!
Until next time
Lx

Cornwall/ Devon – Summer 2014; Part 1

August 17, 2014August 17, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, BritStop, Internet, Local Food, Somerset, Wifi5 Comments

Bluebell the motorhome is back on the road for our summer holiday- and we’re down in the West Country! Currently Bluebell is resting in a farmyard/carpark surrounded by a couple of turkies, lots of free range hens, a beaut of a cockerel, a pot bellied pig and plenty of sheep and cows! We’re at Brit Stop number 28- which is without a doubt THE best one we’ve stayed at to date (and I’m sure I’ve said that a number of times previously!) its a farm shop/ farm park just off the M5 on the Somerset coast.

We had a quite an eventful trip down here, leaving Norfolk around 06:30, by 08:00 we had managed to trip every single one of the Tesco fuel pumps when filling with fuel, and encounter a suicidal pigeon that decided to take out our entire indicator light and housing on the M11. So perhaps achieved more than average Sunday morning!

thanks to a suicidal pigeon for taking out our indicator…

After a temporary fix until we find a garage to help (thank goodness for our side and back indicators) we soon found ourselves reaching Bridgewater on the M5, our cue to say goodbye to the motorway for a couple of weeks 😊
20 miles later and we pulled up onto essentially a farmyard / carpark and went off in search of the farm shop. We’ve frequented a good few farm shops in our time, but this one hands down is the best we’ve been too! It’s got the largest selection of local cider/ale, fresh meat, veg, chutneys, jam, pressies- you name it. Naturally we found our way to the most important section….

Selecting a few ciders and ales to settle ourselves into the Somerset climate….

We also picked up the ingredients to make a full roast dinner, which we’ve now demolished (and very good it was too!)

Along with some homemade ice cream for pud!
Shopping done we went for a wander around the farm park, enjoying the free entry, however we’d have been happy to pay a couple of quid each and saw a variety of popular farmyard favourites along with a number of more obscure animals!

Mr Stood the Turkey

baby meerkats!

shot of Bluebell hiding, with Mr Snood the turkey photo bombing!

After a mooch, we found the path to the beach, and since then we’ve been chilling, eating, drinking and testing Spotify (thanks Motoehome Wifi and Bt Fon!)

A most perfect day!

Until next time
Lx

France, May 2014 PT 5 Honfluer

May 29, 2014June 2, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Attractions, France, Historical places, Local Food, Normandy, SightseeingLeave a comment

Wednesday:

Bluebell the motorhome feels like the poor country cousin! She’s parked up in the official motorhome aire at our beloved Honfleur, along with over 240 other motorhomes. It’s like the forecourt of Brownhills!! There are motorhomes in all different shapes and sizes here, occupying the 240 official spaces, and seeping out into the surrounding lane and squashed into corners. We’re fairly confident that we could leave our door wide open and not get burgled (although don’t think we will try!) there are some SERIOUSLY swish vans here, including my personal favourite- a very fancy looking RV with 4 pop out sides, smart car garage and the front looks like an articulated lorry front, rather than a bus! Seriously cool, and worth a fortune I would guess!!

a jam packed aire!

This is our 4th visit to Honfleur (you can read about the others here, here and here) and we think the €10 for 24 hrs overnight parking including services and electric is worth every single penny. Clearly other people share our thoughts as we’ve never seen this aire so busy! The aire is situated 5 mins walk away from the picture perfect harbour, that is lined with tall historical buildings, all painted in different colours, and overlooking the sailing boats moored in the small square harbour. There are oodles of restaurants, art galleries, regional produce shops and cafés dotted along the way, all of which we’ve enjoyed before, and I am sure we will do so again next time- however today we chose a happy stroll through town for a couple of hours in the drizzle, nosing in gallery windows picking out the paintings we would buy if we were rich, and enjoying the atmosphere of everyone else spending their money! We’re not being tight – but we are being careful with pennies this time round with our wedding this time next year. 🙂

gorgeous harbour here at Honfleur

One expense we did sort today was Jazz’s return to England vets trip. This time last year we stopped here to sort the same thing out, and our visit to Honfleur was with the same intention this time. You can easily travel to France with your dog(s) now, providing they have had their rabies jab and have their own pet passport. To re enter the UK you need to take your pet to a vet 5 days – 24 hrs before you intend on travelling home, and the vet will administer the pooch with a tapeworm tablet or injection, stamp their passport and charge you a princely sum for the privilege. Today we admit, we got stung €43- however in the end we outweighed the convenience with trying to find the best deal- the vet could see Jazz there and then, so we didn’t need to make an appointment for a future time/day, plus the vet was opposite the aire so we didn’t need to move Bluebell to get Jazz there. Also the vet spoke very good English- I am capable of making an appointment in French and some basic conversation during the appointment itself, but obviously if the vet speaks English it does make the whole experience slightly more stress free. 🙂

One other note for today- we’ve been very impressed with our Motorhome Wifi and Fon set up so far on this trip. It’s the first time we’ve tried it in France, and I was curious as I had read some conflicting reviews of its performance in France. We’ve only dug it out 3 times, but every time we’ve found an SFR PUBLIC WIFI FON within range and therefore entered our FON login and hey presto, we’re online! This has saved us some pennies (again, don’t mean to sound tight!) as usually we’re forced (!!) to drink in bars after a couple of days just to check emails (being self employed, as much as we’d like to switch of for 10 days in reality we can’t)

So there we have our day, money saving but soaking up the atmosphere none the less and having a really great time. Tomorrow we’re continuing south or is it west?! towards the WW2 landing beaches.

If you’ve never travelled to Honfleur before, be it in a motorhome or not, we would seriously seriously recommend coming here. It’s a beautiful place, and if you worked your ferry/tunnel crossings wisely, we think you could make it here on a long weekend trip easy peasy. It’s 3.5 hours from Calais on the payage. What are you waiting for?

Until next time

France May 2014; Pt 4 Dieppe and Etretat

May 28, 2014June 2, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, France, Historical places, Local Food, Normandy, Sightseeing2 Comments

Monday

Bluebell the motorhome is parked up on the port side on the aire at Dieppe, along with around 20 or so other vans, all shapes and sizes, including a couple of other British vans. There are two aires here, both €7 for 24 hrs parking- one with services and one without. We naughtily filled and emptied at Dieppe 1, and on going to get our ticket saw Dieppe 2 across the other side of the port, so drove round and decided we preferred that location.

The Aire at Dieppe

a couple of choppers for company in the motorhome aire at Dieppe

The weathers been rubbish today, drizzling all day, but we still enjoyed our wander round Dieppe, taking in the history and the chocolate shops… ahem, along with the grand architecture. We both learnt about the first attempt of liberation of France by mainly Canadiens back in Sept 1942, and found the town a nice place to spend a rainy afternoon.

The castle at Dieppe

Dieppe town centre

The Port at Dieppe

Keefy getting our baguette from the bread van that visited the aire this morning

We had a good chat with another British couple on their way back from 6 wks in Portugal- lucky things, it’s always nice to swap stories with fellow motorhomer’s. Our spot on the port was brill- we watched the passenger ferry leave and also a beautiful wooden sailing boat, along with a large barge carrying what we think was wind turbine sails. a real mix of old and new.

Tuesday

Bluebell the motorhome is parked up on her 1st France Passion site of this tour- we’re on a dairy farm near Etretat, which specialises in butter and goats cheese. Nom nom. We arrived around lunchtime, went to say hello, check we could stay tonight and to find out what time the shop open/closes. The France Passion scheme works in the same way Brit Stops does- your host welcomes you to stay for free, but you’re expected to take an interest in their produce etc. There is never any obligation to buy, however we usually do as we’re local food and drink junkies!!

Parked up by the chickens on our France Passion site
After a hearty lunch (Camembert, saucisson, baguette of course!!) we unloaded the bikes with the intention of cycling to nearby Etretat- a town we’ve seen signed when on the payage, but never managed to get too. Etretat is on the map due to its amazing 3 sea arches, and what a sight they were! Even if by the time we’d got there we could barely stand due to picking a particularly hilly cycle route! Of course once there we couldn’t NOT take the cliff path to the view point at the top, so by the time we were back at our bikes we were cream crackered. Oh well, we’d cycled pretty much the whole 7 kilometres up hill there, so we were quietly confident that the laws of physics meant that we would return downhill. I’m not sure how, but it seems physics weren’t on our sides today as somehow, we managed to pick an equally up hill journey back!

The middle sea arch at Etretat

The arch on the left is the middle of the three and the small arch on the right is the baby arch

we enjoyed finally visiting Etretat having passed the signs for years!

the town of Etretat is very pretty

the larger of the three arches, that is only visible from sea or a hike up the side of a cliff!

Once back at Bluebell, we swiftly went up to the shop to have a chat with the owner of the farm (so impressed I managed a whole conversation in French!!) we’d discovered they made yogurts, butter and goats cheese, the butter is made on site but the goats cheese isn’t because she doesn’t keep goats, and that she thought we were crazy for cycling to Etretat. Oh how we laughed! We came away with some salted butter and goats cheese, both of which we’ve devoured as a pre dinner snack- well it’s been a tough day!! They were absolutely delicious!

another pic of us on the France Passion

We enjoyed visiting Etretat, the sea arches were better than I’d hoped and the town is also very pretty – there are some lovely wooden buildings to enjoy housing restaurants and creperies, lots of souvenir shops, a nice stretch of pebbly beach (no dogs though on the beach, although they are allowed on the promenade) and a really buzzing atmosphere. If you’re not a member of France Passion (you should be, it’s fab!) then there is a conveniently located motorhome aire just on the outskirts of Etretat that you can park at for €8, or day parking on the Le Havre road.

Until next time
Lx

France May 2014: Pt 2 Fort Mahons Plage and Montreuil Sur Mer

May 26, 2014June 2, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, France, Historical places, Local Food, NormandyLeave a comment

Saturday:

Bluebell the motorhome is parked up on a large aire at Fort Mahons Plage, along with around 40 other European vans (and one other Brit!). We paid €9 Euro to stay here tonight, which includes unlimited water and disposals and whilst at first I thought this was slightly pricey, Keith seemed happy enough to stay here and make full use of the water tonight and before we leave tomorrow. Long showers all around!

The aire at Fort Mahons Plage

I have to say, I’m pleased we did stay as we’ve had a great time here! But before I tell you about that, let’s skip back to this morning’s adventure! We awoke to sunshine peaking through the roof vents again, and although there were definitely more clouds on the scene, it didn’t dampen our spirits after such a great day yesterday. After breakfast we drove the 20 mins inland to Montreuil Sur Mer, described as “an incredibly pretty fortified town” in my “What to do and see within 90 mins of Calais” book that I got a few years ago off Amazon for about a quid! We soon found the motorhome aire, conveniently located 2 mins walk from the town centre, and even better- free! We soon found the market square, which was a hive of activity seeing as the market was in full swing, and naturally our priority was to find the saucisson stall. 5 mins later and €10 euros lighter we emerged happy as Larry that we’d got 6 new flavours of saucisson to get stuck into at lunchtime!

The next two hours were spent exploring the town ramparts and the beautiful and oh so typically French streets thanks to the free town map from the Tourist Office. It really is a gorgeous place to visit- the town walls are well kept, enjoyable to walk round (free) and offer lovely views of the surrounding countryside; the cobbled streets are so enchanting that they inspired Victor Hugo to make the town the setting for a major part of Les Miserables after only half a day here back in 1837. We absolutely loved exploring Montreuil, in fact it’s made it’s way onto our favourite/most pretty French town list. Happily, the weather behaved during our time here too!

After lunch (fresh warm baguette, Camembert and saucisson!) we headed back to the seaside on a 20 min journey to Fort Mahon Plage. During our journey it tipped itself down, but luck seemed to be on our side as by the time we pulled up/topped up water/emptied etc, plus delved into the saucisson once more (rude not to, no?!) and cracked open and finished the €1.20 bottle of red we bought earlier as an experiment, the storm had passed and ever since the sun has been out!

Wanting to make the most of the sun, we took a wander through the resort to the beach, which is a huge stretch of Blue Flag beach, had an ice cream and sat and watched the world go by. On our walk back to Bluebell we passed a fishmongers selling fresh mussels for €3 a litre. I’ve always fancied cooking fresh mussels on one of our trips, so nipped in to grab a litre, and ask how best to cook them. The very French fishmonger slowly talked me through it patiently: (so impressed I understood him!) butter, onions, small glass of white wine, parsley and told me this is what’s known as Moules Marinaire- THE regional meal. I already knew this, having eaten it many a time here before in restaurants but having never cooked it for us myself, I was so excited I skipped all the way back to Bluebell (nerd alert!!)

After finishing off my wine sized bottle of cider we picked up for €1.80 (flipping love this country!!) I set to the Moules, and it was (even if I do say so myself!) AMAZING! Will definitely do this again- to think it cost less than €5 for a hearty and tasty main meal for us is extraordinary!

Oh and by the way- the €1.20 bottled of red experiment…. It’s no Pape but it’s certainly drinkable and dare I say…… Tasty! It complimented our mid afternoon cheese and saucisson feast admirably and we will definitely be picking up more!!

Until next time
Lx

France, May 2014 Pt1 Le Touqet and Stella Plage

May 26, 2014May 29, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, France, Local Food, Wild Camping3 Comments

Friday: Bluebell the Motorhome is parked up on the coast behind a large sand dune on a free aire in France. But the question is, what coast are we on?! When we booked this trip, back in February, we booked with the intention of driving to the Mediterranean for a few beach days in the sun. But, given the fact the weather forcast was grim for pretty much the whole of France, and we are currently saving for our wedding day (exactly one year today to go!) we made the decision on our drive down to The Tunnel not to venture the 700 odd miles each way to the Med! This would save us at least £500 quid in fuel for the wedding fund, and with it being the 70th anniversary year of D Day, we thought Normandy would be a good place (and significantly cheaper!!) to head for, without feeling like we’ve compromised.

So, back to my opening statement: Bluebell the Motorhome is parked up in the blazing sunshine (not forecasted!!) on the Free aire at Stella Plage; just south of Le Touquet.

We arrived in France smoothly, quickly, (thanks Eurotunnel) and less stressed at the promise of saving some dosh, late last night and made the 2 minutes drive from train to Cite Europe aire, along with 10 or so other motorhomes for some serious shut eye. We must have needed it as we didn’t wake up til gone 10am!! Feeling heaps more positive, less knackered, and encouraged by the bright blue sky perking through our roof vents, we doned our shorts and picked a beach aire in our “All The Aires France” that was an hours drive away.

Our mission this week is to travel this stretch of coast without using toll roads, and we enjoyed our journey leaving the motorway at Bologne on the Route Nationale road towards Stella Plage. When we arrived, we were pleased to see there were plenty of spaces free, and enjoyed a walk over the sand dune and on to the beach. We narrowly averted a storm with a lunch break in Bluebell before off loading the bikes and cycling the 30 mins journey to ale Touquet. Most of the journey was on a special cycle path resulting in an enjoyable 10kms or so round trip.

We enjoyed visiting Le Touquet, it’s got lots of character, and has some interesting Art Deco buildings, some tasty looking fancy chocolatiers, designer clothing shops and a lovely stretch of sandy beach and promenade. The town of Stella Plage, where we are staying is also really nice- it’s got a handful of bars, cafés, patisseries, shops and a small supermarket where we stocked up on Camembert, wine, cider, and sausisson- which we then consumed whilst happily sat outside the van in the sun, reading, chilling and marvelling at how something as simple as wine, cheese and fresh bread can taste so damn fine!!!

Who needs the Med anyway?!

the free aire at Stella Plage

Le Touqet

A weekend mini break exploring the beautiful Essex countryside

May 11, 2014May 12, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, Attractions, BritStop, Essex, Historical places, Local Food, Mini Break, Sightseeing4 Comments

Day 1Bluebell the motorhome is parked up behind Brit Stop number 216- which is nestled in an absolutely gorgeous part of Essex’s countryside. The sun is shining despite the forcast warning of rain all day (win!) and we are having a brilliant weekend, that has been a combination of a little work and some play!

Brit Stop 216

Yesterday, after a gig in Suffolk, we hit the Friday rush hour traffic (although in reality we had a great run) with the destination of Thaxted, a pretty town in Essex, that was on our map for three reasons: it was close to a gig we were doing the next day, it was listed in both our Brit Stop bible and our Europe Camper Stop book as there being a motorhome aire in the car park, and it was close to the Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelveden Hatch.

Thaxted Motorhome Aire- the parish council welcome motorhomers to park for up to 48 hrs, free of charge

We arrived at the carpark in Thaxted at around 18:30 and were instantly made to feel welcome as motorhomers in their village. If only all towns had this mentality, the amount of space allocated for motorhomes was minimal, however because of their welcoming attitude we relaxed and went for drinks and a meal in their pub.

The Swan Hotel, Thaxted, where we enjoyed a lovely meal

The town of Thaxted is just gorgeous: it has a picture perfect windmill, a good example of a traditional long house and Armshouses, an interesting Engine house that houses the village fire engine, a medieval Guildhall, the house where Gustav Holst lived, and numerous other medieval properties.

Thaxted Windmill

LongHouse and Armshouses

Engine House

Guildhall

Standing outside Holst’s former house! Very exciting treat for us

Next morning, we decided on another quick wander around the town of Thaxted, before a 40 minute drive south towards Kelveden Hatch- a small village which is home to a decommissioned Secret Nuclear Bunker. The bunker has been on our list of places to visit for a while; it was only revealed in 1992, prior to that it was run by the government and would have been used to house up to 600 Government officials, including the Prime Minister in the event of a Nuclear War.

Visiting Kelveden Hatch was absolutely incredible – it was without a doubt one of the most interesting places I’ve ever visited. It stirred up a mixture of emotions from us both- fascination at how it was built, maintained, and how it would have been used to “run” the country in the aftermath of a nuclear blast; fear over the prospect of how it would have affected not only our country but the world, how close it came to happening, the impacts of it happening, the preparation that civilians needed to undertake in the event of an attack; the questioning of morals when we discovered that the survival guide written for civilians was giving false hope in order to maintain calm and order in the hours running up to an attack; and amazement at the engineering of this humongous underground city, that was built underneath what looked like from the outside, a normal farmhouse!

the farmhouse which sits over and disguised the bunker below. scary!!

What made the bunker even more interesting to visit, aside from its amazing history, was the way in which it was presented. All the equipment and materials displayed were as it was during the years it was in operation, meaning you really didn’t need to use any imagination at all whilst waking around the dimly lit, long cold corridors. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos whilst inside due to the numerous signs informing visitors that to do so required a £5 permit, something which in hindsight I wished I’d done – I didn’t because I was intending on getting a guide book or postcards at the end of the visit, but once we got to the end they didn’t really capture the atmosphere. I know though, that our visit will remain in my memory for a very long time.

It was also incredibly good value for money- at just £7 per adult, this fee included a very comprehensive and engaging audio tour, and we both came away agreeing that we would have happily paid several more pounds each to visit.

Once we’d completed our humbling tour, and after a quick lunch in the car park, we made the journey north for 36 miles (though a tremendous rain storm!!) towards Castle Hedingham, another picture perfect village which is home to one of the finest kept Norman Keeps in Britain, and where we are intending to visit tomorrow. As luck would have it, as soon as we pulled up, the rain stopped and the sun returned, and so we celebrated with a cheeky beer in the amazingly characteristic saloon bar of Brit Stop 216 before a village wander past all the old pretty houses. This area rivals some of the pretty villages we are lucky to have in Norfolk and Suffolk, and we had no idea about how chocolate box pretty it was going to be here.

having a beer at Brit Stop 216 and decided what to eat later!

So tonight we are booked in for a meal at 216, we have worked up an appetite that’s for sure, and Keith’s in his element as he had an interesting chat with the guy that brews the beer for the pub, two pints of which he enjoyed this afternoon! I’ve got my eye on the Turkish specials board!

Day 2
After a delicious meal accompanied by several pints (well, we were researching the gravity fed ale!!) we enjoyed an early night and a lay in this morning, helped somewhat by the rain that was pouring when we awoke this morning! Last night our meal was delicious- I tryed the Turkish special, Lamb and Aubergine casserole, and Keefy tried a homemade burger. Both were mouth wateringly good, and were enjoyed washing it all down with some of the local ale.

enjoying our meal

the beer here is gravity fed

Our intention today was to visit The Castle at Castle Hedingham and once the rain had stopped we made the short journey there. The Castle is said to be one of the best preserved Norman Keeps in Europe, and is set within several acres of enjoyable gardens and woodland. We enjoyed walking round the gardens and woodland walks first, tiring out Jazz so he could sleep in the van whilst we went for a look inside.
We were lucky to see some lovely displays of Rhodedendrums and bluebells.

the gardens at Castle Hedingham

The keep is astonishingly well preserved- the arches and a real treat to be able to not only enjoy from the outside but also have a look around the inside.

never too old to dress up as a Knight, eh?!

The arch in the banquet hall is said to be the largest Norman arch in the world that is fully survived, and is 28 feet wide!

We really enjoyed our visit here, and again, thought it was a bargain at only £7.50 each to enter. On our way to the castle we had passed a road sign saying that the local Water Mill was open today as part of a national Mills Open weekend. Since the weather seemed to be behaving we decided to head on over for a look round.

We had rather a narrow approach into the car park and negotiated several low flying branches but I thing we survived with no damage! It was a lovely way to spend an hour or so, chatting with the volunteers who were very knowledgable, and we even got to try som biscuits that had been made from flour that had been ground at that mill. They were delicious. I was allowed to turn the wheel to make the water wheel go round and we’ve got a video of this, so il try and figure out how to include it on here.

Alderford Watermill

During our visit, we were recommended a short stroll that left Alderford Mill and walked down to another local mill, Hulls Mill. It was not possible to visit inside as it was privately owned and had been turned into a very large house, but nevertheless, we really enjoyed the pretty circular walk, and the mill itself was gorgeous. I would love to live somewhere like that!

Hull’s Mill

Both these mills were recorded in the doomsday book, giving an idea of how old they are and it was really enjoyable seeing them.

This marked the end of our visit to Essex, so we grabbed a quick cuppa for the road and headed home- but we had an amazing weekend and we both are quite smitten with this area, so I know that we will return soon!!!

Until next time!
Lx

Easter Holidays Pt 5: the East Coast of Scotland

April 16, 2014May 12, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, BritStop, Local Food, Scotland, Wild CampingLeave a comment

Monday
Bluebell the motorhome is tucked safely behind BritStop 824 whilst her owners enjoy the ale from the on site brewery!

We left Skye this morning via the bridge and headed to the pretty town of Plockton for coffee and a wander. Plockton enjoys a micro climate and is totally sheltered, therefore there are palm trees that line the sea front- it’s quite a sight to see!! The sea front is very pretty, and hosts a hotel, a small shop where we picked up some delicious highland blue cheese, and a number of b and bs. I should imagine in the summer it’s heaving! We enjoyed a coffee outside the Plockton hotel- it was a bit early for anything stronger and we’d got a long drive ahead of us.

Next stop was the Eileen Donan castle, for elevensees- a tradition of ours that started 5 trips ago on our maiden voyage in Daisy. We visited that year, and enjoyed it- but these days we just pop into the car park for the obligatory pic of the outside and a brew.

From here, we took the stunning road towards Inverness – which takes in some breathtaking scenery through the 5 sisters mountain range, with a brief stop to take in the battle site of Glen Shiel; and we were lucky with the weather today, resulting in a gorgeous drive.

We got as far as Loch Ness, Brit Stop 824- a hotel and micro brewery. Let me tell you, the outside doesn’t look too much, but the food and beer is amazing. We’ve stocked up on bottled beer for the van, fed on haggis- Keith had a haggis pizza and I had haggis in the traditional form with neeps and tatties. Delicious! What’s more- if it hadn’t been for Brit Stops, we would never have found this place as it’s nested behind some houses, off the beaten track. For us, this is what we love most about this scheme. It takes us to places where we can have a true experience rather than a touristy/mass produced one.

Tomorrow we continue with our exploration of Brit Stops/ food tour- we’re heading to a cheese farm!! Sounds right up our street!

Tuesday
Bluebell the motorhome is parked at Brit Stop no: behind a cheese farm, near Inverness.

We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome today, our hosts are lovely, and from the minute you pull in this is evident:

Our taste buds are going bonkers- we’ve been sampling (and buying) the cheese that is made here this afternoon, and it is delicious. The main cheddar they make here is voted in the top 10 in Britain, and I can see why. It’s creamy, but also mature- and as soon as I popped a taster in my mouth I knew it was a winner. We bought three variations in the end; the lady told us that the crumblier one was made from milk taken in the winter months, which then needed to be left to mature for longer. It was very interesting, and we can see why the shop/cafe have been awarded 5 stars from Visit Scotland. We especially enjoyed watching through the glass partition to watch cheese being handmade!

Other purchases that we picked up here were Scottish oatcakes with garlic and rosemary in, also lovely, and some ice cream from the nearby Black Isle dairy which was am.maz.ing!!! Keefy’s honeycomb flavour especially! And Jazz loved it!! Cheeky mutt!

Other than eating- which we started at Loch Ness this morning with a ginormous bacon baguette with this lovely view……

we did a little walk to a pretty village nearby, on the banks of the Moray Firth to try to spot some dolphins, as this stretch of water is popular with dolphins. Unfortunately despite a lovely hour sat waiting, we failed to see them this time, but will definitely return next year.

Whilst we were chilling tonight we saw 2 barn owls hunting for their tea and the beekeepers came to collect the honey from the nearby bee boxes. It’s been fantastic, and yet again another favourite spot has been born! Thanks Brit Stops 🙂

Wednesday
Bluebell the motorhome is perched on the seaside behind Brit Stop 828. Excitement is lingering in the air, as word in the van is that tonight is Fish and chip night! Yum yum.

We were on our way early (well… 9am) this morning, and just like the old saying goes- the early bird catches the worm- or in our case, lots of sightings of dolphins! We headed to Nairn harbour for our brekkie, and whilst cooking up eggy bread and beans (you can imagine the smell in our van this week!) Keefy exclaimed that he’d seen a dolphin! Eggs abandoned, I joined the search, and sure enough over the next hour we saw several sightings – one was pretty close too. I failed miserably on the photo taking- I was too busy squeeling every time it reappeared. However, that’s one thing to tick off the list, as it was an amazing sight to watch these beautiful creatures playing in the wild. Apparently bottle nosed dolphins are called this because their long snout is said to look like an old fashioned gin bottle. It made me smile- I wonder how much truth is in it.

From Nairn, we drove east to Burghead, where they celebrate two New Years- the 1st and 11th Jan under the Julian calender and to discover about the Clavie tradition and also see some Pictish stone engravings. The visitors centre (donation entry) is excellent and enjoys a panoramic view from the roof. There is also the remains of an Iron Age fort here, as well as the Burghead Well. It was a nice place to visit, and we are glad that we made the journey off the main road to get there.

We then took the coast road east, towards Lossiemouth, making one final surreal stop at the small fishing village of Hopeman. It’s got a pretty harbour here as well as an alladins cave type shop/gallery that we nipped into. Half an hour later we emerged £60 lighter but having gained this bad boy for our living room (at home not in the van!!) luckily we are traveling in a large vehicle as it’s got a few miles to cover before it’s installed with a couple of malts next to the sofa at home!!

So now it’s time for fish and chips after a great day exploring this lovely stretch of Scotland.

Until next time
Lx

Reflections on the Isle of Skye

April 14, 2014May 12, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, BritStop, Local Food, Scotland, Skye, Wild CampingLeave a comment

Wild Camping
We found no problems whatsoever in finding places to park overnight whilst on the island. Some were nicer than others- but more often than not they had marvellous views. Most small car parks and laybys/viewpoints has at least one wheelie bin for your rubbish. Just make sure you follow the wild camping rules-
1) don’t overstay your welcome, most locals are happy for you to park for one or two nights.
2) leave no trace of your stay- don’t empty your waste water or loos and take away your litter unless there is a bin there
3) try to spend some money in the local community- most places are happy for you to stay as they thrive on income from tourists.
4) if there is a sign saying “no overnight parking” – don’t ignore it- it gives us a bad name!
5) try to avoid setting out excessive camping equipment when wild camping, especially if you’re near a community. Locals usually don’t want their area being made to look like a campsite- there are plenty of campsites dotted around if you want to set out chairs/awnings/BBQs etc

We found these spots:
1) small car park in Broadford

Not the main town car park, but opposite the chip shop (yum yum)

2) Staffin Beach Car park

Right next to Staffin Beach- a dead end road and very quiet. Fab views across to Applecross Bay. Dinosaur footprints can be seen on Staffin beach itself

3) layby 0.5 miles south of Sligachan Hotel and Bar on the A87 towards Broadford

This layby was slightly set back off the main road and we had a very quiet night here. Possibly aided by the drinks we had at the bar 1/2 mile down the road – the Sligachan Hotel, which is also a micro brewery and has a fine selection of ales and whiskeys

Finding water and emptying waste water/loo
There were 3 public loos that we were able to use to empty our toilet cassette etc (make sure you don’t use the chemicals though)
Broadford
Uig
Dunvegan
At Broadford and Dunvegan there is also an outside tap so we were able to use our hose to refill the water tank quickly. When we did this, we made sure we spent money in the local shop as a thankyou.

Food and Drink
We enjoyed lots of good drinks in various establishments on the Isle although we never got round to eating out this time. We’ve eyed up two restaurants we’d like to eat at next time though. There are Coops at Portree and Broadford and local groceries shops at Dunvegan, Staffin and Uig.
Here’s where we drank:
1) Bakur Bar, Uig
Situated next to the Isle of Skye Brewery, the ale here travels the 30odd metres from brewery to bar. We tried the Red Cuillin, and the Black Cuillin on draught, and both were delicious. No dogs allowed.

2) The Lodge Inn
This inn has a very warm welcome, both from the landlord and his wife, and the roaring fire in the bar. We enjoyed a couple of pints of their Lodge Ale, brewed specially for them by the Isle of Skye brewery. Dog friendly

3) The Old Inn, Carbost
This was by far our favourite inn we went visited. It had a cracking atmosphere, served ales brewed from nearby “The Cuillin microbrewery”, and was opposite the Tallisker distillery, so naturally we sampled a dram too! Food menu looked delicious, we nearly ate, but didn’t and regretted it. Very dog friendly.

4) The Sligachan Hotel
We purposely stayed local to this bar, as it’s home to the Cuillin microbrewery. The in house ale was wonderful especially washed down with a Tallisker in front of the fire. Mackenzie Bar- Dog friendly

Our favourite attractions
1) The Old Man of Storr

A tough walk if you want to get right to the top, but options to shorten walk whilst still enjoying the views

2) The Quaring

Again, a tough walk if you go right to the top, but a well trodden path leads you from the car park to the base where you can still enjoy the mysterious atmosphere

3) The Isle of a Skye Brewery

Located on the pier at Uig, a great shop full of local beer, whiskey, tablet, and other local treats. We loved stocking up in here, and the Tallisker flavoured tablet was to die for.

4) Fairy Glen

Another must to see- a miniature valley, where everything is green, and where legend has it that the fairies live! When you visit, you can easily see how this myth came about!

5) The Tallisker Distillery

Located in the pretty village of Carbost, although we didn’t get to visit, we most certainly will return. You can smell the whiskey in the air, and there is a lovely pub to visit too. (See above- The Old Inn)

Weather
The weather on a Skye when we were there wasn’t brilliant- we tended to have one good day and one bad day. Most nights were stormy. We were told however that Skye has had the worst winter/spring in a long time and that it’s usually nowhere near a bad as this. We don’t go to Scotland expecting sunshine, and as we were told by a couple of locals: “There’s no such thing as bad weather here on Skye, just the wrong clothes!”

Easter Holidays Pt 4- Isle of Skye

April 13, 2014May 12, 2014Posted in 2014 Trips, Ale, BritStop, Local Food, Scotland, Skye, Whiskey, Wild CampingTagged ale, BritStops, Scotland, Skye, whiskey, wildcampingLeave a comment

Thursday

Bluebell the motorhome is parked up next to another motorhome down the end of the beach road at Staffin Bay. We are parked up underneath the cliffs, at sea level, next to the beach that is famous for its dinosaur footprints. The weather is clear (hurrah)

our pitch at Staffin Beach

Today, we drove the road from Broadford to Staffin, that passes through Portree. As soon as we departed Broadford the scenery stepped up from what we’d seen yesterday (granted the weather definitely helped!) As we got towards Portree Keith suggested we try the walk to the Old Man of Storr seeing as the weather was behaving. Our guide book intimated that this was the most popular walk on the island, and given how busy the car park was I’d have to agree.

the view of The Old Man of Storr as we approached on the road

Thankfully we’ve (I’ve!) been trained well and so before setting off we made a full packed lunch including flasks of soup and tea, sarnies, cake, crisps, choc and a cheeky tinny of Tennants! (It was only 10am!!) We also made sure we had all our hiking gear on, boots, weather trousers, macs, fleece etc, as despite it saying it wasn’t a hard walk in the book, you just can’t be too sure. I’m glad we did- unlike every other person we passed (and there were lots) it never fails to amaze me seeing people rock climbing in converse, and today- heeled boots!!!!

We took (by accident) the more advanced rock climbers scramble to the base of the Old Man – and it was tricky to say the least at the top. I possibly had a minor panic when I realised the path around the base was non existent, but I’m proud to say we persevered and survived(!) and scrambled round, and therefore were rewarded with the most amazing views:

Having carted my tripod up, I was pleased to be able to give it a whirl, and I was very impressed especially given the wind speed up there! The spikes on the feet are ingenious.

Naturally, once having our picnic sat underneath the old man himself, we noticed the far easier and safer path that we should have taken up, so we had a good chuckle about that and looked forward to our descent.

Once safely back in the van, we drove on 5 miles or so for our second luncheon of the day- this time at Kilt Rock waterfall view point. The waterfall falls over the cliff into the sea and is next to the rock formation entitled Kilt Rock- supposedly it looks like a kilt. I will let you decide!

Next and final stop, the beach at Staffin to a) see if we could stay overnight there and b) hunt these dinosaur footprints. We’d read the best time to see them is at low ride, which we’d missed by 4 hrs, but nevertheless we happily hunted for an hour or so, aided by the trusty hip flask of homemade sloe gin of course as by then we knew we had found our pitch for the night.

Sadly no such luck with the hunting of footprints, but we will stick around until low tide tomorrow, due at 1137 to see if we have any luck. Keith asked a local who was walking his dog, and apparently he’s lived here years and NEVER seen them. So we will see!

Friday and Saturday

Bluebell the motorhome is parked by a river, in a sheltered valley behind Brit Stop number 822.

We woke up after a quiet and relaxed night to a bit of a murky one in the weather department, but it didn’t affect our plans- we were going to have a late breakfast then go footprint hunting at low tide, then drive the 5 miles or so to the Quaring- a mystical unusual rock formation, including The Needle, The Prison and The Table. Our book told us that whatever the weather it was something to visit.

First things first- the dinosaur footprints. I’m happy to say, after an exciting (and competitive) hunt, Keith found them, we think! This to us looks like the photo displayed at the info board, and we are fairly sure it is it, but without the Staffin museum open and no indication on the beach it’s a bit difficult to be 100% sure. 🙂

Next we drove up a great pass to take us to the start of the Quaring walk. At first the path seemed a breeze, much easier than yesterday’s Old Man of Stoer, but as we approached the bottom of “the needle” a trickier path presented itself to get us to “the table”. We took the path with some sense of trepidation, but equally were keen to get to the top section to appreciate the full sense of enormity. The path was hard going, but we got there eventually, just in time for the mist to come down! Typical eh? Oh well, we got to the top.

Once back at Bluebell we were exhausted, cold, wet, hungry and a bit grumpy, so rather than venture out to find a new spot for the night, we decided to head back to the familiarity of the Staffin Beach spot, where we’d spent a pleasant night last night. We weren’t the only ones- our fellow motorhome neighbour had also returned, so we settled in for a chill and more importantly an early night.

All was well until around 6pm when our alarm bells were raised when our neighbours very quickly packed up shop and moved up to the next layby- a higher slip layby, that was right on the edge of a cliff. We couldn’t understand why they had moved in such a rush- the wind was picking up and it seemed odd to us to go to a higher lever on a cliff edge. Ever being the optimists, we decided to punch their spot, as they’d nabbed the best spot earlier and settle in for a panoramic view. About an hour later the wind picked up, and convinced it was just a passing storm, we made light of it, and settled in waiting for the storm to pass. By 10pm it was showing no sign of easing, if anything the winds were getting stronger and stronger, and bluebell was rocking further and further. Keith admitted to me this morning by this stage he’d noticed the windows buckling. We out an hour later, we’d managed to get enough mobile data to load the met office and bbc weather, both of which saying that the winds were south westerly and would increase to 50 mph by 5am. As we were parked our bum was totally the first thing these south westerly winds were grabbing as they bounced off the sea. Excellent- obviously this is why the other motorhome moved!

We set the bed out deciding once again (like Glencoe on Sunday) it was now far too dark and dangerous to drive and that we would be brave and hold tight. Once the bed was out we lasted approximately 5 mins before I decided enough was enough and that we were moving. My justification was that the exit road followed the south westerly wind so the wind would be pushing us up the hill rather than crossing us and making us wobble.

We got the 500 odd yards up to where the other motorhome had retreated to, and to our surprise there was no sign whatsoever of the winds in that spot, so we joined them and hit the sack. All was well, apart from the battling rain, I can’t remember ever hearing such heavy rain until 5am when the wind swiftly changed direction to the west, which meant we were now entirely swaying, the bike rack was clattering, the TV Ariel was squeeking- you name it. Keith this time made the call to move- this time back up to the main road and along maybe 10 miles to a sheltered pull in where we got an extra hours kip.

So when we woke up at 8am, it’s safe to say the mood was fractious- we were both drained and in addition to our lack of sleep the bed had broken, one of the lights had fallen off and the fridge door had broken! We spent the next half an hour fixing Bluebell, but we were both thrilled that other than these minor unrelated problems, there were no signs of leaks, or outer damage. Hurray, we’d survived.

We decided a chill was in order, so drive round the coast road to Uig, to stop at the Isle of Skye Brewery to stock up, then onto the Fairy Glen- a magical mystical small valley just outside of Uig where it’s really unnaturally green, and the hills and lakes are all in miniature! This is a natural phenomena caused by glacial meltwater ten thousand years ago, but I can see why the myth is that fairies live here as the hills look tiny and perfect and have ridges round them- you honestly can imagine the fairies living here!!

our visit to The Isle of Skye Brewery, in Uig

The Fairy Glen

We headed towards Dunvegan and are now happily nestled behind a sheltered Brit Stop- an old hunting lodge that is now a bar/restaurant and inn and so, seeing as it’s Saturday night we are going to have a few drinks and a chill in there tonight. Sounds perfect, and just what the doctor ordered after last nights adventures!

Sunday
We had a great relax at our Brit Stop last night, and got mildly tipsy on the inn’s special ale- brewed specially for them by the Isle of Skye Brewery. It was delicious and we happily chatted to the landlord and landlady for a couple of hours.

After a great nights sleep, we hit the road in the rain, and managed to full with water at Dunvegan. We had a bacon butty looking out towards the castle, and then followed the road to Carbost, home to the Tallsiker distillery. Sadly the distillery is closed today, however there is a fantastic smell of whiskey lingering in the air, and the pub here, The Old Ship, is a fantasticly warm and cosy place to spend an hour or so, before heading back towards Portree for our final night on Skye.

Perfect!

Dunvegan Castle

Portree

storm brewing over Cuillin Hills

pleasant way to spend our last night on Skye

our pitch over looking the Cuillin Hills, and half a mile stagger from the Sligachan Hotel bar!

Category: Local Food

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Reflections on the Isle of Skye

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Easter Holidays Pt 4- Isle of Skye

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