Tamar Valley and BBQ

After all the rain yesterday we were praying that the sun would shine for the MX-5 Run and BBQ organised by two of our members Mike and Clare. We were not disappointed!

It was a beautiful morning and we set off early (after leaving Hamish with his Grandma) to make our way to Morrisons car park at Liskeard. Eleven cars in total, which included a new lady who drove the most fantastic green 5, arrived to be ready for the 10.30am start. After a briefing from Clare we left Liskeard on the Tavistock road before being taken along lovely narrow country lanes ...

on our way to Cotehele ...

where we stopped by the river for coffee. Here we had the usual photo-shoot ...

and one of the quay with Shamrock which is moored there ...

It was then time to move on via pretty Devon villages (we'd crossed the Tamar by this time), across Dartmoor and over this super little bridge as we left Walkhampton ...

on our way to Horrabridge where Mike and Clare live opposite the Church ...

Mike fired up the BBQ and we all settled down in their garden while we waited for the food to cook ...

It was a great day and everyone thoroughly enjuoyed themselves. As the party broke up Clare took this photo of us leaving ...

and we headed west to the A30 and home. We did pass this motorbike though ...

which was pretty scary as thoughts of it suddenly blowing up came to mind!

Hamish was collected from Grandma - apparently he had behaved himself - and we arrived home to make a very welcome cuppa!

One Good Turn ...

... and today we were able to help Jo and Paul.

They were spending the day at a friend's wedding and so we went over to their home and let Fred out for them. He was really pleased to see us and after popping outside he came back in and sat with us ...

Sssh don't tell his mum and dad but he was so relaxed he just went and curled up in his favourite spot in the hall ...

I don't think he was missing them at all!!

When we got home we bathed Hamish ...

and he is now very sweet smelling and looking oh so smart ...

Home to Cornwall

Our last day on the road!

We were up early and set off towards Dorchester where we were going to hopefully fill up with diesel. We hadn't experienced any problems with fuel while we were away but had heard that Devon and Cornwall were in trouble so wanted to top up the tank to get us home. We've never seen such a fantastic Tesco as a huge great water feature greeted us as we turned in ...

It was a very straightforward drive west until we left the A35 and took the minor road to Musbury where we met some cows on the move ...

We decided to take a slight detour to Seaton seafront where we could park and have a coffee. What should we see on the horizon but the MSC Napoli ...

After a short break we continued our journey crossing the River Otter ...

on our way to Exeter where we joined the M3. This is the view as we cross the River Exe ...

and the Exeter Canal which runs alongside the river ...

After lunch at Sourton Services where Hamish made friends with another Westie called Thomas we soon crossed the border into Cornwall ...

Nearly home!

We arrived in Portreath to find our friends Jo and Paul had done a fantastic job looking after our plants and house - very many thanks to them both x

Off to Dorset

We started the homeward journey this morning by leaving Sussex and heading west to Dorset. Leaving the site we had the long climb up Wilson Avenue to the Brighton Racecourse ...

and then made our way to visit a family friend who lives near Preston Park. After coffee and a lovely long chat we made our way to the A27 which would take us all the way to Southampton. We passed Lancing College ...

and then we had a quick view of the water as we went around Chichester ...

and once again near Southampton ...

After leaving the motorway we had a quick stop for lunch as we crossed the New Forest before arriving in Dorset where I spotted this lovely field of pink poppies ...

We checked in at the Club site at Moreton ...

and enjoyed a meal at the Frampton Arms where Hamish was allowed to accompany us in the Family Room.

West Sussex and Back

The day began with a beautiful blue sky and sunshine - perfect!

We left the campsite and headed up the hill to the Racecourse and the road that would take us to the west of Brighton. There was the necessary deviation to a Tesco to stock up for our last few days and then back on our journey to Shoreham Beach. After crossing the River Adur we stopped to get a couple of shots ...

and then continued along the coast road through Lancing to Worthing. Here we passed the pier ...

before parking on the road-side for coffee and a paddle!

I tried very hard to tempt Hamish into the water but he was having none of it!

Back to the RV and on to Arundel where the Castle is very difficult to photograph on the move but I got this one as we approached the town ...

We then turned inland and found a picnic area for lunch. This is a photo taken as we waited at traffic lights on our way back to the campsite ...

It is near the top of the hill looking down to Rottingdean Windmill and St Dunstans which is a Centre for the blind.

Family Day

Today was to be a family day, meeting my cousin Marianne from the train at Preston Park Station and hopefully visiting some relations. It all started well with a drive over to Brighton and a stop at St Augustine’s Church where I used to go to Sunday School.

We arrived at the Station with time to spare and waited for Marianne who appeared about ten minutes late which wasn’t bad for rail travel! We then drove to the Black Lion where we had lunch and a good natter.

We decided to call on an uncle who unfortunately was not at home so back to the drawing board and out came the address book to see who else we could visit. I rang an aunt who was thrilled to hear from us and yes, please call in for a chat. I can’t remember the last time I saw her but it must have been thirty or more years ago. She looked just the same, just a bit greyer and a bit dodgy on her pins but then she is 87! She’d had a bad fall recently and had a couple of nasty bruises on her face but she was just the same lovely lady as I remembered. It was great to see her and I’m so pleased we made the effort.

We then dropped Marianne back at the train station, said our farewells and made our way home to the campsite.

Not many photos today but this is our pitch on the site … and just look at the size of the RV in the background!

Off to Sussex

Up early this morning as it was moving on day. We chose a route to Hastings which took us along roads we hadn’t used before and so after leaving Canterbury we headed for Ashford. The cross country road took us to Tenterden and as we travelled south we crossed the River Rother …

After driving through Hastings we found the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea and stopped for coffee …

The next town on the route was Eastbourne followed by East Dean and down to the Cuckmere Valley …

We wanted to stop at Seaford and found a car park very close to the Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club where we had sailed our Fireball ‘Thor’ back in the late 1960’s. It had changed quite a lot since those days as they now have a new Clubhouse …

instead of the shack that we’d used and there is a new ramp for the boats from the dinghy park to the beach. After lunch we went over to watch the start of the afternoon race and got chatting with a chap who knew Dave Long our ex fleet captain who is now living in Norfolk and sailing regularly on Hickling Broad! Small world!

It was now just a small hop to the campsite at Sheepcote Valley – well it should have been if we hadn’t missed the road and ended up driving around the Whitehawk estate! We found it in the end though and parked up for a cuppa and a rest.

We’d arranged to meet my cousin Peter at a pub at Saltdean so we drove over and accosted some chap in the car park who turned out not to be him! The last time I’d met Peter was when I was about seven years old so I had no idea what he looked like! We met up though and had a great time chatting about the family with him and his wife Jan and we’re determined to come back some time soon and have a big family get-together. It was then back to the site for a meal and to see a fox walking about the site as bold as brass. Unfortunately it was now dark and I didn’t get a photo of it.

Folkestone, Dungeness and back to Canterbury

Our last day in Kent and we headed down to Folkestone which proved much easier to drive through than we had anticipated. Taking the Hythe road we found ourselves in Sandgate and stopped by the sea for coffee …

We then drove through Hythe and on to Dymchurch where we saw this Martello Tower …

On the minor road to Dungeness we found a free (!) car park so we stopped to give Hamish a run on the beach …

He had a great time as it’s quite a few days since we’ve found a dog-friendly one. There was nobody else around but we saw these lovely old boats pulled up on the pebbles …

this one was definitely not sea-worthy …

After lunch there was a tooting and a train appeared on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway …

We now continued along the road until we reached Dungeness …

and then made our way back inland towards Ashford. After skirting around the town we found a cross-country road with a field of poppies …

and a field of plastic which was a strawberry farm …

Back to the campsite and a comment on Kent – Glad we came here but we won’t be rushing back! We haven't seen any oast houses or hops!