Friday 1st June – Bath Marina and Caravan Park
We decided to be on our way tonight rather than first thing tomorrow morning, just in case the park and ride was not running on the Bank Holidays. We had emailed the site to check this would be OK and they confirmed this would be fine by email.
We headed off and half an hour into the journey I realised that although we had the Sat Nav we did not have the charger to keep it charged up.
We decided that we would have to manage with maps and carried on our way, using the Sat Nav sparingly.
We arrived at the site about 7:30 but the office was closed and there was no paperwork for our pitch. We decided to find an empty pitch for the night and sort it out in the morning.
It was cloudy but a dry night and we were able to eat outside before setting up the TV and retiring to bed to watch it.
Saturday 2nd June
We woke to a cloudy, damp start, before breakfast Billy went over to the office to sort out our pitch. It turned up there had been a mix up and our paperwork had been forgotten. They also had us booked in for 57 nights for some bizarre reason!!!
Because of this they asked us to move to another pitch as they had overlapping bookings. We weren’t totally sure why we had to move as the pitch we had to move to was the one next to us. However we could see it would make the receptionist’s job easier so moved to the new pitch. Later we saw that the people who took our original pitch came with friends who pitched next door to them so perhaps it was just as well we moved.
Once moved we headed off to Bath on the park and ride. It was a good job we had arrived the night before because as we had guessed the park and ride would not be running again until Wednesday as it did not run on Sundays or bank holidays.
We wandered down to the river and around the streets of bath where we took some snaps.
we then walked the streets of Bath, in and out of the shops and ended up buying some bunting and some really useful boxes so that Billy tidy up the Motorhome garage. I doesnt matter if we are at home or in the garage, he always has a garage to sort!!
As usual we had dinner with Tesco rewards, today it was Ask Italian, where we tucked into a 3 course meal of pasta and pizza. Billy was happy as they had his favourite Calzone.
We wandered round a bit longer then headed off to catch the bus back to the site. Once back at the site we found somewhere to hang our bunting and put our flag up.
Sunday 3rd June
Woke to rain today, we had planned to have a relaxing day at the van.
Billy sorted the garage arrange items into his new boxes and realised that he needs more boxes!!!
In the afternoon we tuned into the Royal pageant on the TV as it rained all afternoon so we settled down with drinks and nibbles. It was lovely to see all the boats on the river Thames and Queen on the Royal Barge enjoying herself even though it was such awful weather both on the Thames and where we were. It reminded me of the time we were in Cardiff and stuck in the van watching the Canadian Grand Prix.
I don’t remember venturing out of the van, apart from toilet breaks. I cooked dinner once the pageant was over but that too had to be eaten in the van because of the weather.
Monday 4th June
Woke up this morning and as it was dry so we decided to get the bikes down and cycle along the canal path to find something for breakfast. We ended up in Bath and Café Rouge, where we tried to use our Tesco vouchers but because we ordered Café Compleat, which consisted of baguette, French toast, orange juice and a latte we ended up paying for it, as vouchers can only be used for food. Never mind, we know for next time.
We retraced the steps we had taken on Saturday as Billy remembered seeing a clock that may be suitable as an alarm clock in the van. We did not find the clock but did find our way back to Ask and another Calzone for Billy to use up the last of our Tesco Ask vouchers. This time we only had the one course though.
When we returned back to the van, the sun was shining so we poured ourselves an aperitif and relaxed in the sunshine until the sun went down.
Tuesday 5th June - Bristol Baltic Wharf
Woke this morning to rain again but we were leaving today for our next site in Bristol.
We set up the Sat Nav but the battery had run out so we had to revert to maps (like in the old days). It was a caravan club site we were heading for but the book only gave us directions from the M5 and not from Bath.
We had not been to the site before but the instructions in the book did mention the SS Great Britain so we headed off in the direction of Bristol and then followed signs to the SS Great Britain, we arrived at the site where it was still raining at 12:30.
We set up and then Billy got speaking to the warden about our future and we were invited over to the office for a chat in the afternoon. We had a snack and then headed over to the wardens for a natter and a cup of coffee.
We were told that the pub next door to the site, Cottage Inn, did good food so we ventured over there for supper. There was nothing exciting on the menu, I ended up with scampi and chips and Billy had fish and chips, very average meal :(
I can imagine it would be a lovely place to sit outside when the weather was good.
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| Cottage Inn outlook |
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| Outside backgate of campsie |
Wednesday 6th June
We were going to catch the river taxi into Bristol but the earliest one was 10:50 and we were ready to go at 9:30 so instead we caught the bus into Bristol, with the intention of returning on the river taxi. We wanted to go to Clifton Triangle but the bus did not go there so they dropped us into town and we hiked up the hill to Clifton Triangle. We wandered around the shops, which were quirky and different to the normal shopping centres, but then I had to have my fix of Marks and Spencer so we headed back down the hill and across to Cabot Circus and the usual shops. This was a hike and a half and once there we did not stay long, just long enough to buy a pair of trousers and a pair of jeans from M & S and shelter in the shopping centre from the rain.
We then decided to return to Clifton Triangle, this was very tiring as it was back across town and up the hill. However we knew we would ne able to rest at the top of the hill as we were going to have our tea (courtesy of Tesco again) in Browns restaurant. We ended up having a 3 course meal, Flatbread, Belly Pork and Brownies and it was scrummy :). Plus the additional surprise that the cocktails were half price so I indulged in a couple of West Indian Yellow Birds – lovely :)
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Recuperating
in Browns |
We left Browns at 6:30, we knew we would have missed the river taxi but we had recuperated, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining so we were ready to put one foot in front of the other and walk back along the river to the campsite. On our return we put the chairs out and enjoyed a lovely cup of tea watching the sun go down.
Thursday 7th June
Today we left Bristol and it was raining again and headed off for the next part of our trip.
Our next destination was Bourton on the Water and we arrived at 13:30 but it was still raining.
We were staying on a Camping and Caravanning CS site and found it quite easily without the Sat Nav, although it was down a long lane that was full of potholes.
We found the field and a space with EHU and pitched up for our stay.
Not only was it raining but it was getting very windy, we ended up spending the rest of the day in the van, reading and catching up with everything.
We decided not to venture out and I grilled a couple of gammons with fried potatoes and veg, which we both enjoyed. By the end of the day the wind had got much stronger, we were pitched under a tree which meant it was difficult to sleep and we spent the night tossing and turning listening to the heavy rain on the van.
Friday 8th June
When we woke up it was still windy but the heavy rain had stopped. Billy was worried about how we were going to get off the field. He was wondering whether we should leave and go somewhere else. I said that hopefully by Sunday the field would have dried out (the weather forecast was looking dry for Saturday but not for Sunday).
We said we would stay put and monitor the weather. We decided to get out and blow the cobwebs away and see what Bourton on Water had to offer.
As we headed off down the long lane some other campers were heading in the same direction. They had been to the site many times before. They asked if we were going to Bourton and said that that Slaughters were very nice too.
It is a small world too as it turned out they were from Reading and Emsworth and they had relatives that lived in Gosport (my home town). At the end of the land they turned right where we went left into Bourton on the Water.
I was surprised how close we were to the Village Centre. We had been to Bourton on Water years ago so were not surprised about how the river runs through the village with bridges going across. They call it Venice of the Cotswolds.
The rain had stopped so we strolled around looking in the many shops and after a couple of hours stopped for dinner at one of the many tea rooms/restaurants. We both had pie, I had chicken and leek and Billy had steak and kidney. We then headed back via the co-op for some bread and the Countrywide Farmers shop.
Back at the site the ground looked as if it had dried out by the wind and whilst the sun was shining I decided to put the bunting up inside the van.
We enjoyed the sunshine whilst it was out by sitting outside and then we spent the evening relaxing in the van.
Saturday 9th June
We woke up today and it looked as if it was going to be a fine day, we just needed to decide whether to go off on our bikes or use our legs.
We decided to go for a walk as we were not sure of where we would be able to cycle but knew there were several public footpaths around.
We headed off to Lower Slaughter, as we had heard the Slaughters were pretty. We were following a route that I had copied to my blackberry from the internet the night before.
We knew were going the right way as there were others walking the same route. I guess everyone had been waiting for the rain to stop and had the same thought once it had stopped.
We arrived in Lower Slaughter and could see what they meant by pretty, the River run through the village just like in Bourton but without the touristy bits.
We had been told that the Salvation Army were in the village hall serving tea and cakes so we had to see what was on offer and indulged in tea and went halves on Carrot cake and lemon drizzle cake,
Then went on our way, hoping to walk it off.
We followed the River Eye across to Upper Slaughter, through sheep meadows and past the Manor House.
Upper Slaughter seemed to be smaller than Lower Slaughter but had the same Cotswold stone houses. The other walkers we had seen earlier were not walking with us anymore, we climbed up past allotments, across fields, under trees, over stiles and through kissing gates.
We stumbled across a hamlet, Little Aston and then made our way along the river Windrush back to Bourton on Water.
Today Bourton on Water was full of tourists and there were a few stalls with a duck race taking place on the river, we stopped for an ice cream and then made our way back to the van with the sun still shining so we sat outside and watched the sun go down with a glass of Pimms,.
Sunday 10th June
Today we left for home stopping at our usual services at Tiverton for a bacon sandwich, cooked in the van and a latte from costa.
