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Home again, back to the routine, raking leaves etc etc
Friday, 23 October 2009
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Tuesday 20th October 2009
Milestone Caravan Club Site (Cromwell near Newark)
The day starts exactly as forecast, high cloud with a little bit of blue sky, and cold.
After breakfast and a leisurely sit around reading the newspaper, we set off to follow the cycle ride on the second map we have been loaned, this is to take us to Newark.
The first 1.5 miles are on a cycle track alongside the A1. This is not very pleasant, while it is safe enough, the traffic noise is loud and constant. But soon we are on a small quiet road which passes through the villages of North Muskham and South Muskham, before we join another cycle track which brings us to Newark.
We park our bicycles beside the river. We notice there is a cycle ride signposted along the river at this point and decide we may follow it later (in the event this is not to be).
We visit Newark Castle, ruined when the Royalists defending it were ordered to surrender by Charles I on his capture, and the Roundheads then destroyed most of the Castle by blowing it up, (seems a bit petty). This was followed by years of the local population helping themselves to the fine stone to build their own houses, until now all that remains are the least accessible bits.
The Castle grounds also house the Tourist Information building, for those of you who may visit, there are toilets here, but Kathleen was disgusted to find they cost 20p for a p, so to speak, so be warned.
We retire to the old Buttermarket building. The building itself is quiet beautiful, but the collection of rather “twee” shops inside and the number of
empty units is disappointing. There are however two highlights:
On the upper floor there is a coffee shop, selling enormous portions of excellent cake. I had warm Plum Bread and butter (two thick slices), while Kathleen had an huge piece of carrot cake which I had to help her to finish (I am all heart in that way).
There are free toilets.
When we emerge from the Buttermarket, suitably stuffed with cake, we find it has begun to rain. This puts and end to any notion of cycling along the river, so instead we cycle back to Cromwell, arriving quite damp after our 12 mile round trip.
I think this has put paid to “the nice young man in reception”, he told us, that whilst it may be overcast today, it was not going to rain. While Kathleen may forgive him for giving us yesterdays route over fields, nettles and fences, I know there is no way he will get away with causing her to get her hair wet!
The day starts exactly as forecast, high cloud with a little bit of blue sky, and cold.
After breakfast and a leisurely sit around reading the newspaper, we set off to follow the cycle ride on the second map we have been loaned, this is to take us to Newark.
The first 1.5 miles are on a cycle track alongside the A1. This is not very pleasant, while it is safe enough, the traffic noise is loud and constant. But soon we are on a small quiet road which passes through the villages of North Muskham and South Muskham, before we join another cycle track which brings us to Newark.
We park our bicycles beside the river. We notice there is a cycle ride signposted along the river at this point and decide we may follow it later (in the event this is not to be).
We visit Newark Castle, ruined when the Royalists defending it were ordered to surrender by Charles I on his capture, and the Roundheads then destroyed most of the Castle by blowing it up, (seems a bit petty). This was followed by years of the local population helping themselves to the fine stone to build their own houses, until now all that remains are the least accessible bits.
The Castle grounds also house the Tourist Information building, for those of you who may visit, there are toilets here, but Kathleen was disgusted to find they cost 20p for a p, so to speak, so be warned.
We retire to the old Buttermarket building. The building itself is quiet beautiful, but the collection of rather “twee” shops inside and the number of
empty units is disappointing. There are however two highlights:On the upper floor there is a coffee shop, selling enormous portions of excellent cake. I had warm Plum Bread and butter (two thick slices), while Kathleen had an huge piece of carrot cake which I had to help her to finish (I am all heart in that way).
There are free toilets.
When we emerge from the Buttermarket, suitably stuffed with cake, we find it has begun to rain. This puts and end to any notion of cycling along the river, so instead we cycle back to Cromwell, arriving quite damp after our 12 mile round trip.
I think this has put paid to “the nice young man in reception”, he told us, that whilst it may be overcast today, it was not going to rain. While Kathleen may forgive him for giving us yesterdays route over fields, nettles and fences, I know there is no way he will get away with causing her to get her hair wet!
Monday, 19 October 2009
Monday 19th October 2009
Milestone Caravan Club Site (Cromwell near Newark)
We leave Burford after a very enjoyable few days and head for another Caravan Club site near Newark. The bright sunny weather continues.
We arrive at about 13:00, first thing to do after plugging in etc is to have lunch.
The village of Cromwell is just off the A1, but the site is so well landscaped that you cannot see the road, and can only very oc
casionally hear the hum of traffic. We choose a pitch overlooking one of the fishing lakes on the site, complete with a collection of ducks swimming on it.
After lunch, Kathleen returns to reception to let them know which pitch we have chosen, and while there the “nice young man in reception” loans her two laminated OS map sections with local bicycle rides. One route heads south to Newark, the other north along the river Trent, we decide to save the Newark ride for tomorrow (weather permitting).
We set off to do the ride, which takes us along a small road with a bridge over the A1, to the River Trent at Cromwell Lock, and then follows the winding river north to Carlton-on-Trent. The distance to Carlton is about 5 miles, and it is mostly flat, but the tarmac runs out after about two miles, after that we ride through fields. At some points it is so bumpy we are forced to walk, and finally we come to a gate which is surrounded by nettles and is locked. I lift both bikes over the fence, and trample down the nettles so that Kathleen can walk to the fence and climb over it (very elegantly). We ride across another field, before emerging at the church in Carlton-on-Trent.
Regular readers may recall, that Kathleen does not like cycle rides which involve riding along rough tracks, nettles or climbing over fences, but not a word of complaint passes her lips. Now if I had selected this route there would have been none stop complaining, but because we have a map from “the nice young man in reception”, all is well.
We explore Carlton, but there is no pub, we ask directions of a group of people chatting in the main street, and are directed to “The Lord Nelson”, in Sutton-on-Trent, about 1.5miles away. We cycle along the cycle track (called Carlton Lane), and find the pub no problem.
Kathleen makes use of the toilets, (the Gents as it happens since she miss-read the signs), and then we settle down for a drink and a study of the map to find our way back without returning via the obstacle course which we followed to get here. We pick out a route via small and quiet roads which bring us in a nice little circle to return to the site after covering a nice 14 miles.
We leave Burford after a very enjoyable few days and head for another Caravan Club site near Newark. The bright sunny weather continues.
We arrive at about 13:00, first thing to do after plugging in etc is to have lunch.
The village of Cromwell is just off the A1, but the site is so well landscaped that you cannot see the road, and can only very oc
casionally hear the hum of traffic. We choose a pitch overlooking one of the fishing lakes on the site, complete with a collection of ducks swimming on it.After lunch, Kathleen returns to reception to let them know which pitch we have chosen, and while there the “nice young man in reception” loans her two laminated OS map sections with local bicycle rides. One route heads south to Newark, the other north along the river Trent, we decide to save the Newark ride for tomorrow (weather permitting).
We set off to do the ride, which takes us along a small road with a bridge over the A1, to the River Trent at Cromwell Lock, and then follows the winding river north to Carlton-on-Trent. The distance to Carlton is about 5 miles, and it is mostly flat, but the tarmac runs out after about two miles, after that we ride through fields. At some points it is so bumpy we are forced to walk, and finally we come to a gate which is surrounded by nettles and is locked. I lift both bikes over the fence, and trample down the nettles so that Kathleen can walk to the fence and climb over it (very elegantly). We ride across another field, before emerging at the church in Carlton-on-Trent.
Regular readers may recall, that Kathleen does not like cycle rides which involve riding along rough tracks, nettles or climbing over fences, but not a word of complaint passes her lips. Now if I had selected this route there would have been none stop complaining, but because we have a map from “the nice young man in reception”, all is well.
We explore Carlton, but there is no pub, we ask directions of a group of people chatting in the main street, and are directed to “The Lord Nelson”, in Sutton-on-Trent, about 1.5miles away. We cycle along the cycle track (called Carlton Lane), and find the pub no problem.
Kathleen makes use of the toilets, (the Gents as it happens since she miss-read the signs), and then we settle down for a drink and a study of the map to find our way back without returning via the obstacle course which we followed to get here. We pick out a route via small and quiet roads which bring us in a nice little circle to return to the site after covering a nice 14 miles.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Sunday 18th October 2009
Burford Caravan Club Site
Another dry and cold day, with watery October sunshine.
Given that it is Sunday, cycle into Burford, and Kathleen attends the Catholic Church there. I stroll around the village and select a suitable pub for Sunday lunch. I choose “The Cotswolds Inn”, not my best choice, it is OK, but not memorable. When we arrive it is quiet, but then (literally) a busload of people pile in. We learn from a Canadian couple who sit at the next table to us, that they are on a whistle stop tour from London. They all eat and run, to have a quick look around Burford, and peace returns as we enjoy our pudding and coffee.
Then it is the usual end to a Sunday afternoon, cycle back to the van in the late autumn sunshine, and laze about. Kathleen begins scanning the books and maps looking for our next years destination, Germany is looking popular.
Another dry and cold day, with watery October sunshine.
Given that it is Sunday, cycle into Burford, and Kathleen attends the Catholic Church there. I stroll around the village and select a suitable pub for Sunday lunch. I choose “The Cotswolds Inn”, not my best choice, it is OK, but not memorable. When we arrive it is quiet, but then (literally) a busload of people pile in. We learn from a Canadian couple who sit at the next table to us, that they are on a whistle stop tour from London. They all eat and run, to have a quick look around Burford, and peace returns as we enjoy our pudding and coffee.
Then it is the usual end to a Sunday afternoon, cycle back to the van in the late autumn sunshine, and laze about. Kathleen begins scanning the books and maps looking for our next years destination, Germany is looking popular.
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Saturday 17th October 2009
Burford Caravan Club Site
Today is more like October in England, sunny, but a bit crisp.
We have a leisurely breakfast, then get out the bikes and cycle along the small road from the site in the opposite direction to which we went yesterday, heading for a place called Carterton. We first pass through the small but pretty village of Shilton. Shortly after that we come to the B4020 which we had expected be a quiet road, but which in the event was quite busy. Fortunately there is a bridleway, which, we can see from our 30p map, will take us to Caterton by a slightly longer route, but traffic free. Kathleen grumbles slightly as we cycle along the bridleway on the basis that it is bumpy, has a few narrow bits with nettles, and is slightly muddy in places, but I have no difficulty in taking no notice.
We arrive in Caterton, which is a bit disappointing; it is a sort of MOD village, presumably built to accommodate people from the nearby airbase, very missable. We consult our map, and decide to do a circle back to Burford to have a coffee etc. It is looking good, I can see that the proposed route has promise, it passes not a single village, so not a shop in sight, and from Kathleen’s viewpoint it does not involve the bridleway we took to get here.
We peddle along a tarmac, but traffic free roadway, to emerge onto a small road. According to my reading of the map, exactly as it should be. Kathleen does not trust my map reading and decides to ask the driver of a Reliant Robin, which is parked by the road side. It turns out he is lost (even though he has a Tomtom!), so we end up giving him directions. Actually the road we have emerged onto is called Burford Road, a bit of a clue I would think. We cycle off along the road, and eventually emerge on the A40, so far so good. The road we need to take is about 20 yards on our left, on the other side of the A40. We opt to cross the road and walk along the grass verge rather than dice with the traffic. We then coast down a long hill, to the River Windrush, which we then follow to Burford.
We park the bikes and head for the coffee shop, Kathleen has her cream tea, which she has been planning since we left the van this morning. I opt for what is described as “rich fruit and nut cake”, in place of the cream scone. The cake is delicious, but would have been better if it had been twice as big.
We head back to where we have left the bikes, Kathleen spots a sign for a “Shoe Sale”, so despite my careful route planning, we still end up in a shop. The good news is that she got a pair of “fashion” boots for only £29-99. Since I had said I would buy her boots, and I was expecting to have to pay about £80, I suppose I should be grateful.
We cycle back to the van, via the quiet little road we used yesterday. We have done 16 miles, Kathleen has (hardly) complained about the hills, or the bumps or the nettles or the mud, and has now acquired the full outfit (ie skirt, jeans, two blouses, jumper and boots), so she is happy. Her justification is that she has not had any new clothes for “years”, I think it more like three weeks. I have enjoyed my fruit cake, and, according to womens logic, have “saved” £50, (but since I have actually spent £29-99 I will have to think about this) so I am happy.
Today is more like October in England, sunny, but a bit crisp.
We have a leisurely breakfast, then get out the bikes and cycle along the small road from the site in the opposite direction to which we went yesterday, heading for a place called Carterton. We first pass through the small but pretty village of Shilton. Shortly after that we come to the B4020 which we had expected be a quiet road, but which in the event was quite busy. Fortunately there is a bridleway, which, we can see from our 30p map, will take us to Caterton by a slightly longer route, but traffic free. Kathleen grumbles slightly as we cycle along the bridleway on the basis that it is bumpy, has a few narrow bits with nettles, and is slightly muddy in places, but I have no difficulty in taking no notice.
We arrive in Caterton, which is a bit disappointing; it is a sort of MOD village, presumably built to accommodate people from the nearby airbase, very missable. We consult our map, and decide to do a circle back to Burford to have a coffee etc. It is looking good, I can see that the proposed route has promise, it passes not a single village, so not a shop in sight, and from Kathleen’s viewpoint it does not involve the bridleway we took to get here.
We peddle along a tarmac, but traffic free roadway, to emerge onto a small road. According to my reading of the map, exactly as it should be. Kathleen does not trust my map reading and decides to ask the driver of a Reliant Robin, which is parked by the road side. It turns out he is lost (even though he has a Tomtom!), so we end up giving him directions. Actually the road we have emerged onto is called Burford Road, a bit of a clue I would think. We cycle off along the road, and eventually emerge on the A40, so far so good. The road we need to take is about 20 yards on our left, on the other side of the A40. We opt to cross the road and walk along the grass verge rather than dice with the traffic. We then coast down a long hill, to the River Windrush, which we then follow to Burford.
We park the bikes and head for the coffee shop, Kathleen has her cream tea, which she has been planning since we left the van this morning. I opt for what is described as “rich fruit and nut cake”, in place of the cream scone. The cake is delicious, but would have been better if it had been twice as big.
We head back to where we have left the bikes, Kathleen spots a sign for a “Shoe Sale”, so despite my careful route planning, we still end up in a shop. The good news is that she got a pair of “fashion” boots for only £29-99. Since I had said I would buy her boots, and I was expecting to have to pay about £80, I suppose I should be grateful.
We cycle back to the van, via the quiet little road we used yesterday. We have done 16 miles, Kathleen has (hardly) complained about the hills, or the bumps or the nettles or the mud, and has now acquired the full outfit (ie skirt, jeans, two blouses, jumper and boots), so she is happy. Her justification is that she has not had any new clothes for “years”, I think it more like three weeks. I have enjoyed my fruit cake, and, according to womens logic, have “saved” £50, (but since I have actually spent £29-99 I will have to think about this) so I am happy.
Friday 16th October 2009
Burford Caravan Club Site
It suddenly occurred to me, that many people might not know where Burford is (I didn’t), well it is in the Cotswolds at the junction of the A40 and A361, about 10 miles from Bourton-in-the-Water. A very pretty area in a sort of chocolate box English way.
Today started as yesterday finished, dull and drizzly, but by 11:00 it had all cleared and the sun was shining again.
It does tell you in the site literature that we are near RAF Brize-Norton here, well as the day cleared it became apparent that we are very near, since for several hours huge RAF transport planes passed overhead. They are not noisy, just a bit disconcerting as you peddle along a country road and they pass overhead at just a low level. It must be the approach to the airfield, since they are not making much noise. At first we thought it must be a series of aircraft coming in to land, but given the state of the nation’s finances, it occurred to me that we cannot possibly have that many transport aircraft, so I think it must be pilots learning to take off and land and just doing circuits of the airfield. Did not spot any “L” plates however.
After lunch we cycled to Burford village. The object being to buy some mushrooms, and to find the Catholic church which Google told us was there. It is about two miles via the A361, but that is a busy road with no cycle track, so we took the scenic route using a map we bought from reception. This was 5 miles via a couple of other small villages, but nice and quiet, and almost flat.
Burford is on a hill, and the Catholic Church is at the top of the hill. We cycled past it without seeing it and did not realise until we had reached the bottom of the hill. I offered to push the bikes back to the top of the hill, whilst Kathleen wandered the usual collection of shops selling overpriced tourist stuff. What is it with women and shops?, even pushing two bikes up a steep hill is preferable to looking at more shops when you know you are not going to buy any of the stuff.
I park the bikes at the top of the hill, and find the church, then wander back down the hill checking out the pubs and coffee shops on the way. When I find Kathleen again we go into “The Mermaid” pub and have a couple of drinks. There is a real log fire burning, one of the old regulars appears to be in charge of it and heaps logs onto it as if there was six feet of snow outside. Since he and his pals are discussing where they want to be buried or cremated (when the time comes), we conclude he is auditioning for a place down below.
After the pub we find what appears to be the only “real” shop in the village (ie one selling food, beer and wine) and buy our mushrooms, before heading back to the van.
It suddenly occurred to me, that many people might not know where Burford is (I didn’t), well it is in the Cotswolds at the junction of the A40 and A361, about 10 miles from Bourton-in-the-Water. A very pretty area in a sort of chocolate box English way.
Today started as yesterday finished, dull and drizzly, but by 11:00 it had all cleared and the sun was shining again.
It does tell you in the site literature that we are near RAF Brize-Norton here, well as the day cleared it became apparent that we are very near, since for several hours huge RAF transport planes passed overhead. They are not noisy, just a bit disconcerting as you peddle along a country road and they pass overhead at just a low level. It must be the approach to the airfield, since they are not making much noise. At first we thought it must be a series of aircraft coming in to land, but given the state of the nation’s finances, it occurred to me that we cannot possibly have that many transport aircraft, so I think it must be pilots learning to take off and land and just doing circuits of the airfield. Did not spot any “L” plates however.
After lunch we cycled to Burford village. The object being to buy some mushrooms, and to find the Catholic church which Google told us was there. It is about two miles via the A361, but that is a busy road with no cycle track, so we took the scenic route using a map we bought from reception. This was 5 miles via a couple of other small villages, but nice and quiet, and almost flat.
Burford is on a hill, and the Catholic Church is at the top of the hill. We cycled past it without seeing it and did not realise until we had reached the bottom of the hill. I offered to push the bikes back to the top of the hill, whilst Kathleen wandered the usual collection of shops selling overpriced tourist stuff. What is it with women and shops?, even pushing two bikes up a steep hill is preferable to looking at more shops when you know you are not going to buy any of the stuff.
I park the bikes at the top of the hill, and find the church, then wander back down the hill checking out the pubs and coffee shops on the way. When I find Kathleen again we go into “The Mermaid” pub and have a couple of drinks. There is a real log fire burning, one of the old regulars appears to be in charge of it and heaps logs onto it as if there was six feet of snow outside. Since he and his pals are discussing where they want to be buried or cremated (when the time comes), we conclude he is auditioning for a place down below.
After the pub we find what appears to be the only “real” shop in the village (ie one selling food, beer and wine) and buy our mushrooms, before heading back to the van.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Thursday 15th October 2009
Burford Caravan Club Site
A short one today, becuse we have been travelling most of the day.
Today has not been too successful. We planned to go to the New Forest and stay at the Black Knowl Caravan Club Site, near Brockenhurst. We checked the website and it said it was full, but we have learned from experience that the website is seldom accurate, so we went anyway. Unfortunately when we got there it was full. Not actually full, but the vacant pitches were booked. The warden checked the other Caravan Club site in the New Forest (Bransgore), same story. So we decided to cut our losses and head for Cirencester, but same story there. According to the warden at all three sites, what happens is that people book sites “just in case”, but then fail to turn up. Since there is no penalty for not turning up, it seems fair game if you are selfish individual.
So we ended up at Burford, which is fine, but it is not in the New Forest.
Weather is damp, but we are told the forecast for tomorrow and the weekend is good.
A short one today, becuse we have been travelling most of the day.
Today has not been too successful. We planned to go to the New Forest and stay at the Black Knowl Caravan Club Site, near Brockenhurst. We checked the website and it said it was full, but we have learned from experience that the website is seldom accurate, so we went anyway. Unfortunately when we got there it was full. Not actually full, but the vacant pitches were booked. The warden checked the other Caravan Club site in the New Forest (Bransgore), same story. So we decided to cut our losses and head for Cirencester, but same story there. According to the warden at all three sites, what happens is that people book sites “just in case”, but then fail to turn up. Since there is no penalty for not turning up, it seems fair game if you are selfish individual.
So we ended up at Burford, which is fine, but it is not in the New Forest.
Weather is damp, but we are told the forecast for tomorrow and the weekend is good.
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