Dartmoor

Sunday 22nd January 2017

There's not really much to say about today!  We left Caemawr Farm (Wales) just before 10am, nipped to Aldi to stock up, and then mostly travelled along motorways as we made our way down to Devon - about a 200 mile journey.  So by the time we arrived at The Tavistock Camping and Caravan Club site at Higher Longford the day had more or less passed, but we did take the time to gather up some information about Dartmoor so that we could do a bit of planning for our 9 night stay on this very pretty site.


Monday 23rd January 2017

Once again today we were blessed with 🌞and clear blue skies, so we were determined to make the most of this lovely weather.  With that in mind John had planned a circular ride to take in The Burrator Reservoir, the hamlet of Clearbook, and then to complete the loop, a ride along part of Drake's Trail back into Tavistock, from where we would have to ride about 2 miles back home.

Burrator Reservoir

However, even with the aid of our battery bikes the ride wasn't easy and the first part took us along helta skelta like lanes with huge hills and deep dips and it wasn't until about  mile 9 that it calmed down as we arrived at the very picturesque Reservoir which has been part of the landscape for over century.  Apparently it took 5 years to build and was completed in 1898, but as the years went by it proved insufficient for the areas needs, so in 1923 it was enlarged from a capacity of 668 to 1026 million gallons - however today the levels were quite low, but even though it looks as if the area needs some water we'd got our  fingers crossed that it doesn't get any for the next few days while we're in this area!

Our ride took us around the circumference of the water, which was only about 5 miles, but when we spied an idyllic little picnic spot with ponies roaming we couldn't resist stopping of for a break, and while we were sitting sipping our coffee the inquisitive youngster on the right looked as if he wanted to come and share - I think he was almost to tame for his own good!

We later learnt that ponies have lived and roamed free on Dartmoor since prehistoric times, but nowadays they all belong to different pony keepers, and apparently, the owners round up their ponies every year in the autumn and then decide which to sell and which to keep and set free for another years roaming!  However, we did wonder how they know which ones are theirs because non of them seemed to have any kind of mark to identify them.




Eventually, we tore ourselves away and continued on our way uphill to Clearbook where we found a bench perched right on top of a hill - a vantage point from where we had Clear views  for many miles, and as by then it was lunch time it made another perfect stopping point.  While we sat and munched our sandwiches we also reminisced about a previous visit to this area that we had made with our friends Sharon and Paul - when we had completed a 450 mile bike tour of Devon and Cornwall back in 2014 - on that occasion we'd indulged in large 🍦😁.

Gem Bridge

Anyway, once all our goodies had been scoffed we only had to cross the road to access the part of Drake's Trail  that would take us back to Tavistock.   The trail provided a mixture of open vistas and more closed in wooded areas, but along the way there was plenty to see.  First it took us through the village of Yelverton, and then onto the Magpie Viaduct were we found step ups so we could peer over it's high walls.   A little further on we crossed the Gem Bridge and at it's far side we learnt that we had travelled 79 feet above the River Walkham.  The bridge stands in the same location as the old railway viaduct that was designed by the famous Victorian engineer Isambard Brunell, but his structure was 52 feet higher, and although the viaduct is long gone you can still see two of the huge earth and masonry abutments which took the railway line onto the viaduct at either end.

The next point of interest along the route was the Grenofen Tunnel - a place where we really needed our ☂! In it's dark interior water poured from it's arched  brick ceiling, and of course numerous icy drops found their way down our necks resulting in shrill shouts that echoed around the tunnels closed in cavity!  The 350 metre tunnel was built in 1859 for the South Devon and Tavistock Railway, but after long service it was closed in the 1960's and fell into disrepair.  However, it was given a new lease of life when it was purchased by Devon County Council for just £1.00 ahead of it's inclusion in the Drakes Trail project.


And from here we hadn't got much further to go before we reached almost the end of our route at Tavistock, however we didn't linger long in the town because it was just on school run time and therefore incredibly busy.  So all that remained was to ride the last two and half miles up hill back to the campsite where we wrung the last rays from the sunshine by getting  our chairs out while we enjoyed a lovely cup of Chai tea!



Tuesday 24th January 2017

Well, today John had planned another ride - but it included several long steep climbs and the distance was far - so, after yesterday's exertions we 🐔out!  Instead we opted for what John said would be a gentle ride, mostly on Drake's Trail, and with a plan to only go about 20 miles and to stop off at yesterdays perfect vantage point for lunch again.  And mostly our ride went according to plan - all except the first bit, because to avoid cycling on a busy road John had chosen to take us via some lanes!

But, he didn't tell me (or maybe he didn't know) that the lanes led steeply upwards, and that even with the aid of my battery 🚴 on full power I might feel more than a bit nauseated when I got to the top.  Luckily however, I was soon distracted from that horrible feeling by the sight of 2 sheep standing literally on top of a dense hedge - they obviously thought the grass was greener on the other side.

Anyway, on with the story - as we'd only planned a short ride we took the time to stop off at a place we'd only flown by the day before - namely the  RAF Station Harrowbeer - an old World War II airfield ✈.  We learnt it was opened on 15th August 1941 and closed in July 1945, and that during it's service nationals from Britain, Poland, Canada, America, France and Czechoslovakia served there.

Today, there's nothing left of the buildings except what looked like sealed off air-raid shelters, but the old runways are still in evidence and the privately owned land that is part of Roborough Down  is now open for people and of course ponies to roam and explore.  So of course we did, and we rode our bikes along part of the runways where Spitfires, Hurricanes, Walruses, Mustangs, Typhoons and Anson aircraft had taken off as they flew to Plymouth to protect shipping from E-boat and U-boat attacks in the English Channel.

Drake's Leat

Sir Frances Drake

Then after lunch we found our way back onto Drakes Trail, and while we were there we learnt a bit more about the areas history and it's connection with the famous Elizabethan sea-fairer Sir Francis Drake.  The trail is quite close to his birthplace and to the house that he owned at the time of his death, but part of it also followed the 16th Century Drake's Leat which was an artificial water course that was constructed under the guidance of Sir Francis Drake.  The Leat carried water down from the River Meavy, across Roborough Down and into Plymouth, and although the distance would only have been about 10 miles as the crow flies, the water channel ended up being about 18.5 miles long so that a consistent downhill gradient could be achieved. Drake's leat opened on 24th April 1591 and legend has it that Drake himself rode ahead of the water on his white horse all the way into Plymouth.  It then remained in service until 1890s when the cities water supply was obtained from the more reliable Burrator Reservoir.


Wednesday 25th January 2017

When we drew back our blinds this morning we couldn't quite believe we were being treated to even more 🌞, so although it was quite blustery we decided to head out for a little treat - lunch at the Warren Public House.  The Warren can be found way up on the High Dartmoor Moorlands and is surrounded by fantastic far reaching views of the Moors and the animals who roam there, but in getting there we certainly earned our lunch!   The route required us to cycle about 12 miles much of which was once again a bit like a roller-costar but with more ups than downs, so we were very very glad of our little bit of battery assistance because even with that we were knackered worn out by the time we got there!


However, although our ride was hard we mostly thoroughly enjoyed the ever changing vistas and views and luckily a couple of massive birds of prey circling in the thermals provided entertainment as we went.  Then when we arrived we found the food and beer were excellent - I had Rabbit Pie (what else would you have at the Warren) and John had Moussaka (with lamb not moose😁)




And then it was time for the easier traverse back down the hills, but it was a good job we hadn't completley exhausted our batteries because there were still several steep up sections in our way.  We also found a lovely little glade by a stream to stop off for coffee (we never forget our flask), and later when we spied an ice-cream van in a car park that was just before our final decent we treated ourselves again.   And as an added bonus the ice cream man (who looked a bit like Santa) told us tall tales about the area as we licked our 99s.



Thursday 26th January 2017

After 3 days of cycling we decided we'd go for a walk today, and although the 🌞 managed to put in an appearance, the blusteryness of yesterday had increased overnight to 40 mph gusts 🍃🎐.   So with a weather forecast  that predicted improvement by early afternoon  we had a late breakfast of  black pudding and eggs on waffles,  before setting of for the nearby town of Tavistock.  To get there we walked about 3 miles mostly across the moors, but it was a good job we'd wrapped up warm because it was bitingly cold, and at times it almost looked as if it might snow.

Once we were in the town  we found the famous Pannier Market which was filled with all manner of Artisan stalls selling all sorts of odd items, and then later along side the canal, there was lots more history about the area's metal mining industry.


However, we didn't linger to long in the town because we still had to cross the Moor again, and the snug warmth of T4rdis2, along with a home cooked Rogan Josh Curry 🍛 cooked in our Crock Pot (a Christmas gift from John's Mum which we have certainly made very good use off) was calling loudly!



Friday 27th January 2017

☔☂🌧🌧🌧☂☔  Rain, Wind, Rain, more Wind and more Rain all day, so it was another duvet day where we stayed warm and snug in the van😁

Saturday 28th January 2017

So after our very lazy day yesterday we were quite determined to go out today, even though heavy wintery showers were forecast.  However, having said that we also experienced some good stretches where the sun almost dazzled 😎 us with it's warm rays.

Today our target was Oakhampton on our 🚵 , a ride that we thought would be about 40 miles, and one that required us to start by riding along more hilly country lanes that were slightly less than enjoyable, because as well as being wet and muddy, they had  high hedge rows that obscured the views.   However, after about 6 miles we peddled into Smallacombe Bottom and then up onto the open Moor, and from then on our journey become much more interesting.   As we went we enjoyed the far reaching Moor views, and when these disappeared, we found ourselves in Lyford Gorge where we paused for coffee and hot cross buns (that were cold), and once back on our bikes we were soon on the  Granite Way - a cycle trail that starts near Lyford Gorge and kicks you out by Oakhampton 🚂 station.





Along the way we passed over the Meldon Viaduct which was built in 1874 and spans 165 metres over the remains of several mineral mines.  From it's grand heights we could see the Meldon Dam which was an addition to the valley as recently as 1972 and which dammed the Okement river to form a reservoir that holds 300 million litres of water.







The trail also took us past the old Meldon Quarry and a defunct Railway Station that was built specifically for the movement of the spoils from the quarry,  and even today stone is still blasted on this site but only used for aggregates.   However, apparently nothing goes to waste because unwanted products are recycled to restore the older quarry workings.

Eventually we came to the end of the trail, but not before we'd been caught in a vicious hale storm that hurled icy particles at us, but luckily this was on our backs so it wasn't to bad.  But by the time we found our way down to Simmons Park, which is on the edge of Oakhampton, we were quite soggy so we were quite glad to find a sheltered bench by the riverside to sit while we ate out picnic.

Once fed and watered we had a little potter around the town, and then it was time for our return journey, however, on this leg we were quite kind to ourselves and used Battery power to zoom along and speed us on our way - and it was a good job we did because we just managed to get home before another deluge arrived - and our total mileage was 38.5😀

Sunday 29th January 2017

Well, what a day! More ☂🌧☔🌧☔🌧☂ - maybe now the Burrator Reservoir might be nearly full!  So what do you do on a very wet Sunday?  Should we go out and get soaked and cold - or should we stay in, have another duvet day, and cook ourselves a nice Sunday dinner?  The later won, and we both agree, it feels quite nice being snug and warm in here while the rain is banging on the roof indicating how cold it might be out there!

Anyway, that's it for another week - so bye for now from Dartmoor😘

The Millennium Park Area

Sunday 15th January 2017

This morning found us parked up high on a hill with lovely views overlooking the Loughor Estuary, but with low cloud that looked quite threatening and a forecast that predicted rain for most of the day, our big question was 'what shall we do?'  In the end we opted for 'walkies'🏃 so that we could explore the area in which we had landed, and also nip onto the Millennium Coastal Path to assist with getting our bearings for later outings.  

The Millennium Coastal Path is a 13 mile combined walkway and cycle-way along the south coast of Carmarthenshire that links Llanelli with the Pembrey Country Park.  Along it's way it passes through The Millennium Coastal Park which is an area of more than 2000 acres of reclaimed industrial wasteland that has been landscaped to provide leisure facilities for locals and tourists to enjoy.  But today, as we were on 👣, we only saw a small section of it, but that was enough to aid our plan for further exploration tomorrow.

Our foray also provided an opportunity to find out more about the area's history, and we learnt that the Loughor estuary is renowned for it's cockles - the gathering of them being an activity that dates from medieval times when it was done to provide free meals for poor families.  Apparently cockling still takes place today but they are still only gathered by hand to ensure there are enough left for the birds and that the cockle beds can recover for subsequent years.  In the distance we could see one or two folk gathering them but we decided we didn't fancy 'cockle curry' so we didn't join in!  There was also loads of info about the areas past industrialisation, but looking around today, there's not much evidence of it left.

As usual we'd taken our picnic lunch with us, and we found a quiet spot on the water's edge to sit and eat it, but we didn't linger long because sitting on huge boulders was rather 'chilling' to our nether regions, so once fed we pottered back up into Llanelli town and then home for a Sunday steak dinner.


Monday 16th January 2017

Hi Thomas - Grandma and Grandad just want to send you lots of love  hugs and kisses 😘 for your 5th Birthday 🎂🎁🕯🎈🎂 

I asked the dragon for a lift but he
wasn't listening!

This morning our plan was to ride 🚴 along the part of the Millennium trail, that leads to Pembrey Country Park and head for the town of Kidwelly,  but in the end we didn't quite reach our goal because the cycle track seemed to run out just before we got there, and to continue would have required us to ride on quite a busy main road. However, up until that point our ride had been quite spectacular and had taken us mostly along coastal trail and then through the park, and on several occasions the sun had peaked 🌥out to warm us as we went.  So when the road loomed, we needed little persuasion  to turn tail and head back to Burry Port 🛥where we knew there was a ideal picnic spot along with a burger 🍔van where we could buy chips to supplement the goodies in our panniers. However, that turned out to be a bit of a mistake because the chips were far from good - but having said that - we didn't waste many!

One of Burry Port's main claims to fame is that the town is home to the harbour where Amelia Earhart landed her sea-plane, she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.  But once we'd admired her memorial we decided it was time to head back because it was still a good 10 miles home, and at least half of that would be uphill!  In all we covered about 35 miles, and although we did use our 'zoom' power a bit we mostly saved it to get us up the very steep hill that will be the sting in the tail on all our excursions from our present campsite.










Tuesday 17th January 2017

This morning dawned with heavy mizzling clouds🌧 that produced fine drenching rain so we didn't venture out until well into the afternoon.  But when we did go we decided to put into practice what might become a new 'hobby'.  We went Nordic Walking!  I've had my poles for quite a while and first participated in the sport at a 'taster' class at Centre Parks many years ago, and while we've been on the continent we've noted it's been a very  popular pass-time for couples of our age.  Therefore we set about finding out more for the all knowing oracle that is called the internet, and we also equipped John with new poles so that he could 'play' too! Apparently, it seems that by walking in this way you can burn up to 40% more calories because your using your upper body muscles, and it is also good for your general posture.

Anyway, we set off around 2pm, walked about 7 miles, and got home about 4ish - and  we both felt our outing will be something we'll be repeating on a regular basis, with the added benefit of being able to do it in 'The Great Outdoor Gym'




Wednesday 18th January 2017

Today was forecast to be partial cloud but with good sunny intervals, but I think the weather man's crystal ball 🔮 must have been playing up because the cloud stayed quite low all day, and therefore, the sun never got to peek out.  However, our plans had already been made so we were soon to be found out on our bikes and heading for the Mumbles.   This required us to travel in the opposite direction along the Millennium Coastal Path to the way we'd gone on Monday, so between the two outings we covered it's complete length.  But that was only the beginning - today's ride was a tad under 40 miles and was really a re exploration of ground we'd covered 6 years ago when we'd stayed in a cottage in the Mumbles previously.

The smudge on the top left is the Murmur!

Our route could almost have been call a 'Coast to Coast' as it took us along side the estuary into Loughor, then across the Gower Peninsula to the Mumbles where we stopped for lunch (with more chips that were yummy) before retracing our tracks on the homeward leg of our journey.   And this was when we saw starlings murmuring - a huge mass of said birds flocking together in a murmuration.  Apparently they do that just before going to roost for the night, first with a small group of birds, and then more join in with the huge flock changing direction as one to provide areal acrobatics that are quite breathtaking.

And this is John watching them

Unfortunately,  because of the poor light it was impossible to catch them on camera, but it was a fantastic sight to see, and at times we were fairly sure we could actually see additional groups of birds joining the main flock and increasing the size of the murmur.







Thursday 19th January 2017

Well, today we got our sunshine!  When we opened our blinds this morning we could hardly see across the field due to mist, but it soon burnt off leaving wall to wall warm 🌞 for most of the day.  So once again out came our bikes, but this time we headed inland towards the hamlet of Tumble by riding up the Swiss Valley Trail.  This turned out to be a well surfaced track that follows a disused railway line and climbs gently from the Millennium Park into the rolling hills above Llanelli, past peaceful Lleidi Reservoirs and on to the village of Cross Hands.   And to start with we were quite good - the slope was only gentle so we only used peddle power, but as 3 miles turned into 4 and 4 into 5, we could resist no longer, and our pedal assist batteries were put to good use to enhance our enjoyment of the ride.

Lunch Stop

At about mile 13 we reached the top, but alas, although the views had been quite stunning as we rode up, we still couldn't find anywhere to sit and enjoy our picnic.  Therefore, we decided to zoom all the way back down into the Millennium park before we partook of our tuna cobs and chicken crisps!  And it was as we neared our destination that we stopped to chat with an elderly chap who also had an electric bike. He talked ten to the dozen in heavily accented Welsh English so it was quite difficult to catch all he said, but we did ascertain that he was 71 and had the misfortune to have 2 stokes and a heart attack - and he'd still managed to clock up 4,000 miles over the last year - we'll have to try harder!

Anyway, by the time we'd done chatting it was nearing 2.30 and we were starving, so as soon as we reached the coast we parked up by a comfy bench and sat munching our lunch - and as we did so the sun warmed us in a very Spring like and welcome manner.


Friday 20th January 2017

Another glorious sunny day in the land of Lin and John - and another stunning bike ride.  However, we'd been here for six days now so we couldn't really think of anywhere to go without repeating what we'd already done - but that wasn't a problem - we just repeated it anyway and enjoyed it just as much!  We left T4rdis2 at about 10.30 and headed down to the Millennium trail where we turned left and rode out along the coast to the trail's end point  just before the town of Loughor.  And it was here that we paused for coffee while we watched the numerous birds hunting for their dinner on the shore line as the tide receded.



Then after our refreshments we remounted and retraced our steps back to North Dock, and then further on to Burry Port - thus covering the Millennium trail in it's entirety.

While we were at Burry Port this time we took the time to read about the Copper works that were established nearby between 1849 and 1912.  The information board explained about the dreadful conditions in which men women and children had to work, and went on to say that periods of duty could last up to 24hrs.  It made us very thankful that we live in the 21st century.  Today there is very little left of the plant but the land still has restricted access so it makes you wonder if something horrible has been left behind!

And talking of horrible - we also learnt about the dangers of Pastinanca sativa - wild parsnips - the warning signs advised that this common plant can cause a serious rash and blistering and you should avoid sitting on it!

Our ride altogether was about 30 miles, around an area that I think we will never get bored with no matter how many times we repeat our visits, so as when we stopped for our last break, just before heading back up the hill to T4rdis2, we had already decided we would be coming back down tomorrow for a final visit before we move on to Devon on Sunday.

The Loughor Estuary at low tide

Saturday 21st January 2017

How lucky are we? - today was another beautiful 🌞 day, so as planned we gathered up our  Nordic Walking Poles and set off back down to the coast for another ' STROLL' along the Millennium coastal trail -  if that's what a 10 mile fast paced walk can be called.  And that's about it really!   We partook of coffee and cake while we were out, did a bit of shopping, then hightailed it back to T4rdis2 in time to give the van a though clean inside and out so that we can be on our chocks to set off early tomorrow for destination Devon.

So we'll see you again when we get there
Take care 😘

Click here to see our UK camping spots

Further on into Wales

Sunday 8th January 2017

This morning we left Clement's End near Bream and headed for one of the very few sites that are open in Pembrokeshire - a small certified location near Saundersfoot called Bush Farm which is right on the A477. Our intention was to stay for a week, but after 48 hours we were more than ready to vacate our wet, muddy and very noisy location (the traffic seemed almost continuous all night)!  Really, we'd only chosen the site because there wasn't much else available in the area, and John  had thought we'd be ok there because after checking it out on the map  it was only a matter of about 300 yards before we could get off the main road and onto what looked like much quieter country lanes.

We'd arrived about 3ish and then came the performance of parking up and filling up!  Even though the pitches were hard standing we found that as we tried to get onto our levelling ramps T4rdis2's front wheels where digging deep 'dings' into the shale surface and it took several attempts to rise up the several inches we needed to prevent our dinner from sliding off the table.  Additionally, the only fresh water tap that was working was half way across a large strip of very wet and muddy grass so poor John had to lug about 100 litres of water before our tank registered full!  Oh well, I guess that provided his exercise for the day - but to make matters worse, while he was doing it the🌧 rain 🌧was 'joyfully' bouncing into the already full murky puddles!  So once all the chores were completed we were more than ready to shut up shop and take it easy for the rest of the day.


Monday 9th January 2017

So today was to be our first day out from this site - and what an experience that turned out to be!  The quiet country lanes were anything but - in fact it seemed as if we were on a race circuit that the locals used to get from A to B at a very rapid rate,  and during our walk down to Saundersfoot we were forced to jump into the overgrown and dirty hedgerows on more than one occasion to avoid being flattened by the speed freaks who rounded corners at alarming rates 🏍!

Therefore, we very quickly decided we wouldn't be walking or cycling that way again, and unfortunately that resulted in us having very little to do in the area unless we moved the van every time we wanted to go somewhere!  So, I think by now you can probably tell we were a little disgruntled with our choice of site, so to cheer me up John treated me to lunch out when we arrived in Saundersfoot Harbour!  We visited the 'Marina Restaurant' where we purchased 2 bags of chips which we ate while overlooking the beach and craggy cliffs to our right - there's really nothing quite like it - pipping hot chips cooked in beef dripping with lots of salt and vinegar!

But after that 'treat' it was another dice with death as we made our way back to T4rdis2, and as you might guess we hadn't been home long  before we were searching for another sleeping spot.  Eventually, we discovered another certified location in the village of Manorbier that looked as if it would suit us because it was right near the coastal path.  But when I rang to enquire the lady owner said the pitches were very wet because of all the recent rain - so having been STUCK IN THE MUD with T4rdis2 before we thought we'd better think again.  However, before I could ring off she quickly said that rather than going into the field we could park at the top where there is a hard standing pull in just adjacent to the porta cabin 'facilities'  This seemed ideal, but what she hadn't mentioned were the very narrow lanes that T4rdis2 would have to traverse to get there!


Tuesday 10th January 2017

Well, to cut a long story short, we eventually made it to the site at Manorbier with hardly a scrape!  And once there, we decided we would be staying put for a few days because the site was in a lovely spot and even though we were all alone we had everything we needed - even a very draughty (but scrupulously clean) loo and shower - the latter however required a 10 metre 'streak' because there was hardly any 'dry' space to hang your belongings within it's confines!  And the only other thing we didn't have was internet - but we managed quite well without it for a few days!

Our spot at Manorbier

Once we were settled we had a quick late lunch, and then as the day waned we pottered down past the towering Manorbier Castle to the village's sandy cove where there were quite a few people taking advantage of the watery winter sunshine - I even got blown a kiss by a little chap who must have been all of 18 months old.








From the beach we could easily identify the coastal path in both directions so we thought that would be at least 2 days of our stay taken care of, but we also knew our outings would be weather dependent because a wintery four letter word that starts with S and ends in W ❄⛄❄ had been forecast, so we weren't sure how well we would do!

Eventually, we tore ourselves away from the pretty little cove and turned tail to dawdle our way back through the village where we found a very well stocked shop - it even had our favourite cider, so even though we're supposed to be 'being good' we were weak willed and indulged.



Wednesday 11th January 2017

Overnight we were well and truly rocked - but maybe not to sleep💤!  The gale force winds 🍃swayed and shook our little home until we were almost sea sick, but we hung on grimly and survived a very rough night  (was that the wind or the cider!)

Manorbier Beach

And in the morning, even though it remained very blustery, the 🌞sun was shining in a clear blue sky and we soon found ourselves up on the coastal path and heading for Freshwater East.  Our walk was to be a 'there and back' of about 8 miles over tough coastal path that led us up steep and sometimes muddy climbs with equally challenging descents.  However, the views were breathtaking - craggy cliffs, that depending on how the light caught them, either shone with many different hues, or almost appeared as silhouettes cast against the very blue and almost cloudless sky.


It took us about an hour and a half to get to the Magical Freshwater beach - I say magical because when you check out the pictures below - John seems to have disappeared!



T4rdis2 to Enterprise - 'One to beam down'!

Happily, I found him again quite quickly, and we also managed to find a sheltered spot right on the sands, so as we sat and munched our sarnies we had the pleasure of watching the tide turn and start to crash up the beach.  However, with winter's short days, all to soon it was time to start making our way home, but on the way we did stop off to finish our coffee and gobble Aldi's best Stollon Bites in Swanlake Bay.


Thursday 12th January 2017

Happy Birthday Sarah 🎂🎈🕯🎁 Hope your day was full of lovely surprises 😘😙😘

Today was a bit of a wash out with heavy rain and very strong winds throughout - but no snow so we're not complaining.  However, it certainly wasn't fit to go up onto the coastal path, so instead we opted to have a duvet day! John read a book and a half, and I watched 4 episodes of 'The Missing' - and very good it was too.

Then, as darkness fell the winds picked up even more, and if we thought we'd had a rough night on Tuesday - this was worse.  At times the roar of the wind and the motion it inflicted on T4rdis2 made it feel as if we were in a giant tumble dryer, and we were very glad we wern't parked under any large trees!


Friday 13th January 2017

We really have been quite lucky, because although the morning dawned cold and windy, we were once again treated to another dose of lovely 🌞 that lasted for almost the whole day, and with frequent sightings of flowers 🌷pushing there way up we felt that Spring may have already Sprang!  And we certainly weren't going to waste such a lovely day, so as we'd turned right onto the coastal path on Wednesday, today we turned left!  This resulted in more spectacular vistas, but looking at them required frequent stops because the path was once again quite muddy, and after yesterdays rain it was sometimes quite treacherous underfoot. And therefore, we felt it was probably a good job we'd more or less got the path almost entirely to ourselves because sometimes it required a good bit of undignified pushing or pulling to conquer the slopes, and John even commented he would have to walk behind me in case he needed to assist my 'bottom' gear with a shove!



However, at one point he did get away in front - and then it looked as if he was going to walk right off the edge of Wales as the path vanished over the cliff edge!  But no - it just disappeared into infinity down some steep steps and then continued on hugging the cliff side until we entered an area where wild 'Merlod Ponies' roamed - we could tell they'd been there by their hoof prints and other things that horses leave behind, but we'd almost given up hope of seeing the actual beasts until we rounded a corner and spotted a couple grazing high up above us.





Further on still we came to Old Castle Head where the Military bases are still in evidence.  Here we learnt that 44 acres of the area had been used a a School of Anti Aircraft Artillery from 1937 until 1970, and that soldiers would practise firing over the Bristol Channel at targets towed by aircraft.  Even today The Ministry of Defence still use the area for soldiers to train in firing high velocity missiles over the sea at remotely controlled Banshee aerial targets.


However, our day remained quite and peaceful because no practising is  done in January, so we were able to continue our walk to Skrinkle Head where we paused for lunch while overlooking the magnificent pinnacles of rock that adorn the coast and isolated beaches in this area.  From our lunch spot we also had views across to Caldey Island, and we could just make out the outline of the Devon coast.  As we watched the powerful waves crashing up onto the cliffs and beach it wasn't difficult to see how the caves, fissures and natural arches had been formed over time, and we felt very lucky to be able to admire this indescribably beautiful view - but sadly we couldn't stay for too long because without the warmth generated by walking we were soon feeling chilled and ready to start our homeward journey.

The view from our lunch spot

And it was on this leg that we cheated a bit by taking a short cut that cropped about a mile from our trek. This allowed us to miss some of the worst slippery slopes, and bearing in mind that it had been Friday 13th, maybe it was a good job we did!


Saturday 14th January 2017

Much as we'd loved being at Manorbier we'd decided to move today - partly because we'd already covered as much of the coastal path as we could from our base, and partly because our cupboards were nearly bear! So after a hearty cooked breakfast we headed for Aldi in Carmarthen but only to find it's car park chocka block full!  This resulted in me having to run round and do the shopping on my own while John lurked down the road with the van - but it also allowed me to add extra goodies that I might not otherwise been allowed to have.😁

Our New sleeping spot - I wonder if
there's a pot of gold at it's end

Then we managed to get the valve in our new spare wheel fixed before continuing on to Llanelli where we've parked at Caemawr Farm which will be our home for the next week. When we arrived I did wonder if we'd made another mistake because we had to squeeze up a narrow muddy lane and then follow a track that was only just wide enough to keep T4rdis's tyres within it's confines, but this led to a parking spot with far reaching views over the town of Llanelli, and more distantly over the estuary to River Loughor. We've picked this spot because it's  very close to the Millennium Coastal Path and the Gower Peninsula, both of which should provide cycling and walking, so fingers crossed, if the weather continues to be kind, we should have plenty to do.


Anyway, that's all for now!
Take care😗

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We're On The Road Again!

2nd - 7th   January 2017

For the beginning of 2017 we stayed put parked up on Riddings Wood Caravan Site and spent our time visiting our family and friends to say Bon Voyage 👋before we set off on another journey on the 5th.   We are planning to spend the winter in England this year so we're starting with a couple of weeks in South Wales before continuing down to Devon where we will rove for a couple of months.  Then at the beginning of  April we're going to dash over to the Netherlands to see the myriads of 🌷🌷🌷🌷flowering bulbs and to attend their flower festival,🌷🌷🌷🌷 before hurrying back to our home town of Ripley just in time to get our MOT and service done.

However, we didn't go straight to Wales because T4rdis2 needed attention in the tyre department  - we needed 2 tyres and a spare wheel - the latter being a commodity that we've never had.  We just have 'gunk' that you squirt into the tyre if you're unlucky enough to get a puncture - a temporary 'fix'  that is supposed to be sufficient to get you out of trouble, and although this 'fix' is legal in this country it isn't in some parts of Europe!  Therefore, we were very keen to acquire said equipment, and with this in mind we'd made arrangements with our friend's son (who has a tyre business) to collect the wheel and tyres on our way south.  But unfortunately, we're not much better off because although the wheel and tyres were soon in place he was unable to pump them up to the required pressure or supply the metal valve we need to use the spare, so a stop off at another garage will be required in the very near future😖!

Anyway, knowing that the above would all take time, we'd decided to book into a campsite near Monmouth for 3 nights to break our journey and to ensure that we would reach our destination in daylight.  The site is actually in the little hamlet of Clements End and just across the road from The Forest of Dean.  The forest covers 42.5 square miles and is a mixture of ancient woodland and conifers that is criss crossed with numerous cycling and walking paths so we felt that it would provide sufficient entertainment for our stay - and it would have done if the weather had been a bit kinder.

When we arrived 'Jack Frost' had been very busy and 'it' all lay round about - Deep and Crisp and Even - in fact it was so 'Even' that we did wonder if we would be able to fill our fresh water tank - luckily the site owner had lagged his pipes very well so no problems were encountered in that department and our kettle was soon singing a merry tune!

So following our arrival, we did no more than close our blinds and snuggle in, but on Friday 6th we were quite determined to get out for some much needed exercise despite the weather forecast of persistent 🌧 for most of the day!

We dithered a bit about if we should 🚲 or 🏃 but we thought the tracks and trails would be quite muddy (and we weren't wrong) so the latter won out!  And we really we hadn't gone far when the first smatterings of light drizzle began to fall, but as our target was for the Cannop Ponds (about 4 miles away) we ignored the inclemency and determinedly continued on our way.  However, we did become a bit concerned when we came across the sign on the left - happily if there were any about they saw us and scarpered before we saw them!

When we arrived we found 2 large ponds, the lower of which was created in 1825 to supply water via a 'leat' to a waterwheel at Parkend Ironworks, however the flow of water proved insufficient so the upper pond was added in 1829.

Now, I'm sure the area would have looked very beautiful in better weather - there were loads of ducks and swans (Mandarins and Mutes), and some of them were even managing to skate on the thin ice!  Additionally there was a very pleasant pathway that circumnavigated the ponds, but that had become very muddy, and by now the rain was pouring so once we'd reached our target we very quickly found ourselves about turning and heading home.

On the 7th the weather was marginally better - at least it wasn't raining, but the murk and mist were well embedded!  However, one of the things that we had come this way to see was The Seven Estuary, and as it was too far to walk, out came our 🚲 and off we peddled.

And Boy oh Boy were we glad of our bit of battery power - the quiet little roads led us up hill and down dale and I'm sure we would have had to push at least some of the way if all we'd had to rely on were our gears!  Eventually, after about 6 miles we came to the settlement of Lydney and then to Lydney harbour which is situated right on the Estuary.

Lydney Harbour

Unfortunately most of the view was obliterated by the fog, and as the tide was out all we could really see was an expanse of sand banks, but we did pause for coffee and we did learn about the tidal surges that occur here.  The River Seven has the second highest tidal range in the world and this combined with the narrowing channel create the tidal phenomenon known as The Seven Bore - apparently the largest Bores occur 1 to 3 days following a  full moon!  But as the moon is presently only a🌙 there would probably be little to see even if we had waited which we didn't because it was a bit to cold to sit about!

Tomorrow we're going to move on to a small site near Tenby, a place that will be home for the next week, and from where we plan to undertake a bit more removal of the excesses of Christmas - well that's the plan but with lots of cake and other goodies that I've found hiding in our cupboards it might not turn out to be the reality!

I'll let you know how we get on next time, but it's 👋👋👋 from us for now.
Take care 😘

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