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30th July 2014
We have made it back home safely and are a little jet lagged to say the least. We have had the most marvellous trip and look forward to doing it all again next year.

Last Days in England

Mon :  21^st July, 2014.  This morning we drove through the lovely Exmoor National Park to lovely North Devon, travelling through Dunster and along the narrow, winding and often bumpy A396, more suited to small cars and motorbikes than motorhomes, and ignoring our GPS “Kenny’s” constant pleas to turn right onto even narrower roads in order to shorten the journey by a few yards!

We stopped at Tiverton for a lunch break and a viewing of the Great Western Canal

before continuing on to Little Torrington, where we had planned to stay tonight and to cycle the Tarka Trail, or part thereof but the campsite wasn’t terribly inviting and so we moved on, through Bideford, Westward Ho and on to Bude, on the North Cornwall coast where we will stay tonight.

Tues : 22^nd July, 2014.  We travelled south along the A39 from Bude to Wadebridge today, then on to the skinny B3314 to Rock which proved to be a slight mistake as hundreds of others had the same idea, i.e. to catch the passenger ferry across to Padstow but parking was a huge problem.  We became stuck in a queue of cars trying to get into the car park until a gap in the queue presented us with the opportunity to turn around and on the way out of Rock we visited Sharp’s Brewery (brewers of Doombar, Mike’s very favourite English beer) where a couple of souvenir purchases were made.

On the way we spotted the town of "Pityme" Where do they get the names of these towns from?

The next stop was at Lanhydrock Park near Bodmin, Cornwall’s most complete Victorian country home, set in an estate covering 900 acres including gorgeous gardens and is one of the most impressive homes we’ve had the pleasure to visit.

On the way to Lanhydrock we were directed by GPS “Kenny” down a narrow, hedge lined lane, pulled over to allow a couple of oncoming vehicles to pass, one of which being a metallic, soft top mini, driven by a youngish woman who was heard to remark “You have to move over”, whereupon I was compelled to explain to her, in words of one syllable, that we were already as far over as we could possibly be without actually being IN the hedge and that there was a big enough gap between Boris and her mini to ride a bike through, before she realised that her precious car was in no danger of being scratched or damaged in any way and drove off!

We are now in a caravan/camping field on a farm, also near Bodmin, with beautiful views all around and very peaceful.

Wed : 23^rd July, 2014.  On the way to Exeter today, we detoured into Launceston but unfortunately, weren’t able to find a parking space for Boris so that we could visit the castle, so had to move on.   Our intention on reaching Exeter was to go for a ride along the cycle path by the River Exe, but we had difficulty at first in finding the car park and when we eventually did, it was full…no room for Boris, so after a quick trip to the supermarket, we continued on to Salcombe  Regis for what was to be our last night with Boris, in the caravan park where we spent our first night out back in April.

Feeling slightly jaded, we opted to spend the remainder of the day relaxing in the shade and later in the evening, watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on TV.

Thurs : 24^th July, 2014.  Last time we were here (at Salcombe Regis) we walked down the big hill into Sidmouth and caught a bus back but today we were able to catch the free shuttle bus (which runs from the caravan park during the season) down and back and enjoyed a couple of hours wandering around this lovely seaside town. 

Our next stop was at nearby Seaton,

another seaside town where we enjoyed a walk along the seafront in the sunshine. 

Several people were in swimming in the calm, blue water which looked very inviting…we didn’t go in but bought pasties from a nearby bakery to eat while sitting on a bench overlooking the wide pebbled beach.  A very large seagull was sitting on a wall a little to my left, I took little notice of him until he swooped and knocked my pasty out of my hand, hitting my shoulder with some force and scattering the pasty all over the bench…I was not happy!

From Seaton we drove through lovely countryside back into Somerset and onto the M5 for a short distance to Highbridge, where a visit to the caravan accessories shop yielded a new tap for the kitchen sink as the old one was leaking and beyond repair.

A little job for Mike for tomorrow!

Mon : 28^th July, 2014.  Today is D for Departure Day.  The last few days have been spent cleaning, packing and preparing Boris for his hibernation, with a visit to the Village Flower Show on Saturday and after leaving Boris at his winter home on Sunday morning,

a barbecue lunch prepared by Marion, cooked by Mike and attended by Sally and Steve, a lovely and enjoyable afternoon in the English sunshine with our English friends.

Shortly, we’ll be on our way to Heathrow for the flight home.  As always, it is sad to be going, but WE’LL BE BACK! 

Back into England

Wed : 9^th July, 2014.  Although the weather wasn’t brilliant, with grey skies, drizzly and windy, the channel crossing this morning was relatively smooth and we arrived safe and sound in Dover at 12.15pm. 

It then took three hours to travel from Dover to Hertford, on the M20, M25 and through the Dartford Tunnel, a slow trip, barely moving at times but eventually arriving at our destination for a happy reunion with our son Paul, who will travel with us for a few days.  The three of us trained into London to meet and eat with friends of Paul’s who are on holiday from Sydney, spent a couple of hours catching up with them before returning to Hertford, collecting Boris and heading for the nearby campsite where we are spending tonight…totally exhausted after a long couple of days.

Mon: 14^th July, 2014.  Since meeting Paul last Wednesday, we have roamed the countryside in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, with visits to cousin Emily and her family, Uffington Castle, White Horse & Dragon Hill,

Cambridge on a very warm Saturday, not the best day to visit as the city was packed with tourists and thousands of students freed from their studies,

on to a lovely little country pub for an excellent Sunday roast and countless lovely little villages and towns along the way.  

Fri :  18^th July, 2014.  After enjoying nearly a week with Paul, we parted company on Tuesday to continue our separate journeys.  We then spent two nights at a campsite in Maidenhead, on Wednesday cycling on the towpath alongside the River Thames to Windsor

and as we arrived mid morning before the crowds appeared, it was much easier and more enjoyable to stroll around than on our previous visit.  It was also a good deal easier to park the bikes than to find a place for Boris, which was a struggle last year.  A leisurely 6 mile ride back to camp and a lazy afternoon completed the day. 

We left Maidenhead late yesterday morning for the drive to Donnington Castle

near Newbury, a striking, twin towered, 14^th century gatehouse, the focus of a Civil War siege and battle which survives amid impressive earthworks, ate lunch in the carpark and continued on to Yeovilton, passing Stonehenge on the way.

We stayed last night at a small campsite near the Fleet Air Arm Museum which we visited today, spending quite a few hours there, in awe of the excellence of the exhibits, including the Concorde. Highly recommended.

Leaving Yeovilton, we drove about 19 miles to a campsite in Bawdrip, our overnight stop and have just demolished a superb roast lamb dinner cooked in the Remoska, accompanied by a bottle of red bought in Cahors, France…it has just begun to rain and it’s time for lights out and bed.

Sun :  20^th July, 2014.  Yesterday we spent a lovely day at Marion's belated birthday celebration with her family.  She had gone to a lot of trouble to provide lunch for us all and Mike had borrowed a gazebo for shelter in case the predicted rain arrived.  Fortunately, apart from a brief drizzle, it was a beautiful afternoon and the gazebo was used to shelter from the sun, not the rain though in the early evening there was a very heavy rainfall which resulted in some localised flooding. 

There was no evidence of it today as we four enjoyed a fab lunch at the Green Olive Restaurant in Bridgwater, followed by a stroll through town and a couple of hours watching the British Open golf on TV followed by the Grand Prix.  A lovely, relaxing day.

Last Days on the Continent

Mon : 7^th July, 2014.  A lovely, bright, clear morning and we rode through the lovely little town of Han sur Lesse which, apart from a couple of busloads of schoolchildren on their way to the nearby caves, was very quiet…two cafes open but that was it.

From there we travelled through Belgium, stopping briefly at Mauscron before our overnight stop in Hondschoote, in France and close to the border. 

A walk into town after dinner and then it was heads down for a good night’s sleep.

Tues : 8^th July, 2014.  From Hondschoote to Dunkirk which we found to be very big, very busy and warranted a quick escape…on to Gravelines Camperstop where we  will spend our last night in Europe on this trip.  We rode the bikes to the nearby harbour and beach,

to the old town for a wander and a beer in the Queen Mary Pub in the square

and back to the harbour for a farewell dinner.  The café/restaurant meals were way too expensive (we told them they were dreaming!) so we bought hamburgers and chips from the kebab shop and sat on a bench on the harbourside to eat them. The young woman serving in the shop was so helpful, friendly and funny, she was the happy recipient of a clip-on koala.  These little fellows have proved to be popular goodwill ambassadors!

Tomorrow we board thr ferry to dear old England. 

The Moselle

Sun : 6^th July, 2014.  Where has this last week gone, I ask myself?  Mostly along the lovely Moselle River in Germany, I answer…but first, back to Saarburg:-

on Sat. 28^th June, where after a night of rain the day looked promising so we embarked on a bike ride along the Saar River.  It was an easy ride, or would have been but for the drizzle which began shortly after we left camp and accompanied us for the duration!  We stopped along the way to don rain jackets and continued on, reaching the lovely town of Kanzem only slightly wet through and after shaking off as much moisture as we could, ventured into a hotel/café for a warming snack lunch.  The rain had eased a little by the time we were ready to leave but became heavier as we rode so we were wet again when we returned to Boris and the rest of the day was spent indoors, staying dry!

Leaving Saarburg on Sun. 29^th June, we drove to Trier on the Moselle, weren’t impressed with the motorhome site there so carried on up the river to Schweich and booked in to the camp site there, a lovely spot overlooking the river.

A couple of hours after we arrived, we were joined by Shirley and Les from Luton, whom we met last year in Annecy, France. We have spent the week travelling with them along and on the river, by motorhome when we moved camp, and by bikes and ferries, staying a couple of nights in Schweich, two nights in Neumagen, just one night in Alf and two more in Ellenz. 

It’s been a wonderful week, cycling along the river and through rows and rows of grape vines, enjoying stops in lovely villages on the way, a cruise one day from Neumagen to Bernkastel and back, crossing the river by passenger ferries where there was no bridge and returning from one long, hot ride by ferry, meeting interesting people on the way including a northern NSW couple who’ve travelled through China, several Asian and eastern European countries and Scandinavia in the last seven years, Marcia and Kevin from the Nelson Bay area in NSW who have been on the road since last October, and an unexpected meeting with friends from the U.K. for Shirley and Les, and numerous people from various countries, all with a common interest.  Mike and Les revisited their inner youth with a toboggan ride at Riol,

 pronounced great fun by both, while we girls sampled the delicious ice cream,

 and we have eaten and drunk our way along just part of this beautiful river region. 

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and end it did this morning when we said auf wiedersehn to Shirley and Les, drove through Luxembourg which took less than an hour (picking up a tank of cheap fuel)and are now in Han sur Lesse in Belgium for an overnight stop en route to the west coast for the ferry trip to England later in the week.  It rained heavily not long after we arrived so we will delay our wander into the town until the morning.