Ruby Wedding Anniversary in Brighton - 18th Oct ‘20

Alright let me get it out the way right up front ... I am the luckiest man in the world to be married for 40 years to the most wonderful wife and mother in the world. 

18th October 1980 was a bit grey and cold as I remember it - not so 18th October 2020. We woke to a lovely sunny morning- up to 16 degrees, the warmest it’s been all week.

We started off the day reading all the good wishes from our wonderful family. Thom made a video that got us all starting the day with sizeable lumps in our throats and water in our eyes. And here it is ... https://youtu.be/p072bOXWFcI

Ok the plan was to surprise Kim and for us to “bump into” Thom, Bobby, Rach and Holly in Brighton. It didn’t quite work that way! Kim got suspicious when Bobby sent a Whats App message very early on in the morning. She challenged me directly and even after 40 years of practice, I can’t look her in the eyes and lie to the woman! As it happens, Gog blurted it out when we rang her on the way into Brighton anyway so we were destined for it NOT to be a surprise. It would have been even more wonderful if Laura, George and boys could have been there but this blasted COVID “rule of 6” ensured that wasn’t going to happen!

We arrived at Brighton sea front at about 2pm. The boys had already met up earlier and were waiting for us at the pier. We had a beer at one of the many beach side cafes. It was so warm and sunny we had to strip off our Autumn layers. Thankfully there were no seagull incidents this time!

Bobby/ Holly had booked lunch at The Walrus pub on Ship Street. It was fantastic. We all had nut roasts that really couldn’t have been any better.

We then walked to the end of the pier to try and walk Off some of the food excesses! After that we bought a coffee and drank it on the beach right next to the pier. Rather ungraciously Holly won the pebble throwing competition!

Then it was back to their Travelodge for a round of gin and tonics and a game of cards - luckily there was a gift shop open right by the hotel. Holly is not a card player so it was nice for Rach not to be the novice for once. By the time we left them and Brighton it was past 8. 

Back at Brunnehilda by 9 - still stuffed from The Walrus there seemed nothing better to do than climb into Brunnehilda’s welcoming big bed!

Only one thing I forgot to mention - Kim fell over in Brighton. I didn’t see it happen but she went down on all 4s. Nothing broken / damaged thankfully but if ever you’re walking by Jury’s Hotel on Brighton sea front, look out for the dent in the pavement. I mean the one she fell over not the one she left!!! 😉

Off home tomorrow, so here are the scores on the doors for Norman’s Bay Caravan Park:

Pros:

1) In theory a great position - just over the road from the beach

2) Good value considering the facilities were all open

3) Friendly wardens and all very laid back when it comes to the “rules and regulations”

Cons:

1) No where nice to walk to. The beach was too pebbly to walk far on

2) Rubbish showers. One temperature and the ones you need to keep pressing to stay on

3) Although free, the WiFi was rubbish and the 4G was a bit patchy at times

4) Very noisy. The noisiest one yet. Between the trains, the tractors moving pebbles on the beach and our fellow caravaners yappy dogs, it was far from peaceful

5) A little bit crowded in. I guess it would have been worse at the height of the summer?

6) And this one is Kim’s ... some of our neighbours were a bit “scratty”!!?

Battle Day - 17th Oct ‘20

No omelette this morning but apart from that the usual leisurely Brunnehilda morning. We booked a 1pm slot at Battle Abbey today. So another history day - yippee.

It was less than 10 miles away so even including the normal 15 minute fight with the car park credit card reader we arrived in plenty of time.

Battle Abbey and Battleground were quite busy. The problem with retirement is that you genuinely do forget what day it is. It’s only when I realised it was Saturday that the busyness made sense. Also, as it’s Saturday, very exciting to find out later who the Cobblers will lose to today!

No sun today but a bit milder so the walk around the site was pleasant. We got more than half way round when Kim noticed  a QR code on the map that opened a really good App on the phone that gave lots of information on audio.

After viewing the battle site we climbed up to the ruins of the Abbey and sat in the ruins of the Chapter House and caught up with all the info. The account, perhaps understandably was slightly pro Harold and anti William. We wondered if the French language version had the bias on the other foot?

The Abbey is virtually all gone now - another victim of Henry and the Reformation. No tears from me on that score- never been much of a fan of the historical antics of the  Roman Catholic Church! The old Abbots house still remains as a very impressive private prep school. Obviously this bit was closed to the public!

It was all very atmospheric as we took on board the enormity of the history that took place under our feet 954 years ago. As it turned out it was the anniversary earlier in the week - 14th October! 

We had a very pleasant lunch in the onsite cafe. The veggie nachos were a hit and Kim enjoyed her tuna baked potato. A quick run up the keep tower to take some pictures and then we turned our back on the most influential site in English history and headed into the wee town of Battle.

It didn’t take us long to walk up and down the small, but quant, High Street. Culminating in a bit of book reading in the town square opposite the entrance to the Abbey grounds.

This put me in a bit of a contemplative mood and wondered why this sort of impressive set up couldn’t be replicated for the second most important battle site in English history- Naseby? The nearest we get to celebrating 1645 is to build a motorway right through the middle of it - don’t get me started?!

We went home via a garden centre (we wanted a Pampas as they are everywhere here ... no luck) and Sainsbury’s in Eastbourne to get some provisions and tea for tonight.

Another quiet night in. This time no backgammon and This Is Us. 5 episodes of Schitts Creek on Netflix instead! The WiFi here is rubbish and all this streaming has used up all my 4G data - I’ve used 27 megs in 3 days!!! Oh and yes the Cobblers did lose again - Plymouth away this week.

40th wedding anniversary tomorrow - gee, it only seems like yesterday!?!

Batemans & Another Lazy Day - 16th Oct ‘20

The Brunnehilda morning drill is well established by now- lots of nothing followed by a bloody big cheese and mushroom omelette! I did manage to squeeze a shower in this morning though so that’s good eh?

Up and at em slightly earlier today. We had a 1.30 to 2pm booking at Batemans. A Natural Trust property about 20 miles inland.

It reminded me a little of Canons Ashby. A bit younger (1634) but that same peaceful tranquil family home that, unlike so many grander houses, remains pretty much as it was when it was built 400 years ago. Unfortunately only the ground floor (and only 4 or 5 rooms at that) were open to the public.

It was the home of Rudyard Kipling for the last 30 years of his life and proved an interesting look round. The formal gardens were nice for a stroll around too.

I read up on Mr Kipling after our visit and, like so many of these historical figures he had some less than desirable views. In Rudyards case he was very anti Irish and some what racist in his views. With a lovely Irish daughter in law I’m a bit more sensitive to this nonsense now.

We headed home via Rye. We decided not to stop but just get on home to Brunnehilda. When back at Norman’s Bay I had a brief walk on the beach just outside our campsite. The tide was completely out and that totally changed the look and feel of the place. What was all pebbles on Wednesday was now a vast expanse of sand. Weirdest thing was, there were a number of anglers all set up and waiting for the tide to come back in. I reckon it would be at least a couple of hours to wait just sitting there in the cold and growing darkness - nothing as strange as folk eh?

Another quiet evening which was differentiated from the others by the fact Kim slaughtered me at backgammon. Something that hopefully was a one off and won’t be repeated.

Another Relaxing Day (in Eastbourne) - 15th Oct ‘20

I have a great deal of empathy with my 3 regular blog readers ... a blog should be informative, interesting and exciting. I have just realised that this one is lacking in information, interest and excitement! I apologise for this oversight but the problem I have is that our trips with Brunnehilda just don’t lend themselves to an action packed blog!!

Take today as an example ... If I say we spent most of the morning in Brunnehilda’s big German bed reading, drinking and listening to the radio it would be accurate (ish). I actually didn’t haul my lazy bum out of the bed until 2 minutes past midday! And that was to drag myself onto the chair to have a fabulously tasty cheese and mushroom omelette for breakfast brunch lunch!

We did consider spending the day in Brunnehilda doing absolutely nothing but then the sun came out and we rightly suddenly felt very guilty about our sloth like behaviour.

We travelled the short distance back into Eastbourne and were parking up just outside the (closed) pier at just gone 2pm. We had a very pleasant stroll along the front in the Autumn sunshine until ...

We stopped for a coffee and cake at a beachside cafe. I stupidly put my Portuguese Tart (a cake not a Lisbon prostitute!) on the table and within a milli-second a very large seagull had whipped it away and he and his mates were ripping it to shreds on the floor. I gave one of them a whack with my hand - I gotta say they are surprisingly solid beasts (all those cakes they eat I expect?) Kim then had a very stressful 10 minutes eating her pain aux raison underneath her coat. Funny thing was, the pan aux raison was horrible. I’m not sure what the Portuguese tart was like - you’d need to ask the bloody seagull! Who said this blog wasn’t exciting?

Picture taken seconds before the vicious attack!

We walked through the town centre on the way back to the car. It reminded us of Llandudno but then I guess all fairly well kept Victorian seaside resorts are similar?

It was only 4.30 and the sun was still shining so we thought we’d find a “long way” home. We headed up to Beachy Head - wow, what a place! I was surprised, given all the suicide stories that the Cliff edges weren’t fenced off at all. The views were very impressive.

We then drove onto Seaford and Lewes.  Seaford is a very pleasant quiet little seaside resort. We didn’t see a lot to do apart from the huge stretch of pebbled beach stretching onto the more industrialised port of Newhaven. Lewes is a gorgeous old place. Lots of interesting old buildings and narrow lanes. We ended up in the County Hall car park which is when we realised it must be the county town of East Sussex! Who said this blog wasn’t informative?

Back home to end the day like we started it - lazily! Dinner, episodes of This Is Us on Amazon Prime, cup of tea, reading and blogging.  Gee, it’s a tough life?! So tomorrow is another day ... we go again!

Walking in Pevensey & A Drive Along the Coast- 14th Oct ‘20

A rather lazy day. As usual with us when touring in Brunnehilda, we don’t really see much of the day until after noon!

We left the campsite at 12.30 after a morning of drinking tea and reading in bed and a rather splendid breakfast. The site is ok. It’s not one of the best we’ve stayed at but the toilets / showers are clean and the wardens seem friendly. There seems to be about 70% motor homes and 30% vans. Which means that we are dragging down the average age!! Motorhomers tend to be that bit older than caravaners - and that bit more grumpy as well!

We walked 1.5 miles along the beach into Pevensey Bay. It wasn’t an easy walk as it was pebbles with no obvious path.  There is a mixture of houses backing onto the beach - some really nice ones but others crying out for some love and attention.

We had a couple of rest stops on the beach walk. One particular nice one where we stretched out on the pebbles and read our books in the sun.

When we arrived at Pevensey Bay it was all rather underwhelming. A few cafes, a few takeaways and a few hairdressers! Everywhere looked a little scruffy and run down. We found a bakery / cafe called The Ocean View. Which was odd because it didn’t have one. The menu was very “traditional” and I have to say, when the food arrived it was all very average.

We didn’t fancy the walk back along the beach so we came back along the coast road. This is where the nice houses on the beach back onto. Here again it was all just a little rundown and feeling a bit neglected. The interesting thing was that there were many properties crying out for development but were left in a poor state. A bit ironic me saying that when I think of all the “development” jobs that need doing at The Old Manse!

As soon as we got back to the van we headed out for a ride - Bexhill, Hastings, Battle and then back to Bexhill. We’ll definitely be back to see more of Battle. Bexhill was quite nice and the sea front area seemed pleasant. The complete opposite of Hastings - not a place we plan to revisit!

We ended up parked up by the beach on the outskirts of Bexhill and watched a lovely sunset as we read or books from the warmth and comfort of the Volvo’s front seats.

Kim checked Trip Advisor and found Malayalam in Eastbourne to be a clear favourite. And boy it didn’t disappoint. It was Kerelan, South Indian cuisine which is a particular favourite. The Dosa is a speciality and the one they served up for us to share as a starter was a belter! We got talking to the lady owner and it turns out they used to work at the lovely South Indian restaurant we used to go to in Leicester. They move down to Eastbourne and opened up in the Summer. This gastronomic treat more than made up for the Ocean View Cafe’s lunchtime mediocrity!

Home to Brunnehilda for more This is Us on Amazon Prime and a cup of tea. Kim didn’t quite make it through 2 episodes although to be fair, this was a late night for us in the van - about 11pm.

Travel to Pevensey Bay - 13th Oct ‘20

After 6 weeks of inactivity Brunnehilda’s on the road again. We picked her up from her Devon sabbatical at the weekend. We took her to her new Northamptonshire home - Welton Fields Farm - for a couple of nights and then it was time to go travelling again.

This time it’s a short 6 day trip to East Sussex - staying away for18th October and our 40th (yep, you read right!!) wedding anniversary. We had planned to go to New England but Covid  put paid to that. Then we booked a big house on the Southwold sea front for 13 of the family but the infamous “rule of 6” kicked that in to the long grass. So we were left with the 3 of us (I’m including Brunnehilda in the maths) in Pevensey Bay for a few days!

We left Welton Fields Farm at about 11.30. Ian, the farmer who owns it is a real friendly and lovely bloke but it clearly isn’t up to Whilton Marina standards. Plenty of weeds and pot holes on the site and not all the high security features of Whilton - which I guess is why the insurance has gone up £85 a year?! That said, we are very happy to have found such a lovely spot for Brunnehilda to rest her head when not travelling. 

We stopped at Cobham services on the M25. Not as good as Gloucester Services, which is in a league of its own, but it was very good. There was plenty of room for caravans and Kim and I had a smashing meal from Leon. A year ago I would have given a jack about jack fruit chilli and would have laughed at sweet corn ribs but now... we’ll it’s all right.

We arrived in the drizzle at Norman Bay Caravan site at Pevensey Bay at about 4 pm. The very friendly staff booked us in and showed us to a range of pitches we could select from. No jingoistic comments about the desired position of our “foreign van’s” front door - which was nice!

We were set up very quickly. I even managed to back Brunnehilda onto the pitch - although it did take a few trys and a great deal of huffing and puffing!

The continued drizzle put us off doing anything too energetic - so we headed for a drive around Eastbourne and then onto a big Asda to stock up. A quiet evening in with our Asda based tea and a couple of episodes of This Is Us - although it took a long time to get the Apple TV and airplay working correctly. A lot more of that huffing and puffing that the caravan reversing elicited earlier in the afternoon!

Eastbourne is bigger than we thought! No idea what we will get up to tomorrow- the weather is due to be slightly better so ... bring it on!

Combe Martin and Lynton - 2nd Sept ‘20

Normal August weather resumed today - grey and cool all day with regular drizzle highlights in the afternoon and evening. It didn’t stop us having a nice day though!

It started, as all our nice days do, with a splendid breakfast. The croissants from the site shop really are lovely. You need to remember to order them the night before but they are certainly worth that bit of extra effort. Of course they would have been even better eaten outside enjoying the wonderful sea view but hey, it’s August!?

After a bit of debate we decided to set off for Combe Martin - one of the places we hadn’t yet visited in the local area. We went via Ilfracombe and the coast road so we had a very pleasant 1/2 hour drive to our destination. We parked at a small car park overlooking the bay / harbour. They call it a harbour but there is a distinct lack of boats - one to be precise!

Combe Martin is one of those seaside places that changes totally dependent on the tide. The sea was virtually at low tide so there was acres of sand, shells, rock pools, caves and walkways to explore. At high tide it would have been totally different - just as pretty but probably not as interesting.

Before we started exploring we went to the Harbour Deli to stock up for a picnic lunch. And it was rather splendid. We shared a nice tuna salad and a very eatable flapjack. The flapjack was particularly pleasing ... I’m a bit of a fan but about 95% of bought flapjacks are inedible, like a slap of sawdust. This was perfect- chewy and moist!

The constant drizzle necessitated the finding of a cave. The one we found had a lovely view across the bay so we could eat our lunch as we watched the tide begin to come back in. Indeed if we had still been sitting there about 4 hours later it may well have been a little scary as it would have been very easy to get trapped.

The English summer weather means that caves are at a premium so, eventually we were forced to share. And when one of the said sharers lighted up a fag we knew it was time to go. A lovely 45 mins while it lasted though.

It was about 2.30 do we decided that the drizzle would be manageable if we went to Lynton for a poke around. When we were there earlier with the boys we had noted some interesting shops but when you have Twinnies in tow you tend to avoid closed spaces with nice things!

Ok, so it wasn’t Oxford Street but there was enough of interest to browse to keep us going for an hour so. Of course, being us, we had worked up a thirst / appetite so we found an open coffee shop called Laceys - a number were closed - for a  cuppa.

We decided to go home a different way - a good decision. We followed the coast route back through The Valley Of Rocks and Hedden Valley. It took some time but it was stunning - even in the drizzle! That said, we collectively didn’t fully appreciate the views- I had one eye on the road, which was narrow and scary for most (the road not my eye!) and Kim had 2 eyes on my 1 eye that wasn’t on the road!

Home via The Depot for an early tea. It was busy but very enjoyable. Kim had pizza (well to be fair about 1/4 of pizza) I had Veggie Nachos. By now it was raining properly!

As soon as we pulled up to Brunnehilda I realised I had left my bag in the coffee shop. Nothing really to morn except my glasses! We watched a Tom Hanks film - A Beautiful Day in The Neighbourhood. Feedback from the one word critic was “slow”. I would add “harmless”. I’ll give it a 6.5 out of 10.

It feels weird going to bed tonight ... we leave Brunnehilda on her own in the morning. She is due to be put into storage on the farm here for a month - it feels like leaving the dogs in the kennels but worse as she hasn’t got company! And, for the first time since we’ve had her (I think?), we are leaving her with no plans to use her as we currently have no Autumn bookings made. We definitely need to get this sorted and keep Travelling with Brunnehilda!

Back to Woolacombe (3rd time!) - 1st Sept ‘ 20

We left it at the height of Storm Francis but we returned to Damage Barton, for the 3rd time this summer, under blue skies and 18 degrees sunshine. 

Kim and I stayed overnight at a Premier inn at Exeter. We popped into Darts Farm (we knew from last year) for breakfast and then drove the 70 miles up to Woolacombe. The breakfast was Ok but nothing special - although my strange choice of Eggs Royale probably didn’t help. I’m sorry but Smoked salmon really doesn’t go with Hollandaise sauce!

We arrived at Damage Barton at about 12.30. It was lovely to see them all. We caught up sitting in Isabella before heading out to Barricane Beach. They had done a good spring clean on Brunnehilda removing all evidence of a week of Twinnie / Charlie abuse! There were a couple of little “breakages” appeared over the week but, to be fair, both were borderline warranty issues. The usb connector has become dislodged and can’t now be accessed and the front window blind is split so is hard to keep down.

The sea was really rough so the planned kayak launch didn’t happen. The whole beach visit didn’t happen at one stage ... I managed to lose my keys when parking up! We knew they were somewhere in the car as it would still start! 30 mins later we found them on the roof!! Needless to say I received lots of helpful feedback from my wife and daughter on how I might avoid repeating my faux pas!!

We spent a lovely couple of hours on the beach - clambering over rocks, paddling in rock pools and, of course, taking the opportunity for a swim. Although it was so rough, we couldn’t get out very far.

We wandered up to Woolacombe for an ice cream, a wee shop and a quick blast on the mini racing cars, before Laura, George and boys said goodbye and started the long journey home.

Kim and I headed to the sunny upstairs balcony of The Captain’s Table. The view was splendid as we caught the last rays of the afternoon sun. The food was ok although we did manage to over order on the chips!!

Back to Damage Barton via a petrol film up. During which we bumped into an old Volvo colleague! Small world eh?

It seemed to take ages to strip the inside and then take down Isabella. By the time we had finished it was pitch black! For some reason (I guess old age might be the best guess!?) we were both very tired so after reading and snacking it was time for bed!

Storm Francis - 25th August ‘20

 What a night. Storm Francis woke us up at 2 and it wasn’t until gone 5.30 that we were tired enough to get back off to sleep.

It turned out most folks had took down their awnings but because, being a “Foreign” van we had the awning on the “wrong” side, Brunnehilda protected her from the strong westerly winds.

I am pleased to say that although Isabella made some funny noises and shapes, she stayed put. The storm strap was rattling which needed fixing in the morning and the strap also came off at one stage but apart from that it was just the slight anxiety to contend with that any stage Isabella might be heading out to sea - with or without us and Brunnehilda!

The rain stopped in the morning but the wind isn’t due to reduce from its 60mph maximum until 7 am on Wednesday. I think our Whitby experience in February was over 80 mph but of course Isabella was not attached that time!

During the morning, Kim got the van sorted and I prepared the inside of the awning - carpet / furniture etc.

Laura, George and boys arrived at about 3pm. The Twinnies are very excited, thankfully Storm Francis was not a concern for them. After unpacking they went off to Ilfracombe for a few hours. It would have been lovely to have joined them but we didn’t feel right leaving the site given the situation.

I had a chance to show George “the Brunnehilda ropes” and we hit the road at 8.45pm. Arriving back in Long Buckby at 1am. It was a much easier and faster journey without our German friend on the back.

Laura reported back on Wednesday morning that the wind had now dropped and they survived the night. George even reported having the best nights sleep he’s had for ages!? Apparently, they’re going kite flying this morning!

After we go down in a week to take down Isabella, then that’s the last of us in Brunnehilda for a while - nothing booked up at the time of writing. She and Isabella have once again survived the worst that the horrible British weather can throw at them. I think it’s only snow we haven’t encountered yet but I’m sure we will soon?

South to North Devon & More Weather Related Stress - 24th August ‘20

Normally we have glorious weather for our moving days - this one wasn’t. A bit of sun but mostly grey and cold. By the time we got to North Devon we were faced with very low cloud and drizzle.

The journey, especially at the North Devon end was extremely busy. It should have taken us 1 3/4 hours but ending up taking over 2 1/2. So we arrived at about 2pm to the Damage Barton Club site at Woolacombe. Our 2nd visit this summer and 3rd overall - we like it.

The purpose of today’s visit is to set up Brunnehilda and Isabella for Laura, George and the boys to have a weeks holiday in her.

So, having arrived in plenty of time to get set up, it then all started going a bit astray. Firstly, when we arrived there was a big sign up advising against putting up awnings! We had just survived Storm Ellen on the south coast and now we had Storm Francis on its way in. It’ll be Storm Gobsh*** next week no doubt! What bloody weather. Problem is , we didn’t have any choice - no awning, no holiday for Laura et al!

The second problem was the almighty mess I made of levelling her. The pitch was heavily sloped from back to front so I needed to get the jockey wheel as low down as possible to enable her to be wound up to maximum height. Im not sure how I did it but in messing around, the jockey wheel came apart and went so low I could neither raise her or lower her - I was stuck. I grabbed one of the wardens, a very helpful chap called Phil and with the help of a very powerful drill (to raise the front stays) and huge dollopings of experience and common sense - he got us sorted!

Then straight onto the Isabella erection. You could almost feel the Storm brewing in the air so we had no time to waste. As it happened she went up fairly easily - not much over an hour. We also put on a storm strap - we got it last summer when we where on this same bloody hillside in the wind, but hadn’t yet used it.

It was quite ironic though, as we were putting our awning up, the bloke opposite us was taking his down in preparation of the brewing storm?!

Into Woolacombe then for a bite to eat. We went to our favourite- The Red Barn. The service is excellent, the food good and fantastic value - especially as it’s a Monday and another chance to eat out to help out!

Back to Brunnehilda and to bed. The rain is lashing down outside now. Although, according to the forecast, the worst of the wind won’t hit until tomorrow evening! So it’ll be Laura and George not us lying awake cursing the British summer weather tomorrow night!

Smallcombe Farm CL:

Pros:

1) Very friendly and pleasant owner

2) Nice views across Dartmoor

3) Handy placed between Salcombe, Dartmouth and Totnes

4) Good facilities - nice shower and ok toilets (unusual for a CL)

Cons:

1) All those Devon Lanes - with and without Brunnehilda

2) Noisy - could hear the A38 over the fields 

3) No where easily to walk from the site

4) Poor 4G.