Gloucs & Worcs (June ‘19) - Day 7

Another moving day and another blazing hot day with cloudless skies. It’s just all the pooey weather in between!

The strip down went well. Isabella came off her rails without a hitch and Bobby and I got everything packed up and ready to go fairly effortlessly. We even had time for a shower and a very pleasant cafetière of Tewksbury coffee. On the road by midday and this time with some pre-planning! We dropped down to pick up the M5 so we could breakfast at Trensham Services https://www.roadchef.com/motorway-service-area-strensham - which by the way is fabulous for us caravaners!

We arrived at The Old Orchard, Ombersby (just north of Worcester) at about 1.30  https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/certificated-locations/england/worcestershire/worcester/the-old-orchard/https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/certificated-locations/england/worcestershire/worcester/the-old-orchard/. And what a site this is? Huge flat pitches with views to die for. No shower and toilet but hey personal hygiene is a small price to pay for a location like this. We met a really nice old couple from the Lake District who were in their 48th year of caravanning!! They couldn’t have been nicer though. Caravan couples do seem to like to talk but, to be fair, the ones we have come across so far have been extremely friendly and helpful.

I set up and, as Bobby had a strong 4G signal, he did his work from the van. I took Tilly for a walk around the farmers fields- a real treat for us both. The views across to the Malverns were great and the weather / temperature was about perfect. We headed off to Worcester at about 4pm.

How have I got to being 60 (next week) without visiting Worcester? What a great place - lots of history and so pretty. We walked along the river, by the Cathedral and then down the main pedestrianised shopping street. We bought a coffee at Patt Val and drank it in the sun by the river watching the workers rushing home from work- gee, it’s a tough life!?

When we got back to Brunnehilda we both decided it was too nice an evening to mess about with Isabella - the awning would have to wait to the morning! I read and Bobby did some more work. We then had a 45 minute walk around the farmers crop fields. Building up quite an appetite in the evening sunshine.

We feasted on “posh” tinned soup - not this cheap Heinz stuff for us - while we watched the sun setting over the Malverns - a totally idyllic end to a good day.

When the sun went in and Bobby had finished his work we managed 4 games of backgammon and a round or 2 of cards. Modesty won’t allow me to tell you who won (convincingly!) the backgammon but let’s just say beginners luck clearly doesn’t last forever!!

Bobby has been a perfect travel companion - always tolerant, always positive and always fun - but I’m looking forward to Kim joining Brunnehilda, Isabella and I tomorrow.

Gloucs & Worcs (June ‘19) - Day 6

One of the great things I’ve noticed about being retired is that I don’t spend half my holiday thinking how far through my holiday I am! I’m more than half way through / I’m 3/4s the way through / This time next week it’ll be over. I didn’t realise I did this until I didn’t!

Any way .. onto the travel blog.
A dry, windy(ish) and cold day - considering the time of year!

Another lazy morning. By the time we had got up, got ready and had breakfast it was gone midday. Breakfast in Isabella - yesterday was so miserable we stayed in Brunnehilda to eat,  I suspect if we had just a little sun this morning it would have got us out altogether?!

We went to the over side of the Malverns today - the Welsh side. That was via B&Q for the regular purchase of bigger and longer screws for the badly designed dinette. It is such a shame, Brunnehilda is wonderful apart from this one silly little issue!

Bobby, Tilly and I had a great couple of hours up the hills. We climbed a couple of the peaks and enjoyed the Malvern spring water we had filled up with down below in the car park. The views were hampered by the low cloud but it didn’t spoil our enjoyment. I managed to fall over - I reached out to Bobby for a steadying hand but that didn’t stop my graceless full. Bobby says it was his slippery coat that made me lose my grip ... I think he moved himself out of the way?!

A stop at Waitrose on the way hone to stock up with the essentials - bread and beer!

Kim and the boys came over for the evening - it was great to see them all. They arrived at about 5.30. Another nice meal at the Robin Hood - the boys loved the play area in the garden. Needless to say, the weather meant we had the large garden and play area to ourselves! I would highly recommend the food and the value of this place. The staff are just a little on the glum side - certainly didn’t see many smiles - but hey, you can’t have everything.

We wrapped up as warm as we could for a walk on the Common. The boys and the dogs enjoyed the leg stretch. Back to Brunnehilda for drink, cake, ice cream and chocolate before they set off for home - about 9 pm. It was lovely to see them- Brunnehilda does seem small though with 3 adults, 3 children and 2 dogs going about their business!

Bobby has a bit of a cold coming on so we didn’t want too late a night. Although by the time we played a game of backgammon (he beat me again!) and watched another offering from the Coen Brothers collection, it was nearly midnight.

Big day tomorrow- another moving experience!

Gloucs & Worcs (June ‘19) - Day 5

I think that’s one of my new favourite sounds ... the sound of rain on the caravan / awning roof when you’re lying in bed and have no where particular to go!

OMG, did it rain ... from about 4 in the morning until midday it threw it down. Good news ... Isabella didn’t leak. First job this morning - after breakfast - was to peg her down internally. Then we wasted time until the rain stopped.

Bobby had a call to make at 2.30 so we headed out to find a coffee shop in Tewksbury. This particular venue was chosen as I wanted to browse the wonderful second hand map shop on the High Street. Cornell Maps https://www.cornellmaps.co.uk/ didn’t disappoint - if you ever need an old OS this is like Aladdin’s cave.

When Bob was taking care of business, Tilly and I had a stroll along the river / canal. She has been confined to the lead for 3 months and is relishing the chance to stretch her legs again. This included chasing after all the bird life - until I read the sign about that particular field bring some sort of world heritage site for rare bird breeds! Thankfully she is too slow / dumb to catch anything!

After walks / work we met up at Miss Muffet’s Deli https://missmuffetsdelicatessen.co.uk/ coffee shop. Lovely friendly staff and a vegetarian Scotch Egg that I couldn’t recommend highly enough. Who would have thought it ... a veggie option (based around a cheese and potato mix) that was far better than the original meat based version?!

Then onto Ledbury for an early evening stroll round the town. We went in a beautiful old church - to be fair it was the only thing open. St Michael’s http://www.ledburyparishchurch.org.uk/guide.html was so peaceful and tranquil - reminded me what I have always known, old church’s are wasted on the religious.

Before we tucked into our soup, beer and sourdough bread back in Brunnehilda , we did a 45 minute circular walk around the Castlemorton Common - just 2 mins drive from the campsite. It was as interesting and beautiful as it was damp and wild! Apparently there was a very famous rave there 35 year ago - it was hard to imagine 30,000 New Age travellers raving away at such a desolate place? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlemorton_Common_Festival

I taught Bobby backgammon and then he beat me on the first game - God, I’m a good teacher ... of course it might be that I’m rubbish at Backgammon!!? Another evening with the brothers Coen - this one was the Hudsucker Proxy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hudsucker_Proxy .Not as gripping as Blood Simple but certainly a funny / light view.

Just settling down in bed when .... crash! The dinette bed collapsed again- it really is a poor design. Even longer and thicker screws will he needed tomorrow.

The lousy weather and England being thrashed at cricket couldn’t spoil another nice day. Tilly’s day was going great as well, until right up to bed time ... she was sleeping under Bobby’s bed when it collapsed!!

Gloucs & Worcs (June ‘19) - Day 4

Moving day today. Bobby and I got an early start. A grey but dry morning - just right for the next round of our Isabella relationship.

And we did well .. by 11.30 we were driving off the pitch at Cirencester reflecting on a productive 3 hours of awning decommissioning, site pack up, caravan hitching up and personal grooming.

As the wise man said .., “Everyday is a school day!” 2 lessons learnt today:
1) Always plan your journey - we were starving (no breakfast!) but couldn’t find anywhere that obviously took caravans. Also the sat nav instructions to the next site took us through the middle of Tewksbury and 2 very scary hairpin turns.
2) The awning was hard to get off the van rails (and even harder to put on!) so next time, maybe try with the window panels out?

We got to the Foothill CL site at Castlemorton, Malvern  https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/certificated-locations/england/worcestershire/great-malvern/foothills/ at exactly 1 o’clock. The greyness burnt away and it turned into a very hot, sunny and humid afternoon. As we were starving by this time, after 30 mins taking on water, levelling and securing Brunnehilda, we went the 2 mins in the car to one of 2 very accessible pubs.

The Robin Hood  https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/category/Pub/The-Robin-Hood-Castlemorton-Malvern-1391018187834971/ was a great choice. Great food choice very reasonable priced and a big garden for Tilly to join us in the afternoon sunshine. Not sure if it was because we were so hungry but OMG it was a splendid lunch. We could have gone for even better value lunchtime offers but the smaller potions didn't seem so attractive at the time!

The weather and the pub lunch must have invigorated us because we decided on an afternoon romp up onto the Malvern Hills. Stupidly we neither had coins for a car park or water for the scorching hot afternoon - clearly missing Kim’s un-appreciated planning skills!! It was a stiff climb to the top but we were rewarded with the stunning views and a rather embarrassing inflated sense of achievement. Tilly was on the lead most of the time - which was handy going up but positively dangerous going down!

The visit to Morrison’s to stock up was a very weary one. A stop to take on fluids at MacDonalds helped. Then back to the site and what a great site Foothills is. The site is like a very big beautifully cared for lawn and Mr Lowe was as genuine and friendly bloke you are likely to meet! After a brief “rest” for me and some work on line for Bobby, we attempted Isabella election part 2!

It was a hard fought 2 hour 5 minute battle but I think we just about won! I must the say the slight slope back to front didn’t help us!

The busy (physically and mentally) day meant that the beer and beans on toast with Oxford sauce at 10pm was pure nectar. Just time to watch Blood Simple on the DVD while trying to stay awake - although that’s not fair to the Coen Brothers - it’s a very good film! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Simple

A splendid day .. a more restful one scheduled tomorrow- especially as the rain is due back!