Ann and Roger travel: May 2018

Thursday 24th May 2018

It rained overnight and was drizzling when we got up this morning. We returned to our house in Devon. The lawn has grown an impressive crop of Daisies while we were away.

Ann has been out with the watering can as she was concerned about the effect the recent hot dry weather might have had on her plants.

She has already replenished the bird feeders. Our Rhododendrons are in full flower - we seldom see these flowers as we are usually away at this time of year.

We've more or less unloaded the van now so that's about it for the time being.

Today we travelled 104 miles (167 kilometres).

Our journey lasted 20 days and we covered a total of 1082 miles (1742 kilometres).

Wednesday 23rd May 2018

Today after taking on diesel in Lydney we moved a short distance west along the Severn Estuary and parked for a while under the old suspension bridge near Chepstow.

We watched some jet skiers launch their craft and drive them around in the estuary.

Later we crossed over the suspension bridge and stopped for the day at The Plough Inn at Pilning just north of Bristol.

It seems like quite a popular place and is of course a Britstop.

We lazed away the afternoon and later on had a meal in the pub which was very nice and very reasonably priced.

Today we travelled 27 miles (43 kilometres). We are at N51.55820 W2.62511

The Plough Inn Street View

Tuesday 22nd May 2018

Today we travelled south down the Wye Valley on small roads stopping to take in this view from high above the river.

We stopped briefly at Ross on Wye to take on LPG and then travelled south into the Forest of Dean. After touring around the Forest for a while we stopped for the day at Lydney Harbour on the banks of the Severn Estuary.

The Estuary is extremely tidal having one of the largest variations between high and low tide anywhere in the world.

Our parking place is next to locks allowing boats access from the river into the estuary.

There are views across the estuary to Berkeley Nuclear Power Station which stopped producing electricity (and Plutonium for nuclear bombs) in 1989. Nobody knows what to do with these former bomb factories - I imagine all they can do is keep an eye on them for 1000 years or so and hope they eventually become less radioactive enough not to have to worry about!

Nearby are some recently erected "menhirs".

There is a small yacht harbour behind the locks separating the river from the estuary.

When we got back from our walk around the harbour we found a 1960s Lotus Elan parked next to our van. This has always been my dream car since I was a young person. I never owned one because I am too tall to fit in comfortably and could not have afforded one.

In a short while the couple who own the Elan returned. We chatted to them for a long while. He has cancer which has spread to his bones and he has not too long to live he reckons. He and I both have the same boyhood hero - the great Jim Clark - who must have driven a car just like this when he was off (and on) duty.

Today we travelled 47 miles (76 kilometres). We are at N51.71031 W2.50865

Lydney Harbour

Monday 21st May 2018

Today, on Annette and Andy's recommendation, we visited National Trust Dudmaston near Bridgnorth.

There are really beautiful gardens.

There is a fine old house which contains the former co-owner's excellent modern art collection. He was in the diplomatic service and was British Ambassador to Spain during the Franco Regime. He collected the work of many Spanish Artists who were opposed to the Franco dictatorship and even put on an exhibition of their work in Madrid while he was ambassador there!

There is a large lake in the grounds.

We walked around the lake - here's a view to the house from the other side.

We saw some very large fungi growing on the trunk of a tree on the far side of the lake.

In the parkland on the far side of the lake there was a stunningly beautiful display of hawthorn blossom.

From Dudmaston we travelled south to the City of Hereford where we bought a few groceries. We stopped for the day at The Moon Inn at Mordiford just a few miles to the east of Hereford. Here's the view of the pub from our parking place.

This is Britstop number three. We had a nice meal in the Moon. After we returned to our van there was a heavy thundery shower - not surprising as it has been very hot and close all day.

Today we travelled 83 miles (134 kilometres). We are at N52.03302 W2.62597

Mordiford Street view

Sunday 20th May 2018

This morning we moved on from Llanfyllin to Shrewsbury to visit our friends Annette and Andy. The three of us (Annette Andy and I) used to work together at Birmingham Social Services Department many years ago.

We had a very nice lunch with them in their garden. Great to see you both again and may thanks for your excellent hospitality.

After we left their house we wandered around the Wenlock Edge area looking for a nice overnight parking place. As we didn't find one we moved slightly back north to the Red Lion pub in Wellington - our second ever Britstop. However Ann then realised that she had left her bag at Andy and Annette's so we phoned them to check that they were still there as they were planning to go to the Peak District in their Campervan today. Luckily they were still there so we returned to pick up the bag.

There seems to be a lot of Hawthorn Blossom this year. You may know the old saying "Nay'r cast a clout till May is out". For those not familiar with the vernacular this means don't take off any of your winter clothing until such time as the Hawthorn is in bloom. The weather is really nice and hot now so we've been casting a few clouts.

We returned to the Red Lion.

It's a bit of a strange place.

We wanted to show some gratitude for their hospitality and to contribute to the local economy of Wellington so we bought a pint of beer, a half pint of shandy and two packets of crisps which came to £7.45. When you think you can buy four cans of beer in Lidl for £2 it is little wonder that pubs are closing down at an alarming rate.

Today we travelled 85 miles (137 kilometres). We are at N52.69262 W2.52542

Wellington Street view

Saturday 19th May 2018

It was a beautiful morning in the Conwy Valley.

We came south up the Conwy Valley to Betws y Coed where we surreptitiously filled up our freshwater tank at the Swallow Falls Hotel Campsite. At Capel Curig we briefly headed west and parked to admire the impressive peaks of the Snowdon Horseshoe.

We turned around and came south east through Bala and the Tanat Valley to Llanfyllin where we stopped for the day in the very nice municipal car park where we have stopped overnight at least twice before. There is now an excellent childrens' bicycle course next to the car park.

There is a picnic area here and walks through the wetlands by the river. As our TV's satellite dish is faulty at present we went to the pub across the road to watch the FA Cup Final. Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0. Jose appeared to be as unimpressed as were we!

Today we travelled 71 miles (114 kilometres). We are at N52.76770 W3.27362

Llanfyllin Street view

Friday 18th May 2018

Today we went into Llangefni to do a supermarket shop and then crossed over to the mainland and parked at the seafront in Llanfairfechan - pictured here.

Here's a view looking east along the seafront.

There is a large nature reserve next to the parking area.

I saw some swans.

There were also some ducks.

Unfortunately the authorities at Llanfairfechan do not allow overnight parking in their car park so we moved on to The Groes Inn in the Conwy Valley where we stopped for the day. This is our first ever Britstop