Abi and I set off Friday evening and had a little stop in Faringdon. We walked up the hill to see the tower, we almost didn’t as we could see from the bottom that it was fully covered in scaffolding but we went anyway.
We were so glad we did. There are all sorts of fairy things at the base of the tower including….an actual working piano in a sort of fairy style shelter. Naturally we played a couple of tunes before exploring the fairy ring and the tree stump house, complete with resident doll.
Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire)
On Saturday we cycled around this strange but lovely city on our bikes. It’s odd not having an old High Street or town square, but we absolutely loved all the footpaths, cycleways and green space. We parked in Lodge Lake and were instantly impressed with all the wild flower meadow beds and we saw a grey heron within the first 10 minutes.
We found the massive shopping centre and were pleased to find free clean toilets.
Willen Lake, Milton Keynes
Later in the afternoon we moved the van over to Willen Lake and treated ourselves to a few hours paid parking whilst Abi enjoyed the splashpad.
Next came the first negative thing….a splashpad that you have to pay for!!? I’ve never known one charge, it was £6.50 for a mere 45 minutes. I’d already changed Abi into just her swimsuit & swimshoes before we left the van so I felt too mean to say no. It was also 26 degrees that day and it is a very good splashpad.
After she’d dried off and got changed back at the van, we had a walk around the lake before returning to the van for tea on the grass outside.
Later that evening we walked to Campbell Park and admired the view from the Light Pyramid. The views are great from up there. There was also an African Music festival taking place in the Amphitheatre.
Andy joined us later in Saturday and Sunday we explored more of the city on our bikes, stopping frequently at the many playgrounds.
Gullivers Land Theme Park Resort (Milton Keynes)
Sunday afternoon was really hot and we were parked next to the Log Flume at Gullivers Land Theme Park Resort.
Hearing the screams and the splashing water tempted us to visit. We paid half price entry as we entered so late but we were disappointed to learn that Gullivers Dinosaur & Farm Park (which touches the Theme Park) is in fact a separate park altogether and requires its own separate ticket. Still, we managed to fit in 6 rides and a few minutes playing in the ball pit, so it worked out about £2 a ride so not actually bad value. In hindsight we both wished we’d spent the £25 entrance fee on the Carnotaurus Dinosaur toy that Abi has wanted for ages, and then just poured some tap water over our heads to cool down.
Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire)
We decided to pop into Leighton Buzzard on our way home to see what was there. It’s a very pretty little town, but it doesn’t take long to wander around.
The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset holds an annual festival where they demonstrate all sorts of tanks in the main arena.
There is also plenty of stalls and free activities. Abi was shown how to use a snipers rifle and she was allowed to shot a hand gun. There was also a hand/eye reaction game where black foam bars fell from a ring in a random order. Andy did surprisingly well at this and put Abi & I to shame. He managed to catch 5 out of 8, I caught just 2 and Abi missed them all.
There was also a free climbing wall and numerous tanks that could be climbed on and sat in.
We watched a demonstration on how the army clean the main gun on a tank.
There were numerous displays on throughout the day in the main arena. Our favourite was Titan, the bridge laying tank that has an extremely effective smoke screen mode that they demonstrated on the crowd. The giant tank literally disappeared before our eyes.
We also explored some of the main Tank Museum but one day was not long enough to see everything.
Next year we might come for the entire weekend as it was so good.
Bournemouth (Dorset)
On Sunday we met up with Popsie and Uncle Kevin for a day at Bournemouth.
We walked to the end of the pier and wandered around the gardens and shops, before having a paddle in the sea.
There was a big cheer leading (or similar) competition going on which meant there were groups of girls practising in the park.
Shaftesbury (Dorset)
After a night’s wild camping just outside Bournemouth, we went our separate ways on Monday. Abi & Andy headed east to visit Nana Lynne & Uncle Andy, whilst I returned home via Shaftesbury to see Gold Hill (the location of the 1980’s Hovis tv ad).
Bradford-on-Avon (Wiltshire)
I then stopped for lunch in the beautifully quaint Bradford-on-Avon.
We went for a girls weekend to Chester, with Aunty Teresa & Nanny.
We drove up on Saturday morning and had a wander around the city.
We explored the historic streets and had a look inside the Cathedral. The annual Midsummers Watch Parade was on. It is one of the UKs oldest festivals.
We stayed at the South Chester Holiday Inn.
Chester Zoo (Cheshire)
We spent Sunday at Chester Zoo where we saw lots of animals, memorable ones include:
Baby aardvark
Red spitting cobra
White-lipped island pit viper
Black jaguar
Sumatran orangutang
We went on the boat trip around the zoo and sailed past lots of very tame families of coots and moorhens.
We set off on Friday evening and drove down to Exeter where we found a free overnight carpark right next to the River Exe. There was just time for a quick walk along the river before bed. We found a big weir and a family of swans.
On Saturday we explored the city. We found some medieval remains, some extremely old wobbly buildings and steep cobbled streets. We walked around the outside of the cathedral and around the some of the castle grounds.
Abi enjoyed playing in a big toy shop that had lots of lego including an area where you could sit and build for as long as you wanted.
Later in the afternoon we did a tour of the Exeter Underground Passages. They were built hundreds of years ago to bring water to the cathedral. The passages are very narrow and in some places we had to crawl on our hands and feet (this was an optional low path).
Dawlish
Leaving Exeter we did the short drive down to Dawlish where we found more free overnight parking. We choose to just stay for an hour and watched the big waves and spent some time in the arcades before continuing our coastal drive.
Teignmouth
We found a nice level spot on the seafront which is free between 6pm and 9am.
We went into the pier and had a quick go on the arcades, sadly the outside of the pier was shut, by the looks of it for renovation. We had a little wander around the town but being a Sunday most things were shut.
Babbacombe (Cliff Railway)
We continued along the coast to Babbacombe where we decidedly to walk down to Oddicombe Beach and along the seafront to the next village. Here we stopped for Abi to have an icecream at a beachside cafe whilst we watched lots of divers before walking back along the coast and taking the Babbacombe Cliff Railway back up to the main road.
Torquay (Dinosaur World)
After lunch we headed to Torquay where we spent an hour or so at Torquays Dinosaur World. This is a small indoor attraction which is very educational and allows kids to sit on many of the exhibits.
We had a wander around the rest of Torquay and walked over the Marina Lift Bridge, through Princess Gardens and under the big wheel.
We then left Devon and crossed the county into Cornwall where we found a free parkup in Truro.
Truro
We stayed in Malpas Road and woke up to a sunny morning so we played in the park and walked around Malpas Pond.
It was here that we had a real treat, not only did Abi get to stroke a Muscovy Duck but we also hand fed some Rooks.
After stocking up on food at the supermarket, we drove down to Lizard where we spent the next 4 nights at the Parkdean Holiday Park there.
Lizard Point
We took a drive down to Lizard Point, the UK’s most southerly point.
We walked down to the old lifeboat house on the beach and also saw the light house.
Penzance
On Wednesday after a morning swim we set off to visit Penzance. We found The Navy Inn which was run by my best friend’s dad back in the early 90’s.
St Michaels Mount
We timed our visit to St Michael’s Mount so the tide was out at but sadly I didn’t realise they lock the island after 4pm so we didn’t get to explore properly.
Cornish Seal Sanctuary
This place is worth a visit, your standard ticket is valid for an entire year so you can return as often as you like and your money helps rescue and rehabilitate local wildlife.
They have several resident seals, which can’t released back to the wild. There is a Puffin enclosure which houses about 6 puffins.
There are underwater viewing areas for both the puffins and seals and they are definitely both worth watching.
We learnt that seals spend alot of time either just floating or swimming upside down. The staff explained that this was because their eyes are on the top of their head, so being upside down allows them to look for food.
The puffins literally fly underwater and their speed and manoeuvrability beneath the waves is just as impressive as any bird I’ve seen flying in the skies above.
There is also a playground, cafe and several farm animals to visit.
St Ives
We spent a morning exploring St Ives. It’s a very pretty village with pedestrianised cobbled streets filled with independent shops. The seaside is stunning, glorious yellow sand and some fishing boats dotted around.
There are plenty of arcades and ice cream shops to tempt you.
Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm
After meeting up with our friends the Anstys who were also holidaying nearby we visited the Cornish Cyder Farm and enjoyed the free tastings.
The kids liked climbing on the old tractors and visiting the farm animals, including a baby goat and lots of free range, very friendly piglets.
Bodmin
We spent Friday night in Bodmin and had a wander around d the town on Saturday morning. We visited the Bodmin Museum which is free and full of interesting history.
Plymouth
After leaving Bodmin, we drove over the Tamar Bridge and met up with Andy in Plymouth.
We visited the seafront, crossed the swing bridge on Pilgrim Way, paddled in the sea beside the lido, walked around Smeatons Tower and had dinner in a cafe by the marina.
That night we found a parkup in Mount Batten. We parked our vans for free in the Jennycliff Car Park and cycled down the hill to the foot passenger ferry which took us and our bikes across the water to Plymouth.
We had a few hours exploring the high street and shops before catching the ferry back and pushing our bikes slowly back up the hill to Jennycliff Cafe where we had a meal with a view before parting ways once more. Andy was heading home and Abi & I drove up to Bideford in North Devon.
Bideford
Bideford is a small town on the River Torridge. There’s a beautiful old bridge and some boats. There’s cobbled streets and plenty of shops and restaurants.
Lynton & Lynmouth (Valley of Rocks & Cliff Railway)
We had a quick stop and a wander around the shops in Barnstaple before heading north to Lynton and Lynmouth.
We parked up by Valley of Rocks and walked back to Lynton which took about 10 minutes.
We had a look in the candle shop where you can watch the candles being made.
Next we rode the Cliff Railway down to Lynmouth. The tide was a long way out so we played on the beach and found a big rock pool with lots of fish trapped in it. After a play in the park we went to find out what the big fountains of water were. It was the Glen Lyn Gorge, sadly we didn’t have time to explore but we may return another time.
We rode the Cliff Railway back up to Lynton and did a hike around the Rock Valley.
At the Valley of Rocks we were treated to amazing views and lots of wild goats.
We set of to Shrewsbury on Friday ready for 3 nights at the Vanlife Festival.
The festival did not disappoint, there was an incredible range of display vehicles from car campers, to RV’s, lorries, ex military trucks, vintage caravans, double decker buses, and fully kitted out overlanders.
I enjoyed talks by The Gap Decaders, Florry the Lorry and 7 in a Bus.
Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World Hoo-Rassic Park:
We left the showground on Monday morning and visited the Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World. This place is free for Blue Peter Badge holders like Abi.
There is a Dino Trail through the woods with lots of animated dinosaurs of all sizes.
We started our long weekend with a visit to Gnoll Park. Abi enjoyed the playground and the ‘Tree of Many Faces’. We saw the water cascade and had a little walk around the woods.
Trago (Merthyr Tydfil)
On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Trago Mills and bought some dinosaur bits in the shop.
Parc Bryn Bach (Blaenau Gwent)
Our next stop was just up the road at Parc Bryn Bach. This was a great find, ample free level parking with no height barriers, free toilets and very reasonable priced ice creams. Here we did some cycling, enjoyed an ice cream and fed the many ducks and geese.
When the water temperature is high enough you are allowed to swim in the lake, see their website for rules.
Parc Cwm Darran
Sultan the Pit Pony (Caerphilly)
Our next stop of Parc Penallta to see Sultan the Pit Pony. It is a huge man made mound in the shape of a galloping horse. The only way to truly see it is from the air so we sent up the drone.
Give yourself a bonus point if you can find us in the drone shot (hint: look for our shadows).
Caerphilly
We left our van in the Leisure Centre car park and cycled to Morgan Jones park to visit the splashpad. Our route took us past Caerphilly Castle but we didn’t go in.
Afterwards we enjoyed a swim and some showers at the Leisure Centre. Later that night we drove down to Cardiff and met up with Andy and his van.
Cardiff
We started the day with a natural spectacle, just around the corner from where we parked hundreds of Winter Moth caterpillars had emerged and were ‘ballooning’ down from the Siberian Elm tree. This is how the caterpillar spread to new trees.
We started cycling the Taff Trail, but Abi fell off her bike in Bute Park and grazed her knee. After a quick trip back to the van for first aid supplies we continued on until we reached Blackweir where we had a splash in the water. By then everyone was hungry so we cycled back to the centre and had a late breakfast in Wetherspoons. We spent most of the afternoon at the splashpad in Victoria Park.
The next day we found out that it had been the hottest day ever on record for Cardiff at 32.5 degrees.
Teresa & Johns
We spent our last night camping at Aunty Teresa’s house where we enjoyed a swim in their pond.
Kayaking at Llandysul Paddlers
It was members session on the lake so we called stopped on the way home so Abi could have a paddle with her friends.
Abi & I spent 2 weeks touring Belgium and the Netherlands in Rockstar, our campervan.
We set of Friday morning and visited family in Hampshire.
On Saturday, we visited Petersfield Lake where we started our holiday with an ice cream and a bag of duck food.
From there, we drove to Hythe ready to cross to France on The Channel Tunnel the next morning.
Our route took us past Chertsey, where we knew Popsie & Elaine were staying in their camper. Seeing as it was Popsies bithday we called in for a little while.
On Sunday we were up early and in France by 10:30am.
Bruge(West Flanders):
We drove straight to our campsite, Camping Memling, just outside Bruge. Once we had checked in and set up Rockstar, we cycled into Bruge.
On Sunday, we played in the forest park next to the campsite, before cycling back into Bruge for pizza and Abi also had a go in a climbing/boldering place that we stumbled across.
Middelburg (Zeeland):
After this we drove over the border into the Netherlands. We drove through the longest vehicle tunnel (6.6km) in the Netherlands and spent the evening exploring Middelburg. It was Kings Day, so the city was decorated in orange and extremely busy with lots of live music. Half the people seemed to be wearing something orange and most had the Netherlands flag painted on their cheeks.
Kinderdijk (South Holland):
On Tuesday morning we visited the UNESCO Heritage Site of Kinderdijk, home to 19 traditional windmills.
Visiting in late April meant there were hundreds, possibly even thousands of coots, mallards, swans and greylag geese all with babies of varying ages.
Tuesday afternoon we drove an hour north to Camping Op Hoop which was to be our home for the next three nights. It’s a lovely site with chickens and ducks wandering amongst the motorhomes. It is also surrounded on three sides by tulip fields but sadly they had already been harvested for this season.
On the plus side, we did get good opportunities to watch the hares that were running around in the bare tulip fields.
Keukenhof Gardens (South Holland):
Wednesday was my birthday so we had a lazy morning before cycling the 9.6km to Keukenhof Gardens in the afternoon.
Cycling was a good call as we passed a few remaining tulip fields which were still in full flower.
You must prebook tickets to Keukenhof and stick to your timeslot. Someone recommended to arrive after 3pm as the gardens are open until 7pm and most of the coach loads of people leave by 4pm. This was a good tip.
The gardens were absolutely stunning and definitely worth the trip.
The Corpus Experience (South Holland):
The Corpus Experience is a journey through the human body. Each person is issued a personal audio pack which explains the functions of different parts of the body. The guided tour included several 4D movies with moving chairs for a more real experience. At the end of the tour you can leisurely explore lots of exhibits, and do some games.
We decided to give our bums a rest from the saddle today and tried out the local buses instead.
Friday morning we packed up and left the campsite and headed for a Renault dealer as Rockstar appears to have an intermittent problem starting. After securing the part we think we might need, we headed north and found all the people at…
Zaanse Schans Windmills(North Holland):
It was packed which made for a suboptimal experience. Today was mid 20’s and the weather clearly brought out the crowds. The queues for the cheese factory and clog factory were too long for us so we opted for a quick walk around the windmills, which you can do for free. Abi had lots of fun jumping over the shadows from the windmill sails.
We did pay a small fee to go in the Jonge Schapp Windmill which is a working mill that produces wood.
After watching a short video about the reconstruction of the windmill we went to see it in action sawing whole tree trunks into planks of wood.
The highlight of the visit was all the wildlife. We were treated to a family of grebes, feeding their chicks just a few meters from us, totally oblivious to the crowds. Then to top of the treat we watched the two babies climb onto mums back before she swam off under the bridge we were watching from.
Next we had a short drive to…
Volendam(North Holland):
A quaint town situated on the sea. We were becoming a bit disheartened with it, as there is only actually one really nice bit and it took us ages to find it. Head for the marina and turn left, then you will find the narrow couple of streets and tourist shops. It is very pretty but I wouldn’t particularly recommend it.
We enjoyed a free parkup at Simone Hoeve cheese & clog factory. Abi played in the playground and tried unsuccessfully to catch a white rabbit.
Saturday morning began with a free tour of the factory, which included a free cheese tasting. They had flavoured edam & gouda, from the local towns. Abi’s favourite was the smoked one, I like the pesto one and the chilli one.
From here, we drove to my cousin Roni’s in the city of Leeuwarden. Our route took us over the country’s longest dyke and past a massive off shore wind farm.
Leeuwarden (Friesland):
We arrived at Roni’s in time for pancakes, as requested by Abi. After lunch, he and his girlfriend Dimi and his eldest son Declan gave is a tour of Leeuwarden.
One of the many things Leeuwarden is known for is it’s Oldehove, an unfinished church that sadly led to the suicide of it’s architect. The project was started in 1529 and it’s tower was intended to be the tallest tower in the Netherlands. As the tower grew taller it started to lean. At the height of just 39m the project was abandoned after the builders were unable to correct the lean. Today, visisted are allowed to climb the 183 steps of the tower to a viewing platform at the top, but sadly the day we visited the tower was closed off and surrounded by scaffolding. The top of the tower is an incredible 2m off centre meaning this tower has a greater lean that the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Natuur Museum Frysland:
Sunday morning we visited the Nature Museum which was fantastic.
Dinoland, Zwolle (Overijssel):
On Monday we visited Dinoland in Zwolle. I can say the Dutch know how to do theme parks. Firstly the prices are good and they include everything. The Dinoland entrance was 16.95 Euros and includes the dino show, rock climbing, crazy golf, painting a ceramic dinosaur to keep, making a clay model to keep. The refreshments are also cheap, small ice creams or lollies were 1 euro and pizzas were 6.95 euros. A striking contrast to the Wellington Country Park in the UK which we visited at the end of our trip
Giethoorn pronounced Heithorn(Overijssel):
Tuesday morning we cycled around Giethoorn, known as Venice of the north (although a lot of othe rplaces also claim this nickname).
We took a 1hr guided tour on a canal boat and learnt about how the village came to be 700 years ago when they started digging peat.
Giethoorn is famous for a small part of the village where there are no roads or cars. It does however have 176 pedestrian bridges as most houses are on an island.
Abi had lots of fun trying to stroke the ducks. She was unsuccessful, just like in Keukenhof Gardens.
We felt a bit sorry for a workman who somehow got stuck on his way home from work. The mini digger on his boat was just a couple of inches too tall to fit under one of the bridges. We’ve no idea how the story ended, he was on his phone to his boss when we left.
Molecaten Park (Flevoland):
One our drive south to Flevoland we had to stop at a tulip field for a few quick photos.
We spent a night at the Molecaten Park in Flevostrand where Abi made friends with a dutch girl called Carlijn, we ended up spending the day at the campsite and joined our new friends for pizza that evening.
Utrecht:
Thursday morning we explored Utrecht on our bikes. It’s a beautiful city with some stunning architecture
Cycling in the Netherlands is so popular that we even found a dedicated bike lift by the railway station.
Museum Speelklok(Utrecht):
We visited the Museum Speelklok (Music Museum). There were lots of hands on things to try and listen too. The museum specialises in self playing instruments and there is a strong theme of music and machinery working together throughout the museum.
Beekse Bergen Safari Park & Speelland (North Brabant):
Later in the afternoon we drove down to Beekse Bergen Safari Park as we had two nights booked at the Lake Resort.We enjoyed the use of the pool, softplay and spent Friday in Speelland which is included as part of your campsite fee. Abi made friends with a 4yr old boy called Louie.
It’s that time of year when the cockchafers (maybugs) appear and there were loads all around the campsite. There were also huge numbers of geewith goslings of varying
Saturday morning we cycled across to the Safari Resort where we saw the lions being fed. We also saw giraffes, camels, rhinos and zebras.
Baarle-Nassau / Baarle-Hertog(North Brabant):
After leaving the safari park there was just one more place I wanted to visit. A small village famous for its ludicrously complex borders (see the white lines on the map photo). The Netherlands town is called Baarle-Nassau and the Belgium town is called Baarle-Hertog.
We found the famous table in the cafe where you can sit in two different countries.
We found a free park up on a disused airfield about an hour from Le Shuttle for Saturday night. We parked right at the end of the runway.
Wellington Country Park (Hampshire, UK):
After returning to the UK via Le Shuttle we spent our last night returning to the Wellington Country Park campsite. It’s a great value place to camp at. We paid £33 for an overnight pitch for 2 people including electricity and entrance to the park on both days of our stay as well as after hours access to the park. A standard day entry costs £25.95 per person….go figure?? Once you are in the park, there is additional charges for pretty much everything making it, in my view, a very poor value day out. The campsite is of a very high standard except for zero signal on the O2 network and no wifi. Even at the main reception where you can connect to the free wifi the signal is so weak I couldn’t even access email.
Abi enjoyed the jumping pillows, the minature railway (additional cost), the dinosaur trail, the fairy woods, walking around the pond and of course trying to stroke and feed as many families of geese as possible.
After seeing The Utterly Revolting Science Show at Ffwrnes Theatre we took a walk along the coastal path at Llanelli.
We stopped to read to see the original goal posts from Stradey Park stadium, which was once the home of the Llanelli rugby club, before being demolished for a housing estate. The new home of rugby in Llanelli is Parc-Y-Scarlets stadium.
We also stopped and played on the Gorsedd Circles. They were erected in 2000 to commemorate the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
Today we crossed the Merthyr Tydfil county off our Wales list as we visited three separate attractions here.
Our day started with a trip on the Brecon Mountain Railway. “The route winds past Pontsticill, runs alongside the full length of the Taf Fechan Reservoir and climbs towards Torpantau, one of the highest railway summits in Britain”.
Cefn Coed Viaduct
Our second stop was a walk over the disused Cefn Coed Viaduct
Built in 1866
It consists of 15 arches, each one 39 feet 6 inches wide
Is 770 ft. long
Has a maximum height of 115 ft.
Cyfarthfa Castle & Museum
Our final stop, which was visible from the viaduct, was Cyfarthfa Castle & Musuem. There is a lovely lake with plenty of tame swans and geese etc, a big parkland area for the dogs or children to let off steam and a sizeable playground with splashpad which is open in the summer months.
The carparks are free and also come with free decent toilets, my impression of Merthyr Tydfil has risen significantly after today.
