Category: camping

The green, green grass of home

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My next stop was to revisit some of the places that I used to go as a child. I grew up in the south west of England, in a town called Cheltenham, famous for its Regency architecture, (think Bridgerton sets), and for holding the Gold Cup horse race. Like most children, I didn’t really appreciate the place very much, I never really felt as if I fitted in very well, moving to Yorkshire definitely felt more ‘me’.

However the area is very beautiful, and as the Cotswolds kept coming up on my Instagram feed, I decided to spend my camping time there, before coming back to Spain. I was very lucky with the weather, the week was mostly very sunny, so much so that I got sunburnt, and I was able to visit some stunning places. The Cotswolds have a lot of natural beauty, quintessentially English with rolling hills and lots of farmland.

However, the area is also famous for the beautiful houses built of the local stone, which is a gorgeous honey colour. There are so many cute villages here, it was hard to chose where to visit. The Trust has so many properties in the area, and I tried to see as many as I could in the week.

My first stop was Hidcote, famous for its garden more than the house.

Lawrence Johnston, who created it in the early 1900s, was a passionate gardener and plant collector, who travelled widely to collect specimens. There are only a few rooms open in the house, but it looks like a gorgeous place to sit and plan your travels, aided by your map of the world, complete with the Empire in red!

It was such a brilliant day to visit, the garden looked stunning, and I just loved all the delicate rhododendrons and lilacs everywhere.

Even though I love living in Spain, one of the things I do miss are the seasonal plants you get in England. We have the most wonderful cactuses, and bougainvillea year round, but there is something very special about spring plants that only have a short life.

Like many gardens, Hidcote has a series of different areas, with gorgeous walls, gates and architectural features.

I was especially lucky, as there was a stunning exhibition on by an embroidery artist, Olga Prinku, that was a complete surprise. I usually try to find a special textile treasure at each house I visit, and her work is just amazing. She embroiders on tulle, using found materials and dried flowers. I have never seen anything like this, so beautiful and original.

I especially love these ‘dandelion clocks’.

She had also done some work specifically inspired by the Hidcote garden, one of the box hedges.

I camped at Chipping Norton, just on the border between Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and the campsite was lovely as always, such nice clean facilities and welcoming staff. I love sitting watching new people arrive every day, and admiring all the different sorts of vans, and this visit I had some neighbours who had a very cute little pod caravan.

My second Trust visit was to the village of Bibury. The village is the location of a Trout Farm, and I remember visiting that, and paddling in the stream as a child. It was full of Japanese tourists, as apparently the Emperor of Japan visited once and loved it, so it has become very popular.

As well as there being many beautiful houses in the village, the Trust looks after a place called Arlington Row, a 17th century terrace of weavers’ cottages near the river, as well as Rack Isle, between the Arlington stream and the main river.

Again there were so many lovely spring flowers, ever the weeds are pretty here.

As it was quite hot, I spent more time at the campsite that week than travelling. I was quite happy after all my long days of driving through France to just sit and read my book and watch life on the camp.

There were a couple more visits later in the week, which I will tell you about in the next post, but it was a lovely relaxing time, and I am so glad I went back to the area. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a location that offers some of the very best of the southern English countryside. Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Home is where the needlework is

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I had chosen to break up the journey back from the shuttle to my sister’s in Worcester with a brief stay in Surrey, so had to pick from a number of lovely Trust houses in the area, as there are so many there. Its not an area I have ever visited before, but is definitely on my wish list to go back to, along with Sussex, and the rest of Kent that I didn’t have time to visit last autumn. It is just so beautiful in that part of the country, a very different beauty from my lovely Yorkshire, so green and wooded and just so pretty.

The first stop, on the way to my campsite was Polesden Lacy, which is in a stunning location with views across to the neighbouring hills.

I was also thrilled to see some rhododendron, my first for about three years. I used to love seeing them in the spring in Marsden, usually they have all gone when I get back in June. They are such beautiful flowers, and it was brilliant to see cowslips and blossom as well.

This beautiful house was used as a party house, not a home, and this is reflected in the way that the house was decorated. It had very much an art gallery feel, with some gorgeous paintings, and a very well constructed Tudor style corridor and plaster ceiling. The ballroom shows you the kind of opulence that the guests enjoyed.

However it was the little personal touches that I liked best. The writing desk with its set of dictionary and thesaurus, along with the sponge for wetting your stamps, and the seating diagram for dinner. Those give you a real sense of who was there, a sense of the place, which is what the Trust aim to do, rather than just be a collection of beautiful things.

I had one night at the Horsley Camping and Caravan Club site, this used to be a fishing lake for a large house, and was used as a recovery camp after the war, when the soldiers used the lake for swimming as well. I love the way that the Club preserve the history of their sites, many have links with WW2, and have been army camps or hospitals.

I was in a lovely little woodland camping area, and in the morning was able to watch two woodpeckers while I ate my breakfast. There were also lots of ducks and some baby geese had just hatched.

I have recently bought some new plates for my van, I had been looking for some nicer ones since last year, when my friend Sharon joined me in Mablethorpe in a rented van that had lovely plates. When in Yorkshire we found some similar ones and we split the set of four. I am very pleased how well they co-ordinate with the little rug in the van, and the National Trust rhubarb and rosemary scone that I got as a take out from Polesden Lacy was delicious!

The following day was a bit damp as well, so I only stopped at one house on the way to Worcester, but had a lovely drive through Oxfordshire, past Henley and along the River Thames. My chosen house for that day was the Tudor Greys Court, and it was such a contrast to Polesden.

Bought by the Brunner family because they loved the view, the house and outbuildings, along with a walled garden, were just full of personal touches, including some wonderful books in the library.

These aren’t the most beautiful of books but such a lovely eclectic set, with titles such as Nonconformity, The Making of the Earth, and Russian Literature, they look like a wonderful read!

The best thing about the house was the wonderful amount of needlepoint there, done by Lady Brunner. I especially loved the blue and pink rose design that she had clearly taken from the fabric used in the bedroom. There were so many lovely pieces, cushions, rugs and a hat pin pincushion in her bedroom.

It was a really gorgeous property, and also very much a home, full of little treasures such as the quilt made by a volunteer that was on one of the beds, and the cupboards still full of the housekeeping supplies they had used. Although I love visiting the grand stately homes, this one has to one of my favourites, not least because I know who made all of these wonderful things.

I spent the weekend after that at my sister’s, celebrating my great niece’s 2nd birthday, which was lovely. I have never seen a child so excited about candles on a cake! Then it was off for another adventure, and another new campsite, which I will tell you all about next time. Until then take care, have fun, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

Feats of engineering

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So after some lovely days of driving in France, with sunny weather and glorious views, I decided that I would modify my route and head for the coast sooner, to take advantage of the lovely sun. I was also a lot more confident at this point, so decided to use the motorways for the first time as well. I hadn’t been checking the weather forecast, so wasn’t really aware how bad things had been, and started driving only to hit what I think was the tail end of Storm Babet!

Suffice to say it was a bit of a challenging experience, as once I had got onto the motorway the weather got really bad, and visibility was very low. I just followed a lorry, as at least I could see that, and pushed on. I was feeling very proud of myself for coping with all of this, and the weather was starting to clear as we got nearer the coast, when out of the gloom arose this, pictures from Google.

I had checked the route on Google maps, but hadn’t realised that it was going to involve crossing France’s longest bridge, a wonderful feat of engineering at St Nazaire. I’m sure the views would have been stunning if I could have seen anything, I was just concentrating on hanging on to the wheel and getting Katy across as it was very windy! It is just as steep as it looks from that second photo.

Once safely across I headed to the new park up that I had found on the coast, only to find it completely deserted. As it was down a very small lane, and had a barrier, I decided to look for something else close by, and thanks to the lovely Park4Nite app found a free aire next to the Tourist Office at Bourgneuf-en-Retz.

It may not look like very much, but it had a toilet, and it was a lovely safe spot to spend the night. I was very relieved to get here, and had just made myself a cup of tea when a very kind French woman came over, and asked my if I wanted a hot drink and to sit in her van. She had seen me arrive, and as I was only in my little Katy, was concerned that I wouldn’t have anywhere to sit or a hot drink.

We had a little chat about the weather, and I assured her that I was fine, She too had been driving earlier that day, and had stopped as it was so bad. She then decided to carry on her journey, as the weather had started to clear up a bit, so left the aire after we had talked. It was so kind of her to check that I was ok, that is the thing I love most about travelling and van life, the kindness of strangers. It had not been the most fun of days, but I ended it very happy.

I was booked into a campsite at nearby Surgeres for the following two nights. I had planned a rest stop here as I had wanted to visit the area around La Rochelle for a long time. I have flown over this area many times and loved the look of the coastline.

Unfortunately there was still some bad weather the following day. I did get over to the Isle de Re, driving on this marvellous bridge, thankfully the views were brilliant as it was sunny at that point.

I spent a happy hour visiting the old ruined abbey there, and admiring the views across the bay.

As the weather was then getting worse I head for my campsite and actually did manage to pitch the tent before it got really wet! The campsite was lovely, with a mix of lodges and tents, as well as sheltered pitches with access to bbq areas and seating. The stay cost me £15 a night, and it was great to have access to showers and toilets, luxury.

I had chosen this campsite as it was next to the town castle and an amazing church. I was lucky the next day as the weather cleared up for a couple of hours so I went for a walk. The castle dominated the little town, it was originally built by the Duke of Aquitaine for defence, as you can see from the walls and the main gate. It was later more residential and was modified to include a very grand 17th century gateway. It is now the town hall.

The church was one of the most beautiful I have seen, again an amazing feat of engineering and craftmanship, especially given the era that it was built in. The stonework on the main façade was absolutely stunning.

Sadly it was closed, so I can only imagine how beautiful it was inside. Both church and castle date from the 12th century. As with much of this part of France it was briefly under English rule, as the lands were owned by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who married Henry 2nd of England.

The town was very pretty and I had a little wander around some of the lovely buildings before heading back through the park, where there was a poetry trail. I love this little hand door knocker, I saw many of these on my travels.

A really lovely couple of days, despite the less than auspicious start. Thankfully I didn’t encounter quite that much rain after that, though the experience did give me a lot of confidence in my driving. I am in the process of planning the route back through France for April, and my camping adventures this summer, and am so looking forward to travelling through France again, such a beautiful country.

In my next post I will share with you the last few gorgeous park ups in France. I had some really stunning places to stay and absolutely loved the travelling. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

So close I could almost touch it!

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My final campsite was just outside Folkestone, on the edge of the cliffs, with beautiful views of the white cliffs, not the really famous ones, just some smaller ones. It was a fantastic location, you could hear the waves from the campsite, and the views were stunning.

The access road was a little steep and narrow, but once I got used to it that was fine. I have no idea how people get their large motorhomes down places like this, so glad that Katy is tiny!

This is where I started to get really excited, especially when on a couple of days it was so clear that I could see France. I was watching the ferries go over every day, and counting down the days until I left.

Aside from the lovely castles I did visit quite a few other places in Kent and I really loved the beaches. From the previous Canterbury campsite I had driven to the coast near Whitstable as I had seen this beach Botany Bay, on Google Maps.

It was stunning, the erosion has left these amazing chalk pillars and they looked wonderful against the blue sky and sea. I had a brilliant afternoon at this beach, even having a little paddle as it was that warm.

I also went to the official site of the White Cliffs of Dover, another Trust property. There is an excellent café and interpretation centre, as well as three second hand bookshops! By that point I had emptied one of my footwell storage boxes in the van, so was able to bring back lots of books to Spain, so I bought 6 from their bookshops.

It was a lovely walk along the cliff path, to the particular section of the cliffs that are the iconic White Cliffs. The whole of this stretch of coastline is beautiful and I will return at some point to go further west as I know there are some other amazing places to visit. For now it was a little picnic, watching the ferries leave for France.

I had opted for the tunnel, as it was faster. The advantage of only having a little van is that it is cheap to take her on the tunnel. I was so excited about the whole thing and it was so simple, I actually got there in time for the previous shuttle so from arrival to being in France was about an hour. Here is me being very excited waiting to set off.

A bumpy 35 minute ride later and we were in France. I had opted for an aire just 30 minutes down the coast at Wissant, a little village that has been used often as a embarkation point for England.

Most of the aires that I used I found through the Park4Nite site and app so here is the link for this one if anyone is interested. I parked up, and went for a wander, and when I came back was talking to my neighbours, who had recognised Katy from one of the campervan groups I am in on Facebook!

This was a free aire with some services, and only a short walk to the village. I celebrated my arrival with a glass of wine next to the beach, and enjoyed watching the ferries from the other side. I could also see the White Cliffs from here, you can’t tell from the photo but they were very clear.

In terms of the driving I can honestly say that the change to driving on the right came really naturally. I think because I do spend a lot of time in Spain cycling, and navigating for family I am very used to it.

As many people told me, French and Spanish roads are brilliant to drive on, there is much less traffic, and I had some beautiful routes, especially in Normandy. I wish I had a dash cam to show you all of the beautiful places that I drove through, as there was some stunning scenery.

I will be back soon to show you the adventures of day two in France, it is still lovely and sunny here so I went for another cycle ride earlier, with views of my beloved mountains. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

Leominster, a history in stitches

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I spent most of last week at a beautiful campsite near Hereford.

I had chosen this site as there were a lot of things that I didn’t get to see last year in this area, and one of those was an embroidered history of the town of Leominster that I had seen mentioned in a tourist brochure last year.

The embroidery is housed in a community centre which in itself is well worth a visit. Grange Court dates from the 1600s and was once located in the centre of the town where it was the market hall.

It was sold in 1855, dismantled and moved to its current site near the Priory. It was a family home and is now used for many different community purposes, including a cafe and wedding venue.

The embroidery panels were done by a local group of stitchers and were made over 4 years by 15 stitchers in time for the Queen’s Jubilee in 2012.

They feature a wide variety of techniques such as crewel work trapunto and applique. Some are themed, such as the history of the Priory, or WW2, others summarise the events of one century.

There was some amazing work in the panels, I think my favourite were the early history ones that featured wool work and applique.

I also loved the trapunto ones, featuring stonework from the Priory and the woodwork details of the market.

A really wonderful labour of love from the embroiderers and a very special way of portraying the local history.

We had a lovely weekend at the Evesham event, it was raining on the Saturday but nice and sunny in Sunday and we had the miracle of a dry pack down.

It was also brilliant to see all of the talented people who make all their own clothes for events. Dave, in the black below, also does leatherwork. You can find him at Buffy Leatherwork on Facebook and Instagram. He had made things for film and TV including the recent movie about Richard 3rd, The Lost King.

These boxes above were made by my other friend, also called Dave. He also made and painted the bed in their tent. They are absolutely stunning, museum quality.

I will leave you with one of my favourite pictures, of me and Kerry in her tent. She is wearing one of her beautiful gowns, which is a wonderful red and gold in real life. I do love the sepia version of the picture though.

I am off to another festival this weekend, where Katy is in the show field, so I am very excited about that. I will then be in Lincolnshire for nearly two weeks so hopefully will have lots of long beach walks and even see some seals.

Until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Unexpected textiles treasures in Upton

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I have just come back from my second music festival of the summer. I went to the Upton Blues Festival last weekend. I then had a couple of nights at a campsite near Malvern before joining my sister, and some other friends from one of my Facebook campervan groups, at App Fest near Tewkesbury.

The Upton Festival is a free one which takes place all around the town, similar to the Jazz Festival in Marsden. You just pay for camping and the field accommodates 7,000 campers. Katy is in there somewhere!

Both festivals were really good and there was much dancing. We were also pretty lucky with the weather as the summer has been very mixed here. I have also made new friends and seen lots more lovely vans.

Upton on Severn is a beautiful little town on the river. I visited Stourport on Severn in March and this is not far away.

There are the lovely black and white timbered buildings that this area is famous for and lots of Georgian splendour as well. The area developed through river trade and was an important trade centre in those days.There are still barges on the river today.

As it was a bit damp on Saturday I went and visited the small Tudor House Museum and I am so glad I did. This is a treasure trove of a museum, run by volunteers and has a very mixed collection, all donated by local people. It thus reflects the history of the town, but also their particular interests.

The most fascinating for me was a large lace collection, donated by a local collector. Nothing is know of its provenance but there was a wealth of machine made Stefi lace. This is made by machining on a background fabric, which is then chemically dissolved, as you would with some types of embroidery.

Such beautiful collars here. I had not heard of this type of lace before but it was very popular in the late 1800s.

There was also a recreation of a local tailor’s shop, this was full of the tools of the trade from its heyday. I love to see this type of social history preserved and it is all the more special for being of local origin.

There were some very creative displays of buttons and Haberdashery.

A wonderful museum and well with visiting if you are ever in this area. The volunteers who run it are so lovely as well and there are lots of other shops in Upton worth a visit as well.

I am on the way to the Evesham Re-enactment event, but wanted to come to Hereford to see some more Trust properties and visit more of the cute Tudor villages in the area. The forecast is mixed for the rest of the week so it may be mainly indoor visits, however I am sure I will find some lovely things to show you.

I hope you are not suffering from excessive heat, or too much rain, or any other extreme weather. It has been useful for me to try life on Katy in worse weather, as much of last year was a heat wave or very nice and sunny.

I am pleased to report that things are still working well. I will have been on the road for a month at the weekend. I still love it, on rainy days I just sit under the new lap quilt and read. I seem to have magically acquired a lot of new books, no idea how that happened 😳 🤔

I will return next week as I am cat sitting at Jacky’s. I also need to give Katy a good clean as she has been in a lot of muddy fields and she is going to be in the show field at the next festival in two weeks time.

Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Dunster and the delights of Devon….featuring roads I will only ever drive on once!

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I do tend to base many of my holidays around National Trust properties, and although this was primarily booked for the coast and moorland, I have been making good use of my membership again.

A couple of days ago I went to Dunster Castle which has a lovely little village below it, and a very interesting history, having originally been a fortified castle from the time of William the Conqueror and survived the Civil War to now be a very impressive former family home.

There was not a huge amount of textile loveliness but I did find this wonderful quilt, made of silks and satins, probably Victorian looking at the fabric.

As well as the interior, featuring Elizabeth and plaster ceilings, Jacobean carved staircases and all the lovely things you would expect to find in a house in almost continuous occupation for 1000 years, there was an amazing garden and Riverside walk, ending at a working watermill.

I love hydrangeas, the colours and shapes are so amazing, and there were so many of them.in the castle gardens.

I have become slightly obsessed with English cottage gardens as well. All this time amongst the bougainvillea and cactus has made me really appreciate the very delicate flowers that were growing in this memorial garden in Dunster Village.

The garden was in the grounds of the old priory, next to the Tithe Barn and a fascinating dovecote dating from the 13th century that had space for 500 pigeons, all bred for eating.

Yesterday I drove across the border into Devon again, to visit the Valley of the Rocks. The coastal path runs along here and the views are amazing.

The rock formations look like ruins of castles themselves.

There are wild goats that live here, one family of which was perched on a ledge so high above the sea.

To get there I had to put on my big girl pants and drive up Porlock Hill, 25% slopes and so many sharp bends!!! I also happened to be following the coastal bus.

Katy and I did really well but I did opt for the route back across Exmoor with slightly flatter roads, stunning views and only the odd sheep and cow in the road. Since I started learning to drive in Marsden that is something I am very used to.

I only have one more day here before I go to my first festival. A few days of meeting other van people and hopefully chilling listening to blues in a sunny field.

I will be back soon with a new location, spending a couple of days in between festivals at a childhood day out location pretending I am 12 again. Until then good bye from my sunny campsite.

Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Clouds, coastlines and cottages

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I have now been in Somerset for nearly a week and am very much enjoying my time here. The weather has been variable, but that has meant lots of opportunity to watch the cloud formations over the sea and moorland so I don’t mind at all.

There have also been some fabulous rainbows across the bay.

I have had various posts from friends who are melting in Spain, so am enjoying my 17 degrees!

Minehead is a very cute little town and is the start of a coastal walk, of which there are many sections. I have only done a bit so far due to the rain, but have enjoyed the sea and pebble beach views, very different to my Spanish scenes.

The harbour at Minehead has some cottages with beautiful little gardens.

Somerset is full of quintessentially English thatched cottages and today I went to Selworthy, a National Trust village.

There are four gorgeous little cottages, grouped around the village green, with gardens with some of my favourite flowers in.

Two are a tea shop and gift shop and I think the others can be rented.

There were lovely views over the valley.

The church there was also very impressive, with stunning carved pews and a ceiling full of carved angels and bosses.

There was also another of the Mother’s Union Virgen Mary banners that I have seen in so many churches.

I would love to know if the patterns were centrally supplied for these, as I have seen so many that are similar on my travels.

I also went to Porlock Weir, for another set of cute cottages and pebble beach, and one of the smallest museums I have ever visited.

This was a packed room of all things sea related.

There was some great stuff, like this set of signalling flags from the 1800s.

I am trying out a new app that allows me to make collages which are faster to upload while on the road so I hope you like the layout.

I have another four days here so there will be yet more Somerset fun to share later in the week. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

England’s green and pleasant land

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Well I am off on my travels again, at the first campsite of many this summer, fingers crossed. I have had an excellent if a little damp time at the Tewkesbury Medival Festival, and was lucky enough to have a dry couple of hours yesterday to pitch up here in North Somerset.

I am just outside Minehead, on the edge of the Exmoor National Park, with excellent views over the bay.

The campsite is on a very large hill with lots of walks along the coast and views of the moorland so I am looking forward to lots more outdoor adventures.

The forecast is not brilliant but I have got a great vantage point for cloud watching and it doesn’t get to be so green here without a bit of rain!

The heather is still in bloom, along with gorse and I love the way that the raindrops get caught in the spider’s webs.

It is great to be back in such a different landscape, I love Spain but this is such an amazing area, with such different foliage.

There are woods with trees that seem to have eyes, whose roots cover the walls, and walls so old you can hardly see them for the moss on them.

I was very excited on my walk this morning as I came across some beautiful Exmoor wild ponies. We saw some on Dartmoor a couple of years ago and they are amazing.

My Mum bought me an excellent book for my birthday, written by someone who spent years walking the Cairngorms. It is a really detailed piece of nature writing and is a great read while I am camping.

I have also treated myself to this book above so will enjoy sitting in the reading nook, with the new lap quilt and chilling.

There are lots of rabbits on this campsite, as well as squirrels so am looking forward to some excellent relaxation

As well as blog posts I have also set up a separate Instagram for my travels, as that will be easier more regularly, especially when I don’t have much signal. If you would like to follow that it is @KatyKangoo

I am here for two weeks and have lots of museum and heritage visits planned, as well as more of the spectacular coastline, so I will see you again soon.

Take care, have fun, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

A wander around Wolverley

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The planned visits to Trust properties didn’t happen due to some heavy rain so instead I have been taking advantage of the time to organise the van and have a walk around the village.

This is what I love about being able to travel with no time restrictions, I can spend my life being able to not worry about seeing everything at once, and just enjoy where I am. I will be back in this area in the summer so will add the properties to my list for then.

Wolverley is a very cute little English village, and had a couple of unusual features that make is special.

The first is a local legend concerning the Lord of the Manor, Sir John Attwood, who went off to fight in the early 1200s in the Middle East. He was injured and captured, but was then allegedly mysteriously returned home by a swan.

The legend is commemorated by a carving near the river and the knight’s effigy can be found in the local church.

The Manor House is now a nursing home, but there are many other beautiful old houses, showing this has always been a place of importance. This one below was built in 1876 and reminds me of Lacock Abbey, another Trust house.

There are also some very cute cottages in the middle of the village, some made even more special by the matching garlands on the doors!

I love the idea of spring or Easter wreaths as well as Christmas ones, these tulips are so pretty. It was lovely to see all the trees in blossom along the river.

The village is dominated by a beautiful church which sits high on the red rock outcrop, with a winding path up to it.

As with all old churches there were some gorgeous headstones.

There was also some beautiful embroidery done by the local Mothers’ Union and WI.

I have seen a similar Mary stitching in other churches so maybe it was a common thing for the Union to make.

In the church there was also this very unusual stitched map. There were cross stitched pictures done from photos of village locations with an embroidered map of the village, and information about the houses.

It was there I discovered that the village had some old Rock houses. Similar to the cave houses in Spain, these are a feature of this area.

There were two old ones in the centre of the village, clearly long abandoned but it looked like one had maybe been used for a Nativity or Santa’s Grotto.

I love little wanders like this, off the main tourist trail, it is so interesting what you find. I ended with a nice pint of cider watching a boat go through the lock, all in the name of canal history research you understand!

The van is now sorted properly, I needed to live in it again for a while to work out where things would be be stored and maximise my space.

I will be going back to my sister’s tomorrow and leaving Katy behind for a few months. I still have lots of adventures planned though so will be back here with more of those soon.

Hope you all have a good week, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.