Category: Travel – UK

We had an early start this morning and we were on the road at 7am. Thankfully it was Sunday morning which meant we had little traffic as we drove through Sheffield. I was surprised to find we drove right past Leeds where two of my fav. bloggers live (Hi Heather and Rachel!).It’s a much bigger city than I thought it was.

We stopped a short while later for breakfast. I had Mex-bean wrap from M&S which was very yummy.

We eventually got Stockton Lane, York only to discover it was not the right one and we had to drive to other side of York!!! 30mins later we did arrive at the York Caravan Park. One thing we’ve realized is that postcodes are way more important than street addresses over here.

We dropped off the motorhome and went to catch into York. Unfortunately we had to wait 40mins for it to arrive (being Sunday).

We missed our booked time at Digg but it was quiet so not a problem.

The girls loved it here. They got to dig up artifacts (like the ones really found in York) and our guide told us all about them. It was very interesting and informative. We spent around an hour here and then went to find a pub so we could have what else but Yorkshire Pudding! We found this very cute place which dates from the early 1500s. No foundations so the floors are very wonky.

I ordered the Nut Roast which was so yummy.We were glad we ordered the childs size as it was huge enough!

We then headed to the Jorvik Viking Center. This is pretty good (but not the best attraction we’ve been to). We definitely got more out of it having been to DIGG first. A highlight was the girls getting their very own pressed keepsake coin.

We then went to track down the open top bus and hopped on to do a tour of the city. Such a great way to see the sights, learn about the city and have a rest at the same time.

I also spotted a Golden!

We hopped off near the Shambles and went off for an explore and do a little shopping.

I got excited when I saw a Disney Store as we don’t have them in Australia any more. Sadly I discovered my girls are almost past the Disney toy age but Christy did buy this set of Club Penguin figurines.

We then caught a taxi back to the van park – after finding out we’d have to wait 50mins for the bus. It was  great decision as it was so much faster and only cost 10 GBP as opposed to 5GBP.

Back on the park we got the motorhome set up and Christy got to work playing with her new figurines. I got started on blogs for the last few days, showered and made friends with a Goldie called Poppy who is staying in the park.

Tonight’s dinner used up things we’d bought that were about to go off. This cous cous salad was delicious. I’ll say it again – they have THE best food in Britain!

I worked on my blogs some more and am about to post today – so I am FINALLY all caught up! Then I’m going to read for a bit before hopefully having a relatively early night. I’m finding I’m just not tired with it being so light so late.

I woke around 6am, got myself a cup of tea and sat outside enjoying the early morning quiet.

I could hear the chooks in their chook house waiting to be let out. Eventually Amy joined me and later we woke up Christy and got ready to set off to the Peak District and Chatsworth House. We planned to have breakfast on the way and go via Kenilworth Castle. Wow – it looks amazing! Will definitely have to come again another day.

We didn’t end up getting breakfast until 10am. We ate in the van before hitting the road again.

We drove through beautiful countryside and I was so excited when I saw Chatsworth come into view. Simply stunning!

First up we did a tour of the home. So much history and an amazing collection of artwork and artifacts.

By the time we finished here it was past 1pm and we were hungry. We bought a quick lunch and ate on the grass.

I bought a pastie but it wasn’t very nice so I had some strawberries and ice cream.

Amy’s ankle was very sore so we parked her in a suitable location and the 3 of us went off to explore the grounds. I’m so glad we made the trip here as it just gorgeous. And I love how the grounds are accessible to everyone. So many families were picnicing in the beautiful surroundings.

Christy had a play on the cascading waterway and made friends with one of the many dogs enjoying the day with their families.

We then went back to collect Amy and visited some of the shops. We decided to skip the tour of the gardens and go back to the motorhome. I wanted to get some more photos so I walked up the road and they picked me up.

We drove to the Farm Shop – which although it is on the estate took about 10mins to get to. And what a shop it was! They had an amazing collection of vegetarian dishes, not to mention fruit, veg, bread, cakes, cheese, etc.

From here we drove to tonights accommodation at Knotlow Farm. After phoning for directions we were a bit shocked to find they charged us an extra 10GBP for the kids. Luckily it’ a very nice location.

Christy promptly crashed a boys party by joining in their games (she was only girl). She then made friends with some campers across the field. One of them is a travel writer who gave us his book to read..
I loved seeing the cows walking in the paddock and also found some chickens. And it was lovely arriving before 5pm. We had some cheese and crackers and relaxed.

Later we had dinner – mushroom pies (we bought at the Farm shop) and salad.

We sat and read outside and tried the local specialty – Bakewell Tart.

More time blogging this morning. We got the van organised – filled and emptied tanks – and were on the way arod atund 8.30am. We stopped just before 9am for breakfast, which we ate in the van. We still can’t get over the range of foods, esp, healthy foods, available. I got a falafel and hummus wrap – yum!

Then it was back on the road…..until we hit TRAFFIC!!!!! The M40 was closed in one section so we had to get off and use another rode. Unfortunately this meant 3 lanes of traffic stopped and moving at snails pace for about an hour before we could even get off the M40. What a waste of time. We had debated taking the more scenic traffic but decided on the motorway to save time – BIG MISTAKE!!!

We had planned to go to Kennilworth Castle but decided we’d be too rushed trying to fit it in. Finally we arrived at Warwick Castle around 1pm (I think). It was quite the hike from the car park to the castle on a rather HOT day. And the place was packed!!! So many school kids and tour groups. I was rather stressed out when we arrived and we were all hungry.

We found the first place to eat but it was a carvery and I didn’t feel like hot food. I ended ordering a juice (something I never do) and cake. We went to go the toilet but the wait was so long I just could not be bothered. Christy had to though so I waitied outside for her. When I went after lunch (20 mins later) there was no line. Thankfully it was now around 2pm and all the school kids were starting to leave.

We walked through the State Rooms.

Then watched a show on birds of prey. The birds were amazing. So huge and flew down low over our heads.

We then went to the Princess Tower for a little show, Christy enjoyed it.

Next up was an very much appreciated ice-cream and some not so appreciated whinging by the children!

It was still very warm and we wondered down to the river side of the castle. Lots of people were sitting in the shade and being 10mins to 4pm we hoped maybe there trebuche (sp??) was going to be used at 4pm. It was nice and sitting and relaxing – watching the swans (and 4 signets) and ducks. And yes, at 4pm, the trebuche was launched. I never did realize quite how much man power went into loading it. Rather awesome and we were glad we got to see this.

We then went to the Watermill area. Very pretty here and I took lots of photos of both the river and the castle.

Kevin & Christy visited the gaol and we all walked through the Kingmaker exhibit.  It was almost time for Kevin and Amy to do the Dungeons but Amy wasn’t feeling and didn’t feel up to it.

So we left Kevin and I took the girls up the play area. Amy sat for a while and eventually felt well enough to go and join Christy – who played for the whole hour we were there. I sat and relaxed enjoying the late afternoon sun (now that it had cooled down considerably).

At 6pm we met Kevin, who said the Dungeon show was excellent and we could probably all have gone, and left the castle. So what had started out as a stressful visit actually ended rather well. Definitely a great place for kids.

After walking back to the motorhome we drive to tonights accomodation at Harbury Fields Farm. It was only about 10-15mins away and we got checked without any problem.

This is a working farm with an area for van. Very pretty. First up were showers for everyone – and I mean everyone – together in the family shower wet room :-). We all felt much better afterwards. I had put on some washing before my turn in the shower and worked on that while getting dinner organised. We then ate outside – pasta with a vegetable sauce bought at Jimmy’s Farm which was delicious.

I then finished the laundry and the girls and I went for a quick walk around the area. We saw some of the sheep off in the distance and found the chickens (which were right behind our van). It certainly was a lovely place – so quiet and restful.

Amy and I sat outside until quite late – 10pm. Amy then went to bed and I was not too much later.

We woke around 6am and got ready to depart around 7.15am. We stopped an hour later for fuel and breakfast.

Once we left the main motorway it was a lovely drive to Bath but took a lot longer than expected. I utilized the time to type up yesterdays diary.

We had planned to be in Bath at 9am but we didn’t arrive until 10.30am. Of course when we arrived at the Park and Ride it was only to discover we were too tall to fit under the barrier. And we have no idea why there is a height barrier when it’s outside parking. Luckily we spotted some street parking not far away so left the motorhome and walked back to the park and ride to catch the bus into Bath. It was a short 10 min trip and we were there.

Our priority today was the Roman Baths. It was a little on the busy side but manageable. We took the audio tour but found it a little boring so switched to the kids audio – which was better. It was amazing to think of Romans walking around and using the bath all those years ago.

After the tour Christy was set of drinking the water from the spring fountain. It was surprising okay, but rather warm!

We were all starving by now and headed to the Bath Canteen – the River Cottage Cafe. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot on the menu we felt like eating so we decided to get devonshire teas for lunch! The was grown in England and just lovely. The scones were nice, but yesterdays were better. However, the jam helped compensate. We all left rather full and satisfied and happy to have been to Hugh’s cafe.

Christy is out best Goldie spotter and saw this one just after leaving the cafe.

We then went to the do the open top bus tour of Bath. It was such a beautiful day (unlike last time we were here in ’97). The town is lovely – full of beautiful old, Georgian buildings. We the Crescent, Putney Bridge (with it’s cute “little” shops).

We got off to visit the Jane Austen Center but we had to wait nearly 30mins till the next tour so decided not to wait.

Back on the bus we went back to the town center and bought some Cornish Pasties. We then made our way back to the park and ride bus and back to the van. On route we enjoyed our pasties. Boy were they good.

Lovely countryside once again. We had to laugh when we saw these signs warning of tanks crossing.

A quick hour later we arrived at the Stonehenge Touring Park. We checked in (without any problems) and were directed to our site. Such a cute little park. Christy went off to check out the wooden play area and we all enjoyed an ice cream while playing with our computer (great internet access here) for an hour or so.

Then it was time to head back out for the short drive to Stonehenge. Wow, it’s smaller than I remembered :-). The girls, especially Amy, were very excited to be here. We did the audio tour and took photos.

Then went back to the motorhome where we had some dinner. So fun having the van to have dinner in.

We then went back into Stonehenge for our All Access Tour which meant we could walk through and around the stones. This was just awesome and such a wonderful experience. Lots of photos as it was hard to pick my favourites.

Kevin spent a lot of time lying down taking photos.

I was also very happy with the photos I got as it was a magical night with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. We could not have asked for anything more. We all loved this and it was well worth the cost (which wasn’t really that much) and the effort to come back after the day in Bath.

We drove back to the caravan park – enjoying the view as we went.

Home and all settled for the night we played on computers again and enjoyed the strawberries and raspberries we’d bought at Jimmy’s Farm with some clotted cream – yummo! The berries were just divine.

I stayed up far too late trying desperately to get my blog posts up to date. Almost there. It will be good to back blogging as I go.