[barryd]

Looks like we are finally getting round to going away. Probably week after next. Looks like Flamborough head for a few weeks, lake district then the Isle of Arran all being well. Back sometime in September.

That's the idea anyway. Whether it works out that way who knows. Last year we managed 17 nights before the weather and crowds got too much.

 

[raynipper]

I wondered if this year the 'normal' school holidays season of high prices and crowds would be back?

Ray.

 

[barryd]

I wondered if this year the 'normal' school holidays season of high prices and crowds would be back?

Ray.

I think they already are Ray. Its a sellers market as far as accommodation, campsites etc are concerned I reckon.

I think its going it be horrendous which is why Im picking my places carefully. If its naff, Ill just come home.

 

[nicholsong]

Looks like we are finally getting round to going away. Probably week after next. Looks like Flamborough head for a few weeks, lake district then the Isle of Arran all being well. Back sometime in September.

That's the idea anyway. Whether it works out that way who knows. Last year we managed 17 nights before the weather and crowds got too much.

Hi Barry

You must have edited first word 'Looks', because on the edition in my e-mail notification it read 'Loons' and I thought how appropriate. You spoiled a good response.

Glad you are getting away. You both like F'boro and you love Arran, so it should be a good few trips.

It sounds as though you will be away more weeks than us on our Greek trip, which is 30 days from next Tues, then Hiatus flying back for 8+ weeks, then another 5 weeks (4 in Greeece and travelling back)

The planning of administration of our trip is complex, but I think I have nearly got it under control. Basia is in charge of catering and food stocking because it will be a bit of a dash to Ancona, so not much time to enjoy Italy or shop, as we have to do the 600km in 36 hours because of Covid.

Arto goes in for a check-up tomorrow (garage too busy before) so just hope all OK. I washed it today - came up good because last year I had it professionally cleaned and waxed.

Don't forget to wrap Hank up well in duct-tape and Velcro before you set off.

Bon Voyage to all travelling soon.

Geoff

 

[GMJ]

Today we will make our way over to Cheltenham for 2 nights. Off to see the FiL tomorrow. Our son will pick us up in his car and take us there. then the 3 of us have booked a table for lunch in a pub in Cheltenham. The FiL won't come with us as he is wary of going out due to the virus. Tbh it's more of an excuse as the older he's got the more curmudgeonly he's got, so any reason not to come out is good for him!

Sunday we will drive from Chelt down to Cornwall. We stay between St Austell and Mevagissey at a campsite on the beach (Pentewen Sands). We have 11 nights there, Nice walks; 3 places to eat on site plus a pub in the village; and lovely pasties...what's not to like!

After that we are heading up to Devon to stay at Cofton HP near Dawlish; a new place for us. We will be there for 9 nights.

The last night en route to home, will be in Malmesbury at Burton Hill campsite. Another new site to us however we know Malmesbury well having live only 6 miles from there 2 houses ago.

Weather looks decent for the next week and Mrs GMJ is in good health for her. Just got to load the food in and we can get away. Hopefully I should be back from my second jab by 9.00am.

Can't wait

 

[patp]

Sounds great, Graham. Can you organise my summer next year please? I am gutted that we can not get in anywhere now. It has always been our way to leave booking until the last minute and it has backfired on us now. I had an email from a CL yesterday that sounds promising. Expensive (of course) for a CL which is why it has spaces but it is very nice with some rare breed cattle and sheep on site. Should be fun with a greyhound!

 

[GMJ]

Thanks Pat

I booked this up a few months ago. I had a blitz and booked 4 trips. Our main summer trip will be up to north Wales in Jul/Aug when the schools are out and it will be high season. Hopefully that will be OK but could be very busy. In normal times we wouldn't have entertained the idea but needs must.


Half term ends today for many areas, so hopefully when we get to Cornwall on Sunday, most of the emmets will have left...


...but I'll bet good money that some parents will still be there with their kids outside of school holiday times which is just plan wrong!

 

[Penquin]

......

...but I'll bet good money that some parents will still be there with their kids outside of school holiday times which is just plan wrong!

What's the betting that these self same parents will be demanding and complaining, that their chikd(ren) have missed out on teaching during the pandemic and where are THEIR private tutor sessions from the £1.4bn package that they should get ?

I think you are right about it though.....

 

[barryd]

Hi Barry

You must have edited first word 'Looks', because on the edition in my e-mail notification it read 'Loons' and I thought how appropriate. You spoiled a good response.

Glad you are getting away. You both like F'boro and you love Arran, so it should be a good few trips.

It sounds as though you will be away more weeks than us on our Greek trip, which is 30 days from next Tues, then Hiatus flying back for 8+ weeks, then another 5 weeks (4 in Greeece and travelling back)

The planning of administration of our trip is complex, but I think I have nearly got it under control. Basia is in charge of catering and food stocking because it will be a bit of a dash to Ancona, so not much time to enjoy Italy or shop, as we have to do the 600km in 36 hours because of Covid.

Arto goes in for a check-up tomorrow (garage too busy before) so just hope all OK. I washed it today - came up good because last year I had it professionally cleaned and waxed.

Don't forget to wrap Hank up well in duct-tape and Velcro before you set off.

Bon Voyage to all travelling soon.

Geoff

Sounds good Geoff. Gonna be a bit warm in Greece though but I envisage you stood in the sea with a cocktail in your hand. :lol:

 

[nicholsong]

Sounds good Geoff. Gonna be a bit warm in Greece though but I envisage you stood in the sea with a cocktail in your hand. :lol:

Not too warm on the island a as it is quite small and surrounded by sea which is still cool in June - average temp for June is 24C and forecast up to mid June is max 24C and there is usually some Meltemi blowing from the North.

Most of the beaches have tamarisk trees to shelter under. My favourite isolated beach has about seven - they were planted years ago by an Englishman who loved the place, so much that he came back to die there(not on the beach). I met a young guy at the taverna there who had been his private secretary in the old guy's last months and had returned there in his memory, nice gesture. I think of the old guy every time I crest the hill and look down on the bay and see the tops of the trees.

Cocktails Me? Beer, wine and ouzo will do me.

[Note I wrote 'came back' as if I were already there, which I am in mind and soul:grin2:]

Patmos is my 'Arran' - you know what I mean.

Geoff

 

[barryd]

Not too warm on the island a as it is quite small and surrounded by sea which is still cool in June - average temp for June is 24C and forecast up to mid June is max 24C and there is usually some Meltemi blowing from the North.

Most of the beaches have tamarisk trees to shelter under. My favourite isolated beach has about seven - they were planted years ago by an Englishman who loved the place, so much that he came back to die there(not on the beach). I met a young guy at the taverna there who had been his private secretary in the old guy's last months and had returned there in his memory, nice gesture. I think of the old guy every time I crest the hill and look down on the bay and see the tops of the trees.

Cocktails Me? Beer, wine and ouzo will do me.

[Note I wrote 'came back' as if I were already there, which I am in mind and soul:grin2:]

Patmos is my 'Arran' - you know what I mean.

Geoff

Sounds great. Just googled it. Sounds a bit like Paxos just south of Corfu. We used to be regular visitors to North Eastern Corfu which is just fantastic and took the seaplane down to Paxos a few times. Im really envious, miss all that. So are you taking the van to the island? Im my experience the little islands are generally not served by car ferries.

 

[nicholsong]

Sounds great. Just googled it. Sounds a bit like Paxos just south of Corfu. We used to be regular visitors to North Eastern Corfu which is just fantastic and took the seaplane down to Paxos a few times. Im really envious, miss all that. So are you taking the van to the island? Im my experience the little islands are generally not served by car ferries.

Oh yes we are taking the MH. You must have missed my other posts - I sometimes think i am boring by repetition but obviously some of my 'fans' don't see them.

We leave Katowice next Tues, ferry from Ancona Sun 13th, camping on deck, 3 days on Peloponnese, 17th ferry direct to Patmos. In normal times that service runs daily Piraeus-Patmos-Leros-Kos- Rhodos. Even the big ferries service islands as small as Schinoussa and Koufonissia once or twice a week, because trucks bringing food and gas have to get there.

We are going to leave the MH in a boatyard I know and fly back, then return in Sept to have another couple of weeks on Patmos with my 'Sept Club' friends, incl. Sabine, my old girlfriend, who Basia already met when we all four met up in La Gomera, Canaries. Then 2 weeks on mainland before ferry home.

I very much like Paxos and stopped a few days there - some stories when I see you(could not even be told on FC!)

Apologies to my 'fans' who have already read this stuff, but Barry does not seem to pay attention.>:laugh:

Geoff

 

[MrWez]

Just got back from 9 nights away, 4 nights at a CS Orchard Farm, at Chidham near Bosham in West Sussex, not many people on site but the biblical amounts of rain we had on the Friday would put most people off. This was followed by 3 nights at a small private site called the Spinney in Alresford, Hampshire, it was quite quiet mid-week but numbers picked up towards the end (mostly motorhomers I'm pleased to report). Finally, had two nights at Sopley PYO, on the Hampshire/Dorset border and is also a CS. The latter was a CAMC rally with the West Hampshire centre and our first rally in over 18 months!


Managed to get hardstanding at the first site (which was great because the field was very soft), but was on grass at the other two, the ground was softish at the Spinney but rock hard at Sopley in spite of the recent rain, also managed to get EHU at all three sites.


We had a mix of wet and quite fine weather, especially at Sopley which totally went against the forecast.


All in all, a good time was had and it was our first meaningful trip in the new motorhome with which we're very pleased!

 

[jiwawa]

That sounds great on all counts!

 

[GMJ]

We just got back from 23 nights away:

- 2 nights at Briarfields in Cheltenham so we could see our son and Mrs GMJ's dad. We had lunch out with our son on the Saturday and then both came down with stomach upsets...so we won't be using that pub again! Son was fine but then again he's 23 and with the constitution of an ox!

- 11 nights at Pentewan Sands near Megavi...Mevgaviss..Meggasivv...St Austell :grin2:. Mostly very nice weather and lots of cycling on the flat Forest Trail (4 miles to St Austell). We enjoyed a few bimbles around the site and village and also had an afternoon drink out twice, in the local pubs. Rare for us to do that but it was lovely sitting outside having a cheeky pint with the sun out. This is our 'go to' site in Cornwall: huge grass pitches; lots of ablution places; 3 places to eat/drink on site plus few in the village; very friendly staff; a clean, well looked after site.

- 9 nights at Cofton HP near Dawlish Warren. Nice site with good links to bus, train, ferry plus also to the local cycling path. We cycled down to Dawlish Warren a few times and once on to Dawlish itself mostly off road on cycle/pedestrian paths. We got the ferry across to Exmouth once (a bit of an anonymous town centre we thought) and the train to Paignton once (once was enough: another example of a tired seaside town). A nice enough site but next time we'll get a pitch well away from the fishing lakes as the anglers arrive from 6.00 in the morning and despite them all staying on site, they seem to forget that folks are still trying to sleep at that time and have loud conversations. Also the gate to the lakes has a spring and kept slamming (noisily!)

- 1 night at Burton Hill campsite in Mamesbury. Never again!! 40-50m EHU leads all over the place; kids and dogs on the lose and running/playing all around and through the pitch; kids allowed to run around from 7.00am the next
morning making noise. I felt sorry for the recently retired couple in a MH next to us who were only on their second trip out in their new MH. Their first trip had been to a CL/CS and the look on their faces when they experienced this site, was one of bewilderment!

Anyway, back now. Only 2.5 weeks until we are off to north Wales for a month.

 

[raynipper]

Sounds like you found all the problems of sites G.

Ray.

 

[GMJ]

It was only the last night that wasn't great tbh Ray. The other sites were fine and we would go back to them. Like all sites though, you are in the lap of the gods with who your neighbours are I guess. We were quite lucky in that regard as on the first 3 sites there were no real issues.

Mind you whilst at Cornwall, they were an older couple (tuggers) next to us for a few days, who had friends staying somewhere on site. On their last night he got his guitar and uke out and started playing and singing. VERY reminiscent of the Pub Singer that used to be on Steve Wright in the Afternoon's radio programme! Both the guitar and ukelele playing were poor and the singing laughable. Some young folks in a static nearby kept on egging him on too! Taking the **** and he fell for it! Poor chap.

 

[raynipper]

Was his name Barry G?

Ray.

 

[GMJ]

Christ, he wasn't that bad Ray!

 

[jiwawa]

Sounds as if Mrs GMJ's health was good for the trip! Glad all went well.