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UK Tour

April - June 2024
A 56-day adventure by Wayne Read more
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  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 1

    Auckland to London

    April 22 in England ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    We were originally due to depart Auckland with Emirates on 19 April 2024 but flooding at Dubai meant our flight was canceled. Jeannie at Fine Travel was quickly on the job and arranged flights with Cathay Pacific leaving on Monday 22 April 2024. Our incoming aircraft was late arriving due to head winds but we caught up the time on the way to Hong Kong. Quick transit and we were on our way to London. Had great flights. The food and service was excellent and we managed to get quite a bit of rest.

    We passed through customs at Heathrow and were quickly aboard the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station in London where we transferred to a London taxi to Waterloo Station rather than fight the early morning commuters with our suitcases. We parked up in Waterloo for an hour with a coffee and then walked to our flat where we are staying for the next 2 nights. The owner was good enough to meet us there and let us in at 9 am so we could leave our bags before heading out sightseeing.

    First stop was the graffiti tunnel followed by the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and then onto Westminister Abbey. We then wandered up past Downing Street but because it was St Georges day the street was closed and there was a huge police presence in the area. Next stop was Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square followed by lunch on the way to St Pauls Cathedral. By then we had more than doubled out steps target for the day so we wandered down to the Thames and caught an Uber ferry down to Greenwich and then back up to Westminster where we bought a few supplies and settled in for an early night.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 3

    April 24 London

    April 24 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We both slept well but woke a bit stiff and sore after our exercise the previous day. The day dawned sunny but the temperature never got above 10 degrees and with the wind chill it felt considerably colder.

    First stop of the day was Buckingham Palace which was impressive but standing for over an hour to watch the changing of the guards was a bit underwhelming. After that we walked a couple of kms before catching a taxi to the Tower of London. We did a tour with a Beefeater which was very informative and entertaining. We then looked around the grounds taking the history before walking up to the Sky Garden for a late lunch. The view was great and we both enjoyed the experience although we felt the food perhaps did not match the price.

    After our late lunch we walked across London Bridge to Hayes Market and the Borough Markets for a look around before walking back to our flat and crashing.

    A big couple of days to start our trip. London is fabulous and exceeded my expectations. It is very walkable and there is just so much history and architecture to take in. The squirrel in the last photo was sitting in a barbers chair before being given a peanut and exiting the shop with his prize.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 4

    April 25 Oxford

    April 25 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We were awake at 5 am so had a cuppa and breakfast and then packed. Our Uber arrived just before 9 am and took us to Rainham to pick up our motorhome. The handover took longer than expected but we were surprised by how much storage there was in the van. We eventually got away and headed to the nearest Esso station to fill up with diesel before heading off up the M 25 to Aylesbury where stocked up at Tescos. After that we headed on to Oxford where pulled up at the Red Fox pub for the night. The day started fine but we had a couple of light showers in the afternoon so decided to sort out the motorhome and have a look around Oxford tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 5

    April 26 Oxford to Weymouth

    April 26 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    I had to get up at 5.30 this morning to change the gas bottle because the heater had stopped and it was very cold outside. Gaye has come down with a cold or worse so after a coffee I got my bike down off the rack and headed into Oxford for a look around as the city woke up. It was a beautiful morning and Oxford looked stunning. After a look around I headed back to the motorhome where we got ready for the day and eventually headed off at about 9 am.
    We planned to stop at the Stonehenge carpark for a coffee and keep going but decided once we arrived to go and check out the stones. Very impressive. I have no idea how they could get the top stones up on the supporting ones.
    After a bite of lunch in the van we headed off to Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast. Because of a road closure we ended up on some narrow and at times one way roads which was interesting but we saw some lovely villages along the way.
    At Durdle Door we clambered down the steep track to see the rock formation and then crawled back up. A bit too much for Gaye.
    We then travelled past the Ormiston White Horse before a quick look at Weymouth and then on to our camp for the night at Higher Moor Farm Campsite. A very nice camp.
    Gaye is shattered so an early night is on the cards.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 8

    April 29 Tintagel

    April 29 in England ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    We woke to rain and that persisted for the day. Gaye was starting to feel a bit better and I wasn't. We packed up and said our farewells to St Ives and headed back towards the A39 to get some supplies in Camden. Then we headed off towards Port Isaac but a wrong turn getting back on to the A39 took us down a back farm goat track with stone walls and hedges brushing both mirrors for about 6 miles. With rain all the way we decided to give Port Isaac and Doc Martin a miss as I wasn't feeling up to the walk down from the carpark and back up again. We decided to carry on to Tintagel Castle and when we got there the rain had eased a bit but it was blowing a gale and freezing cold. Adopting the Billy Connelly saying of there being no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing we layered up and headed out. The castle is reportedly the place where King Arthur was conceived thanks to a spell by Merlin who lived in a cave below the castle. The spell made Arthur's father look like the Duke of Cornwall to his wife the Duchess. Anyway long story short the bridge to the castle was closed and so we took a few photos bought a bottle of mead and caught a 4x4 shuttle back up the hill. Google Maps is a brilliant piece of software except when you are in a large vehicle and it just wants to tell you the fastest route somewhere and where you can shop on the way. The way it selected to get to our campsite for the night might have been fast for Valentino Rossi on a motorbike but we were quickly down a road with hedges touching both mirrors and no way of returning. After half an hour of heated discussion and much abusing of Microsoft we manged to turn around squeeze past a Ford Transit van in an are that 2 mobility scooters would struggle to get past and find our way back to where we started. Fastest route my arse. We then followed some B roads to the camp where we crashed for the night.
    The photo of Marlin's cave is stolen from the internet. The one I took was blurred and clearly the weather was a lot better.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 9

    April 30 Tintagel to Bath

    April 30 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We woke to another shitty cold morning. It blew a gale all night and I did wonder whether we would be travelling anywhere today. However the wind died down a bit and we were off for another adventure. Gaye was feeling quite a bit better. Me, not so much. I had done my research and selected a Park n Ride station to the south of Bath as our destination to then catch a bus into Bath but on arrival there was, for no reason that anyone could explain, a height restriction barrier into the carpark. We parked in an area for buses which I had seen on Google Earth had motorhomes in it but one of the bus drivers was a bit difficult and said we would be fined despite there plenty of parks. Discretion being the better part of valour we decided to move on to a Park n Ride on the north of Bath which appeared to not have a height restriction. Off we went and within a mile I saw a sign saying we would be entering a congestion tax zone. We knew that in London that meant something like a charge of 200 plus pounds a day for taking a diesel motorhome into the zone so we baled out into a Sainsburys carpark to regroup, recover and reset.
    We then decided on a plan that would take us around Bath and out to the North but it was already 3pm and our plan to bus into Bath for a walk around the sites was a bit behind time, although it had by now stopped raining! We headed off towards Bristol in heavy traffic and just as we came down a hill to a busy roundabout I saw on the left The Globe pub which was one of my possible sites for the night. They have a very large carpark at the rear of the pub and motorhomes can stay free for 1 night. Needless to say we roared right in and took up station at the rear of the carpark. We then went in and made ourselves known and ordered drinks. We had dinner in the pub and retired for a good night's rest. The pub was great. The main floor was on about 10 different levels with different floor coverings depending on the time of the renovation for that area. The ceilings were low and supported by twisted old oak posts and tortured beams. You don't know how much you have had to drink as you cannot walk without at least a slight stagger up and down all the different levels.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 9

    April 27 Weymouth to St Ives

    April 30 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today was a big travelling day. We got away about 9 am and trundled southwest. Apart from major roadworks on the A30 which diverted all traffic in both directions off onto some narrow B roads the journey was uneventful. We arrived in St Ives mid afternoon and went for a walk into town. It is very steep going down and even steeper coming back up which was a bit of a test for Gaye with her cold.
    We had dinner at the camp restaurant. We both had catch of the day which was superb.    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 9

    Apr 28 St Ives

    April 30 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The morning dawned a beautiful day although the wind was still cold. It was certainly nice to see the sun. We wandered back down the hill to the bustling town of St Ives. St Ives is a haven for artists so there are galleries everywhere. We had the obligatory cornish pastie for lunch which was very filing but nothing to write home about. We had a beer in the sun on the edge of the harbour and then staggered back up the hill to our motorhome.Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 10

    May 1 Bath to Stratford upon Avon

    May 1 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    And just like that it is the first of May. We set the alarm for 7 am and both woke feeling decidedly more human. Onwards and upwards. We set course for the Park n Ride to the north of Bath and apart from driving 2 miles up a road which was limited to vehicles of less than 6 feet 6 inches (we are 2.5 metres with mirrors in) all went well. A few commuters may have been later to work than they intended but they should have left home earlier and avoided us. The Park n Ride was brilliant with a designated area for motorhomes and we could have even stayed the night there. For £5 we could park for half a day and both travel by bus to Bath and return. Plus free use of the port a loos!!

    We spent 3 hours or so firstly having a coffee to warm up and then wandering the streets to see the Abbey, the Roman baths and the the Royal Crescent. Beautiful place.

    We then returned to the motorhome and plotted our course north to Stratford upon Avon. Because we were a bit behind schedule we decided to skip the stress of the drive through the small Cotswold villages that we had planned and head on the motorway to Stratford upon Avon which is still in the Cotswolds and has the same style of housing so a good compromise.

    After doing 2 laps of a 10 mile circuit to the south of the town because we missed a turn twice we eventually made it to our camp where it was actually nice enough to sit outside for half a drink before having to move inside.

    We had a quiet dinner in the motorhome and an early night. The forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 18 degrees in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon.

    We then returned to the motorhome    Read more

  • TravelerUK Tour
    Day 11

    May 2 Stratford upon Avon

    May 2 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    A day without driving! We had a leisurely start to the day. Our camp is on the banks of the Avon River so we wandered down to the river and caught a water taxi into town. Funnily enough it was neither sunny nor 18 degrees as predicted. More like 9 degrees and very low cloud. We decided to do the Hop On Hop Off bus which was not busy - particularly upstairs up in the open air where we sat.

    It was a good way to see the sights including Shakespeare's birthplace, his first school, his statue, his wife Anne Hathaway's house (wasn't she in the Princess Diaries?) and all other things Shakespeare.

    By the time we finished the loop we were frozen so headed to the nearest pub to thaw out and consume a hearty lunch. I had a Steak n Ale pie with mash and mushy peas accompanied by a particularly fine Shiraz. Damn fine.

    We then wandered the town a bit more but mindful of the predicted thunderstorms headed back to the camp on our wee water taxi.

    Having dodged the bullet of the thunderstorms we stopped for a drink in the Muddy Oar bar at the camp which has an amazing restaurant/bar/conference facility. In talking to people we discovered that this weekend is a "Bank Holiday" and that every Pom and his 2 dogs with a motorhome or caravan is on the move celebrating the first long weekend of Spring. God bless them. So we headed back to the motorhome to get the computer out. We had planned on heading into North Wales for the next 3 nights and basing ourselves in one place. Well, when I opened up the websites for the Motorhome and Caravan Club and the for Caravan and Camping club it quickly became apparent that everywhere was booked out and the farm campsites were all phone bookings only and it was too late to ring them. On the upside it wasn't raining but a weather warning flashed up on my computer for extreme thunderstorms overnight. Would we bogged on our grass pitch in the morning? Would we have anywhere to go tomorrow in any event? Everything will look better after a Jamieson's. Time to open the bottle.    Read more

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