United Kingdom – Page 9 – When the Cat's Away…

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

29-31 March: Watching spring emerge

Author: Mrs A

Location: West Bagborough, Somerset, UK

Spring in Somerset continues to be dry and sunny, but the temperatures have dropped a few degrees now and there’s a few more layers to be worn when heading out. It’s still lovely though, and we’re really enjoying the novelty of fresh air (no bushfire smoke), wrapping up and watching spring break through.

We’ve settled into a bit of a routine, with a 45 minute pilates class every second day, and a walk or cycle daily. We’re hoping to make this ‘retreat’ healthy for our bodies in some ways – though we seem to be drinking gin or wine more frequently. What happened to alcohol free days?

After than 20 years living in Australia we really appreciate the seasons in Europe, especially enjoying the transformation of spring. We are actually enjoying the opportunity to stop in one place and watch the development happen.

Crossing a paddock along one of the many footpaths that wind through the countryside

Every paddock seems to contain a tree that almost looks like a sculpture, the lack of leaves only highlighting the shape and form. Leaves are not far off, with signs of new life popping up daily.

One of our walks took us through our local village of West Bagborough. History here dates back to at least Roman times, with a hoard of 4th century Roman silver coins discovered in 2001 by a local policeman with a metal detector. The hoard was purchased by the Museum of Somerset for £41,650 (around AU$85,000 at today’s exchange rate) and is displayed at Taunton Castle. Not bad for an afternoon out! The history of the area dates further back still, with evidence locally of Bronze age burial grounds in the hills.

St Pancras Church. The grey mansion in the background is Bagborough House, and dates back to 1730.

St Pancras Church sits high above the village and dates from the 15th century. It used to be the hub of the village but is now quite separate. During the Black Death pandemic (mid 1300s) most of the village died, leaving fewer than 100 people. They rebuilt the village lower down the hill to start anew and escape the bad memories. It makes you wonder how they current pandemic will also shape our future. What will change because of Covid-19?…I am sure it will be the topic of much analysis, essays and articles in the future.

The original bell tower door shows just how much shorter people used to be…I can’t see any problem actually

One good thing about being in the Quantock Hills is that there is no worry about being cold on a walk – there is always a steep slope on hand to warm you up. Our cottage is a third of the way up a hill, so this afternoon we decided to start our walk by heading straight up. That soon got the blood moving, I can tell you!

It’s so hard to capture the beauty of this scenery, all the more interesting as the clouds move away from the sun, allowing it to highlight fields momentarily

A timer photo – we barely saw another human all day

We are certainly not complaining, but still the weather has been fine for us, allowing plenty of outdoor time. Today there was some cloud racing across the sky, giving us brief glimpses of sun as it lit up fields and trees as though spotlighting features for us to admire. The lack of vehicle noise is wonderful, with no planes, and people now discouraged from driving to the start of walks meaning that the sound of woodland birds is predominant.

The air is incredibly clear also, affording us views across to south Wales. To put that into context, here is where we sit on the map:

The green dot shows West Bagborough. The orange marking is our 11km walk circuit

Mr A admiring the view across the Bristol Channel through his binoculars

One of the wild Exmoor ponies that live up here – a horse breed native to the British Isles. There is evidence of these in Britain that dates back to 700,000 BCE

Fabulous views down to the coast, Minehead just below the headland

I just love this colour palette up here – the bracken in the foreground is already starting to show new green shoots, so it will soon change

The prevailing winds help the trees lean to the left to afford us a better view

The wonderful thing about this area is that there are always new paths and routes to explore – we frequently meet a crossroads and mentally toss a coin as to which path to take this time. We have never been disappointed by what we find on the route we choose.

Daisies, celandine, primrose and blue anenomes

Well used pathways by hoof, foot and mountain bike

The first bluebell – will have to hunt out the best place to photograph these

On the homeward stretch across the fields, hat-free as the wind has dropped

And so ends the final day in March.

When we started the year, we thought we would be spending spring hiking and biking our way through Spain and Portugal with the odd break for port and wine tasting. While 2020 has not quite gone as anyone expected, we feel so fortunate to be able to spend our exile in such beautiful surroundings, thankfully with internet so we can remain in contact with friends and family and the ever more frequent Zoom parties.

We hope everyone reading this remains virus-free and healthy, and that it won’t be too long before we can all be physically social once more.

Another fine sunset to conclude the day and month…

March 29, 2020March 30, 2020

27-28 March: Stocking up and loving the space

Author: Mr A

Location: West Bagborough, Somerset, UK

Yesterday we had to go out into the big bad world, Truffy needed his MOT. If its due April 1st or beyond you are now given a pass for a while. Ours ran out two days before that so we found ourselves a lovely little garage and took a walk around the village while he was being examined. We saw this signpost for two villages that made us chuckle! Sounds like heaven.

Thankfully Truffy sailed through the MOT so we then decided as we were out on “essential travel” to tackle a supermarket shop. Innocently wandering up to the entrance with our trolley we saw a few people strong out along the front of the store, so tried to find the end of the queue, walked around the next corner, and the next!

Thank goodness for never ending sunny days – imagine doing this in the pouring rain?

OK it was British queuing at its weirdest with everyone leaving massive 3 metre gaps between each other and glancing around nervously. When we finally got to the entrance we were told only one person per trolley, so off I scuttled back to Truff while Mrs A negotiated the one way system around the store.

More queues inside the store for each of the vegetable aisles

We were relieved to get home with our plunder, having managed to get most things we needed, even toilet rolls. Just as we pulled up, Jenny our landlady and saviour was delivering some fresh produce from the local farm shop. The day before the lovely folk at Wines Direct had managed to get 18 bottles delivered. They aren’t the cheapest at £10 a bottle, but wine beggars can’t be choosers. The supermarkets have bugger all left.

So things were really looking up! We have a full fridge and freezer and some wines to wash our home cooked dinners down with. We are loving catching up with everyone on FaceTime, and this morning had our first experience with Zoom. What a great success that was, thanks to Australian friends who had set up the meeting for us. He is in the data centre training business and now moved his training courses to the Zoom delivery platform. One of the participants had a birthday, so what a great way to share the moment in our physical isolation. We just have to make the best of what we can do. The time difference between here and Australia meant they were tucked into the champers and we were in bed supping our first pot of herbal tea of the day! We are going to have to arrange the next gathering in our evening…

We headed out for another walk, determined to explore this stunning area while we are in it. We meandered along footpaths covered in carpets of wild flowers, the wind blew but the sun shone once again, and we felt privileged to be here.

Following our noses and instincts as we spot signed footpaths and explore

The sheep are our main companions, and a long way away

Exploring along a track marked on the OS map which used to lead to a grand mansion, long gone now

A dead tree lit up by the sunlight like an ornate sculpture in the field

We met a few locals outside their houses and said ”hi”, but not one other walker, so we didn’t feel we were breaking any UK government guidelines. We had walked from our front door and not got within two metres of another person, and no doubt boosted our immune system with the fresh air, sunshine and exercise.

Our local village is bright with the first tulips, cherry blossom, clematis and woodland forget-me-nots

Our local pub, tantalisingly close yet closed

Mid afternoon and we headed back to start dinner prep. It’s Saturday night and a chicken curry was on the menu. It feels lovely to have our own big kitchen to wander around in, then a comfy lounge to retire to. We could get used to this. Connected plumbing, hot water on demand, space to spread out in. We have been living in our caravan and motorhome now on and off for three years. Admittedly with time in friends houses, and our house sit at Christmas, but the latter was made so uncomfortable with the smoke and the heat. We are absolutely loving sleeping through the cold nights snuggled up. We only have to hope that our friends and family stay well and we will get through this.

March 28, 2020March 31, 2020

24-26 March: Settling into Somerset

Author: Mrs A

Location: West Bagborough, Somerset, UK

Tuesday: After a peaceful night’s sleep in our country cottage, we awoke to a blue-skied day and views stretching away in front of us. After the turmoil of the past few days we were almost anticipating having our home whisked away from us at short notice, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

We brought in our supplies from Truffy, realising that what looked like a lot in our tiny amount of storage space was actually meagre rations. Not quite what we needed to be able to minimise our time out of the house. Thankfully our friends Matt and Jenny have a couple of great local businesses which can supply us with fresh vegetables and meat so we think we will be ok.

Perfect Truffy parking – he can enjoy sweeping views from here

We pulled out our bikes and set off for an explore. Current social isolation restrictions allow us some exercice each day from our front door, with running, walking and cycling all permitted as long as we avoid other people and don’t get into a car. Suits us perfectly!

Having ebikes allows us the freedom to explore without the worry about getting too tired. We set off first down the hill from home, whizzing through the little village of West Bagborough, past The Rising Sun pub (sadly closed due to restrictions) and keeping to the quiet little lanes as we explored. Unsurprisingly, given we are in the Quantock Hills, some of the roads were quite steep, but no problem on our bikes.

The clean, crisp, spring air was positively delicious and being outside in the sunshine was so invigorating. Every corner revealed more amazing country scenes, little churches nestled in amongst the hills, surrounded by trees laden with cherry blossom and magnolia flowers. Grand gateways hinted at manor houses hidden at the end of tree lined driveways, firing our imaginations at the history hidden here.

An intriguing archway and long driveway – entrance to the 17th century Cothelstone Manor

We found ourselves having a tea break at Cothelstone Hill, an area with spectacular views which has been in use since prehistoric times with burial mounds, and Neolithic flints discovered up there (around 12,000 years old). After exploring up there and chatting to another ebiker (from a distance!) about good rides in the area, we left with a plan for the following day.

Looking over at the Exmoor ponies grazing on the scrub

A group of trees known as the Seven Sisters

Looking down towards the power station on the Bristol Channel, south Wales beyond

We cannot enthuse enough about the fabulous spring weather we are enjoying. The UK has apparently had some substantial rain (while we were overheating in Australia and valiantly trying to avoid bushfire smoke!) so everyone around us is appreciating it too. From the garden at ‘our’ house we get to enjoy an amazing sunset each night. Long may it continue!

This outdoor table will have a front seat view come the warmer months

Wednesday: We jumped back on our bikes, heading up the hill from the cottage and riding up to Lydeard Hill. From there we rode through a cattle gate and followed a ridge trail. It was mostly gravel, but on some particularly rocky and muddy parts we pushed the bikes. It would be perfect for mountain bikers though, and we saw one or two come whizzing past us.

A beautiful woodland track, hints of new leaves in the trees

Beautiful old moss covered trees have so much character

The ride we wish would keep on going forever

Again we made up a great circuit ride, clocking up another 20km of fabulous scenery and fresh air.

Thursday: We decided to don our hiking shoes and take things at a slightly slower pace, heading into the village of West Bagborough and finding a walk trail that started in the cemetery of the old church there.

The walk starts here, at the church in the village

From there we followed signs across fields, through woods and up a steep hill to Triscombe Stone, a 50cm high standing stone that was erected (it is suspected) during the Bronze Age (around 5,000 years ago) to mark a meeting place.

Loving these shadows cast by the bare spring trees

Brightly coloured pheasants dash out from the hedgerows as we pass by

A bench with a view, surrounded by flowering gorse and the buzzing of bees provides a lunch spot

From there we walked up to Wills Neck, the highest point in the hills, enjoying 360 degree views around the area, looking across to South Wales, the Bristol Channel, Exmoor in one direction, and towards Devon in the other direction.

A friendly horse is waiting for us at the cairn on Wills Neck – also admiring the views

We managed to join several walking tracks together and make a great circuit back to our cottage after 10.5km (6.5 miles). If you are visiting Somerset and want to repeat this same walk, Mr A has written it up in detail here.

Our base for the next 12 weeks…and beyond?

A new moon, and another sunset over a crystal clear starlit night

There are so many walks and potential cycle routes from here, we feel so grateful for where friendship and fate has led us. Finally we can breathe a sigh of relief and settle in to our new life here in Somerset.

March 26, 2020March 26, 2020

15-23 March: Modifying Truffy, getting evicted and finding a new home

Author: Mr A

Location: Doncaster (Yorkshire), Harby (Nottinghamshire), Kettering (Northamptonshire), Brighton (East Sussex), West Bagborough (Somerset), UK

In my dotage, which is looming ever closer, I hope to be able to say that we, and all those we hold dear, survived these scary times, came out the other end having learned new things about what’s important to us and the planet we call home.

It has been a roller coaster week of intense highs and lows. It started with me heading north to Doncaster for a couple of days to get some major modifications to Truffy. We had decided to get a levelling system fitted as every time we set up camp we have to drive him up on massive ramps. Not always in good weather, and not always leading to good marital relations as Catherine tries to direct me up the various levels without driving over the top of them. Yes I did that once. So we now have four hydraulic legs that lower down with the press of a button and get the Truff all nicely level.

To be frank, Doncaster isn’t somewhere I’m going to be rushing back to, but I did discover an awesome cycle route just outside of town that none of the web sites I searched even mentioned.

The Trans Penine Trail, running coast to coast is one of the great cycling infrastructure assets of the UK with over 200 miles of signed path on mostly dedicated cycle way or quiet roads. What a fabulous opportunity to “socially distance” myself and ride its quiet paths.

A beautiful spring day to be out cycling

The Stainforth and Keadby canal – connects the River Donn and River Trent

I would prefer the term “physically distance” ourselves as being more precise. We need to continue to socialise, to support each other and keep ourselves mentally healthy, just not by physical socialising.

I then rejoined Catherine in my old home town stomping ground of Kettering, and once again experienced the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends, with whom we had a cracking evening filled with gin, red wine, Indian takeaway and much laughter, then a hangover breakfast and a escorted shopping trip to try and stock up an empty Truffy larder.

We had booked on to a campsite in Brighton for a week. By now we had accepted that camp sites were likely to close and we would have to find a rental place. That proved harder than we thought with landlords returning to their holiday homes, and press articles appearing from rural communities saying they didn’t want incoming travellers escaping the cities and overloading their health services. Fair enough, but where were people like us with their homes rented out going to go? Some friends near Lincoln had offered co-habitation in their fabulous place, but we didn’t know how long this would have to be for so felt we really needed our own front door and not have to impose on friends in their sanctuary.

Brighton Pier only available for careful takeaway

Blue skies hide the chilly north-easterly wind that was blowing

Catherine managed a couple of brief catch ups with her sister and family, and also a friend from Sydney who had travelled over for her mum’s 100th birthday, only to be told on landing that the care home she was in had just been placed on lockdown.

Catherine and Wendy maintaining distance while catching up on news

There are so many stories like this around the world are making this a hugely stressful time as we try and adjust our lives and expectations.

Then on the second day into our week‘s booking we were told we had to vacate the camp as they were closing, with immediate effect. We were stunned. We had nowhere to go. There had been some bad press about people streaming down to the coast to caravan parks and I think the government put pressure on the parks to close. But with zero notice we were in a difficult position.

After some calling around we found another site that was still open, booked that and were ready to head off when they rang and said they had changed their mind. Then we found another that was still open. We called in on Catherine‘s mum in Hastings, to pick up some parcels and deliver Mother’s Day flowers and card. These were passed across the threshold of her door, no hugs or kisses today. So hard for all of us. But we must behave responsibly.

It was a stressful night, made suddenly better by another kind gesture from friends who offered us a spot on the driveway of their new house. Power and water and electric hook up. We got up in the morning all ready to head to Essex.

The very much non-glamorous side of Truffy travels – heading out to the shower block in 2°C !

Then another offer came through from friends we made way back over 15 years ago in Sydney. They had a cottage available in Somerset. The property we were offered was a 16th century farmhouse set in an area of outstanding natural beauty in the Quantock Hills. We were both on the edge of tears with relief. Our own front door, in an area we had wanted to visit anyway.

Off we shot down some very quiet motorways and arrived as the late afternoon sun set over the hills. We sipped a gin, held hands, and gave thanks to the kindness of friends.

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

14-17 March: Being world travellers in a Covid-19 world

Author: Mrs A

Location: London and Little Gaddesden, UK

Life is becoming quite surreal, yes more so than usual! As the coronavirus takes hold globally and ever increasing measures are put in place to help protect health systems and patients, our travel life is certainly not going as we expected.

Mr A and I went our separate ways on Sunday, him heading up to Doncaster to get a new levelling system fitted on Truffy (means we can travel with a washing machine instead of giant ramps, and getting us level each night will be much easier). I meanwhile headed south to stay with my cousin and her family in Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire.

Bumping elbows instead of hugging, administering hand sanitiser at every opportunity and washing hands for a good 20 seconds, we are doing as much as we can, but one is all too aware of the invisible enemy out there. Every cough is quickly smothered with an excuse, a lack of fever or breathlessness appreciated. I had an element of anxiety that I might be introducing our invisible enemy into the healthy household, despite not having knowingly been in contact with anyone with Covid-19. They too had the same fears with my cousin’s daughter Ella still going to school.

My reason for heading south was a doctor’s appointment in London. I’d had some unusual blood test results earlier this year, so was off to see a specialist at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. Until the morning, I was neither sure whether the appointment was still happening, nor whether my mum would still take the train up from Hastings to meet me there.

It turns out, both happened. With unfamiliar trepidation I caught a train down to London, careful to disinfect everything I came into contact with – the touch-screen ticket machine, the arm of the seat I sat in. There was hardly another person on the train.

An almost deserted platform at Berkhamstead station

Mum and I met at Hampstead tube. It felt very strange only to do a very brief and careful hug after not seeing each other since November, but with both of us in high risk categories (mum over 70 and me with an airway disease) we were being ultra cautious. Mum spent the first 20 or so years of her life in the Hampstead/Gospel Oak area, so this was a real trip down memory lane for her.

Coffee for mum, soda water for me and lots of hand washing!

Lovely spring colours belying the cautious overtones

It was a beautiful spring day, blue skies and a gentle breeze, the air clear and the streets not crowded. We strolled up as far as Hampstead Heath and enjoyed the views over the city, life going on with new leaf buds fit to burst, daffodils bobbing in the breeze and blackbirds singing in the trees. You cant help but wonder whether mother nature has her own plans for saving the planet by wiping out the cause of so much damage…let’s hope not!

Whitestone Pond – mum recalls skidding across this with her sister when it froze over during winter

Mum remembering her time at Hampstead Heath

Flowers frame our view of central London

We enjoyed delicious vegan lunch in a bright little cafe then it was down to the hospital.

An hour later and we were off, catching the number 24 bus to Camden Road, the same route mum used to take to work when she lived in London, BC (before Catherine!).

It is expected that soon over 70s will be asked to completely avoid any social contact. This may well be the last time I see mum in person for weeks, or even months, but it is worth it to keep her well and safe. We farewelled and headed home on nearly empty trains, repeating the regular sanitising and social avoidance.

It’s a tough time to be travelling. Watching people in France in a two week lockdown makes us wonder what we are in for. Our family is so close, and while we would love to spend time with them, it looks like we might have to keep our distance. Our plans remain forever fluid as we adjust them by the moment, hoping that one day this will be just another experience we lived through and survived.

March 13, 2020March 14, 2020

9-13 March: Our fluid plans start flowing

Author: Mrs A

Location: London and Harby, Nottinghamshire, UK

Our flight from Vienna left without a hitch and we travelled across London to a hotel near Kings Cross, where we had planned to spend the night. We had just missed a heavy rain shower and everything was shining and glistening as we wheeled our cases along the street.

Just over 8 months of luggage wheeling along the street

After dropping our cases, we went off for an explore, the spring sunshine coming out for the end of the day.

The gothic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, built in 1873 has been opulently restored. This is not where we stayed!

Seeing this area of London through our post-Vienna eyes we noticed the stark contrasts. The numerous homeless people sat shivering and begging for money along the street were something that was hidden in Austria, but here so visible. The beautiful buildings are still there, but all too often nestled next to 1960s and 70s monstrosities, little apparent thought given to blending the building styles.

We saw a sign pointing towards the Regents Canal, a waterway that has been substantially revitalised in recent years. It was busy with people enjoying Sunday afternoon, strolling home along the towpath with shopping in hand, or stopping at one of the waterside bars for a glass of wine or a pint.

Office buildings and residences alongside the Regents Canal

It’s definitely an area that is in the midst of being revitalised, with old tower blocks being demolished in favour of interesting open air bars and shopping, eating and entertainment precincts.

Later that evening we met up with London-based friend Jacky for our first British curry, opting to go to north Indian restaurant, Yatri, attracted by its great reviews. It certainly deserved its good reputation, with delicious food and a modern cosy atmosphere.

On Monday morning we took the train up to Nottinghamshire, jumping off at Bingham Station, where we were met by one of the Fuller’s Leisure team and escorted to Truffy, our motorhome.

Habitation experts Nathan and Dave from the Fuller’s workshop did an excellent job as always…’Fuller’s Leisure, always a pleasure’

They had been working on a few warranty issues and upgrades while we were back in Australia, and after a tour around all the new amendments and features, we drove off up to our friends’ house, just south of Lincoln.

We’ve enjoyed a lovely week with our friends John and Catriona, who so generously have opened their home and driveway to us to allow us to get ourselves sorted. We even have our own wing to the house – it’s going to be hard to leave!

A 14km (9 mile) walk on Thursday from our friends’ home along a rail trail took us straight into Lincoln, a historical university city with a castle and cathedral. We relished the sunny day, wrapped up against the chilly wind that seems to come straight from Siberia!

Being a rail trail the path is very level and avoids the muddy pathways

Hazelnut catkins and new leaf buds show signs of spring

The fields look descriptively dry with their crispy wheat stems – this area flooded over the winter months and there were quite a few puddles remaining

Flowering blackthorn bushes line the path

While in Lincoln we caught up with my cousin’s daughter, Hannah, and treated her to dinner. We can still remember our student days, appreciating any signs of civilisation and it was good to hear how she was doing six months into her course.

Kanpai ! We introduce Hannah to her first taste of Japanese Sake

Where to from here?

Our plans were originally to head off to Spain on a ferry two weeks tomorrow. But now with the rapidly spreading Covid-19 virus and estimates that around 70% of the population will catch it, being stuck with an underprepared medical system in Spain is not too attractive. Add in the complexities with my airway disease, and you could end up with a potentially life threatening situation (there are no specialists in iSGS in either Spain or Portugal). As borders are starting to be closed off, this seems like an unnecessary risk to take.

So instead, we are planning to practice our relative social isolation by travelling around the UK. At the moment we are thinking that Devon and Cornwall might be attractive options, as well as Wales. Our next couple of weeks will be with family and friends, inter dispersed with some medical visits, and hopefully remaining healthy. We are pretty good at changing our plans on the fly, so will play things by ear over the coming weeks and months…we’ll keep you posted!

January 2, 2020

25 December – 1 January: Oh what a year! Reflecting on 2019 as we enter a new decade

Author: Mrs A

Location: Sydney, Australia

The past week has been full of friends, colour and laughter, starting with a Christmas day feast, lunch catch up in the city, and finishing the year with a bollywood inspired new year’s eve fancy dress party.

Christmas and new year’s fun with friends in Sydney, Australia

Coming to the end of the year, it’s a great time to reflect on all the amazing things we have seen and done – even we pinch ourselves when we recall all the adventures we have had.

The year started in New Zealand, spending time in Omokoroa, a stunning quiet harbour side area in the North Island near Tauranga. We did some incredible walks, met up with lovely friends and spent some quality time with my dad and his wife Sue.

From there, we returned to Australia and spent a couple of months touring Victoria, catching up with friends new and old, a little wine tasting, paddling and cycling thrown in for good measure.

February-March 2019 – Victoria, Australia

At the end of March it was time for our long awaited Europe adventure. We flew to the UK, arriving on what should have theoretically been Brexit Day. Of course it didnt happen, which suited us fine, allowing us free reign to explore Europe without deadlines. We picked up a new-to-us motorhome, which we named Truffy (all motorhomes have a name apparently!), and set about making him comfortable while we caught up with friends and family, Mr A becoming expert in piloting a left-hand-drive vehicle.

Our first month with Truffy, touring friends and family

In May we set off for France, taking a ferry across the channel. We joined friends at a gite in the Champagne region and learned a lot about sparkly bubbles. In Provence, there were more friends to see, beautiful scenery and amazing weather.

Leaving there, we headed off to the Italian Riviera and Tuscany, falling in love with the beautiful towns, friendly people and delicious food and wine.

We travelled across the middle of Italy over to Le Marche, where we spent a week with more friends, touring the stunning villages, vineyards and mountains of the area.

Croatia was our next stop, with some time in Dubrovnic before a cycle-cruise with friends up through the islands. Sparkling clear waters, peaceful sleepy villages and friendly smiles on the islands, a little edgier on the mainland, busy with tourists flocking to the pebbly beaches for the summer. From there we worked our way up through the country to Slovenia.

Amazing sunsets and turquoise waters greeted us in Croatia

Slovenia, we really loved. From spectacular art, delicious wine, amazing cycling opportunities, safe, friendly cities and the most beautiful lakes of Bled and Bohinj. To say nothing of enjoying the novelty of cycling into Italy and back, just because we could.

We drove through the Karawanks Alpine Range to Austria next, a country chock full of stunning views, colourful houses, and a cyclist’s dream with hundreds of kilometers of paths away from traffic or through quiet villages.

A brief interlude with Bavaria in Germany caught us up with some old friends while visiting lakes, waterfalls, castles and more cycle adventures.

Our 10th country of the year was Switzerland, where a pulled pork sandwich is a cool $42 at the airport. Mr A spent some time by bike exploring Zurich while I flew to the UK for a hospital visit, and once I was back we moved on to cheaper regions back in France.

Cycling and river swimming in Swizerland

We spent a few weeks in France, did some big day walks, explored Brittany and Normandy and wallowed in the Anglo-French history, learning lots about everything from medieval times through to the second world war. We did some cycling and wine tasting the Loire Valley, and decided we were not so keen on French oysters when we parked for the night on a farm.

Back in the UK we spent some time with family and explored areas we had not seen much of before. We visited Derbyshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and the Lake District, but the absolute highlight was Scotland. After a few days in Edinburgh, we set off for the Outer Hebrides, visiting Skye, Harris and Lewis, and the highlands. Being off peak, the weather was rather fresh, but the scenery spectacular and unlike anything else.

We finished off our time in the UK with visits with friends in Chester and Nottinghamshire, before putting Truffy into storage for a few months and jetting off on what should have been the next Brexit Day (but wasn’t) to the warmth of Australia.

A final fling visiting friends and family before we jet off around the world

Back in Australia we had a brief catch up with friends in Sydney, before picking up our Zone (caravan) and heading south. We went back into Victoria, exploring some more wine regions and attending a Zone-muster.

We were fortunate to be invited to house sit for a good friend for six weeks over the Christmas period – a time we generally try to avoid travelling due to the busy school summer holidays. It has really made us appreciate being settled in a home for a few weeks, a chance to unpack, take stock and enjoy the city life from a location that is quiet and bushy.

Many of the areas we visited in November have now been burnt beyond recognition, the tarmac melted and warped, trees down across roads, properties and lives lost. It is so sad, but we feel privileged to have visited the regions in safety before all this happened.

There is enough in the press about the fires through Australia so I won’t dwell on that, only that like the rest of the country we are hoping for relief sooner than later – sadly no rain forecast at least until the end of January. Mark and I have donated to the Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal – please click on the link if you’re able to help too – any sum of money is appreciated to help those families who have lost everything.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of our year and helped make it so special. The kindness of friends and strangers (who became friends!) has really made our travels so memorable.

Thank you too to everyone who regularly follows our posts, we really appreciate it! If you’re not yet a subscriber and would like to make sure you don’t miss an update from us, you can subscribe here. We have an exciting year ahead planned, with more travel in Australia, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Spain, France and Scandinavia.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy, healthy and safe year ahead, may 2020 bring you adventures and maybe we’ll meet you on the road somewhere?

Keep in touch, we LOVE hearing from you!

PS If you were part of our year and we’ve not included a photo of you in our montages its only because we are so limited in how many to include – I am certain there is likely a photo of you on this blog somewhere! Thank you!

October 31, 2019November 3, 2019

24-31 October: Winter is coming…preparing Truffy for storage and our last days in UK

Author: Mr & Mrs A

Location: Newark & Harby, Nottinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, London and Hastings, East Sussex, UK

Our final week in the UK for a while went quickly, the autumn temperatures dropping and the wet weather continuing. We are so fortunate to have good friends John and Catriona living not far from where we are storing Truffy, with a nice flat driveway on which we spent a good day avoiding the showers and getting him prepared to store.

The Hymer Owner’s Group was again invaluable in its help providing an essential checklist on all the many things we needed to do to ensure our little camper would make it through a British winter unscathed, and we set about draining tanks, blowing water out of pipes, cleaning and removing soft furnishings. We are so grateful for our friends’ large attic space where we have stored anything that might freeze or suffer from damp.

We made sure we were finished by the weekend when friends Stuart, Karen, Barny and Mel arrived for a farewell/reunion, revisiting our memories of our last time together back in June in La Marche, Italy. It was a fun weekend with a few gins sampled from around the country – with contributions from as far apart as the Outer Hebrides, Cornwall and Hastings.

A magnificent feast with dinner from Catriona and dessert from Karen on Friday night

After a day of pouring rain, Saturday night cleared to a fabulous sunset

Feeling cheery after a rainy Saturday afternoon chatting and drinking champagne, as you do

A little brotherly love between John and Barny

While the others enjoyed the Wales-South Africa rugby match on Sunday morning, we jumped on our bikes for a final ride, enjoying the emergence of bright sunshine but braving the chilly temperatures to ride 15km along a rail trail from the village of Harby to the River Trent. Apparently funding has been secured by a community group to extend this path all the way to Nottingham – we look forward to doing that once it is completed.

Mr A at our end point looking across the flat landscape
The River Trent very swollen after a few days of solid rain

Our start and end point where Doddington and Harby station once stood

Sunday afternoon saw us heading out for a stroll around Whisby Nature Park, an old quarry which has been transformed into a wetland environment with walks and bird hides.

Once barren sand and gravel pits, this area has been restored to provide bird, insect and other wildlife habitat

Mel and Barny stroll down one of the many pathways winding through the park
The rain has brought out lots of mushrooms and toadstools
Fungi standing out like sculptures in the woodland

Silver birch trees are common here. These native trees were first to colonise the UK after the last ice age and are quick to grow and stabilise an area.

Our short walk blew out the cobwebs before we all farewelled each other until next year.

On Monday it was time to drive to Hawton Waters to store Truffy. We left him locked up safe and sound and went off on our way. From here we hired a car and drove south to Milton Keynes.

Truffy’s new home for the next few months

Mr A: While Mrs A was off to London then Hastings I had a few magic days with my daughters in Milton Keynes. I would count as the highlight of our trip this year the opportunity to spend time with them, and their children. two of my grandkids were away with this time, but the two who were around were plenty to handle!

Luke getting more confident riding his bike around the quiet neighbourhood streets

I am just amazed when I watch mums of young children just power through the endless challenges of parenting, especially when it’s school holidays as it was this week.

We had a couple of outings, a walk along the River Ouse was declared “enjoyable” by my older grandson, quite an accolade really considering mum had to prise him away from his Minecraft game!

Luke lapping up some grandfatherly wisdom – James less interested

That night I took my two daughters out for a meal, and what an absolute pleasure that was. Turkish and Lebanese fine dining, in the best company.

Wednesday was a trip out to an open farm, the coldest place I have ever stood in. I have gone so soft in the Australian sun. The boys loved it though, interacting with the animals and playing on the farm toys.

James gets up close and personal with a white cockatiel
Sticking with the white theme, Luke meets a rabbit

Beep! Sheep on the track?
‘Call that a tractor?’

Mrs A: Mr A dropped me at Milton Keynes Station and I took the train into London. There I spent a lovely evening in Twickenham staying at a friend’s house. Jacky is another of the wonderful women I’ve met through my rare disease – making special friends is certainly one of the unexpected benefits of running the support group.

Tuesday morning saw me back at Charing Cross Hospital for my next airway examination and set of steroid injections. I was fairly anxious about this appointment given my breathing had declined over the past month, and I was worried the scarring was quickly returning. It was with some relief I was told I just have an infection and the scar has remained at bay.

After my appointment I travelled over to Charing Cross Station (nowhere near the hospital of the same name) and met my mum at Trafalgar Square. We spent a great afternoon visiting the Royal Acadamy of Arts for an exhibition of Lucian Freud’s self portraits followed by a browse around the Covent Garden Market stalls.

Gold leaf decorated gates on the entrance to the Acadamy

Mum grew up in London but this is her first visit to the Royal Academy of Arts

There are two major exhibitions on right now – sculptures by Gormley and self portraits of Freud

An early Freud work
And a much older Freud, shortly before his death

A cup of tea in the cafe afterwards
Recovered from my hospital procedure now!

Covent Garden is all prepared for Christmas with giant baubles and mistletoe adorning the marketplace

We concluded our London day out with a pre-dinner drink at the Fortnum and Mason Wine Bar, followed by dinner at Viet Food in Chinatown.

Fortnum and Mason was founded in 1707, and remains a glamorous and glitzy department store. It‘s worth visiting for the luxurious hand cream in the bathrooms alone!

Mum remembers taking cooking classes in the 1960s with a pastry chef from Fortnum and Mason, but cannot recall ever having visited the store…another first!

The wine bar is in the basement and sells a range of premium drops from around the world. Mum chose an Australian Barossa Shiraz….

Another first for mum – Vietnamese food in Chinatown

A busy and bustling Chinatown on this fresh October Tuesday evening…London never sleeps

It was a fun mother-daughter catch up and chance to treat mum for her birthday which I missed in September.

Wednesday was an opportunity to spend some time with my 97 year old grandmother. She has been unwell recently and spent some time in hospital with pneumonia and cellulitis, and hearing she was back on antibiotics I made it a priority to get in and see her. It’s one of the challenges of travelling, especially when you’re on the other side of the world, wondering whether it will be the last time you see someone you love. She was in great spirits, rosy cheeks from her infection, but still full of smiles and laughter and could still remember ‘Catherine visiting all the way from Orstralia!’.

Thursday: So now its time to head back to Australia, heads crammed with memories of so many wonderful experiences. Time with friends and family, as well as learning about so many new places. Our dream to travel in Europe, converted to memories of 8 different countries.

People travel for pleasure for lots of different reasons. For us it‘s the opportunity to make new friends, deepen the existing relationships we have, explore new countries and try to understand a little of their culture and history. It’s been simply amazing. To get to share this with adventure with someone as smart, funny, positive and gorgeous as my wife/husband – truly awesome.

October 25, 2019

23 October: A day of lasts in Truffy….

Author: Mrs A

Location: Bakewell, Derbyshire & Hatton, Nottinghamshire, UK

It was a finger-numbingly cold morning as we packed up and left the Chatsworth Estate and drove the short way back to Bakewell, Truffy’s thermometer reading a mere 3° centigrade. We’ve not seen temperatures that low since central Australia last year.

The forecast was for no rain, so we decided to enjoy a last cycle ride before we lock Truffy and our bikes up for the winter. Starting in Bakewell is the Monsal Trail, 14.5 km (9 miles) of traffic-free cycleway, following part of the old Midland railway between Bakewell and Chee Dale.

Parts of the UK have their half-term school holidays at present, so it was fairly busy with cyclists, despite the chilly temperatures. We can only imagine how crowded it would get on a warm summer’s day.

An old bridge dating to 1863 when the railway was first opened

The original train line ran from Manchester to London, and was closed in 1968. The railway passed into the hands of the Peak District National Park in 1980 and the trail developed.

The trail follows the River Wye valley, cutting through some lovely scenery. At one point we looked down on a collection of buildings, learning these were the sites of textile mills in the 1700s. Cressbrook Mill, set up in 1782 was notorious for unsavoury work practices, specifically bringing orphaned children up from London and forcing them to work as ‘apprentices’ for little or no wages.

Showing that everything in life is somehow linked, in 1860 the owner of Cressbrook Mill, David Cannon McConnell emigrated to Queensland, Australia, and the settlement of Cressbrook is named after this area.

The Cressbrook Tunnel, opened to cyclists and walkers in 2011 after great investment

We continued to the end of the trail, tagging on a little extra ride along a quiet road along the River Wye, before turning and retracing our steps back to Bakewell.

Some of the trees have lost their leaves already, making it look quite wintry on this grey day

Back in Bakewell we treated ourselves to fish and chips. It is getting to that point in our trip where we are relishing the ‘last’ of everything – this being the last authentic chips and curry sauce this year! Mr A had mushy peas and a pickled egg too…we didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day!

Our last cod and chips for a while…very tasty!

We left Derbyshire and drove across the country, picking up a few storage bags at Ikea in Nottingham, before driving to Hawton Waters near Newark in Nottinghamshire.

Hawton Waters has a small number of camp sites near a lake, as well as being a gold accredited storage area for caravans and motorhomes. It Is here we have booked Truffy into for the winter, so in addition to staying the night, it was a good opportunity to have a look at where he would be living for the next four months. They’ve just extended their storage facility, so if you’re looking for somewhere secure to put your van or truck, this could be an option for you.

There’s plenty of security, with two gates to get through and many 24/7 CCTV cameras as well as lots of people around. We feel very comfortable with our choice.

We found a hard standing spot to spend the night, and settled down to our last sleep in Truffy this year.

October 24, 2019October 25, 2019

21-22 October: Into Derbyshire…

Author: Mr A

Location: Bakewell and Chatsworth House, Peak District, Derbyshire, UK

Sunday: We left our hotel in Chester behind, but not before enjoying a final long, long, shower – then heading back to our life of short showers in the motorhome or disappointing shower blocks on campgrounds. Well, it rains enough here to never have to feel guilty about water usage!

We left Cheshire headed into Derbyshire and over to the small town of Bakewell, famous for its tarts. Not the short skirt wearing variety, but the yummy decked-out-with-butter-pastry type.

The sun and blue skies are replaced with grey as we enter into Derbyshire

We tried to set up to stay the night there, but after all this rain we couldn’t get on our ramps as they just sunk into the mud. So it was a quick tour around town instead, and some power shopping for yet more warm clothes, before heading off for the night to a campground adjacent to the estate of Chatsworth House, famous for being the filming location of Pride and Prejudice and the Colin Firth version of Mr Darcy.

Our visits to Chester and Bakewell have encouraged us to reflect on what we’ve enjoyed though about these small English towns, as we prepare mentally to leave them behind and head back to Australia. There have been a number of really standout examples of vibrant little centres like this one at Bakewell. There were so many niche stores, from cheese shops to gin emporia, and quality independent clothing stores, cosy cafes and enticing pubs, all bustling with people.

Mrs A and I often wonder what the magic formula is, why some small towns seem to flourish and others in a similar geography wither. We had some ideas from our own observations, but I’ve been doing some digging and reading up to see what the experts say . The formula seems to be the creation of what one of the global leaders in urban planning Brent Toderian termed “a sticky street” – places where people want to linger. Structural changes such as pedestrianising areas are in the hard to do bucket, but essential to make them people friendly. It’s something we always comment on when wandering around a new town or village, ‘Who wants to linger in a street with cars and lorries thundering by?‘ Then changes being made that make that environment even more attractive, with entertainment for instance, like street artists. In Chester I stopped for ages listening to a guy playing an electric violin, it was so beautiful. I meandered around even more shops and spent money.

Another key strategy bringing back to life the high streets of some towns is the independent shops selling the non-commoditised goods we don’t see on Amazon. Why would you go to a high street where most of what is on sale you can have delivered? It all seems so obvious, so what’s stopping so many councils from acting and providing leadership? I think of our own little high street in a suburb of Sydney, where several of the store owners I know are against pedestrianising the street because they are afraid business will drop! A half decent councillor with an eye on something more than feathering there own pocket (thinking of several of the ones we’ve met) would be able to show them the data and convince them. It’s just a no brainer. Once we settle back down somewhere I think I may have to have a go at local politics and stop bitching from the sideline.

So it was goodbye to Bakewell and a lovely 6 mile drive over to Chatsworth House and the camp site that was heaving at the seams, with I would guess, over a 100 caravans and motorhomes. There’s a lot of us about.

It’s nestled right next to the 1,000 acre Chatsworth Estate, with its grounds designed by Capability Brown (famous for designing landscapes that look as though they could be natural, while presenting a range of trees, colours and textures to the view).

Trees are given space to grow and spread out as well as being selected for their complimentary colouring throughout the year

Monday morning we walked through to Chatsworth House park and heard a strange noise behind us. We turned to see a herd of deer leaping over a fence. Well the big ones did, the smaller deer had second thoughts.

Chief stag literally prances through the field, jollying up his herd

The herd takes guidance on which way to jump

There is no running up, literally just jump over the fence from standing

The younger ones struggle to get over and get a bit panicky as the adults gallop off into the woods, leaving them behind

We continued through the grounds to the grand house.

The sun breaks through the clouds, lighting up this tree like flames

Not the house – this houses a cafe as well as children’s farm

Looking across the gardens at the sculpted landscaped views

Mrs A explored the house while I inspected the cafe in some detail. My ankle was still playing up so I couldn’t really do the place justice.

The grand entrance hall is designed to make visitors gasp with giant paintings and ornate carving on every surface. The first duke was appointed in 1694 for helping put William of Orange on the throne as King of England – royal scenes are depicted.

The grand stairway up to the first level

Dating back to 150-50 BCE, this foot wearing a sandal is thought to have come from a giant Greek wood and marble statue. The right foot is at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin

Incredible stories of gods and goddesses are pictured in the murals

A disliked housekeeper was immortalised by the artist painting this ceiling, using her face on a bad God, holding scissors ready to cut the strings of life

On the first level of the house, an elaborate suite of rooms was designed specifically for receiving King William III and Queen Mary II….they never came to stay….

Chinese and Japanese vases on many surfaces

Spot the trompe-l’oeil of the violin behind the door

The house continues to be lived in by the present Duke and Dutchess of Derbyshire, and in recent years has had a substantial revamp with more than £33 million spent on it restoring the building inside and out.