Camping on the Isle of Wight - Part 3

On that same Thursday, after visiting the Alpacas we decided to go for a walk along the coast in the opposite direction to what we went last year.  It was definitely interesting. We passed lots of derelict buildings, or what was left of them, along the path, most of the rubble was down the cliff. We then came across an old looking holiday park that had lots of chalets and we didn't think we could go any further because the cliff path seemed to stop as it had eroded into the sea but then we spotted a sign that said we could walk through the holiday park and continue on the cliff path.

The holiday park had a few people milling around, clearly staying in some of the chalets that were further inland and in good condition but many of the chalets were in a state of disrepair with dirty and broken windows, old mattresses and furniture inside and right up on the cliff edge.  It was really sad because you could see what it would have been like in its hey-day but now it had come to the end of its life.  I didn't take any photos because I felt like it was wrong and would be prying.

Some photos of the coast and the sea from the last few days, its been pretty rough.

A bit further along the coastal path it came to an end and there were steps down to the beach so that is where we went as the tide was out and was not due back in for a while.  We are so glad we did because it was so beautiful and interesting.  Dark brown sand, which I have never seen in my life, sea foam, caves, all colours of rocks and we made our way back to the camp site along the beach. 

The last photo on the left hand side is looking directly down at the sand.  Strange but very interesting!

The first three photos in this next set are close ups of the rock and the amazing colours.

I found a couple of interesting rocks and a shell on our walk.

Camping in the Isle of Wight - Part 2

So, the first half of the week has been pretty horrendous in terms of the weather.  One poor family had to salvage what they could from their tent and pack it into their car and then drive across the Island to find a camping and outdoor retailer and buy a new tent as the tent they had was completely wrecked by the wind and rain.  They, like us, are booked on a particular ferry to go home, the ferries are really busy at this time of year so it will very difficult to change the booking and they are determined to make the most of their holiday for their kids. Thankfully, whilst it was very noisy in our tent, as everything was rattling and flapping in the wind, we are still in one piece and its looking like the weather is changing for the better.

Thursday, and we were off to West Wight Alpacas & Llamas for a visit.  They don't just have Alpacas and Llamas though and we didn't book and pay to walk the Alpacas but we had a great day.  There were a few baby goats wondering around, they're too small to be kept in by the fences, they just squeeze themselves through the gaps to play with everyone.

Chickens and fowl of all kinds.  I am fascinated by the colouration and patterns of the feathers, such as the middle row far right, that golden brown with a light stripe down the centre and dark brown edging is just absolutely beautiful and the colours and striking contrast on the cockerel in the top two photos is amazing. Nature is a wonderful designer.

The sheep, different kinds but I have a soft spot for the Wensleydale, that's the long wool breed in the two photos on the left and the bottom centre.

Alpacas and a close up of the face.  There is something fascinating about their huge eyes and their expressions that I just can't stop looking at their faces.

Alpacas and Llamas.  Can you tell the difference.  Obvious when you see them side by side as Llamas are bigger, their coats are different and they have huge curvey banana ears.  That's a baby Llama on the middle row, left hand side and his mother is in the centre.  The photo in the middle on the bottom row has a sad ending.  That is an alpaca giving birth and we went to get help.  Turns out she had been in labour for several hours but still not given birth.  Before we left we found out that they had to intervene and sadly the baby was already dead.

This last set of photos shows a horse/pony and donkeys.

We had a lovely time and didn't want to leave, we could have walked around again but we couldn't stay there all day, we had other things we wanted to do whilst the weather was nice and we didn't have much time left of our holiday.

Camping in the Isle of Wight, again! Part 1.

We just got back from camping in the Isle of Wight.  After much searching for somewhere on the other side of the Island that looked nice and could take a tent the size of ours and a dog we gave up and went to the same site as last year but this year we are earlier than last year.  Ermmmm, yeah, what can I say.  Weather: shite.  Mood: shite.  Had a good time: a few highlights but not really.  Coming back here next year: NO!

The camp site is basically on the top of the cliff right next to the coast on the western side of the Island so any wind is blowing in from the direction of the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Celtic Sea and along the English Channel.  Putting the tent up, ha ha ha, yeah, that was fun, not , in gale force winds but we had to do it when we arrived as the forecast was for it get a little worse and not improve until at least the next day.  We struggled and fought in the wind and we did manage to get the tent up but not as we'd have liked.  It wasn't sat properly on the footprint and it wasn't up quite right, nothing was aligning, it was securely tethered to the ground but was slightly askew and with the wind we managed to rip the skirting at the back, luckily not the main tent so we were very lucky there.

First night was really fun.  Not only was the wind and rain keeping me awake but I was uncomfortable and then suddenly aware that my air bed was completely devoid of air and I was lying on the hard lumpy ground of the field and I could feel this through the footprint, the inbuilt groundsheet of the tent, the deflated air bed and my sleeping bag.  Hubby very kindly gave me his air bed and he went and slept on one of our blow up arm chairs in the main tent area. Despite the weather, we did manage to get out and about a bit when it blow over for a bit and the first port of call was to see the animals on the farm we were staying on. 

The cocks were all strutting their stuff, there are quite a few of them but it was the guy in the bottom two photos that made me laugh.  There he was puffing himself up on the top of a fence post and as I took the first photo he looked at me and squawked at me and being the daft cow that I am I spoke to him and said "What's the matter, didn't I get your best side?" So he turned to face the opposite way and posed for me.

On Tuesday we went to Ryde to have a walk round and whilst there a hovercraft came in, that was interesting, wet and sandy!  Needless to say that my Canon camera did not come out all day and I relied on my phone for the pictures.

We went to Shanklin and Godshill but it wasn't as nice as last year, it was too wet and miserable to enjoy it properly and by Wednesday evening I was so miserable I had had enough and wanted to come home.  Thankfully we didn't do that because the day after we had some decent weather and was able to get out and about properly.  See Part 2.

Camping on the Isle of Wight

Our first holiday in two years, very excited to be going away.  We were up at the crack of dawn and the car was packed up with all the camping gear and we were on the road for 6am on Monday morning.  Our holiday was Monday to Friday with the touristy kind of things being done on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It was a nice drive down to Lymington, where we caught a ferry to Yarmouth, which is on the North side of the Island but towards the West.

We had a hard time pitching the tent because the ground was so hard and dry as we've not had rain for weeks, its been very hot and the ground and grass is parched.  We broke or bent a lot of tent pegs trying to get the tent up and luckily the onsite shop sells good quality tent pegs, better than the ones we had.  After a lot of "naughty words" being said by hubby and after using water to wet the ground where we needed to hammer the pegs in we finally got the tent up and settled in.  Not a bad view at all.  The campsite is Grange Farm, Brighstone Bay, and if you click to their website you will see a picture down the right hand side, an aerial shot of the campsite.  Note the white static holiday homes that look closest to the water, we were just above them.

The photos above show the view from the tent looking towards the sea.  I went up the bench at the end and took these others photos later on, during sunset.  The top one is looking down to the sea slightly to the right, then looking down slightly to the coastline to the left and towards the South of the Island and see how the static holiday homes are below us and finally, looking along the coastline to the right towards the north of the Island.

During our holiday we visited:

Shanklin Coastal Path: a nice walk along the quiet Coastal Path which sits above the sheer drop to the sea on the left and the houses on the right.  Some of the houses are beautiful but I dread to think how much they would cost because of their size, location and views.  We would need to win the Lottery!

Shanklin Chine: this is basically a deep narrow ravine with water running down to the sea which has been turned into a garden-tourist attraction.  You can read all about Shanklin Chine here.

Alum Bay: this is famous for its natural multi-coloured sands and you have to be careful in case of rock fall.  The sand is collected and sold from the natural rock falls, it is not mined, and so not all colours are available at all times.  They also make their world renowned Alum Bay Glass.

The Needles and the Old Battery:  The Needles are the distinctive rocks and the Old Battery is the old Military Defence Base protecting mainland England from attacks along the south coast.  We didn't have the time nor the energy to also visit the New Battery.   You can find out more about these two sites here.

Godshill Model Village:  This is a model village of Godshill and surrounding area, including Shanklin Chine. The hubby and the kids loved this.  Within the model village there is a model of the model village complete with tourists and within that a model of the model village and within that a model of the model village and so on.  This is the photo top right.  Here is the link to the website.

Godshill Village: This is itself a tourist attraction but my family wouldn't stop and pose for photos so I apologise for the backs of their heads.

The journey home on the Friday was pretty horrendous, lots and lots of traffic and it was hot, very hot and it took us at least 2 hours more to get home than it did to get to our holiday.  Still lots of things on the Island that we didn't do, lots of things to see and do on the North East part of the Island so I think we will be going back to the Isle of Wight next year but finding a campsite up on the North East side as Grange Farm is lovely, very nice and quiet with their 10pm-7am quiet rule (no music/noise/shouting allowed during those times) but it is quite remote so if you fancy getting a take away, like fish and chips, it is literally about 9 miles to the nearest place.

I took lots of photos and a lot of photos of rocks, plants, bugs etc but I don't want to bore you to tears with those.

Camping in Somerset part IV

On our last full day of our holiday we decided to head off to Cheddar Gorge.  The weather was slightly overcast but you don't want it blazing hot when you are walking in the hills.  You have to drive up the steep winding road that cuts through the hillside above the town of Cheddar.  The roads are busy and narrow and there are tourists everywhere.  Its lovely walking through the town but a bit scary if I'm honest. 

There are a few attractions in Cheddar but we found them to be really expensive and walked away from them, as did a lot of other people who enquired about the prices so we decided to do the free hill walk instead.

We found the start of the hill walk in the town and made our way up and boy is it steep to begin with.  Its not for the faint-hearted and I must admit to having to stop several times on the way up but once you are up to the top it opens out to lots of space.

There is a large rock that sits just above the town that looks like a lion sitting there looking out over the Savannah.  It really is a long way up to the top.

There are wild goats living in the hills.  I have no idea what kind of goats these are but they are just walking around up there without a care in the world.  The black one was really nosy, it kept watching us.

When we got back to the town, where we had parked the car, we had fancy flavoured ice-creams before the drive back to the campsite and our last night of our stay.

Camping in Somerset part III

Being Pagan's we cannot come down here and not visit Glastonbury and Glastonbury Tor when we are camping so close to it.  Its a bit of a drive from where we are camping and parking, well yes, parking was a bit of a nightmare but it had to be done.

Obviously I didn't walk around Glastonbury itself taking photos of shops but WOW, the shops.  Unfortunately we are on a tight budget, isn't nearly everybody at the moment, so I couldn't go buying lovely goodies but I did admire lots of lovely things for sale.  We vowed to come back at sometime in the future when we do have some money to spend because it is a Pagan and Wiccan shopper's delight.

We did want to visit the Chalice Well and Garden but dogs are not allowed so we had to walk on by and carry on up to Glastonbury Tor and St Michaels Tower.  OMG I am so unfit.  It is one hell of climb up.  You might look at the photos and think "a gentle incline".  Try getting up there, its not that easy but the views are stunning.

It is really windy up on the top and it takes away that last bit of breath that you have after climbing up that hill to get there!

St Michaels Tower is roofless but amazingly enchanting and a little haunting but you just want to stay there and look up, its a weird feeling.

I don't need to write anything, you can read the plaque for yourself.

We went back to the tent and collapsed in a heap.  We were all exhausted and all had to lie down for a while and recover before having our evening meal.  Come and join me in Part IV.

Camping in Somerset Part II

Using Wookey Farm as a base, we headed off to visit local tourist attractions, starting with The City of Wells.  Its the smallest city in England but a City it is, Medieval too, and the filming location for the movie Hot Fuzz staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost amongst others.

We started off at The Bishops Palace, with its ornate ceilings in the entrance ways.

 We walked around the moat and ended up at the Cathedral.

There was lots to see and it was quite busy but we enjoyed the walk and the peacefulness away from the main tourist areas.  Will you join me in Part III?

Camping in Somerset part I

We enjoyed camping last year in Wales but this year we have chosen an up-and-coming Eco-friendly campsite just outside of Wells in Somerset called Wookey Farm.  It is a small family run Goat farm,  producing its own products but they also have a few other animals too such as sheep and pigs.

Its a new camp site but it does have electrical hook-up if you want it and the pitches are big.  The only downside is that there aren't any showers but there are toilets, they're compost toilets, which was an experience and they're not for everyone but they're not all the different from using your own chemical toilet really.

This time I made sure to get some photos of the tent.  Technically its bigger than last year because we have bought an extension to fit on the front of the main tent so that all the cooking equipment can be kept out there and the cooking can be done out the way of the kids.  It has lots of air vents, roll-up privacy curtains, fly net doors, two large bedrooms and storm porch but we use the storm porch to house the chemical toilet as we leave the privacy curtains in place and it has its own zip door from the main tent so its like its own little room.

The farm has Toggenberg goats, a dairy breed, and the farm produces goat's milk, goat's cheese and other products to sell in their little farm shop, at farmer's markets and I think they sell them online too but I'm not 100% sure on that.  You are encouraged to go see the goats and they are milked at certain times of the day so you can go and watch that too.  Our little dog, Ruby was fascinated with them.

I took a video of the goats being milked.

We did so much on this holiday that I am having to split it into parts.  See you in Part II, hopefully.

We've been camping in Wales!

I'm 42, I have never been camping in my life, ever, not even as a kid.  Hubby suggested earlier this year that we should go on camping holidays as it would be easier with the dog and the kids and its something he used to do years ago.  We go shopping at Go Outdoors for the tent and other equipment but I didn't like the look and feel of the tent he was looking at, with the girls growing up fast it wouldn't last us long as we would soon need a bigger one to cope with bigger people and I don't like to feel cramped up/penned in.  If we are doing this we are doing this BIG.

Big tent and equipment bought of a period of a few months and off we go camping during the school half term holiday at the end of May, Monday to Friday.  Hubby booked the pitch, based on recommendations from his brother and online reviews.  Hendre Mynach Campsite in Barmouth, Wales.

He had a large pitch with electrical hook-up and there are basic shower and toilet facilities and a shop on site.  The weather wasn't the best, we did have some cloudy days and some rain but it was a nice break and we did lots of walking and we all had a good time.  There is a railway line that runs between the beach and the campsite for local trains, which are about 1 an hour and it is segregated off from the campsite and you have to use the special crossing to get to the beach but other than that it is pretty quiet.  The campsite is really close to the beach, just across that railway line!

Above the town is a National Trust walk, Dinas Oleu.  The stone wall, in the second photo, can be seen on the first photo below, just slightly up from the centre of the photo.  There are some great views up there and plenty of fresh air!

The beach is dog friendly up towards the north end and so we spent a lot of time up there as we took our little dog with us on holiday.  Plenty of space too as not many people about.

The bottom photo below is about as north as we walked, and we walked a long way, and shows you just how close the railway line is to the sea.

Walking around Barmouth town we came across Dragon Theatre with a beautiful mosaic and interesting decoration either side of the front door.

Of course, we are in Wales, so we are bound to find some of these.  The sheep with the coloured spray on I think are Welsh Mountain sheep and the photos of the sheep on the hill with large stone areas I think are Lleyn Sheep but I'm not totally sure.

It was a good break, very windy, we could have had better weather but we could have had far worse too.  For a first camping holiday it certainly was an experience.