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2019 - UK cont:
CHERTSEY Cont:
Beckanscot
The model village in the centre of Beaconsfield is
amazing. Whilst it is primarily an attraction for
children it is just as interesting for all ages.
The ‘village’ is set in 1930s and extends over 1.5
acres. It is full of cameos of rural life and has an
operational railway which runs throughout the
area. This is an extensive garden railway layout
set in a suitable sized garden!
it is well worth a visit.
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.
Thames Path Cycle Ride
We rode from Chertsey up river to Staines. Good lunch in riverside pub and rode back. Fantastic properties
beside the river and very pretty and very interesting cycle ride.
WOODSPRING
In July we set off for the West Country, our destination was a small, model aircraft airfield on the Somerset
Levels known as Woodspring.
Again we had a horrendous journey which took us 5 hours from home to just south of Bristol. We promised
ourselves never to travel again on a Friday in the summer.
Woodspring is an annual event for very skilled model aircraft enthusiasts and we were invited by our friends,
Ion and Sue Acland to joln them for the weekend. It was a very enjoyable event and the skill of the remote
control pilots was simply astounding. The build quality and the size of the models was impressive. the event
is highly regarded by the flying fraternity - so much so that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster
flew over and made four low level passes over the airfield.
At home for a few weeks and an
opportunity for George to get some hiking
done. One particular hike was around the
back of Arundel, past Amberley and the
Norfolk Estate. The route passed through
a field which was bright red with poppies!
A wonderful sight. A lovely walk.
Click to enlarge
(above) Sue and Desnée plan dinner. Model Concorde on the ground and in the air. Red Arrows Hawks.
Lancasters - top the real thing and below the models. Some of the aircraft on display.
Once these models are airborne it is almost impossible to determine them from the real thing! The Red
Arrows Hawks flying in formation were amazing - complete with red, white and blue smoke and they had
miniature jet engines to power them.
The Somerset Levels are all peat underfoot and it was a most unusual feeling to sense the ground bouncing
up and down as people walked past you. It was also a bit worrying that as soon as we parked up the
wheels settled into the ground. However, they only sank up to a point and we had no difficulty driving
away.
TOTNES
Our next destination was Totnes in Devon. An easy cruise straight down the M5. We were meeting up with
several Carthago owners friends for a couple of days. They were staying on the Steamer Quay site in the
town of Totnes but the site would not take over 8m because it is all grass pitches and they were concerned
about the weight. So, we had to book into Ramslade site at Stoke Gabriel and commute by Smart car. It is
only 10 minutes drive between the two sites.
It was now becoming pretty hot weather and it was lovely to sit out in the evening with friends and enjoy a
few nibbles and drinks.
We had planned to take the Round Robin Tour on the Monday starting at Steamer Quay in Totnes. Due to the
tide times we had to travel clockwise as the water was too low in the morning for the river boat to get into
Totnes.
www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/tours/round-robin
Totnes - Paignton on open top bus
Paignton - Kingsweir by Steam train
Kingsweir - Dartmouth by ferry
Dartmouth Lunch stop
Dartmouth - Totnes by river boat
A truly excellent day out.
Spectacular scenery. Dartmouth is a
lovely town to walk around and
plenty of eating places!
Far left
- Steam Train to Kingsweir
2
nd
col
- ferry across the Dart estuary
- Dartmouth Buildings
3
rd
col
- River boat pier
- trip up the river estuary
above
- seal in the river Dart, near
Totnes
click on each one to enlarge
On the Tuesday morning we left Stoke Gabriel about mid morning and shortly came head to head with a large
building materials truck in a very narrow section of Devon lane. He thought we would back off but I had to get
out and explain that with a tow car it was going to take me quite some time to reverse as i would have to
unhitch first. By now there were several cars behind each of us. He agreed to reverse back to a wider section
of the road and I smiled nicely at his followers as I explained that they would need to back up about 100 yards
down the road.
By squeezing both our vehicles into the hedgerows we just managed to pass each other but only with about 2
inches clearance. It was our tightest situation to date.
We were on our way home but stopping off for a couple of nights on the way.
WINCHESTER
The Caravan and Motorhome Club site at Morn Hill,
Winchester was going to be our overnight stops. We were
going to meet Paul and Deborah Kenyon, long term
Carthago owners friends, who were wardens at the site.
It is a beautiful site that has a pleasant spacious feeling
about it. There is plenty of grass between the pitches.
Paul and Deborah joined us for an evening meal at The
Crickters Inn in Easton, just a couple of miles from the site.
Good food but not much atmosphere. However, we did get
a 20% discount off the menu as we were staying at the
campsite.
The following day George met up with two of his old school friends, John Roberts and Anthony Heckstall-Smith.
It is a regular, annual lunch meet up and is based in Winchester as it is equal distance for George and Ant to
travel. However, on this occasion George had just a few minutes drive to get to the rendezvous at The Queen Inn
in Winchester. Desnée managed to get a little shopping done in Winchester !
It was good to meet up with old friends and put the world to rights! Paul and Deborah are hoping to be wardens
at the same site next year - so we may well be visiting Morn Hill campsite again.
From Winchester is was an easy drive back to Worthing. A chance to get a few jobs done before our next
adventure but on the way back we had one more call to make.
We visited Reliance Caravan and Motorhome Services at Funtington, near Chichester, to have the leak in our roof
repaired, which we had discovered whilst in Cromford in May.
Reliance are a very skilled and dedicated team who do a first class job and are a Carthago approved service
centre.
www.reliancecms.uk
While the work was being done we took a trip out to Bosham and visited the café on the waters edge. What a
disappointment! The cakes were getting stale and the place felt dirty and untidy. We will not be returning!
On the way to Bosham we called in at Concierge Camping which is just north of the A27 as we had seen it
advertised.
Wow! Concierge is a truly amazing campsite and has justifiably won Campsite of the Year Award. It is not cheap
but it is indeed a top class campsite. Worth a visit if you are touring in the area or just fancy a bit of luxury for a
few days!
