INDEX

Mel met Jack & me at Bracelands camp site in the Forest of Dean on Sunday 31st May 2009. The Wye Valley is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and forms the western border of the Forest, separating England from Wales. This unique landscape offers many opportunities for outdoor activities, including walking along what is regarded as Britains most unspoilt major river. The limestone walls of the Valley provide some of the best rock climbing sites in the country.

Before dinner, Mel & I walked the perimeter of the camping field on the forest tracks, letting Max have a good run, and much to my dismay, a mud bath in a ditch!

We missed the bus back to Berry hill by 10 minutes, so we returned by taxi. The evening was spent chatting about the walk with Jack.

Jack was still feeling poorly on Tuesday, but Mel said he felt fine after his trek. Having enquired at the camp site shop, which is ½ mile uphill from the camping field, we decided to walk to the local pub for lunch. It took about 20 minutes from our vans, but was well worth the walk as the food was superb. We both had salad (1 mackerel & 1 ham) and shared the meaty/fishy bit. The slice of ham was the size of a tea plate, and ½ inch thick, & the mackerel salad came with 2 smoked mackerel – delicious! The Irish landlady and her partner, make all the food on the premises, and even have a veg patch in the beer garden. We said how nice their coleslaw was, and she came out with a dish of it for us – heaven! When we got back to the camp site, we sat and read in the sun – enjoying the views across the tree covered hills, and the peace & quiet.
That evening, Raj & Moira came out to see us for a while. We sat outside until it became too cool, when we retired to Mel’s van for more chatter & beer. Raj promised to do a curry for us when we next meet up.

Wednesday dawned bright and sunny as we packed up and headed to Preston in Lancashire for our Country and Western rally. Brian & Ann Dilley were there before us, and we were glad we had arrived early as we needed to clean all the tables and chairs & sweep the floor before we started to decorate the hall. It was a good venue though, capable of taking many vans. We decided against using the kitchen area due to the four legged residents we discovered. We were given a great welcome by the owners and also by George and Mary, who acted as caretakers to the camping facilities. On asking George & Mary about buses to Garstang for a shopping trip the following day, George kindly offered to take us in his car. (Jack’s scooter included).

Garstang is the gateway to some of the finest countryside in the North West with walking routes that run through beautiful fields and woodland at the edge of the River Wyre and the picturesque Lancaster Canal. 
Once referred to as "Cherstanc" in the Domesday book, Garstang combines a happy blend of old and new with historic buildings and quaint alleyways alongside high street stores, exclusive restaurants and cosy country inns.
Back in the 18th century Garstang was a popular stopping point for coaches en route from London to Edinburgh and the traditional market which still takes place every Thursday dates back to 1310 and the days of Edward II. We were able to browse the street market, Mel bought the first of 2 hats and a belt!; and buy some pies (meat & potato and butter pies) which we had for our dinner that night. We all preferred the butter pies, which seemed to be made of potato, & onion, with a hint of cheese. In the afternoon we continued getting the hall ready, and putting up the jovi style awning which Brian & Ann had bought with them. We thought it would provide shelter from the weather.

Friday night started with Dave & his disco, followed by Bruce’s Country. Bruce sounded a bit lost in the large hall, and Dave had problems with some of his music on his new lap top. The files had not copied across properly, and all he had was the title. No one noticed, and a great time was had by all.                                                                                                                                                        
On Saturday afternoon, fortified with wobbly coffees, Margaret Gratton taught us line & Partner dancing. Our trilogy in the evening was carried out by Brian Dilley, Ron Branson and David Healey. One of our favourite singers, Bob Oakley, entertained us in the evening. Our adventurous group of dancers filled the floor all night. Mel danced with Ann Dilley a waltz and some rock & roll! We even had 4 couples dancing “the Sleazy Slide”! Dave borrowed our i-pod, and to my amazement played some of the tracks direct – they did sound good.

Sunday morning arrived, and we had coffee morning, and our raffle draw. There were loads of raffle prizes due generous donations. We also awarded 2 special prizes to Charlie and her friend Davina who arrived dressed as Cowgirls on the Friday, and were still dressed on Sunday. They did look good. By now we were beginning to flag a bit. After the chairs & tables were returned to their original places. and we had cleared up, we spent a lazy afternoon & evening unwinding.

Monday morning found us in Blackpool, where we rode on a tram from South Shore to Fleetwood. Once at Fleetwood, we enjoyed a coffee, before getting on the tram and going all the way back again! We then moved the van a mile or so up the front, before embarking on a search for fish & chips. We passed a few shops which were a bit pricey, some which were closed, and some which Jack dismissed as being “not traditional”. He wanted somewhere with fresh fish, not frozen. We ended up back where we had started, at one he had declared was not good enough, and had some lovely crispy chips and a delicious piece of tasty fish. – You cant judge a shop by its appearance (even if it does sell kebabs!).

We then returned to Hamilton House to pick up Mel’s van before driving to Clitheroe where we had booked for 2 nights. Once we had pitched up, Mel & I walked via the park, (where Max eyed up the river,) into town to get bread & cash.                              
 

Jack felt fine on Tuesday, and we wandered back into town to explore. First stop was the market where we tasted hot pork pies, and bought some fruit and some more butter pies. Then we headed to a coffee shop for elevenses before trawling through the charity shops looking for waistcoats. “Cowman’s Butchers” was a must for dinner. They do at least 50 different types of Sausage, so we had 3 of 3 different types _”Eddisford Pork”; “Pork, Apple & Mint” and “Pork and Caramelised Onion”. Needless to say we had peas and mash to accompany them for dinner. On the way back to the site, we decided to take a look at the castle. Jack’s scooter just about made it up hill to the bottom of the keep steps with a push or two from Mel & me.

Mel decided to climb the steps to the top of the tower, and after a while I joined him. The views we amazing. Especially those of Pendle Hill. – a favourite place of mine, - which when ever we saw it, caused Mel to limp heavily! Jack & Mel started to make up a song about “Going up Pendle hill coming down” to the tune of  “Going up Camborne hill coming down!” Pendle hill is 200ft short of being a mountain, but Jack & Mel decided it was one!  While at Clitheroe we taught Mel how to play Uno. We found out that we could go to quite a lot of places by bus & train, but sadly the camp site did not have room to keep us, so we had to move on.

On Wednesday morning we drove to Settle in Yorkshire where we boarded a train to Carlisle. It cost £20 each return. (Max travelled free) & £1 to park all day. It was well worth it, to see all the stunning scenery. The Settle to Carlisle Railway was the last great mainline railway to be built in this country. Completed for passenger travel in 1876 by the Midland Railway Company, it had taken six years to build. For the 19th century engineers, the landscape presented a tremendous challenge to their ingenuity, skills and abilities. Consisting of 72 miles of track with 17 major viaducts spanning the ravines and 14 tunnels, the line was constructed by men who lived a harsh life in shanty towns, with little to supplement their manpower except dynamite. Hundreds of railway builders ("navvies") lost their lives building the line, from a combination of accidents, fights, and smallpox outbreaks. Ribblehead viaduct (the most famous) is just over the border from Cumbria into North Yorkshire. In particular, building the Ribblehead (then Batty Moss) viaduct, with its 24 massive stone arches, 440 yards long, 104 feet (32 metres) above the moor, caused such loss of life that the railway paid for an expansion of the local graveyard.

Thursday morning we set off by 9.00 as we had ordered 6 butter pies from the pie stall in Clitheroe market, and had to pick them up. Then we headed for Blackburn and the market halls. But first we had to go via “the Nick of Pendle”, where we admired the views, & Max got to have a run on the moor. I had forgotten how beautiful it was up there, & how quiet with just the sound of distant sheep and the cries of the skylarks.

Blackburn was a disappointment to me. It had changed so much. The motorway extended all the way round the south side of it eventually meeting up with the M6. There were building works at the shopping centre, and the part of the market I wanted to visit was closed. More to the point, I couldn’t find anywhere that sold fruit pudding for my breakfast. We did sit in the market hall and have pie & gravy for lunch. They were very nice too!

The views on route were amazing. We would have liked to stay on for a few days, but the site was fully booked. That night we played Uno to see who was going to cook breakfast before setting off along the spine of Wales, heading south to hay-on-Wye. I lost, with Mel coming 2nd place with the washing up. How come jack always wins, and gets out of the jobs?

Friday morning, after a good feed of Bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast, we set off. The start of the journey was slow due to accidents along the route. The biggest being an overturned car & caravan. A sobering sight which made us concentrate more.

On Monday Jack had a medical in the afternoon, so we spent the morning walking Max across the fields and along the river, re-stocking the vans with provisions & clean washing. Then Mel went off exploring, via the charity shops of course!

The neighbours complained about 2 vans in the car park, so as soon as we were able, (due to being hemmed in), we were off to Burrowhayes Farm for 3 nights, where we enjoyed many walks through the woods and along the river with Max, where he enjoyed many swims and mud baths, rewarding ourselves with Ploughman’s lunches! The camp site sells cakes made by Horner Tea gardens, and they are very good, so we decided to try their ploughman’s. – It was nice, especially the home made chutney, but not a patch on the other tea garden. Nan & Tony (Jack’s sister & brother in law) came over on Wednesday to join us for lunch at the tea garden. Sadly, Jack had vertigo & couldn’t go, but Mel & I took back the cheese we couldn’t eat (due to quantity), and Mel made us toasted sandwiches for tea. As it was a wet afternoon, the first of our trip, Mel started teaching me euchre. However, we finished the evening with 5 rounds of Uno – the decider being won by me!

On Thursday, we set with a little trepidation, for Trevella, via Porlock hill. It wasn’t as bad as we remembered, and the views from the top were fabulous. We took the scenic route along the coast, and reached Crantock by 4.30. Ruth & Bryan were still fishing, so we had a quiet few minutes to set up!

On Saturday, we walked into Crantock for their village fete & car boot. – Jack came with us on his scooter. The car boot was a bit of a disappointment, mainly children’s’ clothes and toys, but we watched a display by the local karate club, and had a cup of tea. Mel & Jack had pork rolls from the hog roast, - I just pinched the crackling! Again the evening was spent in our van chattering with drinks. Sunday morning and the end of our trip. Mel & I won the quiz, (with a little input from Jack) - a bottle of wine, - which we will crack on our next trip!