Beardy Folk Festival, Hopton Wafers, Shropshire - 16-22 Jun 26

The start of a long trip away, and we were not sure whether it was going to be hot or cold, so we packed for all eventualities. We left home at lunchtime on Tues and on the way to our first night's stopover at my sister's house in Knowbury in Shropshire we stopped at a public weighbridge in Kettering. With a fairly large load on board we still only weighed 3460kg. Continuing on we parked up for the night in our usual spot and enjoyed a nice meal and a relaxing evening.

On Weds we tested the new Vango air awning. We tried pumping up the air beams but the rubbish pump failed so we had to order another pump from decathlon, advertised as fitting all tents. On Weds eve we went for dinner at the Bennetts End and, the next morning, went to collect the replacement pump at Argos in Sainsburys in Ludlow. Arriving at the festival we found a pitch in the far field and set about pitching the awning. Guess what? The replacement pump didn't fit, despite the advertising saying it fitted all inflatables. We are, however, seasoned botchers and, with a bit of insulating tape and some patience, managed to get the thing up. Finally, we settled in in glorious weather, had a bit of a relax, then set off to the festival arena for an evening of music, particularly enjoying the speakeasy stuff from the Rigmarollers. Any 3 piece with a sousaphone has got to be good!

On Friday we had a leisurely morning before my sister arrived to join us in the warm sunshine for more music. Later in the day my niece and her husband also joined our gang. Luckily, Mik Artistik was there to add his barmy input to what was probably an unremarkable set of acts.

Saturday we were joined by Oli's parents to add to our growing gang. Once again the music was average, but we did enjoy the stand up set by David Eagles.

Sunday. More music, more sunshine, more beer.

On Monday we packed up and headed for Cornwall.

Beardy this year was warm and dry for a change and the setting is absolutely beautiful. On the downside there are just so many dogs and the music/sound this year wasn't nearly as good as previous years. We will, however, probably be back for the 10th Beardy Folk Festival next year.

Littlehampton 18-23 May 26

Littlehampton CAMC site

We packed up and left Newbury for what was supposed to be a straightforward run down to the Littlehampton CAMC site for a few days, aiming to arrive at the stipulated time of 1300hrs.  We had intended visiting here earlier in the year, but problems with the old van prevented us going, so we fulfilled that outstanding task and earned a free night's camping as a result. Anyway - the journey. All went well until  we hit a major traffic jam on the A34 near Winchester. We sat in traffic for half an hour, but eventually arrived at the site and pitched up. Our friends, Cliff and Chrissie, live nearby and they very kindly came to meet us and take us back to their lovely home in Barnham for dinner.

On Tuesday Cliff and Chrissie had arranged to take us into Arundel for a quick look around this very pretty little place. We didn't go into the castle as the Duke of Norfolk wants to charge his guests £29 each for the privilege, a sum we thought rather excessive, especially as we could eat delicious cake in the town for a fraction of that price. Anyway, we wandered around a bit, dodging the showers, and popped into a few antique shops that litter the town. One had a huge pile of walking sticks in which her ladyship decided that she may like to investigate. Of course, they all tumbled down with an almighty clatter! To recover from the shock we ate some wonderful cakes in Cockburns Tea Rooms before heading down to Felpham for a walk along the sea front and a chance to look at a place I hadn't been to since holidaying there as a child. Finally we headed back to a great Indian restaurant, the Passage to India, in Barnham for a meal. 

Arundel Cathedral of Our Lady and St Philip Howard

Arundel Castle

Cockburn's Cakes

Stained Glass in St Mary the Virgin Church, Felpham

William Blake's House, Felpham

Felpham

Old Railway carriages converted into houses in Felpham

Bognor Bandstand

Bognor Pier

We walked into Morrisons on Wednesday morning for some provisions. A huge Morrisons, but not good. The bread was cack and the rest of the huge store uninspiring. Still, we restocked and headed across the level crossing that always seemed to be against us back to the site. After lunch we walked into "LA" and met Cliff and Chrissie along the seafront. We decided that it wasn't worth staying in LA (not the best of towns) and they took us into Chichester for a mooch around this very pretty little city then fish and chips in the Park Tavern, a superb Fullers pub.

 

"Murray or None". Nelson and Sir George Murray

Cloisters of Chichester Cathedral

Chichester Cathedral. £7 "Donation" to get in

City Walls

Chichester Market Cross

Beach at "LA"

River Arun

Thursday was warm and sunny so Cliff and Chrissie took us to the Halnaker Tree Tunnel and Halnaker Mill, followed by a visit to the Trundle (a neolithic causewayed enclosure with stunning views over Goodwood and the south coast). From there it was back to Barnham for a beer and then a bus into Chichester for a pint in a church that is now  a pub (The Duke), a couple of lovely pints of Pride in the Park Tavern, then dinner in the Giggling Squid, then a bus back to LA and home.

Arundel Castle

Arundel Cathedral

Halnaker Tree Tunnel

Halnaker Mill

Glorious Goodwood from The Trundle

Looking towards the Solent and the Isle of Wight

The old Shippams fish paste factory in Chichester

The Duke, Chichester

We were due to go home on the Friday, but the weather was so good, and we'd had a very hectic week, so we decided to stop another night and just relaxed in the warm sunshine. 

Toilet seats open

Saturday up early and home, avoiding all the bank holiday traffic.

Littlehampton - not a bad site, albeit a bit dated. Wardens are lovely, the guests are not. How can people leave the toilets in such an awful condition I'll never know, but the wardens managed to stay on top of things. By Friday it was starting to get very busy as it was the weekend before half term, so we chose the right time to leave. Littlehampton itself - bit of a dump really.

In all we had a great week thanks to Cliff and Chrissie showing us all the sights.