A long planned and extensive trip from Penzance, through Devon and Somerset, the Black Country and finally ending up in Caldy had to be cancelled due to family issues. We did, however, manage to squeeze in the last part, covering the Black Country and the Wirral.
The first stop was 3 nights at the Clent Hills Camping and Caravanning Site, near Halesowen in the Midlands. It was a rapid pack - the weather had been fairly awful all spring and we didn't really know what to put in, so it was waterproofs, thick fleeces and long trousers. The weather turned and it was warm and sunny. On Tuesday we completed the relatively straightforward drive and parked up, settling down to enjoy finally getting away after a very stressful few weeks, albeit we felt quite guilty about finally taking a break. The site is in a beautiful location. Lovely views and perfectly quiet and peaceful. And relax.........
On Wednesday we walked up to the Clent Hills stopping for an uninspiring Eccles cake at the national trust café to fortify us on our climb. There were swathes of bluebells everywhere. The sun shone and it was stunningly pretty. It is surprising that such a peaceful and beautiful spot is so close to the industrial sprawl of Birmingham.
On Thursday we exchanged some Tesco vouchers for a trip to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. This another great museum and we spent a nice day bimbling around learning all about life in the Black Country and the very strange accent of the area. I'twere Bostin'!
On Friday we set of for the Wirral Country Park Cackyvan Club site, near West Kirby on the Wirral. The journey was horrendous. The usual heavy traffic on the motorways. It was peak time when we arrived, but the wardens were efficient in getting everybody in. As usual with the Cackyvan club you pay way over the odds for a basic site with facilities that could benefit from some investment, but the club is too busy planning ways to charge even more, so they don't want to do that. We unloaded the bikes and followed the wonderful Wirral Way (another ex railway converted into a cycle track) into West Kirby where we reprovisioned in Morrisons before heading back to Flissys café for a rhubarb ice cream. That night the Aurora decided to put on a bit of a show and she woke me up in the middle of the night to witness it. It was spectacular and worth wandering around a caravan site in my pyjamas for.
Saturday we headed to Flissy's for a wonderful breakfast before walking about 2.5 miles along the Wirral way and through Caldy to Caldy Rugby ground to watch those cheating gits beat Cambridge. Caldy is an incredibly affluent area and there are some massive houses and very flash cars. It was a beautiful sunny day and despite the loss we had a great time.
On Sunday her ladyship decided that she was going to be lazy so she dossed around and I cycled up to the top of the Wirral to Meols to have a look around. Whilst looking around the shop at the lifeboat station a member of the public reported two people were wandering out onto the sand and the tide was coming in fast. They rang the coastguard and an alert went out. Apparently the vast sandbanks around this area can be pretty deadly and some people pretty stupid. Once I found my way back we retired to Flissys for lunch followed by a lazy evening watching the rain.
The following day we walked the 2.8 miles into West Kirby to get a train into Liverpool. We mooched about, found the museums closed on a Monday so we took to the "Ferry 'cross da Mersey" for a windy, bouncy river trip. We then tried to find a pub with real ale. We went into three with no joy, so a quick call to my Niece, who consulted Oli, and we were directed to a very nice pub, the Head of Steam, where she met us for a drink and then on to meet up with Oli and play bank shot shuffleboard at the Roxy Ball Room before heading for a lovely meal in Mowgli's. It rained on the way back. It was dark and wet for our long walk, but we'd had a great day so it didn't matter.
On Tuesday we decided that rather than go home as planned we would move to Cheshire Oaks Cackyvan Club site for another night out. We stopped in Costco for fuel and do some damage on lots of things we didn't really need then parked up on the overpriced site, wandered over to the outlet mall where we had a delightful few hours (yeah, right!) looking for a dress for her before heading for Mowgli's again to finish off the evening.
Wednesday it was a long slog home.
