Stage 4 - Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Saturday July 13. Sitting at Athens Airport waiting for the connecting flight to London. Out of Santorini on time, so far a smooth transit. Like clockwork, enough time to pick up a bottle of Metaxa and a single malt (for David, of course) before boarding, and take-off on time. Aegean manage to provide an unappealing, yet tasty lunch of meatballs (origin unknown) washed down by a Peloponnese white. So looking forward to seeing David and Allison, meeting Nala the vicious, a pub, old English countryside, their house in St Neotts and crucially, their washing machine! Painless arrival and formalities at Heathrow, and meet up with David. Can this be England? It's sunny and hot - 32C! Easy drive to St Neots, a comfortable 1.5 hours. Cold Pimms, followed by a lovely barbecue, a couple of wines, a couple of loads of washing, then crash. By the way, that much maligned Nala is a real pussy! Sunday, July 14, and the road trip begins. Summer, hot, listening to Ashes cricket on the radio, UK roads, good and bad, those familiar, quirky place names, lovely countryside, and just under 3 hours to beautiful Bath. Find the strangely numbered Number 17, pleasant self-catering rooms in an old terrace house, views to the cathedral, across a cricket field. Just lovely. Then it's on foot into town, lunch beside the Avon (Italian?), the streets of Bath full of tourists, and on to the Baths - well, you would, wouldn't you? And they are amazing. Hot & tired, so back for a snooze, decide to grab a few drinks from Tesco, and order in a delivery from the highly recommended Chinee Takeaway - big mistake... Monday July 15. Quick drive through Bath to see the Circus, on to the magnificent Royal Crescent, then off on the road to Lynton, with a scenic detour through the Cheddar Gorge, and a brief stop at Cheddar for a taste of some real cheddar, bought a piece of vintage and a mouse knife, followed by a sip of "leg bender" cider - phew! Back on the road, detour round Dunster Castle, onto Exmoor, along the lanes to Porlock, for a ploughman's lunch. Allison unwell, so had a rest in the car. Finally to Lynton, about 2.30. Lovely B&B, welcoming hosts, extremely well-appointed rooms. Weather oddly misty, slightly cooler, so a good time for a long, steep walk into Lynton, along the cliffs to valley of rocks and the tea rooms for classic Devonshire Tea. Thought we might have spotted Peregrine falcons, definitely mountain goats in the most precarious locations, Zimmy failing to make like a goat, had a fall, but fortunately only damaged pride, then the stunning lower cliff walk back to Lynton, overlooking Lynmouth. With the funicular train trundling by. Then sitting on the balcony nursing a drink, watching squirrels, buzzards, crows all round, while the smaller birds attack the feeding stations. Can't think of a better way of spending time waiting for Jono & Ling to finally turn up several hours late, with a horror story trip over. Never mind, they were driving a very sporty little number! A very late dinner at Vanilla Pod. Nice of them to stay open late, but...and so back up the very steep path and on to bed. Tuesday July 16. And another cracker day. Our hosts are very friendly, helpful and generous. Serve up a splendid full English breakfast which should keep us going for the day. Then it's off to Valley of Rocks again, for those who missed it yesterday, then on to Hunters Inn, and a long walk down to Heddon's Mouth beach, where we watched the sea mist/fog rolling in to cloak the view. Ciders etc at the Inn, then on the road to Higher Trevorrick. Obligatory stop for real Cornish Pasties as soon as we cross the border into Cornwall, then straight to the b&b, to arrive just before 4:30. Jono agitating for the pub, so it's dump the bags, and off to the Pickwick Inn for drinks on the lawn, overlooking Padstow, the estuary and farmland. Decide to stay here for dinner, though I would have preferred to get in to Padstow. Which we did after dinner. Typical working "port" holiday spot, charming architecture, heaving with trippers, restaurants, cafes, and of course the great Rick Stein. Stopped off at Tesco on the way home for supplies (liquid) David cleverly locked us in the car, so the alarm kept going off if we moved! A sundowner on the lawn, glorious sunset, but then chilled off, so moved in to a comfy lounge with estuary views. Great setting, very comfortable, well appointed place, if a touch sterile. Wednesday, July 17, another perfect day, sumptuous breakfast - kipper! Head off to Tintagel, beautiful spot, climbed steep steps to reach spectacular views. David & Jono fooling around with plastic swords...then to Ivy's tea rooms for refreshing traditional Cornish scones with clotted cream, a selection of jams, and pots of tea, sitting in the shaded gazebo, closely watched by a friendly Robin Redbreast. Then came Zimmy's highlight of the world trip - Port Isaac, setting for Doc Martin; I bravely led the cars down through the heart of the village till the lanes got too narrow, and we had to turn back! They were filming while we were there, so pretty crowded, but we managed to find a park, pasties again, and strolled among cast & crew for a while, before heading off for the beach at Polzeath where the boys had a swim. Then back to b&b to shower and change before cabbing into Padstow for pre-dinner drinks. Then the main event. Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant lived up to expectations, absolutely fantastic food, great service, and a terrific environment. Very well done. Pricey, but worth it. Very varied menu, relaxed atmosphere, hard to fault really. Thursday July 18, another brilliant day, full breakfast, then back on the road. New destination, the Eden Project, which I'd heard a bit about, but Allison & David very keen to visit, so off we went. A strange concept, covering the huge area of an old clay pit, demonstrating regeneration, sustainability and so on. A very grand scale, charitable educational trust, but couldn't help feeling the whole thing is a giant money making machine. however...It was stinking hot, particularly in the rain forest biome, billed as "the largest rain forest in captivity". Parts closed due to temperatures north of 45C. The heat wave is really sticking around, and seemingly taking its toll. Then back on the road, with a brief stop for, yes, pasties, at Tavistock, a very ancient town, river, castle, market-place. Finally on to Dartmoor, always mysterious and grand. Ponies on the road, and an extremely narrow back road to The Three Crowns at Chagford. Picturesque! But hot. A 13th Century Inn, with original rooms, sloping floors, oozing character, very well appointed, if small rooms. WiFi in the lounge only, but what a juxtaposition sitting under ancient beams by an inglenook, updating a blog! Strolled around the village for a while, before taking shelter at "the Ring O' Bells" friendly pub, with a shady garden to sit in. The Three Crowns billed as by far the best eatery in town (not a huge selection to be fair), and they served up a very acceptable steak, salad and fries for the boys (and Ling - don't know where she puts it, but she can eat!) Zimmy played safe with roast chicken, which looked pretty yummy. Jono feeling pretty good after beers and wine, insisted on breaking out his Cuban cigars. Zimmy took to her bed, Allison & Ling strolled with us for a while before leaving us in a park setting where we spent a special companiable time, watching the last of the glorious sunset, puffing awkwardly, but content! Jono and Ling leave us in the morning, sadly, but the past few days have been great fun, a real highlight for me. Just a pity Mikey couldn't be here too. Friday, July 19. John Smith's birthday, happy day bro'! Another beautiful morning, sunrise over the distant hill, the Church and graveyard of the Archangel Michael, Crows cawing incessantly... Big breakfast - bacon sarnie at last. Then farewell Jono & Ling, he feeling poorly with suspected food poisoning, driving to Exeter, train to London, train to somewhere Suffolk for a music festival. Meanwhile we're back at it, first a visit to Castle Drogo, lovely gardens, and an oddish history of England's most recently constructed castle, followed by a (somewhat misguided) visit to the Dartmoor Miniature Pony centre. Cute, but expecting the Dartmore Pony to feature. At any rate, we saw plenty of these in the wild, on the road. Next, we were done with the narrow lanes, and on the M5 to Wellington and The Cleve. Spooky memories as we drove into town past the Church and Windwhistle House, on past South Street - the old school - and so to the Cleve, which used to belong to the Fox Family, when they also owned Tonedale and the Fox factory. Hotel very comfortable, made us a pot of tea with scones etc for our afternoon tea. It's 30C again, stinking hot, so retreat (but little relief) to regroup for an excursion early evening, when it might not be quite so uncomfortable. They say it is the driest July in 3 centuries! Wellington. Strange sensation to be revisiting after at least 40 years. Some of it totally alien, some minutely intimate. We eventually found the old factory at Tonedale, now undergoing refit for mixed use; drove into Tonedale House, almost unchanged; walked up High Street to Windwhistle House, now sadly unkempt, along the path by the church, all locked up, looked over the wall at the villa, much as it used to be; then to the school, past The Avenue, and The Willows, Chapel locked up, round to the quod, and the cricket ground... Move along folks! Drove up the hill and walked to the monument, all overgrown and dilapidated, fenced off, no view... Back to The Cleve, en route glimpses of the lovely countryside, then just time for a cold drink on the patio before a fairly good meal washed down with a fine Rioja. If only they had mashed the potatoes properly! Saturday July 20. Hard to believe we've only been travelling two weeks. Sorely in need of a washing machine, and a break from schlepping bags will be good (the price we pay!) but otherwise, considering the ground we've covered, surviving rather well. Another perfect morning. It is quite extraordinary, and forecast to continue. I know weather isn't everything, but in spite of the heat, it is a bonus. Probably the least inspiring breakfast of the tour - if you took quirky Bath, added the top hosts and environment of Lynton, the breakfast at Higher Trevorrick, the history of Chagford, the shower and architecture at The Cleve, you'd have some pretty classy accommodation! And now it's about five hours home, with a diversion to Salisbury Plain, taking in Stonehenge. The crowds! Unbelievable, so modify plans, pick up a tray of mixed berries, find a side lane with an adequate view of Stonehenge, awesomely sinister in spite of the crowds, plenty of rooks around, and it has clouded over so with a bit of breeze, not so oppressively hot. Back on the road, just time for a pit stop for fuel and a sandwich, then back at St Neots crucially in time for David to watch the last part of the penultimate stage, big climb, of the Tour De France; laundry; done with suitcases (at least, for a couple of days!) So many highlights