Summer Trip - Day 10 - Eastbourne

Shirley had been starting to have a cold, and during the night got a bit breathless. So we went to a pharmacist for advice and they thought there was a possibility it was Whooping Cough!

So we went to the NHS walk-in centre at Eastbourne station and waited an hour for a consultation. The doctor quickly ruled out Whooping Cough fortunately, and just recommended decongestant.

By this time it was about 2pm, so we went for a trip in the campervan to Hastings with Jenny, Phyllis and Tracey.

We walked along past the boats and fishing huts, and bought some prawns to eat.

Then we went up in the funicular and had a walk through the country park, with views back down to the sea.

We walked through the old town and went for a pint in The Stag.

Then we went up to the restored pier.

Dinner was fish and chips in the campervan as the sit-down places were closed.

After driving back we had a quiet night in.

Summer Trip - Day 9 - Eastbourne

After breakfast Scott went into town in campervan. The weather wasn't too great, wet and blustery. Did a bit of shopping, bought some socks.

Then drove along coast to Pevensy Bay, bought fish and chips for lunch then went to eat them at Norman's Bay overlooking the sea.

Went shopping at Tesco then back home.

Meanwhile Shirley, Phyllis and Jenny went to town to meet fourth sister Linda, and Phyllis's daughter Tracey. The had lunch in a Chinese restaurant.

Later we stayed in at the house as it was heavy rain.

Summer Trip - Day 8 - Eastbourne

After breakfast Scott went out on his bike. First cycled to seafront then along to end and up hill to Beachy Head. Went for a short walk along clifftop.

Then got back on the bike and cycled past Belle Toute lighthouse to Birling Gap.

After another short walk cycled via East Dene back to Eastbourne.

Bought lunch in Waitrose then sat in Gildredge Park to eat it and have a snooze in the sunshine.

Then cycled up to Crown Inn for a pint, before going back to the house for a shower.

Meanwhile Shirley had gone to town with Phyllis where she met up with sister Jenny and cousin Pat, then they all had cream tea on the pier.

Scott met them in the campervan as it was starting to rain. Took Pat home then everyone else to the house.

In the evening we went out by taxi to the Dolphin pub to meet Rachel. We had burgers for dinner then caught a taxi home.

Summer Trip - Day 7 - Eastbourne

We were leaving today, so had breakfast then got packed. We left about 11 and drove down the A40 past Bath.

We stopped at Sainsbury's at Chichester for fuel and lunch, then arrived at Eastbourne about 5.

We had a short walk on the seafront then went to Phyllis's house for about 5.30pm.

We had quiche for dinner then watched the England Iceland football match on television.

Summer Trip - Day 6 - Bristol

After helping to tidy up we went for a trip to Brean with Pete and Jenny in their car.

It was a bit rainy. We walked along Brean Down to the fort at the end.

On the way home we stopped for a drink at the Queen's Arms in Bleadon.

When we got back we all had an Indian takeaway at Pete and Jenny's house.

Summer Trip - Day 5 - Bristol

Today we met Gail for breakfast at the Totterdown Canteen.

After this we helped Barry set up his party. The party started at 4pm and went on until after 4am, though we didn't stay up till the end. A good time was had by all.

Summer Trip - Day 4 - Bristol

We had a quiet day today. We went for a walk to Perret's park and Victora park.

In the evening we went into Bristol city centre. We had a drink at Seven Stars, then dinner at San Carlos.

Afterwards we went to Bag of Nails pub then got a taxi home.

Summer Trip - Day 3 - Bristol

We left the camp site in the morning to drive to Bristol. Nice and sunny today.

There was a lot of congestion on the M6 around Manchester so it was a slow journey. We stopped for lunch at a motorway service station, then eventually arrived at Barry's house in Bristol at 4pm.

After unpacking a bit we chilled a bit then walked into the city centre to meet other friends for dinner - Jade, Marian and Ian. On the way we passed the coloured terraced houses of Totterdown.

We had a drink in the Bristol Ram then dinner at Pizza Express.

Returning to Totterdown we went for a drink at the Star and Dove, where we met Barry, Pete and Jenny. After closing time we went back to the house and stayed up late watching the EU referendum result.

Summer Trip - Day 2 - Yorkshire Dales

Doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks today. Up early for breakfast, then to Pen-y-Ghent cafe to sign out, starting the walk at 7.35am.

The first hill is Pen-y-Ghent itself. It was overcast to start with, and we were in cloud at the top. It was very quiet, we only saw one other pair of walkers.

Next is a long walk to Whernside, via the Ribblehead viaduct, where we stopped for some lunch. We saw more people now, most just doing the single hill.

After Whernside it was steeply down and a shorter leg to Ingleborough. The final ascent was very steep, hard going with tired legs.

Finally there was a 5 mile walk back to the cafe. We knew it closed at 5.30 so made that our aim, which entailed some pretty fast walking. We got there just in time, and signed in at 6.33 for a time of 9 hours 58 minutes.

We'd walked 39km, with about 1380m of ascent and descent. 12 hours is considered pretty good and gets you membership of the Three Peaks Club.

Back at the campervan we collapsed for a bit then had showers and went to the Golden Lion for dinner, we both had cheeseburgers.

Summer Trip - Day 1 - Yorkshire Dales

We left the house about 1pm and drove south, taking the A70 to avoid the roadworks on the A702.

After a fairly uneventful journey we arrived at the campsite, Holme Farm in Horton-in-Ribblesdale just before 5. It cost £15 per night and we paid cash for 2 nights.

We parked and set up then went for a walk round the village, and had a pint in the Golden Lion pub.

Dinner in the campervan was chilli and rice we'd brought from home.

Kintyre & Cowal - Day 10

Time to go home today after a wonderful trip. We decided to do a walk on the way home, so went back to Ben Donich which we'd missed out on the way down. We parked near the Rest and be Thankful and walked up.

It was beautifully sunny and the view from the top was amazing.

After descending we drove home, arriving about 5pm.

Kintyre & Cowal - Day 9

We left the site today and drove south to the forestry car park at Glenbranter. We got the bikes off the van and went for a cycle run half way down the side of Loch Eck, about 10 miles in total. It was still sunny and warm.

We then walked through the forest along some marked paths. Didn't see any squirrels from the wildlife hide.

We then sat at the visitor centre for a while reading, before moving the campervan to a quiet part of the campsite and staying there for the night. Dinner was pasta and sauce.

Kintyre & Cowal - Day 8

After breakfast we did a woodland walk from the campsite. We had intended to go up the hill but decided against it as the campsite had given us discount vouchers for Benmore Botanical Gardens so we wouldn't have had time.

We drove south to Benmore and went in. It was sunny and hot again. We walked round all the gardens, having our lunch at the highest viewpoint.

They have an ornate golden gate.
 

Someone we chatted to in the garden said the nearby Pucks Glen was lovely, so we went there next and it was indeed very nice.

After this we drove to Dunoon for a look around - saw the pier, walked up to the castle, and then had a drink in the Braes Inn.

We got fish and chips from Anselmos and ate them at seats by the bandstand. After this we drove back to the campsite at Glendaruel.