Heading east

Ready to go after a fab long weekend

For Ian and Irene to see the narrow gate at Eastaway Manor that MB fits through - at extremely low speed...

GCHQ is nearby - last time we visited Neill and Neil, we did a walk down to Duck Ford (?) and up the hill towards GCHQ. I think we had to climb a fence ... We were sure that all cameras were focused on us from there 👍

After we left Eastaway Manor, we had intended to go and visit Liz and Barry down in Truro. However Liz was very poorly so we stayed away. Instead we cut short our Cornwall adventures and headed towards Dartmoor earlier than planned.

I had explored a little bit of it with Mum in 1988 (Badger's Holt was a place I remembered plus a Devonshire tea - my first sumptuous experience of clotted cream - yum!). And David and I and the kids did another explore in 1990. 

We were actually aiming a day or so later to end up in Gillingham, Dorset to visit Rosemary, the sister of our lovely friend Adrian (from Wellington), so a stopover on our way seemed like a good idea.

One of the cool things here is that there are lots and lots of caravan and camping sites, and the other cool thing is that they have brown tourist signs pointing you to them down side roads.  A few miles out of Tavistock (location of a hair raising drive through the centre of town with No Entry signs part of the way down the very narrow main street, but no easily visible sign showing the right hand turn that traffic was to take) we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and it was time to find somewhere to stay. And as we made that decision, there on our right was a brown sign. A quick turn off the main (but quite narrow) road, and down a long very narrow road we went. We ended up at Langstone Manor caravan park, and what a delight it was. If you happen to be down near Tavistock and want a lovely place to stay, you could not do better than to stay here: there are glamping pods, static caravans, cabins, and pitches for tents, caravans (tourers they are called in the camping world, I gather) and motorhomes.

It is run by two couples, Jane and Russ, Mark and Jacqui, and they all have such great attitudes and exemplary customer service. The owners also live on-site and muck in as required. There is an on-site bar and restaurant - useful because the place is extremely rural and I reckon the nearest pub is a long distance away - tbh, if I investigated, I'd probably find there is a nearby village with a pub, but let's not let a possibly mythical truth get in the way of a good story, eh?

Our pitch had a really lovely view down the valley, and behind us we could see Pew Tor. We had a relaxed and early night - even though we were the earliest to bed by a few hours each night at Eastaway Manor, we were tired! 

We could have parked at right angles to the hedge but this was lovely
with a view out the side window.

 

Sunset from the side window

In a plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel, David bought a takeaway veg curry from the restaurant - that, along with a salad, was to be our contribution to dinner at Rosemary's place.

In the morning, we walked up the road and climbed Pew Tor - it sounds harder than it was, but the views were lovely.

Lovely clear skies down (up) here on Dartmoor

Fording the stream as we head on to the moor towards the tor

Check out David's facial expressions here - he doesn't like getting wet...

 

Nearly there!

 

As we approach Pew Tor - I had taken off my jersey as we walked up the road.

 

 

David headed up a different path - or maybe I just stopped to admire the view. No need to take a breather, obviously ...

David wanted to take a photo with me in the foreground - that's why he was ahead of me!

I know I'm short but those rocks are pretty big!

The Tor was apparently used by the druids - as the highest spot around it would undoubtedly have had spiritual significance, as well as being a good place to keep a look out for marauders, I expect.

This looks like it has been stacked by humans, but no. It's the result of millions of years of weathering.

 

I wonder how many other people have sat in just this spot through the ages.

And of course, the walk back seemed significantly shorter ... and drier, as it transpired.

David came back through a gorse-lined track and found there was a bridge available instead of fording the stream. Yay!

 

Ferns and koru on the moor and on the road berm. Made me smile with recognition.

Very evocative for me as a New Zealander.

Rhododendrons! I think I need to find a miniature one (not an azalea) for Wren St...

Back at the campsite, we had a chat with Mark as he was clearing a glamping pod. He and his wife Jacqui are coming to NZ next year and we have told him they must come and see us. We are pretty conveniently located for arrivals before or after the Picton Ferry!

Breakfast (late) before we headed away, aiming for Gillingham.

Our original intention was to park in the cul de sac that Rosemary lives in, but we jointly decided it could be fraught for the local residents if a 6m motorhome took up a number of parking spaces. So before we left Langstone Manor, we found a listing for a place in the village of Milton on Stour and headed there. The GPS, in its infinite wisdom, sent us down a really really really narrow lane... And the entrance to the site was rather strange in that we went between a set of former farm buildings. However at the end of that was a lovely open space with a small pond with a fountain.

The facilities weren't up to much, but the place was cheap and the owner was very helpful. We spoke with a woman in her caravan who told us she stays every summer to visit family and friends as she grew up in the area. So that is a testimonial worth having.

Meeting Rosemary and her daughter GG in Gillingham was a real pleasure. Lots of interesting and enlightening conversation and the evening went by very quickly. And Rosemary and her older brother Adrian are very alike in looks. Did we take any photos? Nope, dammit!

And we had to find our way back to the campsite in the dark - this time we ignored the GPS instructions to take the little lane! But when we arrived, disaster struck! I stalled the engine as I got the motorhome into position, and tried to start the engine again to finish off. But there was no response to the key turn - not a click of the starter motor, not a peep. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

So we phoned Ian - sorry, Ian - it was a quarter to 10. He was very reassuring and told us it had happened to him previously. He explained how to fix it (loosen then tighten a green plastic nut over the battery terminals to ensure the contacts are working as they should). I was too tired for David to be faffing around with it when all I could think about was getting into bed, especially as it meant he'd have to have the front doors open and I'd be getting cold while he worked... So we left it till the morning - it did mean we had the driver's window open all night. However this motorhome has those excellent cab window covers that dome on and have a little flap that goes down below the glass into the door handle area, so we (esp David's feet) were protected from drafts.

First thing in the morning (about 6.15 if I remember correctly), while I made tea, David did the task of sorting it all out. And the engine turned over and started first pop. Yay!!

Did I mention narrow?

I stopped for this guy - I would hate to meet a moving vehicle when cycling on these roads!

Now that is an iconic image. And we didn't stop as we have explored it before - you cannot get very close anymore for good reason, as some tourists are disrespectful of historic sites.

Not sure where this is, but it was a long hill.

David appears obsessed with that bright yellow ...

There is no point leaving anywhere near a town in England before about 9.30 because you just get caught in work and school run traffic. So a not very early start, and an almost non-stop trip back to Debdale** to complete the first part of our motorhoming explorations of the South West. We barely scratched the surface!

** We had a non-stop trip, but many motorists faced big delays on the M40. An accident had the motorway closed between Junctions 9 and 10. As we were on the A34 heading towards Oxford, and as I knew the A34 from my days at Elsevier, I knew we could avoid the M40 and use the A44 if necessary and then find our way across country. It's interesting and very very useful though that both the GPS and Googlemaps are clued into roadworks and live traffic updates. So both pieces of technology found the same alternate route. We felt great sympathy for the motorists in about 5 different locations at a standstill at the entrances to Junction 10 (I think). I reckon the tailbacks probably totalled about 12 to 15 miles.

The most peculiar part of our trip was the last 3 or 4 miles where I am sure the GPS was having a 'mare - it led us through Moseley and Laughton, both of which I think are close to Welford and we approached Gumley from roads I have seen the intersections of but not travelled. Still, it's all aprt of life's great adventure!

While I was unpacking the motorhome I heard the crane coming from the hardstanding.

And there it is carrying a yoghurt pot...

Julia came for dinner: a salad, a Waitrose roast veg pizza, the remains of the carrot and passionfruit cake we had taken to Rosemary's place, strawberries and yoghurt. Lots of hilarity as we caught up on her comings and goings over the last week or so. She is amazing!

Our lovely friend Ann sent us the photo of their lawn in Stoke, NZ, mown with the electric lawnmower they bought from us - we no longer need one. Look at those beautiful stripes. Quicker than Hendrik at Eastaway Manor, that's for sure!