Croft Farm Water Park. Back Again!

 Back again to one of our favourite places. Croft Farm Water Park near Tewkesbury in Gloucershire.

We have been visiting here for many years with so many changes. However , the essence of the place remains the same. Relative tranquillity, intermittent road noise but only when the wind blows in a certain direction! Rural charm, loads of wild life geese and ducks to name but a few. Water, loads of it clean and swim friendly. A handy pub up the road, quirky but friendly, another one down the river depending on your individual SUP skills. Café and gym also on site. Toilet and facilities, basic but clean and tidy. Can be busy on the water especially at weekends but worth it.

 A lake side pitch, so not far to carry the board.

Croft Farm is a water park that also caters for school groups. Camping in tents in the bottom field and in huts for the kids. Loads of water activities which have been well developed over the years. Actually it was great watching the young people enjoying themselves in the water.

Raft building looked like fun!

We took our paddleboard to make friends with it, before our next French trip.

Den had definitely improved his technique and actually managed to stand up.

I held the towel and issued advice!😊😊😊

We were super lucky with the weather but the "heatwave" helped the feeling of being somewhere other than murky Gloucestershire.

Three nights certainly felt like a week. A return visit is on the cards possibly September!!!

A lakeside pitch at £45 a night, not the cheapest, although we could have gone in the meadow field off grid for £25. Not too bad for July.

Review Ile De Re France

 Our first visit back to the Ile De Re in France for around 40+ years. The last time we went the children were small and we used our trailer tent. Our lasting memories were being pushed out of the sand dunes on the campsite where our trailer tent got stuck.

So, 40 years on and we were ready to find a few changes. We picked our site pretty much at random on the North of the island a stones throw from Le Blois Plage. Unfortunately our chosen site was not the best Le Varennes, a largish site but now predominately chalets and lodges. The camping area was a small space for around 35 units, pretty much squashed in and resembling an aire. The only plus point was the toilet and shower facilities were clean and used by fewer people.

Our pitch fortunately was one of the larger ones under the pine trees.

As it was during the heat wave with temperatures peeking at 39C, we were pleased with the shade. Our windbreaker came in handy!

The site had a touring area rather squashed in.

There was also an indoor and outdoor pool. The bar was not a restaurant, but did do burgers and pizzas when open. There was a shop for morning bread but only open for 2 hours in the morning. The village nearby had a supermarket and restaurants a 10 minute walk.

We must admit to feeling slightly short changed by the facilities. Clean but the hot water in the showers took ages to come through It would also have been better to have a bar that was open in the afternoon and a better stocked camp shop.

The beach was a short walk away over the dunes and the town had a daily busy market. The Ile De Re has a huge bridge to get across and a lovely charge of 40 Euros. The island is criss-crossed with cycle paths, which can get very busy. Not too bad in June but I can imagine they would be crammed in high season.

The surf school on the beach.

We rode the cycle path to St Martin en Re. The harbour was very busy and full of tourists.

Picturesque but incredibly busy.

We enjoyed our stay here but would probably not return as the place was far too busy for us.

All too soon, time to make the journey homeward. We spent 5 days travelling home stopping at La Fleche, Camping La Route D'Or for two days.

A lovely shady pitch, we needed it!

A Michelin star restaurant right in the middle of the town.

Hotel De Ville

While we were there, a commemoration ceremony for the WW1 & 2.

Attended by youngsters from the military academy in the town and old soldiers

La Fleche is a great town to wander around in and we will stop there again.

A final stop on our way home, back to St Nicolas at Le Bec Hellouin.

Incidentally, love my new sunshades.

Back to France in August. Ile D'Oleron this time.

 

Spring Trip. Vendee. Noirmoutier

 Our first trip to Ile de Noirmoutier and we haven't been disappointed. A real mixture of weather. Heat wave, temperatures up in the 30's, rain, winds, everything really, just like at home.You get to the island via a bridge, or if you are relly brave a tidal causeway.

The campsite Les Roussieres is at the north end of the island, which is much quieter and less touristy. A really handy spot just a short walk to the large beach across an interesting plastic floating bridge.

When we arrived we were given a few pitches to look at. As it was very hot we went for part shade, under a few trees but very private.

We loved the spot. The pigeons loved pooing on the van!! We persevered for a week, Den fought pigeon poo, we then  moved to a more open pitch.

The beach is unspoilt, goes out a long way and is pretty uncrowded.

Not bad for the second week in June.

The campsite was not busy and although we had booked in advance there was no need at this time of the year. There is a small bread shop open until 11am and a bar restaurant open evenings Wednesday to Sunday. The toilet facilities are immaculate and very clean with loads of hot water.

A 40 minute amble takes you to the main town Noirmoutier. Loads of shops bars and restaurants. 30 minutes in the opposite direction, takes you to the village of La Vielle where there is a supermarket, bar and small tabac. 

Noirmoutier is a haven for cyclists and there are bike paths everywhere around the island. A thirty minute walks takes about 6 mins on the bike so well worth taking them.

We did a few rides, one to the top end of the island to the port of L'Herbaudiere. A small interesting port. We did a few more on the very empty back lanes on some very hot days, till the wind set in..... no we weren't really lost!!

Of course, this area is famed for shell fish so fish shops are everywhere. We didn't try mussels here because apparently you should only eat them July to September! ( You live and learn) If we were French, we may have gone digging for them. If the shell fish are under a certain size you have to put them back. A whole page devoted to "Peche a Pied" ( Fishing on foot) in the campsite info.

Loads of holiday homes on the island. I guess in July and August it will be quite busy.

The port at L'Herbaudiere.

All in all, we have whiled away almost two weeks here. Noirmoutier is somewhere we will definitely return to. 

Time to move on soon and our next stop Ile de Re. Should make a great contrast! 

Cracking Crickhowell.

 Another day, another trip.

This time we were off to try out our fitness levels on Table Mountain ( The Welsh version in Crickhowell )

A place we have not been to for about 10 years, but it used to be one of our favourite places.

Riverview Caravanning in Crickhowell, Wales. An adult only site, right in the middle of the Brecon Beacons and just below Table Mountain, right in the heart of walking country. The site has been considerably updated since our last visit and now boasts a heated new toilet block and hard standings for motor homes. All for £33 per night.

We were soon settled on a lovely private pitch in the sun and out of the wind. Complete with rubber mat and picnic bench. We set out for a stroll around the town. Lots of small shops and a few pubs so there was a fair bit of choice. The town was much as we remembered it. 

The famous Crickhowell bridge.

The Bridge End Inn. Lovely in it's time but now a little sad. A shame really, as it's in such a lovely spot by the river and the once beautiful garden is now very unkempt! We did have a quick drink here for old times sake.

The Dragon pub where we stopped for a meal.

The next morning we were up for the climb. Here, right to the top of Table Mountain.

I know it looks tiny, but believe me, it's not!!! It was a real slog and very sharply uphill in places. We almost gave up, but coming down would have been as hard as going up. At least we didn't have to call out the rescue squad, although that would have been difficult with no phone signal up there. Fortunately we were wearing the right footwear, had water and plasters!!

We braved long horn cattle, streams, forests, bracken, ponies and WIND. It was very windy on top of the mountain, luckily no rain. Sadly, we didn't take the camera out of the bag, too busy concentrating on where we put our feet. We did make it to the top of the mountain and felt very pleased with ourselves. Coming down, was just as traumatic and steep, we were glad we took our walking poles. On the plus side we made it, so won't have to do it again!!

The next morning we had survived intact, so went on a calmer hike along the flat canal. A beautiful walk and we did take the camera out.

The bottom of the famous Redwood Tree immortalised in Tolkien's The Hobbit.

 A Welsh dupe of the Gap Tree perhaps?

All too soon the end of a beautiful few nights. 

Another return visit planned maybe later in the year.

Another Road Trip .A Tale of Three Campsites.

 A short road trip up to see family in Tarporley Cheshire. We usually travel up to Cheshire once a year, generally combined with a family visit to Tarporley. Generally we do the trip in one hit, but in the spirit of taking things a bit slower and not driving for so long, we decided to break the journey up. Moving to Somerset has added and extra 1.5 hours to the journey, so a stop somewhere around Birmingham, would be perfect. Our first two choices Kingsbury Water Park and Somers Wood were both full. Of course, we had forgotten about the motorhome show at the NEC Birmingham being on this week, so  "No room at the inn", any camp sites local to Birmingham were full.

We turned to our new BF, ChatGP, to see what, he/she/they, ( I wonder what sex AI is?) could turn up? Near to main roads, restaurant or pub nearby, good toilet facilities, hard standing if possible (in case of inclement weather). The first stop she ( it's got to be a girl) came up with was...

Midway Holiday Park, Aymestery, Nr Leominster.

Heading in this direction meant we would be off the motorway and travelling up through Wales, which we thought could be a nice drive. Around three hours later we arrived. Slightly under whelming, as a first impression but prepared to give it a go. We got a friendly welcome and it appeared, we were the only campers that night. £25 cash including electric, so not too expensive. The campsite grounds were beautifully kept, mainly grass with a kind of carpark bit at the top which was also the car park for the coffee shop. We tried the ground before driving Pebble down, fortunately all the dry weather meant it was very hard.

The coffee shop had been a cafe but now served home made cakes, pastries and teas & coffee instead. Luckily we had brought provisions so we managed our own meal that evening. There was a pub a walk away, the Riverside Inn but we looked it up to find it was "fine dining" and super expensive. To be fair, it was damp and getting dark, we didn't really fancy the walk. On the plus side, Pebble's heating system kept us lovely and toasty and we managed to get the TV to work, so all was well.

I think a sunny afternoon would have made all the difference. The toilet facilities were, shall we say basic. A bit chilly too, with no heating, although the water was hot. Also, no sinks for washing dishes. Sadly, the cafe was closed in the morning, so no cooked breakfast either, C'est la vie. As a one night stop, it was fine and relatively quiet.

We left relatively early for us and three hours later, we were in Cheshire, arriving at Shays Farm.

Shays Farm is a well run very clean and tidy site on the outskirts of Tarporley in Cheshire. It can be busy in the summer, especially if there are events on at Oulton Park Racing Track, which is just up the road. Fortunately on a Tuesday in October the site was relatively empty. We had booked and paid on the very efficient website and knew which pitch we were on. The campsite is in a valley with beautiful facilities, there is also a special field with shepherds huts, complete with hot tubs.

Our pitch was huge with it's own table and bench set, with electric , water and a TV point on our pitch. There is a lovely pub The Shrewsbury Arms, which does food, just a short trudge across the field. In fact, The Shrewsbury Arms also has a small campsite attached with more basic facilities. Just up the road is a small shopping complex called The Hollies, all done up as a "Christmas Shopping Event", for well heeled customers. There is a deli and other shops including an up market coffee shop. We browsed !!

A relaxing two days spent here. We had actually come to see family who live in Tarporley, so we find Shays Farm, a really convenient stop over and will be back.

We had a meal at the Shrewsbury Arms one night and went to Northwich for a very nice curry the second night at Bombay Quay . Northwich definitely worth a visit, a small harbour by the canal in town and some nice shops to browse.

 
After a very relaxing two nights and time spent with the family, we were off again. 

The next destination LLanidloes in mid Wales, Red Kite Touring Park. We had stayed there before and enjoyed it. Red Kite  is an adults only site on the edge of the small Welsh market town of LLanidloes . The site is at the top of the valley 3 miles from the Clywedog Dam, it is the first town on the River Severn and very popular with walkers. From the camp site it is a short walk into the town where their are plenty of pubs and shops.

The scenery in the area is stunning.

We had booked Red Kite but there were plenty of spaces. Some of the pitches had their own raised terrace at the back which would be lovely on a sunny day.

Toilet facilities were warm and super clean. We walked into town, down hill on the way there, a climb on the way back! We ate in a great little restaurant Hiraeth recommended by the locals, there were a number of eateries that looked good, catering for all tastes. Pubs are in abundance, we tried The Red Lion and The Angel Inn, both friendly and comfortable. 

If the sun had been shining we may have ventured up the hill to the Clywedog Dam but it was a bit damp and gloomy, so we will save that for the next visit.

Our final stop on this road trip was Luckshall Camping at Fiddlers Green near Hereford. Another favourite. This site has a restaurant and again very high standard facilities. We actually booked the restaurant before we went as it was Sunday and we knew the roast was popular. We arrived on a Sunday just in time to grab our table booked for 1.30pm. We had a great meal and spent the afternoon snoozing in the van, the sun had definitely decided  not to shine.

The site was relatively quiet although a bit busier towards evening. I guess it is a good stop over place.

Amazing that six nights could fly by so fast. Luckshall is another site we shall return to, perhaps in the summer when the canal is more welcoming. A little bit of sun makes all the difference.