Arundel castle gardens

Having had our picnic lunch, we went into the castle gardens for the afternoon. Due to the coivd restrictions we had to book prior to going but that was no real problem.

The children loved playing in amongst the trees and various paths which divided the gardens into differing sections. The castle itself is Victorian and is absolutely huge. The start of the walk took us to some lakes which used to be stocked with fish for the table and then onto the wide banks of sloping lawns and trees. There was one tree which seemed to emerge through several roots high into the air and provided a den for the children to climb and lie on, creating a den in the darkness.

As we went up further the path takes you into more formal gardens which had just amazing fountains and trees hanging with long seed pods. This led into the kitchen gardens (must be a huge kitchen!!!) which had impressive amounts of fruit all around. There was such an abundance and it looked so tasty too.

You also got views across to Arundel Cathedral which looked very impressive in the afternoon sunshine.

In the evening we had tea on the motorhome, a burger and some pasta and sauce before heading into town and a couple of pints in the Duke of Norfolk pub. The highlight thoughwas coming back and meeting some of the campers who had been in Mill Street since lockdown started and simply lived along the road in their vans. They were gathering for a bit of barbecue and a drink and we were having great fun trying to invent histories for spatula Bob and musical Phil. In different circumstances it could have been a little intimidating but the guys were upstanding despite the eccentricities.

Arundel

We were in Arundel before 9 on Saturday morning having got up early to avoid Bank Holiday traffic on our trip along the south coast. In fact the roads were nearly empty and we did the 75 miles or so without hitch, the roads being either dual carriageway or motorway for virtually the entire journey.

Using searchforsites I'd seen Mill Road mentioned in Arundel, the chance of parking the motorhome overnight for free, albeit without access to any facilities. What a road! There were well over 20 motorhomes and vans strung along the road and you could understand why.

The road itself is nice and level, is framed by the town and castle on one side and fields and parks on the other. Carrying on over the bridge takes you to the boating lake and then to the wetland centre for birds. I was very impressed and we happily parked up waiting to join with Andy and Julie and the twins. There was a constant stream of runners passing by and it all added to the air of this being somewhere you wanted to be. We had to park quite a long way down the road but at the top end there is a large car park with toilets which are clean, spacious and readily available in single cubicles. The children loved the park and we saw sand martins feeding over the water, as well as a heron on the other side of the hedge.

I'd recommend this road for parking up and enjoying the town. Fantastic and all for free. Felt very safe.

Watergate Bay Day Three

Sunday allowed us the opportunity to take a longish walk along the cliff path to Newquay via Porth beach. The photos start with a kestrel which looked unreal as it hovered mere feet from us as if it were a kite attached to a nearby fence by catgut or some other invisible line. Even as we neared it, we still could not be sure, especially as it continued to hang in front of us with other walkers close by, all drawn toward it by its proximity and mastery. There was a point when I dropped a little and the right leg hung lower revealing the long talons which would grip any prey tight. For a moment it glanced around staring at us with a steady, unemotional eye, a small falcon but with that same cold power of bigger relatives. It fell to ground, a stoop of just a few feet, landing on the grassy clifftop but without any apparent success and then threw itself forward slicing through the wind to start again. Magical.

There are pictures of Newuay Harbour area where we had a couple of drinks enjoying the people around us and their games, the Newquay town beach and Porth Beach. The final picture is from the start of the walk before Watergate Bay looking across in the direction we would be travelling in.

The walk was a good one given we had the two girls who are very patient and could walk for hours but probably would prefer not to. It was just a little over 5 miles and we had a nice picnic at Porth before pushing on to Newquay, my first visit.

The return home was on a bus, an open top one at that, which Paul enjoyed despite the rain which had started to fall. Back at camp we got a big curry and lentil dahl on the go which we ate prior to the Champions League final which turned out to be a rather disappointing game. It succeeded in getting us into bed for just after 10 where the girls were keen to watch Muana, the first time I have fallen asleep listening to that particular favourite.

The journey home the next day went well. It is much easier packing the motorhome, unplugging the electric hook up, emptying the toilet a last time, emptying the waste water and surplus water and finding myself really enjoying driving Amy by the time we were back into Devon. You do get used to the size and needs of the bigger vehicle and it becomes much more natural over time. I was even waving to other motorhome drivers with confidence as we neared home.

Watergate Bay Day Two

We had lots of visitors on Saurday with Murdina and Paul coming down to their static caravan for 10 days, Lewis to stay overnigh, Lily to stay with us for a couple of nights, and a day visit by Rachael and Jon and their two boys, George and Harry, Morag, Chrissie and Jamie. We had a lovely slow start to the visit enjoying the break in the rain and a spot of lunch which was the one time the boys sat down. The rest of the time they were into their football or exploring the caravan or motorhome. Harry really enjoyed putting the steps up and down most.

In the afternoon we were down at Watergate Bay where the children and Lewis were happy tothrow themselves in and to the  mercy of the choppy waters. There were big waves, full of power which attacted the sufers and body borders. Maria fell over and got soaked which meant she got a new top out of the accident as her clothes had been laid waste.

By the evening we were sat round Paul's fire pit but not for too long. Despite the fire it was still cold and we took the party indoors.

Amy (the name we have chosen for our Amethyst Autosleeper motorhome) goes to Cornwall

We set out on Thursday last week for a weekend away in North Cornwall but didn't travel far, just to Crossways to stay with my sister in law for the night which cut an hour off the next day's journey down to Newquay and onto Watergate Bay. It was a good decision and meant we could listen to the stormy winds blowing hard outside from the comfort of a bedroom instead of the motorhome.

The next morning we set off and stopped briefly in Bridport for a few things from the Morrisons there before making steady progess to Exeter and onto Okehampton. We stopped for a break and gingerly continued down into Cornwall, constantly aware of the buffeting the motorhome was taking due to the high winds. I was pleased to have got a sat nav which allows you to enter the dimensions on the vehicle as it meant we took a different route into our campsite avoiding some of the narrower roads which beribbon Cornwall.

We had a chat about naming the motorhome, which seems to be common practice, and have gone for Amy from the Amethyst part of the name. Maria didn't like Jasper which would have come from the number plate.

It was our first time camping with electric hook up and it did make a difference, mainly with the access to hot water. We got filled up easily enough when we arrived using the water point and despite not having the correct hose fitting. Jamming the end into the tap seemed to work well enough.

Hooking up was easy and suddenly everything worked. Two sockets meant we could have differing devies charging or working e.g. kettle and iphone charger but it was not long before you wished for an adaptor so you could have TV and VD player together. The TV worked by the way. The magnetic base aerial was brilliant. It just lost out whn water was running for some reason.

The best thing we discovered this time was how good the shower is. It's a hand held shower with a trigger, something like you'd find on a garden hose. It was powerful, flexible and easy to adjust. In fact the bathroom facilities worked incredibly well. That goes for the toilet too. Not my natural area of interest but the toilet cassette was easy to remove, empty and then... Well, I was going to write 'add to' but that would be taken to mean something else. I mean to set up - blue chemical, water and slotting back into place.

It is amazing how quickly you got used to the whole process, especially as the closure of the onsite facilities meant we were all having to cart the waste round to the disposal area where there was always an embarrassed remark or two to be shared.

As we had already discovered, cooking on the four ring gas cooker was great. The beds were comfortable and that first night we watched some TV, played games and I watched the football on my phone whilst sat in the front passenger seat enjoying the views across the campsite and a few drinks before lights out.

Rain

Yesterday was a complete washout as far as time outside was concerned. It was incessant and heavy rain which gave us more rain in a day than any other day in 2020 so far. As a result I did not get out for a run or ride, a nice break if I'm honest.

We had Evie for the day. Poor thing has a bad cough but she enjoyed dancing with Maria.

Allotment - lots of crops

Maria was at dance yesterday from 4.30 - 7.15 so I took the bike with me and rode the 5 miles to the allotment to do some weeding and to collect some more veg. In fact I came home with lots of raspberries which, added to those from home, gave us half a kilo, enough for a jar and a bit of seedless jam which I made this morning.

There are plenty of runner beans, french beans, onions, peas, potatoes, tomatoes and beetroot, along with spinach and chard. We've got a rucksack full at home for meals over the next couple of days before we head down to Cornwall in the motorhome.

I rode back and had time to pop out for a little jog too before Maria finished. Cue a bit of cramp in thigh last night. I might have pushed a bit too hard.

Home produce

A few items from the kitchen in the last few hours. The main dish is a blackberry cobbler which I'm not sure is the right word but it is what was on the BBC Countryfile recipe. Just a tub of blackberries, flour with vegan butter mixed in along with sugar. There are four jars of chutney made using the home grown tomatoes and two jars of blackberry jam using berries picked along the roadside and a few apples from down the lane. The extra berries were used to make blackberry sorbet, the first time I've made such a thing and the rapsberries from the allotment were used for raspberry coulis, very easy to make with just a little icing sugar and lemon juice.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they all taste like.

Busy cooking and gardening - chutney and jam

Alison and Maria were spending the day with Bridie so I had a day of rushing round the house and garden trying to get a long list of jobs completed. The good news - I managed to complete the list although I felt tired out by the end.

Kitchen - I had soaked chickpeas and red kidney beans overnight and got on making hummus with garlic, tahini, cumin and lemon juice, plus a little olive oil and water. I also used some of the chickpeas with a big red cabbage salad which went with the vegan chilli which was largely based around the kidney beans and chickpeas, homegrown peppers and french beans, tomatoes, homegrown and tinned and fresh chilli.

I had also picked a couple of tubs of blackberries with Amelia the day before and those got cooked up to make a further two jars of jam bolstered by apples picked from down the lane where there is a large apple tree laden with big fruits.

At the same time I was using some of the less standard looking tomatoes from the garden to make chutney. Again I used apples collected walking Maisy earlier in the morning along with another homegrown pepper, raisins, sugar, vinegar and ginger.

The store cupboard is looking pretty full now with plenty of jars to enjoy over the coming months.

The final activity was to blanch some french beans which were then plunged into cold water before being dried and placed in a plastic bag for freezing. I've heard they don't freeze well but we will see.

Garden - managed to cut the grass, feed the birds, clean out the fire pit, tidy the conservatory, fill in the holes Maisy has been digging, cut the hedges in the front garden, cut the hedges down the side of the house and cut the hedge at the back, sweep up and put the cuttings in the garden waste bin ready for collection today, walk the dog a further two times and pop out to pick a further couple of kilos of blackberries.

In between all the activities in the kitchen and garden, I cleaned up all of the downstairs rooms and got out for a 5km run.

It felt like I was almost running from one job to another but it meant I got ahead of things and was able to have a nice walk with Maisy in the woods in the early evening and a beer in thegarden afterwards.

I'm on the lookout for some different blackberry recipes to use them up fresh e.g. blackberry sorbet. Hope to get some photos later.

Weekend update

I'm just back from meeting up with Joe and Kate and the girls for our version of junior parkrun, running the course on a Sunday morning but without anyone else. I rode the MTB there and back, 10 miles, and enjoyed my first ride since the 100km ride on Tuesday. My backside appears to have recovered! Not too painful sitting on the saddle.

I'll have a run whilst Maria is at dance shortly.

We are recovering from the visit by Julie and Andy and the twins which was great but we are tired for sure. In fact I opted to drive to the allotment instead of cycling, although I did do a 5km run yesterday. The allotment is amazing. We have peas and french beans which I've never grown before, lots of raspberries, spinach, potatoes, runner beans and more to come. I am absolutely delighted with the food we are getting after the decimation caused by rabbits earlier in the year which I thought had put the lid on anything other than spuds. We've learnt a lot after making lots of mistakes with timing and protection and so one and are already looking forward to next season.

Autosleeper Amethyst

A lovely morning after an evening in the garden enjoying the shooting stars and the lightning competing for our attention. The storm must have been some way off as we never heard any thunder, nor was the any rain. The flashes were frequent and vivid but it remained a sticky night.

This morning we were up early and parked at West Cliff on the orad which runs alongside the car park for Durley Chine. The car park has restricted height barriers but that was a blessing given we checked the road and found lots of space with brilliant views and no parking charges. We made our way down the zigzag steps and got the dinghy out along with the body boards. It was again another occasion when there was no difficulty in getting in the water, the sea was fantastic.

100km bike ride for the National Autistic Society

I didn't ride the pony in the picture but it was tempting! One of my 57 challenges was to complete a 57 mile bike ride and another was to take part in a charity bike ride so it made sense to combine the two which is how I signed up to the 100km virtual event in aid of the National Autism Society. The last practice ride I did was just over 40 miles and that was several weeks ago and in the meantime we have been away and the weather hasn't been quite right and so on. I was keen to have a sunny ride and one where the wind was as kind as it could be i.e. very gentle. There is little worse, in my view, when riding a bike than pedalling along a flat section of road and feeling like you are putting in a huge effort to no avail as the wind pushes you back, cruel and unrelenting.

The conditions were perfect when I set out just after 7.30 this morning but the heatwave of the past few days continued and it got hotter and hotter. Still, better that than rain and gloomy skies.

I'd adjusted the gears which had been slipping a little recently and they proved completely reliable over the next 5 hours, and I packed a rucksack with extra water and a heavy old bike lock, plus pasta and snacks. It was quite a load but I wasn't too bothered by it. However, I didn't eat much at all, having had a good porridge and toast breakfast. It was the water I craved, especially toward the end of the rideand I did pop into a shop for a bottle of Diet Coke which was lovely and cold, well worth the £1.40 it cost.

Taking care to prepare, I had a pump, two spare tubes, tyre levers, puncture repair kit and a charger for phone and the garmin. I'm not normally so well prepared but it felt owrth spending a little time avoiding mishaps later, although in the event everything went smoothly.

The route was one I'd checked with Google Maps first so I had an idea of the distance I'd be completing, not wanting to get close to home and find I had to push a further few miles to hit the target. It wasn't until I checked later that I saw how hilly the start of the ride was which is an indication of my setting out conservatively and not over-straining. I headed to Cranborne and on to Alderholt, Fordingbridge and Godshill where I took my first stop by The Fighting Cocks and decided against riding one of the ponies or donkeys.

It was then time to head further east, a pull along to Brook and under the M27/A31 roundabout before heading to Lyndhurst where I stopped at Boltons Bench, a local landmark where TSP had previously started their 50 mile rides around the forest. Plenty of positive memories for me in that location despite realising I was on my own this time and had to get past the 50 miles and to 62.2!

I was feeling good around this point and took the road down to Beaulieu, a route I haven't taken before and it was lovely to find it was almost all downhill. Mile after mile of flat ot descending roads through picture book heathland, the open land of the New Forest. 

Next up was Brockenhurst which I seemed to scout round, missing the town centre where I would have had a little stop but I pushed on towards Sway and then Burley, managing to overtake some riders by this stage. Now the thirst was beginning to hit me and I stopped at Burley for some welcome water and a peanut butter sandwich. I was getting closer to home and starting to panic about going far enough but the road to Ringwood was longer than the usual one I drive which takes in the A31. Brilliantly, this road was mostly downhill too and took me past the 50 mile mark and still feeling good.

You can see just how sunny it was and by this time the heat was really on. I had got up to 14.5mph on average, well over the 12mph I'd expected. I next stopped at Moors Valley which meant I had a slowish section through the busy pathway to Potterne Park. My water was nearly all gone and I knew I was going to be a couple of miles short too, so not the best moment and that's when I really started thinking about nearly having done it but knowing there was the huge hill from Verwood to Woodlands to come. My heart was sinking but I got on and took a detour round the Ebblake Industrial Estate to add some distance, doing the same at the roundabout in Verwood where I headed back off toward Alderholt before retracing my steps, this time confident I had enough mileage to complete the challenge by the time I got home.

Just 1.5 miles remained and I was still averaging over 14mph  and I took to the Col de Verwood, the steep climb past Crane Valley Golf Club and the caravan park. In all honesty, it was quickly over. I seemed to be in a rhythm which kept me going despite myself and the legs didn't feel too bad at all. It wasn't until I'd done the final 1/2 mile and got in the door that I realised I was gasping for breath still having got up the hill. The final descent down to New Road was lovely. 

Usually I would go in the back and take the bike up the steps but today I simply coasted to the front garden and stacked it against the motorhome and staggered in to drink and drink.

It's taken me a little while to feel quite back to normal. I was definitely dehydrated by the end and it's taken an hour to get myself sorted. However, I've now got a coffee and the pasta I'd taken for the ride to enjoy. I just couldn't face them when I got home.

So two more challenges completed and some money raised for the Autism Society and I enjoyed the ride too. Smiles all round.

57 challenges - homemade blackberry jam and jelly

I have been busy with the blackberries and have already made a couple of jars of jam using the berries picked yesterday with Evie and Amelia. The photo shows the berries we collected today which have been cooked up with some apples and will be left to drain overnight so I can use the juice tomorrow to make blackberry jelly, even better than the jam but more work.

That means I have now completed challenge number 29 of the 57 set in May. Tomorrow I am hoping to complete two more at the same time, a 57 mile bike ride and to raise money for charity. In fact I am going to go a bit further, 62 miles, to complete 100km for the autism society.

Badbury Rings

Badbury Rings is a National Trust site with free parking for members. It is a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year, the trees at the top of the fort offering welcome shade today, and brilliant in the windy weather of autumn and winter to blow the cobwebs away. There are spectacular views in all directions and it is a great example of a defensive fort, rings of ditches and steep sided banks to protect those who made Badbury Rings their home thousands of years ago.

We had a lovely picnic and collected more blackberries which I'm going to get on and cook this afternoon - blackberry jam, blackberry jelly and blackberry cobbler.