Zebedee has been to Slimbridge and Cirencester

We should have gone to Slimbridge in February, on our way to visit families and the NEC, but cancelled our booking due to Storm Eunice.  The site were very helpful and allowed us to move our booking to a new date and we also added a few extra days to make a week long 'adventure'.

On Tuesday we set off to Tudor Caravan Park - we like the area where we have previously pitched so paid an extra fee to choose our pitch.  After setting up on site we had a short walk along the canal before returning to the Tudor Arms for a drink.

Pitch 23 Tudor Caravan Park

We had a cool start to the day on Wednesday and decided to walk along the canal beyond Saul Junction.  By mid morning the sun was out and we had a lovely sunny day, although it was probably too hot for a 12 mile walk in our thicker clothes.  We also stopped at The Stables Cafe for a pot of tea on our return to the site.

On Thursday we spent the day at Slimbridge Wetlands Centre, which is a short walk from the site.  There was an Easter duck hunt for the children which, of course, we had to join in and found all 14 ducks!

Steve and Easter Duck

On Friday we left Slimbridge and travelled to Cirencester Park Caravan Club Site.  We set up on site and walked into the town for a potter around the shops and tea and cake at Heather's Cafe.

Pitch 130 Cirencester Park

We had a lazy start to the day on Saturday morning and then walked into town to buy a newspaper and have a coffee before returning to the site for lunch.  In the afternoon we walked the 'Field and Woodland' walk around the Bathurst Estate.

Sunday was another lovely hot, sunny day and we decided to walk through the park to Sapperton.  There were signs for a motorcycle competition which was being held along the paths through the woods so in places we had to walk along the adjacent track.  Although it was a bit noisy, it was interesting to watch and also interesting when we had to wait for a gap in the motorcyclists to cross the race track.

Bathurst Estate

We decided to spend the day in town on Monday.  We walked the Whereat Trail which took us out to the Roman Amphitheatre and Querns Wood - parts of the town we've not previously visited.

Tuesday was our day to travel home.  After unpacking Zeb and giving him a quick clean we took him back to storage for a week before our next adventure.

19-26 April 2022

Zebedee has been to Arlington, Dorchester, Fareham and Wareham

We had planned a few days in Zeb on sites in North Devon and Exmoor before we had a change of plan. 

We left home on Friday for our first site at Hallsdown Farm a private site near Arlington.  We had seen the site advertised in Campervan magazine and liked the look of it - it was an adults only site with no dogs allowed as it was on a sheep farm.  We set off late morning and arrived on site in glorious sunshine.  After setting up we walked up the lane to the Farm Shop before returning to the site to enjoy the sun.

Pitch 8 Hallsdown Farm

On Saturday we walked a couple of miles to Arlington Court and the National Trust Carriage Museum, We spent the day walking around the grounds and visiting the carriage museum before returning to site to enjoy more glorious sunshine.

We walked to Wistlandpound Reservoir on Sunday and followed the trails around the reservoir before returning to Arlington Court for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.  The weather was still glorious so we returned to the site to sit in the sun again.

Wistlandpound Reservoir

We had originally planned on going to Woolacombe for a few days, but decided to head across to Southdown Motorhomes at Portsmouth to discuss our new campervan.  Steve had been speaking to the sales advisor over the phone, but we decided it would be good to meet and discuss everything.  As the next two sites we had booked were C&MC sites we were able to cancel the bookings and transfer to new sites.  So on Monday we left Devon to head over to Portsmouth - as it was a long journey we stopped at Crossways Caravan Club Site near Dorchester.  The site is set in woodland which was full of deer and unusually they didn't run off when spotted - instead they stood at the side of the road and watched us walk past them!

Pitch 78 Crossways

Most of the pitches were grass but we found a lovely hardstanding pitch in the centre of the site.  After walking around the site in the afternoon we went to the nearby Frampton Arms for a meal before returning to the site early evening.

Neither of us slept well on Monday night as we had heavy rain overnight and as our pitch was under trees the noise of the rain on the roof lights kept us awake.  We set off late morning on Tuesday to drive to Rookesbury Park Caravan Club Site near Fareham and set up on site quickly as it was still raining.  We stayed on site all afternoon, walking around the site when the rain eased late afternoon.

Pitch 30 Rookesbury Park

On Wednesday we drove to Southdown Motorhomes to discuss our new campervan and completed our order.  We returned to the site in the afternoon and walked to Wickham where we had a walk around the village and a couple of celebratory drinks at the King's Head before returning to site.

The following day we drove to Hunter's Moon Caravan Club Site.  The weather had totally changed from the warm sunny days at the start of our trip and it was now bitterly cold.  After setting up we had a walk around the site, had early showers and settled down for the evening.

Pitch 72 Hunter's Moon

On Friday we woke to a cold frosty start to the day.  We walked the Sika Trail through Wareham Forest and although we enjoyed the walk it was very windy and bitterly cold all day so we returned to site mid afternoon.

We had another frosty start to the day on Saturday and walked to Wareham.  By mid morning the sun was out and although it was still very cold it was a lovely sunny day.  We pottered around the town and had a pot of tea before walking back to the site through the forest in a hail storm.  After returning to the site we had early showers to warm us up and spent the evening tucked up in Zeb.

Sunday was also a cold frosty day and we walked back to Wareham through the forest.  When the sun came out late morning it was a lovely day and we sat by the river for our lunch before having a pot of tea and returning to the site. 

Morden Bog, Wareham Forest

We returned home on Monday to get ready for a busy week at home and plan for our next 'adventure'.

We enjoyed our trip, even though it wasn't the one we had originally planned.  Hallsdown Farm was a lovely site and one of our favourite sites we've ever visited - we'll definitely return.  Crossways was another lovely site and I'm sure we'll return there again.  Rookesbury Park is convenient for visiting Southdown Motorhomes although it closes in the autumn so we won't be able to stay there when we collect our new campervan late 2022/early 2023.  Hunter's Moon is one of our regular sites, especially for out of season breaks as it's open all year.

25 March-3 April 2022