Sat here on a day off and the sun is shining and has been for about a whole week now. Nothing unusual you might say. But it’s a bank holiday and we are in Wales so getting all these combinations to come together is a rare thing.

More days off since the last blog post so beside working this is what we have been up to. We went back to the Ironworks centre because we are members it now costs us nothing each time we go. I say costs us nothing but we have lunch which we get a members discount and we are always tempted to buy something but have to remind ourselves we live in a tin can and not a big house. Maybe one day.

The main thing we wanted to see this time was the new Dragon which stands proud at the entrance and is made up of a lot of different bits of metal including a lot of old car parts. Very impressive.

The next day we also had off so went to Whittington a small village with a castle, duck pond, a couple of pubs which we managed to stay out of. While we were walking around the castle or what’s left of it there was a photographer and a model doing a photo shoot.

So we were walking around a castle with a real princess. A very nice princess I will add and as I walked past I said to her, I am a frog and if you kiss me I will turn into a handsome prince. Then I woke up.

After walking around the castle we headed off to Henlle Hall which is a small holiday village with some wooden lodges for rent, also cottage rooms. All in lovely grounds with a herd of deer in a paddock and a duck pond. They have a restaurant and bar area which we did visit but only for a slice of cake and a coffee. It’s the sort of place I would love to work on the grounds.

Another day off and another place to visit and tick off the list was a small town called Ellesmere which is not far from Whittington . There is a sculpture trail there and a really nice place for lunch. The Boathouse restaurant sits on the edge of the lake and after our walk around the park and town we headed for it.

Walking along we heard a clap of thunder and looked behind us to see some really nasty looking black clouds. Our walk all of a sudden got quicker and we got to the boathouse and got a seat under the shelter overlooking the lake and ordered our lunch. Then it started to rain but we were under the shelter. But then the rain got heavier and the sky got darker and everyone was running for the inside seats. We sat there looked at each other and thought let’s get inside. A good decision because as soon as we got inside the heavens opened and heavy rain and hail lashed down.

We had to get some shopping while out also and right beside the Tesco at Ellesmere is a canal and some old buildings from the days gone by. So while Nikki was shopping I wandered off down the canal looking for photo opportunities. Then I met her back at the car.

Last week was our long weekend off and time to take the camper out for a run. We opted for a small five pitch site in a small village called pontesford. The site was great and we were blessed with this lovely weather we are having so a BBQ was a must and of course a visit to the local village pub. You have to support the area your staying in.

A very narrow lane takes you to the site off the main road and as I indicated to turn into the lane I could imagine the cars behind looking at this 30ft camper and thinking where the hell is he going. He will never get down there. How wrong they could be. Yes it was narrow but slow and steady and the campsite was reached.

The owners of the campsite greeted us and showed us our pitch. We think it was the best one on site with sunshine from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. The BBQ was fired up, the beer and wine were poured and a great evening was had. Followed the next morning by a nice cooked breakfast outside.

A walk down into the village to stretch the legs and get an ice cream before returning to the camper to shower before walking back down the lane and to the pub. Took us all of ten minutes. The Nags head has a small garden which, as it was so nice outside, we chose to sit in. Trying the local beer and wine and then ordering food. And I must say it was one of the best pub meals we have ever had. I even had to try a pudding . The walk back to the campsite took a bit longer than it did to get there.

The next day was going to be a chill out day but I knew of some mountain bike trails in some woods about three miles away so it would have been rude to miss an opportunity to go and try them out. And yes they were very good. I went early so we had plenty of time to chill out in the sun beside the camper with the birds singing, the farm cockerel crowing, bee’s buzzing and the smell of cow poop being spread over the fields. Life in the country.