Here we are six weeks into our season, still a long way to go though and things have not slowed down. The site has been busy and now Easter is upon us it’s gone mad. Add to that school holidays and you get a full site with loverly little children……not.

To be fair some of them are great but others are not but it’s not their fault it’s the parents. Luckily we are off this weekend but they will still be there when we go back tomorrow.

We had a nice drive out to Whiteford beach the other Sunday on our day off. Whiteford beach is big open beach at the end of the estuary. There’s not a big carpark by it so a lot of peaple don’t go there. Instead there’s a bit of a farmers field with an honesty box for payment for parking.

To get to the carpark you drive down some small roads and then down a dead end road and the carpark is near the end. After parking up you walk down the dead end road past a couple of old cottages and onto a footpath which takes you to the beach or through the woods to the beach and the views are fantastic.

The beach was empty apart from a few distant figures. At the far end at the entrance to the estuary is a old cast iron lighthouse which is on my list of things to get photos of. You can get right up close to it but you have to do it at low tide and you only have a small timescale because when the tide turns it comes in very quick. From the carpark and back it’s about a 6/7 mile hike so it’s one thing I will be doing in my own when it’s a nice day and the tides are right.

As you come back through the trees towards the carpark you pass a little old cottage with a tin roof which is owned by the national trust and is a holiday let. What a fantastic place to holiday. All on your own with a beach only a stones throw from your garden.

Another great thing about this season is the location for us and seeing sunsets. Because we have a wide open view facing west we get the most fantastic sunsets, when its sunny of course and being in wales those days are limited. But saying that we have had more good days than bad so far.

As this blog goes on this season you will be getting a lot of sunset photos because every one is different. I don’t have a favourite because they are all so different and nice in their own way.

Yesterday we had our first BBQ of the season. A simple meal of good burgers, peppers, mushrooms and pork ribs with flavourings all washed down with Guinness and wine. After a day of sun, food and beer it was an early night and a sleep of about 11 hours.

So it’s back to work tomorrow. The days off seem to go quicker than the days we work. We have lots of other days out planned including a Hot Rod meeting at Pendine sands which I have wanted to go to for years but work and distance have been against us. It’s all pre 1949 cars and they race on the beach. We have not been to a Hot Rod meeting for ages so we are really looking forward to this and it’s only an hour away from here. We are spoiling ourselves with this one as we are renting an apartment overlooking the sea with a hot tub, and about a 15 minute walk to the beach. More on this to follow.

After surviving the three storms in Minehead we packed up and headed out on the highway towards Gowerton on the Gower South Wales. Our place of work for the season.

The weather was dry and sunny as we went over the Severn bridge and I thought for a moment we must be somewhere else other than Wales because the weather was so nice. Even the sheep were smiling and chilling in the sun.

First stop was a site on the edge of Newport at Tredegar to pick up some stuff up which we had left there for the winter. We only stayed there for three days and then packed up again and headed out on the M4 to Gowerton. Nikki zoomed pass me on the motorway so she got there first .

Part of the route involves a low bridge which looks really low on google earth but I knew the height of the camper and knew I could get under it. There is a alternative route if bigger. I still have a roof so it does fit. By the time I got to site I see Nikki in the office with a cup of coffee. Went in in and met our new managers for this season, Martin and Fiona who are from Cardiff.

After a quick chat we got into our compound and got set up. It’s a great compound with a bathroom and a garage, no overhead trees to drop stuff on the roof of the camper and a view looking straight down the estuary which will have some amazing sunsets as it faces west and that’s where the sun goes down.

The land the campsite is on is reclaimed land and used to be all marsh land so on a big spring tide and with a strong westerly wind the tide pushes right up to the campsite gates. I have my wetsuit on standby hanging up in the garage in case I need to start swimming and also my snorkelling gear in case it gets really deep.

There was so much to do on site with a lot of storm damage including six huge big trees down and lots of branches and twigs all over the grass. We had a week to get the site ready for opening. We all worked so hard and even managed to cut all the grass, and there is a lot. The weather was with us luckily. Cutting all the grass meant sitting on a ride on mower for five hours and that was just me.

We had a day off so decided to go exploring. No plan just get in the car and head for the beach and see where we ended up. We drove on the main road and then turned off down some smaller roads and ended up in the middle of Rhossili beach, a huge big beach. We then turned around and headed for the Mumbles.

Parked up and had a walk around. Not impressed with the town, all looked run down but it is winter and I expect if the sun was out and into the season it would have looked better…..well maybe a little bit. The beach area and small bays by the lifeboat station were nicer.

The gates to the campsite opened on the 11th March and we had about twelve in. Was nice to see the site looking so much nicer than when we had arrived on the 1st March. There has been a steady flow of peaple arriving daily since opening. Think it’s going to be a busy year.

This weekend was our weekend off. We haven’t really done a lot, just caught up on things that needed doing. We both feel really knackered to be honest but will be fine when we get back in the swing of things. I went out on my bike for an eighteen mile ride just along a coast path so nice and flat and a good start to getting my fitness back ready to go to the bike park.

It’s back to work this afternoon and even better it’s payday this week. So although we are knackered it’s great to be back to work, that is if you have to work which unfortunately we do. Lots of plans for the season and lots to see and do.

We have survived the two storms of Dudley and Eunice. No damage to us or the camper unlike a lot of other unfortunate peaple around the country. Hope your all sorted soon.

We are still at Minehead and the site we are on is an old quarry. We are on the southern side of the site so have a huge big quarry face in front of us which give us a bit of protection yesterday from the 65/70 mph gusts.

The site has been full most of the time we have been here with lots of caravans and campers coming and going. It started getting less busy two days ago when news of the storm was on the news. Some peaple left early and I expect a lot cancelled their weekend trip because yesterday no one arrived.

I really wanted to go down to the sea yesterday morning but stayed with the camper in case I had to move it or anything happened so it was a day of staring out the window at the rain and we even had a couple of hailstorms and watching the trees blowing about, and when the big gusts came through making sure I wasn’t just about to take a sip of my beer. I don’t like to spill any.

As the day went on the gusts became less and not as strong and the red warning went to amber so Nikki could start to breath again. This morning it’s like a different world, all calm but rain is forecast for this morning.

What else have we been doing. Nikki has been going to see Mi Mi, I have been watching the rugby after getting to grips with how the tv works and I had to get my other ear micro suctioned out. Walking down to the beach, out on my bike up the woods. Making the most of our last few days of freedom before starting work.

We had another day out last week when we went to Porlock. Only about six miles away by car. It’s a small little village by the sea, very pretty and very busy in the summer but ok at this time of year. Most of it is closed up.

Down by the harbour is my favourite bit with three cottages right on the sea and when the tides in the sea surrounds them on three sides because of the harbour. I should think yesterday in the storms got a bit scary with the high tides forecast also.

The beach is a pebble beach with great views either way and the sound as the sea rolls up them and back is fantastic. I actually surfed here a long time ago. As the tide comes in it funnels through a small inlet under a small bridge and into the harbour. It all happens quite quickly when it starts to come in because this is part of the Bristol Channel with a huge tidal range.

Once you walk over the small bridge and past the cottages you’re on the beach where the first thing you see is an old war bunker. It’s on a bit of an angle now after being battered by the waves over all the years but it still has a smile on its face. Probably smiling that the war is over. Some peaple may not even notice the smiley face.

The plan was to have lunch out this day so after the beach we went up into the village/ small town and looked for somewhere to have lunch. That didn’t go very well, closed, closed and the small cafe that was open didn’t look very inviting. Nikki went in a clothes shop to have a look around while I stood outside thinking, why go in there there’s no food just clothes. Ten minutes later she came out with a bag. I quickly asked her what she had bought hoping she had found some food for us but it was only another dress, in the sale of course.

But she had been recommended a place for lunch by the owner of the clothes shop so that was good. It was a pub just down the road which was open and serving food. We walked off to it and the wood burner was roaring away and was a really nice cosy proper old pub. And a very nice lunch was had.

So that’s up to date. We move on next Thursday crossing over the Severn bridge and back into wales. Staying on a site on the edge of Newport. We need to pick up some storage boxes which we left there last year. We will stay there for five days and then on March 1st we will head on to the Gower and settle in ready to start work on the 3rd March. Stay safe everybody.

As the days go by, and I must say they are going past very fast we are into our last month of freedom. And another plus is that means it’s only now 7 weeks until our next payday. The bank manager will be pleased.

With a new season brings a new destination. We were going to St David’s in Pembrokeshire which we were looking forward to. But it’s all change, we are now going to Gowerton on the Gower coast of South Wales. Another nice area and to be honest much better for us this year as Mi Mi is still not well and back in hospital.

Being at Gowerton puts us 3 hours away from Barnstaple in North Devon rather than 5 hours away from St David’s and from Gowerton were straight on the motorway. So all in all better for us this year.

So I have been doing some research in the area of the Gower and it all looks good with at least four bike parks less than an hour away, and some great walks, Nikki has some shops nearby and there are plenty of nice beaches on the Gower. so on our days off we will have lots to do.

Last week I went out on my bike up in the woods just going here there and everywhere because there were so many bridal paths and some very nice downhill runs. All in all covered 18 miles of fun. The pic below shows a sign, at this point there were four choices of route. Can you guess which one I took.

After getting to the bottom of a very steep and winding hill I took another small road which took me to the Tall Tree trail. And guess what there were loads of tall trees including the tallest tree in England, well it was the tallest in 2009 so the sign says. Your not allowed to bike on the walking trails but luckily the biggest tree was at the beginning of the trail.

The whole area was planted in the 1870’s and most of the trees are Douglas firs, the tallest being 197 ft tall that’s just over 60 metres and they say the trunk weighs 50 tons. I never saw any scales around though.

Another hike, a couple of days later took me along the coast path to Dunster beach. I was only going to go to the sea front at Minehead but got a bit carried away walking along with the wind behind me, that’s the wind as in weather not the wind from me. So as I walked along past the end of the promenade, pass the golf course, and in the distance I could see the row of beach huts that face the sea at Dunster beach and thought that will be my turning point.

A fantastic location to have a beach hut on a nice day if you can afford one. After passing all the huts I took a road which headed back to Minehead. Another six mile hike done. With that and the bike ride a couple of days earlier I have had a couple of nothing days with my body aching a bit.

That was until this morning when I decided I can’t just sit still and do nothing for more than a day. So on with my walking boots and a gentle stroll down to the harbour area and back. Only three miles in total but it stretched the legs.

It was a bit gloomy down at the harbour and even started to rain while I was done there but it still looked good with the tide in and the small boats bobbing about. There was even an old canon overlooking the harbour left over from days when it would have been used to protect the harbour from invaders.

I am home alone for a week now as Nikki has gone to see Mi Mi and then to see her sister and the boys and grandkids. I have food in the fridge and takeaways down the road so I will be fine. And on Saturday the Six nations rugby starts which I love to watch. Nikki has left me instructions on how to put the tele on and find the rugby. It’s all so complicated now, two remotes, do this do that, press this press that, plug that in unplug that. I am giving myself half an hour before the game starts and if all fails that gives me enough time to get to the pub to watch it all afternoon.

When we decided to come to Minehead I did a lot of looking at google maps to see if there were any biking trails and good walks. Staying on the coast of course you have the south west coastal path which runs for hundreds of miles.

Over the years I have done bits and pieces of it here and there. It’s so nice hiking by the sea, the sound, the smells and of course the views are fantastic. When the path turns inland you get the contrast of open fields and woods etc.

Yesterday I did a Seven mile hike, leaving the campsite and heading for the seafront and then turning right and walking along the seafront past the harbour and to the start of the coast path. You pass a loverly sculpture of some hands holding a map so you know you’re going the right way.

You also pass some old cottages which have stood there for years and years and have been battered by winter storms, high tides etc but are still standing after all these years. They don’t build them like this now that’s for sure. In between two of the cottages is a small little cottage which looks like it’s a pit building which it may have been at one stage but is now a small cottage.

My hike started off nice and level beside the sea and then soon reached a point where I was going up through the woods, and when I say up it was up and up some more. My legs were burning, my heart was thumping but I felt good. Must admit my hips and legs are a bit sore this morning after the just over seven miles and and just over 900 ft of climbing yesterday.

Another thing on my to do list while here was to hike to Dunster and hike up to the Conygar tower on the hill in Dunster. This was just over five miles and only just over 500ft of elevation but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.

The Conygar tower was built in the 17th century, it’s a circular three story folly tower of red sandstone. Stands 18 metres tall and there is no evidence of it ever having a roof or floors.

The tower looked great in the sunlight and also made some great photos with the shadows and sunlight. I was up there all alone with this tower and nature, apart from the birds singing. You will see from the photos I like to take arty farty photos also.

After dragging myself away and walking down into Dunster which is a loverly old village with just a few shops, cafes and of course a couple of pubs. The roads are narrow and at one point you have to navigate your way around a structure called the Yarn market. This building was built in 1609 when Dunster was a cloth trading place. The building is octagonal and when stood inside you can just imaging all the traders that would have traded in the building over all those years.

A bike ride was also done this week to Watchet. About 16 miles and 800ft elevation. Again going along the coast as much as possible and then the back roads. And a couple of days later another bike ride up to Bossington hill and back down through the woods on the bridle paths. This ride also included a stop at St Michaels church, no not because I have gone all religious or that it’s named after me, not the saint bit. Just because I wanted to get a photo of the old steps that lead up to it through the cottages. It was built in the 15th century.

Now it was Nikki’s turn to come out with me, she’s not a biker or hiker. She has been away because of MiMi being back in hospital so Nikki has been staying at her flat and visiting her. She came back and I said we were having a day out.

Again I had been looking at google maps and discovered a beach I wanted to visit. Nikki was up for it so we headed out in the car to East Quantoxhead beach. You park in a little sleepy village, no pub in this one just a few old cottages, church and farm buildings and as it’s a proper old village a duck pond. You park on a bit of wasteland and there is a honesty box for your carpark money £1.50 for all day. I love things like that and hope it doesn’t get abused by peaple that think life is a free ride. The money goes towards maintaining the church.

While I was putting my boots on Nikki went and paid and then I heard her voice over the stone wall..I need another £3.50 Bloody hell I thought the church had fallen down and needed a complete rebuild so the parking fees had gone up. No on the other side of the wall was a little wooden structure with apples and bottles of apple and ginger drink, homemade by someone in the village so she had to have some. I think she thought it was wine.

It’s about a twenty minute to the beach from the carpark across the fields and then you get to the beach. It’s not a sandy beach but a beach with the most amazing rock formations and it’s also known to have a lot of fossils. Well there were two extra fossils today looking for others.

The little red dot at the end of that rock face is Nikki searching for fossils. And yes we did find some, not huge big fantastic ones but we did find some. I was just blown away with the rock formations with so many different kinds from the ones in the picture above to smooth rock and even some that looked like block paving. So many different kinds in such a small area.

After we left the beach we called into Watchet so Nikki could see it and I even treated her to lunch in the pub. All in all a great day out.

Here we are at Minehead in Somerset. I can’t help thinking it was named after a German, it’s just the word Minehead. Every time I hear it said I hear it in a German accent.

Minehead is an old seaside town which has been added to over the years much like a lot of seaside towns. The old part is loverly with old cottages and thatched cottages on the hillside. Butlins came here in 1962 and brings in thousands of people to Minehead in the summer. The town part I don’t like, it’s to much bucket and spade brigade for me.

I would never come here in the summer, that’s when it fills up with lots of blokes wearing football shirts and mums shouting at the kids to come here. All heading for the amusement arcades to spend all their dole money then to the nearest pub to drink as much lager as they can before falling over while mum is still shouting for little Leroy to come back.

I nearly forgot. Happy new year to you all. I was planning on a dry January, no beer and no chocolate or crisps for a month. How did it go I hear you cry. I lasted three days before giving in, don’t know why I bother saying I am going to do it really. But I am getting off my arse and out on my bike and hiking after having a lazy can’t be bothered two months.

Minehead has a old railway station and the old steam trains are running in the summer months. At the moment all the carriages are parked up at the station waiting for the better weather and all them little Leroys.

While here we had to go back to Barnstaple for the dentist and to see Mi Mi. The drive from here is not a good one and takes over an hour on some not so good roads at this time of year. Dentist robbed us of £360 pounds, why can’t I earn that sort of money for an hours work. I know why because I never went to school enough.

By the time we left the dentist and Mi Mi it was getting towards dusk and the country roads around Exmoor were looking nice. We saw a huge herd of deer, a couple of hawks and right next to us on a fence post as we drove past a barn owl .

After talking like we were drunk because of the anaesthetic from the dentist all the way home and spilling my drink of water where my mouth was not working like it should. All was well though by the time Nikki had cooked tea. There’s not a lot will get between me and my food.

The next day I went out on my bike up Bossington hill which has some great views overlooking Porlock bay although it was a bit murky due to the low cloud but at least it was a 15 mile bike ride done with a nice downhill section at 44 mph.

All around Minehead are little peaple made from scrap by a local guy who was unemployed. He started cleaning up Minehead to keep himself busy and then started making these little characters for the local businesses and they can be seen in so many places. Really brings a smile to faces when you spot them.

We are here for a few weeks yet, so lots of exploring to do on foot and on bike and some trips out in the car planned. Lots of photo opportunities and maybe a pub or two. Maybe next year I can aim for 4 days of New Years resolutions before I give in. Stay safe everyone.

Just before we left South molton I had to go and get my booster jab at the leisure centre. Nikki went to see her mum while I walked across to the leisure centre via the riverbank path. It was a shame Nikki could not get hers at the same time but she could not get booked in until a week later and hers was in Minehead.

The walk to the leisure centre could be taken by going through the town, not for me or along the riverbank. It’s not a long walk and you’re never far from the town but far enough for me. After passing under the old Barnstaple bridge through the subway with its graffiti which I must admit I quite liked as it was bright in an otherwise dull place. Better than just some scribble or tags as they’re called which look like a five year old found a can of spray paint and used it up.

After you cross the old bridge you again walk along the riverbank for a short stretch to the leisure centre. Along the river bank are an assortment of old boats which have been there for years, never moved just slowly rotting away but some are more presentable than others.

One looks like it’s lived in and a bike business is run from it. There used to be a shop in the town that was piled high with old bikes of all shapes and sizes and an old guy called Gordy would do repairs outside the shop for anyone passing. He was well known in the town and used by many. The shop was sold a long time ago so it looks like Gordy moved on the boat and took a lot of his bikes with him.

The leisure centre was very well organised for the jabs and speaking to one of the helpers she said they had jabbed 3500 people the day before and were expecting to do more on the day I was there and were even staying open until midnight.

We spent the rest of the day with Nikki’s mum before heading back to South molton for our last night there before heading to Dulverton in Somerset. A site we have used before.

The reason we like Dulverton is because it’s a small quiet village, no road noise, a river runs beside it which you can hear gurgling at night and with the owls in the woods the other side of the river hooting it’s all very nice. Oh I nearly forgot to mention it has a couple of really nice pubs which you have to support while there. That’s the rules.

The woods on the riverbank opposite the campsite is where I do a lot of walking, I find it so peaceful up in the woods but it’s a hard uphill climb to to get there. Nikki prefers to walk around all the old streets. We also had a drive up to Minehead while here to get Nikki her third jab.

Another nice feature is the old church which I have taken many pictures of. One day last week the mist come in and the whole of Dulverton looked all gloom and when it got dark it only added to the atmosphere. So while Nikki was cooking tea in the warm I ventured out to take some photos. Heading for the church and hoping with the fog it was going to add to the atmosphere.

The church did look nice in this sort of light and as I walked up through the town it was really quiet and with mist around it looked like something out of an old film set where in those days you get all the smog hanging around. I didn’t stay out long because I knew my tea was cooking but must admit I did struggle to walk past the pub looking in through the window with the log fire going and cosy atmosphere with a good selection of beers on tap. But I managed to get past.

Tomorrow we head off again to a site just on the outskirts of wellington for a couple of nights and then from there up to Minehead. I will keep you all posted as usual and as usual stay safe out there. We wish you all a happy new year.

We have been so busy since getting down to Devon. We knew it would be busy with all our yearly catch-ups. Dentist, Doctors, camper mot, car mot, camper camera, booster jabs.

Off to the dentist for our check ups. We both failed and need two fillings each, old fillings starting to fall apart. There goes £400 that includes our checkups. Camper goes for mot / service, failed on brake pipes from front to back….it’s a long camper. Another £780. Car goes for mot and service and air con regassed. Another £420. Not that we need the air con at the moment but we will in the summer hopefully. Drive up to Taunton yesterday to get new rear view camera fitted. £822. Nikki has gone shopping today to get some beans to go on our toast.

So while the camper was in for its service and mot and it’s new brake pipes. Unlike most peaple when they drop off their motorhome for work they go home and wait for the call to come and pick it up. We can’t do that so we went out for breakfast and then on to westward ho to see how that had changed since we were last there two years ago.

The wind was howling straight off the sea and it was cold. I opted for a walk along the coast while Nikki could barely stand up so she went the other way to browse around the shops which were mostly closed.

I wasn’t out for long and on my way back towards the town my phone went and it was Nikki who told me to look over my right shoulder and aim for the coffee shop where she was sheltering from the wind with a nice hot coffee. So in I went and a nice Hot chocolate aappeared in front of me.

We had plenty of time to kill so we drank our drinks slowly before heading back to Barnstaple to collect the camper. That was after hanging around for another couple of hours.

While I was out walking along the prom I was amazed how the little beach huts are still going after all these years of winter storms. Some of them look like they might not make it this year but others are so loved and cared for. And if you knew the prices of them you would not want it to blow away.

It was nice to get the camper back and get back onto site. A couple of day later when we dropped the car off for its mot/ service we went and took Mi Mi out for lunch which she enjoyed, even though I ate mine and most of hers. It was the thought of having something different to eat other than beans on toast. Honest.

Another day when Nikki was out I walked into south molton on market day, they also have a sheep market which always makes me laugh when I hear the auctioneer selling off the sheep. How the hell they understand him I don’t know but they all get sold.

So again that’s us up to date, we have had some loverly sunrises but cold days and the wind seems like it has been coming from the North forever. Booster jab for me next week and doctors for blood checks etc. Then we are off to Dulverton on the edge of Exmoor. Looking forward to that. The next time I post here will be in the new year and as we don’t do Xmas I wish you all happy holidays and happy new year. Stay safe.

Before we left Cirencester the trees were well on their way to losing all their leaves. I love this time of year for the colours in the trees. I had one last walk down through the park and walked round the back of the church. The church dominates the town and is a large church, almost cathedral like. All the time we spent in Cirencester I had never been around the back, walked past it many times but never ventured round the back.

I love graveyards and this one was fantastic with so many old headstones in all shapes and sizes and at all sorts of angles. What I call a proper graveyard. And of course the trees were at their best in their autumnal colours.

That night we went out for one last time to our favourite pub in Cirencester The Toro lounge. They do the best burgers and a great pint of craft beer and a good glass of wine for Nikki. Nikki had got back that afternoon from visiting her sister and boys so I thought after her long hectic weekend and drive it would be nice to take her out rather than her get her apron on and start cooking tea. That’s my excuse anyway and I am sticking to it.

She didn’t complain about the idea and within half an hour of her getting home we were on our way down to the town. It was good to go in there again after missing out last year because of Covid.

We are now at South Molton at the site we have used many times. They have some new pitches which they were building last year when we were here so we opted to go on one of them and a good choice it was. We have no one around us and just look across the fields and trees, and the spell of good weather is also helping to make it all look so good.

We had a walk around the site just to stretch our legs after the drive and as we passed the clubhouse, well nearly got past it, I said to Nikki fancy a quick drink. I didn’t have to ask her twice so in we went. What a great surprise we saw some friends who use the campsite a lot in there so a few drinks later and a great catch up Nikki left to go and start the tea while I had one for the road and then wobbled home.

We have a quiet week this week with just visits to see Mi Mi, that’s Nikki’s mum. Then next week a very busy expensive week to include. Dentist check ups, Doctors check ups, camper mot and service, car mot and service and a new rear camera for the camper which means a trip to Taunton. So no more going out.

Yesterday I walked up through the woods on the site to get some cold crisp air in my lungs and check out the lakes. Sit in the sun under a tree and think about far off places in the sun without the cold crisp air.

So that’s where we are now. This morning it’s very frosty out there but the suns starting to come out. A chill out day is on the cards today. The last picture is of the church in Cirencester at night, it just looked so nice in the dark on the way home from the pub. Cheers.

The last few days on site were not without incident. We were on duty and the emergency phone went about 7pm. Always a bit of a worry when that phone goes because you expect the worst. Nikki answered the phone and a voice on the other end said there’s a cow on site, if I had answered the phone I would have said there’s been a few all season. But Nikki being the professional she is got all the details and she rang the farmer while I put my coat on and went off in the direction of the cow. As I got there a bloke was standing looking at the cow, it’s dark at this time don’t forget. I told the bloke not to go near it as that’s what the farmer had said to us and he would be on his way.

The bloke staring at the cow told me he was a farmer and he was keeping it in this corner nice and calm. So that was good news a farmer on holiday comes to our site and a cow gets on site near him so he keeps it calm until the farmer of the cow arrives. The farmer arrived, checked some fencing and said I am going to drive him down this way and he will jump over this bit of low fence. If you ( that’s me) stand there and give it a push it will help. If you feel more comfortable have this and he hands me a bloody great big stick.

So there I am stood in the dark with my bright orange waterproof coat on shorts and my flip flops thinking if this cow stands on my foot it’s going to hurt and there’s going to be lots of paperwork to fill in. As it happened the cow went the other way and jumped over the fence.

The next couple of days the site closed and as the last person left I closed the gate behind them. We then started closing down the site. We left the site 5 days early as everything was done. We only went to a site in Chirk which we have been on before, about 50 miles away. We spent a couple of nights there before heading off to Cirencester. one of the highlights for me while being there was a loverly old American RV.

I can’t believe we have been at Cirencester ten days already. We like Cirencester site as it’s the first site we started on. Although I don’t like towns, Cirencester is a nice old town with some loverly old buildings and pubs, a lot of different shops for Nikki to browse around, it’s not full of your usual high street shops, instead it has lots of small independent shops and the charity shops have a better selection of stuff because it’s a wealthy area. What I mean by that is the clothes in them smell nice and don’t smell of mould and wee like some charity shops.

It’s a loverly walk from the site through the Bathurst estate into town. With a stop at an old airstream caravan which is now a Tea and coffee stop and does the best sausage rolls you have ever had.

While here we went to the pub for a bite to eat with friends and then a couple of days later some other friends came to see us for a couple of days so we had to go back to the pub again with them. The weather has been kind to us until today but it’s not cold. Nikki goes away for a few days from here tomorrow leaving me to look after myself so I might have to go back down the pub. It’s a hard life.

We have to keep remembering we don’t get paid again now until the end of March. Not so good as the rear view camera in the camper has packed up now so that’s going to be another £1000 to put right. Might have to be beans on toast for the last two months.

So that’s us up to date, we are here in Cirencester for another few days then off to south molton in Devon so we can go and see Nikki’s mum. From there we go to Dulverton, Minehead, cheddar, and then back into wales and head out to Pembrokeshire ready to start work. I will leave you with a couple more photos of some fungi I saw at the bike park before we left Snowdonia.