The Rest of Our Week at Warp Speed.

Without too much ado, this is a very quick overview of the rest of this week - with not much rest in between!  

We drove to chunnel via Belgium and France at midday and caught our chunnel train (er... also called Eurotunnel) without any hassles.  Usually the Eurotunnel terminal is heaving, more so during term time but fortunately it was somewhat quieter when children are back at school.

We arrive in England and stayed at Meon Valley Hotel, Golf & Country Club.  On the way to the hotel we were hungry so we stopped to pick up a salad which we were able to eat in our hotel room.

Paul had business to attend to in Southampton on Thursday and left me in the hotel to continue catching up on my blogs.  I could have gone for a swim in the hotel swimming pool but decided not to.  

That evening we had dinner at Samuel's Rest, a pub/restaurant.  The meal was delicious - fish pie.  It was very filling though!

On Friday we drove up to Wales to pick up our post and stayed with our friends:  Sue, Ian and their daughter Lindsay.  It was really good to see them again - more so because they are an extension of our family by marriage.  

Unfortunately we couldn't stay any longer in the UK because Paul has a course to attend on Monday so we headed back to Rijsbergen via the chunnel on Saturday.  We arrived back at Paul's mum's place quite late in the evening but it was good to be back.  

Brighton World Naked Bike Ride.

Getting up early, Paul and I set off for Brighton in the hope of finding a Halfords shop so that we could get Paul's bicycle tyre fixed or replaced before we headed on to the world naked bike ride (WNBR).  After going around in circles we found Halfords - the shop had moved.  We offloaded Paul's bicycle and took it inside where one of the bicycle technicians was able to look at it straight away and got the tyre off.  He replaced it instead of repairing it.  Putting the new tyre back on fairly quick but putting the wheel itself, back on, was a bit of a nightmare and the poor chap struggled a bit.  He ended up having to get some help from his colleagues but eventually it was put back on.

We found a parking spot and cycled our way to the start point of the WNBR.  In an enclosed area of a park people were either getting painted or dressing up in 'fancy dress' outfits.  There was a good jovial atmosphere amongst the participants.  Once again we bumped into some people who attended the Amsterdam body painting day and a few who were at last year's naturist walks in Germany.  It was lovely to see them.

The ride itself, around Brighton, went well.  The weather was good and there were no hiccups along the way.  One lady was in a mobility wheelchair and was accompanied by 2 other women who cycled beside her.  Almost everyone who saw the WNBR group cycling through Brighton took in the 'sights' very well, even trying to take selfies of themselves with some participants as and when we stopped during the ride.   

At some stage we all stopped in a park where there was a small take-away kiosk selling, amongst other things, ice cream.  Should we or shouldn't we?  We caved in on the grounds that it was a nice sunny day.  By the time Paul got to the kiosk there was a long queue - it couldn't handle the crowd that had suddenly descended on them.  Paul eventually got us some ice cream - but only just in time for when the bike ride started rolling again.  So Paul and I had ice cream 'on the run'.  It was worth it though - delicious!

After winding its way through Brighton, the ride finished at a naturist beach, Black Rock.  There was a party afterwards but we didn't attend - we wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle for a bit of peace and quiet.  So, donning sarongs, we headed back to the car and then drove back to the campsite.  

All in all it was a great day.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My back is getting sunburnt and I've still got
yesterday's markings on my back from where the
sun tanned the areas around the paint.

London World Naked Bike Ride.

Today was a fun day with a  hiccup.

After looking at cycling or taking a train to one of the starting point for the London World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) (there were a few starting points so we chose the closest to where we were staying), we found it wasn't quite as easy as we thought so we took the car in and parked it close by.

Cyclists gathered at what turned out to be someone's house.  In the courtyard people were getting painted with slogans or anything that they wanted, and there was a group from an Asian television company interviewing a few people.  We also bumped into Rayner from the German naturist walking group as well as a few others from the group.  It was good to see them again.

Paul and I painted each other, trying not to make a mess of the courtyard floor.  

And then it was time to go.  The idea was that each starting point groups would start off and meet as a huge group somewhere in London.

As we were cycling along the road we bumped into Marcus who goes to the body painting events that we attend, and we also bumped into another friend, Mark, who also goes to the body painting events. They were also attending the London WNBR.  It was good to see more familiar happy faces!

The bicycle ride eventually took us into London's city centre where we joined up with other smaller WNBR groups.  It was a big crowd!  With so many people, the bicycle ride got slower - so that everyone, could keep up.  There were a few people who walked the bicycle course, a few were on skates or skateboards.  Some people were in fancy dress, others were painted, others not.  It made for a very jovial atmosphere.  Londoners and visitors took the 'sights' very well - cheering, clapping, joking, taking photographs of the cyclists, and one or two clothed cyclists passing by the group whipped their clothes off and joined the group.

We forgot to bring our camera so we don't have any photographs of the bicycle ride.  I had remembered my telephone so was able to take a few pictures of us before the ride.  And someone kindly emailed me a picture of Paul and I during the ride.

This picture was taken from an internet
news article.

Unfortunately I didn't wear sun block so got sunburnt.  And, Sod's Law, Paul got a flat tyre at Piccadilly Circus.  We had to stop and to repair the tyre but there was no glue in the repair kit.  So we ended up getting dressed and wandered around the streets looking for an elusive Halfords, only to discover it was a depot and but they were closed.  We managed to flag down a taxi and the driver agreed to take us back to our car - after we explained that our bicycles would fit in the cab once they were folded down.  He was fine about it and we were soon on our way.  It took us ages to get back to our car because traffic through London was very busy.  It would have been quicker to cycle - if it weren't for the puncture.  And we were unsure about trying to take our bicycles on the underground.  Paul gave the taxi driver a tip - a nice goodwill gesture because he had to get a bit of some of the water-soluble paint off his seats that we had left behind from our exposed legs.  

Once back at the car, we packed up the bicycles and headed back to the Naturist Foundation where we had a long shower to get the paint off and then hit the pool for a nice swim.

Tomorrow is the Brighton World Naked Bike Ride and I hope that we can find a Halfords on the way in order to get Paul's puncture repaired or get another tyre fitted.

Rijsbergen, Netherlands to Orpington, England.

Our route from Rijsbergen to Orpington

Paul and I didn't sleep very well last night - it was too hot to sleep even though we had the fan on.  Eventually, though, at some point we did manage to fall asleep.

Paul was awake quite a bit earlier than me and read for a bit while I managed to sleep through until the alarm went off about 6:45 am.

We set off for Calais around 7:30 am with the caravan in tow.  Traffic around Antwerp was bad but it wasn't quite as bad as we thought it would be, fortunately.  It was good that we left half an hour to an hour earlier than we could have so that we had plenty of time to get to the ferry terminal in Calais.

The journey was more or less uneventful with a stop for petrol at a garage in Calais before we caught the ferry.   On the ferry we bumped into a couple of people we knew from a German naturist walking group that we joined last year.  Small world!  The rest of our journey to Dover and then to the Naturist Foundation in Orpington went smoothly.

Once we set up the caravan we walked around the Naturist Foundation's property and it was as I remembered it since my last visit a few years ago.  It is a family friendly place with a children's play area, a nice swimming pool with a roof that can be opened or closed, sauna and games courts where volleyball, mini-tennis, badminton & petanque can be played, outdoor gym, a jogging/walking track and much more.  The site also has lovely manicured lawns, a function room/dining room, reading area, bar and much more.   Please note that the photographs are from the Naturist Foundation's website to show you what the place looks like as I am not allowed to take photographs.


We got out our folding bicycles and wound our fake flowers around the handlebars.  The bicycles do look rather nice!

Heathrow Airport, waiting for next flight.

The short flight to Heathrow was uneventful.  We landed at the newish terminal (terminal 5) and had to catch a shuttle bus to terminal 3.  Fortunately our baggage had been checked through to Los Angeles from Amsterdam so we don't need to collect it and re-check it in.

We have a bit of a wait now until our next flight to Los Angeles.  We had a wander around the terminal shops but there is only so much wandering around or shopping that one can really do.  So we decided it was time to head towards the designated gate for our flight, wait and relax.

We are flying with American Airlines and on the way to the gate we had to go through security again even though we were in transit and had already been through security in Amsterdam.  Also there were various stops by American Airlines personnel asking security questions and re-checking tickets and passports. Security is certainly on high alert if heading to the USA or even via the USA.

I will do my next update when we get to Los Angeles.

A day off from travels - spa session.

Our route from Dogwood Cottage Campsite to Fairwood Holiday Park

Yesterday we took a meandering drive up to went up to Fairwood Lakes Holiday Park (https://www.fairwoodlakes.com/),
about half an hour's drive southeast of Bath.  The campsite is nice and well laid out with places for tents and caravans.  It also has chalets on the property, lovely lawns and lakes.

Pulteney Bridge

Today we took a drive to Bath and had a wander around the town, visiting Bath Abbey and Royal Crescent; to name a few places we stopped at.  Lunch was at tiny corner café called "The Bridge Coffee Shop" at Pulteney Bridge which crosses the River Avon.  Apparently the bridge was completed in 1774 and connected Bath with the Georgian town of Bathwick.  The bridge itself has shops on either side of the road.  Bath is quite a sweet old town.

After lunch we went Thermae Bath Spa (http://www.thermaebathspa.com/) for a 2 hour session.  It was quite pricey compared to going to spas on the continent but we decided to treat ourselves.  We were given a dressing gown, towels and slippers before heading to the changing rooms.  We made the most of our time at the spa to use the indoor spa pool, outdoor rooftop infinity pool, steam rooms and saunas.   

A sarcophagus in Bath Abbey

There are notices and 📷 with a ✘ sign over camera symbol, all over the building advising no photography.  While we were in the rooftop pool there was a young woman taking photographs on her mobile phone.  Needless to say a pool steward confiscated her telephone until she left the pool.  She was duly warned not to take photos otherwise she get her mobile phone confiscated again until the end of her entire spa session.

Two hours passed quickly.  In my haste to leave the premises before we got charged for extra time, I left my reading glasses behind in one of the changing cubicles.  It was only when we were halfway towards the car park, where we had parked our car, and Paul asked if I had got everything that  I suddenly remembered my glasses.  We hotfooted it back to the Spa and the receptionist kindly allowed me back into the changing rooms to look for my glasses.  Fortunately they were in the same spot that I had left them.  Whew.

Today's route

We had a pleasant drive back to our caravan, going back along the same route, more or less, that we had taken to Bath; staying off the main route as much as possible.

It is raining now and snow is expected on Saturday. 

PHOTOGRAPHS

Bath Abbey

 

 

 

The Circus

Royal Crescent

 

Pulteney Bridge and views

Where we had lunch - a tiny corner café on the bridge

Back in England & camping hiccups.

We had an early start to catch the ferry, driving through Belgium to get to the ferry at Calais, France.  There were roadworks along the way so it was just as well that we had given ourselves plenty of time.

We arrived in Dover around 1pm, giving us an hour to make our way to Folkstone for the car's MOT/roadworthy appointment.  The technicians didn't mind us setting down the caravan in the parking lot temporarily until the car had been MOT'd.  I was tired so I had a nap in the caravan and Paul did a bit of reading. 

Today's route, more or less.

The car finally passed its MOT.  Whew!

Back on the road again, we took a scenic drive via small roads along the southeast coastline towards Hastings.  The day was drawing to a close and nightfall was just around the corner when we tried to find an all year round campsite.  One place was closed (different to what was said on the website), another one didn't take caravans, two we couldn't find so we had to go onto the internet to look for other campsites and ring them to see if they were open.  We were in luck - one place that we rang was open but not really to caravans at this moment in time because the ground is very soggy from so much snow melt and rain.  When they heard that our caravan was very small they agreed to allow us to stay in their car park rather than lose a bit of business by turning us away because of boggy fields.

Getting to Dogwood Cottage Campsite (http://www.dogwoodcamping.co.uk/) wasn't a problem.  It was the little lane that they were down that was the problem.  We followed the instructions to the village but missed the lane because it was in a darkish corner and not lit up by a road lamp.  I thought I had seen the sign but by then we had 'sailed' past it.  All Paul could do was try and find a place to turn around.  We did so in the car park of a care home for the elderly was sited (from what we could see in the dim light) in spacious grounds.  Back we went but again we passed the small lane.  There wasn't a suitable place to turn around for a good mile or two and eventually Paul decided to turn into a road and then back out onto the main road. I had to guide him as he couldn't see the road properly.  Back in the village Paul drove at a snail's pace so we wouldn't miss the turn-off into the lane.  He was dubious because the lane was very narrow and it was not lit up with street lights. 

We finally got the campsite and met the owners.  They advised us on the best way to put the caravan in the tiny car park and after that we could set up 'home', unhook the caravan and go to a pub for dinner.  We didn't get very far with anything.  The electric hookup didn't work.  And it was pouring with rain.

Paul spoke to the campsite owner who had a fiddle with the plugs but they were working fine.  The campsite owner had a brainwave:  re-wire the our European camping socket because he'd known people from Europe staying at the campsite and having the same problem.  So Paul re-configured the hookup plug and it worked. 

We were starving by the time we headed out to look for a pub that served evening meals.  One pub wasn't serving meals because the owner was away (I guess he/she does the cooking).  We found another pub and they were open.  You could tell we weren't locals.  The minute we entered the pub door the chit-chatter from the locals ground to a halt as they twisted their necks around to check us out.  We were told that the pub was due to be holding a quiz session at 8 so were shown to the dining room area of the pub rather than sitting at a table near the bar.  We bagged ourselves a seat near a heater, and wined and dined alone; listening to the banter coming from near the bar. 

Fortunately getting back to the campsite wasn't a problem.  Time for a shower now - and it is raining outside.  Maybe we should stand out in the rain instead, with some soap and towel handy ....