OK, it's 2019 and here we go:
14-29 August: Lynton to Woolacombe
It's 14/08 and we've just arrived at the Camping and Caravanning Club's Lynton site to have a close look at this coast.
First on our itinerary is Lynton. We're familiar with this picturesque town and its coastal partner Lynmouth as we spent times here with our young children; a place of happy memories.
We start with Lynton and use the water powered cliff railway to visit Lynmouth. The lift is a wonderful example of ingenious Victorian engineering in every sense and it's great to see it so well preserved and in constant use.
The car at the top is topped up with water as the car at the bottom is drained, the resultant difference in weight allowing the lift to move.
We lunch here as recommended on Lonely Planet - but we've been here 20 years ago and it's even better now:
Here begins your cliff walk..
The weather's showery for the next few days so it's rucksacks with wet gear each day. We do our usual routine of working through 'The most amazing places on Britain's coast' book - of which we never tire:
On the way to Watersmeet we spy the site of a 1920's ginger beer factory..
That's Lynmouth we're heading for...
Castle Rock in the Valley of the Rocks; it's haunted by the devil, so legend has it.
Well, we're up there now and no sign of the devil but there are a few feral goats, looking similar...
The heavy seas crash against the rocks at Heddons Mouth at the end of a deep valley with towering sides of scree...
..and 18th Century lime kilns
Amongst the heather and gorse heading for the 318m summit of Holdstone Down...
Summit to talk about...
Lynton & Lynmouth from the East
At the summit Great Red above Lynmouth
We walk to Foreland Point
We've now explored the section around Lynton & Lynmouth; the walking here has been brilliant and we're sad to say goodbye. We're moving west to a Caravan and Motorhome Club site near Woolacombe so that we can more easily explore that area....
...and here we are:
It's only a short trip so, after setting up the 'van, we head into Ilfracombe to see the sights, including Damien Hirst's controversial sculpture VERITY, sited at the harbour mouth.
Like much of modern art, it has it's supporters and detractors, both amongst townsfolk and the artistic 'intelligentsia'. But that's what art is supposed to do isn't it? We think it's wonderful but perhaps we're just not intelligent enough.
We visit he famous Ilfracombe beach tunnels that lead to the Victorian bathing pools, initially men's and women's obviously.. Quite a feat. The etiquette of boating's worth a look. How times change.
The harbour.. you might spot that it's low tide.
The harbour entrance.. that's Verity again.
The last shot was taken from St. Nicholas Chapel, dating from 1391; a light was maintained here to guide ships back to harbour and it still does so today. It's said to be the oldest working lighthouse in the country. It ceased to be a chapel when good old Henry VIII did his deed in 1540. It's maintained through a unique joint agreement between Devon CC and Rotary International.
Back east to Combe Martin tomorrow, we think, working our way westward.
..and on and on we venture, with hard coastal cliff walks being the order of the day. Wonderful!
We leave this coast with great memories and an incentive to continue down to Cornwall before too long..
The North Kent Coast [17th to 26th September]
Something different - because variety is the spice of life, or so they say.
The last trip of the year, sadly, but it looks as if we've found some fascinating new places and things to see with the magic book. We're also meeting up with friends for a day.
So we're here at the Caravan and Motorhome Club's Bearsted site for three days before we move on to the Camping and Caravanning Club's Canterbury site.
After setting up the van after an epic journey of 1 hour and fifteen minutes(!!) we head out to see Leeds Castle. We've not been here before but I've flown a microlight over it....
We didn't know that there was a flower festival here, celebrating its 900th year, so the one hour queue was a bit of a surprise, as was the entrance fee - but it was well worth it to see this historic 'romantic' place, even if a lot of it was obscured by flower art...
Spot the sleeping black swans
Day 2
The main agenda is Chatham Historic Dockyard - and what a great place this is. There's so much to see we can't do it all so we'll be back; this is an amazing collection of maritime history from sailing ships, demonstrations of rope making (far more interesting than it sounds), a submarine, a destroyer, a collection of lifeboats and much more. Very nice staff, too.
We wierdly find it very moving indeed to stand in the very workshop where Nelson's flagship Victory was designed; we often find these unexpected reactions to places of history - it's part of the joy of travelling, I guess.
Inside a 1960's submarine
Remarkably slim, these destroyers
19th Century rope making: the shed has to be the length of the rope - which is very long. Interesting fact: the Victory had 32 miles of rope in it.
We'll be back, Chatham Dock.
Day 3
Slightly different today as we head for the Isle of Sheppey. Our first stop, a planned walk to Warden Point from Leysdown-on-Sea, was a bit of a shock as the cliff had eroded away since our coast book was written and further exploration was clearly dangerous:
From Leysdown we motor onto the private secluded hamlet of Shellness along an unmade pot-holed track. From here, we walk through the coastal saltmarshes of Swale nature reserve:
Other highlights include the 7th Century Minster Abbey. We're greatly honoured to receive a personal guided tour around the associated small museum of local history! £2 each, mind you. We see some of the noted local fossils, too...
We pass a statue of the Short Brothers who established an aircraft factory near Eastchurch. The Short Seaplanes were a famous part of our air exploration.
Seaplane Link
We head back via Sheerness, a town of many Victorian houses originally built for dockyard workers. From the sea wall we can see Southend-on-Sea in our home county of Essex, with the sun glistening off South Essex College's large atrium.
We're moving on to Canterbury tomorrow. More adventures, then..
Day 4/5
So, after a chat to like minded neighbours at our CAMC site in Bearsted, here we are at Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club site, safe and sound. We choose to relax in the afternoon before meeting up with friends for an enjoyable reunion in Faversham.
St. Mary of Charity Church
Day 6
Having (understandably!) failed to visit the all highlights of Faversham on our very enjoyable Saturday, we head back in again to visit the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, the Chart Gunpowder Mill, Maison Dieu and generally take in the vibe.... and we like this historic town very much indeed. In other circumstances, a very nice place to live indeed we recon.
The restored water powered Gunpowder Mill... They chucked the right proportions of Sulphur, Charcoal and Saltpetre in here and Bingo... Gunpowder for Nelson's fleet. Faversham was a major producer of this essential explosive for many years. LINK
The Guidhall
The Maison Dieu
We head to Oare Marshes to see migrating birds of various kinds stopping over.... and also the London Array where the wind turbine array power comes to shore, is processed and distributed onto the 400kV National Grid.
Day 7
It's all about Margate and environs today; it's a fascinating place that sits somewhere between tired, odd, creative, cool, vibrant... and I can never decide where. The Turner Contemporary Gallery is, unfortunately, closed when we arrive; we've been there before and we're a bit peeved - should have checked as they're getting ready for the Turner Prize 2019. We eat at a restaurant close by, which is fine.
There's a distinct lack of Sea, but the Turner Gallery's there somewhere.
We visit the utterly amazing underground Shell Grotto;
Wierd, that......
Heading onto the adjoining Westgate-on-Sea reveals a rather up-market selection of Edwardian houses, many being updated. There's a nice bay and in interesting Sunken Garden on the cliff top.
Moving further on to Birchington, we see the grave of the Victorian artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti who died here in 1882. We walk the undercliff, which is looking rather tired and neglected to be honest - which is a great pity; the money's in Westgate methinks.
Rain forecast tomorrow...
Days 8/9
The rains come but we venture out to spend a couple of days in nearby Canterbury going by car/bus/walking as the mood and weather decrees.
We've been here before but, as this is the start of the new academic year, the city has a real buzz about it this time. We love the centre with its mix of ancient and modern and a multiplicity of eating choices.
We take a guided tour of the famous Cathedral; our small group is guided by a retired medieval history graduate which is a real bonus.
The North Cloister:
Stylish reminder that Thomas Beckett was dispatched about here:
So Canterbury proves to be a good end to our coastal touring for 2019. That's sad; we're putting the 'van in winter storage next week and the Touareg goes in the garage after its MOT this Friday.
We've spent over three months and 6000 miles in our home on wheels this year travelling to Russia, the Baltic countries and, of course, our UK coast. It's been great.
Next post from España, all being well.
14-29 August: Lynton to Woolacombe
It's 14/08 and we've just arrived at the Camping and Caravanning Club's Lynton site to have a close look at this coast.
First on our itinerary is Lynton. We're familiar with this picturesque town and its coastal partner Lynmouth as we spent times here with our young children; a place of happy memories.
We start with Lynton and use the water powered cliff railway to visit Lynmouth. The lift is a wonderful example of ingenious Victorian engineering in every sense and it's great to see it so well preserved and in constant use.
The car at the top is topped up with water as the car at the bottom is drained, the resultant difference in weight allowing the lift to move.
We lunch here as recommended on Lonely Planet - but we've been here 20 years ago and it's even better now:
Here begins your cliff walk..
The weather's showery for the next few days so it's rucksacks with wet gear each day. We do our usual routine of working through 'The most amazing places on Britain's coast' book - of which we never tire:
On the way to Watersmeet we spy the site of a 1920's ginger beer factory..
That's Lynmouth we're heading for...
Castle Rock in the Valley of the Rocks; it's haunted by the devil, so legend has it.
Well, we're up there now and no sign of the devil but there are a few feral goats, looking similar...
The heavy seas crash against the rocks at Heddons Mouth at the end of a deep valley with towering sides of scree...
..and 18th Century lime kilns
Amongst the heather and gorse heading for the 318m summit of Holdstone Down...
Summit to talk about...
Lynton & Lynmouth from the East
At the summit Great Red above Lynmouth
We walk to Foreland Point
We've now explored the section around Lynton & Lynmouth; the walking here has been brilliant and we're sad to say goodbye. We're moving west to a Caravan and Motorhome Club site near Woolacombe so that we can more easily explore that area....
...and here we are:
We visit he famous Ilfracombe beach tunnels that lead to the Victorian bathing pools, initially men's and women's obviously.. Quite a feat. The etiquette of boating's worth a look. How times change.
The harbour.. you might spot that it's low tide.
The harbour entrance.. that's Verity again.
The last shot was taken from St. Nicholas Chapel, dating from 1391; a light was maintained here to guide ships back to harbour and it still does so today. It's said to be the oldest working lighthouse in the country. It ceased to be a chapel when good old Henry VIII did his deed in 1540. It's maintained through a unique joint agreement between Devon CC and Rotary International.
Back east to Combe Martin tomorrow, we think, working our way westward.
..and on and on we venture, with hard coastal cliff walks being the order of the day. Wonderful!
..................................................................................................................................
The North Kent Coast [17th to 26th September]
Something different - because variety is the spice of life, or so they say.
The last trip of the year, sadly, but it looks as if we've found some fascinating new places and things to see with the magic book. We're also meeting up with friends for a day.
So we're here at the Caravan and Motorhome Club's Bearsted site for three days before we move on to the Camping and Caravanning Club's Canterbury site.
We didn't know that there was a flower festival here, celebrating its 900th year, so the one hour queue was a bit of a surprise, as was the entrance fee - but it was well worth it to see this historic 'romantic' place, even if a lot of it was obscured by flower art...
Day 2
The main agenda is Chatham Historic Dockyard - and what a great place this is. There's so much to see we can't do it all so we'll be back; this is an amazing collection of maritime history from sailing ships, demonstrations of rope making (far more interesting than it sounds), a submarine, a destroyer, a collection of lifeboats and much more. Very nice staff, too.
We wierdly find it very moving indeed to stand in the very workshop where Nelson's flagship Victory was designed; we often find these unexpected reactions to places of history - it's part of the joy of travelling, I guess.
Inside a 1960's submarine
Remarkably slim, these destroyers
19th Century rope making: the shed has to be the length of the rope - which is very long. Interesting fact: the Victory had 32 miles of rope in it.
We'll be back, Chatham Dock.
Slightly different today as we head for the Isle of Sheppey. Our first stop, a planned walk to Warden Point from Leysdown-on-Sea, was a bit of a shock as the cliff had eroded away since our coast book was written and further exploration was clearly dangerous:
From Leysdown we motor onto the private secluded hamlet of Shellness along an unmade pot-holed track. From here, we walk through the coastal saltmarshes of Swale nature reserve:
Other highlights include the 7th Century Minster Abbey. We're greatly honoured to receive a personal guided tour around the associated small museum of local history! £2 each, mind you. We see some of the noted local fossils, too...
We pass a statue of the Short Brothers who established an aircraft factory near Eastchurch. The Short Seaplanes were a famous part of our air exploration.
Seaplane Link
We head back via Sheerness, a town of many Victorian houses originally built for dockyard workers. From the sea wall we can see Southend-on-Sea in our home county of Essex, with the sun glistening off South Essex College's large atrium.
We're moving on to Canterbury tomorrow. More adventures, then..
Day 4/5
So, after a chat to like minded neighbours at our CAMC site in Bearsted, here we are at Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club site, safe and sound. We choose to relax in the afternoon before meeting up with friends for an enjoyable reunion in Faversham.
St. Mary of Charity Church
Day 6
Having (understandably!) failed to visit the all highlights of Faversham on our very enjoyable Saturday, we head back in again to visit the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, the Chart Gunpowder Mill, Maison Dieu and generally take in the vibe.... and we like this historic town very much indeed. In other circumstances, a very nice place to live indeed we recon.
The restored water powered Gunpowder Mill... They chucked the right proportions of Sulphur, Charcoal and Saltpetre in here and Bingo... Gunpowder for Nelson's fleet. Faversham was a major producer of this essential explosive for many years. LINK
We head to Oare Marshes to see migrating birds of various kinds stopping over.... and also the London Array where the wind turbine array power comes to shore, is processed and distributed onto the 400kV National Grid.
Day 7
It's all about Margate and environs today; it's a fascinating place that sits somewhere between tired, odd, creative, cool, vibrant... and I can never decide where. The Turner Contemporary Gallery is, unfortunately, closed when we arrive; we've been there before and we're a bit peeved - should have checked as they're getting ready for the Turner Prize 2019. We eat at a restaurant close by, which is fine.
There's a distinct lack of Sea, but the Turner Gallery's there somewhere.
We visit the utterly amazing underground Shell Grotto;
Heading onto the adjoining Westgate-on-Sea reveals a rather up-market selection of Edwardian houses, many being updated. There's a nice bay and in interesting Sunken Garden on the cliff top.
Moving further on to Birchington, we see the grave of the Victorian artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti who died here in 1882. We walk the undercliff, which is looking rather tired and neglected to be honest - which is a great pity; the money's in Westgate methinks.
Rain forecast tomorrow...
Days 8/9
The rains come but we venture out to spend a couple of days in nearby Canterbury going by car/bus/walking as the mood and weather decrees.
We've been here before but, as this is the start of the new academic year, the city has a real buzz about it this time. We love the centre with its mix of ancient and modern and a multiplicity of eating choices.
We take a guided tour of the famous Cathedral; our small group is guided by a retired medieval history graduate which is a real bonus.
The North Cloister:
Stylish reminder that Thomas Beckett was dispatched about here:
So Canterbury proves to be a good end to our coastal touring for 2019. That's sad; we're putting the 'van in winter storage next week and the Touareg goes in the garage after its MOT this Friday.
We've spent over three months and 6000 miles in our home on wheels this year travelling to Russia, the Baltic countries and, of course, our UK coast. It's been great.
Next post from España, all being well.
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