Year: 2010

By this time Mal and I are thinking Wetherspoons should be giving us a ‘regulars’ discount! The four of us went into Tewkesbury and had our breakfast in their local hostelry. This was followed by a walk along the river. Back to Steve and Shirley’s house to pack again but I couldn’t find the car key. Mal had it the previous night when he went to get something from the car. It took well over an hour to find it and just as we were going to ring Hertz to rescue us I found it on the side of the bath!

Key found, the next leg of our journey was on to Cardiff. We checked into Llanederyn Travelodge and went to see the granchildren and had a nice Thai take away.

On to the Clarks village in Street for a bit of retail therapy!  The car boot was overflowing with pruchases made along our journey (quite a few Christmas presents).  We were having a difficult time trying to put everything in the boot rather than leave it all on display in the car. Packing the boot became a real art!  We spent the morning there and then went to Wells for lunch. We then headed to the Travelodge at Gloucester. It took us ages to find it, not helped by the sat nav dying at the vital stage. When we did find it, we discovered that the nights car parking in the multi storey would have cost us more than the room. Not only that because we would have to leave the car in the multi storey, that meant we would have to completly empty it. Bearing in mind we had bought up half of Early Learning Centre, this was not going to be easy.We walked the distance first which was a long way and then paid our £2 parking fee it had cost us already and decided to go and stay with Steve (Mal’s brother) and Shirley at their house in Tewkesbury!

I am glad we did. It was nice to see them. The four of us went to Wetherspoons for their curry night. £13 for two and far more than you could eat. I did wonder whether anyone in North Cyprus could compete with their £5.99 Christmas meal (including a drink!)

A late night as we sat chatting until 1.30 in the morning.

We were up and on the road early and spent the morning in Sidmouth and the afternoon in Lyme Regis.  We walked past a greengrocers and had to laugh at the price of fresh figs….55p EACH!! They are so cheap in North Cyprus.

We had cheesy chips on the beach for lunch! We then stayed in Ilminster Travelodge and went into Taunton or our dinner. By the time we arrived back at the Travelodge, the temperature was dropping.

Having had very little sleep, we were going to say something to the receptionist. No wonder the reception was unattended! We left and drove to Poole and had our breakfast there. The sat nav was still not working and we called Hertz. They suggested it was the fuse and to bring the car into Exeter which we did. They had a look and sent us to their garage down the road. They decided it wasn’t the fuse but something wrong with the actual  connection. We spent too long hanging around and so gave up and went into the city centre and bought some of our Christmas presents!!!

Okehampton Travelodge for the night…excellent, what a difference.  Right away from the main road, a lovely view from the window. Everything spotless, king size bed in a family room and fantastic staff .

In the evening we drove into Crediton where Mal lived donkies years ago. There was a Weatherspoons there and it was steak night. I had sirloin and Mal chose the mixed grill, which was HUGE! One pint of real ale and a J2O….total cost £13!!

We also looked in the estate agent windows and could not believe how cheap Devon properties are. Cheap meals out, cheap house prices, if it weren’t for the fact the temperature had dropped to 5 and a half degrees, perhaps we would have thought of selling up in North Cyprus!

This is getting so unbelievable now…Geoff Day’s 58th TRNC court appearance see link

The next part of our journey was on to the New Forest. Another lovely day. We drove to Lymington, Beaulieu, Brockenhurst  and all around the New Forest.  We stayed the night in Lyndhurst Travelodge.

Our sat nav stopped working and so we had to find somewhere to buy a new connector, having bought one, we discovered it was the unit in the car that wasn’t working. Of course we didn’t have a map with us and the sat nav ran out of power. There was a lot of swearing from the navigator during the day!

I have to say that I don’t recommend Lyndhurst Travelodge. We went to bed and our room was right next to the dual carriageway, well, we could put up with that. But at 1.00am they started doing repairs to the crash barrier right outside our room. That was it, I ended up making a cup of tea and reading my book. The bathroom was not clean and there was mould around the windows.

To keep you up to date with the continuing Geoff Day saga back home in North Cyprus -Geoff’s 57th day in court see link

Mal and I decided as part of our trip back to the UK, we would do a ‘mini holday’ around the South. So, when Travelodge had their sale on we booked £9 a night rooms!!

We left the caravan and headed for Dover and of course had to stop at De Bradlei Wharf (retail outlet) where we bought quite a few things. From there on to Rye, and the antique shops. From Rye on to Hastings where we stopped on the sea front for our lunch. An unbelievable 20 degrees! Of course then we had to have ice creams after lunch!

The Eastbourne Travelodge is right on the sea front, a really good location. We had a family room which was big, spotlessly clean, tea making facilities and everything you could need (for £9!!)

We went out for a drink and dinner and finished up in a Weatherspoons pub, having a Sunday roast, sitting in the garden. £6.99 which included a pint of any beer or a glass of wine. I hate to say this but cheaper than North Cyprus!! AND the roast was huge!

Later we went for a walk down the pier, by this time it was a bit chilly, especially at the end of the pier!

Poor Scarlet and Jack were still not well.Scarlet was feeling very sorry for herself but Jack still managed to pose for the camera!

We had breakfast, said goodbye to everyone and headed back to the caravan.  A quick trip in Tesco, where as usual I am gob smacked at the choice and also all the new ‘must have items’ that weren’t here last time I was in the UK!