The Swedettes were arriving in Budleigh Salterton so we could not resist the temptation to book Pooh Cottage and take ourselves to Devon for long overdue 'hello'. Pooh Cottage is such a weird name for a campsite but then again .......
Lou, Aidan, Rose and Thea plus Nan and Grandad stayed at Bellyflop Towers AirBnB! Equally weird but was a great size house and garden for them all.
We were due in Budleigh on 24th September on Louise's birthday but we set off the night before and found a great Park4Night at Creech St Michael alongside the canal. It was a nice quiet spot.
Out for a birthday walk with the birthday girl along a new route for us. We normally follow the coastal path but this time we turned inland and ever upwards to gain some spectacular views.
Birthday feast starting with a champagne toast and an then an Indian takeaway at Bellyflop Towers.
Friday was lunch with Maggie and George which involved a very civilised sherry and nibbles followed by sandwiches and a great slab of Victoria sponge. Aidan popped round to help George with some DIY and we scooted off for another walk up and over the coastal path
It was a great walk with along a familiar path and we made it home for bath time and dinner at Bellyflop Towers again.
We had some visitors the following day. Louise bought the girls over for lunch and a they spent a couple of hours scampering around and after they left we went for a walk up onto the heath which was another new direction for us.
We met a few hairy obstructions along the path but managed a wide berth to avoid them.
Our turn to cater this evening so we loaded up the back back with a fine medley of ingredients. The campervan cupboards and fridge are filled to feed two of us and tonight there were 6 for dinner. No problem, A selection of fish dishes including smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, tuna pasta and cooked salmon. A big dish of spinach, bacon and avocado salad. All served with crispy baguettes. Good old berries and creme fraiche for dessert.
Sunday was an even sunnier day! The gang had walked to Otterton to have lunch and we strolled along after them and met them for the walk back and to have ice cream on the beach.
It was time for us to head off to meet Chris and Tracey in Snowdonia with a Park4night planned along the way.
We camped overlooking Talybont reservoir and shared the layby with another camper van but never saw the residents. After a peaceful night we took a walk down to the waters edge in the morning before setting off.
We stopped for lunch alongside the river in Elan Valley across the little bridge to join all the other vehicles enjoying the scenery and the sheep.
Chris and Tracey had a studio apartment on a farm in Gellilydan village and amazingly there was also a camping and caravanning site in the village so we were just a 15 minute trot down the road. We joined them for dinner both nights of our stay. They cooked one night and we cooked the second night.
Day one the weather was very kind and we went for a great walk from the campsite through the magic woods and up to the decommissioned power station, past the old Roman settlement and back to base.
Day two was dedicated to the Ffestiniog railway. The weather was not so kind today which was lucky in one respect because were sheltered in our little COVID friendly carriage.
Not so lucky in another respect because the weather obscured some of the views.
Due to the COVID restrictions the train was only operating from Port Madoc to Tan y Blwch (where we had parked over on our trip in 2018). The weather was not so bad when we alighted here for an hour's coffee break before heading back to Port Madoc for a fish and chip lunch. Chris had probably the worst piece of breaded plaice we have ever seen! Cardboarded plaice would have been a better description.
We said our goodbyes and left Chris and Tracey to their last supper and we took a leisurely drive home.
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