In August 2016 we were in Hampshire for a two week break whilst friends visiting from New Zealand borrowed our home, it was part of a home exchange agreement we made with them when we went to NZ in 2015 when we stayed in their second home on western side on the lower end of lake Taupo at Kuratau, Waikato a lovely spot.
Anyway, after they arrived on the Wednesday and we’d given them the once over regarding the must know of a strange house, we set off to Putts Corner Ottery St Mary East Devon where we had left the caravan the day before all loaded up and ready to go so we that we had a seamless departure from home, it was also a chance to see Alex and the boys for a few hours. The plan was 3 days at Putts Corner then hitch up our caravan and head towards Hampshire.
The first week in Hampshire was to be spent on the edge of the New Forest Caravan and Motor Home site near Christchurch an area we were aware of, but had not visited before. We have friends on the Salisbury side at Redlynch so know that area well and our daughter had lived in Dibden Purlieu some years earlier, we also have a ex business colleague Gill with whom we have socialised over the years and become friends with her and her partner Steve from Lymington.
So you get the drift. This trip was intended to be a get away from it on our own basis, as we had been very busy the previous year with the Antipodean adventure and now with a full diary this year to say nothing of what was in the diary for the rest of 2016! This was the plan for now.
Well the best laid plans of mice and men. We were due to meet friends Nick and Mary plus family on the Sunday at their place for what proved to be a lovely family day. It was particularly lovely to see all the family including grandchildren again. It has been quite a while since our last visit or when they last visited us. Like a lot of friendships you have periods when you meet a lot and as life changes you see them much less for no particular reason. They are the best sort of friendships which are a real pleasure. I myself had not know Nick and Mary as long as my wife has know them, but they make you very welcome and we always slot back in as though it was only yesterday.
On the Monday
We also had in the diary a date to meet up with Gill and Steve plus another ex colleague Trevor for lunch. We were to meet at a very nice pub The Mill at Gordleton on the Wednesday. As it turned out it was a lovely place with extremely good service, excellent venue and then of course the food very good indeed. We had no doubt about the venue, Gill’s choice, she has excellent taste in such things.
So our venture into Hampshire turned out to be very good and we enjoyed it enormously with company and rest it was a good week. But now we had to pack up the caravan and prepare for the next part of the venture the second week in North Somerset at Cheddar.
On the ….Date. we packed up the van once again in readiness for the trip to The Old Bridge Touring Park at Cheddar for our second week, an area we have been to in the passed mostly travelling through or near by. So this would be a quite week with no friends nearby, how sad 😦 …Just joking. The journey is only a couple of hours even with the van in tow so we made it a relaxing trip taking in the scenery as we went.Arriving little after Lunch we set up and proceeded to prepare a snake with a glass of wine and enjoyed the beautiful weather
Malcolm & Delia 