Roady's Roamings

Stopover to break the journey home Pittville Pump Room. Walk to town centre Pittville Park

Waterfront Inn Portreath Cycle to Devoran on old tramway Off to Ponderosa campsite redruth for 1 night Toilet and WiFi

North Inn Pendeen Walk Old mine workings Contrast of the natural beauty of the rugged coast and the industrial landscape St Just and the bus back Off to Portreeth

Waterfront Inn Cycle to Portreath Ponderosa Campsite Miners Arms in Redruth

Today we headed to Bodmin along the Camel trail, mainly to visit Bodmin Jail and to do the rest of the trail in the direction of Wenford Bridge. Bodmin Jail was very interesting and will be even better once they have completed the restoration of the cell wings which have not had a roof in a great number of years The trail towards Wendford was a bit rougher which made it hard going at times and combined with the up hill, a bit tiring, so we didn't make it all the way to the end and turned back at just after Helland Bridge. The real reason not to continue was because the wife was keen on having a "glass" of wine at the Camel Valley Vineyard. It turned into a bottle of excellent Rose overlooking the vines in glorious sunshine, it really felt like summer in France.

We stopped overnight at Ruthern Valley Campsite and set off in the morning after a cooked breakfast for Padstow along the Camel Valley Trail, a surfaced cycle track on an old railway bed. A very enjoyable trip with only very gentle slopes as is to be expected on a rail bed. The Trail runs close to the River Camel all the way with a road section through Wadebridge. Padstow is a quaint fishing town built on the hillside above the working harbour with numerous cafes and a few nice pubs. We samples the local ale in the Shipwrights inn. Good ale but there was music playing in the bar, a large screen TV on the wall and a one armed bandit, so we drank outside. We stopped off at Wadebridge Lidl supermarket for a bottle of wine for the evening. Tomorrow we head the other direction on the Camel Trail heading for Bodmin

Blisland is a small village inland, and the place where one of my old work colleges lives. We haven't seen each other in more than 25 years, great to catch up and have a bar meal at the highest pub in Cornwall, The Old Inn at St Breward.  Ruthern Valley holidays site for the night and do the usual emptying and filling job in the van. Also a good base for the Camel trail.

We parked at the Cornish arms, wich, according to thier beer mats is "situated 3 mile North of Port Isaac on the North Coast of Cornwall" , that would be I  the Sea then In truth it is South East of Port Isaac on dry land, which is handy for the van. We walked into the port and had a look around at a very picturesque village, apparently where Dr Martin was filmed, I didn't see even a shoe shop!

We parked at the Gardeners Arms, our pub stopover for the night and walked down into the gorge. We pre booked on line for the discount and collected our tickets at the office. Gough's Cave. The main attraction and well worth the visit.  Spacious and airy with easy access with spectacular stalactites, stalactites and flowstone. The free audio guide is very informative. Beyond the view. This is an audio visual presentation showing the Gorge from aerial footage and mixing old photos with preset day footage. This is situated at the back of the shop next to Gough's Cave. The Museum of Prehistory across the road is very informative with good displays and exhibitions. We missed the Deamhunters exhibition, as we alway Semmes to be passing at the wrong time. Entry is on the hour every half hour. Finally we climbed Jacobs Ladder up to the viewing tower for a few panoramic photos and set off on the 3 mile walk along the Gorge and back, quite rough and steep in parts, walking boots a...

Bath rece. We traveled from the Stretton Fox all the way down to to a very nice small campsite called Knights Folly in the town of Bitton,   roughly half way between Bath and Bristol. Once set up we offloaded the bikes and headed off to Bath along the old Bath to Bristol railway bed and Avon canal tow path  An hour later, after a quick pint at the Locks brook Inn, we arrive in Bath. This was just a rece, so we were not doing any sightseeing, but the centre looked interesting and cycle friendly.  Back to the van for the evening and early start for a full day in town tomorrow. Bath day two. Once again cycled into Bath, but this time I felt just like a steam engine, I had a tender behind. It has been about 4 months since we have been on the bikes! We did the usual tourist attractions: The tour bus, that was a bit expensive we though but a good overview of the town. £15 each. This took in the Royal Crescent and The Circus. The Roman Bathhouse,  definitely...

Handy pub stopover just off the M6 / M56. Some nice real ales at the bar and a rustic atmosphere.  Very busy for a Wednesday night. Food looks good, but we have already eaten, maybe next time. Good night sleep with the soothing drone of the motorway traffic in the distance.

Getting the van packed and the biles on the back for a Cornwall trip. This is the Google map that I have researched with campsites, pub stopovers, cycle trips and things to see. I find it the best system for planning holiday. We will certainly not have time to do all we want but wherever we end up we can find something nearby. My idea is to overplan and then go with the flow. We plan to stop in Cheshire on the way down and visit Bath before we get to Cornwall.

From New Lanark it was just a quick trip to Coulter to the Mill Inn for an overnight before heading to Carlisle. Good beer and a friendly welcome, with excellent food. most enjoyable. Followed by a peaceful night.

The weather has got worse today but not at Lanark. So its back to Lanark Loch for an overnight and break the journey south, as we have to be back in Carlisle for babysitting. Another visit to the Mountain Resort for toilet emptying, some water and showers on the way. We plan to visit the New Lanark museum, we have been there before and we still had a couple of months left on the annual ticket. It is well worth a second visit. We also walked up the falls of Clyde, where there is a Hydroelectric power station, for those people interested in such things.

There was still a few hours of daylight left after the puncture repair so we parked up at An Torr car park and headed up the valley for a leg stretch. We were hoping to get to the 3 waters view point we had seen from the main road but the footpath did not take us that far. The footpaths in Scotland are not marked on the OS maps, something in my advanced years had never realized. I usually  plan walks on my phone before setting off, but in this case I couldn't. good footpath and an excellent walk all the same.

Our stop for the night is just neat the Ardgour slipway of th Corran Ferry, The Inn at Ardgour. They allow campervans to spend the night in the car park with the usual provisors, you phone before arriving and you eat and/or drink in the establishment. Not a great selection of beers and no real ale, but what was on offer was good. The meals are good pub grub we both had burger and chips. A very quiet night after the ferry stopped at about 9.30 pm. A quick walk in the morning to the take a picture of the lighthouse. Back to the van to get in line for the ferry to be presented by a message on the dash saying "Left front tyre pressure 2.7 bar" It should be 4.1 bar. A quick look showed the tyre to be OK to drive so we decide to get on the ferry as there is more of a chance on the Corran side to get it repaired. I discovered the leak with a bit of soapy water, very small, so rather than go through the process of changing the tyre, wch is not simple on these vehicles, I decide...

The Corran ferry runs from Corran to Ardgour across Loch Linnhe. There is no advanced booking just turn up and pay once on board. It runs ever 20 minutes for most of the day, timetable on line.

After a bit of servicing at the Mountain Resort we had quick lunch in the Grog and Gruel in Fort William and a visit to the pharmacy for some ear drops. We then headed to the Corran Ferry to investigate the other side.

Back up the road to empty the toilet and have a shower. Fantastic place. There are 10 level pitches with Electric Hookup at £15 per night or the car park for £5 a night in the honesty box. CDP at the lower shower / toilet block ans water on the left of the main building.  Showers in a heated block for £1. There is also a shop and licensed restaurant on site.

Great stopover. A very quiet carpark, busy with walkers during the day and camper vans overnight. A quick walk to enjoy the friendly welcome at the Clachaig Inn. Good ale and food, with free WiFi.

On our way to Glencoe for Clachaig Inn's February Fest. We stopped at a free overnight at Lanark Loch carpark overlooking thr loch. Nice, quiet level site, good views, no facilities apart from Public waste bins but excellent for one night. The Inn on the lake restaurant was open, so a couple of beers were in order.

In between 2 bouts of babysitting (toddlersitting). We decided to do a recce over on the North East. Stopping at Stephenson's Arms Camping and Caravan Club Certified Site. We researched Wylam before we arrived and decided to walk to The Boathouse. An excellent choice, a great selection of real ales awaited us. We managed to try them all! To top it off we were offered a free steak pie. Definitely a pub to return to. As it was just an overnight stop we did not need any facilities. The following day we headed off to Swalwell visitors centre car park and set off for a great walk along the Derwent. We are looking at this area as a 1 to 2 night stopover for cycling and walking, as it is not to far to travel. We'll be back when the weather gets better and the days are longer.

Our first beer festival of the year, and a meet up with the relatives that live in Barrowford. We camped outside my aunties house in Barrowford for the Thursday and Friday of the beer festival which is held an the Municipal Hall in Colne (The Muni). A very good beer festival held by the local CAMRA my cousin being one of the bar managers. It was nice and quiet on the Thursday afternoon and a little busier on the Friday. Back home on the Saturday for some toddler sitting.