Well, last night showed us what motor homers have been keeping quiet, the ability to stop “anywhere” (pretty much) and enjoy vista such as the one that we awoke to was something I’m tempted to keep schtum about.

The view that welcomed us from slumber

We awoke and sat and stared, agape, it was a truly glorious morning not a sound was to be heard anywhere and we truly understood the pull of this type of camping.

We weren’t able to stay there for long, we had to somehow get closer to home so after a peruse through the BritStops book of goodness we set off with an Indian Restaurant just outside Warminster in mind. I must admit I thought all my birthdays had come at once, staying overnight at an Indian Restaurant can only mean one thing, I get a curry!!

The road was narrow at times, but the views were breathtaking April did a sterling job of keeping the van on the road; even though it would seem that Somerseters were keen to drive on our side of the road, her road rage was kept in excellent check. So we decided to stop in Bridgewater and grab a decent road map, had a wander down the town waiting for the shops to open to the River Parrett. After breakfast at Costa, WH Smiths was open so we popped in for a map and in between there and Sports Direct we somehow lost April’s Purse.

We headed for Warminster and stopped at a play park for Toby to kick his new ball around and they had a play area with a paddling pool, well that meant Toby needed his trunks and had a good splash in the freezing cold outdoor water. Once he was dry we headed off for the restaurant. We pulled into their car-park and it didn’t take us long to realise that we would have to sleep next to quite a major A road, April wasn’t comfortable with this so we got the BritStops book out again and found a pub just the other side of Winchester (another hours drive though), the book said they were closing for the afternoon, so a quick phone call from me and they were most welcoming, wishing us a very good night in their car-park.

We arrived after 7pm and as yet hadn’t eaten, I rustled up a fry up as we had everything we needed and got ready to stay. This evening I managed to get a good few minutes of stargazing done as it was very dark and very clear that evening.

We were awoken in the morning by a cacophony of sounds. Mostly the cockerels, there were three of them, two of which sounded very fine, the third however got 10 out if 10 for effort but instead of a resounding cock-a-doodle-doo, was more of a ‘bwaark’.. Alongside these three was a Kookaburra which made you feel like you were on a farm in the jungle.. And then lambs, cows, horses and donkeys threw their voices into the pot.

After waking, some cereal for breakfast, alas the restaurant wasn’t open we had a look round the farm. I’m not sure that the cows in Somerset are all there.. They’re very friendly..

As Toby will verify but this one was far too busy licking his digger to give us any attention at all..

We met Mr Snood their mascot turkey who was very friendly and met the animals that had woken us. A quaint little farm shop with a lot to offer. The people were friendly and helpful, offering to top up our water, alas the journey in to the tap was too tight for us and heavily populated with children so we left early, heading straight for Watchet. What a lovely town that is, parked up and had a wander down their pier to a lighthouse at the end

The View from the foot of the pier, April would like to move into either the white or cream house in this image. She’s not fussy which..

And from the End of the pier

And the lighthouse..

We then walked back up along the Esplanade to find a steam train.. Well, we couldn’t let that lie, so we hopped on and took a steam ride to Minehead.

Our transportation

April explaining the finer points of steam locomotion to Toby

A picture of the fire (wish I’d had some eggs and bacon for them)

After a portion of chips on the beach we went straight back to the train station to find the return journey hadn’t left. Hopped on and were back in the van heading west towards Minehead.

After a few diversions we ended up heading south looking for Exmoor National Park, which we discovered was quite large and very picturesque, so we ended up pulling into a lay-by and walked up a grass hill whilst Toby flew his kite. We decided to move from there and headed for Lynton for a shop.

Lynton is stunning! A gorgeous rolling river greeted us

and Toby couldn’t resist getting his feet a bit wet (much screaming ensued)

and a short walk away was the seafront,

a truly beautiful part of the world

I’m surprised I have any room in my phone memory for any more photographs as I have taken loads.

From Lynton, we headed east towards Minehead and have stopped in a small car park with stunning views of the Bristol Channel and Lynton itself.

A panoramic view of what we would wake up to.

The Sun setting that evening

It was truly breathtaking and remarkably quiet, we were hoping that the weather would be nice and the sky would be alight with stars, but it was too cloudy. As darkness was approaching we were joined in our “camp-site” by a very nice French couple who asked us if we’re staying. I invited them to join us as they were reluctant to solo camp.

Our first “wild camp” and we’re impressed..

We packed the motor home away, threw the rubbish in the bins provided by our hosts and set on our way, hoping to make it to Stonehenge before the tickets we booked online kicked in..

A few losses of mobile signal and a few wrong guesses sent us on a bit of a wild goose chase where we couldn’t see the goose.. So we reinstated Helga our long unused Tomtom and “she” turned us around and got us there.

Once there we walked the mile and a half to the monument, we had the dog and he’s not allowed on the land train or bus, so we walked up to and through the copse, which was a gorgeous wood and then onto the monument. April and Theo waited at the entrance to the monument field, no dogs please, so just Tobes and I walked around it.

Toby seemed quite interested in how the stones were bought to the site, but more so in how they were positioned once they’d arrived. He worked out however how they were put up very quickly…

All in all a pleasant experience, particularly as it was free. If we weren’t English Heritage members I’m not sure we’d have stomached the £14.95 per adult price.. So after a seemingly lengthy walk back, we went back to our shiny new van.

The locations for our second night away was decided whilst having a fry up with the addition of a cuppa, for the missus, in the motorhome in the car park of Stonehenge. A novel, but excellent idea as a number of jealous people walking past seemed to support. And it was to be number 28 in the BritStops book of wonders.

A bit of washing up and a short 2.5 hour journey and we rock up to a farm/shop/mini zoo. They have alpacas, reptiles, birds of prey, and their very own Meerkat Manor (tsk) and with a restaurant/cafe I think breakfast tomorrow is sorted.

April cooked pasta bolognese, which we ate whilst admiring the torrential rain that greeted us to Somerset and Toby accidentally spilled half a glass of cherry coke over me which prompted my first use of the shower in the van.. To be honest,. We have been on camp-sites with worse showers than the one in the van. It’s warm and has enough pressure to rinse you off, it got Toby clean so, it must be up to any task.

And so the evening draws to an end soon, April and I are both worried by the cockerel that is likely to wake us up at 5 am, so it will be an early one for us. I’m probably not going to be drawn into another game of cards.. I’d prefer not to know if I’m on a losing streak.

Tomorrow I need to figure out how to keep the fridge cold.. It would seem that it only works on battery when we’re driving and not off the leisure battery, that kinda makes sense. I need to see if I can run it on gas, but I’m not a) waking Toby up right now and b) leaving it overnight running.

Good night one and all..

With a days work out of the way and the motorhome all packed and ready (April and Toby worked very hard on this) we set off.

We’d joined wildcamping.co.uk and downloaded a list of POIs for Google Earth and also had joined BritStops who sent us a very detailed book of places we could stay. We set off with one of them in mind.

April was keen to avoid as many motorways as possible so, after the M27 and M3 (oh well) we went up the A34 and cutoff across country.. Beautiful scenery and a great drive we arrived around 19:30 and went in to the pub for a drink and some vegetable soup.. A little peppery for our liking but warming nonetheless.

After the soup, back to the van and watched the evening draw in. We lit one of our oil burning lamps and played cards. April was completely supreme at this, this evening, we played about 20 games and I only won the last one!!

And so we battened down the hatches and went to sleep. Toby taking up the rear bunk and April and I above the cab. April wasn’t keen on sleeping next to the drop so she slept towards the front of the van. We were all very comfy and were woken up by the town clock bell chiming 7.

Off to the worlds biggest Henge today as it’s only about 10 minutes from here. No idea where we’re staying tonight which is a new experience for us.

Must dash, have to make ready to leave..