In Arnhem, we met a friendly Dutch Motorhomer who told us about this wonderful little village called Zaanse Schans and that we must pop in for a nosey. So thats exactly what we did and it was stunning.
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Old Buildings on the other side of the riverFrom the Bridge
Original old buildings and Windmills all restored and many open to the public. It is very touristy but done very well.
Charming houses
We looked for the Motorhome parking but couldn’t find it so parked a few blocks away at a railway station parking area but it was an easy walk to and fro.
Crossing the bridge to Zaanse Schans
The Windmills at Zanse Schans
Barrels in the windmill
The inners of a Windmill
People taking photos of each other
Dianne and Gary with Big feet!
The Clogs being shaped on a machine
Clogs being hollowed out
Clogs on the wall for sale
Many of the houses were set up as museums and all offered something different. We had a nice Latte and one house, and then a Waffle at another and checked out the inner workings of a windmill.
Fiona and Dianne share a pair of Clogs !
There was a great Clog making display with all the machinery and you could buy almost anything with a windmill or clogs on it 🙂
Zaanse Schans
We spent about 3 hours here and then headed about 20 minutes south for Amsterdam.
While had the rental car we found that we weren’t really that far from Stratford on Avon so we’d do a trip up there for a look around.
Shops at Moreton on Marsh
On the way we stopped at a neat wee town called Moreton on Marsh and also had a walk around there.
Moreton on marsh Hotel
We noticed one of the pubs there was doing specials around the Sky showing of the Lions V the All Blacks so we asked if we could watch the Americas Cup as a back up plan and they were very welcoming. We managed to get our Sky Go app and internet issues sorted so it wasn’t necessary but very kind of them.
Stratford on Avon was an amazing town. It was chocker with people having fun everywhere and again some more of those lovely old buildings. These looked even older but more Thatched roofs and from basic building practices.
The Canal was busy with a couple of Narrow boats set up as Ice cream shops doing a great trade. There were canal boats parked on the river and moving in all directions along with tour boats and a larger restaurant barge left while we were there.
We had a good wander up through the shopping streets to look at some of the old buildings.
The Oldest House
There is one house there that is said to the oldest house still lived in. Part of it has been turned into a museum. It is just great seeing all these towns and they’re all different.
We arrived in Stow on the Wold early in the afternoon. I kept forgetting what it was called and reverting to Toad on the Hill but eventually I got there 🙂
Tetbury Market Square
On the way there from bath, we stopped in a town called Tetbury which has an original old Market Square building which is still used for markets. I’ve seen pictures of it in touristy brochures so was really keen to have a good look at it. We sat over the road from it and enjoyed a nice lunch there.
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The Town square in Stow on the WoldFiona in the Square at Stow on the Wold
We later arrived in Stow on the Wold and what a neat wee town. We parked in the Market Square and pretty quickly identified what looked like a nice place on the edge of the Square. Amazing food and very reasonably priced and plenty of it. I had a Pork Pie and Fiona had a Tuna Sandwich with chips. We both ended up eating the other halves of this for tea 🙂
After an hour or so, we walked down to our Hotel called the Porch Hotel. Outside there was no parking but we found out that they 4 parks around the back and it was pot luck as to whether you got one and there was an empty park. I ran up to the square, grabbed the car and we were in.
The Bar
Fiona on the Porch House bike
The Porch House
The front door
Our room is upstairs on the right
In the Main square
Later in the day, we had a good look around the rest of the square and then settled in to our room at the Hotel. Just amazing. This Hotel was originally built in 947AD and is reputed to be the Oldest Pub in England and it looks it. The ceilings are all old beams, some lashed together and there is even some witches marks on the side of one of the huge fireplaces in the Dining Room.
The fireplace with the witches marks on the left
The Americas Cup was on and we managed to get one of our ipads to clock in to watch it live.
The main square
Lovely Hotel, very helpful people running it and the village was stunning.. again lots of lovely old buildings.
The temperature had dropped from the 30’s down to a nice 20C so we set out for a walk with Fiona’s school friend from Exmouth, Hilary.
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Hilary and Fiona in Bath
Fiona and Hilary’s dads were both in the NZ and British Army in Terendak Military Camp in Malaya when they were both about 8 years old.
This was the first time they had seen each other since then so it was a real occasion for them both.
Escape route for seagulls under the bridgeThe shops on the bridge
We were heading towards the Bath Bridge for a look and maybe have lunch around that way. It is amazing with shops and cafes all built on the bridge over a weir and a canal so the boats can pass on the Avon river below. Stunning place.
Fiona and Hilary enjoying lunch on the bridge. A refection of a cyclist riding by in the window.
Shops on the bridge
A Tour boat on the Avon by the weir
Looking down the river
A canal boat cruising down the Avon
The Bath Bridge
People enjoying their afternoon
Back to the Abbey Hotel where we’re staying.
On the way back to the Hotel it was really nice to see people in deck chairs and just soaking up the views and the sun.
We arrived in London about midday and from the train station headed straight to our Hotel by the British Museum.
The Morgan, where we stayed in London
It was really handy to everything and only a block or so away from two of the Tube stations from significant lines.
The British Museum just around the corner
The next morning, we headed up the road to a bus stop for the Hop on Hop off bus or as many call it, “The round and round bus”. Armed with our London pass, we headed off down into the London traffic on an open top Double Decker bus and it was great.
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St Pauls from the traffic !
Down to Trafalgar Square and then we went left along the Strand and then to Fleet St. Here we hit the traffic and didn’t move for about 20 minutes!! It eventually let us past St Pauls and not long after that, we ended up at The Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.
From the Tower Bridge
Once we got across the Tower Bridge we hit the traffic again. It was almost gridlock and I think it took about an hour to get through to Southhampton bridge which is near where the London eye is.
Nice apartments opposite the Museum
The Shaftsbury Theatre
Cleaning with a view
Fleet Street
Crossing the Tower Bridge
The Tower Bridge
Big Ben
The Shard behind the Tower of London
There is a lot of construction going on down there with several new apartments blocks going up.
House of Parliament
We got across to Westminster where we got off the bus and headed for the Cathedral.
Fiona outside Westminster Abbey
What an amazing building and it just oozes history.
The audio tour is great and a must do but both Fiona and I struggled to understand what we were looking at as the Audio tour didn’t really line up with the map very well. We got there in the end and it was time to find a pub for lunch.
Just around the corner in Parliament St was the Red Lion pub which had an upstairs dining room. I had the biggest Cod and chips with mushy peas I’ve ever seen in my life with an English beer.
The fish was fantastic, the beer was fine.. it was called Londons Pride but not being a big beer drinker I was really just interested in a taste. I think I prefer Heinekin as far as beer goes.
Great service, resonable prices and nice food.. This was the first time I’ve had mushy peas and I loved them. Fiona had a chicken salad and that was great too. .. washed down with a quality English cider which neither of us can remember the name of.
The Household cavalry Museum
We left here looking for the Churchill War room but the queue was so long and in the heatwave sun, we decided to flag it and while Fiona headed for the Household Cavalry Museum, I headed towards the Marble Arch and got some images of Buckingham Palace and the arch itself.
Marble Arch
The Household Cavalry has a close association with the Coldstream Guards. Fiona’s dad served in Malaya with the Coldstream Guards under the then CO Sir Ralph (pronounced Rafe) Anstruther who Rafe is named after.
Buckingham Palace down the Mall
Fiona caught up with me at the Charing Cross tube station and we both headed back to the Hotel. It was hot. They were talking 30C! so we were pleased to get back to the air conditioning.
A good day and the bus is definitely the best way to see London.
One of the main reasons we came up to Ely is that my English family were all originally from Little Downham which is about 10k’s out of Ely.
The main street of little Downham
Little Downham is a small farming village basically all centred around one main street.
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The church at the end of the road
At one end is the church which is like what you see on the TV shows and at the other end of the street is a pub called The Plough. Word has it that every generation in my family has had a drink in this Pub. It was shut when we were there so my turn will have to wait for another time.
The Church
One of my cousins Jan and her husband Bryan who are motorhomers too, organised the family to meet at another local pub called the Anchor. For Fiona and I, it was the first time that we’ve met most of them but I had known about many of them.
Outside the Anchor looking down the main street of Little Downham
Jan is a niece of my grandfather Bert and there were 11 brothers and sisters in the Miller family ! .. lots of cousins.
The whole family around the table
My grandfather Bert was a real hard case and was in the battle of the Somme during the first world war. He was a Tankie in one of the old diamond shape tanks in this battle and was one of the few to survive. He was listed as missing in action as they couldn’t find him!
Word has it that when he arrived back in Little Downham the town was deserted. He saw someone he knew and asked where everyone was. “Oh they’re all down at the church at your funeral Bert!”
So off he went down the road. His mother was so pleased to see him that she scraped the dirt of his great coat and put in a tin. This has been handed down through the family and is now in the safe hands of my son Alex with all the other family military memorabilia. The dirt is said to be from the Somme but is could easily be from a puddle anywhere 🙂 Good story anyway!!
Stacey enjoying herself.
Sarah having a giggle.
Kath. My grandfathers brother Stan’s daughter.
Roy and Fiona having a natter.
Stacey and Sarah, Jan’s daughters.
Roy. My grandfathers sister Elsie’s son.
Linda, Jans younger sister and my grandfathers sister Gwen’s daughter.
Margaret, My grandfather’s sister Glady’s daughter.
Fiona, Jan and Bryan
Sarah and her Auntie Linda
The whole family around the table
The Plough
Back to the reunion.. we had a great lunch .. it was neat meeting all those from my Grandfathers family. They’re a fun lot and we’re looking forward to doing another trip here to see them again.
Linda, Jan’s younger sister who lives in Ely very kindly gave us a ride back to the Lamb Hotel in Ely where were staying.
I just love these English towns with the history and the amazing buildings.
We’ve watched this place over the last year or so but it just gets better and better. The food is consistently good and its a neat place to stop.
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Nice Parking area
There is one Motorhome park on the gravel but there is also plenty of solid lawn parking for Caravans and Motorhomes while you visit.
The “Style Shop” 🙂
It is right on the turnoff to Thames on Highway 27 as you’re heading towards Thames. Turn left at the Thames turnoff coming from the motorway and its on your right.
There is plenty of parking. There is a kids play area for the nippers, great food and reasonably priced. Style shop is there too in a seperate building, for the Mums to load up while Dad soaks up the sun outside 🙂 … a dress shop 🙂
Fiona’s Date Scone
Nice outdoor area
An easy guide to Coromandel
Playground for the young ones
We stopped here on the way to catch up with friends at Coromandel for a scone and a cuppa. Although we were early, around 10:30ish, it was just getting busy so its good to see they’re doing so well.
By walking down the street beside it reveals a nice private flat powered Motorhome park behind the hotel nicely planted out with Palms and with a nice outlook. It is $25 (for two)a night and includes the use of the nearby Backpackers Toilet and Showers. It also has a dump station.
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Solid ground too.The Backpackers with the Dump Station, Showers and Toilets.
We arrived early on a Friday and checked in for a weekend at Coromandel. Our friends Dianne and Gary were staying in a motel room in the Coromandel Top 10 right opposite so it worked perfectly.
We went for a walk down to the town which takes all of 10 minutes and enjoyed a cuppa at one of the many cafes down there and after checking into some of the shops wandered back to Rafe. There is a Laundromat there too.
Nicely setup parking and has a dump station and fresh water
The Laundry is easy to spot
Coromandel Town
I love the Husband Waiting chairs
That night it rained and we popped over to the Motel unit and enjoyed a few laughs and glasses of wine before heading to the Coromandel Hotel for tea. It was stunning. Gary and I had a carpetbag steak each, Fiona had a seafood chowder which had huge pieces of seafood in it and Dianne had the roast pork. The best was still to come.. liquorice ice cream with sambuca.. and it was huge. We all hooked in. This is really something to see and even better to eat.
Looking down the back
A neat place to stay and great place to eat as well.
I have done a blog on this before but this is the first time we’ve stayed here and I’m pleased we did!
One thing I did find interesting is like Simpsons Beach, I had to switch the router back to 3G. Although it worked on 4G, It was significantly faster on 3G.. see the speedtests below.
What a fun weekend. Our old friends Mark and Tina’s eldest daughter Alisha was getting married to Tom and they had chosen The Officers Mess at Fort Takapuna as the wedding venue. A fantastic spot and where Fiona’s family had spent some years in the officers housing by Narrow Neck beach.
The roof of the old fort with the Officers Mess behind and the carpark.
Just as it says, The officers Mess has been converted into a Wedding Venue and Café and was the old Officers Mess for the Army and later used by the Navy as well. Its a lovely old building which looks out over the harbour towards Rangitoto Island.
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Fiona’s dad Norm was CO of Fort Cautley which was then the HQ for the Army’s 3rd Battalion. There were officers and senior NCO houses from the current buildings all the way down to Narrow Neck Beach.
Narrow Neck beach. This grass is where all the officers housing was.
Fort Takapuna has a huge history. It was originally built to fend off the Russians in the 1860’s and later updated for the two world wars in case the Japanese or Germans got down here. It is now looked after by DOC and more information on it can be seen here.
Its well worth a look around and the carpark is huge, perfect for Motorhomes and Caravans.
The Old Fort
When Friday came around, Fiona and I decided we would make a weekend of it and stay in Devonport on Friday night. We earlier met our old friends Dani and Grant at the Esplanade Hotel for a few cold ones and afterwards tea at the wharf.
One of the Gun Emplacements
The old Gun Emplacements and Rangitoto
A few words of wisdom from an old fella (Gary) to the groom 🙂
Proud Dad Mark with Alisha and MC Gary doing the sounds.
All ready for the Wedding in the Officers Mess
The Officers Mess
The view across to the city
Rafe and the Fuso in the carpark. Gary later moved right next to us.
Rafe in the carpark with the Barrack buildings.
The next day was wedding day and I packed up Rafe and headed off to the venue where we had permission to stay overnight in the carpark as guests.
In the carpark
I spent the day having a really good look around the fort while Fiona was getting her hair done. There was a soccer game on at the playing field there which was fun to watch. I have no idea who was playing but it was fun to watch and I really enjoyed shooting a few piccies of it. I haven’t photographed any soccer since my days on the Herald and the Auckland Star so it was fun. Soccer is one of the hardest games to photograph as so I was pleased that I got a couple or reasonable piccies from it being as rusty as I am.
One of the better soccer piccies 🙂
The forecast rain held off so the ceremony was held outside looking out on the harbor. It was a bit of a catchup with old friends for us as Gary, Chris, Mark and Tina are all old Boatie mates along with Geoff and Bev who were also there. We were all put on Table 4! Our friends Gary and Chris were joint MC’s and they did a great job. It was nice to catch up with the extended families and old friends too, many of them had come over from Aussie for the occasion.
The Wedding Service with a view
The wedding went well, the food was great and it was a fun night. We finished the night in Rafe with “Table 4” friends for a nightcap and cups of tea.
What a great place. Perched on a hill looking over Waihi Beach looking out to Mayor Island and views right down to Bowentown.
Mayor Island
We were helping friends Rob and Helen celebrate picking up their new Autotrail Tracker. The campground volunteered that the RSA courtesy van was coming and we could get a ride to the famous Gunners Restaurant.
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Rob, Helen and Fiona arriving in the van.
It was a Saturday night so their overnight parking was pretty busy but not full and looked fantastic. The NZMCA card admitted us to the bar and to the restaurant. We opted for the carvery at $18 a head and it was absolutely amazing. There was also a salad bar which was great too.
Parking on the Saturday
Rob in the queue
The food .. Yummy spuds
The Beef Carvery
After a few drinks, we headed back in the courtesy van to the campground. A great night
The Razza parking area
The next day, Fiona and I decided we would have to give the parking at the RSA a go so after having had a good look around the area, we arrived around 3pm and clocked ourselves in for the overnight stay and for a drink at the bar. A perfectly fine day, views for Africa it was an nice place to be. We’d both vowed that we wouldn’t do the carvery again but I ended up eating that anyway 🙂 ..and every bit as nice as the first night.
While there is no cost for overnight parking, it is expected that you at least buy a drink or even a meal. You won’t regret it either 🙂
Not far to walk home:-)
In the morning, we were woken up with a knock on the door. It was an RSA person asking us to move to the carpark so the diggers could tear up the grass to turn it into a gravel park as it turns into a mud bog in winter. No worries.. the lady at the bar had told us this was coming but no one knew it was the next day.
The Grass getting dug up
It was an easy move but I felt a bit for the Caravanners but it was received with good humour .
A wonderful place to stay, eat and drink and for friendliness they are unbeatable.
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
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