To Devon and Beyond

View of the Yealm Valley

Travelling in hot weather with a dog and a car full of camping equipment is not a good idea. And, if you're travelling to an area you're not familiar with, it's even worse.

There we were, riding in our car from Verwood in Hampshire to Yealmpton in Devon with Jessie our trusty Border Terrier. We hadn't been on the road ten minutes when I navigated us away from the A31, which was where we wanted to go, to somewhere completely different, which cost us some time. It had rained overnight and the tent was wet when we packed it up. We needed to get to our destination in plenty of time to dry it out.

After a while, feeling thirsty and needing a toilet break, we decided to stop at a well known service area to meet our needs. To say that stop was a disaster is probably an understatement. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. One of the staff there had just told the boss he was leaving in two days. The atmosphere was bad and the service torturous. And the beginnings of a black mood began to develop for both of us.

Then I made the mistake of asking to stop at the Exeter Service area to use their facilities - on a Saturday afternoon - with someone who hates crowds - nightmare! This was coupled with the fact that Alan, who was doing the driving and was tired and hot, felt my directions were a bit slow in coming. Bad enough - but then things went from bad to worse.

Tempers were getting frayed.The driving speed was going up. Although the weather was hot, the atmosphere in the car was icy. Jessie was making her feelings felt by ensuring she had a lion's share of my seat, which meant that I was now sitting at an angle. I felt sorry for her as there was really nowhere else to sit, the rest of the car being filled with camping equipment.

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief when we turned off the A38 and started to make our way to Yealmpton. But I had reckoned without the slightly vague directions that we had received to find the location for the next seven days, Yealm Cabin.

As we drove up a hill on a single lane road, we looked in vain for the allotted place. Then came those magic words, "You've got us lost". I had been quite calm up till then, but something inside me snapped. With the words, "I'll get out and find it then", I exited the car, slamming the door as hard as I could and went marching up the road to the nearest property.

Now, Alan just cannot stand slammed doors at the best of times and I could hear him swearing at volume as I walked off. By the time I had received directions and turned back, the car had disappeared. My first thought, I'm ashamed to admit, was that he had gone home, which led to the thought "well, let him", as my overheated temper was totally in control and getting the better of me.

Making my way to the house where the owner of the log cabin's lived, I knocked and introduced myself. It was not really surprising, but she did look a bit bemused to be confronted by one person, with no luggage and not a car in sight.

At that point Alan arrived. The small time away had allowed both of us to regain our cool (although I was still angry inside - flaming even). How was the week in the cabin going to go, I wondered?

Drying Out the Tent!

On Holiday - At Last

Well, we actually did it - the first holiday in years and the first 2 week one that we can remember having in very many years.

Alan thought, that because I am such an unknown quantity with my chronic fatigue symptoms, I would not be able to cope with two weeks in a tent, so, we decided to spend the middle portion of our time away by booking a log cabin in Devon.

Camping at Verwood

The first three days were spent in Verwood in Hampshire and were fantastic. Even the service station where we stopped on the way there for a toilet break was a novelty.

The site we used, a Camping and Caravan Club site, I would not call scenic in itself, but was surrounded by wonderful countryside. Although it was beside a busy road, it was very well equipped with a toilet and shower block, a wash-up block and laundry facilities.

One of the main features that appeared to recur during our time away has been the easy ability to get most gloriously lost. It occurred twice in these first few days, but also at other times, of which, more later.

The first time was when we were driving back to the site from Fordingbridge, when we had a moment of serendipity. Arriving at a village called Dakerham, we came across a pub called 'The Compasses' and, on impulse we decided to stop and have lunch there. It turned out to be the most beautiful lunch in the beer garden, beside a cricket field with nothing to disturb us.

The second 'lost moment' was the following day, where we tried to find Moors Valley Country Park we had seen on the Ordnance Survey map. Just a few miles away, or so we thought. We learnt the lesson that day that what you actually see on the map is not how it looks on the ground, finding ourselves miles away in the opposite direction. But after asking directions, we eventually found our way there.

It was a most amazing place with the entrance road surrounded by tall trees, plenty of parking space and loads of people. And it was a week day!  There seemed to be a little bit of everything there, with a golf course, lake, miniature railway and forest walks. And it was there where I first realised that Alan did not want to spend his holidays mixing with crowds. Oops!

Then on the fourth day - off to Devon, to our log cabin near Yealmpton, getting lost yet again on our way to the A31. I'm really not used to this navigation thing.

The River Avon at Fordingbridge