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