12th July 2010 Tenby

WE started off driving dwon to Manorbier and photographer the caste from the car park
We then tried to go down to Lydstep beach but all the roads are closed, so continued to Tenby where we parked on the muti storey car park
Walking down towards the arbour there were some great views
Here is a second panorame looking towards the North Beach
And here we are down in the harbour itself
Another view facing North

We actually got down as far as the beach, thirty years ago we visited that castle in front of us
This is the Tudor Merchants haouse, we shall visit soon
There are carriage rides around the town
Here we are about to walk through the town walls back to the car park
It gets busy on a nice day
Skrinkle HAven is the name of this lovely bay
And here is a panorama of it

Sunday 11th July St Davids area

We got off early and found a Morrisons in Haverfordwest, then continued to Fishguard, doubling back towards St Davids. We made an attempt to reach the coast via side roads, but actually only went round in circles, but we did finally get to the coast at White Sands Bay, and it was very nice there.

there was a large cr park and toilets, but a rather odd Cafe that only sold ice cream and soft drinks

St Davids itself didn't appeal to us, it seemed very busy and we really couldn't see why,

This is Whitesands bay looking north
And looking south
And here is an extreme telephoto shot of the island and lighthouse in the bay
There were also many oil tankers waiting to go into Milford Haven

Then we continued down the coast to Solva where we had a very nice carvery lunch in a local pub.

The coast continued to be nice as we continued to Newgale and Broad Haven (another one of the same name!)

These odd buildings at Solva are probably abandoned Kilns of some sort
On then further south down the coast and we got chatting to the couple sitting here for about an hour!
As you can see the coast is pretty spectacular here looking towards Borough head

We came back via Milford Haven and had a good day out, though once again the weather hadn't been as sunny as we would have liked

Saturday 10th July Stackpole Quay and Amroth

Marvellous isn't it? the rest of the country is having a heatwave and we woke to cool mist and rain again!

We decided to visit Stackpole Quay which is only about four miles up the road and quickly realised that the footpaths over to the next bay were far too steep for Pat, so we walked down the shingle beach and into the little harbour, we just had time to take a couple of photos and the heavens opened so we had to return to the car.

There were some Teasels growing out of the harbour wall
And just a single boat beached behind the Quay, this is as far as we got when the rain started!

We had a cuppa then took the coast road past Tenby through Saundersfoot and on to visit Amroth, as we had been there many years ago and wanted to see it again.

It was of course raining hard, but as we needed some where for lunch we walked along the front and spotted that the local Pub The Amroth Arms, was doing Braised Pork in Cider and Apple sauce with peas, carrots and creamy mashed potatoes, all for £4.95!

We went in and it was a really fine meal, the pork was an inch thick, everything was well done and the cider and apple sauce was delicious!

Coffee and Tea only cost £1.25 a cup, so we had a great lunch and were so full the best plan was to go back to the caravan to rest.

Naturally when we did so the sun came out....typical isn't it?

You could just about see the distant coast in the Tenby area through the rain and mist, and the lone jogger attempting to get pneumonia on the beach.
Further down the road and looking back towards Amroth
After tea the rain stopped so we drove the ten or so miles to Broadhaven Bay, what a lovely beach, a pity that the path was too steep for Pat to attempt, so we walked along the cliff top
There were superb views not only along the coast
But also of the "Pinnacle Rocks" out in the bay
Pats new camera has an 18 times zoom and it was needed to ge this shot of the Pinnacle RocksAll in all the weather hadn't stopped us from having a great day.

Friday 9th July Stackpole Estate

We woke to the sound of wind and rain, so after a slow start went into Pembroke looking for a supermarket. We found the nearest was a Tesco in Pembroke Dock, so we shopped there and filled up the car. looking out of the window at breakfast I spotted this large rabbit who obviously thought he was a Meerkat!

We have several rabbits that seem completely unconcerned by the caravans and people on site.

Looking for somewhere to visit we spotted an NT sign for Stackpole Estate and had a walk to the lily ponds. Unfortunately it started to rain and Pat was suffering quite badly with arthriris, so we had to cut our walk short

These ponds are very extensive and stretch for a great distance.

This bridge gives some idea of the sheer size of the ponds, the water is crystal clear and you can see shoals of fish (trout I think)
A family of swans passed by and ploughed a path through the water lilies
Pat took this rather nice shot, I especially like the reflections and the lilies in the background
Pat rested when we got back to the caravan and I walked the couple of miles down to Freshwater East Beach, it was only when I got there I realised I had taken the memory card out of the camera and place it into the computer to download the images!

Fortunately the camera has enough memory to permit six shots to be taken

It has a beautiful beach, not seen at it's best on a drizzly afternoon like today!

Thursday 8th July Freshwater East

the new severn bridge at just after 1 pm
one of the rather nice bays
The castle at Tenby
Tenby west beach
Same beach closer in
We had a good journey down and arrived on site at five past 4 in the afternoon, it's a great site, but there is a drawback; the mobile network is dire! I shall have to process the images one day and post them the next, after I locate a 3G hotspot.
Sorry Folks!

Saturday 3rd July Nostel Priory and the Freeway 14th Birthday Meet

It was such a lovely sunny morning that we just couldn't sit still and decided to visit Nostel Priory, just through Pontefract. We had visited before (Pat couldn't remember that) and I was a bit thrown when we got through the entrance and headed away from the house to a car park. thinking that it would be too far to walk for Pat.

Fortunately there was a shuttle bus, a great help!

Here is a close up of the very grandiose coat of arms on the front of the house
There are major restorations going on, particularly in the old "Stable" block where they are actually lifting the whole roof off in one go to do repairs to the supporting beams before lowering it back onto them
Around the back of the stable block is the rather lovely rose garden, with this elfin statue and a lily pond
Pat is very keen on flowers so she was in her element here!
And very exotic poppies seem to be a feature in many of the gardens we have visited, Pat just loved this one!

I caught this shot of a Damsel fly on one of the Poppy Heads, a lucky shot when you are just carrying a compact camera
Now this rose is one that appealed to me, look at the colour and texture, and it was sweet smelling too.
Back on camp and we set up our book stall, here Sue,Audrey and Irene are checking out the bargains.
It had to happen, a welly throwing contest (actually Jack Baxter's Derri Boots) Here Barry sets a height record
And his wife Sue chooses a different but just as effective method
Mike Sole and Harry did the Barbecueing, Harry got the prize for tallest flames!
Pat won several prizes on the raffles (much to her surprise!)
And here's Ivan showing amazing agility for an 85 year old in a picking up sticks game
A rare moment of quiet as the group tuck in to an excellent barbecue, followed by lots of sticky Gateau, Pavlovas, Cheesecake and Fruit salad and cream.We had games thoughout the afternoon and a really super day!

Friday 2nd July Yorkshire Freeway 14th Birthday Meet

Our 14th Birthday Meet at Asselby, and 10 units attended on a lovely warm and Sunny Summer afternoon.

We got there early afternoon and there were five units who had got there first, two arriving on Thursday evening!

It was a real pleasure to see everyone again after our long absence in distant parts, and we spent a long time catching up with how everyone was and what had been happening.