Sunshine in Southwold . . .

The sun was shining in Southwold.  But it wasn't when we arrived.  Infact the field we had to park on was so muddy that after the first night we asked to be moved onto a harder base and that was how we ended up parked amidst the numerous static vans - not ideal but dry with no mud in sight.
For those of you who don't know, Southwold is on the East Coast of England in Norfolk.  It is also where Glenn's brother Barrie has a pad and so our time here was spent catching up with Baz, Chrissie, Conrad and Natalie who taught us how holidays are spent in this little pocket of the world.
We went crabbing and spent an entire day on the beach building sandcastles and playing beach rounders (Conrad and Natalie ventured into the icy waters - our two thought it was a bit chilly).  On our last night we ticked off one of our 'must do in England' activities and we all walked down to the Southwold Pier and had fish and chips out of paper at the beach.  Fabulous family catch up and the girls got in some much loved cousy time.

Yes, this row boat was the ferry across Southwolds Harbour.

Stormy skies try to devour huts along the banks of Southwold Harbour.

Crabbing with the cousins.

A little slice of Southwold Harbour.

Heading home after a successful and fun filled crabbing morning.

Beach boxes along Southwold Beach.

This beach huts for you Dad (click on the photo to make it larger).

Beach huts along the south end of Southwold Beach.

Sunny skies over Southwold Beach.

Crabbing with the cousins.

Serious sandcastle time.

The end result - (Sand)Castle Sheers.

Soaring temps in England see everyone flocking to the beach . . . including us!

With the temperatures in England set to hit 30C this week we are feeling as though summer as we know it has arrived.  Roads are filled to overflowing with holiday makers heading to the coast and so we were glad to have pre-booked ourselves a spot at the Seadowns Caravan Park in Charmouth (RIGHT AT THE BEACH).  Yah - Mum did good booking this pitch.
On our way to Charmouth we stopped, only briefly, at Brighton to walk along the Brighton Pier.  There were people everywhere, on the beach, in cars, along the boardwalks.  As expected the English men had all taken their shirts off  (because the sun was shining and it was really really hot!).  And the sun didn't let us down during our stay at Charmouth either, the girls even got to swim in the English Channel.  During our stay there was a tragedy a few beaches up from us.  400 tons of cliff fell onto the beach and killed a 22yr old tourist.  As a result all the beaches in our area were closed and so fossil hunting was out of the question but we still had a fantastic time.

Looking back at the beach from the pier.

The Brighton coastline - it doesn't look like an English coast.

Little English boy upon seeing Charmouth Beach for the first time "Oh Mummy it's so lovely here"

Little English boy walking to the toilet with his Dad  "Daddy when I'm a big man I'm going to buy a motorbike"

Gotta love the British and their doggy do signs.

A couple of local kids making the most of a perfect day.

The towering cliffs above Charmouth swimmers.

If you don't find any fossils you can always buy
them from the local fossil shop.

The English flock to the beach when the sun comes out.

Charmouth at low tide.

The disregard of the Beach Closed signs and tape was this obvious.

Our next stop was at the little fishing town of Looe in Cornwall where we found a very special pitch under the first Gum Tree we have seen in the UK.  It was comforting to step out of Swifty and smell the Eucalyptus.  Thiswas also the first site we've stayed at that has a pool - and yes we all had a couple of swims.  The walk into the town was a long, STEEP walk but we've all started to build up some fitness and although the girls got tired they did it really easily.  They also knew that a pool awaited them at the other end.  Of course you can't visit Cornwall and not have a Cornish Pasty and so while in town we bought some at a local bakery and the girls and Glenn devoured them (I prefer yours Mum).

Looe.

What you would typically find in a seaside town shop.

When the sun comes out Looe is a busy little town.

Glenn and a local Mr Fix It trying to get our kayak racks installed.
(it turns out to be a 2hr mission impossible)

We are now in the absolutely stunning corner of Cornwall known as Lands End - for the very simple reason that it is at the very end of England, or the very beginning depending on where you are coming from!  Definitely our favourite coastline in England, favourite beach, favourite walk.  The water is crystal clear, the surf is great, the sun is shining - or it was until Glenn started washing Swifty and now the forecasted rain is falling.  Joe if you're reading this - we absolutely love Lands End and understand why you spent so much time here, why you kept coming back and why you said we had to make it one of our stops.  We're staying at Trevedra Farm Caravan Park - a working farm so we are all pitching in fields.  The walk to Gwynver Beach is only 10 mins through the cow paddocks.  It's a further 20 min walk to Sennon and Whitesands Bay and then a further 1hr to Lands End.  We walked to Lands End and back via Gwynver and Sennon/Whitesands thus the girls are having a very quite afternoon/evening watching a movie and trying to keep their eyes open.  It took us, round trip, just over 4 hours.

Our field pitch at Trevedra Farm Lands End.

Sunset taken from out pitch.

The stunning Gwynver Beach coastline.

The Sheers Family on Gwynver Beach.

Whitesands Bay.

From this lookout you can see to Lands End (where we were headed)
and back to Sennon/Whitesands Bay/Gwymver Beach and beyond.

The Last and the First Cafe in England.

A well deserved ice cream.

Peak hour on a Cornwall beach.

The Wettest Summer in 100 Years . . .

We're back in England and everyone we run into keep apologising for the horrid weather we've been having.  Apparently England is in the midst of its wettest summer in 100yrs and it has been the wettest June on record!
But we can't let that stop us getting out and about and enjoying the time we have left here before we head towards the sun on The Continent (aka over our side of the world as Europe).
"It's not rain, it's liquid sunshine" is Glenn's saying of the moment.

As we drove down the tiny little country lane into Low Park Wood Caravan Club Site set amidst hundreds of forest trees alongside a river, and as the sun started to filter it's warmth through the canopy, we knew we were in for a great couple of days.

Our pitch at Low Park Wood Caravan Club Site.

Our time here was spent basking in the glorious sunshine.  We walked down traditional English Public Footpaths, across fields (some with huge cows), beside rivers and aquaducts (no longer used for water but filled with wild flowers and raspberries).  We walked into the little village of Sedgwick and picnicked along the way, on our way back to camp we stopped on a rocky beach beside the river and skimmed pebbles.

The Public Footpath across the river towards the village of Sedgwick.

Feeling like giants walking through Sedgwick.

A visit to the Lake District would not be complete without a trip to Lake Windermere - the largest lake in England - and so we piled into Swifty and headed to the lake about 12 miles up the road.
A very large town, exclusive and expensive looking, we drove down to the Ferry where we found a motorhome friendly carpark (a rare find in England we can tell you). We caught the Ferry as pedestrians over to the other side of the lake for 50p each and walked around the lake for a while, stopping to have some award winning local pies for lunch.  This side of the lake was beautiful and with minimal traffic or people it was the perfect place to walk or ride around the lake and take in the surrounding forests and lakeside.

The Forest Footpaths.

Our special picnic spot where we ate the award winning local pies.

The amazing trees spread throughout the forest around the lake.

Lake Windermere.

South of the Lake District and near the Welsh border was one of our favourite spots - the Forest of Dean.  Our campsite for the next four days was called Christchurch.  It was a big, open, and in some spots very muddy field surrounded on four sides by the forest.  We were surrounded by a true mixture of campers - lots of families camping together, Silver Nomads, cycle tourists, mountain bikers, Dads with their kids for the weekend.  It was a fabulous ecclectic campsite.  The forest itself was amazing.  We walked for 10.5km one day (without telling the kids exactly how far we had gone) through the forest, along ditches filled with tadpoles and down to the river at Symonds Yat Rock where we watched canoes paddling over the rapids.  Just near our campsite there were wonderful log cabins for hire - something we would love to do one day (although it's a little far to come for the weekend from NZ!)  It was here at Forest of Dean that the girls saw their first rainbow in Britian.

The walking/riding paths through the Forest of Dean.

Three of the hundreds of tadpoles we came across in a ditch alongside the path.

The river at Symonds Yat.

Forest of Dean.

After all the forests and walks it was time for some kiddy stuff and so we headed to Watford and the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour . . . it was incredible and after 4 hours we didn't want to leave - only it was closing time.  From the minute we walked through the doors, collected our Audio Guides and were ushered into the Cinema room the excitement from everyone there was palpable.  Once the Cinema presentation concluded, the curtains opened and we were faced with the "real" doors to Hogwarts.  We were all dumbstruck, starstruck, blown away.  To walk into the Great Hall was an experience that everyone - Harry Potter fan or not - should get to experience.  Not to mention exploring the costumes, wigs, props, sets, common rooms, potion room, Dumbledore's office, the Dark Arts, mystical creatures, Hagrids Bike, 4 Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, the arts dept, the sketches, paper models of Hogwarts School and the huge resin model of the enitre Hogwarts campus.  Photos won't do it justice (although I will post a few) it is something you need to see for yourselves. 

Taashi - Harry Potter was magical.  I loved seeing how they made all the broomsticks fly with the green background, big arms gliding, bucking and thrashing the broomsticks around.

Tilly - Harry Potter was totally wicked and magical.  When we first entered was the most exciting part because we hadn't seen anything and we were so excited and then the doors to Hogwarts opened.  It was cool.

Glenn - Incredible detail.  The number of props, 3000 wands, 3000 Hogwarts robes.  The bit that stands out was the sketches, artwork and models.  From the concept to paper models to resin models.  Awestruck.  You think you realise how much work goes into this sort of thing but I didn't realise the extent.