Author: onewomanandhercaravan

Getting away from everyday life for the weekend

Birdsong. Just birdsong. No other sound, but the wind in the long grasses that surround where I am sitting and the fluttering of wings. I have actually found somewhere silent, in the Derbyshire countryside, all within the luxury setting of ‘Jennings’, a converted horsebox, lovingly renovated by its owner, Robin, of Trent Adventures, whose family have farmed the land the horsebox sits on at Poplars Farm since 1887.

After over a year of spending the majority of my life living, working, relaxing, eating and sleeping in my house alone – I needed a change of scenery to spend some time alone! Canopy and Stars, have a huge amount of unusual but comfortable places to stay, that let you reconnect with nature as well as support owners who build and live sustainably – making your stay low impact and supportive of environmental causes. Roundhouses, cabins, shepherds’ huts, treehouses and in this case, a converted horsebox.

This is ‘Jennings’ – a horsebox built in 1962 to transport up to 4 horses, by a coach building business that sadly no longer trades, called Jennings. In May 2019, Robin began lovingly renovating the former horsebox to what you see today, so I was one of just a few people who have been lucky enough to stay there over the last year….

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WOW! And I am lucky enough to be staying here for 2 nights.

Check in was at 4pm and I had my own parking space, just a walk across a field from Jennings. Robin, the owner arrived on his tractor to welcome me, but had sent some short videos in advance to make sure I knew how everything worked and what to do when I arrived – helpful, friendly and welcoming – a great start to my stay.

As soon as I had settled my bags down (taken some photos and done a little jig of excitement at having found and arrived at such a special place) I started to look around and found that, as promised in the videos, I could find everything I needed to make myself comfortable.

Fully equipped kitchen with gas oven and hobs, a small fridge and all the crockery and cutlery I could need. Including a cafetiere and coffee (very rare to be given decent ways to make coffee at self-catering places) and KETCHUP! Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a big win! Alongside this, tea, sugar, instant coffee, salt, pepper, oil and some lovely treats – fresh bread, milk, eggs, butter and homemade brownies – a brilliant welcome. And space to put away the few bits I had bought with me.

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After a quick look around, I figured out how to use the composting toilet (really easy and clean) found USB charging points and the hot water dial for the fully sized shower, plus a handy hot water bottle in case I felt the cold, even with a thick duvet and fleece cover provided.

There was also a lovely log burner, and all logs, matches and firelighters were provided, but the horsebox wasn’t cold at all, so I didn’t need to use them. Quite sad about that actually, so will have to return later in the year so I can!

I cracked open a cider (did a quick stop at Tesco on the way to buy provisions) and sat on one of two private decking areas that surrounded the horsebox next, to take in the atmosphere. Surrounded by fields on one side and the River Trent on the other. (There is another horsebox on the site, but ‘Jennings’ isn’t overlooked at all).

May is not being kind to us weather wise this year, but a handy blanket in the horsebox laid across my knees and my coat on, made me as comfortable as needed to enjoy my first moments of peace.

The River Trent is about 100 metres in front of me and an English scene of cows crunching the grass on the bank opposite or taking a drink from the water is playing out ahead. A pheasant is crowing in the background and the wind is lightly blowing across the decking. There is so much wildlife around here – geese flying overhead in pairs, Wagtails flying backwards and forwards, landing softly beside me curiously, perching on the side of the decking and dipping its tail at me. Graceful swans gliding along the fast-flowing river before building up momentum to take flight by noisily flapping their elegant white wings – an amazing feat of nature as they heave their enormous bodies out of the water and up towards the sky. Breath in, breath out – clear your mind and relax.

Simple dinner tonight, with a glass of wine and soft music playing in the background followed by a 20-minute walk along the river, as recommended by Robin. As I walked among hooting geese and quacking ducks, the river rushes alongside me as I spot in the distance some strange looking caves on the other side of the river and the tower of what appears to be a big house. Using the binoculars left for visitors to the horsebox, I figured out what it might be…..walk planned for tomorrow! The sun was setting, and the deck was the perfect place to enjoy this before turning in to read for a while on the sofa, perfectly placed to enjoy the view in the warm, before climbing up on to the bed – and sleeping like a log!

Saturday morning and time to rise from a very warm bed and set myself up for the day with a good breakfast. I’m able to do something I don’t do at home, put food waste into a small bin to add to the bigger compost bin outside the horsebox. There are also recycling boxes too – so it really makes you think about your use of plastic and paper. Plus, the water isn’t connected to the mains, neither is the electricity, so taps on and off quickly and electricity used only when needed – with lots of options inside so you are never in the dark, including battery operated lanterns and candles, and USB charging points of your phone and kindle.  

Its time to walk! Covid guidelines are due to change on Monday, with museums opening and National Trust houses back up and running, but until then – I walk! I managed to find a walk that looks like it will take in the caves I spotted last night as well as the building I spotted, so set off in my car for a 10 min drive to Inglby where the walk starts. Parked up safely on the side of the road, hat and waterproof jacket on to protect me from the May showers and I managed to gate crash a group of horse riders who were riding along the same route in a timed event – lots of ducking out of the way for me as horses raced up behind me. I am a bit scared of horses, so this didn’t do much for my intended relaxed state of mind! They were all very grateful when I moved aside as they galloped up behind me – good job I could hear them coming!

Walked into Heath Woods to an avalanche of bluebells in what is the only known Viking crematorium cemetery in England, containing 60 burial mounds, dating back to the late 9^th century.

Next, I came across the building I had spotted last night. Foremark Hall, formerly a private home of the Burdett family and built in 1755 and now Repton Prep School with a lovely church within its grounds. It must have been a visiting day for parents (it’s a boarding school) as I was passed by a lot of very nice cars (Porsche, Range Rovers, Bentleys, Aston Martins, as well as the odd BMW and Audi). Next stop – the caves I saw last night….

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Found out that what I had seen is known as ‘Anchor Church’, mentioned as far back as 1648 and carved out by the river and by hand. One legend is that St Harduplh used to live and pray here in the 6^th century and persecuted Christians came here to pray to God when this wasn’t allowed. The caves were also a haunt for Sir Francis Burdett (the owner of the house, now school) who fitted a door and used it as a summer dining room to entertain his friends in! Waked back alongside the river to my car where I headed back to the horsebox for cake lovingly made and provided by my Mum!

The 5 miles I had walked this morning, didn’t seem enough, so I planned my next walk over the cake and set off directly from ‘Jennings’ towards the Trent and Mersey Canal. Had a lovely meander along, helping out at a lock (not as easy as it looks!), enjoying the wildlife and stopping at a pub for a refreshing drink. Carried on to the new Mercia Marina with shops and restaurants, had a quick rest and then turned back the way I came. All in all, the little ‘extra’ walk was 9 miles long!

By the time I got back, and after walking a total of 14 miles over the day, I was ready for a hot shower and dinner! I watched a film this evening, whilst enjoying the view from the sofa and after listening to the soft rain on the roof, I settled down to sleep.

The sun was streaming in on Sunday morning, so I enjoyed a coffee and breakfast wrapped up on the decking before tidying up for the 10am check-out. Just wished I had more time here. I will be back again, as so much more to see around the area, and the museums and houses etc will be open and there will be even more to do. Plus, I want to use the log-burner! For now, I will head home and rest my weary feet, re-charged and determined to enjoy more of life this year, as restrictions are eased. For anyone who wants to get away, but not travel too far – go and stay in Jennings, but book now before everyone finds out about it!

The Bank of England has its own museum, who knew! You did? Well ok, well done you, but I didn’t. Fear not, I do now and I’m going to share my visit with you in the hopes that when you’re next in London and have a free hour or so, you will take a look…

Did I mention its FREE? A bank not charging for something – wowee! Advanced warning, as its housed in the actual Bank of England building, you will have to remove watches, belts etc., put your bags through an x-ray machine and walk through a security gate – a bit like at the airport, but with no holiday at the end. All very friendly though and in the most beautiful room, and then you are free to roam.

Housed in one of its old rooms, the stock office, it still has some lovely original features including the old desks and oil lights they would have worked under, now of course electric.

Fascinating exhibitions throughout the rooms, including the history of the building and some old photographs.

DID YOU KNOW
The Bank of England originally operated out of rented premises and moved to this building in 1734, the first purpose-built bank in England.

There were some great information panels, one in particular caught my eye as it gave a really simple way of explaining what inflation is.

There were iPads in the first room you enter where you could take a virtual tour of the whole building and find out some really interesting facts like…

You can also read about the design of the new £1 coin and how it’s the most secure coin in the world and find out about some of the banks earliest and most famous customers; Charles Dickens and the artist JMW Turner to name a couple.

One of their most famous employees, who started there as a junior clerk and rose to Secretary, was Kenneth Grahame, who wrote ‘The Wind in the Willows’ during his time working there (though not ‘on the job’ I am sure!)

You can even touch a real gold bar! I didn’t get any photos of this as you weren’t allowed and there was CCTV everywhere! But it did show you photos of the vaults there and some video footage – rooms piled high and filled with gold bars. It looked like it does in the movies!

Another great find in London and a bit different from all the other fabulous free museums there. Lots for kids to get involved with and easy to find. Only about 5 minutes’ walk from ‘Bank’ tube station (of course!) and perfect to combine with the London Mithraeum I’ve blogged about here.

I hope you remember to visit when you are next in London and enjoy!

**NEWSFLASH**
New FREE museum in London

The recently opened London Mithraeum Bloomberg Space is absolutely worth a visit. It’s not your usual museum, where quite honestly, you can get a little ‘over-informed’ after a few rooms, because it’s only got three rooms! BUT it’s an amazing three rooms.

The museum is the result of the restoration and protection of the ruins of an ancient Roman temple to the God Mithras, discovered after a bomb attack during the Second World War. When Bloomberg began the building of their current offices (above the ruins/museum) they understood the importance of this historic find and wanted to be able to share it with everyone.

Easily found about 3 minutes’ walk from ‘Bank’ tube station (there is also a handy Starbucks on your left as you descend the small hill) the entrance is identifiable by the huge sign! After showing your booking email (you HAVE to pre-book online – very easy on their website) You are handed a guide and how it all works is explained to you before you set off alone.

After taking a look and reading about some of the thousands of artifacts found during the excavation (with further information provided on iPads – very high-tech!) that include weighing scales, shoes, writing boards, jewelry and coins, you move into a darkened room and hear the dulcet tones of the wonderful Joanna Lumley, who talks you through a bit of the buildings history.

On the way down to this room (there is a lift) you walk down some stairs that take you seven metres below todays street level, which was the level the building and the roads surrounding it would have been back then. As you descend, they have helpfully marked other important events in history and where street-level would have been at that time. This is all explained in the free guidebook.

Anyway, back to the Mithraeum. Here is a quick intro to this place – no point re-writing something so well written already!

Sounds intriguing right?

Listening to lovely Joanna, you are also invited to learn a little more about three key artefacts found during the excavation.

Then you are invited to visit the temple for yourself….

You walk into an almost completely pitch-black room with a walkway around the perimeter and a small platform in the middle. I don’t want to ruin it for you (go and visit for yourself – its free!) but you are given the experience of being back on the temple, back when London was known as Londinium, an ancient Roman city.

Lights illuminate different areas of the ruins as you listen to the sounds of the male worshippers – praying to their god, Mithras. You can read up on him here (thank you Wiki).

I was there for about half an hour and the experience runs every 20 minutes – don’t forget to pre-book before you go and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

A week of wine, walking and wet weather (followed by lots of sun)

Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th October – Travel and Buxton

It’s time for another trip in my beloved caravan and this time I have company. My friend Joanna, who I’ve known since the day I was born, joined me. My Mum used to babysit Jo, her brother and sister, so myself and my sisters practically grew up with them as we shared summer holidays, schools and everything in between with them. Jo has stayed in caravans before, but not with me towing it, so she kind of knew what to expect!

To avoid any delay, I went to collect my caravan from storage the day before so that we could head straight off when Jo arrived at mine, and we had done a quick trip to Tesco’s. My parents kindly agreed that I could leave it on their drive overnight, as my driveway is too hard to negotiate as its down a hill and around a corner from the road. Tricky.

All packed up and ready to go, Jo began her lessons (that would be week-long) on setting up a caravan to be towed. Her main job was, after I had secured everything, to put all four legs up. This took a bit of time as I had parked my caravan up when my parents garage door had been open, and now it was closed (they weren’t in) Jo couldn’t get the handle round to lift them up. Luckily, my parents have a key safe, so we could open it ourselves. Lifted the legs, went to hitch up and realised that the pavement was too low, even with the jockey wheel totally extended, to reach as low as my towbar to hitch up, so had to set the motor mover up instead and pull forward a little. Another lesson for Jo who had never seen one before!

Key back in safe and all connected, Jo checked the lights at the back for me (so much easier with two people) and we were off.

Incident free journey thank goodness. I had done my research when looking for a campsite so knew it was mainly A roads and a wide entrance to the site – better to be safe than sorry. Took about 2.5 hours. We were staying at Lime Tree Holiday park which is just outside Buxton with a lovely view to the viaduct from the top field. Luckily, we were put on the top field, otherwise no view!

The campsite is easy to find and get into and we had a very warm and friendly welcome from the lady in reception. After a warning not to stop on the hill, we followed her up to our pitch. It was a steep hill, but we made it! Nothing to worry about for anyone else thinking of staying there. The toilet block was spotless (and heated), the washing area clean and tidy and the pitches were hard-standing and well-tended. Couldn’t ask for more! There were also washing facilities, a small shop and a games room that we didn’t use but would be great if you had kids and muddy clothes. Also, lots of leaflets to help choose your day trips and where to eat out.

Jo was very helpful setting up – here she is filling up the water (first time!) Only a small splash to her toes. Showed her how everything works and where everything is and made ourselves comfortable for the night.

In case anyone is wondering how we slept in a two-man caravan without having to share a bed (#seperatebeds) here is a photo of the before, during and after set-up of the bed. Any questions, let me know!

BIG SHOUT OUT TO MY MUM who made us homemade chilli to take with us for dinner and a lovely chocolate cake – yum!

After a comfortable and warm night, we decided to stay relatively close to the site today and explore Buxton, which you can walk to from where we were staying. You can choose from a pathed walk or across fields, so we went for the fields! A bit muddy, but worth it for the fresh air.

Buxton is an old market and spa town, nestling amongst the surrounding Derbyshire hills in The Peak District at a height of over 1000ft, making it the highest town in England. It grew in fame as a spa town because of the pale blue water which bubbles up from thermal springs beneath The Crescent. These are the outlets from a subterranean reservoir, where the water lies for many years before coming to the surface at a constant temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s fame as a health spa dates to Roman times, who were thought to have settled here around AD80 and built baths, the remains of which were excavated in the 17th and 18th centuries. Over the years Buxton became popular with pilgrims wanting to take the waters and one famous visitor was Mary Queen of Scots who suffered badly from rheumatism.

The 18th century saw much development of the town with the building of The Crescent by the 5th Duke of Devonshire with money made from his copper mines. The building included a ball room and an assembly room and was completed in 1788. Originally it contained a town house for the Duke but by 1804 he had relinquished his accommodation and it became the Centre Hotel with a hotel on each side, St Ann’s to the west and the Great Hotel to the east. Hotel guests were able to use private entrances to the baths. (Source: http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/buxton-history-c948.html)

We walked into the centre of town and found the Pump rooms and The Crescent, a brand-new spa hotel, which is still in construction, renovating the original hotel as mentioned above. The Pump Rooms were where people visited to take the water and as you can see from the photos is still set up like it looked back then. It is now a tourist information centre and also has displays telling you about the history of the building, including the ‘Well Women’ who worked there serving the water. Martha Norton was one of the longest serving of them, starting in 1775, she held the position 15 times over a 46-year period and worked there until she was well into her 90s – maybe there is something in the water!

We brought a small walk book from here to use later in the week and then walked to the Cavendish Arcades, which used to be the public baths and a type of treatment centre/hospital. It still looked like the entrance to a swimming pool, and had a spectacular roof and signs reminding you of its history.

It is now full of shops and restaurants, and we made a quick visit to the chocolate shop to buy some handmade goodies for later. We picked out 8 chocolates to share from Charlotte’s Chocolates – delicious!

Off to investigate Buxton more, we walked past a well that still distributes warm water! We didn’t have a taste…

On towards the Opera House, we decided to sit in their greenhouse/conservatory to eat our packed lunch as it was a bit chilly outside. Lovely shop and art gallery to look around too. Followed this with a walk around the pavilion gardens before making our way back to the arcade as we needed to warm up.

We discovered ‘Upstairs at Charlottes’ another part of the chocolate shop from earlier. We both ordered hot chocolate, which was delivered as warm milk and a chunk of chocolate to stir in – amazing. Jo went for a vanilla and chocolate marble cake slice (which was served warm) and I went for a vanilla scone with cream and jam, also served warm. Absolutely delicious.

Back off outside and would highly recommend the Buxton Museum to any visitors. Its free of charge and full of great stories about Buxton including the tale of ewe’s who were originally from the hills of Derbyshire but were sold to a farmer in Kent. They seemed to dislike their new home so escaped and walked all the way back up North again – a journey of over 200 miles. Their heads are now mounted on the wall of the museum (nice!).

We walked back a different way to the campsite (along paths, not fields) so that we could pass under the viaduct we can see from our campsite and got some lovely photos.

About 30 minutes after getting back to the van, the skies opened and the rain bucketed down – and didn’t stop for the next two days! We stayed inside and enjoyed the chocolates from earlier – my favourite was salted caramel 😊

Friday 25th and Saturday 26th October
Rain, rain….go away…Two days of culture it is!

So, it’s raining. This means a change to our plans of lots of long walks, and visiting some National Trust properties instead – not a bad swap.

We are off to visit Lyme Park. Here is how the website describes it;

‘Welcome to Lyme. Nestling on the edge of the Peak District, Lyme was once home to the Legh family and, in its heyday a great sporting estate.
Step back in time to the Regency era – a time which saw great rejuvenation for Lyme. Enjoy lavish interiors, try out the billiards table in the Long Gallery, read a book in the library, or visit our Dressing Room to try on the finest Regency regalia.
The 1,400-acre estate with its medieval herd of red deer offers fantastic walks and stunning views.
For a more tranquil walk explore the elegant Rose Garden, Ravine Garden or the luxurious herbaceous borders next to the reflecting lake where a certain Mr. Darcy met Miss Bennet in the BBC production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

Ermmm, think we’ll avoid the parklands and walks today – there was local flooding reported!

So, off into the house and we were lucky enough to be able to join a behind the scenes tour which took us to rooms, not everyone gets to see, including the ‘Dark Corridor’ built to hide the servants and trades people from the view of the house. It was great to get more of an insight into the house and Jo became a volunteer for 5 minutes when she was asked to replace barriers behind the group!

We lunched in what was the old ale cellar and enjoyed soup and sandwiches then went to see the rest of the house by ourselves.

Gorgeous rooms and lovely volunteers as usual. As we couldn’t really go outside (still pouring down) we HAD to instead go and enjoy a hot chocolate and in Jo’s case, a slice of cake. Drowning our sorrows in hot chocolate this week!

Back to the campsite for a cozy evening in and more cake for dessert!

Saturday 26th October

Still raining so off to Sudbury Hall and NT Museum of Childhood today.

We arrived around lunchtime (slow start this morning) so went to take a look around the museum before heading to the tea shop for lunch.

The museum was great (though full of kids – half term) and even featured toys from our generation! Made me feel a little old and very nostalgic. Who remembers Polly Pockets?

Off to the tea shop for soup and sandwiches and then into the house which was lovely from the outside but pretty empty inside, which is always disappointing. The layout was a little confusing as you were allowed to go where you like, and I couldn’t quite get a hold of how it worked as a home, but as always the volunteers were lovely and helpful.

Decide to drown our already wet sorrows with a cream tea, this time we shared one plain scone and an apple and salted caramel one – yum! We were very happy to find as we left the teashop that it had stopped raining at last!!

Back to the campsite and we opted for fish and chips from the visiting van on the campsite. I was lucky as Jo was first in the queue, so I got the last (and only) battered sausage they had! Sat with dinner, alcohol and Strictly Come Dancing on the TV – wonderful.

Sunday 27th and Monday 28th October
Here comes the sun!

Sun, sun, glorious sun! It’s time to put on our walking boots and head outside.

Consulted the book we brought back on our first day in Buxton and decided on Dovedale a 11k walk that took in some beautiful geological sites and sights along the way.

The photos do not do it justice….

Beautiful weather but as it had rained so much over the previous 48 hours, we couldn’t take our planned route so instead ended up climbing what felt was a mountain! Spectacular views though.

Walked down the other side (or in my case slid down it – typical) and carried on to re connect with the original walk plan and continue onwards.

Lots of caves and large rock outcrops to look at, all named and described in our walk book. Passed lots of keen walkers on the way and ended up in Milldale where we sat to have our packed lunch and a coffee from the lovely (and very welcome) tea shop there. We had wondered why we kept seeing lots of walkers passing us in the opposite direction with coffee cups! They were all served in compostable cups, so totally environmentally-friendly.

Onwards – and we went where we thought we should be going…….but…….it ended up we weren’t in the right place…… and needed to climb up mount Everest of a field to try to get back on track!

Introducing Sticky 1 and Sticky 2, without whom, I’m not sure we would have made it to the top!

Got a bit panicky at one point as we were literally in the middle of fields with nothing and no-one around us and the sun was going down rather rapidly, but pressed on, got over (or under) many obstacles to find our way back eventually (about an hour later) to the original walk.

Luckily, once we were back on track, it was a nice easy walk back to the car as we were pretty tired by then. Kind Jo decided to make me feel better by slipping over herself here, so it was one-all for falls and trips!

I checked my FitBit when we got to the car and the 11k walk turned out to be 15.5k!

Back to caravan and straight to a warm shower – back in time for strictly come dancing results!

Tonight we dined on more of my Mums delicious chili and had cake and custard for pudding. Good job we have more walking planned for tomorrow!

Monday 28th October
Woke to up to frost – first of this autumn!

Lovely and warm in the van though 😊

Another gorgeous autumnal day so another walk from the book is on the cards. We thought we’d take it easy after the 15k yesterday! Turns out we chose the wrong walk for that!

Headed to Matlock Bath today and parked up to walk our way to Matlock and then come back in a circular walk. Same as yesterday, gorgeous views and countryside BUT lots of hills!

Arrived in Matlock and enjoyed our packed lunch and then a hot chocolate at Sara’s Snug – marshmallows and cream on top!

More upward walking to go and visit the war memorial and take in some amazing views and then up, up and up!

9.42k today, so a bit shorter than yesterday, but certainly more steep climbs today. No trips or falls or need for sticks though!

Home for warmth, food and the obligatory cake.

Tuesday 29th October

Home today so we packed up and then made our way into Buxton for a final time on this trip. Returned to Charlottes Upstairs for a full English – lush!

Here are some statistics from our holiday – had a fabulous time and will hopefully be the first of many trips with Jo in the van in the future.

15.53 miles walked (over two days)
3 types of scones eaten
2 types of jam used
5 types of cake gobbled down
2 planned walks – 1 mis-direction
2 stickies
48 hours of rain
1 pair of walking socks bought
2 bottles of wine drunk
Half a bottle of gin finished
2 big breakfasts!
And a lovely holiday in my fabulous caravan 😊

I’m sure many of us have gone through times in our life when things don’t seem to be making sense and all of our focus goes on trying to figure out why you are so unlucky and why things aren’t going your way – wanting to find someone or something to blame.
I’ve not been great in the past with sharing my feelings with anyone and generally keeping things inside. I don’t like to worry others and would prefer to share in their happy times and help them through their tough times than talk about myself. I’ve even thought in the past that people probably wouldn’t want me to burden them with my worries or problems, with no real evidence that this was the case at all!

It got to a point where I wanted to try to understand why I thought so badly of myself when there were people in the world who made time for me, tried to help when I was down, offered me advice and clearly saw something in me that I didn’t.

I still wasn’t ready to talk to someone about it or burden a friend or family member, so decided instead to try to find ways of learning about myself and my feelings and understanding why I might be feeling that way.

As I’ve said before, I love to learn, so I started researching courses on psychology and mental health etc. but all were expensive or not really what I was looking for. I wasn’t looking for a course that looked into my past and tried to find a reason why I felt a certain way, I wanted to feel better!

It was about this time that I saw an advert for the New Skills Academy, Life Coaching course and a discount off the courses price. It was definitely a sign! I paid up and started the course on-line.

It took me about 4 weeks of on and off studying (mainly in Starbucks!) and finally I was ready to take the final test….

Rather pleased with myself!

Life Coaching Diploma Certificate

I really have learnt a lot from this course and hope it can help me help others in the future. I haven’t stopped there, I now actively read about, listen to podcasts and go along to events that will help me understand myself and the people around me better. I don’t think I will ever stop learning, but it feels good that I can now understand why someone might act a certain way or why I might feel a certain way.

The way we think, act, feel and treat ourselves and others can always be changed for the better, we just need to be open to differing opinions, challenge and change and not being afraid of living our lives differently to others.

I write more about this in a previous blog post that you can read here.

On Tuesday evening I went to my first (of hopefully many) Dr John DeMartini events in London. Two days on, I am still going over my notes, remembering other things he said and re-evaluating the way I think about myself and others.

It would be IMPOSSIBLE to explain exactly what Dr DeMartini shared, he spoke for two hours, because I’m sure every one of the hundred plus people in that room took something completely different away with them.

Dr John DeMartini is a human behavioral specialist and has years of research behind him and has dedicated his life to the collection of this knowledge and the sharing of it with others. He believes that we should all be living lives based on our own personal set of values and that this is the only way to find true peace and passion within ourselves and live our lives to the full.

The event was eye-opening and mind-expanding and something that’s best experienced personally, but my personal highlights were;

• Do not minimize yourself by comparing yourself to others. They have their values and you have yours. Do not inflict theirs on you and do not inflict yours on to them. Live your life how you want to live it – I tune with your own personal values.

• See things ON the way, not IN the way

• The universe rewards people who love

I have personal experience of well-meaning (and some not so) friends and family trying to ‘push’ their values on to me. Something as simple as ‘I’d love you to meet someone, settle down and be happy’, This is meant with so much love and care and a reflection of one of their highest values, their positive relationship with their partner, but forgetful of the fact that I am actually very happy single and loving my life right now!

I’m sure we can all think of similar experiences in our lives. A comment that was made very innocently, but made you feel low or like you were lacking in your life. Think about why it made you feel that way – probably because you didn’t understand why you didn’t have that in your life when your friend/family member did. But why didn’t you have that? Probably because if you really think about it, you don’t really want it! Its just not as important to you as it is to that person and that is fine!

The fact of the matter is that no two people will share exactly the same values. What is important to one person may not be as important to someone else – and that is ok!
We should all try our hardest not to push our values on to other people but accept that we are all different… and look at us all getting on and succeeding in life!

There were so many ‘a-ha’ moments on Tuesday evening and I can’t wait for even more in the future as I continue to expand my horizons and look more into human behavior – it’s fascinating! I love learning new things and hearing other people’s views and opinions. You can learn so much from listening to, debating with and sharing with other people and I’m enjoying reading about different prospective, opinions and ways of living our best lives. A lot of what Dr DeMartini had to say made sense to me – maybe it will to you too.

Disclaimer: Tenuous link to travel/caravanning is that I think everyday is a journey and I’m sharing that with anyone who wants to read my blog. Plus, this is my blog and I can write about what I like! I would welcome opinions, other points of view or suggestions on who else to look up and listen too.

I visited Hinton Ampner in July when visiting my best friend for a few days. I wanted to get away from home for a bit to relax and its always food for the soul to spend time with my best friend of over 25 years (gulp!). While she went to work (how mean can I be!) I was a tourist in and around Southampton. I have been a member of the National Trust for years and love to walk around their beautiful houses and gardens, but this place really affected me.

Walking through the beautiful Georgian style house, I felt like (if I had the money!) I could just move straight in and pick up the lifestyle that was lived here back in the 1930s. The Georgian design of the house interior, with muted colours, high, bright windows and lush deep pile carpet that I could imagine sinking my feet into, felt like home.

Dappled sunlight rippled across the wooden floor of the hallway as the front door is thrown open in welcome – beckoning everyone in to enjoy its comfort and warmth.
The huge fireplaces, surrounded by well-used, soft sofas and beautiful, polished table furniture, were surrounded by cases and piles of books and filled with gorgeous pieces of art that caught your eye and attention and bought a smile to your face.

The sweeping staircase, leading up to luxurious bedrooms with high, soft beds that look as if they would swallow you up into a comforting hug, had muted lighting and silk covered walls, cocooning you in their warmth and comfort. All had spectacular views into the immaculate gardens, awash with colour and greenery and sweeping down to the plush countryside beyond.

Downstairs the butler’s pantry and kitchen area is set up and ready to go, full of you and your guests favourite food and tipples, and of course there would have been servants ‘willing’ to fetch and carry whatever you or your guests desire.

I’m imagining tea on the lawn in the summer, entertaining friends and family and relaxing in the library with a good book next to roaring fires in the winter…. and even though all of this is a dream of time gone by and (very) unlikely to be a reality to me….I felt very much at peace.

As I sat on a wooden bench in the gardens, the sun shining (finally – it poured down for 20 minutes just before) I took a moment to take a deep breath and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere. Taking a deep breath in and absorbing the warmth from the sun, I allowed myself to focus on the buzzing bees, the soft wind through the trees and the songs of the birds flying above.

Nothing else clouded my mind, no thought entered my head – I was fully in the moment and at peace. It felt wonderful.

What brings you peace? And do you make the time to find it enough? Even for a few minutes?

A warm bubble bath? A cup of tea with a magazine? A walk in the countryside? A potter around the garden? A drink with a friend?

I hope you do and will continue to make time for yourself and the things that bring you happiness and peace.

Am I the only person in the world who looks at these wind turbines and thinks that maybe, just maybe, they might wake up one day and take over the world?! I know it’s a little ‘War of the Worlds’ but every time I see one, I think that they are spying on us and biding their time until they receive some sort of signal to rise up from the ground and attack!

Ok, its just me.

 

Anyway, the reason I saw these today is because I went for a rather lovely walk in Bedfordshire that I thought I’d share with you, in case you are ever in the area and fancy a stroll (or a 6 mile hike!) I have a marathon to walk next year, so best to start the training early!

I woke up this morning feeling a little negative about life, so instead of letting that feeling linger, I set out to make myself feel better. Luckily, the weather was on my side as I know one of the best ways of doing this for me, is getting outside.

I looked up potential walks near me that I haven’t done before (I walk a lot, so have walked most of the local parks and fields around where I live) by googling ‘Walks in Bedfordshire’ as I live pretty much on the borders or Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire and haven’t headed that way much before. I found the Bedford council site and chose a walk that started at a park I knew (with free parking – donations requested) but took me out of what I knew and a bit further afield.

There is a very handy print out you can take with you – here – or follow on your phone which guides you on the walk and also gives you some information about the areas you walk in.

I fueled up with porridge for breakfast, filled up a bottle with water and set out after messaging my Mum the walk and telling her when I was setting out and that I’d message when I was back at my car – safety first!

Parked up at Harrold Country Park and after a final read through of the instructions, headed off into the park and towards Odell. As the weather was so glorious, the park was pretty busy as its lovely and flat to walk around, has lots of birds to look at, bird-hides, a play park and a café, but I left everyone behind me as I walked out of the park and followed the directions to a bridleway in Odell.

Already I could feel my mood lifting as I took in a deep breath of the autumnal weather and congratulated myself on adding another layer before I left the house – there was a bit of a chill in the air. Already feeling invigorated and clearer-headed, the tang of freshly fallen leaves and damp bark surrounded me and the sunshine was warm on my face. There was a glut of blackberries along the bridleway and I kicked myself for not bringing a bag or container to put some in. I’ll need to come back before they are all eaten by the birds. There is still so much green around, but already, at the very start of October, the path ahead is covered in leaves fallen from trees and mud, instead of dirt tracks. I think that trees must be quite happy to shred all that extra weight towards the end of the year and flex their branches and twigs for a few months. Its funny how they shred their layers as we begin to add more – shows how much stronger nature is than us.

As I began to slip and slide my way along a clearly marked bridleway, I could hear a distant hum of racing cars as the wind threw Santa Pod sounds towards me. Perfect weather for a track-day – they must be loving it. Wasn’t quite what I expected on my country walk though!

I didn’t pass another human being on the entire walk but saw butterflies, dragonflies, rabbits and even the swift movement of a startled deer in the woods I was walking through. I felt entirely safe and invigorated – being outdoors always makes me feel better. Beautiful woods carpeted by deep green moss with sunlight beaming through the branches – gorgeous.

I eventually came to the now deserted Podington airfield that was used by the American Airforce during the Second World War to fly Flying Fortresses to and from. There’s only the concrete airstrips left and most of the field is now covered with wind turbines. I spent some time standing and taking in the noises (track-day cars!) and imagining what it would have sounded and looked like back then. I’ve found a website that has some information about this here.

Continuing on, along well-trodden paths, I see that humans, dogs and horses have enjoyed these lanes and was sad when these ended and concrete reared its not so pretty head. I went TOTALLY wrong towards the end of the walk and ended up alongside the road (luckily not a busy one) into Harrold, but that did mean that I saw some lovely buildings that I’ve never noticed when driving through before. Thatched cottages, old townhouses, beautiful double-aspect houses and old converted pubs.

Back in the park I started in, I headed straight to the Dragonfly café and enjoyed a restorative ham and cheese panini and hot chocolate. Nearly 10k down, so well earned, I think! I had packed a book so enjoyed reading in the sunshine (there is inside and outside seating) and after a final 20 minute stroll around the lake, headed home feeling much happier and healthier, inside and out.

If you follow the directions accurately (whoops) this is a gorgeous walk, but pack shoes you’re happy getting muddy and wear old trousers you don’t mind getting wet and muddy too! Its lovely to have a café to end the walk in and please don’t forget to make a donation at the car park – enjoy!

 

It’s over 2 years ago that I set off on my solo journey around some of the UK in my lovely caravan.

You can read why by reading this post here.

Its now May 2021 and….well…..I didn’t have much to blog about last year….so I intend to make up for that this year.

To the future!

I’m going to be adding more content when I can, as I intend to enjoy our new found freedom – but I am going to also continue to be as careful as possible.

The advantage of turning 40 last December (one of many advantages – 40 is turning out ok so far) is that I have already had my first jab and the second is in the diary. But that doesn’t mean we can all go a bit mad, as tempting as it is. I will be careful, and cautious, but continue to enjoy all the things in life we may have once taken for granted. Companionship, travel and adventures, even in our own local area.

I will continue updating you with stories from my travels and days out around the UK and the world if you want to read about them! I honestly love writing and creating this blog is a great way of saving memories too and hopefully inspiring people to travel alone (and with friends – I love that too!), do things out of their comfort zone (or what people think you ‘should’ be doing at any point of your life) and maybe give you some ideas for holidays and days out.

Thank you so much to everyone who reads this blog, leaves comments, comes away with me, or goes out with me. I love travelling, writing, keeping fit, experiencing new things, learning along the way and enjoying every second. I hope I get to enjoy more of this with all of you!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram – onewomanandhercaravan.

I wrote this a year or so ago and think it sums up how I feel about my life right now. I hope it resonates with you too.

Thank you again,
Bev x

Or at least the bit I visited in July 2019!

I LOVE Cornwall and have visited many areas of it and could write pages and pages of recommendations, but in this instance, I’m concentrating on the area I stayed in this year, just outside Newquay.

The Campsite:
Trevornick Camping – https://trevornick.co.uk/

Gorgeous camping site, with options to stay in ready-erected tents, mobile homes or your own tent or caravan. I was in my lovely caravan 😊

If you want a view, book into the Sun Field. Here it is at various times of the day.

It does mean you are a bit of a (short, fairly steep hill) walk away from the toilet blocks and facilities, but its generally quieter up there because of this and sitting and looking at this view more than makes up for the heathy extra steps you have to take to shower or go to the excellent facilities on-site.

Very friendly staff, clean and tidy facilities and great for kids too. Has a swimming pool, adventure playground, football golf, football pitches, park, take away, restaurant, shop and even beauty treatments if you book in (untested on this visit)

Also (very important) its easy to find, easy to get into and easy to pitch up at! Not all pitches are level, so worth checking that or taking your own ramps.

Places to visit:

St Mawes:
I love this place SO much I almost don’t want to tell too many people about it, but I can’t help myself. Location of many happy holidays throughout my life (not just camping!) I return to this place again and again as it’s just so lovely.

Its not a huge place, it’s a seaside village, but with no arcades, discount stores or entertainment, other than a lovely beach (when the tide is out) and some fabulous places to eat and mooch around in the lovely shops – perfect if you’re not looking for anything too……brash!

Visit the castle (English Heritage) and the ice cream/gift shop near the chemist/gallery that’s been owned or run by the same lovely man for as long as I can remember and has lots of flavours to choose from. Fish and chips on the beach from the takeaway on the corner, opposite ‘The Rising Sun’ pub or sit outside that pub for a lovely view with your drink.

We had an afternoon tea (I met my parents there for the day who were visiting another part of Cornwall at the same time) at Hotel Tresanton.

It’s a lovely, highly regarded hotel with gorgeous views and good reputation, we just didn’t have the best experience this time (though my parents had been before and had a brilliant time). I think it was because they were holding a BBQ when we arrived at 3.30pm as the website said that was when afternoon teas were being served from and you aren’t ‘allowed’ to book a place. We were told that they weren’t being offered until 4.30pm, so we had to wait an hour. Not a bad thing, we wandered around the village and ordered a (pretty expensive considering I eventually only got a tumbler, not even a cans worth) diet coke for me at the bar – for it to take 30 minutes to get to me, despite chasing. When we got back to the hotel at 4.30pm, we were told they were only serving afternoon tea at their bar, where we had been to earlier and told afternoon tea was being served in the restaurant only! We insisted we wanted to stay at the restaurant (as that is what is advertised) and they sat us in a lovely soft seating area, with the lovely view to our side.

We ordered three afternoon teas and made them aware I don’t eat fish or seafood and was told that the sandwiches were crab and salmon. I asked for an alternative and they weren’t ‘that’ pleased with being asked and didn’t give me any choices. I asked for ham and cheese.

After a bit of a wait, it arrived, with three lots of fish sandwiches. I pointed out my request, so they took mine back to the kitchen. Another long wait in which I urged my parents to eat theirs or it would get too warm (we were very lucky with the weather). 20 mins later, sandwiches came back – 2 finger sandwiches of ham and cheese and 2 of salmon….. sent it back again……another wait and eventually got the sandwiches. By this time, my parents had practically finished their afternoon tea and I hadn’t started mine! Didn’t really get an apology either. What we did eat was very lovely, but service is everything and sadly we didn’t get the best.

It was still lovely to be in St Mawes 😊

My other recommendation would be the walk from St Just in Roseland to St Mawes (Sign-posted from the car park at the church). I parked at the beautiful church in St Just (free parking but leave a donation) and walked the 3 miles along the coast to St Mawes – gorgeous! I also walked back later and enjoyed every step and all the beautiful views it had to offer. You can also do the walk the other way, starting in St Mawes, but you pay for parking there. There is a gorgeous tea shop in St Just though, to stop at before you walk back to your car – definitely worth a look at.

Padstow
Only a small village again, but with a nice atmosphere, but a very busy in the summer. Highlights here are the bookshop (I love a bookshop) and street performers and lots of places to eat! Plenty of shops to wander around too.

I had a pasty from Chough bakery, who have won awards for their pasties – very nice.

Rick Stein also has a cookery school here, a restaurant and a patisserie, so I treated myself to a pudding for later – chocolate and salted caramel tart – gorgeous!

St Michael’s Mount
National Trust property that you can get to via boat (which you have to pay for and sadly isn’t cheap if you go as a family) or walk, depending on the tide. I’ve been here a few times now and its always lovely. Don’t miss their gardens – stunning views out to sea and you feel like you’re in the Mediterranean (when its sunny and warm!)

Great for kids and adults – there is a kids trail that my Nephew enjoyed completing and he got a medal at the end – worn proudly until he got bored of it! There are places to eat on the island, usual National Trust prices though…..

Trelissick House and Gardens
GORGEOUS National Trust house and gardens. I was lucky enough to visit on a day that you could pay £2 more and go on a ‘Behind closed door tour’ which was great as this is quite a new NT property, so they haven’t opened all the rooms as they need more funding. They have lots of plans for the coming years though and the gardens are spectacular. Will definitely return in a few years to see what has been achieved.
The two lovely tour guides were fantastic and gave us a great insight into the families that had lived there and the reason they eventually handed over to the National Trust.

Definitely worth a visit and the restaurant was great too – Hommity pie and a cream tea.

Godolphin – for the café and gardens
This is a slightly unusual National Trust place in that it is only open a few weeks per year, so this is the first time my holiday has coincided with it being open.

I was welcomed by a very friendly and informed volunteer (I’m biased as I am a NT volunteer, but they really do make or break a visit) and told a little of the history of the house. They also explained that the house is only open a few weeks a year as it is a holiday home otherwise, that can be rented out. Amazing to stay in such an old house if you can! Sadly, this meant that it did feel like you were walking through exactly that, a holiday home with a modern kitchen and bathroom. The rooms were lovely and the information given very good – but it did feel like a holiday home rather than a historic house.

The gardens were lovely to walk around and the café manned by more lovely volunteers. Worth a visit if you are there when it is open to talk to the lovely people there.

Lovey beaches:
As the weather was so lovely while I was there, a lot of my time was spent on beaches. As a National Trust member, I get free parking at a lot of beaches in Cornwall, as long as you get there early enough!

Holywell Beach – A walk from the campsite I was staying at (up-hill on the way back) and gorgeous. Clean sand, great for surfing (with a school there) and toilets a walk away. It’s a bit of a trek to get there from the car park, but worth it.

Chapel Porth – Stunning. Again, National Trust, or a car park at the top of the hill (pretty steep) for £4 for the day. Not a massive beach, but it has a surf school and a teashop. I got a sandwich and piece of cake for lunch and it wasn’t too expensive. I decided to walk up to ‘Wheal Coates’ another National Trust location and the views were stunning. Its not a huge walk, maybe a mile or so, but a bit rocky and steep in places. But look at the views…..

Crantock – National Trust again and a great beach for kids as the tide goes out for miles, leaving really warm buckets of sea water that aren’t very deep, so kids can play around in them all day. Good toilets within walking distance again, places to buy food and easy to get to on foot from the car park.

If you stay at the campsite I did, you can do what I did and walk/run to the beach. It took me about 45 mins and was about 3 miles each way, but there are a lot of hills!

St Agnes (Café Q)
Another nice beach, but no free parking for National Trust members. Worth it though for the place to eat we found – Café Q.

Really lovely place to eat, friendly staff and a great view from the outside seating area. I had a gorgeous cream tea (shared with my sister) and courgette and spring onion fritters that came with salad and homemade salsa. Gorgeous and really recommended.

Recommended app for walks
I love to walk and went on quite a few while I was away, so would 100% recommend an App I found called – Iwalkcornwall

They are mostly circular walks (perfect) and give really clear directions as you go along, rather than just OS reference points. Your phone also tells you if you’ve gone off course and gives descriptions of what you should be seeing next. Ideal if you’re alone or can’t read a map!

I walked a lovely route (about six miles) from the campsite, all along the coast and then cross-country back again.

In conclusion – I love Cornwall!