Another two Eribas turned up yesterday afternoon making us 4 in all.

Also the cat discovered a new best friend in the campervan next door so they spent at least an hour having a game of staring one another out

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As today promised rain and it didn't disappoint we decided to take a walk into the park next door to the campsite yesterday to investigate the distance it would be to walk into town. The instructions say it's about 15 minutes but it's not clear if it's 15 minutes from the campsite or from the point in the park where you see the church tower. I think it's the latter but should be a nice walk for a fine day.

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Today because of the wet weather we decided to have a drive around the area and the first stop was Royal Wootton Bassett as it has recently had the misfortune of becoming famous for all the wrong reasons. A cheerful little town with plenty of street parking but most of them were taken up by other visitors.

We then travelled west to Malmesbury. What a stunning little town. Again difficult to park otherwise we would have stopped longer. Evidently the Abbey on the top of the hill is the last resting place of the first King of England, Athelstan. Then on to Tetbury which is another very nice place to pop in to.

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We then got lost and after travelling through Nailsworth it appeared we were heading too far west so set Cirencester in the sat nav only to have a pleasant country drive north then east to a town called Nailsworth

From there to Stroud to try and find a campsite we once visited called Rodborough Fort, high up above the town. The fort is still there but the campsite is long gone. Well it was a very long time ago when we were still seeing in black and white and LSD was the cash in our pockets.

Tonight there's to be a local food van visiting, selling a range of African inspired dishes so we are going to give it a try.

I love trees Steve. I have a NVQ in Amenity Horticulture I'll have you know

Regarding last night's African Take Away, delicious. As we've not experienced African cuisine before, as well as the four standard dishes on the menu, they also offered a Taster Box so we could try some of everything. Peri peri chicken, guinea fowl, beef mince, beans and lots of different flavoured vegetables.

The young couple who own the business are from South Africa and it is served from the side of an Airstream Trailer. He was quick to explain it was a Chinese Rip Off. They take your order from 5pm and ask you to appoint a collection time. You pay upon collection and there is very little waiting.

There are other food trucks that arrive on different days of the week.

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Randa

Yesterday we had a really relaxing day on the campsite. Wall to wall sunshine. Not a bad day today either so we drove down the hill to Cirencester. What a nice City (Town?) although we lost our bearings trying to relocate the car park where we had left the car.

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St John the Baptist Church is a wonderful piece of architecture and the side facing away from the street is really interesting. Inside there is a Lego built copy of the church, part of the 2017 Lego challenge.

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From there and after a spot of food shopping we drove back up towards the campsite to find the 2nd Century Roman Amphitheatre. Only several grassy knolls now but still very interesting.

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As well as the 2nd Century Roman remains we also found what we though were signs of some Norman activity, perhaps left by William the Conkerer?

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Finally, it's good to see that the C and MH Club are taking green energy seriously by running their tractors on Wind Power

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Randa

Oh no we didn't Ted. How could we miss the stomping ground of the posh boy from the other forum with the double barrelled name?
R and A x

Today we set of South to Shaftesbury. Only a 90 minute drive but not very pleasant because of all the roundabouts and small towns we had to negotiate. The traffic was horrendous in places.

Not far out of Cirencester we passed Kemble Airport, never heard of it but there were several very large commercial aircraft there but they didn't look as though they were going anywhere. Any ideas?

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Then it was skirting around Chippenham, stuck for ages in Westbury before arriving at the campsite at exactly 12:30pm, their preferred arrival time. The campsite is called "Lower Liston Farm" and it's a CL Plus about 2 miles north of Shaftesbury. What a lovely place.

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The 5 place CL is at the bottom of the field but the campsite has a further 12 large pitches further up. All share the same toilet facilities which are 3 rooms, two with a large shower, sink and toilet and the third is a mixed facility but does have a lock on the outside door if you prefer. This room 's showers are not working but there's a his and hers toilet and a number of sinks.

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EHUs and water taps are on all pitches, free good WIFI and a great TV reception. Only drawback which isn't really is that it's beside a railway track upon which a quiet train speeds through periodically.

£22.00 a night. .

Randa

Hi Jef. Thanks for that information. Very interesting indeed.
Randa

Shaftesbury and district.

What a gorgeous day today. We drove into Shaftesbury for an hour or so. Very busy but a nice place all the same. Saw the famous hill and walked part way down it.

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Here's a potted history:- https://king-alfred.com/wp/2019/07/26/shaftesbury/

We then did a drive around Gillinham and Mere before returning to the campsite. I did work in Mere briefly in the early 70s but it's nothing like I remember. A pretty little town all the same. Gillingham has vastly increased in size.

Tomorrow we are going on a visitation to the south of us.

Randa

The visitation to the South.

Today we drove to Poole at the invitation of Robin and Pat Pooledweller. We spent a lovely few hours at their home with some food and wine and a chat about everything. Thanks both for the invitation. We really enjoyed ourselves. Also many thanks from our cat.

It got us thinking. We've visited several Eribafolk at their invitation over the years from the UK and as far afield as France and Portugal. I wonder that if we could blag a visit from all 900 plus members from time to time we could sell the house and live in the Eriba, visiting members a couple of times a week for a meal, a drink and a warm ( a shower would be appreciated, or even better,. a pitch on the driveway )

Randa

A really hot and sunny day for our trip out.

We decided to head for Salisbury but wished to take a slight detour to look at the pile of blue stone rubble some Welsh geezers dumped in the middle of the Salisbury plain around 3000 years ago.

We have not been there since we were kids so followed the directions to the car park only to find that they wanted around £24 each off us to get on a bus and look at them. Last time we visited it was park the car on the grass and walk up to the stones and have a picnic on the flat ones in the middle. I ask you though, £24 each yet they've been there largely unchanged or damaged for 3000 years.

More and more UK attractions are becoming theme parks where you have to pay over the odds to see and read up about how the people of the age lived etc. as part of viewing the main attraction,The Giant's Causeway and Warwick Castle are other prime examples and many are out of reach of an average family's pocket.

So, back onto the A 303 before they bury it underground, they say to stop traffic congestion but I'm guessing coz many folk would rather do a drive past than pay a load of money. So by burying the road, nobody in the UK will see them again unless they cough up. Perhaps a monster car park on the appropriate point on the A303 to get the cars off the road would be a lot cheaper to build.

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Having got our photos, we then went into Salisbury. Now then, we don't mind paying £9 each to visit that gorgeous Cathedral as it certainly does cost a lot to maintain it. Also, the nearby car park machines were u/s so we got away with free parking.

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The Cathedral is well worth looking around and there are plenty of staff members on hand to answer questions. The Chapter House where information about the Magna Carta and one of the four issues of Magna Carta itself is housed, was particularly interesting.

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Randa