A morning trip to Combe Steam Mill. We knew in advance that today wasn’t a steaming day but decided to visit nevertheless. Our ticket though allows for repeat visits so if we have time on Sunday, the beam engine should be operating.

Combe Mill is a historic sawmill adjacent to the River Evenlode and close to Combe railway station, between the villages of Combe and Long Hanborough in Oxfordshire A Grade II listed building, it was restored in the early 1970s and is open to the public.

The steam mill and building were part of the original workshops for the Blenheim estate. A watermill originally applied the power to the sawmill but this was supplemented later in time with a Steam Beam Engine such that the sawmill could operate during times of low water volumes.

This working museum is relatively inexpensive and there are many enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers on hand to explain the workings of the undershot waterwheel, the beam engine and the various exhibits.

 

 

Chris and Alison have now settled into Bladon chains, along with their “Horsebox”. It is of course a substantial motorhome, equipped with a full size electric reclining leather sofa, air conditioning and a “pull-out” side. Still, at comfortably the highest motorhome on site, it does resemble…

Today we paid a visit to Bourton-on-the Water.

Bourton-on-the-Water is a village in the rural Cotswolds area of south central England. Straddling the River Windrush, it’s known for its low bridges and traditional stone houses. The Cotswold Motoring Museum features vintage cars and a toy collection. Birdland is home to species including parrots, owls and king penguins, plus life-size model dinosaurs. The Model Village is a 1930s scale replica of the village.

Chris and I visited the Motor Museum which surprisingly, did contain a decent collection of vintage cars and memorabilia.

Including the line-up to Reading Rock from 1978. Apparently Reading historically attracted some decent bands!

This was really a day off from caravanning. Joe travelled to Newbury for some work related meetimgs and then met friend Richard at the David Lloyd centre in Newbury.

With his Platinum card we were able to pass the afternoon in various swimming pools, jacuzzi and sauna. It’s a bit like a holiday resort!

Evening was at the Yattenden Brewery – home of West Berkshire Brewing Company. Great selection of real ales and lager brewed on the site and some pretty decent American style food.

Give the Chicken Wings a whirl – dangerously hot!

This was a great driving day. All of 20 minutes drive from the Great Tew park to the Caravan and Motorhome Club site at Bladon Chains, on the outskirts of Woodstock.

Arriving some twenty minutes early, we were at the front of what was about to become a very busy arrival day with some 45 outfits expected. Being at the head of the queue, and with some fantastic assistance from one of the site wardens, we choose a very nice pitch indeed.

Overlooking the meadow to the South West which separates the site from Blenheim palace, we were able to pitch front forwards (they are very flexible about this at Bladon chains) with the awning facing South.

On the subject of awnings, we have been deliberating for some time replacing the Kampa Rally pro 390 with an Isabella porch awning and post a quick phone call to Oxford Caravans, we had one ready to collect an hour later.

So far we are not disappointed with our choice of the Isabella Magnum 400. I was hoping the poles might be identical to those of our large Isabella awning and whilst they are the same technology, there are some differences. Not sure how easy it will be to create a single set. Never mind, as the awning is spacings and beautifully constructed.

Oxford Caravans were also able to supply us with a new heater vent cover, as the last one was blown apart by a mini explosion at Cornbury.

https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?page_id=2838

Perhaps I ought to provide a link to yesterday’s blog entry as apart from the bands, Sunday was a close replica of Saturday. Bob and Mandy provided personal hygiene facilities at their country pad, followed by a Full English.

Drinks and a few hours reading the Sunday papers and we were ready for Sunday’s line-up.

The Beach Boys headline act was a decent performance from a mixture of old and young!

 

 

Cornbury has been a great festival. Nice crowd and very well organised. No long queues to get in, security good but not intrusive and the bar prices and service spot-on. No long queues and with the prices on offer, no requirement to smuggle large quantities of booze into the arena area.

The second day of the Cornbury music festival would set a pattern for both Saturday and Sunday.

A crack of dawn start and it’s a short drive to Bob and Mandy’s country retreat near Woodstock. The perfect opportunity to take advantage of the first world shower and toilet facilities, followed by a Full English.

Back at the Campsite around lunchtime for a beer or two washed down with a few glasses of wine before heading off to the arena. Not only is the location stunning but the arena is located downa natural slope providing great views from any location.

This festival is also known as “Posh Stock” and it isn’t hard to figure out why. Not only is it a very “nice” festival audience but eveyrthing is immaculate. No tripping over empty beer cans and food detritus at this festival.

The Saturday line-up was as follows:

Whilst not all of the music is to my somewhat narrow genre, a decent set of artists nevetheless. If the music wasn’t entertaining enough, then we were treat to a Hot Air Balloon show.

It’s day 1 of the Cornbury Music festival and Bob and Mandy have left early for work. They’ll be joining us later in the day for a late lunchtime BBQ.

We went for a morning walk, stopping off at St Michaels church within the grounds of Great Tew park. The graveyard attached to the church has some of the oldest graves in the land.

Then on to a fine watering establishment, the Falkland Arms. A stunning country pub.

Bob and Mandy joined us for a late afternoon BBQ before we headed to the arena for the evening bands.

The line-up for Friday was as below – The Specials headlining with a great performance. Beverley Knight on the second stage was a class act too.

A 150 mile drive to the Cotswolds awaited us on this fine Thursday morning – a journey which would take us north of the M5 and then East along the A40 before finally heading north towards Chipping Norton and Great Tew Park – home of the 2019 Cornbury Music festival.

We had purchased both weekend tickets and a campervan pass – which, also allows caravans (and why wouldn’t it!).

Arriving after 14:00, we were counted in as the one hundreth outfit and managed to blag a decent size spot – large enough to park the car, erect a small shade awning and a three man tent for our friends, Bob and Mandy.

An evening BBQ on Thursday completed our first day at Great Tew park.

It really has been a truly remarkable year and difficult to know where to start. About a year ago, we posted an entry about our travels from the Peak District to Exmouth and during that very stay near to Exmouth, we bought a house in Budleigh Salterton. During May 2019, we completed our relocation from the Thames valley to the beautiful south coast of Devon and the idyllic coastal town of Budleigh Salterton.

Our caravan is stored at Woodbury Caravan and Boat storage and it’s been a while since we haven’t had the caravan housed locally at the house. The storage facility is a gold site and so far our experiences have been first rate. The staff are very efficient and totally organised.

More so than myself – I didn’t think to take a single picture of our pre-departure stay at Pooh Cottage holiday park – close by Budleigh Salterton.

I will post some more details soon, including some pictures but this is a gem of a campsite. The facilities are super modern and certainly put to shame our bathroom facilities at the new house. The site is very peaceful and located right beside the disused railway line connecting Budleigh with Exmouth.

From here, one can cycle all the way to Exmouth, north to Exeter alongside the eastern side of the River Exe before headng south to Dawlish alongside the Western edge of the river.

And it’s virtually all off road.

The town and pebble beach of Budleigh Salterton lie about 1 mile to the South of the campsite.

Finally, Moe managed to track down one photograph of our place at Pooh Cottage. Do give this gem of a site a try though.

Views towards the sea at Budleigh Salterton