The West Country in March 2017

Saturday 18/3/2017: So it was decided a proper trip in the newly running 2001 Freelander was needed. The West Country is an area we have not really looked at properly, so a destination area was agreed. We eventually got moving by around half 9 and filled up with fuel as we left town. Our first stop was Leicester to collect the brother-in-law. Once we were all settled in we set off properly. The first destination was Cheddar Gorge. As we hadn’t got underway until after 10, it put our ETA around 1 pm. Very boring trip to start with – Motorways. M69, M6, M42, M5 then normal roads. We stopped on the M5 for a coffee and leg stretch.

We got to the Gorge around half 1. It took us by surprise as there was no real warning you were there. Just the utterly massive cliff faces of the gorge. The scale of the place is not one that can be easily described. It was made more ominous by the large amount of fog (or mist) that was lingering around the top of the rocks. We drove up to the top then turned round and came back through stopping off at the various parking bays to take pics and have a picnic. As you can see from the size of the car at the bottom of a cliff, its an impressive site. After the drive we went for a wander around the village before deciding to stay for the night.

Most people would think it was easy in this day and age to pop online and get a hotel room or a B&B with little difficulty. Quite the opposite! Firstly, Saturday night prices are high. We found one of the popular ‘cheap’ chains who did have some spare rooms, but they wanted £118 per room. It was certainly a ‘Premier’ price for crappy rooms! Our drive to find a place to stay took us to Burnham-on-Sea and then to Glastonbury. We eventually found a great B&B just south of Bristol (in a place called Dundry) so raced up there on treacherous roads through the Mendip Hills, in thick fog, at night, to get there before 7. It was called the Bridge Farm Guest House, and very pleasant it was too. We nipped to the garage opposite that had a Spa shop and got a few bits as we had not planned to stay overnight, then went a few yards down the road to the local pub, the Winford Arms, for a great meal. 236.5 miles on just over half a tank of diesel – not too bad!

Sunday 19/3/2017: After a good nights sleep and a good old B&B fry up, we made our way to Bristol as we were told there were some good sights to be seen. After some faffing around, we made our way to the Suspension Bridge. After the hard days driving yesterday, the car was now beginning to not enjoy hills of any sort. Not handy when in a city like Bristol that has some seriously steep roads. The bridge and its history were both impressive. The first bit of free parking at a tourist attraction, and also very friendly and helpful staff in the visitor centre. We drove across the bridge, parked up, walked over it and back and then had a look at the visitor centre (followed by the obligatory exit via the gift shop).

It was the back across the bridge and down to the docks for a look around the SS Great Britain. The iron steam ship designed by Brunel. It was very atmospheric once we got below decks, with mannequins performing all sorts of tasks from cooking, to giving birth, sleeping, eating, in the medical bay and even dying in quarantine. Not a place you would like to sleep on overnight! Also, people were a lot shorter a couple of hundred years ago, so if you do go. mind your head. As the ship sits in its original dry dock, you can also look at the underside. That was equally impressive. How it ever floated is a miracle. We had a quick coffee and cake in the adjacent coffee shop, then began the monumental trip home. The car was getting a bit thirsty by now, so we stopped on the way out of Bristol to whack another 40 quid into the tank.

The trip home has us meandering over to Stonehenge. We took back roads and cut through Salisbury Plain. Many MOD fields full of nice hills and mud for the car, but we were not allowed to drive over/through any of it.  Stonehenge was a total wash out. We got there at just gone 4 but were told even though the place is open until 5, they stop people going in at 3. On top of that, the road that runs closet to it is now shut. Only in England!! It turns out that there is a Wood Henge, just around the corner from the famous stone version. As we drive there we saw Stonehenge from the road. It reminded me a the Spinal Tap movie. Unless you are a druid, I would probably not bother with it. Wood Henge, however, was even less impressive, if that is at all possible. A dirt track runs alongside it, and you just abandon your car and can freely enter the field. It was supposedly a man made shape of wooden trunks, now long since gone, and which have been replaced with chunks of concrete which are only a couple of feet high. Suitably dismayed, we left for Avebury, and another set of stone circles. Our quest to discover Ancient Britain was now fully underway!

It was another 40 minutes or so of driving to get there. It also began to rain. By the time we got there it was spitting heavily. 3 of us got out for a wander around. The stone circles there are very impressive. I assume they are not as famous as Stonehenge due to the fact they are not piled up on top of each other. By this stage we were wet and now very hungry so we ducked into the Red Cow pub in Avebury for a Sunday roast. That was it, all piled back into the car and headed for home. The only sound was that of snoring people and a knackered wheel bearing!

Coming home we did the A34/A43, via Oxford to junction 15 on the M1, and zipped back up to Lutterworth. All in all a great weekend away, albeit somewhat spontaneous!  Final mileage of the weekend – 462.5.