Sun Jul 4, 2004
Travel down to Oxford to stay overnight at the 'wise alderman' a CL behind a pub. The was a railway, road, airport and canal nearby. Had a walk along the canal. The pub food was not up to much.
Mon Jul 5, 2004
Move on to catch the ferry to The Isle Of Wight. We arrived early and caught the ferry before ours. They were laid back about it all.
There are car parks nearby if you arrive early.
The car alarm went off with the movement of the ferry. I turned the alarm off and left the dogin the car and we had wander around the ferry. It was very small.
We arrived at the 'Orchards' at 5ish. 250 miles. They told us where to go, we did not like the pitch as we were surrounded on all four sides. We set up and put up the awning etc. Next door but one are the neighbours from hell. Five kids, three dogs with one that never stopped yapping. They had a white van and looked like gypsies.
The van at the back had a man that spent all day in the sun and all night talking in the awning.
Everywhere you looked there was another caravan.
The constant smell of barbecue fumes, dogs barking and kids running around.
We were right in the middle.
We are not happy with this type of site. A 'commercial' site with swimming pools etc. attracts young families with trailer tents noisy kids and dogs etc.
The Isle of Wight is ok for a one off visit. The local pub food etc is of poor quality. The roads are uneven and not well maintained. The island is hilly - this makes for good views and scenery but a lot of hill climbing.
The locals are pleasant and friendly.
 
Tue Jul 6, 2004
Weather hot and sunny.
Went for a walk around the site. We spotted a better pitch opposite a toilet block. We went to the reception & asked for a move.
Spent the rest of the day moving. We threw everything into the van and moved the lot. Very hot work.
I managed to get sunburnt.
Went into Newport to Sainsburys.
 
Wed Jul 7, 2004
Very wet and windy. Had to fit the Awning strap. Went into Newport to get some cash and do some more shopping. Bought some waterproof coats. They proved very useful.
 
Thu Jul 8, 2004
Very wet but the wind has dropped.
Became drier later.
Ride out to the needles, picnic etc.
 
Fri Jul 9, 2004
Went to Osborne house nr. East Cowes.
Were queen Victoria lived. Very grand inside. Has a ride in a cart pulled by a horse. The guy sat opposite was wearing sandals. He had yellow toenails.
Took a look at the IOW steam railway, it was a rip off.
Weather sunny but dry.
 
Sat Jul 10, 2004
Weather wet & dull.
Washing. Later on we went for a ride to the pottery shop nearby.
 
 
 
Sun Jul 11, 2004
Up early. Went for a drive. Called at ,Isle of Wight glass. I bought Mrs L. a paperweight for her birthday. Had to try and fix the PDQ machine.
Ventnor beach was smelly & some woman had a go at us about dogs on the beach.
We passed through Shanklyn - very old fashioned
Mon Jul 12, 2004
Went to Ventnor Botanical gardens.
Called at Godshill on the way. A quaint little village.
Had lunch at Ventnor Botanical gardens. Bought some plants.
Drove through Shanklyn and went to the sea front. Got lost in Sandown on the way to Ryde.
Had tea at 'The Horse &Groom' (a Laurel pub) & the food was very poor. £9 and the vegetables ware over boiled red cabbage mixed with cranberry sauce and tasteless boiled Swede. Supposedly a local dish !
The landlady was not happy when we complained.
 
Tue Jul 13, 2004
Hot and sunny. We had a lazy day. Shopping. Swimming.
 
Wed Jul 14, 2004
We went to Ryde, called at Quarr Abbey. A working Abbey. With Benedictine monks. Spoke to a couple of monks in the Abbey shop. One has a really nice American accent. Had a look at the church - it was made of brick, built in 1914. It was designed by a French monk, to be built from brick to make it as cheap as possible.
Went on the sea front at Ryde, later on we had a walk around the town.
warm and sunny.
 
Thu Jul 15, 2004
We went to Sandown. Called at Carrisbrook Priory, it used to be a Catholic order but now it belongs to a Christian healing group - they were very welcoming and friendly.
We then stopped at Sandown and had a walk on the beach (one that allows dogs).
We moved on to a viewpoint - Culver Cliff, the site of an old gun battery . Then we went into Bembridge to find a pharmacy for Mrs L. as she was starting with a cold.
We rushed back to get to the Red Lion at Freshwater for a delicious meal.
Dull and misty. Fine rain later.
 
Fri Jul 16, 2004
Move on today. Dull and wet with very fine rain. Making packing the awning difficult.
The site insisted that we were off the pitch by 11am, even though our ferry was not until 3pm. Even though there were plenty of unused pitches.
We arrived at 'Bo Peep' site near Oxford at 7.30pm it took 4 hours to do 102 miles.
The A34 is very busy with roadwork’s and long queues.
Including the ferry (who made us wait for the 3 o'clock) the total journey time was 6 hours!