June 7 - 9 : First Expedition in our VW Campervan

On 7 June we went from Lostwithiel to Shaftesbury via Dartmoor. Dartmoor was exactly as a moor should be: bleak rolling hills covered in tufty grasses and rocks; lots of long-woolled sheep with black faces and horns, and also a lot of ponies with foals. Back in Devon and Dorset the countryside was once again the stereotypical calendar picture landscape.

We stopped at Buckland Abbey just out of Yelverton - a lovely old place with some lovely panelled walls and carved furniture, although it was not well renovated. It was originally a Cisterien monastery and was at times the home of Sir Richard Grenville, and Sir Frances Drake.

The following day we got lost several times! It was a lovely day but a layer of smog lay over the countryside, thickening over the towns. It was so lovely to have sunshine, though there were a lot of very red Poms who were going to have a painful week. The English seemed to go in for picnics as a hobby in itself, whereas Kiwis tend to take picnic lunches to something else - motor racing, water skiing, beach - but the English seem to just go out to the countryside, eat a picnic and go home again.

Our first stop was Stonehenge, which was totally awe-inspiring. There were tourists everywhere and yet Stonehenge seemed proud and detached from us common people. No matter how many pictures you see of this place, being there, actually there, was magical.

As a side note - the toilets had stiff, brown toilet paper, each sheet individually marked with: "Property of the British Government - do not remove." Well, it wasn't much good as loo paper, so I removed some and wrote letters home to friends on it. It functioned far better as airmail paper!

On through Salisbury, and through the New Forest, which was delightfully light and airy, and with lots of ponies and foals. We stopped at Beaulieu, now the National Motor Museum, Palace House, home of the Montagu family, and historic Beaulieu Abbey, which cost one pound each to get in - which was a huge amount of money in 1975 - today it is 16 pound per adult. However it was worth it.

Talbot

The motor museum was wonderful, with vintage and veteran cars and bikes, some as old as 1889.  They were beautifully restored.

BSA

From there we looked at the remains of the enormous abbey, and walked around the lovely herb gardens and the remains of the cloisters.

The palace was lovely from the outside, but we couldn't see very much of the inside as it was still the family home, as it had been for centuries.

Yup - that's me on the right!

Then on to Bognor Regis to an over-priced camping ground for the night.

From Bognor to Brighton. Contrary to my expectations, I loved Brighton. All the homes with their wrought iron balconies. The piers with their cheap gaudiness and amusement arcades.

 
The Pavilion. The Pavilion was beautiful. I had expected it to be ugly, but although it was phony Palladian / Chinese / Indian etc, it was a lovely fantasy brought to life.

The museum / art gallery was really good too - and free! My first view of paintings by Salvador Dali and they were amazing - clear, sparkling, full of light - I wanted to see more. I also liked the paintings by Rene Magritte.

Then it was back to London to get ready for our first European adventure.