Stourhead, 2016, 3

A call to Stourhead suggested rather more of the rhodos were out, and we decided a third visit was in order. We're not purists. We'd backtracked enough to Newbury that Stourhead was not seriously out of the way for our generally west-by-northwest heading. Not that anything is seriously out of the way here on Albion.

Mostly they're of interest at a distance in landscape gardens,
but they're beautiful up close too

Iconic view

Our walk took a higher road this time, and we got to see a bit
of the obelisk

All manner of green

Some red rhodos still out

Yellow azalea, copper beech, white rhododendron, red maple,
pink rhododendron...

The yellow azaleas still fragrant

Great color everywhere

Tiny-flowered Enkianthus campanulatus

A rhodo wood

More color

The lake

Water wheel and fall

Swan posing

The ducklings hatched! Well, three of them so far

More color

Ditto

The lavender rhodos are out now too

We're glad we came back again

Magical place

Southern Motorhome Show, Chievely, Berkshire, UK of GB

Camping is different over here, and RV shows are different too. The thing to do, apparently, at these regional RV shows is to go and camp at them, making it a long weekend. This we did, arriving Thursday afternoon. By Friday afternoon, some 2,052 rigs were parked in the huge field surrounding the show place (I asked). The facility is sort of like a county fairground, except with few permanent buildings (no 4-H, no Pig Pavillion, no Hen House, etc.) There were scores of motorhomes and caravans (trailers) on display as well as all manner of accessories and accoutrements, many food and drink vendors, musical and other entertainment, bingo, a dog show (of course), and numerous other interesting things we probably didn't notice or understand. It was fun, in any case, and nice to have a little time for relaxation and relative idleness. (PS...we're de-camping now, Monday morning, and fully half the campers are still here....)

One avenue of the camping area; all manner of rigs

Big huge American-style RVs; owned by Brits

Anything American is cool; well, not everything...we always
get questions about Trump...

Also many of the hobbit-sized RVs that certain members of our
party think are so cute; but mostly the B+s and Cs and Bs that
constitute 99% of RVs in Europe

Our rig; we're not big-time flag-wavers ("Patriotism is the last
refuge of the scoundrel"), but fortunately we carry a small
rendition to fly on our even smaller mast

Street scene

Ample infrastructure

Popular sign, for your rig, for T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.

Many readers have asked what Bilbo did after making all the
movies...

Vegematic before...

And after

Top interest in the show for us...a Hymer on a Sprinter 4x4

We hear that Hymer is partnering with, or has actually purchased
Roadtrek...

Inflatable tent, kiddie playroom

Interior

This model for Princess Bees...

Impossible to convey the number and variety of rigs here...

Thought I'd try a pano, but it only did 180 degrees...

Having seen everything at the show, twice, and being low on
provisions, we took the free shuttle bus into town, Newbury

And on Sunday, between squalls, our walks took us past the
entertainment pavillion. Vicki: I love going to 60s revival
music; even in England it is just like high school--all women
dancing. But notice the two little girls. I don't think 50 years
from now old folks and toddlers will be dancing to rap or
heavy metal.

Return To Ladye Bay

I count tides, big tides, among the sublime, and have enjoyed them in Alaska, New Zealand, France, here and elsewhere. Only one place, the Bay of Fundy, which we first saw in 1970, has bigger tides than Bristol Channel, which we saw in 2013. Wildcamping.co.uk directed us to the great site at Ladye Bay, near Clevedon, and I blogged about it and the Channel tides at http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/ladye-bay.html. We returned this year, mostly to see the tides again.

At the Ladye Bay site

The Clevedon pier from near where we parked

The little cove and pebble beach, at something approaching high tide

Bristol Channel shipping

Part of the little coastal trail

Sunset over Wales

Next morning, walking toward the pier

Thus

And thus, in Clevedon

Low tide

A hat rental store

Seriously

And a Victorian water fountain

Thus

The post box perhaps a bit younger

The cove and beach at lower tide

Looking back to the pier

Charity Shops

I've never been sure what to make of the charity shops one sees on every High Street in every village or town here. A sign of recession/depression? downtown decline? a vibrant civil society? the better angels of our nature? All I know is that you see them everywhere, typically on High Street, run by volunteers, alongside posh shops as well as the usual main street fare, and that Vicki and I rarely pass one by (unless it's too crowded). We've found a few minor treasures and contributed a few too. Mostly books, but an occasional clothing or household item too. Plus they're always interesting.

Of course the tradition of charity goes way back

And continues in many forms; these are among Wells' historic
alms houses, with a vacancy, too

Of course, in 1450, the Bishop was probably
richer than the King and could afford to build a
porch to keep the beggars out of his cathedral

I thought I'd give it a go, but got only polite
smiles, no alms

Anyhow, here is a selection of Wells' charity shops, and, yes,
we did drop a coin or two

Oxfam's our favorite; often they'll have both a clothing/
household goods store and a books/records/films shop

Plus they're a little more to the point