Well, here it is. Day 10 of 10. I have finished my marathon stint in work. I am exhausted and the time is a quarter to divorce. Still, 4 days off now but I don’t think the weather is going to be kind to me. Perhaps I should just do some gratuitous gear shopping whilst watching the rain lash against the windows…….
Just as a follow up from yesterday’s post, here are a selection of pictures from the trip I made to Dartmoor with a bunch of like-minded friends and our kids
The view from Nun's Cross Farm towards the ruined foundations of the stables
Two cooks in the kitchen!
Rock climbing for initiates!
Two munchkins, one menhir and yours truly
Nun's Cross nestling against the backdrop of a majestic Dartmoor landscape
It was a really good trip and the fact that it was February didnt put the kids off in the slightest, in fact they loved it.
PS day 9 ……….
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I have a group of friends with whom I regularly go camping and normally in tents. What’s more, we all have kids of a similar age (6-9) and so most of the time we also take these along too. It is great fun and we normally go to Exmoor or the Brecon Beacons although recently we have been a bit further afield.
Back in February, just after the last lot of snow, we decided to take a punt and go to Dartmoor but instead of tents we hired a bunkhouse. In this case, the bunkhouse was the Nun’s Cross Farmhouse which is 3 miles from Princetown. Its owned and run by the Duchy of Cornwall through Key’s College. It can accomodate about 30 people although on this occasion we trooped in with 6 dads, 6 lads and a mate of mine and cost £60 a night.
Nun's Cross Farm Bunkhouse
It has no running water (there is a leet outside), no electricity and only candles for light, 2 wood stoves for warmth and a few gas rings for cooking with. Needless to say we had a whale of a time and managed to do a reasonable amount of walking combined with a few evening drinks and card games when the kids had gone to bed.
The Kids have gone to bed - woo hoo!
We also managed to walk to Drizzlecombe prehistoric stone avenue which the kids thought was mightily impressive! Its a very atmospheric place as is Dartmoor as a whole and its definitely somewhere I would go with the kids again
The Stone Avenue at Drizzlecombe
Since then I have had a hankering to do a similar outing but in the Brecon Beacons so that its a bit closer to home. Also the other dads have expressed a preference for something a little more salubrious this time. I have found a link (part of the BBNP website) detailing about 2 dozen different bunkhouses spread throughout the Brecon Beacons. They all look great and I find myself getting quite excited about doing this especially if its in January as there is a fair chance of snow. Its something to look forward to and definitely one to plan for which I admit is half the fun for me.
Has anyone else done the bunkhouse thing and if so what did you think and did you find it a completely different kind of trip to just camping?
PS Day 8…………
Posted in General chit chat | 2 Comments »
Alright, who turned on the water tap in the sky? I have a day off to make merry in the hills on Thursday and the forecast is looking pretty dire indeed…. Its not really fair. On the upside, I could always test out my wet weather gear. Still what do you expect, its November.
Oh and just in case you had forgotten, its day 7 of my 10-day stretch at work. I may have mentioned that fact this week but I cant be sure…..
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So here I am. Day 6 of a working “week” of 10 days. To say I am tired would be against trade descriptions…I am beyond tired. I am uber-tired. I am also obviously a workaholic…..so get me out of here!
The good news is that I have Thursday off and all to myself. I wonder what the weather will be? Actually I dont care. I really dont. I am going out for a walk. I have to be careful though. I might not want to come back!
Posted in General chit chat | 2 Comments »
It seems as though mother nature was waiting until November turned up before unleashing a dirge of bad weather across the country. It certainly feels like early winter now. I feel sorry for anyone with great or grand plans for walking over the weekend let alone camping. It was this time last year that I spent a restless night in a tent in storm conditions in the Brecon Beacons. It doesnt make any difference to me though as I am working the entire weekend. Yes, my job strikes again. A whole weekend and thus 10 days straight does not appeal in any sense of the word. I still feel sorry for those with plans though, the forecast is decidedly unhelpful….
Posted in General chit chat | 8 Comments »
