Montreuil sur Mer

Some of the best village ramparts in France

A corner of the Carnac Standing Stones

The Alignnements de Carnac stretch for several kilometers and contain thousands of standing stones of all sizes

Maiden Castle, Dorset

Excellent wild camp in car park directly below this impressive iron age hill fort

Marvao Castle

Marvao is stunning. It floats a thousand feet above the surrounding countryside with views in all directions

Glencaple Pier near Dumfries

Another amazing stopover on a pier on the River Nith below Dumfries

Crossing the Dart on the Kingsweir Ferry

Approaching Dartmouth on the Kingsweir Ferry.

Bidford Riverside Carpark

What an amazing place to spend a couple of nights. Hats off to Torridge DC for doing this.

Lossiemouth looking east

We sat in Bertie and scoffed our fish and chips with this view across the mouth of the River Lossie towards Buckie and Ben Rhynnie

Cullen and Seatown

Looking back to Cullen from the viaduct with Seatown in the foreground

Wildcamping at New Aberdour Beach

An amazing wild camping location on the Banffshire Coast. Walks, beach, birds, caves what more could you want?

The Alpuharras

View from the Miradour over a small town in the Alpuharras near Almeria.

Winter sunset from Cabo de Gata

There is a glorious carpark beside the little village of Cabo de Gata where you can park right beside the beach. The sunsets are stunning

Great little aire in the heart of Burgundy

The lovely little aire was in a tiny village in the heart of Burgundy

Tomphubil Car Park

A lovely spot at the top of the hill between the Tay Valley and the Tummel Valley.

Ricote - the oldest town in Murcia

There is a large aire on the edge of this little town. The town dates back to C9 and is well worth a visit.

Chasleston House and Ayno Wharf

The sun shone as we pulled away from Willow Farm and headed north around Bath and Bristol heading for the main road across the Cotswolds. The plan was to cover ground today so we have a good drive to our lunch stop at Chastleton House near Chipping Norton. This route takes us along the top of the Cotswolds through some lovely little towns such as Tetbury, Stow on The Wold and Chipping Norton.

Chastleton House (NT) near Chipping Norton. A gem of a house preserved largely unchanged since the 1700s

Chastleton House was a revelation. I must have passed the turning to this house so many times in the 40 years I have travelling this road and I had no idea it was there! This fascinating house was buillt in the early 17th century by a wealthy wool merchant. However the family fell on hard times following the Civil War as result of backing the wrong side. They managed to hang on to the house but never had the money to update and improve it over the centuries and thus when the National Trust acquired in 1991 it had changed very little in over 400 years. The National Trust policy has been to conserve the house at it was at handover and no attenpt has been made to restore it beyond it what is necessary to protect the structure. We loved it and I would very much like to go back and look it again on a nice sunny day and get some better indoor photos. I have included some rather poor quality photos as I want to get across just how special this house is.

The screen at the lower end of the Great Hall at Chastleton House

Despite big windows it was quite dim in the Long Gallery at Chasleton House and thus the photo is a but fuzzy. At 72 feet this is the longest surviving long gallery anywhere! — Despite big windows it was quite dim in the Long Gallery at Chasleton House and thus the photo is a bit fuzzy. At 72 feet this is the longest surviving long gallery anywhere!

The old kitchen at Chastleton House showing the "new" range installed in the 19th century. Photo is fuzzy as it is rather dark in the house. — The old kitchen at Chastleton House showing the “new” range installed in the 19th century. Photo is fuzzy as it is rather dark in the house.

After having a good look round at Chastleton and lunch on board Bertie we headed on for the short stretch through Chipping Norton to Ayno Wharf. An excellent Britstop car park right beside the Oxford Canal with water and all services available from the nearby wharf. There is a good pub right beside the wharf but we had all we needed on board (including some more sausages from last night’s Britstop!).