British Blog

Back and a bit different, usually i have plonked myself in some foreign country with little or no real plan.

Last time tried a sunshine holiday/wingfoil in Zanzibar.....once I got the moped and whizzed around the island was a lot happier. Last year I ran and then hiked around Norway with some buddies a much happier me 

This time I have acquired a four legged creature....who will likely feature a lot, be warned and shed some poundage as i have entered a silly triathlon in Northumberland. Think it must be time I can just choose to go somewhere and not run swim or ride.....

Originally i wanted to cycle the 250 around Northumberland but the nut (Walnut the 4 legged companion) put a handbrake on that and my training!

So instead its a car adventure! First up Kielder Forest and it is a long way away from where I live especially as my carcolepsy seems to be worse than ever....max travel time 1.5hrs before snoozing!

I broke the journey up by stopping in Rutland at Vickys.....after some garden badminton with the two kids Ellie and Alex who like all children just keep growing.... I made yhe massive discovery that Alex wss a secret penguin biscuit lover and get this saves the wrappers. Queue a quick round of penguin jokes......pleased to my j'ronimo practice is paying offf and I smashed it.

Next day set off in the sunshine and decided some better planning required than the first half of the journey where i stopped at the grottiest service station ever, that every coach under the sun had stopped at - resulting in a queue so big for the toilets that i had to find a bush with Walnut. So i found an absolute gem on second half of my journey with goats amd lllamas and an amazing view with barely a detour

The Nest at....

After many stops including some horrific traffic around Hexham, Walnut and I trundled down the bumpy road into our campsite. It was mizzly.....miserable drizzle....the stuff that gets you sodden but you cant feel it!

Fortunatley we are glamping in a pod and its super cosy....the campsite is amazing.

4 min walk to the pub, 3.5min to a maze and 3min to a castle in the darkest place in the UK. Theres ducks and ducklings a salmon river charging past and the over riding scale of the forest.

We wandered to the pub where everyone loved Walnut including the cruft winnners and she loved everyone but the small people usual!

Then we hunkered down in the pod hoping for a less mizzly start to the day!