Lanhydrock and a Deluxe Britstop. – The Crumbly Gappers

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.

Bertie in the sun at Trevallicks Tea Shop

What a difference a night makes. It was so quiet last night – no wind, no traffic no worries! We woke at 7:30 to bright sunshine and could look down on the mist in the valley below us. We treated ourselves to a cooked breakfast at the tea room before we set off which was lovely and well worth it. So far this has to be our top Britstop and we will be back!

Just half an hour’s drive brought us to Lanhydrock. Even though this is the National Trust premier house in Cornwall we have never been before. It certainly is well worth seeing and there is a huge amount to see both in the house and also in the extensive parkland but it is also very busy indeed. Perhaps a sunny Sunday in September was not a clever move on our part. I must admit the volume of visitors did detract from the experience and we did not talk to the room guides as much as we might have done. We have been spoilt at Basildon Park and Claydon House where we would often had the rooms almost to ourselves. There are 50 rooms to see at Lanhydrock ranging from extensive Victorian servant quarters to the C17 Long Gallery with its amazing plaster ceiling. The best section for me was the kitchen complex with all its Victorian gadgetry especially the HUGE roasting system with it complex of spits and rottiseries driven by the rising exhaust gases in the chimeney. We spent three hours at Lanhydrock and were quite tired afterwards!

So just a short drive on to our chosen Britstop at the Britannia Inn near St Austell. Wow – we have never seen a Britstop like it. This is a large, busy pub and hotel on the main road but what is special is the very large field at the back which is dedicated to motorhome stopovers. They have toilets, water, loo disposal even electric hook ups and it is all free although they like you to visit the pub whilst you are there. We think we might have a breakfast again tomorrow and we could well stay here for a couple of days.

Britannia Inn near Par have a dedicated field for motorhomes. All services available too.

Whilst I was writing this item we had to break off and have a chat to the lovely couple in a 2003 Hymer B544 that have just parked beside us. We see very few other Hymers on the road and even fewer parked up so that we can visit and compare vehicles. Their B544 is just 6 years younger than ours but seemed so much more sophisticated and the double bench arrangement, whilst lacking a table, did seem so much more open and spacious. Having got back to the blog after over an hour of chatting I see that there are now a total of seven motorhomes here and we are barely filling one end of the field! I think the grass is Ok but we have parked on traction mats just to be sure.