7 September 2104 (Sunday) - Lulworth

A reasonable night's sleep at the Florian Guest House in Weymouth; even if the seagulls were a tad noisy at times. I suppose it's my own fault for not thinking to close the window I opened yesterday evening.

Brekkie was particularly good; marred only by Radio 2's Sunday morning religion show which I felt was rather too much forcing Christianity onto the masses. Mind you I did feel for one sad act who had emailed the presented to say that today was her birthday and she was up before 9am on a Sunday preparing the vegetables for the family's dinner. Bless her; if that's what she does as a birthday treat I dread to wonder what happens on dull days.

With brekkie scoffed we set off to nearby Lulworth where we did the touristy things. Having parked up we walked UP the coastal path to Durdle Door. We enjoyed the views, had an ice cream, and made our way to Lulworth Cove. We walked around and about. "er indoors ^TM" admired the scenery. I admired the bikini-clad lesbians who were snogging. Whilst "er indoors ^TM" had a paddle I scrambled up to the far end of the cove to get some more photos. As I scrambled I was startled by a lizard. And another. There were several; including one which was probably the largest lizard I've seen wild in the UK; he was easily eight inches long.

From Lulworrth Cove we drove round to Lulworth Castle which was a tad dull. From there we found something rather amazing. Tyneham Village was once hoe to a thriving community of over two hundred people. In 1943 the entire place was evacuated for secret military reasons. The locals were told they could go back after the war. They didn't, and now the place is something of a ghost town.

We spent rather longer at Tyneham than we had planned, and by the time we'd got stuck in traffic jams near Southampton we didn't get home till nearly 10pm.

I spent a few minutes uploading a photo or two of the day, and then it was bed time... I've got to go back to work tomorrow...

6 September 2014 (Saturday) - Exmouth and Portland

Despite a very busy day yesterday I didn't really sleep well at all. I blame the new surroundings; much as I preferred them to the last hotel.

Whilst waiting for "er indoors ^TM" to emerge from our pit I had another look at the map from Boscastle to Weymouth. I figured out that with just a "slight" diversion we could do a webcam geocache. And then I realised that going to Penzance would add three hours to our journey. We decided against that plan and went for brekkie. Brekkie was particularly good; even if the hippie lesbians were something of a disappointment.

We located another webcam on the map - this one near Exmouth but it didn't seem to be working at first. But randomly pressing the buttons on the phone looked like it would allow us to access the web cam. It was only a few minutes out of our way (or so we thought); it might be fun.

So we said goodbye to a foggy Cornwall and made our way to Exmouth. As we drove we went right past the Commando training school that featured on the TV show I've been watching recently, so we took a few photos.

We used the geo-navigator to get us to the specified location for the webcam cache, and after a little fiddling about we eventually managed to get a screen shot of us standing about. In retrospect we had gone quite a long way out of our way to do this webcam cache, and taken a lot of trouble to try to get the photo, but what can I say - there are probably only a dozen or so webcam caches in the entire country. It was well worth our effort... if only the C.O. agrees and doesn't delete our log.

I shall cry if he does.

From here we made our way to the Old Inn at Kilverton where we scoffed cheesy chips and/or a stilton ploughman's and then feeling set for the afternoon we went on to Chesil beach for an impromptu geography lesson before spending the rest of the afternoon at Portland Bill where I risked life and limb clambering over a sea stack.

Mainly because there was a sign saying that it was dangerous to do so.

I took some photos of the day and got them on line

Pausing only briefly to get a few Munnzees in Fortuneswell we then moved on to our base for the evening; the Florian Guest House in Weymouth. A quick wash and scrub and then we walked down to The George for our evening meal.

The George has changed beyond all recognition since I was last there; a rack of ribs went down very nicely. We then went round to The Boot which was one *the* ale house to visit. Nowadays it seems to be a haven for undesirables. (Perhaps I'm just developing standards?)

So we passed on a second drink, and came back to the guest house where, having transmitted gibberish to the world, we watched a film. "Road Trip" - how appropriate...

5 September 2014 (Friday) - Tintagel and Boscastle

Yesterday I mentioned that I didn't like the Lydiard House Conference Centre hotel. Perhaps I was being harsh but I now realise where I've seen the place before. It is a carbon copy of the university halls of residence in which I stayed when doing Open University courses. And not entirely dissimilar to where Alan Partridge lived. Being on holiday I was rather hoping to stay in a hotel; not a barracks.

I don't stay in hotels much, so I might be being unfair about the place but we were promised a decent Internet connection. The one at the Lydiard House Conference Centre was shabby, to say the least. And I don't expect the dustmen to start clattering about at 5am.

We got up and went down for brekkie... Oh dear. I didn't expect the coffee cups to bear the coffee stains left by the dribbles of the last person to have used that cup. Nor did I expect to find the left over jam that said previous diner didn't want.

I couldn't get out of that place quickly enough.

We set off on the next leg of our journey. Down the M4 to a motorway service station near Bristol where we found a geocache, did a munzee and hacked a portal. Heaven !! We carried on down the motorway and saw a sign saying "Welcome to Somerset" which was confusing; isn't Bristol in Somerset? So we stopped at the next service station to get another geocache just in case. One needs to get at least one per county. And bearing that maxim in mind we also stopped at Exeter services in Devon for geocachical reasons. We had intended to eat at the Exeter services, but it was heaving with normal people; far too busy for our liking. So we contented ourselves with picking up several munzees in the car park (there were *loads*) and with only one brief hiccup in navigation we made our way to the furthest part of our road trip; Tintagel in Cornwall.

Two hundred and fifty miles from home; the furthest I've been for ten years.

We've based this road trip largely on the recommendations of friends; and we'd been told that Tintagel was particularly scenic... but there wasn't an awful lot to do there. Bearing in mind the flying visits we are making on this trip, that suited us ideally.

After nearly falling off a cliff (for geocachical reasons) we went into Tintagel Castle.

Tintagel Castle... isn't an actual castle. It's a very large rock just off the Cornish coast connected to the mainland by a bridge. We spent a couple of hours looking round the place before making our way to the gift shop where we had a traditional Cornish clotted cream tea. Very nice.

We then moved on to Boscastle which we had heard was especially pretty. It was. It's one of those places that few people have probably heard of, and the entire lot can be seen in fifteen minutes, but it is well worth a visit. The harbour appealed to me; most harbours open directly onto the sea. This one had a little river leading to the sea. I risked life and limb clambering up the cliffs to get some scenic photos of that little river. It has been asked if I would have made that scramble had there not been a virtual geocache at the top. The answer... probably not. But I am glad that I did; the views were spectacular.

We then walked into Boscastle and found the Cobweb Inn where we had a rather good piece of steak pie each washed down with some very good Cornish cider.

And then, feeling suitably replete, we drove a very short way inland to Tregatherall Farm where we are currently staying.

The bedroom is lovely, the bathroom without equal. The guest sitting room (where I am typing this) is particularly comfortable. And the wi-fi, whilst a tad slow, actually works.

I used it to put up the photos of the day. There were a lot...

4 September 2014 (Thursday) - Avebury

Over brekkie I watched one of the Matt Hayes fishing programmes. In years gone by I've always been a fan of Matt Hayes. Now.... There's no denying that the way he was gaffing those rays was just plain cruel.

With brekkie scoffed we loaded up the car and did something we very rarely do. We went off on holiday. We're having something of a road trip, and we set off up the motorway. Our first port of call was Bracknell in Berkshire where we stopped for McDonalds. After a little messing about (and sending for a translator) we established that I wasn't asking for a cabbage McFlurry. I was glad to find it wasn't just the fast food establishments at home that had problems with staff not being able to speak English.

From Bracknell we then moved on to Avebury in Wiltshire. We'd had a recommendation that we should visit Avebury. There's no denying that at first I was disappointed. Until we actually moved into Avebury proper. Neolithic burial mounds, stone circles... all rather good really. We even found one or two geocaches in the area as well.

We then moved into Swindon where we checked in to the hotel - the Lydiard House Conference Centre. I'm afraid to say that I took an instant dislike to the place.

We drove out to find somewhere for dinner. The Sun at Lydiard served some frankly wonderful food. And "Lancaster Bomber" on the hand pump too. I would have liked to have stayed their for the night, but we came back to the hotel for a final drinkie....

A decent bartender knows that bottles of ale aren't kept in the fridge...

I took a few photos of the day. Uploading them on the hotel's wi-fi took some doing...

3 September 2014 (Wednesday) - Still on Holiday

My nights these days are generally better than they have been for some time, but occasionally I get a bad night. Last night was one such. Having woken at silly o'clock and lain awake for an hour I was up and having brekkie before 5am. Having watched Saxondale, Family Guy, Smallville and a documentary about Spandau Ballet I was going stir crazy by 7.30am.

My dog finally got up, and we went for our walk shortly before 8am. We hid a geocache just round the corner from home whilst we were walking. There used to be a puzzle cache of mine in that very location, but only one person had logged the thing in the last year so I assumed people aren't interested in urban bonus caches. I've replaced it with a novelty cache; a cache with a difference. The difference being it is just the same as all the others locally.

We continued our walk along Noakes Meadow through Singleton and out to Great Chart, coming home via the Environment Centre. A round trip of two and a half hours. Whilst we walked I played Ingress and captured large parts of the town for the forces of good. I also got myself up to level six; an achievement which took some doing.

For lunch I thought I might treat myself, so I went up to the KFC. I fancied a boneless box. After five minutes I walked out of the shop, went to the corner store and got myself a large bag of crisps. There wasn't anyone on duty in the KFC who could understand (let alone speak) English.

I munched my crisps whilst watching something I'd recorded onto the SkyPlus box; a dramatisation of Jane Austen's "Emma" which I watched without nodding off. And then I spent an hour or so in NeverWinter; I used to spend days in there (at a stretch). I should go there more often.

Another good day off...

And in closing did yo know that today is something of an anniversary? It's three years since I first met "Furry Face ^TM" when he was first adopted by "My Boy ^TM" . Three years ago today I wrote "I’m told Fudge will come visiting from time to time". I had no idea he would become my dog.

Did I ever mention that I never wanted a dog...

2 September 2014 (Tuesday) - Another Day Off

I am reliably informed that "Furry Face ^TM" spent much of the night at the foot of the bed fidgeting restlessly. He didn't disturb me; I slept right through his scritching. My dog shared my toast, and then we went for a little walk. Down through Park Farm, out through the fields at the far end along to South Willesborough and home through Newtown. For those of my loyal readers who don't know the area very well it took us about three hours.

As we went through Park Farm I did a little checking on some of my geocaches. Most seemed all right; one had gone missing. The one which had gone missing hasn't had any logs of any sort for over a year. I don't think people can be bothered with the Park Farm Pootle Bonus, so I have archived it.

As we came up into Newtown I activated my Ingress app; there are no portals of any sort in Park Farm. But I was able to thwart the evil machinations of the blue scum as we got closer to home. Much as I do like geocaching, playing Ingress is a much more dynamic thing to do, even if it does eat up my data allowance.

Once home I went to put the washing on the line, and realised that I hadn't put it in the machine before we went out. Woops. So I set the sheets to be scrubbed and uploaded a little video I'd taken whilst we were out. As we were approaching the "three miles done" stage of our morning's walk I filmed "Furry Face ^TM" having a little run about. You'd think that being small and having short legs he'd tire rather easily wouldn't you?

You can see the video by clicking here; but I'll be honest... most people would consider it rather dull. Even the staunchest supporters of the antics of Patagonian Tripe-Hounds will be disappointed. But I like the video; I would - my dog stars in it.

I then washed the bathroom light shade ("er indoors ^TM" said she would break my face if I didn't) and I got the hoover (Dyson) out. Yesterday I mentioned that the keyboard on my laptop was on the way out. Whilst doing domestic drudgery I hoovered all over the keyboard (with a Dyson) and the thing is now showing a marked improvement. That's one little bonus, and several hundred pounds saved.

With my little dog settled I walked into town and did a circuit of the charity shops. The new music stand I bought only a few months ago has broken because (like all new music stands) it is cheap and plastic-y. I've now got a decent proper traditional metal one. I also tried to get a cheap table, but no one seemed to have any.

Once home I had all sorts of plans for the afternoon; but I fell asleep.

Once I was awake "er indoors ^TM" boiled up a rather good bit of tea, and we then congregated round Romney Road where we had a real good nosey round a new house and then watched an episode of "Star Trek".

Should watch more of that ...

1 September 2014 (Monday) - Trees in Gravesend

Yesterday I had something of a rant about the standard of written literacy on geocaching dot com. There's no denying that the standard of literacy here leaves a lot to be desired. Partly because I can't find a UK spell checker for OpenOffice and partly because the keyboard on my laptop is on the way out. If any of my loyal readers could recommend a decent laptop, I'm all ears. In the meantime I am bodging through with a US-based spell checker so please bear with me.

Over brekkie "Furry Face ^TM" chased a spider round the room and I put some laundry in to wash. When we moved "Daddies Little Angel ^TM" the other week we brought home some bags of unwanted clothing. We thought we might wash them and take them to a charity shop. So I set to washing the stuff. I've now found where all of my missing socks went. What was that girl doing with my socks?

I put the lead onto "Furry Face ^TM" and we drove down to collect Lisa, then it was on to Gravesend Golf Course. We'd heard of some new geocaches having gone live up there recently; ones which were a little way off of the ground. It wasn't long before we were at the foot of a pine tree. We couldn't see any sign of a cache, but the thing had been listed as having a high terrain rating (i.e. difficult to get to); 4.5 out of a possible 5. So obviously the thing was going to be "up". The difficulty setting was rather low, in fact it was the easiest rating there is. And sure enough the cache was dead simple to find; if only you climbed high enough up that tree. The cache description said the cache was about seven metres up the tree; I would in all honesty have said that this first one was a tad higher.

The second cache was entertaining; we were deciding which tree to climb (to be honest on a day like today we would have climbed all of the trees; finding a geocache at the top was just an added bonus) when I heard someone telling my dog off. A passing normal person was shouting "Bad boy Fudge". Fudge wasn't doing anything wrong... that is my Fudge wasn't. His was. We'd met another dog called Fudge; this one was a Golden Retriever.

Once the normal people had cleared off, Lisa voomed up the tree to get the cache and bring it down. Once we'd done the secret geo-ritual I then "elegantly ascended" into the canopy to replace it.

This second tree wasn't quite so high as the first.

We then did some "usual" (*not* "normal") geocaching in which we both independently got stuck inside a bramble bush, and then found a "base of tree" cache before again scrambling some ten metres up a conifer; Lisa collecting the cache and me returning it. As I scrambled down I saw that Lisa was talking to some normal people. They were interested to know what I was doing up the tree. I made some glib comment about hunting for truffles. For all that everyone knows truffles are found underground, have *you* ever actually gone looking for a truffle underground? No - you haven't, have you? They may well be ten metres up a pine tree mightn't they? People believe any old drivel all the time that you spout it confidently enough.

We came home via McDonalds in Bobbing. We weren't hungry, but a McFlurry always goes down well.

Once home I put the photos I'd taken up on the Internet - I remembered to take some photos this time. I then did some C.P.D. (it's a work thing), ran round with the Hoover, and set about the ironing.

I always seem to do ironing when I have a day off...