livingthedream – THREE GO TRAVELLING

Dobar Dan Hrvatska – Good Morning Croatia!

Leaving Hungary we crossed the border into Croatia, not one of the happiest Border Check Points, having had to show passports, Animal Health Certificate and Vehicle Log Book (V5), we were waved out of Hungary, before we were stamped into Croatia. We headed to a campsite in the hills, but the amount of roadworks and diversions made it impossible to get there, so instead we headed to Camp Zagreb, on the edge of the Capital, with a shuttle bus and train into the centre, and a restaurant onsite. We were late arriving and it wasn’t on our itinerary, so we were not prepared for another city visit, but have vowed to return another time. https://www.campzagreb.com/en/

Leaving Zagreb, we headed to the coast and the island of Krk. It’s connected to the mainland by a bridge and we had chosen to stop for a couple of nights in the town of Krk, at Jezevac Premium Camping Resort, hoping they had space on a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon. Arriving at about 4:00 pm we arrived with a huge amount of motorhomes and caravans, so weren’t hopeful, but our fears were alleviated, when we were shown two pitches – with the ACSI card you don’t get a premium beach front pitch, but the one we chose (of the two) overlooked the town beach, which was barely used and we claimed it as our own private beach! https://www.camping-adriatic.com/jezevac-camp-krk

We loved it so much we stayed for six nights, the town is a short walk away with it’s old buildings, harbour and restaurants. We swam in the sea, such a long time since last having done it – New Year 2020 (before the world shut down, and it felt like a lifetime ago). The sea was amazingly warm! In addition, there is a dog beach, but it was a bit too choppy on that part of the peninsula, so we didn’t take Reg, maybe next time…

Krk Town was so nice, we spent days wandering around exploring. Right next to our pitch was the Piazza with a bar and street food and a 5 minute walk took you to a Restaurant, which was so cheap.

We felt it was time to leave Krk, and headed across the country west to Novigrad, where we stayed at the Aminess Sirena Campsite. https://www.aminess-campsites.com/en/aminess-sirena-campsite It is a short walk into the town of Novigrad, with it’s working port and pleasure harbour and old town, bars and restaurants. The sea was way too choppy here to swim in (I’m not a lover of rocky beaches since a childhood sponsored swim in the sea – on a very rough day – resulted in a lot of scrapes on my shins from the barnacle covered breakwaters)! If it’s flat calm I’m in, if it’s not, then no way!

We walked into the town, mooched around the streets and ate in the restaurant at the hotel, in the campsite grounds. We met some lovely people – did a book give-away with a couple who had finished all theirs – Ric was happy as the payload lightens with each item removed! And swapped travel stories with a couple who have been touring for seven months and were reluctantly heading home, to save some pennies to return.

We have been to Croatia before – almost three years to the day crossing the border, we arrived in Opatija, to surprise Sarah’s mum, who was on holiday there and Sarah has been here as a child, but this trip felt different. We have fallen in love with it and are planning our return adventure (we’re not even halfway through this trip, as we write!).

We’ll be leaving Croatia soon, and heading to Italy. As always, thank you for reading. We hope you and your families are safe and well and we’ll be back with another update soon…

Back on the Road: Week 2 Sussex to Hampshire

We left our weekend stop at Northbrook Farm Caravan and Motorhome Club Site, Worthing and headed along the coast to Bognor Regis.

We were surprised to find just up the road, there is a Monument to a Racing Driver we’d never heard of – David Charles Purley, GM. David Purley was the son of the founder of LEC Refrigeration and in our opinion, did not have the best of luck. His parachute failed to open, while training with the Parachute Regiment, but fortunately landed on his Platoon Sergeant’s parachute and both survived the landing. He was awarded the George Medal (GM) for trying to save another racing driver from a crashed car, which was on fire in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. He survived a crash in pre-qualifying at the 1977 British Grand Prix. After retiring from racing he took up Aerobatics and died when his plane crashed into the English Channel off Bognor Regis.

We were able to enjoy the sunshine and the heat, sitting outside, reading and relaxing. There are several nice places to walk to from the site, including Bersted Brooks, a nature haven and very popular with dog walkers!

Moving on we headed north-west to Winchester and the Morn Hill, Caravan and Motorhome Club Site. We had a stroll into the city on St George’s Day and were glad to see the Cathedral had the Flag of St George flying. The city was the first capital of England and there is a statue to Alfred the Great, who prevented the country falling to the Danes.

We’ve been very fortunate in our second week on the road to have had great weather and we have both welcomed sitting outside in the sun (after an endless winter in Lockdown)! We had a couple of visitors each evening, a pair of partridges.

Hopefully, next week will continue to be as pleasant as we move on further west. As always, thank you for reading. We hope that you and your families are safe and well and able to plan your journeys out of Lockdown. We’ll be back soon with more updates from our mini tour, while we wait for our second vaccinations and the final two announcements on the route out of Lockdown. We’re planning our great escape but, you’ll have to wait to find out more….

Another Week in Norfolk…

Monday and the sun was shining. After a quick breakfast and walk for Reg, we headed out towards Norwich and a Hand Car Wash! Finally, we were able to get Nortia cleaned (outside) for the first time since France in February! We had meant to clean her while in lockdown, but there always seemed to be another day available until we left, then the opportunity hadn’t happened since….

Tuesday and we headed up to the coast and Cromer, famous for dressed crab and the Seacroft Caravan and Motorhome Club Site. It’s a great site, just off the Norfolk coast path. A short stroll and you are on the beach, which is lovely and sandy as the tide goes out. We met a couple with a young dog and Reg and Pippa were soon running around in circles along the shoreline.

Wednesday and in true autumn fashion it rained (again). Reg however, wasn’t unfazed by another trip on the beach and enjoyed playing in the waves.

Thursday, one of the things we’d looked forward to whilst in Cromer was visiting No 1 Cromer. https://www.no1cromer.com/ This is an award winning Fish and Chip Restaurant and Takeaway owned by Galton Blackiston. We’d heard about it so many times watching him on James Martin’s Saturday Morning. This place does not disappoint! This was possibly the best we’d ever had. If you are in Cromer, we would recommend this highly.

We headed down the coast from Cromer to Great Yarmouth and the Caravan and Motorhome Club Site at the Racecourse. This site is another so close to the beach and the town, that it’s great for a stay. There is a monument to Lord Nelson, which is now located in the industrial zone, but commemorates Nelson’s birth in the county of Norfolk.