Russell Davies

day 50 - tenby to portmeirion

Tenby - New Quay - Aberystwyth - Machynlleth - Criccieth - Llanbedrog - Pwllheli - Porth Neigwl - Portmeirion

Check out this brilliant place - the National Milk Bar in Mchynlleth. And this great chippy/grill in Aberystwyth.

The incredibly tasteful National Trust beach huts at Llanbedrog Beach.

day 49 - cardiff to tenby

Cardiff - Barry Island - Llantwit Major - The Mumbles - Castlemartin - Angle - Tenby

The people of Barry Island are clearly extremely rationalist - they've erected a massive monument to their Darwinism.

Splendid chippy in Tenby owned by the Fecci family - who seem to have Tenby stitched up for ice-cream and chips. Though there's also this great beach cafe.

Driving around Castlemartin can be startling.

day 48 - london to cardiff

very nice, driving down the m4 into the setting sun, chasing the planes
taking off from heathrow.

day 47 - more domesticity

APG committee meeting. Meeting with Gary and Toby. Watched the Tigger Movie with Arthur.

Decided on a big plan for the rest of my sabbatical. So I can say I've actually achieved something.

I'm going to head off tomorrow evening and drive round the UK coast. Visiting cafes and stuff. The plan is to visit at least one seaside cafe in every county that has some coastline. And hopefully more. I've always wanted to do a proper roadtrip and this seems like the biggest one you can do in the UK. I'll plan to catch up with A and A at the weekends.

So I won't be blogging for at least a week or so, unless I can find a wifi campsite.

day 46 - domesticity

Back in London. The kitchen sink got blocked, which meant the washing machine blew a pipe which caused leaking. The battery is completely flat on the car, resulting in two visits from the AA telling us the battery was flat. Wrote to the DVLA to get a registration document for the other car. Did emails and caught up with blogging. Wrote document for Gary and Toby.

Nice day actually. Simple and homely.

day 45 - back to black rock

Back to Black Rock, Athur's new favourite place. And then again to Scarthin books for beans on toast all round.

Then back to London.

day 44 - padley gorge and curbar edge

Back in the Peak District again, after a ridiculous drive from the Isle Of Wight. But playing in the woods of Padley Gorge was well worth it. (My family are lurking in there somewhere.)

Breakfast at Grindleford Station.

And a bracing trip to Curbar Edge.

Hill walking. The British holiday the weather can't spoil. Aah July.

day 43 - sandown and ryde

Went for a wonder around Sandown, took in the signs.

Who'd have thought? NGOs on the seafront?

We repeat. This is not a toy.

Things to do with a beach when you can't just lie on it.

1. Kites.

2. Construct an elaborate tunnel network and drive vehicles through it.

3. Jumping.

4. Abandon the pretence and head for the funfair.

We liked the Isle Of Wight, though it wasn't like the seaside. It was more like Croydon with beaches. It's not all quaint and strange like the seaside normally is. It seems to be more big suburban houses with beaches where the shopping centres would be.

day 42 - more making the best of the weather

Making the best of technique number 4. A steam railway. The Isle Of White steam railway is a great example. Friendly, comfortable, efficient. A great shop for trainobelia.

The dinosaurs have returned to the Island.

So we retreated to The Hideaway, a splendid cliff-top cafe.

But then, because we're British, we were poised to return to the beach the very instant the weather got better. And did castle-building fun.

day 41 - storm-lashed holiday

The weather forecast was horrible, storms lashing the South Coast. Went for a walk around Shanklin before it happened.

Someone at the Shanklin theatre has a great collection of clip art.

The optimism of this place was inspiring. Colossal storms forecast, and they were putting out the huge promotional ice-cream cone.

Then it was time to start being British and making the most of the weather. Off to The Needles theme park and the scary chair lift.

Arthur passed his driving license. Apparently.

We liked the model village at Godshill. I'm a fan of model villages and this was a good example. Had a little wit.

Then off to the Fort Victoria model railway. All the merits and all the problems of a typical model railway, intricate, detailed, obsessive, but not really geared up to the needs of the average non-obsessive visitor.

Playing snap at Gossips cafe in Yarmouth. Right next to the tossing waves. Part three of a classic making the best of it triumvirate - model village, model railway, cake.