Martin's Mag.

If you want a traditional breakfast in Bristol, go to Brunel’s Buttery on the south side of the docks. Wait long enough and most of Bristol will pass by.

We gave Freda probably her last outing for a while. The weather wasn’t good but we’d already decided on Three Cliffs Bay, on The Gower Penninsular, west of Swansea. Hadn’t been there for a year or two. We stopped in Swansea and visited the indoor market, recently featured on a TV reality show, apparently. It was good; we bought four crabs which Sal dressed* later. [*Technical term, not as exciting as it sounds.]

We then walked around the dock area, including the Dylan Thomas museum.

On, then, to Three Cliffs. It’s a mile or so walk from the road, and this involves paddling through the river (at certain times/tides it’s a bit more than a paddle).

Well worth it, though, and even on a less than perfect day it was as spectacular as ever.

A visit to the Somerset town of Glastonbury’s always a bit of a laugh. It’s where hippies live. It’s “mystic”, man. The shops are unusual and interesting. Apart from food and clothes (I’ve found a good shop for shirts made from hemp “WARNING: the composition of this material makes it unsuitable for use as a drug”) there are all sorts of bonkers places claiming to cure most illnesses. Imaginary illnesses are the best for imaginary cures. The healing power of crystals features extensively, and the ability of certain procedures to “harness cosmic forces”. You get the picture. There are many adverts in shop windows for self-awareness-type courses, mostly loosely based on Budism. Hillarious. I’m off now to try to smoke my new shirt.

Possibly the last really hot few days of the Summer, so we had a couple of days near Swanage, on the inaccurately-named Isle of Purbeck. Fantastic area, haven’t been there for years. We walked from Woodyhyde Farm to The Square and Compass at Worth Matravers in the late afternoon. Great pub (last there with Pete and Diane and Rob and Linda – and Miles and Rolf – over ten years ago) but doesn’t really “do” food, so we went back and Sal knocked something up with couscous in the camper. Fortunately had a few bottles tucked behind the driver’s seat. Watched sunset.

The following day we drove into Swanage and walked about ten miles, along the coast towards Studland and back. Fabulous views over Poole harbour, Brownsea Island, etc. Later Sal had a crab salad and I had a pint of prawns for the second time in a week!

Living the dream…