It lasted a week.....

Well...the more settled weather had managed to last a week.
 To be honest I never expected it to last much longer but it did give us a really good respite from all the wet and windy weather.

 Like I said in last week's post everyone on the site managed to get out and catch up on all those neglected tasks.
 I was no exception and managed to clean the lower outside edge of the pop-top roof as well as some fiddly little jobs around the rest of the caravan.

 It was my birthday last week and Anne's birthday three days before so we went out for a meal which was very enjoyable. I was very careful what I ordered as I am counting my calorie intake at the moment in an attempt to lose weight.

 So far I have lost almost a stone and on target for my target weight. When I get back into full cycling mode I don't really want to have to drag excess weight up the local hills...

The good weather did bring most people out but it wasn't quite good enough to fill up all the exterior tables at the café's that surround the pannier market in Tavistock when we were there the other day....
 We also noticed that there was a lot less water flowing over the Weir at Abbey bridge ......

So what is the weather doing right now..? It's raining of course..!!

The worst type of unit to pitch next to....,

Over many years of camping and caravanning I finally have to say it.... I have to name the type of unit that in my opinion is the worst to pitch alongside or even  close to......

Yes....it is the loved by many campervan and it's various variants but only if they have the sliding door along the side..

 The sliding door is the problem for me and why I rate them the worst to pitch alongside.
 The constant opening and closing of the sliding door can be a real pain for anyone nearby...
 The noise as the door slides along the runners followed by the thump when the door hits the bump stops destroys any peace and quiet that other campers might be enjoying.

 Not content with opening and closing it the once campervan owners seem compelled to see how many times an hour they can use it...
 This is probably in an attempt to keep any warmth within the van.

 Most caravan doors only make a noise when they are being closed and even then they can be quietly click shut if you want to be considerate to other campers...
 With the campervan sliding door they make a noise when opening and also when closing so for other campers it's a double whammy of noise...

 The campervan door just cannot be operated quietly because certainly when closing if the owner tries to do it quietly the door will not close properly.

 I think that I am right in saying that the latest campervans have a door system that is a bit quieter so this has obviously been a problem that the manufacturers have been aware of and are now attempting to deal with. 
Hopefully in the future more peace will be maintained on the campsites so it will just be the older vans that will be annoying to be pitched near.....

Currently we are enjoying a spell of good weather...
It is forecast to be the longest dry spell since last September but that is not saying much really as we seem to have had rain every other day for months now.

 Paul who is pitched opposite us woke up and thought that spring had arrived and was out there today cleaning his caravan.....
 Peter the site owner also seemed to have a spring like moment because he was out giving the grass a bit of a high cut as can be seen below....
 However long this weather does last it is much appreciated by all the campers on site.....

Take it Slowly....

As well as cycle rides I am also managing to get out walking around the Moors and the Devon lanes. 

Most of the lanes around this location are sunken lanes having been used for many many years.
 I do enjoy walking these lanes but one of their drawbacks is that you don't get much of a view.
During the summer it's more of an annoyance than it is at this time of the year because with all the gales that we have had and are still having it does offer a lot of protection from the winds.

When you leave the banks and hedges that is the sanctuary of the sunken lanes and get out on to the open moorland you really notice the difference.
 The shield that the lanes provide you with can make the walk a lot more pleasant in the bitterly cold winds that we get at this time of year.

 As you move out on to the edge of the moor as well as feeling the wind a lot more you can also come across Dartmoor ponies.
 These animals as well as the sheep which seem to be everywhere on the moor have total freedom to roam.
 They are contained on the moor by the use of cattle grids on the roads but the animals don't have any road sense at all. 

As you drive or cycle along you have to be prepared for them to wander out across the road in front of you.

Every so often you will see signs like the one above giving a running total on the number of sheep and ponies that have been killed on that stretch of road by idiot speeding drivers.
 The sign above indicates that during 2019 eight sheep and four ponies were killed and that section of road is only just over a mile long...
If you come to Dartmoor for a visit just remember to take it slowly on the moorland roads.....

New Plans...

Now that Christmas and New Year have come and gone Anne and I will start to make plans for this year's touring...

 We have decided that we will stay on at this location until after Easter...
 The main reason is that it makes sense to stay here over the Easter holiday period because if we were to book into a club campsite they will charge us an inflated price for our stay as it is a bank and school holiday.

 If we stay here we will only be paying our seasonal rate for Easter which is far less than either of the club's charge for the same period. We will in effect be staying on here for an extra three weeks before heading on to our regular spring visit to Dorset.

 We will be in Dorset for about six weeks but we haven't decided yet which site we will stay at.
 Whilst there we will have the caravan serviced and I as usual will be having various medical checks.....

 We are undecided as yet where we will move on to from there....
 Over the next two/three months we should  start to formulate our destination plans for this year's touring season.
 When we have come up with some ideas I will share the plans with you as always......

 On the cycling front I am now starting to get into improving  my fitness after some very high chocolate consumption over the past month 😊...
 Trying to lose weight is my number one priority right now....

 Below are some images of posters and shirts that were on the walls of a new cafe we found in Tavistock about a week ago...
 The owner is a keen cyclist and even offers a discount on your bill if you arrive by bike...