Camping Holiday

Somewhere called Beer has got to be worth a visit. 🙂

(nostalgia ON) Ahh, many a happy childhood summer holiday spent dropping sticks in the little stream that runs down the high street and then seeing whether I could run faster than the sticks could float downstream. Crabbing in the rock pools. Watching the little fishing boats bobbing up and down out there in the bay. Sunburn. Dad grumbling about how our Vauxhall Viva was struggling to get up that hill at the end of the holiday… 🙂

Used to love the place, haven’t been back there for years… (nostalgia OFF)

not a museum but try maiden castle Near Dorchester,iron age hill fort scene of a battle taken by the romans,its damn huge good for a walk round,picnic, great views as well

If you are going to Ramsgate there is the Spitfire and Hurricane Museum and the RAF Manston History Museum both by the same car park on the airfield.
It is signposted from the Thanet Way. http://www.rafmanston.co.uk/index.html
Also don’t forget the Battle of Britain memorial at Capel Le Ferne (above Folkstone) It’s signposted off the dual carriageway. The URL link for it is off at the moment.
mmitch.

In the same area is Pecorama at Beer. It’s basically a showcase for Peco modelling products but has pleasant gardens with a mile of garden railway. Might be good for the family.
Somewhere called Beer has got to be worth a visit. 🙂

If you are in the Sidmouth area there is an interesting camp site on the left hand side of the A3052 just before Sidmouth near the donkey sanctuary, the campsite is very pleasant but the toilet/recreation/kitchen/kids playroom is a WW2 concrete radar bunker, very tastefully converted with old photos etc, not far from Seaton Tramway, Dunkeswell Airfield, Branscombe airstrip that has fly ins and little shows and the unspoilt pleasures of Sidmouth, must be the only place in Britain with a sea front house that belonged to the Czar complete with the crest of the Imperial Eagle, and the seafood shop, and the old departmental store with the Dinky museum etc etc etc……….

Not sure if thiis is too far off your route, but Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum might be worth a look (Flixton, near Bungay, Norfolk). Haven’t been there for some time, so I can’t comment on what it is like now.

Ah, so that’s why there is a padlock on the canopy release handle 😀 😀

😉

Ah, so that’s why there is a padlock on the canopy release handle 😀 😀

…..also if you ramble along the bridle path that goes through Predannack airfield, you never know what you might see. Predannack is still used for helicopter training and gliding, and was a significant Coastal Command base, home to Liberators, Mosquitos etc.. The bridleway goes into the base perimeter and past several old airframes stored for fire rescue training.

Will,

Next time, bring ya’ spanners and i’ll give a ‘wants’ list 😀

A few ideas for the end of your journey..

Lighthouses at Godrevy, just to the east of Hayle, and the lighthouse at Lizard point, well worth a look round. (Looking at the photos from my visit tere last year it seems I have unwittingly become a lighthouse spotter 😀 ), also if you ramble along the bridle path that goes through Predannack airfield, you never know what you might see. Predannack is still used for helicopter training and gliding, and was a significant Coastal Command base, home to Liberators, Mosquitos etc.. The bridleway goes into the base perimeter and past several old airframes stored for fire rescue training.

Same with the former RAF Harrowbeer, about six miles north of Plymouth. Most of the old blast pens are still there, although I believe the old watch tower was being demolished when we were last down there a couple of months ago. Nice tea rooms overlooking the old airfield – chuck the missis in there for an hour while you go and explore… 😉

You can still wander round the airfield – locals walk their dogs there all the time.

Indeed they do.

Best take the hounds for a trot then

The Tangmere museums not very big but interesting all the same, you used to be able to get onto the airfield and around the buildings but I suspect not any more

http://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/

PaulC

Link for ice creams.. just down the road from Culdrose/Goonhilly:

http://www.roskillys.co.uk/

Falmouth is good, not for museums, I just like the place.

The new maritime museum in Falmouth is well worth a look, it makes an interesting contrast with the attractions at places like Portsmouth as it concentrates on yachts/small pleasure craft etc.. , nice bit of architecture as well, the radio controlled yachts (complete with scaled down indoor ‘wind’) would also bring out the big kid in any of us! (predictably you get the hang of it just before the money runs out 😀 )

thanks for all the sugestions 🙂

paul c is their a museum at Tangmere? as for Beaulieu motor museum we go to the donington museum fairly regularly so that might get a go 🙂

All the sugestions for cornwall are going to be given a lot of thought but we might not try them all as weve only got three weeks and im the only driver so a couple of days off here and their are going to be nice 🙂

mmm ice cream the family won’t take much persuading to try that out 🙂

We did the Sub Museum and Warrior rather than the other two in Portsmouth, both highly recommended.

I’m sure Goonhillly is interesting, but we saw some excellent fog the day we visited. 🙁
Superb Cornish Pasties from the shop in Lizard village too.

Falmouth is good, not for museums, I just like the place.

Have a look at Davidstow Moor, highest and most remote WW2 airfield and, buildings apart, largely intact.

If you are going to Lands End, park at Sennen Cove (for less money) and walk south along the coast, about a mile and a bit through some lovely scenery, then you can walk into the lands End complex for free!

Other things to do down that way: (far end of Cornwall)

Take a look at Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station, vistor centre and guided tours, I have been here a couple of times and it is always strangely fascinating!

This could be combined with the tour of nearby RNAS Culdrose, a suprisingly in depth look around the air station by bus, with chances to visit hangars etc..

A short trip down the Lizard to Kynance Cove is nice for a sunny day, (oh no…going all aviation related again) walking north from Kynance cove you should not be suprised too see old an old Canberra, Hunter, Harriers and helicopters rotting in the otherwise beautiful surroundings!

Whilst in this area visit ‘Roskillys’ for the best ice Cream you are ever likely to try.

The musuem of submarine telegraphy at Porthcurno is also fascinating- built into caves in the rocks.

You used to be able to camp on a formal site on the nearly disused airfield at St Merryn (N Coast of Cornwall – very pleasant area)

Yarning with a local one night he was telling me that one of the huts contained a derelict ‘Spitfire’ that some bloke was ‘doing up’.

I didn’t exactly say ‘yea right’ but never made much effort to follow it up.

In retrospect, it would have been nice to have met Nick Grace 🙁

Moggy