Back in June we took Vannie out for his longest journey to date; a road trip down to London and back. Here's how we got on:
First stop on our road down south was Barnard Castle, County Durham where we spend a couple of nights at the campsite we had stayed in last summer. This gave us a break from driving and allowed us to have a trip into the historic town which sits on the River Tees:
 |
| Moira on Footbridge across the River Tees |
 |
| View towards Barnard Castle |
 |
| The Old Bridge at Barnard Castle |
 |
| Eddie on 16th Century Barnard Castle Bridge |
The weather wasn't great but despite that we still had a walk around the area near the campsite, which is pretty good for wildlife:
 |
| Fields in front of Campsite |
 |
| Countryside near Campsite |
 |
| Moira scanning for Wildlife |
There were plenty of breeding waders around, such as Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatcher, which were pretty vocal if you got too near to their nest area.
We did manage to catch a glimpse of these Lapwing chicks with their protective parent:
Each morning we were greeted with the songs of many birds, but the most distinctive was that of the Song Thrush, which aptly chose to broadcast from the campsite communication mast:
That was a nice couple of days at Barnard Castle despite the weather, no onwards and southwards.
Next stop was Harbury Fields Farm campsite in Warwickshire, were we again spent a couple of nights. It was right next to a working farm in a predominately rural area. The weather had picked up a bit and there was a pleasant walking path around the campsite/farm area:
 |
| Path around Harbury Fields Farm Campsite |
 |
| View across the fields |
 |
| Little Pond |
 |
| Wild Rose at Harbury Fields Farm |
The area around the campsite had plenty of farmland birds to look at, including this colourful Yellowhammer:
About a mile along the road was the village of Harbury so the day after we arrived we had a walk there for a bite of lunch. It was a nice little village with some characterful buildings:
 |
| Old Millhouse (with windmill at rear) |
 |
| Old Petrol Station (not in use) |
 |
| Old Garage (wonder what's inside?) |
The village also had a couple of pubs, we chose to eat in The Shakespeare and I can highly recommend the steak pie and the beer:
 |
| Beer Selection at The Shakespeare, Harbury |
It was a long walk back to the campsite; take note there are no taxis in Harbury and the buses are very, very infrequent. The girl who served us in the pub did offer to run us back to the campsite, but we foolishly declined her offer.
The next morning we continued our journey south to London.
We chose to stay at Crystal Palace campsite on the south side of London and my sister and brother-in-law had also travelled down in their car and caravan to join us. The campsite is right next to Crystal Palace Park and that was one of the first places we explored:
 |
| Moira and Florence at Crystal Palace Park |
 |
| Fishing Pond at Crystal Palace Park |
 |
| Boating Pond at Crystal Palace Park |
The park was full of all the usual park-life including Grey Squirrels:
The birds usually hung about the pond areas and included all the usual suspects like Pigeon, Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Pigeon, etc. Some of them even had baby versions, such as this Coot with Moorhen chicks? (and of course a Pigeon):
I am fascinated by Coot's feet, a marvel of design that incorporate flaps that flex to permit maximum thrust going forward and minimum drag on the return stroke, just so well engineered.
The park was created in Victorian times and some of the original features such as the concrete dinosaurs still remain (these are based on what the Victorians thought dinosaurs looked like):
 |
| Victorian Dinosaurs |
 |
| Moira, Florence Danny and a Megasaur |
 |
| Not Victorian Dinosaurs |
There were also some other hints of Victorian design, but I think these might be retro street furniture:
 |
| In case you get lost |
 |
| Posh Poo Bin |
As well as dinosaurs there were also some sculptures of extinct Giant Elks, that apparently lived in Ireland:
 |
| Giant Irish Elks |
We had a barbecue at the campsite one day (well Danny did all the barbecuing, we just set the table) and we were joined by Alan, Laura and wee Graeme, who had travelled down from Clapham Junction for the day:
 |
| Florence, Moira and HP Sauce |
 |
| Laura and Alan |
 |
| Danny the BBQ King (can I have more?) |
 |
| Graeme entertaining Dad in the awning |
 |
| Graeme with Auntie Florence |
 |
| Graeme fascinated with Nana's buttons |
We had a brilliant day that day........... probably ate too much though............ I blame Danny for cooking too much!
I mentioned that the wildlife in the park was pretty standard for a park in England, however the wildlife in the campsite was a bit more varied. Okay we were woken every morning to the sound of Ring-necked Parakeets (which I know are quite common in the South London area) but we also saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons perching and hunting from Crystal Palace Tower right next to the campsite:
 |
| Crystal Palace Tower (sorry no Peregrines) |
 |
| Crystal Palace Tower at Night (still no Peregrines) |
I am sorry but I didn't manage to get a video of the Peregrines........... but they were there............ honest!
I did however manage to get a brief video of another visitor to the campsite one evening........... an urban Red Fox:
I presume it was an urban fox and not a far-roaming rural one (unless of course it stowed away on Vannie in Warwickshire!!)
One place I always wanted to visit in London was the Imperial War Museum and we managed to do it on this trip. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but I found it very interesting and at the same time quite harrowing; especially the WW1 exhibits............ no wonder they hoped that this would be the war to end all wars........... but of course it wasn't. Here are a couple of not-so-harrowing pics:
 |
| Naval 15inch Guns at Entrance to IWM |
 |
| Iconic War Machines: Spitfire, Harrier and V1 Flying Bomb |
I wouldn't say it was a fun day out, but the IWM is well worth a visit.
On a lighter note we also visited the London Wetland Centre the day before we left London to head on our return journey................. but I will cover that in my next blog posting........... here is a taster for you:
Can you name all the wildfowl in the video?
Take care,
Teddyedward
