We've got a bit of a thing about Cathederal cities. Well some of them anyway, we're happy to give Birmingham a miss. They're old with lots of nice cobbled streets and usually in the middle of some attractive countryside (you can see where Brum falls short) so we decided to head for Salisbury. Another CL but this time a large famer's field in the middle of nowhere, a pleasant 1 mile stroll into the nearest village and a short (8 mile) bike ride into Salisbury itself.
I learned an important lesson on this trip - check the countour lines. The 'pleasant 1 mile stroll in the nearest village' was lovely on the way there, downhill, but not nearly so much fun hacking back up the 1:4 hill. Even the lure of some of the finest pub chips ever experienced couldn't lure me back down there in the evenings. We shared our field with one other caravan and 2.5million bugs - or so it seemed. Not sure who thought would be a good colour for motorhomes but it seems to attract every bug within a 10 mile radius.
Although we were in a very remote location we decided against letting Monty off the lead but at least he is now walking forwards! He now seems to be relaxing into life on Delores and chills out more than we do. In fact I'm considering starting myself on a diet of whiskas and milk - he's always very relaxed, never gains weight and has a lovely glossy coat - must be worth a go, although I am worried it might make me inclined to try and lick my own backside...
Salisbury is a lovely city and the cycle paths are generally excellent although the hills did begin to gang up on us later in the day. The views from Old Sarum were excllent and certainly worth the hike. We spent a chunk of the day in the city visiting "Ye Olde Camping Shoppe" (Millets) and kitting ourselves out with new boots and socks.
As usual in the evenings the blue bucket BBQ was lit and the sausages were burned in the time honoured British tradition. Call me simple (and many people have!) but you can't beat a nice BBQ sausage, a chilled glass of and a decent sunset with only the sound of birds to keep you company. (Well birds and mosquitoes...)