Shamballa Cruising Yacht Club: Road Trip 3: Key Haven to Bristol

After Stonehenge we were stuck in traffic and arrived much too late at our friend’s house in the little village of Key Haven on the Solent. Fortunately Tazeena is very generous and took our late arrival in stride. Tazeena has the most fabulous house overlooking the water. It is her family home and she has lived there off and on for over 70 years. I could have sat in her kitchen forever watching the boats go up and down the straits.

Boating heaven

We had a delightful two days with Tazeena. She is a great host and a remarkable and inspiring person, though she would cringe if she heard me say so. I am so glad we met her in Marmaris and were able to visit her in England and looking forward to spending more time with her in the second half of the season.

We had a quick visit to another castle, Hurst Castle, before leaving the Solent and then it was time to move on in our unsubtle pink van. We stopped in Bournemouth to check out Bob’s childhood home and visit with his cousin, Stephen, the last remaining family member in England. It is good to see Stephen doing well. His most recent book, The Mathematical Connection between Religion and Science, is available on Amazon. I can’t even begin to understand it but he certainly is a deep and profound thinker.

Bob overlooking the Bournemouth Beach where he spent so many hours as a child

After a quick trip to Bradbury Rings, an Iron Age hill fort which Bob use to visit as a child, we continued on and found a car park in Lyme Regis to bed down for the night.

Beach huts at Lyme Regis

The next day we drove through Dartmoor. I loved the wildness of it and could well imagine Sherlock Holmes stalking the great Hound.

Dartmoor

Hound Tor

We drove on to Boscombe in Northern Cornwall to camp for the night overlooking the Irish Sea. Boscombe is a charming rugged Cornwall village and we spent an hour or so in the morning exploring the harbour.

Entrance to Boscombe Harbour - Wouldn't want to come in here in bad weather!

Boscombe Harbour

The dreary English weather set in overnight and our planned tour Cornwall was thwarted by crowds and bad weather. I was so looking forward to exploring the seaside villages and pirate coves of the Cornwall coast but we couldn’t get near them. The peak season crowds were impossible. So Cornwall was added to the ever growing list of ‘next time’ but definitely in off season!

We continued north and spent the night alongside a charming waterside park in Portishead, just outside Bristol.

Swan with her cygnets and adopted goose - Portishead

The next day we explored Bristol which seemed a dynamic city despite the dreary gray skies and drizzle. We went to the docklands, of course, and visited some chandleries for supplies then had a look at Brunel’s SS Great Britian. She was the longest passenger ship in the world when built in 1843. The great ship was revolutionary for its time and had a varied history including bringing thousands of people to Australia during the gold rush. The museum was extremely well done and bring the ship back from the Falkland’s to its present location was an amazing conservation effort. I enjoyed the exhibit of this old ship much more than the HMS Victory exhibit.