Trip 7: May 2022. Evesham RFC with the BCC Midlands group.
We have been here before in May 2019, and it is a good venue beside the river Avon. There are places to walk and the town is quite pleasant so we decided to come back.
The drive down was fairly clear despite the roadworks around Coventry. This was the first day of the campsite and there were a few people there already, mainly from the midlands group. We were put along the riverside which suited us.
We soon had the van level and set up. There was a heavy shower just as we had finished putting up the windbreak. It was soon over and the sun came out again. The weather is going to be sun and showers until 6pm when the sun comes out for the rest of the evening.
We spent the early afternoon dodging the showers and reading. Later we went for a walk towards Evesham via the river bank. We passed the ferry and there was a car upside down in the river.We continued on to the road bridge and sat on a bench to enjoy watching the river.
On the way home we stopped again by the ferry and watched a pair of swans and their signets. A boat stopped at the pier and another man used the ferry to cross the river to our side. He made several comments about the boatman but to be honest they both seemed a little ‘out of it’ if you can say that.
We continued home and I set up the Cadac as Sue made final preparations for our tea which tonight is Paella.
Day 2:
It was forecasting a cloudy day with showers in the morning so we planned to walk into town along the river.
Our first stop was the park where there is cafe but it was closed so we carried on and headed to the only lock on the river in Evesham. Unfortunately we had to go by the pavement because there is no footpath around the original flour mill.
However we did find a short path beside the river so we could see a bit of the weir and the lock. The lock keepers cottage appears to have been altered into a residence. The surrounding mill building looked impressive as did a row of houses near to the mill. The mill race was still visible but very cluttered with all sorts a rubbish and trees lodged against the grating.
We continued our walk into the town centre and started looking for a pasty shop that we had used on our last visit. I followed Sue all over the town looking for this shop.
Eventually we had to give up and we headed for The Trumpet Inn that we had visited before. It is owned by the Hook Norton brewery so the beer is very good cask ales. While sat outside drinking I looked on the map and found the pasty shop.
Once the drinks were gone we headed for the hidden shop, but it took us a while because the name has changed . We bought a couple of Beef & Stilton pasties and headed back to the park to eat them but the heavens opened and despite having our waterproof coats we detoured to the shopping centre and ate lunch while looking out onto the town.
The shopping centre was opened in 2005 by a musician famous in the town, however since our last visit 2 years ago most of the shops are closed and it looks in a sorry state.
The rain stopped and we headed for home. On the way we watched the water rescue boat of fire service practicing on the river. Two fire personnel, one woman and a man got into the river and floated around while the boat went downstream, turned around and came back and rescued them.
The afternoon was spent sitting and reading either inside or sat outside depending on the sun and rain.
Day 3:
It is quite overcast today so we are going to find the battle of Evesham site. The first part of the walk was along the river and through an old plum orchard, then up to the main road.
We crossed the road and found the footpath that took us up to Battle Well. We climbed the hill an look back over the valley towards the Malvern hills in the distance.This part of the battle field is where Simon de Montford was killed fighting Prince Charles.
This area is part of the Abbey Manor estate.
The Manor was used as a hospital in the First World War. It has an ice pond that as the names says was used for collecting ice in the winter which was then stored in an underground ice house nearer to the Manor.
We tried to find the obelisk to the battle of Evesham but the public footpath had been closed with a barbed wire & wire fence. It was possible to go around the fence that ended some yards into the wood but we decided to give it a miss and head back to the town.
We called in at Tesco and then headed into the town centre for a shop that Sue wanted to check out. We then headed home via my favorite pub, The Trumpet Inn, where I tried a different pint and Sue tried a rose wine.
We then made our way home along the river. Once home we ate our lunch of pasties and a danish cinnamon pastry. It is warm and windy but we sat outside and chilled for an hour until it got cool and windy.
Tea tonight was steak in a baguette with mushrooms and onions. There is nothing on TV but we had the Chelsea flower show on and then it was back to reading.
Day 4:
The sun is out and after the normal chores we sat out in the sun to have a day relaxing, although Sue was cross stitching and made a mistake which raised the stress levels for a few minutes. I read my book.
I took the opportunity to order some non alcoholic beer and two belts, although I completed the beer order and then decided on the belts which meant I needed 2p more for free postage. I ordered some cress seeds.
We spent the day in the sun reading. I got sunburnt legs above the knee. We had bacon rolls for lunch and burgers 🍔 and kebabs for tea, all cooked on the Cadac. It was a great end to four days camping and we will definitely be coming back.
We said our goodbyes to the steward team but they told us that they will not be using the site next year because someone has to sit and open the barrier during the day while the site is open. Not a great way to spend you two weeks as a steward although they each take a turn. However some organisation will book it for next year so we maybe able to return.
Iona’s Travels 