The beginning of The End?
Re-set. Coming out of Lockdown…….. Well, it’s hard to put into words what has happened since I last wrote a travel blog, well over a year ago now. The experience I’ve had as a result of Covid 19 as well as so many other people and the tragic loss of life will be the subject of immense national and global refection for well into the future. It will deserve a history all of its own to be analysed by an army of historians but before I jump the gun, I have to say it’s not over yet, certainly not globally but in the UK the successful rollout of vaccines has enabled me to restart my travel blogs albeit yet restricted to within our national borders. This story starts at the beginning of May with the anticipated entry into Phase 3 of the path to ending lockdown on the 17th. From this date overnight stays will be allowed and I acknowledged this fact when my daughter Ellie contacted me enquiring when we should meet up again after a brutal period of isolation. I soon came up with an answer. It won’t quite be business as usual but on the 22nd I intend to make things feel as normal as possible.
Objectives…….. I hardly need to explain that this latest tour is not the height of my ambitions. It’s just a two-night long weekend mini-break really but I do wish to record it as there are a number of interesting events and locations to digest. I do need a break after such a long period of self-support yet it’s not the time of year when I would normally travel being quite content at home and garden with a steady flow of planned projects. That means that while there are overseas travel options available from the 17th, these are extremely limited and I do not wish to add Bedlam to my list or resort to desperation that some folk subscribe to judging by the chaos at airports currently. So, the plan is to try and get the balance right between relief from daily chores and exploration which is the hallmark of all my tours. Above all I wish to be safe and apply that common sense that is so necessary under the circumstances.
Preparations…….. Preparations are understandably not going to be demanding and I shall travel as light as possible. The car needs a good clean and I replaced two tyres for the relatively short journey south.
Day 1, Saturday 22 May
Road out of Lockdown…….. I guess it’s to be expected but I start what promises to be an interesting day with a rather restless night but it’s all good to go on a journey out of lockdown. Well packing takes no time, then here’s breakfast and the endless chores and checks before I can finally turn the key in the lock. At 8.15am I’m on the road south. Soon I’m out of the county for the first time in over a year. The GPS shows that I should arrive at my pre-arranged destination easily before 10am.
Oakham Treasures…….. The location of Oakham Treasures is just 10 minutes' drive from home for Ellie and Leo at Portishead. The attraction was suggested some time ago by daughter Ellie and it’s where we meet up for the first time since her wedding in September last year. Arriving at the site, the first thing I notice is its rural setting: I didn’t expect it to be plumb in the city but neither did I expect it to be surrounded by farmland. Clearly its former use was linked to agriculture. Their website www.Oakhamtreasures.co.uk gives and overview of what you will find here.
Oakham Treasures is one of the largest privately owned museums of retail and farming history in the UK. Opened to the public for the very first time since July 2008, it has already become an award-winning major attraction, and guarantees to give you an amazing and uplifting trip down memory lane. Whether you are 8 or 80, you'll be fascinated by this vast and unique collection of memorabilia from the last century. There really is something for everybody, from the thousands of items in the historic stores, to the impressive display of vintage tractors and farm equipment.
As we begin to explore the various halls of exhibits my mind throws me back to similar collections I’ve uncovered in Thailand. I still find it incredible that so many items which were part of our daily lives have survived at all. How would you not have used or thrown away a bar of soap from the mid 1900’s for example. Now turned 70, I remember so many retail exhibits which we took for granted and didn’t even realise they had disappeared. It does indeed indicate how far we have come in a person’s lifetime and even in a generation.
The countless exhibits are arranged by type and neatly displayed in cabinets for smaller items while the larger pieces, vintage cars, tractors, motorbikes and other equipment are displayed in neat rows with an excellent description of each exhibit some dating back 100 years. Amidst the collection you will also find examples which prove that the collecting process is still evolving. That mobile phone that you used just recently will age and be joined by more and more obsolete examples.
We arranged the day to kick this visit off with the intention of moving on to lunch. It’s really impossible to take in all the exhibits that are on show but you should spend a minimum of two hours here. We find enough time to visit the coffee shop and catch up with life since our last meeting that enables us to slow things right down, the way it should be. It’s time for lunch at that takes us from Portbury to the southwest of Bristol to Filton in the opposite direction, a journey of 20 minutes.
The Air Balloon…….. Located on the A38 Gloucester Road, the Air Balloon is a traditional British pub with Sport on TV. It has a familiar menu of grills and global food. The 8oz rump steak seems good to me and cooked medium rare, it’s one of the better steaks I’ve had. The pace of life continues to slow as we now split up at 3pm, Ellie and Leo returning home to Portishead while I head for my accommodation in Almondsbury, just 10 minutes away for a break.
The Swan Hotel…….. The Swan Hotel is easy to find on the Gloucester Road in the picturesque village of Almondsbury. Check-in is straightforward and despite some comments I’ve read, the room seems comfortable enough but despite a comfy bed, I just don’t sleep. Around 5pm I walk just a couple of hundred yards to a viewpoint with panoramic views of the Severn Crossings. It’s too early to form a lasting impression of the Swan but certainly its location is a real bonus. As I return and tune in to social media, I’m ready for the final event of the day.
Deflated…….. I need to cross over to the west of Bristol again, this time to Portishead where Ellie and Leo have their flat. The purpose of this visit is to watch the FA Trophy final between Hereford FC and Hornchurch. Although this event started at 4.25pm, Leo has saved the stream till I arrive. This could be the icing on the cake on the first stage of my journey OutofLockdown if Hereford win. Well, while the Bulls opened the scoring in the first half and held the lead for most of the game, they collapsed in the final stages conceding 3 goals against the odds. Gone 9pm I return to the Swan, take a beer and prepare for the night totally dejected. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. After a beer in the bar, it’s 11pm before I turn in.... Next Page.
Re-set. Coming out of Lockdown…….. Well, it’s hard to put into words what has happened since I last wrote a travel blog, well over a year ago now. The experience I’ve had as a result of Covid 19 as well as so many other people and the tragic loss of life will be the subject of immense national and global refection for well into the future. It will deserve a history all of its own to be analysed by an army of historians but before I jump the gun, I have to say it’s not over yet, certainly not globally but in the UK the successful rollout of vaccines has enabled me to restart my travel blogs albeit yet restricted to within our national borders. This story starts at the beginning of May with the anticipated entry into Phase 3 of the path to ending lockdown on the 17th. From this date overnight stays will be allowed and I acknowledged this fact when my daughter Ellie contacted me enquiring when we should meet up again after a brutal period of isolation. I soon came up with an answer. It won’t quite be business as usual but on the 22nd I intend to make things feel as normal as possible.
Objectives…….. I hardly need to explain that this latest tour is not the height of my ambitions. It’s just a two-night long weekend mini-break really but I do wish to record it as there are a number of interesting events and locations to digest. I do need a break after such a long period of self-support yet it’s not the time of year when I would normally travel being quite content at home and garden with a steady flow of planned projects. That means that while there are overseas travel options available from the 17th, these are extremely limited and I do not wish to add Bedlam to my list or resort to desperation that some folk subscribe to judging by the chaos at airports currently. So, the plan is to try and get the balance right between relief from daily chores and exploration which is the hallmark of all my tours. Above all I wish to be safe and apply that common sense that is so necessary under the circumstances.
Preparations…….. Preparations are understandably not going to be demanding and I shall travel as light as possible. The car needs a good clean and I replaced two tyres for the relatively short journey south.
Day 1, Saturday 22 May
Road out of Lockdown…….. I guess it’s to be expected but I start what promises to be an interesting day with a rather restless night but it’s all good to go on a journey out of lockdown. Well packing takes no time, then here’s breakfast and the endless chores and checks before I can finally turn the key in the lock. At 8.15am I’m on the road south. Soon I’m out of the county for the first time in over a year. The GPS shows that I should arrive at my pre-arranged destination easily before 10am.
Oakham Treasures…….. The location of Oakham Treasures is just 10 minutes' drive from home for Ellie and Leo at Portishead. The attraction was suggested some time ago by daughter Ellie and it’s where we meet up for the first time since her wedding in September last year. Arriving at the site, the first thing I notice is its rural setting: I didn’t expect it to be plumb in the city but neither did I expect it to be surrounded by farmland. Clearly its former use was linked to agriculture. Their website www.Oakhamtreasures.co.uk gives and overview of what you will find here.
Oakham Treasures is one of the largest privately owned museums of retail and farming history in the UK. Opened to the public for the very first time since July 2008, it has already become an award-winning major attraction, and guarantees to give you an amazing and uplifting trip down memory lane. Whether you are 8 or 80, you'll be fascinated by this vast and unique collection of memorabilia from the last century. There really is something for everybody, from the thousands of items in the historic stores, to the impressive display of vintage tractors and farm equipment.
As we begin to explore the various halls of exhibits my mind throws me back to similar collections I’ve uncovered in Thailand. I still find it incredible that so many items which were part of our daily lives have survived at all. How would you not have used or thrown away a bar of soap from the mid 1900’s for example. Now turned 70, I remember so many retail exhibits which we took for granted and didn’t even realise they had disappeared. It does indeed indicate how far we have come in a person’s lifetime and even in a generation.
The countless exhibits are arranged by type and neatly displayed in cabinets for smaller items while the larger pieces, vintage cars, tractors, motorbikes and other equipment are displayed in neat rows with an excellent description of each exhibit some dating back 100 years. Amidst the collection you will also find examples which prove that the collecting process is still evolving. That mobile phone that you used just recently will age and be joined by more and more obsolete examples.
We arranged the day to kick this visit off with the intention of moving on to lunch. It’s really impossible to take in all the exhibits that are on show but you should spend a minimum of two hours here. We find enough time to visit the coffee shop and catch up with life since our last meeting that enables us to slow things right down, the way it should be. It’s time for lunch at that takes us from Portbury to the southwest of Bristol to Filton in the opposite direction, a journey of 20 minutes.
The Air Balloon…….. Located on the A38 Gloucester Road, the Air Balloon is a traditional British pub with Sport on TV. It has a familiar menu of grills and global food. The 8oz rump steak seems good to me and cooked medium rare, it’s one of the better steaks I’ve had. The pace of life continues to slow as we now split up at 3pm, Ellie and Leo returning home to Portishead while I head for my accommodation in Almondsbury, just 10 minutes away for a break.
The Swan Hotel…….. The Swan Hotel is easy to find on the Gloucester Road in the picturesque village of Almondsbury. Check-in is straightforward and despite some comments I’ve read, the room seems comfortable enough but despite a comfy bed, I just don’t sleep. Around 5pm I walk just a couple of hundred yards to a viewpoint with panoramic views of the Severn Crossings. It’s too early to form a lasting impression of the Swan but certainly its location is a real bonus. As I return and tune in to social media, I’m ready for the final event of the day.
Deflated…….. I need to cross over to the west of Bristol again, this time to Portishead where Ellie and Leo have their flat. The purpose of this visit is to watch the FA Trophy final between Hereford FC and Hornchurch. Although this event started at 4.25pm, Leo has saved the stream till I arrive. This could be the icing on the cake on the first stage of my journey OutofLockdown if Hereford win. Well, while the Bulls opened the scoring in the first half and held the lead for most of the game, they collapsed in the final stages conceding 3 goals against the odds. Gone 9pm I return to the Swan, take a beer and prepare for the night totally dejected. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. After a beer in the bar, it’s 11pm before I turn in.... Next Page.
Oakham Treasures, Portbury, Bristol
The Air Balloon, Filton, Bristol
Severn Bridge from Almondsbury, Bristol
Almondsbury Village, Bristol
The Swan Hotel, Almondsbury, Bristol