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A new section where village people can send in a report and photos of their holiday. The section starts with one new report and two older ones. New stories and photos are always welcomed.

The Hounsells in France - 2007

Mark Hounsell

Jackie and I are regular visitors to France during the early and late summer, usually with our caravan. Last year, we decided to do things a little differently and we set off in mid-January for a month long trip through France and Spain.

The only specific plan was to meet Philip and Chris Bays in south west Spain, ten days after leaving. Our stopover at La Rochelle and Ile de Re (old favourites from previous visits) saw some heavy overnight snows but the weather soon improved as we went further south. Driving down through western Spain, we decided - on the spur of the moment - to stop overnight at Merida (about 200 miles north of Seville). Now here’s the thing: Brandeston people can be found all over the world. Arriving at the campsite shortly after us were Bob and Patience from Mutton Lane (pictured above)!! We had a very pleasant evening together before moving on the next day. We duly met Philip and Chris for a most enjoyable few days near Cadiz, including a visit to the Gonzales Byas bodega in Jerez. However, most of our trip was spent in our favourite – France.

What, for us, is the attraction of visiting France so often?

Well, quite apart from the food and wine, France, outside the peak season, is so quiet and peaceful. How much nicer could a caravan site be than that at Plougerneau on the north coast of Brittany - Jackie, pictured with our caravan, having a large area of the site to ourselves. How wonderful to wake up, pull the curtains, make some coffee and watch the sea birds and the fisherman leaving for the day’s catch. This could be purchased, in the early evening, at the nearby little fishing port for that evening’s supper.

Of course, France is famous for its beautiful villages and its scenery – such as St Cirq Lapopie in the Lot valley (top) and the Pic du Midi (one of the highest peaks in the French Pyrenees) – both visited in September last year.

Our Trip to India - October 2007

Ellen and Maddie Hutson

On 15 October, there was much excitement in Mutton Lane.  We were off to India on a Dragoman family trip with Mary and Richard our neighbours.

We arrived in Delhi, the capital,  got into our taxis and made our way to the first hotel.   It was like a different world. Sacred cows roamed the dirty streets, most of them living on plastic bags and rubbish. The taxi ride was an experience! There didn’t seem to be any rules on the roads and there was so much traffic, all beeping their horns all the time.

We stayed at lots of different hotels as we travelled around a lot in the truck. We went to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Ranthambore.

While we were there, we went to lots of interesting historic places and visited the Taj Mahal, which was amazingly beautiful. We liked looking around but it was quite hot and we couldn’t always understand the guide as he spoke too quickly with an Indian accent.

Our favourite things have to be: camel riding across the desert, swimming in the pool (when there was one!), riding in the Dragoman truck (called Archie!), riding in the auto rickshaws, the Indian Pizza Hut! seeing wild monkeys and other animals, seeing a leopard in Ranthambore National Park and, of course, the Taj Mahal. 

Things that were not so nice were the beggars, especially the poor children, and people trying to sell you things all the time.  We felt sorry for the dogs as they were all stray and very thin. We had to have our photo taken lots of times with the Indians and their children as they thought we were unusual with blonde hair and light skin!

It was good being with Mary and Richard as well. If we got fed up with Mum and Dad we could go with them! We were with another family as well with one son who was 15 and they were really nice.

We really, really loved India and we both want to go back again. It was more of an adventure than a holiday! We definitely want to go on another Dragoman trip, maybe somewhere different next time.

Photos: Marian Hutson

Click here for more photos from the “Mutsons’” holiday.

David and Ruth Risk Go On Holiday – 2007

At the end of February 2007, we headed for Australia, stopping en route at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for three days which included a visit to Sultan Abdul Samad building in Independence Square. Note the contrast of new world and old. We arrived at Armdale, WA and stayed with my brother Peter and his wife Lynda (see the photo below) and went walking most mornings with their dog around various woods and scrubland from where the main timber was taken many years ago and is now mostly small scrub but a target for fly tippers – hence the rocks (see in the Theme area).

In July, we went up to Scotland with a few targets in mind – one being Inchmahome Island and Priory (now in ruins) built in 1253 which is in the Lake of Menteith in the parish of Port of Menteith, a few miles west of Stirling from where my grandmother came. After that, we went to Tobermory on Mull and on to Iona to visit the abbey which is undergoing repair. I took the picture from the land side and it is not like the pictures you normally see without scaffolding!

At the end of August, we went off to Northern Cyprus (for the fifth time). I hope you can understand why. We stayed on the north coast to start with at Deniz Kizi which had a sandy beach in a small cove. Next door, the LA Hotel’s beach was also sandy - we photographed it in the late afternoon when the wind sometimes gets up.

We moved to the east coast (Famagusta) Palm Beach which we really like, the hotel being on the beach with only the sun shades between. From here, you can see the forgotten city of Varosha which has been fenced off and patrolled by Turkish soldiers on the north, Greeks on the south and the UN in the middle since 1976 to keep the island divided and hopefully at peace. Many hotels and buildings are completely abandoned with entry strictly forbidden but there is a lovely, unused beach (I first went there in 1959). During our stay, we went up the Karpag and along the long narrow peninsular at the north east corner of the island. There, many donkeys roam wild since being abandoned in the fifties when mechanisation started to take place. Around the countryside, there are many old tractors etc, of types which have long been outdated here.

Click here to see more of the Risks’ photos in the Theme area.