Thursday July 31, 2014

We had a good nights sleep in our tent, unfortunately the condensation problem has not been fixed and we are still getting dripped on in the mornings.  Next rest day we will get some Nik Wax waterproofing and soak the inside of the tent.

We left the campsite early at 8:15, the earliest we have been on the road for a while, the sun was out and it felt good to be on the bikes.  Todays route was rolling hills, although it felt very much downhill.  The uphills were followed by great swooping downhills.  The first road we took was a fairly quiet B Road but we had to join the A338 which was horrendous.  The car drivers in England do not give us much room and are very impatient.  We found a C road to follow for a while and in Fordinbridge we found the B3078 to Wimborne Minster which was a lovely ride, and then back on the A349  to Poole.

We headed straight for the ferry port which was really well signed, although a very convoluted way of getting to it.  We bought our tickets for tomorrow’s crossing and headed back into Poole to the Tourist Information to find accommodation for tonight.

We were told about a campsite 3 miles (5kms) outside of Poole it was advertised from 7.50.  Please note the “from”.  When we got to the campsite which was 7.5 kms outside of Poole we were told the fee was 25.00 pounds.  That is 7.50 each and 10.00 for the pitch if we wanted power that would be an extra 6.00.  $50.00 to park our little tent, crazy.  Last nights campsite with kitchen and all of its facilities was only 14.oo pound – does not make any sense to me at all.

I was so mad at the “false” advertising I said no we wouldn’t pay it.  We cycled back into the Tourist Information office – which then made our total mileage for the day to 92.5 kms.  We booked into a hotel that charged 25 pound per person.  I know that sounds as if I was cutting my nose of to spite my face, but at least we are only 15 minutes from the ferry, we have a good hot shower and a bed.

A Registry Office in England is used for weddings.  This old building was the registry office in Poole, the stairs make a great photo opportunity for the wedding party.

We have to get back on budget in France which may mean we will be wild camping in some areas.