Thursday 9 May 2013

Somerset holiday

We spent a lovely week in North Somerset, coming home last Saturday.  As Katie was taking her art IGCSE in Bristol is seemed a perfect opportunity to rent a cottage for the week somewhere close by and we found Mendip View in Congresbury as our ideal holiday home.  It was absolutely perfect with owners, Clare and Richard, just next door in case any problems cropped up and for a good natter over the fence should we see them!  A homely, well stocked welcome basket awaited us on the kitchen table and there were other lovely little additions around the house - bubble bath, dishwasher tablets, a towel for Poppy (should the weather be foul (luckily it wasn't)), games and plenty of books.
Mendip View, Congresbury

As the week went on we began to realise how perfectly located the cottage is.  Main roads to Bristol were a stone's throw away, the motorway about 15 mins and the local train station which took us into Bristol (and then on to London as Paul needed to go into the office one afternoon) just 5 mins away.  We even had Bristol airport a short drive away and took a couple of opportunities to drive up to a parking area alongside the runway to get a really good close view of take offs and landings.  We could quite easily up-sticks and move to this place - it ticked all the boxes.
Somerset
Shopping took place in Bristol and at Cadbury Garden Centre (excellent craft finds there).  Pretty water feature at Bristol harbourside.  Some eating out took place - nice to be spoilt once in a while!  Watching planes take off and land alongside the runway at Bristol airport.

With the house being at the foot of Cadbury Hill, we took  a climb to the top to witness the fabulous views right over the Bristol Channel to Wales.  On the way back down, getting a little lost among the many man-made paths, we discovered a vast expanse of wild garlic - it smelt wonderful.
View from top of Cadbury Hill

Other amazing views were from the top of Uphill, a lovely village close to Weston-Super-Mare.
View from top of Uphill, towards the sea with St. Nicholas church

There were also visits to Clevedon, SS Great Britain (Brunel's beautiful ship docked at Bristol harbourside), At Bristol interactive science centre (Ben's highlight of the week) and a few drives in the Land Rover, including some lovely leafy and hilly lanes.

Nice to be home, but really missing the fun and relaxation of being away.

5 comments:

Natasha said...

What a great post! I live in Clevedon and love it :) Glad you had a nice time

Elaine, Ellies Treasures said...

You are so lucky Natasha - such a fabulous part of the country to live.

Made by Mrs Jones x said...

Lovely that you had such a relaxing holiday. I live in Somerset, but much nearer Devon and I love living here.

Janice Ashworth said...

Right on our doorstep in weston -super -Mare, Its certainly a lovely place to live, country , coast and city all close . So much more you can explore on another visit, with cheddar gorge. Glastonbury and the Somerset levels, glad you enjoyed it, and you could always Pop into Clevedon Craft centre to see me :-)

Elaine, Ellies Treasures said...

Thanks for commenting ladies. Janice, oh yes, will certainly be coming back. Have visited Cheddar in the past, and Glastonbury too, which we absolutely loved. Saw the signs to the craft centre, wish we'd stopped off there now, would have been great to meet you.