My Lovely Cousin and I had a rare day out without the Outlaws on Mondegg. When I am at home in Zumerzet, I am a “vurriner,” an incomer, but on Monday we took the old camper-van to my home county of the legendary Moonrakers (Wiltshire) where for a while at least, I was the local and my Lovely was the incomer.
We briefly stopped at a cafe and farm shop in the village of Burton where we tested some most excellent cakes before meeting some of the locals.
including this little baby.
The nearby pub is called The Old House at Home, and has had many a pub sign to advertise the same. The most poignant of these I remember from my youth in the '70s was a depiction of a city gent on one side with bowler hat, suit, and umbrella, and on the other side of the sign, the same man in khakis with a shouldered rifle.
Afterwards we made the short journey to Castel Combe, reputed to be the prettiest village in England.
After a brew and a bacon butty prepared on the hob, we strolled down the hill to the village, passing this interesting tree on the way.
At the bottom of the hill is the old market cross. Segments of the film, Warhorse were filmed here.
There are also a couple of pubs, the church, and the entrance to the Manor House hotel. I used to drink about once a month in the White Hart pub, run by a Missus Wheeler and her four gorgeous daughters, not that that was the reason why my friends and I went there.
One December, the landlady and two of her daughters dragged my friends and I out to the manor house (before it became a hotel) to sing christmas carols for charity. We made a fair bit of money, partly because some of the singists were quite good, but I’m sure in part it was to get at least some of us to shut up and leave sooner rather than later. 
The river Bybrook runs through the village which once fed many mills for the corn and wool industry.
Fire up the barbie!
A demoiselle damselfly.
An “obbly-onker” (horse chestnut - conker) tree along the river bank.
Bridges, some public, some private cross the river downstream of the village.
The most famous cottages, used in the film, Doctor Doolittle’s Circus, starring Rex Harrison. This riverside location was turned into a sea-port for the film. To fit the period, TV aerials were removed from rooftops, and a hilltop aerial with cable TV to the homes was provided by the film company.
After the seemingly never-ending half-mile climb back up the hill to the car park, we took a somewhat tortuous route back to Somerset where we stopped for tea by a lake at the town of Backwell, where my Lovely Cousin attended school until her early teens.
Two of the locals.
Whatchew looking at?
A couple of young gooses.
After that we looped around to Weston-super-Mud seafront to view the new moon.
The wind off the Atlantic was strong enough to lift this kite-surfer up a fair old depth.
When moons collide…
Flatholme island, with Wales beyond.
The old (Birnbeck) and the new pier. Hopefully work will start later this year on restoring the old pier.
After that, we headed home to relieve my (male) cousin’s wife who had been “babysitting” my Outlaws.
. Glad you had a good time!
