After being in Oxford for six months, we are finally able to have a couple of months away exploring!
Our first adventure was to Wolverley CCC site to visit good friends Terry, Karen and of course Barney the Border.
The site is in a lovely location, within a five minute walk of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Facilities on site are excellent and the welcome we received from the site staff was very friendly.
On our first day we had a quick wander to check on the canal and had a drink in the pub nearby, then arranged to be collected by Terry and Karen the following day.
We spent the next morning at Kinver Edge, a sandstone ridge in Staffordshire where you can also see the famous Holy Austin Rock Houses unfortunately closed when we visited. We enjoyed a bracing walk and caught up on life, family and work then were treated to a lovely lunch back at their house. Kaz and Terry are a couple we worked with at Hereford and they were absolute life-savers, at a time when we were working our socks off. They made us laugh, kept us sane and have been great friends ever since. Both are wonderful hosts and you will never go hungry in their company!
After a leisurely afternoon they dropped us back at the van , with plans to meet the next evening for a meal at their favourite ltalian restaurant.
The next day we dusted off Dean’s bicycle and assembled my new folded bicycle for its inaugural trip. We had such beautiful weather and the picturesque scenery along the canal towpath made the effort all worthwhile. We headed away from Kidderminster towards Kinver (after advice from Terry) and we were not disappointed. It was a little bit bumpy sometimes along the route but nothing major, and this time of year it was still relatively quiet so we did not have to stop for walkers too many times.
The total ride was around 10-12 miles and we did stop for lunch at The Vine, Kinver to break the journey.
That evening, we met up with Terry and Kaz again for a meal at Love Italia, Kidderminster. If ever you want to experience excellent customer service, visit this restaurant. Nothing was too much trouble, the food was excellent and the price did not reflect this. Such good value for a wonderful evening.
