Mowgli’s Travels

Mowgli’s Wye Valley Adventure – Day 2

It is day two, after an amazing breakfast at our lovely BnB we are ready to head off.  We jump in the car and head off to Monmouth to have a little explore of the village, we walk to the river Wye, and visit the famous bridge, we do part of the tourist walk and see the Judges’ Lodging and old Market Street.

The weather starts to clear so we head to Usk Castle in Usk.  Usk Castle is privately owned and free to enter during the day, with donations requested.  It is dog friendly, so we wander around the remains,  it is quite beautiful with well tended gardens and lovely views.

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Usk Castle

Next we head to Tintern Abbey.  The ruins of the cistercian abbey are impressive and vast.  It is of course, dog friendly as long as your friend is on a lead and you make sure you pick up after them.  Its £6.90 for adults and free for dogs.  The ruins are well preserved with lots of information boards around the site.  The Abbey is one of the oldest tourist sites, and reported to be one of the first package holiday destinations.  More Information here.

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Tintern Abbey

We follow the Wye river path to the old mill and wander the art and craft shops before heading out of Tintern.

On recommendation we make our way to The Miners Arms in Lydney for dinner.  This plain looking local pub turns out to be one of the best meals we have had in a long time.  The coconut and pumpkin soup is amazing,  the pork belly is tender and all the food is locally produced.  This really is a great find!

 

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Mowgli’s Wye Valley Adventure – Day 1

It’s time for a weekend away, so we’re off to a BnB in the Wye Valley.  We decide to stay at a small BnB near the little village of St Briavels.  More information on the BnB here it is dog friendly so Mowgli is coming with us.

We drive from London and enjoy the winding drive to through the countryside.  On the way we stop at the Salutation Inn and enjoy their lunch time deal.  The Inn is a lovely snug spot with great food and a local selection of beers for those not driving and is dog friendly.

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The Salutation Inn

We arrive and check in at The Green Gables, then we head off on a walk to the village of St Briavels.  The Castle is in this little village is actually a Youth Hostel that you can stay in.  You can walk around the inside and there is a little guide at the desk which talks you through the history of the Castle and the grounds.  We wander around and enjoy the view.  The George pub (also a dog friendly pub) serves great food, the stroganoff was particularly yum.

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St Briavels

We walk back, Mowgli meets some sheep for the first time.

 

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Sheep

 

A very Mowgli adventure

A new sort of adventure, dog friendly, countryside hotel…a very grown up weekend away!

We have hired a car, with our littlest elf snuggled up in the back seat we head off to the Cotswolds.  We wind our way though little streets ad pass through lots of lovely villages that are gearing up for Christmas.  It is a cozy delight.

We stop for a quick lunch in a lovely pub The King’s Inn.

Back in the car we head towards our accommodation for tonight.  The Fish Hotel.  The Fish boasts its own restaurant and has lots of different options for accommodation, including a dog friendly section.

We check in and drive down to the stable.  The room is wonderful and Mowgli even gets a bed, bowl, towel and treats!  The treats are a big hit.  We take advantage of the location and head our for a walk around the pond and fields.  Mowgli is in heaven.

The Fish accommodates it’s canine guests accompanied by their humans in the bar for dinner and breakfast.

In terms of dog friendly, this Hotel really is amazing.

We spend the next day we drive to Woodstock and visit the market and wander in the pretty town.  This is the home of Blenheim Palace which is worth a visit if you have time.

We hired the car though Sixt and they were great with Mowgli and would recommend them if you need a dog friendly option.

 

Mowgli had a great time, and so did we.  The Cotswolds is a beautiful location and really lovely for a getaway.  There are so many cute little places you can stop and experience something new.

New Elfdom

There are many different adventures in life. Some of them are exciting, some are inspirational, some we embark upon because something is missing from our lives, some because there is too much of something in our lives.

Our newest adventures has been moving home.  Having been in our Clapham flat for 4 years (possibly one of my longest addresses) we have decided to move on.  Not far, but on to a new area of London (I know! Weird right!) and a new house.  We’ve a garden and everything now!  It has been a big change and a bigger move than we had anticipated.

For one thing, our box labeling game, it turns out was very poor. “Kitchen” is not sufficient.  Also our packing skills…whilst very good in terms of space saving was fabulous it was creative in the combinations of items we deemed sensible to pack together at the time.

In any case, we are in.  We’ve not enough storage outside the now huge number of cardboard boxes that we are surreptitiously trying to sneak out with the recycling.

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Mowgli’s moving must haves:

  1. Blanket in full access at all times.
  2. Food at normal times.
  3. Lots of cuddles and love on demand.
  4. Explore all the new walks together.

We’re off on an adventure

“Let us step into the night and pursue

that flighty temptress,

adventure.” 

 

JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Mowgli’s Favorite Parks

We love our walks, its a great way to get some exercise together, bond and enjoy London in a different way.  So, in honor of International Dogs Day, here are three of Mowgli’s favorite parks for walkies in London.

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Regents Park

Regent’s Park is one of the loveliest parks in central London.  We love to wander around and enjoy the beautiful gardens.  Though of course no dogs are allowed in the rose gardens.  But aside from that it is a dog friendly park with lots to explore together.

Clapham Common

Our local favorite and a very, very doggy park.  The common has both long wild grass areas and short grass for little legs.  There are lots of dogs to play with and lots of ponds as well.  We love the common.

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Finsbury Park

If you want something different, head to Finsbury Park and enjoy the old railway track walk.  there are lots of paths and places to explore. Great on a summer’s day and there is a lovely cafe in the middle of the Park which is dog friendly and does some yummy cakes and sandwiches.

 

Happy Walking!

Mowgli’s first adventure

This is it.  Adventure time with Mowgli.

We catch the train to Winchester.

There is a lot of snuggling and loving of a polite dog loving man we’ve not met before.  (Don’t worry Mr Elf, Mowgli did the snuggling and loving not me).  This seems to be the biggest issue we encounter with a pup on transport…his affection for complete strangers is inexhaustible.

received_10155108356117655Transport in London is pretty pet friendly.  No dogs on the seats and they must be “under control”.  So tubes, buses and trains are all open as long as you have these two rules sorted.

The train to Winchester is about 50-60 minutes long and do able in puppy bladder terms.  although we do ensure he is empty before we get on and he gets a change to go as soon as we get off.

Pubs and cafes are also for the most part dog friendly in the UK although, do respect the signs that say otherwise when you see them.

We spend the weekend tearing around the garden and avoiding the cat.  Said cat…not too keen on this usurper of affection and steal-er of unattended food.

The train ride back is easy…Mowgli is happy to all asleep on a lap and wake up back in London.

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