Last weekend was a welcome break after a month chock full of work! Previously we have shot up and down the Tardebigge locks in a weekend and been llama trekking on the Isle of Wight, but this time Neil and Amy, Laura and I headed for a random adventure in Dorset. After a pub lunch in Poole and a wander along the quayside, we checked in to the lovely Hilltop Barn in Winterborne Zelston. The converted barn is a cosy combination of home and guest house, and our hosts very friendly and excellent cooks.
The Tank Museum was the next stop, for a combined firework display and tank demonstration. The tanks thundered by in near darkness, so it was hard to tell exactly what was going past, but they were certainly big and bang-y. Unfortunately the advertised funfair had failed to materialise. As the frustrated man on the PA kept telling us, they had paid for it!
A tank in front of the bonfire.
After, we repaired for a curry. Despite it being Saturday night, we were the only ones in the restaurant when we got there. Although the food was very nice, the large screen TV showing gyrating Indian dancers was a strange touch. The service was also slightly strange, topped off when we were brought two mints with the bill, for a table which quite obviously had four people sat at it.
I had felt the need to bring sparklers on the trip, and everyone enjoyed writing things in the dark of the countryside.
#random2012 in sparklers.
After a leisurely start on Sunday, partly to avoid the rain, we visited Monkey World, a sanctuary for simians rescued from laboratories and tourist traps around the world. Although it was cold, there were plenty of monkeys playing around. I particularly enjoyed watching the gibbons fling themselves across their cage, their strangely elongated forearms catching on passing ropes. We kept ourselves fuelled with what has become the food of choice on our random trips; the aptly named handheld cakes.
Just one of two varieties of handheld cake made by Amy.
