Back on the road again and first stop was Bristol… I wish we had found this site years ago, and I’m glad they keep pushing out the closing date as it is in such a great location.

We hadn’t appreciated what a coffee hub Bristol was, but it is fair to say that where in Ireland every second building has a bar in it, in Bristol it’s a coffee shop…and there are some good ones!

WIth nothing specific planned apart from catching up with Nick and Jeanette, we mooched around, explored further, ate cake, drank coffee and I even visited Bristol Uni’s swimming pool for a couple of ‘serious’ swims…. it is funny the type of person a swimming pool attracts, but Bristol Uni was definately one for ‘enthusiasts’… they weren’t hanging around, and I felt a little out of place having only just started back again.

A lovely few days and good to get in the pool again without causing too much discomfort!

So, to continure with the sharing and raising awareness of Osteoporosis, things are going ok, no, better than ok, they are going well, very well – slow, but sure… but I guess if we are in this for the long run, we need to try and get long term solutions and start thinking outside the box.

I’ve been working with a nutritionalist to ensure that I am eating the right things, at the right time to help put on weight… as although for some this may sound strange, but for me, weight gain is an issue – which in turn could have an impact on bone health. The slighter your frame, the more likely that you are to have issues as you get older especially.

The diet – or better said, what I have been eating – is balanced and appears to have all the nutrients, as well as calories that I should need, so I have been having a whole load of blood tests to understand whether my body is absorbing them. Time will tell, but we are on the right road and will just open the doors that we need to as they appear. The main change since I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis is to increase my already fairly high protein intake. It’s a scary fact that most people don’t get enough protein in their diets, I had been eating more than my recommended daily intake, but we have increased it even more to try and help. Generally, the older we get, this, along with fibre is lacking in our diets which in turn can lead to loss of muscle and other issues.

The other area that showed up on the initial blood tests was Vitamin D – which despite being March when the tests were taken, we assumed that of all people, our Vitamin D levels would be ok…. both of us were really low. We are always outside, rain or shine – so if our Vitamin D were low in March, I would be fairly confident that most peoples’ are. Neither Keith nor I showed any signs of being deficient – mood change, muscle weakness, aches, fatigue – but the bloods don’t lie, so I encourage everyone to think about taking a supplement over the winter months at least as it is something that all doctors recommend… we simply don’t get enough sun light in the UK, and when we do, we cover up with sunscreen… quite rightly!

After alot of consideration, I have currently decided not to take the recommended medication for the osteoporosis as it appears to have alot of possible side effects and the general consensus is that I should be able to do this by focussing on diet and exercise, with the help of HRT.

I had been considering HRT for a while anyway, and managing the symptons of the menapause naturally – however there is proven evidence to state that the HRT improves Bone Health and I have opted for Body Identical HRT…so hopefully minimalising the negatives.

Then, just to conclude, final piece of the picture will be exercise ….something that everyone knows has been a massive part of my life, and that I have had to adapt and change dramatically. The good news is that I am now back walking and cycling as before, and have now joined a gym, so when we are based back near Maidenhead I can go and use it for low impact cardio and core strength and it has been working out well, giving me some of those endorphines I was missing.

I have been seeing a physio to help with building core strength and have now also started to build in swimming into my routine. I am a front crawl swimmer so have started to build this up slowly, and as I have been told by the physio back stroke is good for you, I am now also trying to teach myself how to intersperse a few lengths into the routine.

So, watch this space as I will now be searching out swimming pools as we travel…who knows I may even go off piste and start doing some open water swimming!!

Moving on from Bristol, we travelled just 25 miles or so to Wells, where we had booked Woodlands CL which was roughly 5km outside the city, and possibly one of the most tranquil sites we have ever stayed.

We ventured out to stretch our legs after lunch, following the twisting lanes to Wookey Hole, then back through Wookey to Easton – beautiful rolling hills and greenery falling away around us… despite a huge film crew obviously taking advantage of Wookey hole as their set midweek. No idea how they all managed to disappear by 8am the following morning… but they left no trace behind them!

Wells is beautiful, and although we have been here before whilst living in Bath, it was nice to come back and see it whilst it wasn’t quite so busy… possibly something to do with the rain clouds looming that put people off the Saturday market!

We ventured in on the Saturday to check out the market, which was pretty poor unfortunately, but had planned to try out ‘The Good Earth’, a canteen style vegetarian cafe that reminded me of Cranks when I was growing up. Proper wholesome food, from soups through to Quiches, Pizza and Baked Potatoes as well as cakes and pudding.

As it was a bit wet on Saturday, we went back in on Sunday as well, and it was strangely nice to see that most of the shops were also closed on a Sunday…something that is quite rare nowadays.

Moving on from Wells, we set off to Taunton where we had booked FAWKS in to have a super loud alarm fitted, the same one as we had had previously on the old motorhome. The company has changed, with Ash and Nick – the two brothers – setting up a new entity called WattGuardz. Everything went smoothly and we even managed to find a couple of fantastic coffee shops in Taunton whilst we waited for the work to be done.

They finished on time at 16:30 as promised, and it was then another short hop, skip and a jump down the M5 and A38 to get back to Buckfastleigh, where we have stayed before at the Tea Plantation to go eat at Riverford Field Kitchen.

I ventured out in the morning to try out their LIDO…. although the temperature had dropped overnight and not only was it freezing in the pool, it was also pretty cold and windy when I got out. Quite obviously , I need a little more fat on my bones before I do that again!

Having warmed up, we walked over to Riverford Field kitchen for lunch, where once again, we had a selection of incredibly well balanced sharing plates, full of texture and flavour. A wonderful experience and ambience, no matter whether you are a meat eater or not.

Just one of those places that you could keep coming back to and each week they will have a different menu depending on what is in the garden…very clever, making the most of simple ingredients, providing wonderful flavour.

Although we have repeated a bit of ground from our penultimate trip, we just can’t help ourselves as this part of the country is so beautiful, the local produce is excellent, and once again, we have been very lucky with the weather.

Therefore, next stop had to be back to Exmouth where we found Matt and Jon again to catch up, walk, cycle, explore and naturally…. eat, what more can you ask for!

Last time we were here we spoke about some of the fantastic seafood restaurants, and although we were once again a bit of an unplanned last minute visitor, somehow Matt and Jon managed to get a table at the Rive Exe Cafe, quite a unique, seasonal restaurant that has featured on a few foodie programmes, and is therefore quite difficult to get a booking.

The weather was horrendous overnight and in the morning with torrential rain and storms, however thankfully it cleared up after lunch, and by the time we took the river boat accoss to the floating restaurant it was grey, but dry….and we’ll take that!

It isn’t all seafood, but we all opted for one kind of fish or another… including some pickled cockles to nibble on – which incidently were delicious, and to be tried again!

The food was delicious and not expensive, highly recommended if you can get a booking and don’t get seasick….you may even get to eat on the deck if the weather is slightly nicer.

On Friday we spent the day exploring the area a little more with Jake, Matt and Jon’s dog – who although dragged his heals a little when he realised just how much walking he was going to be doing – helped show us his local hood as we really have started to like this area and what it offers.

Then on Saturday, we jumped on the bikes and headed up to Topsham to explore and as it presented itself to us and looked so good, ended up eating delicious Gelato at Cocolato, well worth a visit if you are close by. It was then a short ride back to Darts Farm to re-stock our fridge and find even more local delicacies.

Matt and Jon had invited us over for a ‘light’ supper, although we aren’t sure Matt knows what ‘light’ means, but we’d be happy if he did it again as it was all delicious! I am not sure they realise, but they aren’t doing a very good job at putting us off the area at all, especially when Matt cooks up a flavoursome storm each time we visit!

Needless to say, once again we had exhausted our three night stay, and although we did contemplate going away for a few nights and coming back again, it just wasn’t going to work. So we said our goodbyes to Matt, Jon and Jake, and moved on to Bridport.

Once again, we booked to stay at the same Campsite and this time, had planned a trip to the other pub in Burton Bradstock, which had a reputation for its seafood specials.

We still both think that it is a fantastic location and another one of those ‘happy places’ due to the natural beauty surrounding it…..and I was able to make use of a local swimming pool which made me happy with a mix of cycling and walking!

A few lovely days of exploring… and more gelato in Westport, oh my – if you haven’t come across Baboo Gelato, you need to search it out. Keith and I both would agree that this is possibly the best double chocolate gelato that we have had outside Italy, and the Hazelnut was amazing too.

Leaving Bridport, once again it was just a short hop along the coast, taking in the stunningly beautiful scenery en route.

Leading us to our last stop of this little trip which was just outside Weymouth, where Keith had found a fantastic little campsite perched in the hills, with beautiful walking and just a short bike ride down into Weymouth…. where the locals were curious, but friendly.

As the local swimming pool did everything they could to make it difficult to go for a swim, I headed into Weymouth on the bike in the morning and took advantage of the tranquility first thing – as did a couple of enthusiastic swimmers. Possibly the best time of day to enjoy Weymouth beach… before anyone else gets there!

We had only booked for two nights, but had then tried unsuccessfully to extend our stay here, unfortunately the site was full. So we will have to come back to explore further and pay a couple of the local restaurants a visit as both ‘Catch’ and ‘Bennetts’ have caught our eye.

You may be wondering why there aren’t quite so many foodie photos this time, despite having been by the sea so much, we had planned to eat out in a wonderful cafe called ‘Soulshine’ in Bridport that we had found previously, but once again my body has decided to throw a curveball on me – whether it is due to the Menapause, or the trauma related to the fractures and Osteoporosis, I don’t know but I have found that I have become intolerent to some foods. Depsite trying to keep a food diary and work out what has been triggering the reaction, I haven’t been able to pin it down as we eat such a varied diet, so having been in so much pain I took the decision to pair it back and work my way through an elimination diet – something I can only describe as a complicated process, but I am glad I am doing it.

I was a little rubbish as I really didn’t want to remove all the food groups – especially as I am trying to gain, not lose weight, but I succombed to most, and started off with removing all Starchy Foods (which means all grains such as wheat, barley, couscous, spelt, rye, oats), Citrus, Nuts and Seeds, Nightshade Vegetables (such as tomatoes, aubergine, peppers, potatos and spices such as paprika, cayenne, etc.), Dairy, Fats (except Olive Oil), Spices and condiments (including mustard, mayonaise, etc), Sugar and Sweets and of course alcohol…..yep, just a bit dull to say the least!

So, I elected to still drink black coffee, eat legumes (lentils, beans, etc), as well as fish (both white and salmon), eggs and I was able to eat green and root veg and non citrus fruits (apple, bananas, apricots, etc), Quinoa, rice and buckwheat, and most herbs, salt and pepper. It was quite difficult to think of each meal to start, but I did a bit of batch cooking and between us, we soon got our heads round it… albeit that some of the food was a little ‘bland’ to say the least!

After 48 hours the inflammation and pain had started to die down, so I introduced the first food group… nuts and seeds – which at least gave a bit of texture and interest to my food, as well as giving me more good fats and energy. 48 hours later and all was good, so I introduced Oats on their own as we make a lovely ‘Daily Bread’ which, on the assumption this worked, would give me a good staple. Another 48 hours and all good. The following group was going to be dairy, but as we use Kefir in so much and I was concerned that this may be the ‘troublesome’ group, I decided to seperate it out, starting with just our home made kefir on its own. Bang….flared up again, huge disappointment. But I decided to park dairy for now completely as it is obviously a trigger, and move on.

I have since re-introduced citrus, nightshade – or at least some of them, and alcohol. Some have a small affect, but none have the same affect that dairy had and I can live with that for now. I have a few more days to go until I can start eating and drinking with confidence / knowledge as to what effect the foods will have which is a bit rubbish as today is my 50th, but I am still celebrating with a veritable feast on the BBQ with Monkfish, Seabass and Swordfish… and I can deal with that, if in the long term I feel better…. ready to take on the next 50 years with avengeance…. or maybe just 25 with good health!!

We have however a couple of new recipes to share that aren’t bland and do incorporate most ingredients that normal people would eat…
– Tom Kerridge Cauliflower Quinoa
– Gooey Peanut Butter and Jam Brownies

….and of course the map of where we have been, although not long now and we will be off again!