Cromwell Market then a Return to Scottland

Sunday 19 April

It was all a bit grey and grim again as we packed up at Lowburn before we outstayed our three-day welcome, and headed into Cromwell. After a supplies top-up at New World we managed to find a parking space over at the heritage precinct and popped into the Sunday market.

Lots of crafts in the old Masonic hall and we bought a cool ANZAC poppy from Helen's Whimsical Creations, and a lovely pair of earrings. Everything Helen makes is recycled - the poppies from old vinyl singles and LPs and the jewellery from silver cutlery. The recycled antique cutlery & silverware was crafted into jewellery, sewing implements, coat hooks, fruit hangers, hair clips, bookmarks and other ephemera. A retro 70s Orinoco toothbrush holder held the pricing info - gotta love a classic Womble!

The farmers market had some gorgeous foods and fresh products - Louis succumbed to a delicious pastry and I bought a jar of peach & date chutney - yum! The sun popped its head out occasionally; a flash of sunlight over the Kawerau Arm of Lake Dunstan lit up the golden poplars on the far side as we left.

From here we headed up to Bannockburn and back to Scottland, up on the hill. We stopped in the main section to fill up with fresh water and promptly got a welcome visit from our friend Campsite Kitty who hung out with us last time we visited - she is much braver now! She stared me down, snuck up close and even batted my hand when I reached out to her! 🩶

Louis picked the furthest spot to park in - in splendid isolation at the top of the POP! Had a chat with some other campers on the way in and will hopefully catch up with them again.

After late lunch & a siesta, Louis got the bikes down and set off to explore the start of the Nevis Road, while I wandered down through the Scottland property in search of the mining caves and historic waterwheel.

Louis set off to explore this end of the Nevis Road - he basically cycled uphill for about 5kms then decided it was not my cup of tea and whizzed back down again. The old church at the bottom of our hill looked enchanting with the setting sun reflecting gently off the window.

Meanwhile I was exploring the woodland and old mining area at the bottom of Scottland. There were a couple of big mining caves cut into the hillside - I didn’t have a torch so didn’t venture in. More evidence of mining across the landscape - old water sluices and cuttings and more mining excavations

Back out of the woods the historic waterwheel was still functioning when it rained, only with a more modern water pipe these days! The view from the hillside was very pretty, with a slight glow of sunset over Lake Dunstan in the far distance.

Dinner in Banjo - lamb chops & veggies - then it was time for Taskmaster… loving this bunch of lunatics!

Filled the long hot water bottle and put on extra layers to sleep as the overnight forecast was chilly as! 🥶