Travels with Spaniels: Stopped in our tracks by beautiful Tarnovo

It was almost November and it was getting cold. "Let's just speed on through Bulgaria," we said. "We won't plan any sightseeing," we said. "We'll take a break when we get to Greece." And then we found ourselves in Veliko Tarnovo, capital of Bulgaria in the Middle Ages. And we just had to stay and take a closer look.

We left Ruse yesterday morning after a quiet night in the woods, and a good game of ball for the spaniels on a grassy field near our parking spot. We headed south on the main road, which proved to be fairly smooth, and offered some spectacular views of rugged cliffs. The driving style here is considerably more relaxing than in Romania, with most people content to follow the traffic, and those who do overtake allow themselves time to complete the manoeuvre before the approach of oncoming vehicles. There were plenty of police cars in evidence, but none of them showed any interest in us. We did get a broad smile and a salute from a cyclist coming the other way, and we exchanged waves with several Northern European motorhomes, presumably going home for the winter.

I may have had a go on the zip wire

After just an hour and a half we arrived in Turnovo, where our first stop was a Shell garage for fuel, and in the hope of filling up with water. It was no-go with the water. I was offered a watering can, Adblue, screen wash, and eventually a litre of bottled water, but no tap was to be found. Instead we made our way up one of the city's many hills to Sveta Gora park, where there are numerous play areas for all ages, skateboard ramps, mountain bike trails, outdoor gyms, dog agility tracks, and to our delight, a drinking water tap and portable toilets.

After lunch I dug out the back pack and the water carriers, and we spent half an hour transporting about 50 litres of water 200m from the tap to the road. A job well done, and one which felt strangely appropriate at a site which has been occupied for five thousand years. We decided we would stay on for the night, and took the spaniels for a walk down the hill's 473 steps to the vast monument in the centre of the town. On the way we passed a lookout, which even in the damp grey mizzle gave us breathtaking views across to neighbouring hills with fortresses and churches, and from the monument at the bottom we could see the old town hanging precariously above the snaking river below.

Even in the mizzle it looked spectacular

Terracotta roofs reminded us of Tuscany

A quick foray over the only available bridge into the new town revealed little of interest, so we retraced our steps, including the 473 back up the hill, and revised our plans. This morning we would drive to another car park, just beneath the staggering Tsarevets Fortress, and if all looked good we would stay a second night and explore the old town. The reviews for overnighting in this car park looked promising, but it was essential that it had one vital component if we were to stay Friday night: good enough 4G to watch the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday morning.

Seen it now, even if in miniature

We arrived mid-morning, after taking the spaniels for a walk around Sveta Gora so they could have a go on the agility course. The 4G was reasonably good, so we decided to begin by being polite and visiting the attraction neighbouring the car park - Mini Bulgaria. We won't be visiting all that much of Bulgaria, so at least we can now say we have seen many of its great landmarks, albeit none of them more than four foot high. Nick was delighted to see that one of them incorporated a model railway, and there was even a replica of an airport with planes in flight. (There may have been wires.)

Plane taking off at mini-airport

Approaching the fortress

After that it was off to the fortress, which has one of the most incredible curtain walls draping around two sides of the hill, and stunning views of the surrounding hills. Large parts of it are reconstructions of the 12th century original, but it is still magnificent in its present form. We spent half an hour clambering around the ruins, carefully observing the signs warning that medieval site safety wasn't quite up to today's standards, and refraining from doing arabesques on the walls.

Ballet on the walls is a bad idea

The beautiful old town

After lunch in the van with the pups, we set off again for the old town, this time with them in tow. The old streets are a wonderful mish-mash of beautifully restored buildings with fabulous art and craft workshops, and places held up by little more than plaster and faith. The silverwork, pottery and woodwork was beautiful, there were wine cellars offering tastings, and in between were smart clothes shops and quirky little boutiques. We could have spent longer there, but Max and Elsa were a little discombobulated by a fierce attack cat which came flying at them hissing, so we picked our way back through the narrow streets to Florence.

Do not try to drive a motorhome here

Being parked so close to the old town meant this was definitely a good opportunity to eat out, and Nick identified a place called "The Green" which was only about ten minutes walk away, and had excellent reviews. We set off at about 6.15, to find the streets crowded with people, and the restaurant looking full. But just as the young woman serving told us they had no tables, a middle aged couple at a table for four by the door invited us to sit with them. We thanked them kindly and tried not to crowd their conversation - which fortunately was in Bulgarian.

At 6.55 they stood up to leave, telling us they were off to the Sound and Light show at the fortress. As was just about everyone else in the restaurant, leaving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy the pork skewer, and the sea bass, and while we were at it, a bit of Bulgarian TV. First it was the Bulgarian version of Family Fortunes, and then came the news. So familiar were the pictures that it took me a moment to register that I was watching the House of Commons with shots of John Bercow. Soon after that came a package about a bear that had been caught on CCTV bathing in a swimming pool. We could have been watching the Six at home, except that it was double headed. A bizarre but very enjoyable evening.