A light hearted and (I hope) amusing record of some of our Campervan Trips.
It is mainly intended to inform friends and family where we are, plus, to keep our children updated on what is happening to their inheritance.
I do try to include details of Camp Sites and Aires, we visit. Checkout the "labels" listed in the right margin,
Please comment if you feel inclined, at least then I know I am not talking to myself (again).
Friday, 29th April 2016 Cold, with frequent heavy showers of hailstones, hardly spring weather! After yesterdays cycling, it is Kathleen's "treat" to have a day in Uxbridge, shopping. There is a bus direct from the campsite into Uxbridge town centre. In the evening, we arrange to meet up with Gary, Susana, Gabriel, Salma and Susana's mother at the Bear on the Barge Pub, to eat. Kathleen and I arrange to walk to the pub, a quick check on Google Maps, tells me it is 1.7 miles, 32 minutes to walk. This is a challenge to Kathleen, we have to do it in a shorter time, so, 31 minutes it is, and, we arrive first.
It transpires, it is the first anniversary of having the pub for the current owners, and, there is a celebration night arranged, reservations only to eat! Fortunately, the staff are extremely helpful, and find us a table. Saturday, 30th April 2016 After yesterdays hail showers, mild and sunny! Time to leave Wyatts Covert and move nearer to Windsor, Queens Acre, a Camping and Caravan Club Certified Site. The site is being refurbished, a little unfinished at the moment, but, the Owners are friendly and helpful, the site is just over two miles from Gary's, so, ideal.
An afternoon of bonding with Salma and Gabriel. The inevitable games with Gabriel, football, dominoes, spinning tops, flying saucers, rounded off with a walk at Virginia Water.
Another cool but dry and sunny day, so, after yesterdays cycling marathon, with Gary, Kathleen is keen to explore the cycling along the Grand Union Canal. So far, we have experimented with two routes from the Campsite to the Canal, today, we try a third, which takes us left out of the campsite, following Tilehouse Lane, down-hill (always preferable, when cycling!), and emerging near a Garden Centre, a short cycle to the Coy Carp pub, on the canal. Quite an ideal route, in that direction, but, the prospect of cycling back UP the hill is
not relished by Kathleen. A very pleasant ride as far as West Drayton, lunch at the same pub as Gary and I visited yesterday, and then return. We leave the canal towpath at the Bear on the Barge pub, and retrace the outward route taken yesterday, to Denham, here, a slight variation, we rejoin Tilehouse Lane, just outside of Denham, and cycle back to the campsite. Another 18 miles!
Wednesday, 27th April 2016 A rare opportunity to spend quality time with my son Gary. Kathleen amuses herself for the day, and, we, the boys, go cycling along the Grand Union Canal, plus lunch. I am pleased to say, as the "oldie", I was able to keep up, for the whole 16-17 miles. A totally enjoyable day, even the sun shone for us!
Monday, 25th April 2016 Not a very nice day, in terms of weather, cool, with frequent showers.
By lunch time, we are both fed-up with reading our books, and venture out for a combined stroll and grocery shopping trip. Just under 4 miles, and, the rains stays away. Tuesday, 26th April 2016 Unbelievable weather for the end of April, there is a dusting of snow on the ground this morning!
Today, we leave Oxford for Wyatts Covert Caravan Club Site, near Denham. Not a very exciting drive, except for actually getting onto the M40 from the Oxford Ring Road! Complex road works, and a total lack of signposting mean that we, along with several large trucks take the wrong turning and have a tour of the Oxfordshire countryside, before regaining the M40. Wyatts Covert is within the M25, at the end of the M40, initial impressions are favourable, although we are only approximately 15 miles from central London, it appears to be pleasant countryside, but, with ample eating, drinking and shopping places available. Kathleen is given instructions for a circular walk from the site, as she checks in, so, after lunch, off we go to explore.
In the past few weeks, we have walked and cycled in some particularly rural country areas, and seen, nothing in the way of wildlife. Today, within 15 miles of a major city, and, only two miles from the M25, as we walk along a bridle path, we encounter a fox, not once, but twice. I think, although I am not sure, it is the same fox twice, rather two different foxes. Unfortunately I am too slow to get the camera out! A little further and we come to a branch of the Grand Union Canal, with a variety of
waterfowl, including a heron, and this family of geese, paddling along. Soon, we come to the main Grand Union Canal, and a pub called the "Coy Carp". Up until now, the weather has been cold and sunny, but dry, suddenly, there is a hail storm, luckily, the pub is open, and we are able to shelter until the hail storm passes. We while away the wait with a glass of wine.
As well as being near London, we are also of course, near Windsor, and Gary drives across to see us, with Gabriel, after school. A very pleasant surprise.
Friday, 22nd April 2016 Cloudy and cool, but dry, until that is, we are 7 miles away from the van, on bicycles, at which point, the rain starts.
Our cycle ride takes us along the Thames Path to Abingdon. A little over 15 miles in total, and, it only rained slightly! Saturday, 23rd April 2016 Weather grey and cold. We have been away long enough to mean we need to do some "chores", eg washing clothes etc. Boring Sunday, 24th April 2016 What an odd day, in the morning, sitting in the sun, reading a book, by mid-afternoon, it is arctic.
Lunch time, we venture into Oxford, find one of the many "oldest pubs in Oxford", in our case, "The Chequers". It turns out, they have a rather large range of different brands of Gin, so, we sample one or two, followed by Sunday Lunch. A stroke of luck, it is Kathleen's turn to have her favourite wine, it is on the wine list, but, they are out of stock, great, that means I get to have my favourite instead! The alcohol has loosened Kathleen's grip on her purse, and she insists on paying for "treats" in a very pleasant Coffee Shop, Belgian Waffles, with banana, walnuts, ice cream and chocolate sauce, very nice.
Thursday, 21st April 2016 Not the best of weather, dry, but cool and cloudy, although, by lunch time, the sun has made an appearance and the temperature rises. I seem to recall, from my childhood, the saying "tidiness is next to godliness". Now, I am not religious, but, quite why God should be dragged into the eternal argument about putting things away, I cannot imagine.
To explain why I should be rabbiting on about tidiness, Kathleen, periodically has bursts of "tidying up", which basically means moving my stuff from wherever I have put it, to somewhere which she deems "tidy", but, which then means, I cannot find it. Kathleen of course is a tidy person, as this photograph clearly shows. There is not one single item belonging to me in that photograph! Order restored, we take a trip into Oxford, to browse the shops and have a simple lunch.
Wednesday, 20th April 2016 A beautifully sunny day.
We cycle along the Thames Path to Wolvercote. A stop for refreshments at "The Trout", a rather nice riverside pub. Through Wolvercote, to the Oxford Canal, back along the can tow path to Oxford. More refreshments and a snack at Folly Bridge (another rather nice riverside pub), and, then back to the campsite. Approximately 14 miles of very pleasant cycling.
Cloudy and cool, but, not raining. Kathleen always likes to make use of the bus, when we are in the UK on a Campervan trip. I suppose it is the "bargain hunter" instinct, because, for us "oldies" the bus is free, and, you cannot get much more of a bargain than something for nothing. There is a bus service to Leominster, from Ludlow, but, there has been great confusion about where the bus-stop is, and, the timetable. There is a bus-stop on both sides of the road at the entrance to the Campsite, but, there is a typed notice displayed which reads, words to the effect "Bus stop by prior booking only". There is no indication of who or how you make contact to make this "prior booking". Part of this confusion is due to the road bridge at Ludford being closed. I do the usual, ie, ask Google, and, I have to say the information from the local bus company and local council is pretty sketchy. I do however manage to establish the bus route when the bridge at Ludford is NOT closed. Kathleen asks at Reception, and, receives information which conflicts with my "theory" of where the bus will stop and which time. Needless to say, being a man, I cannot possibly be right. This morning, it is decided we will travel to Leominster on the bus. Disregarding the Reception information completely, we head off, on the assumption, I am right. Sure enough the bus arrives, exactly as I predicted at 10:31, stopping on the other side of the road to the campsite entrance. The advice from Reception was 12:35 from the bus stop on the same side as the campsite entrance. I am in a quandry, do I crow about being right, or, do I simply stay quiet? It is a very difficult situation. I opt for keeping quiet, since I know this will be the most irritating option. For Kathleen, the outing is already spoiled, at some point, it is going to be necessary to admit, I was right. For the record, Leominster is a pleasant enough place, in common with most villages / towns in this area, there is a surplus of Tudor style half timbered buildings. Coffee and cake in the "Merchants House Cafe" is very pleasant. Tuesday, 19th April 2016
A beautiful sunny day to travel to Oxford. The Oxford, Camping and Caravan Club Site looks promising. It is located behind a "Great Outdoors" outlet, which is initially off-putting, but, the site itself is very pleasant, with the usual friendly welcome from C&CC warden. Two minutes walk to a park and ride which provides a bus into central Oxford every ten minutes, free to us OAP's! Equally near is a Tesco store, for the essential shopping, and, there appears to be a multitude of cycle tracks. All of this, and, the sun is still shining!
Saturday, 16th April 2016 A wild night, windy and wet.
We wake to find, there is snow on the hills, but, the sun is shining, and gradually, it warms up. Plan A is to take the bus to Leominster. It would appear that, due to the closure of Ludford Bridge for repairs, the bus service has been disrupted. It is not exactly a frequent service to begin with, it is now totally useless, since there appears to be no information on what time the bus will actually come, or, where it will stop! Plan A is abandoned and Plan B implemented, ie, visit LudLow, do a little shopping, have coffee and cake. Kathleen also takes the opportunity to check out the times of the Services at the CofE Church in the town centre, in case the Catholic Church proves to be too far away. It would appear, the CofE service is 09:30 on Sunday morning, I cannot see that happening! The market is in full swing, and has a good mix of stalls, ie, not all clothes! Sunday, 17th April 2016 A bright and sunny morning, we even get a little sunbathing in later in the day. Sure enough, Kathleen fails the "out of bed and off to church for 09:30 test". Instead, we cycle into Ludlow and search out the Catholic Church (St Peters) for 11:00 mass, a much more civilised hour. Whilst Kathleen attends church, I locate the Tesco Supermarket, a not inconsiderable task as it turns out, they do not appear to like signposting things in Ludlow! Additional supplies of wine are purchased.
The day begins badly, pouring with rain, and, we over sleep! Once en-route, the weather improves steadily, as we make our way along a very busy M1.
The Sat-Nav does, what appear to be, some odd moves around Birmingham, which keeps Kathleen occupied, telling it (the Sat-nav) that it is not taking us on the shortest route, but, we do arrive at Ludlow, so, all is well. Ludlow Touring Park is an affiliated Caravan Club Site, very smart. We notice, it is also an ACSI site, it may be less expensive to pay via the ACSI scheme, but, we do not have our ACSI card with us. The site is very smart, but, be aware, if such things matter to you: 1) there is very poor TV signal, you either need a Satellite dish or an arial lead to plug into the socket on the EHU bollard, neither of which we have with us. It may be possible to hire / borrow a lead from Reception, but, by the time we realise we need one, Reception is closed. Have to check tomorrow. 2) there is no 3g/4g data signal on the O2 network, "3" appears to have 3G coverage, since my mobile internet box is working fine. 3) there are "extra" charges for some obscure things, like, for example, having a trailer, or, an awning. Seems bizarre to us, you are paying for a pitch, provided all of your "gear" fits o the pitch, why should there be "extra" charges? We walk the 1.5 miles into Ludlow, a pleasant walk, to an equally pleasant town, rounded of with a meal / bottle of red. Friday, 15th April 2016 I redeem the duff TV reception problem, although I am not personally responsible, by connecting up an arial lead to the provided EHU bollard TV connection, domestic harmony returns. Other than the above, not a very satisfactory day, it rains steadily for most of the day, until mid afternoon, at which point I am able to venture out and check out the possibility of cycling along the A49 to the local Catholic Church, for Kathleen. If it should turn out that I am wrong, and there is no only a God, but, a Catholic one, I do hope I get some brownie points for this.
Rain until 15:00, not heavy, but, persistent. We use some of the time to plan our next stop off point, and, then have a pleasant walk around the Poolsbrook Country Park. In Staveley, there is an "Outlet Centre", you know, the sort of shop beloved of women, where they can by branded goods, they neither need or want, at "bargain" prices. There is also a rather attractive looking pub, right next to the Outlet Centre, where a husband could wait, whilst his wife had some "retail therapy". Practicing my "thoughtful husband" act, I suggest we could go to Staveley and visit the Outlet Centre. For some reason Kathleen does not want to go! There is definitely nothing as puzzling as the workings of the female mind. Wednesday, 13th April 2016
Thankfully, a big improvement in the weather, sunny and warm. We decide to cycle to Chesterfield via the "other" route, ie, the one which does not follow the canal. The route is signposted as the "Trans-Pennine Trail" and is clearly an old railway line, at least for the first two or three miles. All goes well, until we encounter a particularly muddy section, Kathleen does not do mud, so, we promptly turn around and retrace our steps to the outskirts of Staveley.
Here, Kathleen, uncharacteristically, opts to take a detour, it does eventually bring us to our intended destination (Morrisons Supermarket, Staveley), but, not before we have had to peddle up a rather large hill, which turns out to be taking us in the wrong direction, so, we have to re-trace our steps (pleased I did not suggest this detour). The sun continues to shine, so, the remainder of the day is spent sitting soaking up the rays.
Sunny day, and mild, pleasant travelling weather. Totally uneventful drive for the 135 miles to Poolsbrook Caravan Club Site, Staveley. The site is upto the usual Caravan Club standard. The site is located on the edge of a Country Park, coming as we do from what was once industrial Tyneside, we can recognise a reclaimed industrial site when we see one. A quick visit to Google confirms, the park was formerly the Ireland Coal Mine. The reclamation has been well done, with lakes, walking paths, cycle tracks and horse riding tracks with suitable landscaping and tree planting. It is all very reminiscent of Colliery Wood, Herrington Country Park or Rising Sun Countryside Centre, all near where we live! A stroll into Staveley, the similarities continue, this could be any number of former mining "villages" in the North East! Monday, 11th April 2016
Sunny with cloud and mild, the weather forecast says, and, so it turns out. We cycle to Chesterfield, and back, along the Chesterfield Canal, a little over 15 miles of easy pedalling, with a coffee and cake stop en-route. A pleasant lunch in "Ye Olde Oak" reputedly, the oldest pub in Chesterfield. Chesterfield appears to be a lively place, a real market with stalls selling a variety of things, and, the usual array of major stores, and plenty of places to eat / drink .
