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).
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 .
The inevitable walk to Friars Crag, no visit to Keswick is complete, without this ritual. It is supposedly one of the most photographed spots in the Lake District, but, you will be pleased to hear, I resisted the temptation to take any photographs. Our plan for lunch is to visit an Indian Restaurant we visited some years ago, but, we are thwarted when we find the premises is now a travel agents! We take a very poor second best and have a "Jennings Special", in one of the pubs around the market square, to be fair, it was quite good. Why does almost everyone who visits Keswick have to bring at least one dog with them? You cannot get moved for the things (dogs, or, as brother John would have it, "shit machines"). Kathleen is put out, when one particular animal, which, for some unimaginable reason she found appealing, insisted on turning it's gaze to me, instead of her. Just goes to show, they (dogs) are not that intelligent if it failed to detect I cannot stand the things. Wednesday, 23rd March 2016 Home again
Sunday, 20th March 2016 The best day yet, bight sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. We move on, to Keswick.
We have been to Keswick many times, but, this the first time with the Campervan, and, therefore, the first time at the Caravan and Camping Club, Keswick Site. Five minutes walk from the Town Centre, on the lake (Derwentwater) shore, and, great views, very impressed. Monday, 21st March 2016
A cloudy day, the cloud is well down on the hills, but, slowly in the course of the day, the cloud lifts, and, we even have some spells of sunshine. No rain in prospect, so, we walk around the lake, just over ten miles. Beautifully quiet at this time of year, not too many people about. With a welcome break for coffee and apple pie at Grange.
Oh dear, dull, misty and cold start, but, it soon clears for another sunny day. The day is spent walking the canal (for six miles). Followed by, drinking wine in the Farmers Arms. In the evening, we watch a TV program telling us the dangers of drinking more than the new guidelines (ie 14 units per week).
Saturday, 19th March 2016 Cloudy. According to the weather forecast on breakfast news, the whole country is covered in cloud, so, I suppose that is OK. Not raining, and not too cold.
Lazy day, keeping out of harms way whilst hair washing etc is executed, followed by pleasant lunch in the Farmers Arms, then we "do" the riverside walk at Garstang. Finally, a little shopping. carrying five bottles of wine (ie four in a carrier bag, plus, one inside you) for a couple of miles is heavy work!
My artistic(?) attempts at photography in the dark, as I walk to meet Kathleen walking back from Church.
Thursday, 17th March 2016 Yet another beautiful day, weatherwise, not that I am complaining you understand. On Tuesday, when we were waiting for the bus to travel to Lancaster, Kathleen engaged in conversation with another couple who were waiting at the bus stop (Kathleen will talk to anybody). They were travelling to Morecambe. When asked, "what is Morecambe like", their response was, "it is OK".
Having visited Morecambe today, I would say, that was a very generous assessment! In summary, Morecambe has seen better days. The photograph says it all, yes, there is sea, on the horizon! I do not think we will be visiting again.
Another beautiful day, mild and sunny. One of the few benefits of being "older", or old, depending on your point of view, is, having a Concessionary Bus Pass! So, a "free" bus ride the ten miles or so, to Lancaster. A typical " UK city" day out by our standards:
the obligatory look around exactly the same shops as we have in Newcastle.
a very pleasant lunch, with a bottle of Rioja to wash it down.
a bit of culture (in the form of a visit to the Castle and Priory)
a bit of exercise, with a walk along the banks of the River Lune as far as the Lune Aquaduct, carrying the Lancaster Canal over the river.
Monday 14th March, 2016 A beautiful sunny day, warm for March, at 14C. We get the folding bicycles out, and, the plan is to have our first cycle outing of 2016, by pedalling along the towpath of the Lancaster Canal, in the direction of Lancaster.
After about a mile of just slightly muddy, and, it has to be said, slippery tow path, we encounter a section which consists of soft mud, and, a very large puddle. Indeed, the puddle stretches for as far as we can see, it is like a mini canal on the tow path! Even my usual encouraging words of "it is only water, it will dry off", or , "it is only a bit of mud, it will wash off", are not enough to convince Kathleen to go on. To be honest, that is probably a wise decision, slithering along a slippery tow path, less than a metre from the edge of the canal, on a bicycle, is not a recommended course of action for two geriatrics. We turn around, and head in the opposite direction, towards Preston.
The Canal wends it's way through Garstang, and, the tow path is generally sound, even tarmac for most of the way, but, as we leave Garstang and head into open countryside, the tarmac disappears, and soon, we are back to slippery mud. Perhaps, this a route for a dry spell? The attempt to cycle to Lancaster or Preston, is abandoned, and we instead leave the canal tow path at the next bridge and cycle along a reasonably quiet road, through the village of Bonds, to return to Garstang, for coffee and sandwiches. We content ourselves with a first outing of just over five miles of (mostly) pleasant cycling in the spring sun shine, and, very enjoyable it was.
