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).
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.
Sunday 13th March 2016. A beautiful sunny and mild day, can it last, can we be that lucky?
If you exclude a false start, because we forgot the loaf of bread, a fairly uneventful drive to Garstang. I say "we forgot" in a sense of collective responsibility, since, the selection and packing of food stuffs does not, strictly speaking, come under my remit. We arrive, at Bridge House Marina and Caravan Site, just in time for a light lunch, the sun is still shining, it is, if anything, even more more mild here than at home, a very
comfortable 15C, positively tropical for the UK in March!
The site is small, which we like, and appears to be well kept and tidy, excellent. In addition to the Caravan area, there is a Marina bursting with pleasure craft.
We make the most of the pleasant weather, a traffic free stroll along the Lancaster Canal for about half a mile, to Garstang Town Centre. Here we discover are all of the "essentials", ie, no less than 8 pubs, two supermarkets and several restaurants. I almost forgot, Kathleen's number one requirement, a
Catholic Church (plus a couple of second division churches, just in case). We round off the afternoon with a glass of red wine, in the sunshine.
Sunday, 14th February 2016 We have a new grand-daughter, Salma, born 1st February 2016.
Salma lives in Windsor, with parents, Gary and Susana, and older brother Gabriel.
For some reason, there is a lack of campsites in the immediate area around Windsor. At this time of year (February) in the UK, we would not consider anywhere without EHU, no point in freezing!
I do find two small, CL type sites, (Newtonside Orchard Campsite, Old Windsor) including one which Gary had also noticed, very close to where they live (Queens Acre Caravan Site, a C&CC Certified Site).
Unfortunately, both were full, even the "full size" C&CC site at Chertsey is showing on the website as being fully booked. Fortunately, we do manage to get in there. The perils of half-term!
The journey South is uneventful, and reasonably pleasant, except for the interminable roadworks and speed restrictions on the M1. Monday 15th February 2016 A bitterly cold day, with heavy frost in the morning. It is quite possible to take the bus to Windsor, from Chertsey, but, Gary and Gabriel come in the car to give us a lift, which is very thoughtful and kind of them.
The day is spent admiring, nursing and generally fussing over the new arrival, Salma, and, why not indeed, she is a little beauty.
Tuesday 16th February 2016
A visit to the Royal Horticultural Societies Gardens at Wisley, with Gary and Gabriel. Plenty of things to keep Gabriel amused, especially throwing stones onto the ice of the many ornamental ponds. For the "grown-ups" a very pleasant lunch. We do actually have a shrub similar to this one in our garden at home, I do hope it does not grow as large as this one! At this time of year, when it is cold outside, and, most plants are not at their best, the moth and butterfly house is a warm attraction. Kathleen given the choice between walking in a cold garden and overcoming her dislike of moths to walk in
the tropical warmth of the moth and butterfly house, chose the latter!
Wednesday 17th February 2016 We make the journey to Windsor by bus, and meet up with Gary, Susana, Gabriel and Salma. Salma is off to have her passport photograph taken, at only 17 days old. She is clearly destined to be a globe trotter, like the well travelled Gabriel
We head off to visit Windsor Castle, with Gabriel. No photographs are allowed inside, although how they enforce this rule in this age of mobile phones with cameras, is anyone's guess. Gabriel is impressed with the numerous exhibits of swords, guns, various other weapons and suits of armour, but, not so interested in the rooms and rooms of portraits and antique furniture. After a pleasant meal back at Gary and Susana's, we head back to Chertsey on the bus. As is often the case, we find that travelling in a strange area, in the dark, has it's pit falls. At Staines, we are too late to spot the bus-stop we should get off at to catch the connecting bus to Chertsey. Not too much of a hardship, we travel on to Staines bus-station so, no harm done.
Thursday 18th February 2016 Dry and cold today, another bus ride to Windsor, to spend our final day of this visit with Gabriel and Salma (Gary, Susana and Susana's mother will be there too of course!). Friday 19th February 2016
A pleasant drive home, subject only to the inevitable roadworks on the M1.
Sunday, January 10th 2016 The pending arrival of a new Grand-daughter, this month, means we are not heading for the Spain and the sunshine, this month. However, since we are both suffering from "campervan withdrawal" symptoms, we decided on a few days away in the UK. Our initial thoughts were either Keswick or York.
Unfortunately, December 2015 has been exceptionally, wet and TV coverage has painted a picture of flooding and devastation in both places, indeed, Rowntree Park, the Caravan Club site near York Centre is closed due to flooding, and most of the roads in Cumbria appear to be impassable. A brief respite in the continual rainfall, for all of one day, convinces us to "go for it" and we head York, Beechwood Grange Caravan Club Site. Monday, January 11th 2016 Second, or is it third day, without rain, but, it is freezing cold. You cannot have everything, I suppose. We decide to visit York. There is a "Park and Ride" at Monks Cross, but, it is decided it is too far to walk to. Technology comes to the rescue, and, Google informs me we can catch a bus from a Hopgrove to York.
Quite why there would be a bus-stop at this location is a mystery, it is a good ten minutes walk outside of the village, with just four houses nearby. But, Google knows best, and a number 843 bus for Leeds, via York arrives, spot on 10:29, just as Google said it would. At this stage, we do not know it, but, we have walked at least as far to this bus stop as we would have to Monks Cross Park and Ride and Shopping Park, since the major part of our time in York is to be spent "in the shops", one may ask, why not just go to Monks Cross? But, I have more sense than to ask such questions.
If anything, it is even colder in York City Centre than it is "out in the countryside". After a brief stroll through The Shambles taking in The Shambles Market, we decide on a bit of culture, ie a visit to York Minister, thankfully, it is heated! We obtain our Concession entry tickets for a paltry £18, the bonus is, they are valid for a year, as many visits as we like. To be fair, there is a lot to see in this magnificent building, and, soon, we find we are running out of time, lunch beckons. A pleasant Tea Room, in The Shambles, provides a very pleasant lunch. Pleasantries over, we hit the shops, as usual, I fail to understand the female mind, we have exactly the same stores in Newcastle, selling exactly the same things, so, why visit the York branches of the same stores? Tuesday, 12th January 2016 A visit to Monks Cross Retail Park, more shops! Kathleen finds more things should would like for her birthday, while I join the other husbands "parked" outside of the Changing Rooms, whilst potential purchases are "tried on". Lunch, then home. Despite the media coverage, we see no sign of the floods, not so much as a discarded sandbag.
Thursday, 8th October 2015 Weather exactly as forecast, cloudy, but mild at 15C. Today we are heading to an Aire at Le Cateau-Cambresis (N 50.10206, E 3.55513). Not exactly the most scenic journey, as we make our way North and West, staying well away from Paris. In fact, I think the nearest we get to scenery are the striking Autumn colours or the trees by the roadside. We pass the great cathedral city of Reims, passing more or less through the centre, but the closest we get to the famous Cathedral is in the far distance, probably not even visible, in the gap between the avenue of trees.
There is something about this road which makes me think, it must have originally been laid out by the Romans, as it goes straight as an arrow across the undulating countryside. It is almost impossible to pass through this part of France, without seeing reminders of WW1, we pass several World War 1, military cemetaries, this area was obviously hard fought over.
Le Cateau Cambresis was presumably "at the thick of it" at that time, there is a military cemetary, to the left of the road, at the entrance to the town. The font of all knowledge, ie Google (not Kathleen, in this instance), tells me, over 500 UK soldiers, from WW1, are buried there.
We have been to Le Cateau Cambresis several times in the past. We have been to the Aire at Le Cateau Cambresis several times in the past. Like most places, it has it's good points and bad points: Good points, It is within easy driving distance (approximately 100 miles) of Calais / Dunkirk, mostly on free motorway. There are four free EHU hook-ups. The campervan service point is free, indeed, the whole thing is free. There is a Lidl two minutes walk away. Not so good points. It is near a fairly busy road, so, a bit of traffic noise, but, quiet overnight. The town is depressing, clearly it has once been a thriving busy place, now, it is a sort of French version of Hebburn. Friday 9th, October 2015 A very cold start to the day, only 5C, but, it feels colder! As the day progresses, and we draw nearer to the coast at Dunkirk, the sun comes out and temperatures rise to an acceptable 16C. A late start, and, a relaxed drive, of approximately 100 miles, to Gravelines, arriving at about 17:00. We discover there is a good Commercial Centre at Caudry, just a few miles along the road toward Cambrai, from Le Cateau Cambresis, with a large LeClerc supermarket, good for final wine and gin top up, and diesel of course. Saturday 10th, October 2015 A dark and foggy departure from Gravelines. To Dover, not an illegal immigrant in sight. Thanks to queues at UK Passport Control, even at 6:15am!, we miss our 6:45am ferry, and are put on the 7:45am. A stop at Retford for lunch, and then home.
