Southern Motorhome Show, Newbury 14-18 May 26

New campervan and a need to have a look at what the dealers have to offer, so it was off to the Southern Motorhome Show at Newbury Showground to stop for a few days with the Motorhome Fun Group.

The journey down to Newbury was uneventful and we were pitched up with the crowd in no time. It has been some time since we have been to a Warners show and stayed with MHF so we were looking forward to it, albeit Warners have increased the prices considerably. It was cool and damp so we had a wander about before retiring to the van for the night.

Friday was cold and a bit damp, but we had a good mooch around the show, mainly looking for an awning that would fit the new van (the old awning was second hand, a bit tired and a bit tall for the new bus). The show had comparatively few new motorhomes for sale but lots of campervans. Is this the trend nowadays? The usual dealers were there, but we weren't tempted by too many nick-nacks apart from a new handle for the whoosh-bang door (the fiat one is ridiculously small) and a new shower mat in a more appealing colour. We did find one awning that caught our eye and lots of research followed. In the evening we headed into the very crowded show to watch some very good 60s music acts. The beer was pretty good, but the queues to get in were horrendous.

Inviting looking Pie and Mash

On Saturday we caught the coach into Newbury. Warners had arranged for these coaches at a cost of £5 return, but they were the weirdest set up, being a 3/2 across seat configuration, making for the narrowest aisle possible. This was not ideal for large, elderly motorhomers and it took an age to load and unlod. Anyway, Newbury was nice. We had a wander around, bought some nice bread, cheese and cakes in the market and queued in the rain for the pub to open at 12 for lunch. After a good meal and another wander, we headed back to the showground and paid for a new awning. In the evening we couldn't really be bothered with the music so we sat in the van instead.

Newbury

Michael Bond was born in Newbury

The following day was, again, wet and cold. We went to the show again and just chilled out. In the evening we tried to avoid the queues and watched more good music before retiring to bed.

Eddison Lighthouse

Monday it was up and off to Littlehampton, with her actually getting behind the wheel and driving for a short while (well, across the field anyway). I fear that, despite promises to the contrary, that may be the only time she ever gets behind the wheel.

As I said, it's been a while since we did a Warners show. It was OK. The weather was pretty poor (very cold and wet) and the queues were awful. We may do another, but it's not really very high on our to-do list.

Lincolnshire and Derbyshire 23 - 30 Apr 26

Our first proper trip away in the new bus, packed for touring but we have yet to weigh it, so we were a bit uncertain on payload. We have determined, however, to try and pack less and not carry so much unnecessary weight around. Whether Mrs Marcos can manage this remains to be seen, especially with a very large shoe bin conveniently located under the dinette table! 

For this trip we decided that another trip to the Peak District was in order and we found that the South Yorkshire Section of the Cackyvan Club had a weekend meet at Chatsworth House, so we planned our trip around that. First stop, however, was a quick call into Camper UK to get them to look at the swivel loo locking mechanism. Basically, the loo swings away and hides, leaving the shower free for a good skoosh. The locking mechanism wasn't set correctly and the loo could swing about. One doesn't want to be swinging about when relaxing on the loo, but Camper UK very quickly fixed that. We decided that heading across to Chatsworth in the rush hour wasn't worth it so we spent the night on a delightful little certified site near Lincoln, SkyBarn CL. We enjoyed a very peaceful night here before eventually heading across to Chatsworth.

On Friday it took longer to get to Chatsworth than we thought and the journey included the nasty, horribly marked roundabout in Chesterfield and the narrow Chatsworth Road, which is always full of large lorries. Eventually we arrived at the Golden Gates, which were closed and we wondered how we were going to get in when suddenly they swung open. Maurice, a member of the South Yorks group, had a remote control for the gates and he let us in, directing us to the pitching area and convincing us to join the Cathargo owners club.  We quickly pitched up and, in glorious sunshine, we walked to Chatsworth house, had an expensive pint in the Courtyard (we have had experience of the Duke of Ripoffshire before) and then walked across the river to Edensor for a mooch about and a delicious tea and cake in the tea rooms.

The following day we decided to catch the bus into Bakewell where there was a food fair taking place. The bus stopped outside the Golden Gates, but, in theory, there was no pedestrian access through the gates. That didn't stop us. We waited for a car to come through and pretended we were a car too and crossed the cattle grid through the gates before they swung shut. Bakewell was, obviously, very busy. We had a wander around then headed to Thorntons brewery for some great beers and pizza before heading back to town and catching the bus back. 

On Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before driving the very short distance to New Farm on Tideswell Moor. This is a lovely little CL miles from anywhere run by a very nice Farmer named Sue. We eventually parked up (we had a whole field to choose from so it was a very hard decision) and settled in for the afternoon.

On Monday we walked up the hill to admire the view then trundled down into Tideswell, which was more or less closed. We had a quick pint and a nice sandwich in the tea rooms before trying to squeeze into the tiny Co-Op to reprovision for the new few days. It was uphill all the way back.

The following morning was overcast with a few showers, so we relaxed in the van before going for a short walk to Wheston House Farm and Mootiful Milk for one of their delicious Milk Shakes before taking the short cut cross country home. It was bright and sunny but there was a very cold, strong Easterly wind blowing. The weather forecast, however, was good so we decided to stop another day.

Castleton beckoned the following day. In theory it is a 4.2 mile walk, but flat it isn't. In glorious weather we set out, enjoying the walk until we reached the steep, rocky descent into Castleton via Cave Dale. It took us a long time to gingerly navigate this treacherous track. We refreshed ourselves with beer and lunch in the first pub we came to (The George), had a very quick wander around town then headed back up the incredibly steep  Cow Low (no Cows and it isn't low) before finding the trail back to the site. We walked 9.5 miles that day and were knackered.  

Thursday it was up and heading for home, stopping in Chesterfield for weighing. We were very pleased to find that we do have some weight spare.

In all it was a great trip. We stopped in some lovely places (4 nights in Tideswell for less than 1 night in the Cackyvan Club site in Castleton). We thoroughly tested the van and our first impressions are generally positive. We knew that the reduction in size would have an impact. Only one person can move around at any one time. There is loads of stowage and the garage is significantly easier to access than Lotti's. If you open the back doors with the front whoosh-bang open, the wind whistles through like a wind tunnel. It is quieter, smoother and more nimble than Lotti - and being automatic a pleasure to drive. The shower is spacious enough, but a bugger to clean. The fridge is superb! The Thetford compressor being so much better than the Dometic absorption we had before. The van is economical - we were getting 37/38 mpg at 64mph on the motorway, more at slower speeds. Finally, we have a bit of weight to spare. We still have a few things to sort out, but it took 6 years to get Lotti how we wanted so there is no rush.