Henley 19-23 Oct 12

This was only the second time we have visited a Caravan Club site in Tom and I have to say that I do like the general standard and layout of the site compared to the Camping Club. Likewise, the Camping Club advertises itself as "The Friendly Club", but after meeting a bunch of miserable gits and their Nazi leader from the Royal Bank of Scotland Caravan Club at Horsley the other month, and meeting so many really nice people at Henley, perhaps the opposite is true! One discussion sowed the seeds for a future trip to Lake Garda. Who knows, eh?

 

 

On Friday I drove down from Marquis in Northampton after Meggers kindly dropped me off there to collect Tom following some warranty snags (upgrade motor on step, upgrade aerial etc). It rained...and it rained some more. I met Debs at Henley station and it rained, so we repaired to the pub and had dinner and a few drinks until it stopped raining. Good job we didn't apply this principle all through the summer as we would be blimp sized alcoholics by now!

On Saturday, despite the useless weathermen predicting warm sunny weather, it was misty and dank so our plan to enjoy nature's autumnal raiment in all its glory was put on hold. We did a bit of Cackmas shopping and then, after lunch, we went for a walk along the Thames, then sought a pub showing the Quins game (no luck - who the hell wants to watch poofball on the telly. I thought that they may have more taste in Henley). We eventually arrived back at Tom absolutely knackered after hiking about 12 miles.

The weather remained much the same on Sunday, so after Sunday lunch in Wetherspoons (classy, I know), we pootled along the Thames the other way towards Shiplake and enjoyed looking at the rich people in their massive mansions by the River. We didn't go to the rowing museum as we are tight gits and they wanted to charge £8 a pop. Too much to look at a few old boats.

 

On Monday we had a pre-arranged visit to the Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery (http://www.chilternvalley.co.uk/) courtesy of a Cackmas present from Andrew and Michele. It was a great day out. Very interesting and informative and there was plenty to taste. My views on English wine have changed somewhat (but why does it have to be so expensive). The liqueurs they produce are also to die for. In the evening we wandered into Henley to try and find a pub selling the CVW&B locally produced beer, but it would appear that Brakespears have a stranglehold on all the pubs, so no luck.

Tuesday saw us up early and back home whilst Debs worked on the way. The ol' big white mobile office is pretty effective (and gives her a golden excuse not to drive. One day I'll get her behind the wheel).

As for the site, it is ideally located close to Henley, but you really run the gauntlet walking into town as there is a narrow pavement and huge puddles. It is also very close to the road, so there is some noise, but we didn't really hear it as I had selected a pitch at the back of the site. Apart from that, the area has a lot to offer with lovely villages to explore. Perhaps on a summers day with Debs more confident on a bike....

Norwich 3-7 Oct 12

On the Map Norwich (or "Narch" in local dialect) looks fairly close to home and not far from our usual haunts in North Norfolk. However,  the Friday evening drive took over two hours, mainly due to the sheer volume of traffic.  Still, we arrived, pitched up and had the usual beers open and quaffed in very quick time now that we are motorhomers with a whole year's experience under our belt.

 

 

 

 

Norwich
 

 

 

 

Cathedral

 

Castle
 

 

 

The site is in the outskirts of Norwich in what is a very average area in that there are no scenic views as such and there is a bit of noise from the railway and the bypass, which are close to the site. What it lacks in scenery it makes up for in its proximity to Norwich, which is a great city to explore for the day. So, on Saturday it was up early and a leisurely stroll for the half hour walk to the city centre, then a long, long day sightseeing and meandering about, broken up by a very nice lunch, before heading back totally exhausted for cheese and biscuits and a nice hot cup of tea.

The sundial was 10 minutes slow
 

On Sunday, after sleeping the sleep of the totally knackered, we had a lazy morning and then drove out to the local National Trust property, Blickling Estate. What a stunning place, packed full of treasures. Again, we were ushered to our own private parking and, after a lovely tour of the house and grounds, we had lunch in the bus before heading back towards home. The weather was so good that we thought that perhaps we should take in another stop on the Sunday night, but, unfortunately, the navigators electronic system (vodafone internet) is completely pants and by the time we found suitable sites we had passed them by.  What we also found rather irksome was the price difference in camping club sites. Why is Sandringham £2 or £3 dearer a night that Norwich? It pee'd us off so much that we said "stuff 'em" and just went home. Perhaps  a bit of better planning is called for next time!

Welcome to my little gaff in the country
 



The Hall
 



Special parking just for us
 

Horsley 14-17 Sep 12

Happy anniversary Tom!

It's hard to believe that it was the first anniversary of us taking command of Tom on 15 Sep. Where has the time gone? It was also time for his annual checkup at Marquis so a full service and habitation check was carried out on Tues 11, necessitating me spending a day in Northampton. The less said about suffering a day in Northampton the better, although the shoe museum was quite interesting.

Anyway - on Fri 14th I drove down to Horsley C&CC site in Surrey. I have heard that one should never revisit places with so many happy childhood memories, but I did want to go back, albeit in the luxurious comfort of a fully equipped motorhome rather than a small tent. I arrives at about 1300hrs and instantly recognised the old place, but so much had changed. There is a road all around the lake and the C&CC have vandalised the site by ripping out half of the woods and also building a storage park where the toilet block used to be and a monstrous new toilet block in the middle field. Somehow the site appeared a lot smaller, but I suppose I was a lot smaller then. To think that we used to swim in that lake!

The Lake

..and in 1976, being drained
 

A beer or two later I walked to the village to have a mooch around and then meet Debs from the train. We walked back to the site and she must have been sick and tired of the stories of childhood exploits I regaled her with on the way back.  Dinner and wine and an early night ended Friday.

Glorous woodland chopped down by the "We care for the environment" Camping and Caravanning Club vandals.
 



The old Youth Field now.....

 

 

..and in 1976

On Saturday it was up early, train to Surbiton, lunch in Kingston and met Sharon, James and Chris, plus a couple of Sale Sharks supporters, in the Barmy Arms in Twickenham. After watching yet another glorious Harlequins win against Sale, we had a few more beers, admired Rob & Sally's new motorhome, had a Chinese meal in Surbiton (not brilliant) and then caught a train back to Horsley to be in bed before lights out.

The Barley Mow, West Horsley

Sunday was a slow start and a long walk to the National Trust property, Hatchlands. Whilst listening to the saxophone quartet in the grounds, we realised that the Tour of Britain was passing outside. We quickly sprinted through the woods, scrambled over a barbed wire fence and burst through the hedge to watch the cyclists speed by. Back by the same route, grubby and scratched, we enjoyed a cream tea then a tour of the house, before heading back across the park to West Horsley, stopping at the Barley Mow for a few pints of Doom Bar! Total walking distance - about 8 miles, which was so nice to do after losing the use of our legs during a recent driving tour of Ireland.


Hatchlands

 

On Monday, Debs had to go to work, so it was up early and a walk to the station for her to catch the 7.30 train. I had a wander through the old Pine Woods on the way back and decided that I should really buy a dog as an alibi for these early morning expeditions!

Packing up and forcing the miserable old git from the Royal Bank of Scotland Caravan Club to say "Good Morning", I had a leisurely drive back to be be home by lunchtime.

Horsley - nice to go back, but disappointed by what the Camping Club have done to the place and how they charge so much for such poor facilities. The toilet block is in need of some urgent upgrade.



We were tough back then

 

Sandringham 10-13 Aug 12



Sandringham House



We do not usually go away during the school holidays as the prices go up and the sites are full of screaming kids. However, the forecast was good and the Camping Club had a sale on, so we booked a last minute weekend away on the Camping Club site on the Sandringham Estate. As ever, the Caravan Club, with their stupid no deposit booking system, had no spaces. This really is swaying our decision as to which club to remain with (plus we met the chairman of the caravan club at Peterborough and were not overly impressed with that particular pompous little Napoleon).  Anyway, I digress....

Outside St Mary Magdalene Church

Sandringham Grounds

Sandringham is only an hour up the road so Debs did her usual working on board and we arrived at 1800hrs, to be met by yet another bonkers site assistant (the CC obviously breed them - they are great) who showed us to our pitch under the trees and, within minutes, the beers were opened and we settled down to watch a bit of Da Limpiks.


On Saturday it was up early, breakfast under the trees, then a cycle ride to Sandringham House to visit Her Majesty's gaff. We had a great time touring the house and grounds and I was very taken with St Mary Magdalene church, which you only usually see in shots of the Royal Family at Christmas. It has an absolutely stunning interior and well worth a visit. We toured Sandringham House (very nice) then had our packed lunch on her back lawn (I am sure she wouldn't mind). The Queen, my bike and I had a close encounter many years ago so I was pleased that she wasn't around this time! We then had a pootle around the local area before returning to the site for dinner, wine and a wander around the massive camp site. People comment on how big motorhomes are but some of the canvas monstrosities, and the accompanying detritus, that people had established have to be seen to be believed. Great huge nylon hangars surrounded by windshields of Berlin wall proportions with BBQs, chairs, toys, flags, bikes etc scattered everywhere. There is a lot to be said in growing up with a sense of camping discipline, where everything was neat and tidy and stowed under cover.

Getting ready to Doff my hat to the Royal Family, should they appear.





James Bond Aston Martin DB5 electric toy car made for Prince Charles





Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble & Grubb



OK - but not quite as comfortable as Tom



Holkham, very busy
on a hot August weekend




Holkham Car Park



The gang arrive

On Sunday we drove to Holkham beach, parked up early before the rush started, and had breakfast in the bus watching the cars and crowds arriving for a day on the beach. We cycled behind the beach for about half a mile and set up our beach shelter in a deserted spot out of the wind. Even pitching a simple shelter reminded me of the hassle of putting up a tent! Later on, George, Karen, Emily and Vicky eventually found us (after walking the whole length of the Norfolk Coast). The girls and Debs stayed on the dune, where Debs gave the girls a damn good listening-to whilst George, Karen and I set off for a walk along the beach. The sea was gorgeous and we paddled along the beach, albeit it was a bit surreal carrying on a conversation whilst surrounded by nudes. I would also suggest that, from the predominantly male population of this particular weird species, that the sea is rather cold. Similarly, the sight of one bending over right in front of us was almost enough to spoil our day. Anyway, enough of cockles and winkles and it was back to the bus as one young member of the party refused to relieve herself in the sea or dunes and the need was becoming most urgent. A glass of wine later and we all headed back to Sandringham for a delightful evening sitting outside for a BBQ kindly supplied by George and Karen.



I tried to stay awake for the closing ceremony, but failed.

Monday, up early, packed and I drove around to the service point whilst Debs was still in bed. She appeared none too impressed as the speed hump aided her getting up......

Karen trying to hide behind a cookie

  

Sandringham camp site - huge, but very nice. It is pleasant to be parked up in a higgledy-piggledy way rather than in neat rows and access and egress is very easy. Even full there wasn't too much noise and we will definitely use it again.

Oldbury Hill 3-6 Aug 12

It's hard to believe that we've had this bus for nearly a year and that the in-laws have not seen it yet. Accordingly, we arranged a weekend near their house, but it is quite hard finding a site in "sarf-east Larndarn", especially with the Olympics in full flow,  so we headed for a suitable Camping and Caravanning Club site at Oldbury Hill near Sevenoaks.

The journey down on Friday was horrendous, with slow traffic on the M11 due to people rubbernecking (plonkers) and a 5 mile tailback to get over the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. You would think that with such massive tailbacks they would open the tollgates to ease the flow, but the opportunity for money grabbing  means much, much more than that. Pah!

Oldbury Hill is a very pleasant location near the site of an Iron age fort. It is surrounded by very attractive towns and lovely views, albeit the site itself is on quite a slope. The site staff, however, have this slope well managed and have wooden chocks to level each unit. The staff are all barking mad though, which made for an very entertaining set up!  

Parking across the slope

On Saturday, due to Father in Law being not fit enough to travel, we walked the mile or so to Kemsing station to catch a train to Bromley to visit them. We walked along very narrow lanes past numerous delightful cottages converted oast houses, watching out for the ever present threat of getting a good soaking from this drought ridden summer.  Kemsing is an unmanned station with just one machine providing a permit to travel to prevent being fined for travelling without a ticket. This machine swallowed our two pounds. There was a help point nearby and, pressing the button gets you through to the the South East Railway help desk - IN INDIA!! They were bloody useless. I am not sure they even knew where Kent was, let alone Kemsing, so we boarded the train and expected a fine from the inspector. She was, however, charming, and obviously well used to the problems associated with unmanned stations, broken machines and Indian call centres. Time to watch the Titfield Thunderbolt again to see how railways should be run!


After a heavy downpour, the sun comes out


Sunday, father in law still not fit enough, but Andrew and Michelle descended to eat us out of ice cream. On Sunday evening we had a pleasant walk around the fort (well, I did anyway. There was the usual moans about mud, hills, horse manure, flies etc (see previous posts)) before retiring to the local pub for a well earned pint and watch a bit of Da Lympics on the large screen TV.

Visitors

On Monday Debbie had to work, so it was pack up in bright sunshine and a drive to Bromley to enable the in-laws to inspect the vehicle at home. Weekend target achieved!

Our bit of support for Team GB

France - 8 June to 1 Jul 12

And so to the big one. All the rehearsals are over. This was it; how would we cope with 3 weeks on the road abroad? The total van weight was bouncing around the 3.5 tonne limit (Debs assures me that 30 pairs of shoes are vital!) and I reckon that we would have 60kg payload spare for wine on the journey back.

The tentative plan was to go to the places we had visited in previous years in the tent down through the Eastern side of France and then head back up through the central route. We booked no sites, relying on aires, asci and camping cheques, so we would just wing it. turning up at overnight spots and hoping that there would be space.

We had to maximise the time available given that Debs had to take annual leave for this trip. Accordingly, I set out on the Friday afternoon in pouring drought, howling gales and limited visibility. It's hard to get your head around packing for warm weather when the British summer is so appallingly crap! I arrived at Ashford in good time and, despite my pointless e-mails to the miserable, useless local council fruitlessly asking for motorhome parking options, I found a spot at the outlet mall and settled down for the afternoon until Debs arrived at Ashford on the train. As for Ashford - you can ram it - they obviously don't want tourists!

The collection went seamlessly, we arrived at the tunnel in good time and managed to get an earlier crossing, arriving in Calais at about 1930 local. Rather than stopping locally, we headed off towards the aire at Arques (about 30 miles south of Calais), only to find it locked (despite them advertising that they would be open until 2200hrs) Bloody idle Frogs! We parked up in front of the gates and went to bed, getting up early and clearing off before they had time to attempt to collect the 3 euro fee off us. Ha! One up to GB!

On Saturday the weather was bright and warm. We went on the autoroute to Champagne, refuelled in Reims (1.28 euro per litre) and then pitched in Chalons en Champagne. Walked into town for a beer, admired the cathedral, wondered what the hell the street performers were doing (dance, apparently - very weird), got sunburnt, had a couple of beers and headed back for a BBQ.

The Aire at Vallons Pont d'Arc

Sunday went "off-piste" following the lesser routes down through Champagne. Sitting up high and travelling slowly on the N roads gives you a real taste of France. I was amazed at the sheer number of First World War cemeteries we passed, something I had never noticed before. We pitched up at Langres on a site that we had used a number of times before and went for a bike ride around Lake de la Liez before enjoying a very nice meal in the Bistro.

Monday, crossed over into Burgundy and Chalons-sur-Saone for another bimble around a very pretty city and impressive cathedral. It is also renowned as being the birthplace of photography, but the sun was shining and we felt disinclined to visit the photography museum.  The camp site is run by a delightful couple so we had dinner in their bar whilst watching football (God what a boring sport that is). Interestingly there is a tombstone on the site marking the spot where a young chap was shot by the Nazis during the last war. I asked the owner for the story and, although he didn't know the full detail, he said that the river was the border between occupied and Vichy France.

Tuesday and on past the dreaded Lyon (always traffic jams, but it looks very pretty), journeying through the tunnels and alongside the Rhone. The satnav took us via a very tortuous route to our next stop near Vienne. This site was in the middle of nowhere and it had been raining very heavily so the ground was soggy. We pitched up and, as it was so damp, ate in the bus. By now we were into the swing of touring. Keep stuff put away ready for the departure, set off at 0900-1000hrs after breakfast, leisurely drive for a few hours and arrive at the next stop at lunchtime for an afternoon and evening sightseeing. Plans were thwarted the next day when a German motorhomer managed to get himself bogged down and we had to extricate him from the bog. By the time we had cleaned up, we were late starting for our journey even further south.

South of Lyon and the Olive line the temperature rose steadily. The sky took on the Mediterranean deep blue and the scents of lavender, sage and rosemary filled the air. We were south at last!  We had a quick stop at Montelimar to look for nougat, but found Lidl instead. Then we turned off into the Ardeche and found a site near the gorge. This is where touring stopped for a while. Each day dawned warm and sunny and reports from other campers indicated that the weather elsewhere was bad, so we stayed put - and so did the good weather! We spent the mornings lazing around the pool and the afternoons walking, cycling or touring the villages, vineyards and markets of the local area. The food and wine were divine and the days passed in a very pleasant and relaxing way. I could live here quite happily. We were relaxing and felt no desire to move on, However, move on we did and we headed across the glorious Cevannes towards Clerment -Ferrand and our stop at Brioude in Auvergne.

Brioude is obviously French for "unlucky". We pulled onto the site and got chatting to a Yorkshire chap (I'm not proud) who wanted to use our laptop to search for parts for his broken Lambretta. We chatted to another chap who was stuck there as his car had broken down and it would take 4 days to fix. Another chap had been bitten to buggery by mosquitoes and, as we parked up, the tap on our sink became loose. Out came the toolkit, I tightened the tap and somehow managed to dislodge the sink drain pipe. Flood in the bus and a long evening spent taking the bus apart to fix the pipe. Grrr!

Onwards and northwards and the weather got progressively cooler. The next stop was Salbris in Loir-et-Cher, which was a very pleasant spot next to a lake. We had the biggest steak in the world for dinner there - nom nom.

Up further and an overnighter in the municipal site in Chartres. Again, a very impressive and picturesque city and we could easily spend more time there, but we headed North again and ended up in the Somme at a very pleasant site near the coast. We spent two nights here and completed the the shopping ready for the trip back. We also toured around the local towns, but gave up trying the park in Le Touquet where they wanted 9 euros to park up for the day! Another town where they can ram their unfriendly, unwelcoming and arrogant attitude.

Boarding the train for the journey home

Sunday saw us up early and and hours drive to the Tunnel, big queue to cross and peeing down rain. Welcome home.

In all, a great trip. Apart from one or two niggles, the bus performed admirably and it is an extremely comfortable way to tour. We also managed to stow over 50 litres of wine! We covered exactly 1800 miles and averaged 30.5 mpg (which isnt too bad considering the long climbs over the Cevannes and the speedy runs on the Autoroutes testing the top speed of a 3.5tonne white van (90mph starts getting a bit hairy). I cn see why people live on board these things, especially when France is geared up to accommodate "Le Camping-Car" with most towns and villages actively encouraging  you to visit. The system of Aires is also very impressive. If only we could do the same in the UK. The only downside is having to pack the bus to go out for the day, especially when she has so many lotions and potions to put away.