Welcome Millie, Lincoln and Somerset 7-12 Apr 26

Ready for the final drive to Lincoln 

Packed for transfer

Tuesday 7th April and we drove Lotti, completely empty and cleared (apart from the stuff we were transferring) to Lincoln for the last time, achieving a very respectable 32mpg on the journey. The handover took place at 1330, so after a quick lunch in the Lincolnshire Poacher we started the long winded affair. Millie the Malibu was parked at the end of the Camper UK showroom and big shutter doors opened and Lotti was driven in to be parked next to her so we could transfer the bits we had brought with us. It was a bit of a sad/exciting occasion and felt a bit like a funeral when our old van appeared then disappeared forever behind a screen. All we needed was some sombre music to complete the effect, but Lotti's Pitched Reserved sign will join the others from Tom and Boris as sort of Motorhome gravestones in our study.

Transfer at Camper UK

Anyway, on to more cheerful stuff. We threw everything in the back of Millie and she was brought to the front of the showroom for the handover photo before we were handed the keys and we set off, nervously, for our first night in the new van at the Camper UK campsite. Once parked up  we started to try and sort ourselves out with the limited stock of items we had brought with us. Bedmaking was a challenge as the bed has 4 different mattresses and, accordingly, 4 different sheets. A bit of a jigsaw puzzle. Eventually we settled down, opened a bottle of fizz and enjoyed a decent first night's sleep in the new van.

The sheet conundrum

Stashing the stuff

Camper UK Leisure Park

Cheers

On Wednesday we set off early for the long drive down to Taunton to have an alarm and immobiliser fitted. The Caravan and Motorhome Club Insurance, who we have been with for many years, would not cover the new van without a monitored tracker fitted - not even to go to a dealer to get one fitted. We had to, accordingly, go through all the nause of changing insurance provider and we were quite pleased we did so as the new provider, the NFU, were significantly cheaper. The CAMC can do one! We took our time getting to Taunton and I enjoyed the experience of driving an automatic, which made the experience so much more relaxing. We had arranged to stay at Sheppy's Cider farm for the night under the Brit Stops scheme so we parked up, had a wonderful meal and a couple of pints of cider, then enjoyed relaxing in the van in the warm sunshine.

Relaxing in the sun watching the donkeys

Apple Orchards at Sheppy's

Sheppy's

The following day we were up early for the short drive to Wattguardz (ex-Vanbitz) for alarm and tracker fitting. We left the van with Nick and walked into Taunton for breakfast and a long mooch around. Taunton is a pretty uninspiring place and we were quite please to head back to Wattguardz for the long debrief (and deafening demonstration of the alarm) and then a tortuous drive along narrow, winding roads to the Minehead CAMC site. We arrived later that we said we would and, apparently, the CAMC have shortened their staff working hours due to the new ridiculous government edits. Luckily they had left details of our pitch in the information hut and we quickly parked up and headed across the road for some delicious fish and chips. We walked over 10 miles that day. Nick's views on the noise of the alarm: "there are strict regulations on the decibels of the sirens we are allowed to fit. There are, however, no regulations on the number of those sirens we can fit". We have 5. It is LOUD!

Taunton

Millie lost in the cavernous Wattguardz garage

Friday morning and we were still not quite fully au fait with the swoosh-bang door. We used to curse the swoosh-bangers who used to spend all their time making an awful din, so we were quite conscious of how annoying these things can be. We waited for the neighbours to go out before having a damn good swoosh-bang practicing session to see how quietly we could do it. More practice needed methinks.

Anyway, Dunster is fairly close to the Minehead site so we set out to walk along the noisy A39 to this pretty village. The first thing we found was a massive Rohan clearance shop. It is great! We did a bit of damage then sat down for a pasty to recover from the shock of spending so much. Once again I had forgotten my wallet and National Trust card, but the very nice chap at Dunster Castle let me in and we had a great time wandering around the castle, gardens and watermill before walking back to the Caravan site for dinner. Another 8 miles walked.

Minehead Barbarians Rugby Club - one very sloping pitch

On Saturday we had a wander into Minehead, dodging the showers. We had a quick look at the steam railway, but there was nothing running, then a very interesting tour of the lifeboat station, before heading into the Old Ship Aground for lunch, then an amble back to the site for a bit of relaxation. Minehead is a strange place, dominated by the huge Butlins complex, which we managed to avoid. Dunster is lovely and worth heading back to. Minehead - not so much.

As for the CAMC, a nice site with very friendly wardens but not, by any means, full. I wonder of the hideous prices they are charging has anything to do with it?

On Sunday we headed home, the first hour travelling along the narrow, twisty A39 to Bridgewater. From there it was the M5 to Gloucester Services for lunch and then motorway all the way home, achieving 40mpg at 62mph, which was very pleasing. 

The new van? Early days yet, but it is a pleasure to drive, very well built with high quality furniture, comfortable and well designed. The swoosh-bang is a bit of a pain, and the headroom over the door is a bit limited, but I think that we have made the right decision. There is an awful lot of work to do to get it shipshape though. The last one took us 6 years........