Wednesday 4th December to Thursday 5th December 2019 It was a pleasure to be returning to the beautiful city of Bath and we were blessed both by good company and sunshine. Having pre-booked timed entry tickets to the Roman Baths for the following day we strolled around and were pleased to see that a local restaurant was promoting us. We visited Bath Abbey where . . . . . . a major refurbishment project is underway to repair the floor which is collapsing. Outside, the Bath Christmas Market takes over much of the city centre and roads are closed to traffic. It offers all the usual stalls, but mid-week, away from the week-end crowds, and in such a beautiful setting it was one of the most pleasant such markets we have visited. We walked up to the Royal Crescent as the sun was sinking in the sky. We then tried some restorative mulled cider in the “Apres-Ski Bar”. After some Christmas shopping, more refreshment was required and, naturally, Robert could not resist a beer named Stouty McStout Face. The next day we returned to visit the Roman Baths, walking through the Christmas Market . . . . . . .and […]
England
Monday 2nd December to Tuesday 3rd December 2019 Having planned to meet friends in Bath to enjoy the famous Christmas market there we decided to break the journey and found a place to stay near the ancient site of Old Sarum. From here we walked into Salisbury and visited the Cathedral. The original building was constructed between 1075 and 1092 but just five days after the consecration ceremony it was damaged in a storm and needed repairs: we felt that some people might have taken this as a sign of divine displeasure. In about 1120 to 1130 the cathedral was rebuilt on a much grander scale, although some of these buildings have since been demolished. Today there is a peaceful cloister which is said to be the largest of any cathedral in Britain. In the Chapter House off the cloisters you can see the best preserved one of just four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta, dating from June 1215. This document covers such varied topics as the standardisation of weights and measures and the rights of the Church as well as the importance of legal due process and, crucially, the principle that no one, not even the king, […]
Wednesday 22nd May 2019 The journey to the Isles of Scilly includes a range of different transport options and so strongly appeals to Robert. As he arrived back from France on Tuesday evening he had decided to optimise our time on Tresco by going straight to catch the overnight sleeper from Paddington Station where Matilda greeted a much-loved character from her childhood reading. The first class waiting room was almost deserted. Our experience of first class sleepers in India had made us slightly wary but our cabin was clean and comfortable, if rather compact. We were able to have a bite to eat and a night cap in the buffet car before settling in for the train journey to Penzance. It is a short walk from Penzance Station to the dock from whence the Scillonian departs. Staff take charge of luggage and labels show which of the islands it needs to be transported to. Restorative coffees were available on board, the crossing was calm and sunny. It was a real pleasure to spot dolphins and whales playing in the wake behind the ship. We felt thrice blessed when we saw seals on the crossing from St Mary’s quay to Tresco. […]
Sunday 28th and Monday 29th April 2019 Having booked relatively early flights from Southend Airport for Monday morning, we decided to stay in the airport hotel the night before to avoid the stress of the M25 during rush hour. With time to spare, Matilda persuaded Robert that a trip to Southend Pier would be a pleasant way to pass the afternoon. Travelling to Southend Airport Station from Liverpool Street is straightforward [and is much cheaper than the fare to Stansted]. It is then a very short walk to the terminal or the hotel. Having deposited our luggage, we returned to the station to get the train into Southend itself. There is a lift down to the promenade which features a row of arches housing almost exclusively fish and chip shops extending into the distance and which probably has not changed for decades. Southend Pier is the longest leisure pier in the world at 1.33 miles or 7,080 feet. As the estuary is quite shallow at the edges, the tide goes out a long way stranding boats as the waters recede. There is a train along the pier so it is strange that we have not visited before now. We opted […]
Ludlow – Friday 25th to Sunday 27th January 2019 We are delighted to be sharing part of our motorhoming adventure in Ludlow with Liz and Martin as they were the first overnight guests to stay in Alan back in the spring and now have their own campervan, affectionately named Connie. Having previously undertaken all our motorhoming adventures in the summer we were not prepared for our arrival at Ludlow Touring Park in the early evening after sunset. Nothing was visible in the reversing camera which made parking Alan on our pitch more of a challenge. We had also had strict instructions to “keep off the grass”. Connie, being petite [and possibly a little bit flighty] by comparison to Alan, proved much easier to manoeuvre and is able to come and go as she pleases. We therefore went into Ludlow to the Charlton Arms Hotel early doors to sample some of the local Ludlow Brewing Company’s ale – judged to be very quaffable – before returning to the campsite for a pre-prepared meal courtesy of Martin. The following morning, we were reprimanded by the site staff for allowing Alan and Connie to be over-familiar as they had inadvertently shared a pitch […]
Monday, 29th October 2018 Robert enjoyed testing Alan’s levelling system to empty the tanks before we left Brugge to reduce the weight and maximise fuel economy. We had planned to go to a beer warehouse in Poperinge which Robert has visited several times before but we found it was closed on Mondays so a google search came up with Drunken Vandewoude, Brouwerijstraat 5, 8600 Diksmuide. A family run concern who were very welcoming, allowing Ralf to wander round the warehouse which offered a wide range of very tempting options. Even Alan didn’t seem capacious enough and the journey home was punctuated by the rattling of bottles. Walked today: 5.0 miles Driving distance today: 109.64 miles Total Tour Distance: 1,190 miles
So, to finish off this brief trip we took a morning walk with Ralf along Southwold harbour. Our aim was to have breakfast at the Harbour Café. Unfortunately when we arrived there were other groups sat outside with their dogs. Although Ralf was on his best behaviour the other dogs did not seem to like him and expressed their views loudly. We decided to make a hasty retreat when we noticed another outside seating area belonging to the Café. Away from other customers and in the sunshine we were able to relax and eat our cooked breakfasts. (Ralf particularly enjoyed the ends of Robert’s sausages). After packing up at the campsite we made a stop at the reception to book another trip as a pre-retirement weekend for Matilda. This time with Ruth, Jaime and Harrison as well as Ralf: two pitches required and canvas will also be involved. And the reason for the blog’s title: Ralf passed his trial trip…he will now be joining us on our two month European trip (in Alan) starting in October. All we now need to do is to get him a passport and plan a more rural route.
The campsite in Norwich was very peaceful and you would not expect to find such an oasis of calm so close to an English city. We will certainly use this again if we are visiting relatives there. Ralf has not been himself today: primarily evidenced by not eating any breakfast. This may have been because he shared some leftover cold pizza with Robert and Matilda before the morning walk. But just ten minutes into the walk he stopped and refused to continue: he then declined to eat. The day has therefore been spent being very attentive to his every whine and whimper as dog vomit in the motorhome is something to avoid. He became very agitated travelling through a village on the way from Norwich to Southwold and Matilda suggested stopping in case he felt unwell. We found a place to stop beyond the built up area and Ralf jumped down and proceeded to sniff enthusiastically all along the hedgerows. No noticeable signs of illness. It is possible that he feels that the slower progress through towns, with the many junctions, pedestrians and traffic lights indicates a stop is imminent and therefore, as many people travelling to new places do, he […]
Last night we realised that the windbreaks, mentioned in the last post, which many use to mark out their territory on a camp site, are not necessarily effective against a curious Lakeland who is prepared to sneak under a motorhome and poke his nose into someone else’s personal space. Robert is the self-styled chef for this trip. Matilda was a little concerned that the preparation of the breakfast muffins for the morning seemed to take precedence over her evening meal. Robert is not going to make a short order chef any time soon: he does produce quite a professional English muffin, except when demands are being made for an imminent meal. The phrase ‘critical path flow’ springs to mind. But the view of Southwold beyond the muffins is very picturesque. The first morning waking up in the motorhome with Ralf was punctuated by whimpers and urgent indications that he wanted to go for a walk. Robert would have preferred a chilled start to the day including a coffee but Matilda persuaded him to head out. A passing dog walker commented, “I think it’s going to rain.” We smiled politely, but turning back to look in the direction he was heading we […]
Ralf, our eleven year old Lakeland Terrier, has today been inaugurated into the Travelling Herd. Robert wants him to join the first European trip but Matilda was unsure how well he would cope with this new adventure and planning a two month trip as his introduction to the motorhome life seemed overly ambitious to her. Particularly as Ralf is not always a happy traveller as he associates car journeys with going to the vet. So the first trial run is to Southwold, a beautiful and unique place which has been passed down through the generations: Matilda was taken here on holiday as a child and has subsequently introduced Robert, some long-standing and cherished friends as well as her children. From our pitch, we can see the lighthouse across the marshes and you can walk dogs from here to a certain point along the beach. Ralf, who unlike many Lakeland terriers is a little water-shy, loved the beach and frolicked along the sand like a much younger dog. We could not interest him in going in the sea, however. Our walk led us to the Lord Nelson pub, which was previously our regular stop on the way home from the beach when […]
We had planned our destination for today, but on arrival it really was in the middle of nowhere and there was no chance of meeting Matilda’s culture quotient. We are beginning to be more adept at accurately deciphering the BritStops entries. We had already discounted several pubs which mention their children’s play areas as, with daughters in their twenties this is not a current requirement of ours. If it says “popular with walkers and cyclists” it is likely to be without anything except beautiful scenery and consequently far too remote for Matilda. We looked at the map and found another place slightly closer to home, about an hour’s drive further on and set off. Bodiam boasts a steam railway, a castle and a pleasant country pub. We came here many years ago to celebrate Ruth’s third birthday and had a lovely day with the extended family so we have fond memories of the place too. As we had had a very substantial meal the night before, we travelled before having breakfast so it was more like brunch in Alan on arrival. This could be the way forward as we are both quite early risers but not necessarily hungry first thing. […]
As we have previously stayed with friends or somewhere which provides breakfast, today was our first experience of catering on Alan. Robert had invested in a number of compact ground coffee making options and a cunning device to make toast. Overnight, we had flattened the leisure batteries as the generator had not automatically switched on. Manual over-ride did the trick but we need to make sure this is functioning properly when Alan goes for the next enhancements. There were issues with the first coffee making option as this tripped a fuse on the leisure battery as it was drawing too much power. Despite this, even when using the engine battery, the coffee was not exactly hot, and took some time to produce. The second option relied on elbow grease and the kettle, but this was also luke warm. Matilda is considering reverting to instant coffee. The toasting device – a frame which rests on the gas ring and funnels the heat upwards – was more successful although Robert complained about the healthy brown bread. Today’s task will be to buy some white bread. Wanting to be environmentally-friendly we also tried the eco setting for the hot water, but this did […]
We are determined not to be just fair weather motorhomers, so despite the weather forecast predicting three days of thunder storms, we set off for the south coast. Matilda was more concerned about Robert’s health than the weather as he has a debilitating cough which had been keeping us both awake at night. On the way to Peacehaven we passed the Westerham Brewery, and felt we really should call in. Robert has tried their beer on various occasions, and although this is actually very close to home we have never visited before. It is the second largest brewery in Kent and the barman was truly welcoming and friendly. It is in beautiful countryside and we plan to visit the Brewery Tap in the future. After a one and a half hour drive almost directly due south we hit the coast to the east of Brighton and the cliff top location of Peacehaven which was specially built for returning, injured soldiers after WWI. It is also famous for the scene at the end of Quadrophenia when the character Jimmy Cooper sends his moped over the cliff. Our location for the evening was the car park at the back of the Telscombe […]
We travelled up to Lower Loxley, home of Robin of Loxley, better known as Robin Hood where Duncan had thoughtfully recently created a perfect parking a space for Alan at the end of his estate. Matilda was more interested than Robert in the royal wedding whilst he was more interested in Saracens beating Wasps. It is always a pleasure to meet up with old friends and two of them opted to stay with us in Alan, foregoing the comforts available indoors. Lesson for the day: when you can, take your time and conserve fuel. The return journey allowed us to meet our new great nephew for the first time.
An invitation to a reunion of Robert’s youth club friends, to co-incide with the royal wedding and the FA cup final, provided the impetus for the first overnight stay. We decided to break the journey and stay somewhere half way to get the feel of it. The Gate Hangs High. Matilda was convinced this would prove to be the site of an old gallows, but in fact the truth is far more hospitable and welcoming: “the gate hangs high and hinders no-one” – so all are welcome. The food was tasty, the staff were welcoming and breakfast was also available. We filled up with water, hooked up to electricity but neglected to turn the water on to heat up overnight, so had to wait for it to reach an appropriate temperature to shower in the morning. The self-levelling system caused us some problems and we assumed this was because the ground was too uneven, but since then is has coped with some serious gradients. Lesson for the day: turn the water on to heat overnight.
Though traditionally an inauspicious date, having placed the order back in October, Friday the thirteenth proved lucky for us as we travelled down to Rye with Ruth to collect a Roller Team T-Line 740. Ships are usually referred to as feminine, but in this instance, our new purchase is now affectionately known as Alan the Motorhome. If you are wondering why we are calling the vehicle Alan, it is named in honour of Robert’s Uncle Alan, who sadly passed away in May 2017 and whose generosity has enabled us to embark on this new adventure. Matilda is resistant to driving Alan, although she accepts she should at least get a feel for it in case Robert is incapacitated at any point. It just looks so BIG. Ruth was therefore the first passenger as Matilda drove the car we had all travelled down to Rye in home. She was a little concerned when Alan pulled over after only a matter of minutes. It transpired that something was rattling – we later found out this was the showerhead which we have now replaced with an Eco Camel – review to follow. Lesson for the day: reversing on to the drive is an art.