We arrive at the third stop on our UK tour, tiny Cherry Hinton, on Thursday January 12th. As is becoming our custom, arrival day is a nicely relaxed affair, as we get ourselves set up and settle into the evening.
Welcome to Cherry Hinton site sign
There is a pub an easy walk from the site and, once we’re all organised we head to the Robin Hood greenking.co.uk . It’s not a bad pub, more modern than some of the ones we’ve been to, but it’s not really our thing so we just have a couple of drinks and head back to site.
Cherry Hinton to Cambridge
Just opposite the Robin Hood is the bus stop for services to Cambridge. Neither of us have visited the city before, and are looking forward to a couple of hours mooching about the famous university city. The bus ride seems to take an age! Just when we think we’ve reach the centre we notice that most of the passengers have stayed on the bus, and decide to follow suit. It’s just as well we did as the remaining journey is at least another twenty minutes, and I’m not sure we’d ever have got there on foot!
As you’d expect, Cambridge is lovely. The whole city is bustling with shoppers, students, and bikes, LOTS of bikes! It’s a beautiful day and everyone seems to have a smile on their faces as they go about their business. After a nice stroll around to get our bearings we stop for coffee and croissants outside #benetscafecambridge . After coffee we carry on our tour of the city, we stop to watch the boats punting up and down the Cam. We were asked a couple of times, if we wanted a river trip, but the weather was a bit windy, and my sea legs aren’t the best on small boats, so we politely declined!
Time For Thai!
There’s not much else, but there are two pubs in tiny Cherry Hinton, the Robin Hood, as already mentioned, and www.theredlioncherryhinton.co.uk . This is much more our kind of place, traditional, full of locals, still in easy walking distance, and the regular watering hole of an enormous, young St Bernard dog who goes by the name of Mavis! Since losing our Marley, A change is going to come……. , we live our dog loving lives through other peoples pooches, and Mavis is a doozy, trust me if one of these sits on your feet you ain’t moving ’til she does!
We took a liking to The Red Lion, and spent so long enjoying the relaxed ambience, we realised it was dinner time and we were hungry! Turns out that two nights a week their chef does a Thai menu, and we happen to be there on the right night. Two Pad Thai, and a couple more drinks later and the place is filling up for the evening, so we take our leave and head home.
Cherry Hinton is a tiny village, and there isn’t much more that a couple of pubs and a small supermarket, but it has great transport links to Cambridge and the surrounding areas and, for a short stop on our UK tour, it had everything we needed.
Woke up this morning, January 8th, and got the van ready to head to the second stop of our UK tour, Henley on Thames, recently voted one of the most beautiful places to live.
After ten months of not worrying about having to secure anything, we’re getting used to having to put stuff away, and lock everything up before we move. Apart from when the cutlery drawer slides open as we go around the first roundabout!
New Destinations
Having never really visited this area before, we are really looking forward to moving on. What a day for travel though! The weather is AWFUL! It isn’t so much that the rain is torrential (it is!), or that the roads are busy (they are!), but the standing water on the motorway is unbelievable! Thankfully the gales that were forecast didn’t materialise, and we make our way, slowly, through the “river” towards our second stop at Henley on Thames.
Henley Four Oaks
Eventually we arrive safely, albeit later that we’d planned, Kev vowing to use our preferred ‘A’ roads for the rest of our trip, wherever possible.
It has been surprisingly easy to settle into a routine of not having a routine! It’s a relief not to have anything we HAVE to do, only things we want to do.
After a leisurely morning in the van, we have an equally leisurely first morning in Henley. We were slightly disappointed that there isn’t a riverside walk into town,(research people!) but it’s an easy walk in, so off we go.
Coffe and cake – the start of a trend
We had been recommended a coffee shop called Hot Gossip but, by the time we get into town, it was pretty much full. Undeterred we wander to the other end of town where we come across https://www.berriescoffee.co.uk .Great coffee and two of the biggest cookies we have ever seen, and we’ve found our coffee stop for the next few days. Over the following three mornings we sample chocolate chip, dark chocolate and raspberry, coffee and walnut, double chocolate, and Nutella filled cookies. I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite if I had to, they were all fab!
After staying in town for an early dinner at the local Spoons (I know, I know!) we head back for an evening of Downton Abbey.
Tuesday morning and another chilled start. We stroll back into town for, of course, coffee and cookies. While we were mooching about yesterday we can across a shop called COOK https://www,cookfood.net . They stock freshly cooked meals, with local ingredients, which are then frozen. We buy Beef Bourguignon, and a couple of raspberry mousses and had both for dinner, the quality is excellent!
Meeting Old New Friends!
We have been really looking forward to Henley! Kev discovered that a couple we have followed on YouTube are due here on Tuesday. Spotting their vehicle when we get back from town (yes be warned we will stalk you vanlifers!) we have a quick intro/catch up, and arrange to meet up on Wednesday evening for some libations.
Sam and Claire, of https://www.nextstopeverywhere.co.uk , are exactly as you would expect them to be. We have a fantastic evening in their company, discussing everything from working for The Club, to families, to our mutual interest in family histories. It’s a huge bonus when you meet someone you’ve followed virtually, and they turn out to be every bit as nice, funny, helpful, informative, and interesting as you thought they would be! We will definitely be keeping in touch, and hope to meet up with them during the coming season, if possible. Good luck in Battle guys!
Just a quick side note, although the walk into Henley is easy and straightforward, if the weather is wet there are a lot of puddles en route, which can get quite big, so be prepared for a game of Puddle Roulette! Also if you come across a COOK store anywhere, get as much as you can fit in your freezer, you won’t regret it!
We arrive at our UK tour first stop, Morn Hill CAMC site, Winchester, on Thursday January 5th.
One of our girls and her partner live close by, and we are really looking forward to catching up and spending some time with them in the historic city of winchester .
After stopping to fill up with gas at marquismotorhomes in Exeter, we have a good run down to our first stop at Morn Hill. It’s always nervy occasion on our first trip out for a while. The van has been pretty much idle for the past ten months, so it’s a relief to find that, apart from some weird electrical thing, everything is working as it should!
The Great Wall at Winchester Cathedral
Back at Winchester
Crown & Anchor Winchester
Winchester is lovely! We get the bus into town on the Friday morning, intending to have a nice lunch, a couple of beers, and then, head back to the van for dinner, we visited the cathedral the last time we were there so gave it a miss this time Life after Hillhead . Fast forward to 5:30, we are still in the Crown & Anchor crownandanchorwinchester , and we call our lovely girl, and her beau, to see if they fancied meeting us for dinner in town! After a lovely couple of hours at the local Spoons theoldgaolhouse , nicely full of food and alcohol, we get back to the van about 9:00ish for a bit of R&R and a movie!
We get the bus in again on Saturday and, this time, stick to the plan for lunch at the Royal Oak royaloakwinchester and a couple of beers, before saying a (slightly teary!) goodbye to our family and heading back to the van.
Next stop
We are now due to move on to Henley on Thames, where the plan involves walks along the river, and more of the same!
As we have said, whilst we are working for CAMC we will not be doing any site reviews but I would say there is a bus stop just down the road which is really handy for Winchester. Stagecoach buses have capped ALL their fares at £2.00, which is fantastic…use public transport folks… you know it makes sense!
On a side note the best upgrade we have to both of our vans so far has been fitting a refillable gas system gaslow (other systems are available!) . It cost us less than £14.00 to fill up 0ur 11kg bottle, and Marquis are trialling it across their network nationally. The initial outlay isn’t cheap, but the savings in the long run are huge! Definitely worthy of consideration!
Well, that,s all for now, we will let you know how we get on at Henley.
Safe travels everyone!
Much love
Mags & KevX
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Firstly apologies for being absent for so long! We were full of plans to detail our last, end of season, tour of France campingcarpark and Spain campingcabopinocampingtaurobennacasim, as promised in our posting, Life after Hillhead but life got in the way and it never happened…but we are on holiday again – at last!
Hillhead
Leaving Hillhead. Ten months finished – we are on holiday – At last!
It’s Thursday, January 5th, and, after a long but happy ten months in work, the first day of our fifty day tour of the UK. Over the next seven weeks we will visit fifteen sites around the country.
Our tour will take us from winchester, our first stop, all the way up to edinburgh, across to Strathclyde, then back down to our last stop at minehead before returning to hillheadbrixham, at the end of February, to restart our next season at the beginning of March. Some of the places we are visiting we have been to before, but most will be completely new to us, and we couldn’t be more excited!
Our plan, such as it is, is to do lots of walking (hopefully), a little running (possibly), and plenty of meeting up with family and friends (definitely!). Inevitably, this will involve a fair amount of sightseeing, eating and drinking along the way, there will also be quiet evenings simply reading, doing crosswords, learning to play the ukulele (of which more in later episodes!), and binge watching box sets on TV. We will let you know where we are, and what we’ve done and seen.
We will endeavour to be less tardy with our updates this time around and, hopefully, you will join us!
Safe & happy travels
Much love
Mags & Kev X
Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on Ten Months Finished – We Are On Holiday – At Last!
On Friday 5th November, we packed Lulu2 up, drove out of our staff compound, said our farewells to our colleagues and prepared for ‘life after Hillhead’.
Rainbow over Hillhead
We had been on site for just over 12 weeks and we had loved every second of it. We made the decision to quit our jobs and embrace a complete lifestyle change and we can positively say that all of the changes and upheavals were worth it. It was probably the best decision we’ve ever made. In fact, ‘If Carlsberg made decisions…..’!
Heading North
Our plan was to do a whistle stop tour of the UK, visiting our four offspring. So with our first call in Cheshire, we pointed Lulu2’s nose north and headed for Exeter and the M5. We decided a few days before leaving that we would break our journey to Runcorn up with a stop over at CAMC Cirencester.
Our lovely colleagues from Hillhead, Gill & Steve were due at Cirencester on Saturday 6th to take over the site as Winter Wardens, so we thought that we’d go out for a beer with them, off site for a change.
We actually got around to leaving Hillhead at 13.00 and had to find an garage that sold and had stock of LPG en route to Cirencester. We called into Thornfalcon Garage just off the M5 at Taunton and filled up with LPG at the princely sum of £22.39. Ready to hit the road again, we were blocked in at the LPG pump for about half an hour by some d**kh**d who decided to jet wash a spare set of alloy wheels. We had to drive over the jet wash area to get out and could not reverse out.
CAMC Cirencester
Friday 5th to Sunday 7th November
Friday 5th
After tackling the mighty Birdlip Hill in Gloucestershire, we arrived at CAMC Cirencester at around 18.30, in the dark. Thankfully, the takeaway van was open on site so at least we didn’t have to cook this evening. Knackered, we were both in bed by 22.00 – lightweights that we are!
Saturday 6th
Afternoon coffee, Cirencester
With me still in my uniform of shorts and t-shirt attire, after breakfast we wandered down the hill into Cirencester. Billed as ‘The Capital of the Cotswolds’, we were really looking forward to our short visit.
Unfortunately, it was still full of the usual current city centre staples of Fat Face, Seasalt, Joules, et al. There were a few quirky independents and a couple of quaint tea shops which we tried for lunch. Surprisingly for us, we didn’t partake in any alcohol. We were due to pop back in for a beer later, with Gill and Steve.
We called into Joules as I was on the lookout for a thick over shirt. As we walked in, we were not met with the customary retail, smiley greeting. Instead, all we heard was……’What are you doing, are you mad? It’s November!’
Apparently, the assistant was concerned that we would be cold and get wet, in my shorts and t-shirt!
‘We work outside!’ was our joint response!
As we left, the assistant was still shaking her head, trying to sell us a scarf!!
Back at the site, time was getting on and at 19.00, Gill and Steve had still not arrived so we again, had food and cwtched down with a movie. This is getting to be a habit now!
Sunday 7th
After a trip to the shower blocks, we walked around the site trying to find our friends. We found them pitched about 50 metres away from Lulu2. They had got in at 20.30 and not felt like doing anything. We had a quick coffee with them, said our goodbyes and got on the road for 150 miles of M5 and M6.
‘Oh deep joy!’.
C&CC Delamere Forest
Sunday 7th to Sunday 14th November
Sunday 7th
After a very windy trek up the M5 and M6, we got to The Camping and Caravanning Club site at Delamere Forest mid afternoon. A lovely flat site set out as a wide arc horseshoe. We were allocated a pitch and shown to it by the warden, stopping first to take on water.
The pitch turned out to be perfectly flat and we settled in for a week long stay. With the exception obviously of Hillhead, this will be the longest that we have ever stayed on one site. To say that I was looking forward to this stay would be an understatement. Autumn is my favourite season of the year and Delamere Forest was a riot of colour.
The site was fairly quiet. There was very little in the way of road noise but we were backed on to the main Chester to Manchester railway line. We very quickly got used to the trains going through.
Deciding to stretch our legs a little, we donned the trusty walking boots and set off on one of The Forestry Commissions recommended walks around Delamere. We had a 3 mile walk through dense forest, around Blakemere Moss and back to the visitor centre.
Our first walk around Delamere Forest
There is an amazing treetop obstacle course called Go Ape at Delamere and we watched as a group of young adults (teenagers to you and me) eased themselves over rope bridges and ladders; along death slides; climbing higher and higher until they reached a zip wire that must have been 300 metres long. One by one they zipped off into the distance. Got to say that the girls were far more fearless than the lads!
On arriving at the visitor centre, we found the café open, so it was coffee and cake time before we went back to Lulu2 for the day.
Delamere Forest, Cheshire
Monday 8th
Megan rang last night and asked if we had anything planned for today as she had the day off. So we arranged to meet up in Chester for lunch and drinkies on Monday and we caught the train from Delamere Station for the princely sum of £5.90 return.
Delamere Station – like stepping back into the 1930’s
We really like Chester and had visited many times when Meg was in University here. We like its’ vibe and its’ bars and coffee shops. A great afternoon of eating and boozing was had by all!
Meg also told us that she had Thursday and Friday off as well and invited us to stay with her on Wednesday night and she would come back to the forest with us for Thursday and Friday nights.
We caught the 20.00 train back to Delamere Station and a little worse for wear, were back in the van by 21.00.
Tuesday 8th
The old ticket office at Delamere Station has been repurposed as a licensed café. So it was here that we ended up on Tuesday morning for a hearty breakfast before we had another walk along one of the trails in the forest. We came across a farm shop on our walk and bought a few bits and pieces before heading back to site and having an afternoon and evening of movies.
This whole area is steeped in English history with settlements from the iron age, Roman roads, Anglo Saxon remains found and sites of civil war battles. I did find this website as well! We walked along the station and the Roman road at night and didn’t see a thing!
Wednesday 9th
Packing a few things into a rucksack, we got on the 15.00 train to Chester and changed for Runcorn. Meg was at the station waiting for us & took us straight back to her flat where we had a brew before heading to her local pub for a beer or three.
A while later, we returned to the flat where Meg cooked fajitas for us and we ate, drank and sat up talking until the wee small hours.
Thursday 10th
The three of us agreed that it would be wise to wait until midday before Meg felt safe to drive after last nights excesses so we set off back to site at about 12.00. We called into Lidl for supplies first though.
Back at site we checked Meg in and then did the usual tea, boots on, walk in the forest followed by coffee and cake in the Station House Café as the Visitor Centre was closed when we got there. In the forest Meg was avidly looking for geocaches. This is the second time we’ve done this with Meg – the first time was in Carentin in Normandy. It’s a bit of harmless fun on a slow day!
We’re cooking in the van tonight as we had booked a table in the café for their gourmet burger night on Friday.
Friday 11th
Another walk in the forest and park area. This evening, we went to The Station House Café for food. They hold themed evenings and tonight’s was a gourmet burger night. It was very good and the service was outstanding and so friendly. We did find it expensive for what it was, but it did sell some great local craft beers – so I was happy!
For the second night in a row, Meg slept up in the over cab bed in Lulu2. It was the first time that anyone has been up there to sleep. She said it felt comfy but it was a little claustrophobic at first.
Saturday 12th
With a load of hugs and kisses, Meg went home after breakfast and once again, we were on our own! We did some laundry and tidied the van before, predictably going for another walk. Apparently, about a mile straight down the road we would find a Londis type mini market. We needed bread and milk so we stretched our legs along some tarmac for a change.
Returning to Lulu2, we stashed the shopping then finished our laundry. We wanted a fairly early get away tomorrow as we have 4 hours of the crappy roads through Mid Wales to contend with so we also did a lot of the pre-drive packing. All I had to do in the morning was empty our waste tanks and we were away.
We have really enjoyed our week in Cheshire. Getting some fresh air in our lungs; walking about 12 miles in total; getting back into nature and seeing Meg has done us the world of good and we are so looking forward to continuing our long awaited adventure.
Llwynifan Farm, Llangennech
Sunday 14th November
Sunday 14th
We had only booked this site, as a last minute stopover, as we could not get onto CAMC Pembrey until Monday 15th. Its a gem of a little site with outstanding facilities to boot. Definitely recommend this one.
We did, as we were passing, call into our storage lock-up on the way down and collected some things that we will definitely need over the coming few months. The Cadac, some paperwork, The West Wing DVD set and some extra clothes are now also packed into Lulu2s’ already bulging storage lockers.
CAMC Pembrey
Monday 15th to Friday 19th November
Monday 15th
A massive drive of 8 miles faced us this morning but I did have to call into Halfords in Llanelli for new wiper blades for Lulu2. Even so, we arrived at CAMC Pembrey at 12.30 and pulled into an empty arrivals lane.
I went in to check in with the wardens and someone promptly came in behind me and started moaning at the wardens that I was pushing in and that he was first in the queue! There was no queue. I was the only van in arrivals. How the hell did I know that the van parked in the car park was actually an arrival. This guy was obviously suffering from small man syndrome! The wardens were totally professional and reasonable with the guy who stormed off in a huff! I did offer to wait outside while he was served first – he still wouldn’t have got his van past Lulu2, through the barrier though!
After that, we set up and had a spot of lunch.
Pembrey Country Park and the area holds happy memories for us. We actually met in 1999 while we were attending Welsh language night school classes just down the road in Llanelli and the Park and Burry Port lighthouse were regular meeting spots for us. We decided to walk the Millennium Coastal Path to Burry Port via the lighthouse. It was a route that we had cycled and walked many times previously.
I thought it was nearer but 3 kilometres later, we were sat in The Portobello Inn, Burry Port enjoying something yellow and fizzy. I have never seen a pub, so busy on a Monday afternoon before – it was packed to the rafters.
The sun was dipping as we started back to site. By the time we had walked to the lighthouse, it was pitch black. Mags said that if our feet got wet on the way back, we had veered left off the park. That was the sea!
Tuesday 16th
We decided today to concentrate on walking around the park itself and take in the famous Cefn Sidan sands. Hopefully the tide would be out as the sands go on for miles and miles.
No……….the tide was in!
But………true to form, we did find coffee and cake!
Cefn Sidan Beach
Wednesday 17th
Mags’ elder sister, Kate, paid us a visit today and once again, the weather gods were smiling on us as we sauntered around the park and onto the sands again. This time the tide was out – miraculously!
We had a lovely afternoon. It was great to catch up with Kate – we haven’t seen her to speak to for over two years.
Soon enough it was time for her to leave and for us to get ready for a night on the tiles! We were meeting Emma, Jack and Elva at a local pub for a meal. We had to meet early as Elva has a strict bedtime routine but the three hours that we spent with her and Jack and Emma was amazing. The last time that Jack and I spoke, it didn’t end well and I honestly thought that was the last time we’d see them. This evening was perfect. Elva was a little star – so busy and almost talking now. She is beautiful.
The evening was over all to soon and we said our goodbyes with promises of Skype or WhatsApp sessions. I really want them to come to Hillhead for a holiday next year – hopefully we can make that happen.
Various shots of Cefn Sidan and Pembrey Country Park
Thursday 18th
Another not day of just relaxing and watching TV. We did stroll the coast path back into Burry Port for some milk and to collect an Amazon parcel from the local Co-Op. Other than that – not a lot happened and we returned to the van to prepare for the off tomorrow morning.
CAMC Tredegar Park, Newport
Friday 19th to Monday 22nd November
Friday 19th
We left Pembrey fairly early on Friday morning and less than 90 minutes down the M4 later, we were pulling onto CAMC Tredegar Park site.
I’ve been looking forward to this site for quite a while now as it holds some really special memories for me. I last visited the park about 40 years ago. My parents were avid caravan folk and belonged to a small, local club. About 30 or 40 vans would rally here for around a fortnight, over the August Bank Holiday weekend. As we were only 10 miles from home, Dad would go to work from here and leave mum & I here. He would re-join us every evening after work.
It always seems that our summers were longer and warmer when we were kids and this break was always the culmination of our school 6 week holidays. We always looked forward to it.
After Mags and I had found a pitch & got set up, we went for a walk around the lake. Disappointingly, the rowing boats had gone some 10 years previously. The old boathouse is still standing though, albeit very run down and forlorn.
Tredegar House and its previous owners have a very colourful history and it is now under the custodianship of The National Trust. Slowly, they are bringing the house and grounds back to life. 40 years ago, it was managed by Newport Borough Council. A lot of the house interior and it’s outbuildings were in a sorry state back then and that’s how I remembered it! We looked, but couldn’t find the old oak tree that somewhere, has my name carved into it along with whoever was the love of my life for that particular weekend in August 1981.
Saturday 20th
The weather gods continued to smile down on us as Saturday dawned cold but with blue skies. We had a lazy morning as we had arranged for Judith (Mag’s twin sister) and her husband Anthony to visit from their home in Monmouth.
We met for coffee and cake and proceeded to wander all over the park and buildings. Anthony, being an architect, is in his element as we look at the stables, laundry, servants quarters & outbuildings. We were trying all the locked gates and doors. Any signs that said ‘Staff Only’ or ‘No Entry’ were obviously for other people! It was like being 16 again! All that was missing was being chased by the ‘Parkies’!
It was so lovely to see them both…..it’s been way too long! Soon enough though, our afternoon was over and after a coffee back at Lulu2, we walked them back to their car. We did some shopping at Londis and grabbed some fish and chips for supper, on the way back.
Various shots of Tredegar House, Park and family
Sunday 21st
Being National Trust members, Mags and I took the opportunity to actually go into the gardens and the main house today. So glad we did. The whole history of the building comes to life as you walk around these stately homes. I particularly enjoy the ‘Downstairs’ aspects of the houses where the real work took place.
You can almost see the maid getting up at 04.00 to clean the grates to lay and light the fires in all of the rooms for the family to rise. Or the chamber maid waking their family and attending to their needs (and their chamber pots!).
All in all, it was a great visit. My particular highlight was the grave and monument erected to ‘Sir Briggs’.
Sir Briggs
[Briggs was a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaklava on 25 October 1854. A chestnut stallion with black stockings, Briggs measured 15 hands. He was a steeplechase champion and was named after a family servant, but after showing remarkable bravery during the battle, despite taking a sabre wound to the head, he was unofficially knighted, ‘Sir‘ Briggs. His owner was Captain the Honourable Godfrey Charles Morgan (later Viscount Tredegar, 1831-1913), who commanded a squadron of the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons (Lancers).
A prominent Welsh landowner, Morgan sold his commission in January 1855 but continued to serve in the Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry until 1875. He was Honorary Colonel of the Royal Monmouth Engineer Militia from 1885 and Member of Parliament for Breckonshire from 1858 to 1875.
Sir Briggs survived the tough conditions of a war that saw many other horses perish from starvation and fatigue. He eventually died in 1874 and was commemorated with a memorial in the grounds of Tredegar Park, his master’s home in Wales.] from thewarhorsememorial.org.
Absolutely shattered from all of the history, we returned to Lulu2 for an early supper and to ready the van for our off in the morning. We are heading south for the last time in the UK and leaving Wales for the last time until, who knows when!
CAMC Black Knowl, New Forest
Monday 22nd to Saturday 27th November
The Village of Brockenhurst, New Forest
Monday 22nd
Having left Tredegar Park around 10.30, our trusty sat nav took us to CAMC Black Knowl. The site is just outside the village of Brockenhurst in The New Forest. We pulled up on site into the arrivals area and within 30 minutes, were on our pitch for the week, fully set up and brewing a cuppa!
After 3 hours of the M4, M3 and M27, I was ready for a sharp one and we also needed some groceries. So we donned our walking boots, obtained a small map from reception and set off for Brockenhurst. A 3km, poker straight and flat path leads across the moorland and it was easy to follow straight into the centre of Brockenhurst.
We eventually found a hostelry and the thirst was slaked. It was getting dark by now, so we whipped into Tesco Express for some bits and pieces and set off back to Lulu2. We managed to get back to the aforementioned path. Boy, was it dark!! We found that as long as we could hear gravel crunching beneath our feet, we were ok. Although that one scene from ‘An American Werewolf in London‘, on the moors, was playing on my mind a bit! It didn’t help that one of the New Forest Ponies decided to let us know he was there. We were right on top of him and still couldn’t see him – it was that dark!
Tuesday 23rd
We did the same trek again on Tuesday – much nicer in broad daylight and rewarded our bravery with coffee and cake in the village. A trip to a proper ironmongers also rewarded us with a small plunger and a car washing sponge for Lulu2.
Wednesday 24th
On Wednesday, we walked back into Brockenhurst to catch the train to Winchester. Mags and I needed to do some admin on the library computers and we really wanted to see the cathedral. We were also meeting the last off our offspring and her boyfriend for food in the evening.
Winchester CAthedral
We enjoyed a lovely meal in Zizzi’s and some excellent craft beer in The Overdraft bar. The 22.30 train took us back to Brockenhurst where our taxi was waiting to take us back to site.
We did have a panic on the train. Just as the conductor came along to check tickets, my phone decided, at that moment, to run out of battery! The tickets were on the Trainline app! The conductor said that she would pop back and she carried on down the train. We were resigned to having to pay again for the single journey – but we never saw the conductor again and there were no checks at the station when we got back to Brockenhurst, Result!
Thursday 25th
Another early morning for me! I don’t know why, but when my eyes open….I am up! Once I’m awake, I cannot go back to sleep, so I got up, went to the loo, had a drink and started blogging at 04.45 this morning! Needless to say, that the lack of sleep , coupled with the after effects of too much beer last night didn’t bode well for too much of a productive day!
I emptied our tanks, cleaned our windows, updated the new sat nav and put our ‘Angles Mort‘ stickers on the van. After lunch, we decided that a walk would ‘blow some of the cobwebs off. The boots went on and we headed out into the forest – in the daylight this time!
The New Forest is amazing, and the range of colours at this time of year is astounding. Honestly, if you’ve never been – go to The New Forest.
Autumnal Colours in The New Forest
The days are starting to get colder now and after an hour or so, we ventured back to a warm van and some fresh tea with Jaffa Cakes. That’s where we stayed for the remainder of the day, hunkered down & watching crap on Amazon Prime. I can remain grateful that Mags hasn’t succumb to the raft of Christmas movies available on there – yet!
Friday 26th
After a superb nights sleep. we woke again to bright blue skies. Then it rained. Then we had blue skies!
We made our way into Brockenhurst for 11.15 as we were meeting Ellen for breakfast and she was getting the train in from Winchester.
A superb breakfast was had at The Terrace and we got back to the van just before the heavens opened.
This is our last night on a CAMC site, until we get back to Hillhead in February. There is a fish and chip van calling here this evening, so we will partake in that – no dishes to wash! We will leave in the morning and have to get diesel, LPG and a Lidl shop on the way. We have an overnight stop booked for Saturday night at The Three Fisheries in Waterlooville. This is about 20 minutes from the ferry port at Portsmouth where we have to be by 06.45 on Sunday.
The Channel is looking to be a little bouncy over the weekend as the UK reels in the aftermath of Storm Arwen – looking forward to that….Mags, not so much!
A Rough Crossing!!
We get into Caen at 15.00 on Sunday 28th and we have two nights booked at Chateau la Garonne which is about 30 minutes from Caen itself. We have 1200 Yorkshire Teabags in Lulu2 for the owners – they asked so we obliged. Apparently they cannot get them in France! We can’t take dairy, meat, fruit or veg into France but the European Teabag Mountain is not a problem!
Hopefully, we will catch up with you again after a couple of days on French soil. Until we do, thanks for sticking with us and for putting up with this epic post – I really wanted to get you all up to date before we sail!
After about 5 or 6 weeks living in Lulu full time, we decided that it was time to upgrade her and say goodbye to the van that had changed our lives!
It was always going to be a struggle, but we agreed that we desperately needed something bigger than a 2 berth panel van conversion if we were going to continue with this lifestyle. We basically had a sofa / lounge or a bed. That was it. There was no compromise. It was either / or.
Farewell Lulu………..’Thanks for the memories’
Also, storage space was minimal. Don’t get me wrong, for weekends away, or even a fortnights holiday, Lulu was perfect and we had just got her how we wanted her. She had new all weather boots; 240 watts of solar; refillable lpg; wifi antennae and router.
She just wasn’t big enough for us and our fulltime lifestyle.
It was time to say goodbye to Lulu.
The search starts!
Allowing a ‘decent’ part ex value for Lulu, we juggled some finances and cashed in a smallish pension pot and came up with a budget figure.
We had a fair idea of the van that we were looking for. Four to six berth. Garage space. LPG. Solar. No more than 10 years old. Low(ish) mileage with good service history. Fixed bed (although – not a deal breaker). Oven.
We knew the marques that we wanted to look at – Hymer, Burstner, Adria or a big Autotrail. Not necessarily in that order but each one, in their own way, had attributes that we were looking for in our next van.
I ploughed through Autotrader almost daily and on our days off we ventured to numerous dealers in the South West to look at, climb over, sit in as many models as we could.
A seller’s market
The problem that we were finding, as many people have this past year or so, was that it was a sellers market.
Prices were inflated as the vendors knew that the vans would sell regardless. We saw some real dross out there for money that 18 months ago would have landed a decent van.
The marques that we wanted, with the features that we wanted, at the price that we wanted were hard to come by. The search went on and on for about three weeks.
Out of the blue, I came across an advert that peaked my interest.
Have we found Lulu2?
A 2011 Autotrail Apache Hi Line with 13500 miles on the clock. It came with almost everything on our list. It had an over cab bed with a U shaped rear lounge and a double dinette at the front. It was 7.65 mtrs long (Lulu was 5.9 mtrs) and 4150KG laden ( Lulu was 3300KG). It had solar; a garage; full service history; bathroom with separate shower; oven & hob; Truma heating.
She also came with a full airbeam awning; winter covers; water and waste hogs; chairs; tables; external barbeque, 240v and shower points; Cello TV; Roadpro satellite dome and loads of other stuff!
It ticked almost every box and we loved it!
The price however, was the very top of our budget – depending on the valuation we got on Lulu.
We arranged to go to Cornwall to view the Apache the following week.
The deal is done………..welcome to Lulu2!
Here she is………………..
Lulu2………….’Welcome to our World’
The deal was done. We didn’t get as much for Lulu as we’d have liked or that we felt she was worth but the purchase price was reduced slightly also. This left us enough in the pot to put in a full ‘Gaslow‘ twin bottle system before we finished our stint at Hillhead and took to the road.
We cleaned out Lulu, storing our possessions in the awning (which we have since sold to colleagues) and in a garage on site. We set off for St Austell for the hand over on a bright, dry Wednesday morning.
Mags was quite upset as we got out of Lulu for the last time and watched as someone else drove her away. It was time to say goodbye to Lulu for the last time.*
*We now know that Lulu has found a home with new owners. Hopefully they will have as much fun in her as we had and she will start them off on their own vanlife journey.
Homeward bound!
Driving such a big van for the first time around the twisting and turning lanes of Cornwall and Devon was a baptism of fire but we did it.
Another shock to the system was when we stopped to fill up with fuel. £78.00!! £78.00!!!
We pulled back onto our pitch at around 2pm and spent the remainder of the day repacking our new home. For the third time in two months!
Four weeks in…….
Well, we’ve been living in Lulu2 for four weeks now.
Before we left Hillhead I installed a Gaslow system, all supplied by Devon Motorhomes…………. who A) had everything I needed, in stock (national shortage of ANY make of 6Kg bottles) and B) whose customer service was absolutely outstanding Highly recommended.
We also arranged vehicle tax and full-time insurance cover with Comfort Insurance. Another eye watering bill!
We left Hillhead on 4th November and have been on the road since. We have travelled almost 600 miles and Lulu2 has stuck to the road like glue. She is really comfortable to drive and has real presence on the road. We have another week to go before our big test trip to Spain so make sure that you subscribe and follow our blog to keep up to date with how we all get on together!
We have strimmed the last pitch. Kev has cut his last hedge. The last leaf has been blown. We have collected the last bin bag and we have checked in our last member…………….for this year!!
CAMC Hillhead, Brixham
Kev & I are back at CAMC Hillhead in March for a FULL 10 month season, finishing on 6th January 2023.
Many, many thanks to our amazing team of colleagues; to our new friends and to all of the members who have stayed with us on site. You have all made our first 12 weeks with the club truly memorable and assured us that this was the best decision that we have ever made,
So what now?
What, we hear you both ask, are you both going to do for the next four months?
Well, we’re glad that you asked.
If you’re sitting comfortably, we will explain our plan…………………………..
We leave Hillhead on November 5th and travel straight up the M5 to another CAMC site at Cirencester for a couple of nights R & R and a catch up with Gill & Steve who started with us at Hillhead and are moving to Cirencester for two months as Winter Wardens and then in March, onto CAMC Exbridge Lakeside for the season. We’ll really miss these two………..we all seemed to hit it off from the get go and their dog, Olga, was Kev’s best buddy for the summer! Must have been the bar crisps!
Our UK Route
Leaving Cirencester, we’ll trek up to the other club’s site at Delamere Forest for a week. Here, we’ll be able to catch up with DD, Meg. We are going to meet up in Chester for lunch and go on to spend a night in her flat, with a few beers thrown in to boot.
Back to Wales
On 15th November, we’ll travel South to CAMC Pembrey, via our storage unit, to have a pre-Christmas get together with DD, Emma; DS, Jack; DDIL, Ebonie and DGD, Elva. Really looking forward to that as we have hardly heard from them since the wedding in July.
Before we go back over the bridge into England, we plan to stop off at CAMC Tredegar Park, Newport. My twin sister, Jude, lives not too far away so hopefully we’ll be able to have time together here too.
Leaving Newport and Wales behind for a while, we’ll travel south to yet another CAMC site at Black Knowl in The New Forest. This is the closest site that we could get (that is actually open all year) to DD, Ellen and her BF, Pete. Ellen has lived in some ‘hard to get to places….Versailles and Turin among others! Hopefully, we’ll be able to get together a couple of times before we have to travel to Portsmouth for a appointment on 28th November.
Europe Bound!
Its been a long time coming………….
On November 28th, we’ll head for Portsmouth and a date with Brittany Ferries! I’ve lost count how many times we have postponed or altered this booking – but not this time baby! Kev informs me that we are on ticket issue 14 by all accounts! They are not going to have to issue number 15!
France and Spain……Here we come!
We are due on the 08.15 sailing and land in Caen at around 15.00 and start driving south. We have no real plan as such. Kev has a route in mind and we only have two sites booked in the whole 77 day tour of Western France and Spain.
Our proposed route through France into Spain
Spain for Christmas
We are booked on Camping Cabopino, between Marbella and Fuengirola from 17th December to 7th January. So we have three weeks to get there and five weeks to get back for our ferry on 12th February
Our route to Cabopino
We will be making use of our Park4Night and Search for Sites apps, along with the ‘All the Aires’ books from Vicarious. There is a very rough route / itinerary in mind, based on things to see and places to go that have been on our radar for eons.
The route home
Heading North(ish), we plan on hugging the Spanish coast all the way to Perpignan and coming back up to Caen more inland than the journey South. We’ll take in Oradour Sur Glane, Perigueux and Sarlat la Caneda en route. We plan on finishing up in our go-to Normandy town of Ste Mere Eglise for a stop off with our old friends at Un Monde Sans Faim.
Our Route along the CostasOur Route North To Caen
Forthcoming blog updates
We will get back into the habit of regular blog updates as we go – promise!
I also need to get up to date with some blogs we’ve started and not published. Namely our 10 counties tour of England and our upgrade of Lulu that happened about two weeks before we left Hillhead.
Untill then dear reader, stay safe & happy travels.
Firstly dear reader, we apologise that this is totally out of sync with the timeline of our blog posts. We are catching up…..slowly, but a change is going to come!
Well, after dangling the hook and bait with our reader for the past couple of months, we can say now that a huge change is going to come for Kev & I.
After a bit of a crappy year so far, and following the 9 crappy months that everybody had last year, we decided that we needed to find a way to start following our dreams and live the life that we wanted to live, where we wanted to live it.
Before we go on, we apologise for the lack of content on the blog recently. We have tonnes of stuff to put up about our two week tour and loads of footage that we need to get to grips with editing into our first YouTube vlog but things have happened very quickly for us in the last two weeks that time has just run away from us.
Rewind to April 2021
With us both feeling completely fed up, demotivated and demoralised in our roles at LBS, and with the shitty cards that we had been dealt so far this year we had a bit of a light bulb moment.
Back in April we watched Sam & Claire of Next Stop Everywhere take up their new positions as Assistant Site Wardens with the Caravan and Motorhome Club at Troutbeck Head in The Lake District.
‘Why don’t we do that?’ was the unified cry one evening!
We ‘ummed and arred’ and exchanged a few messages with Sam and Claire to get their viewpoint on working for the CAMC. Kev & I both had to fill in an online application form on the CAMC careers page, even though we were applying as a couple. Our applications were sent by email and we also stated that we would be looking for a 2022 season start. We had an email in response stating that we would be contacted in October / November when the interviews were due to take place for next season but that if our circumstances change to contact them straight away.
That was that. The wheels were in motion. We’d done it!
Fast forward to June 2021
Marley had an accident in early June. Trying to get downstairs with his dodgy hips when Kev got up, he lost his footing and went top over tail down from landing to hall floor. He didn’t move for a few moments. Our poor boy rallied as the day went on but as a few more days passed, he gradually gave up. He wasn’t moving. We had to carry him or drag him on a blanket to the back door. He was peeing involuntarily, he wasn’t drinking & he was sleeping all day. We could see him aging and fading before our eyes.
Kev & Marley
On the 18th June 2021 we took him to the vets. Due to Covid, the vet had to see him in the boot of the car. She was lovely. Very sympathetically she explained our two options. She could give him an injection that would temporarily rally him somewhat. Or we could say goodnight to him and end his suffering. It was the hardest decision we’ve ever made. Marley, our boy of 16 years, fell asleep in our arms at 13.15. We were in bits but the staff were wonderful and gave us time with him alone before they took him inside, in his favourite blanket.
This year just gets better and better.
Our 10 Counties Tour………….
On the 25th we set off on our two week, 10 County tour of Northern England. We had a fabulous time in Lulu even if we had to make some adjustments to Kev’s precision planning. Figuring that since applying for a job, we needed to stay at and experience more CAMC sites than C&CC sites – we cancelled the latter and booked onto the former as we went along. The only problem was that we lost about £50.00 in non-refundable deposits.
We’ll cover the tour in a soon to be published blog. We had a great time – Marley would have loved it. He enjoyed a country pub did Marley!
Dragging ourselves into July 2021
We arrived back at home on the 8th July. Our first stop was to collect Marley’s ashes from the vets. He had been put in a tiny rosewood casket. It was beautiful. We spread his ashes under his favourite rosebush in the garden.
On July 10th we attended our son Jack’s wedding to his ever lovely Ebonie, on a farm / wedding venue not 4 miles away from our front door. We had a fabulous day (even if it did end abruptly) and the happy couple along with our grand-daughter, looked amazing. It was a long time in the planning, the cancelling, the postponing but they pulled it off magnificently. They did us proud!
It all starts happening…………
We were due back in work on the following Monday but after the weekend we’d had – Kev in particular, neither of us could face the place at all or all of the bullshit, backbiting and stress that came with it. We had a long chat and sent a quick email to CAMC HR department. Our circumstances had changed dramatically and we let them know that we were available asap, if they still wanted us.
Boy, did they want us. We had a telephone screening interview that afternoon. Two days later we had a Zoom meeting with the Head of HR and one of the Regional Managers of the club.
The next day, Thursday, we had a call offering us a contract with a start date to be advised once we had handed in our notices to LBS, but asap. We were to be assigned to Hillhead CAMC Site in Brixham, Devon until early November 2021!
A change is going to come and we were happy, beyond belief!
CAMC Logo
All change……..for the better!
I handed my notice in and agreed on three weeks notice. Kev was told in no uncertain terms that he HAD to work a months notice as his boss needed two weeks off! So he did – all bar one day. I kept on to him to just walk, but that’s not him at all. He wouldn’t leave his colleagues in the lurch.
We took on a storage unit for things that we could not part with and we made numerous trips to the tip with things we did not want, need or that were beyond repair. We did sell a few bits and pieces – wardrobes, our treadmill (clothes horse) and Kev’s shiny ride-on lawnmower! A trip to Attwools in Gloucester secured an air awning for Lulu. We gave notice to our landlords and packed the car and Lulu up to the gunwales.
Kev left work at 16.00 on 12th August and at 11.00 Friday 13th (!!) we set a Brixham postcode into the satnav and said goodbye to Marley and to Caeglas Farm, our home of the last 7 years. That was it – we were full-time vanlifers!
New beginnings
With me driving the car, I closely followed Kev and Lulu down the M4 and onto the M5 South towards Exeter. We came off the motorway at Bridgewater and headed to our overnight stop at CAMC Exmoor House site. OMG! That change that is going to come, has arrived!
Exmoor House is adjacent to the lovely town of Dulverton where we quickly found ourselves a seat outside The Bridge Inn for a couple of sharp ones and a burger. This also led to us later finding a seat outside Woods Bar & Restaurant for a couple more sharp ones!
Brixham bound………….
Once ready on Saturday morning, we both mounted our trusty steeds and set off, through Tiverton towards Brixham. We pulled into CAMC Hillhead smack-bang in the middle of peak arrivals time. We were shown to our compound and told to just get set up and that we could catch up with the rest of the team, later in the day.
As we were not starting work until Monday, we wandered over to the onsite bar and restaurant that evening and partook in a couple of yellow fizzy drinks and some spring-green and wild mushroom risotto.
Sunday morning dawned and we woke to bright blue skies and the promise of a gorgeous day ahead. After a quick breakfast, we caught the local bus from the park entrance, to Brixham. Wow, was it peopley!! Every café or restaurant had ‘closed / full’ signs outside – if you hadn’t booked, you weren’t coming in! We were extremely lucky in getting a table in the wonderful Simply Fish and enjoyed a tasty lunch and some local brews.
Simply Fish, Brixham
Time for work……….
Monday morning and we donned our new shiny wardens uniforms and reported for duty! The first day was introductions and machinery training and so it begins!
The future for us
When we were discussing a change of career & a change of lifestyle back in April, the plan was to do this site wardening thing and then to travel during the winter months, So that is what we have arranged to do.
We will do 12 weeks on site which takes us to early November. We’ll tour the UK for four weeks visiting the kids and then head off to Europe for 12 weeks coming back to Hillhead in early March for the 2022/23 season.
We will not, for obvious reasons, be blogging about our roles, the site or our customers/members. We will not be reviewing CAMC sites that we stay on. However, the OTHER clubs sites and independant sites will be fair game though!
We will take this opportunity as well to thank you all for sticking with us. To thank our new colleagues at CAMC for making the transition and the decision to return an easy one to make. To our kids for understanding that we are spending the inheritance and that we do have a slightly nomadic bent.
Stay safe……….
With that, we’ll be back to update you again at the end of the season with news of Lulu, because a change is going to come here too & also with our travel plans.
Mags, Lulu and I have officially upped sticks and headed off into the sunset!
On to pastures new!
Thursday the 12th of August 2021, saw Mags and I leave the employ of LBS Builders Merchants where we had enjoyed careers of 10 and 14 years respectively. On Friday 13th August, we handed the keys to Caeglas Farm back to our landlord & landlady. I jumped into Lulu and Mags into our heavily loaded C-Max, and we headed south. Well actually, we headed east on the M4 very slowly and then south on the M5, even more slowly.
A 2-and-a-half-hour journey to Exmoor House CAMC site at Dulverton, actually took us around 6 hours. The traffic was horrendous.
Motorway Madness
Exmoor House was our overnight stop and after arriving, we wasted no time in heading out for beer and supper at The Bridge and another beer at Woods Bar in Dulverton.
Mags outside Woods bar, Dulverton
On Saturday 14th August 2021 we headed further south towards our home for the next three months. We pulled onto Hillhead CAMC site, Brixham, Devon at 12.35. Smack bang in the middle of their arrivals time!
New park up for Lulu
We were shown up to our own staff compound and left to set up our pitch.
Lulu, set up in our compound.
If anyone ever tells you that an air beam drive-away awning is the best thing since sliced bread – they’ve never had sliced bread. If we did not need the space that our new Outdoor Revolution Cayman Combi Air awning give us, it would have become a very expensive bin liner. In the immortal words of Jim Royale of The Royale Family – ’15 minutes pitching time…..my arse’! Almost three hours after arriving, we were done. Lulu was levelled. Our waste, electric and water were connected and all of a sudden, I was in the mood for a beer.
We headed off to the onsite bar, Nico’s, had a couple of beers and a delicious spring green risotto. We headed back to Lulu at around 9pm and settled down to an early night. For our first night, on a packed ‘holiday park’ style site, it was very peaceful.
First trip into Brixham
Sunday morning dawned grey and dull, so after breakfast we headed off into Brixham for a look around. We decided to walk in on the old bridleways. A lovely 3 mile walk later and we popped out virtually onto Brixham’s harbourside.
Brixham Harbour
OMG!! It was if everyone in the UK had caught a bus to Brixham at the same time! Having been in and out of lockdowns for the past 18 months, it was a bit of a shock to the system. It was extremely peopley!! The restaurants and cafes along the harbour, clearly open, all had ‘Closed’ signs up! If you weren’t in or had not booked – you weren’t getting in!
We walked around for an hour or so and passing a ‘fish and chip’ shop called Simply Fish, we spotted a table becoming free. We asked at the door if we could be fitted in and yes, no problem but give them 5 minutes to clear and clean the table.
Simply Fish, Brixham
This wasn’t a chippie per se. The menu was amazing. We both settled on a fillet of roasted hake served on a bed of roasted garlic potatoes. It was washed down with a local Devon lager Bloomin’ superb it was too. If you are ever in the vicinity – pop in and give the food a try!
We decided to get a taxi back to site. Hillhead is where it’s name suggests. At the top of a very long hill! I didn’t fancy the slog up, one little bit!!
Home via a couple of beers at Nico’s and we were in bed by 9.30 – lightweights that we are.
A wardening we will go!
Monday morning came and we both found that we were gainfully employed again! This time by The Caravan and Motorhome Club as Assistant Site Wardens.
Our first couple of days will be basic on-site training, getting to grips with different machinery and vehicles, learning new systems and methods of working.
Mags getting to grips with the small ride-on mower
Hopefully you can teach an old dog new tricks and that we can have long and happy careers with the club.
Leaving Marley for the last time
Talking of old dogs, one of the last things we did before leaving Caeglas was to scatter Marley’s ashes beneath our favourite rose bush in the corner of our garden. We still miss him, every single day but he will always be with us on our adventures though. He would have loved this new adventure.
Catching Up!!
Mags and I are only too aware that we have let our blog posts slide over the last couple of months but we will catch up with them. We have our 2021 tour to upload along with other bits and pieces. I bought a lot of new camera and vlogging kit and we actually filmed a lot during our tour to put together our first vlog on YouTube. However, events of the past two or three months have virtually swept us along and with starting a new career, time has overtaken us.
We will get there. Thanks for bearing with us.
Until next time, safe travels all,
Kev, Mags & Marley
xx
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Easy to find, straight off the A40, this is a really nice site, in walking distance to Brecon town centre.
Immaculately kept, as are all C&MC sites, by a large team of staff, the grounds are well laid out, with plenty of choice of (mostly) flat pitches, full sun, shaded, close to amenities, tucked out of the way, all options are possible on this site.
Pen Y Fan & Corn Ddu from Brecon Beacons dog walk
We didn’t visit the Beacons on this trip, (they can be a nightmare in good weather, more procession than hike) but there are great views of Pen Y Fan and Corn Ddu, from around the site.
Facilities
The site is very dog friendly, with two dog walks, a short one, just quick enough for a quick (if there is such a thing!) and a much longer one, through the woodland to one side of the site. There is a specific dog wash area.
We didn’t use the longer one, it is quite steep in some places, and Marley doesn’t do well with slopes these days. Dogs are allowed off the lead in both areas.
The shared facilities were closed when we were there, as in Wales there were still a couple more weeks to wait for them to open up but, having been to several C&MC sites in the past I would be willing to bet they will be immaculately clean, and finished to a very high standard.
The drive over grey waste point is very straightforward to use, with easy access and, I’m assured by Kevin, so are the black waste disposal facilities.
Negatives
There are very few negatives to this site but there is one that needs a mention.
The A40 runs very close to the site, so traffic noise could be an issue for some. It doesn’t really bother us, although this stretch of road does seem to be a huge draw for the local motorcycle enthusiasts to open up their throttles when the sun is out which, luckily, it was for us. They do roar past, sometimes in quite large numbers but, in our experience, only during the days , so the evenings and nights are lovely and quiet.
