We learn something new on almost every trip
Oct 21 – We wanted to go out to get something to eat on a Monday but realised all the cafes and bars were closed. May be covid or the fact that we were out of season but I think it’s just they are closed
Note to self – Shops and cafes are closed on Sunday and Monday (unless you want a pint of beer!
Oct 21 – Sunday morning and we thought we would go for a coffee and a croissant but the cafes sell coffee and the boulangeries sell croissants, we couldn’t find anywhere where you could buy both together and eat in
Note to self – Buy the croissant and take back to the van where we can make out own coffee
Oct 2021 – England to France on the Eurotunnel. Stopped at Euro City to stock up on food, wine and tobacco only to realise you have to go to a special shop Le Tabac, as they don’t sell it in Supermarkets
Note to self – Don’t miss the duty free
July 2021 – Kinloch Rannoch in Scotland. We stayed by a Loch for a couple of days where the local council had put in temporary toilets
Note to self – Scotland really caters well for motorhomes
June 2021 – A trip to Brean where we took Bailey our dog for the first time. We took him on a walk which turned out to be a lot longer than planned
Note to self – Take water for Bailey on every walk
May 2021 – Wild Festival in Staffordshire. A great long weekend by a lake with lots of paddleboarding, camp fires, singing and drinking
Note to self – Always put ice in toffee vodka!
May 2021 -Packing for our next trip the van was on hook up at home to run the fridge. Donald decided to move it forward to get the bikes on while still plugged in and run over the EHU cable breaking it
Note to self – Unplug the EHU before moving the van, even if only a couple of feet
May 2021 – Planned a cycle route round Yeovil but we left later than planned and thought we would get breakfast in the Town. Nothing open!
Note to self – Always grab something to eat before heading off on a long cycle
Note to self – Yeovil is very hilly
May 2021 – Off to Somerset on a Bank holiday weekend. Thought we would leave mid morning to avoid the traffic, but it was really bad. Followed Google Maps downd some really narrow lanes
Note to self – Leave earlier rather than wait for the traffic to be better
Note to self – Don’t follow Google, stick to Tom Tom
May 2021 – A very wet and windy weekend in the New Forest. We went for a cycle with a friend who left the awning up. When we got back it was broken
Note to self – Buy storm straps for the awning and don’t put it up in the wind
April 2021 – Our first visit to a CMC Certified Location in the New Forest. We really enjoyed the freedom this gave us with no time restrictions
Note to self – Book more CL’s
April 2021 – Planned a cycle route on Garmin to go all the way round the Isle of Sheppey only it took us through a private farm. Farmers wasn’t that happy!
Note to self – Check cycle routes planned on Garmin doesn’t take you down private land
April 2021 – Isle of Sheppey, got stuck on the M25 so arrived late. Donald and Danny cycled to a Chinese takeaway to get us dinner
Note to self – Have a plan for dinner – we both get grumpy when hungry
April 2021 – Isle of Sheppey. Put the postcode into the Sat Nav which took us down a long narrow road then said we were there, we weren’t! After another mile on the narrow road, the campsite was right next to a main road
Note to self – Always check the route is where you want to be – don’t just use the postcode!
December 2020 – Bladdon Chains campsite. Had planned a cycle but the weather had been very wet.
Note to self – Canals are really muddy after a lot of rain!
December 2020 – Pub stopover in Oxford. We had planned to move the van to the park and ride but the landlady said we could leave it in their car park
Note to self – It never hurts to ask if you can stay longer, people, especially landlady’s, are really nice
October 2020 – A weekend in Hayling Island. The campsite was on an estuary but the tide was out. Had to be out in the morning so paid to park at the beach. Donald went out in the Kayak
Note to self – Check the tide times (again!)
Note to Self – The Kayak is too big for the sea
Sept 2020 – Arrived at the next pub stop early afternoon. Went for a walk but couldn’t fine any footpaths
Note to self – Download a walking app to my phone
Sept 2020 – The pub used to be a CCC site so had all the facilities. We didn’t use them and found ourselves with ‘Thetford anxiety’ trying to find somewhere to empty the toilet cassette the next day
Note to self – Always use black waste disposal when you have the opportunity
Note to self – Buy a spare cassette
Sept 2020 – Great pub car park. It was on gravel with wooden sleepers round the edge. We had the chocks half on gravel half on sleeper. The gravel sunk a little during the night and the chock snapped
Note to self – Make sure the ground below the chocks is consistent
Sept 2020 – Moved inland to a pub at Lanceston following google maps. Tried to take us down a really narrow lane
Note to self – Buy a sat nav that you can put your dimension into
Sept 2020 – And the weather turned. 50 mile an hour winds!! Time to head inland
Note to self – Be flexible – plans can change
Sept 2020 – I had booked us into a Haven Holiday park for a few days. This was so we didn’t have to keep travelling over Donald’s birthday
Note to self – Holiday parks are not for us
Sept 2020 – Staying at our first independent campsite. Lots of rules. Only just made it back to the van before we had to pack up and go
Note to self – Check the times you need to be off site. This one was early
Sept 2020 – We had booked into a campsite as we wanted to see St Michael Mount. When I tried to book the tour it was fully booked. We could only admire from afar
Note to self – Always book attractions in advance
Sept 2020 -We parked on Cliff Road in Falmouth. The only space we could find was next to a wall on a narrow part of the footpath. We saw a car move in a better spot so I jumped into the van to move it while Donald tried to hold the space. A man pulled up in his car and stole the space. He was very rude when we tried to explain we were just moving the van
Note to self – Park wherever you can and move to a better spot when people go home
Sept 2020 – Day four and the toilet cassette is full. Where we were parked there was a public loo but we didn’t want to empty it while people were around so we waited until dark, and the park was empty, before facing our first ever emptying. I let Donald do it 😉
Note to self – Use non bio washing tablets in the toilet cassette so it can be emptied in a normal toilet
Sept 2020 – We had one night in Truro so thought we would look on TripAdvisor for the best restaurants. After calling all the top ones we found they were all fully booked.
Note to self – If there is a restaurant you really want to go to, phone them early and book a table
Sept 2020 – I had found the car park in Truro on Search4Sites and picked it as it was on an estuary. Unfortunately high night was over night
Note to self – Check Tide times
Sept 2020 – We arrived at our first car park stopover in Truro to find it almost full. We parked at the top but knew we had to move to the lower car park before 6pm. We hung around for people to leave. I must have moved the van at least four times into different space
Note to self – I can get Wike into small car parking places
Sept 2020 – Setting off for our first bike ride from the van. We thought it would be nice to take a picnic to the beach. Only we didn’t have any plastic glasses. A quick trip to The Range resulted in buying a couple of plastic yogurt container as that was all the had that resembled a drinking container
Note to self – Buy some plastic glasses
Sept 2020 – Our 3rd morning we were at Britannia Inn in Dawlish and we drove across the field to fill up with weather. A very nice man ran after us waving his arms, we had left the toilet sky light open. Could have ripped off if we had gone down the motorway!
Note to self – Check all sky lights are closed, even in the ‘little’ room, before heading off
Sept 2020 – Our maiden voyage to The Barn, New Milton we realised we had lost a hub cap somewhere in route.
Note to self – Check hub caps are on tight before setting off