I should probably clarify for the pedants that the title is not strictly accurate as I shall be back home for the Easter weekend itself. Our school has, as usual, broken up earlier than most state schools; giving the parents, no doubt impoverished from forking out all those school fees, a chance to get away before the prices go up for everyone else! Cynical? Moi?
In truth I couldn't decide on a title, much as I couldn't decide which sites to visit. Indecisive? Well I’m not sure about that but regular readers will know that Trev and I have always loved our caravan trips to the North East and I was keen to return but didn't want to just go over old ground again. In the end I settled on a mix, one old (very favourite) site up in Berwick along with a couple of new ones.
Stamford Club Site was my chosen stopping off point on the way up - some may remember I had a nice stay here last summer. It was a short distance from the A1, easy to get to and, having no facilities, was also cheap!
This was to be the first proper tow for my new car too - Hetty - a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe. She'd had a short test tow, a few miles up the A27 and back but I was very much looking forward driving her on a proper trip.
Google Maps predicted a journey time of just over 3 hours and my indecisiveness seemed to have rubbed off; it alternating on which route to take around the M25, settling finally, on the Saturday morning as I was ready to depart on the Heathrow side, heading then up the M1 before cutting across to the A1.
Soon after departure from the storage yard, however, there was the almost predictable accident and Maps suggested instead I head throwing me at the mercy of the unpredictable Dartford crossing. Fortunately traffic was relatively light and progress was good. Hetty dragged old Patsy with seemingly much less effort than dear old Rosie. It was already feeling like a much more relaxing tow.
Another amendment to the route was to come - the M11 was now shut due to another accident, which meant continuing further around the M25, joining the A1 there. Another 10 miles or so but hardly a drama. Yeah right…
Traffic slowed then came to a halt somewhere near Stevenage and it was only when we got moving again that cause of the delay was clear - a multi vehicle pile up on the south bound carriageway with at least one car totally burnt out. All emergency services where there in abundance, it was a bad one and put my delay into perspective.
It did however present a couple of problems. Friend and caravanner Sandra would be joining me for a portion of the trip and was due to arrive at Stamford railway station an hour after my planned arrival at the site. Plenty of time for me to get the legs down, leccy on then drive to the station to pick her up.
This was easily dealt with - Sandra would grab a taxi and meet me on site.
The other issue was getting more urgent by the minute but was dealt with as soon as a layby appeared. The relief..
It was an hour later than planned when I finally arrived on site but no matter, it was the start of another trip and a beautiful day too, I was glad I took the late decision to pack the recliners. There was a surprise too when I checked in as a gentleman had phoned up and paid for my pitch! I had no idea who it was and to date still don't but, if you are reading this - thank you. What a lovely thing to do.
Stop 1 | Stamford CAMC | 180 miles @ 24.9 mpg | Pitch 40
I’d barely got pitched and was still getting the legs down when Sandra arrived. The chairs were extracted from the car and we had a nice sit in the sun while I wolfed down a baguette, helped on it’s way with a beer. We had a walk around the site which although nearly ‘full’ was in reality sparsely populated, the many grass pitches not yet having been released for use. It must be a difficult call to make, given the unpredictability of our weather.
That evening re-fuelling was the only item on the agenda, first for Hetty then us. Hetty was easily taken care of, the cheapest diesel offering by some margin being worth the 10 minute drive down to Corby.
We decided to treat ourselves and eat out, not least to save on washing up, but lucked out on the first place just a couple of miles up the road which was shut. A quick search on whatpub.com revealed a boozer in a village just up the road delightfully named The Collyweston Slater. They were open, they were serving food and they had a table free. Result. Not cheap but the food was great and I even got to indulge in some ‘research’ too, there being one ale in the offering of three that I was yet to try. A minor gripe was that my burger got the wooden board and mini chip basket treatment where as at least Sandra's haddock and chips came on a proper plate.
I was sorely tempted to continue the er, research, and Sandra was quite happy to drive but we had a long day on the road ahead to come and wanted to make a reasonably early start, mindful that the clocks were going forward and we'd be losing an hour. It was a good start though to what hopefully would be a great trip.