And we’re off again with another dose of poorly phrased grammatically dire incoherent blathering. Yep it’s part 2!
With an approximate journey time of two and a half hours there was no rush to leave the Walton-on-Thames site on Sunday morning. So, pack up was leisurely and I finally departed at 10:40am – given that my body was still on work time and I’d woken as usual at silly o’clock it felt like the middle of the afternoon.
I decided it was better the devil you know and use the same route for leaving as I did when arriving. It would mean more time on the M25 but was happy with the trade-off.
Traffic came to a standstill at the roundabout and too late I realised I was in the wrong lane. Flicking the indicator on, the car to my right immediately leapt forward leaving the width of a fag paper between them and the car in front. No one was letting anyone in, least of all a caravanner, so I admitted defeat, decided discretion was better than a damaged Patsy and proceeded to join the M25 in the wrong direction.
Cobham services was only a mile or so away and I reckoned I could cross and re-join there, however they blocked anyone from doing so by the addition of concrete barriers. I circled the roundabout again and went through the filling station eventually emerging onto the slip road, which was at a standstill.
I knew from my journey last week that the inside lane was for the A3 turn off only and if I could get into the second lane I’d get moving. Thankfully some kind soul let me in this time and we were on away, although admittedly only in 2nd gear. Things got better, then worse again as I approached the Heathrow area, but once past that and on to the M40 it was plain sailing. I wondered if there may have been some hold ups around the turn off towards Silverstone – it was the day of the British F1 Grand Prix – but need not have worried. I saw quite a few taxis sprinting off though but they’d have been pushing it to make the start time.
The M42 was shut at J9 but that was where I was turning off anyway, there was a bit of congestion here but then it was business as usual to the site about three miles away – Kingsbury Water Park Camping & Caravan Club.
We – back when there was a we – had stayed here before, in the autumn of 2015 for a Twittercamp meet. Trev and I had been to France in the summer and hauled back a load of cheap plonk so the idea of a French night was formed. Some dressed up – Andy & Sam’s Rene and Michelle was particularly good. I eschewed the idea of dressing as Herr Flick – for once – and a lovely evening was had as we got stuck into the wine, with cheese and biscuits prepared by Helen and Rob in their awning. We managed to get a telling off from one of site wardens too for making too much noise after 11pm.
Anyway, this time I was on a grass pitch – them being on offer at the time - and pitched up by some trees near the site exit, side on so I could have a good nose from the canopy which went up later, between short sharp showers. And a beer…
After dinner – or tea – I availed myself of the facilities for a long hot shower. It was nice not worrying about whether the water would run cold or out – and whether the wastemaster would overflow because I’d forgotten to empty it. Ahem.
Monday and keen to get back on the sightseeing trail, although also aware of the limitations of my blasted knee, I fired up Hetty and set course for Tamworth about a 15 minute drive away. The Riverside car park seemed a good bet and so it proved, parking being only a quid for 3 hours or all day for £1.50. Brighton and Hove council take note.
It was adjacent to the castle gardens, a very pretty and well-kept area with its lovely bank of flowers, all overlooked by the Motte and bailey castle. The castle was closed but you could still walk up the steps to get a view.
The town centre was a little less inspiring and has clearly suffered in recent years like so many. Empty units with “We’ve moved” plastered on the windows.
A shopping centre dominates but it was nice to see some independent shops around the pedestrianised area overlooked by a statue of local lad Sir Robert Peel.
There was a memorial too to another local – Colin Grazier – who played a significant role in the 2nd world war, snaffling some Enigma documents from a sinking U-boat before drowning.
Adjacent the town was the massive Ventura retail park – a soulless but busy place, with many of the usual chain store suspects present. Time and time again I’ve seen this on my travels. Councils give permission for these retail parks then wring their collective hands when town centres start dying and shops close.
A lazy afternoon was had back at Patsy, alternating between book, phone and laptop as the rain arrived – and stayed until early evening.
Tuesday was forecast to be dry, at least in the morning so I donned my walking boots – well, DM’s - for a look at the neighbouring water park. There are waymarked walking and cycling routes and I took a short one that kept me on the side of the site.
Very pleasant indeed, the rain stayed away and the return to the site was by the Birmingham Fazeley canal. A narrowboat was negotiating a lock as I passed.
The rain came again in the afternoon, so I repeated Monday afternoon’s activities – or lack of them, disturbed only by a run out to the Co-op in Kingsbury village for er, supplies.
Dinner was going to be batch cooked Irish stew along with a side of stringless beans. Not that the stringless bit is relevant but that’s what it said on the packet. Anyway, bear with, as was customary I used the standalone electric hot plate, acquired a few years ago in exchange for a fistful of Nectar points, them being acquired in exchange for filling up the school minibus twice a week.
It’s handy having been used outside in the past, saves on gas and I generally try and use it on unmetered sites.
So, early evening, the beans are on, I’m outside enjoying small large one when through a Merlot induced fog I realise that the beans have been on for half an hour and not yet boiled. The hot plate is warm, not hot. It’s cast to one side, the beans are put on the gas and dinner, eventually is good.
Wednesday is a day off, from sightseeing anyway. Rain is promised on and off all day but it’s warm so I settle under the canopy with a cuppa and book for a bit. The mind starts wandering though and I’m wondering what needs doing around the ‘van that gets put off during shorter trips.
First to grab my attention is the door bin. Not used as a bin for years, Crocs generally end up there – some would say that’s appropriate - and it’s got rather scuffed and mucky. Removing the panel I set about with the Silky and after a while it’s looking much better.
Next up was the extractor fan or Ominvent. This has grabbed my attention when sitting at the dinette bashing out some useless drivel on the laptop and it was looking very mucky indeed. Making the most of the hot water and sinks I removed the cover and blades and went to work on them in hot soapy water. Gawd they were grim. I did my best too to clean the surround and upper vent with a spray cleaner and although not perfect it’s now looking much better.
Next up was the aforementioned boiling ring. There was no click when adjusting the control which suggested to me the thermostat was on the blink. I pulled it apart anyway but was none the wiser and decided it had served its time.
The was an Argos (in Sainsbury’s) on that retail park I mentioned and they had one of their Cookworks branded ones in stock. Duly ordered I went to fetch it and to date it’s proved to be just the job. Despite being the same wattage at the old one it seems to heat up quicker with better temperature control too. I’ve bought a number of Cookwork products in the last few years; toaster, iron and the mini oven for home, and been pleased with them all.
I was just settling into bed when the smoke alarm went off, this startled me not least because it must have had a battery in it. Nothing appeared to be amiss so I took it off and tried to silence it. This didn’t work so I assumed that it was telling me the battery was er, terminal. I fished a fresh one out of the drawer and replaced it, at which point it promptly went off again. Another look around to make sure everything was okay inside and out then I removed the battery and went to bed. Don’t do this at home kids. I assumed this was to be the second casualty of the trip, after the hot plate, and made a mental note to sort a new one at some point.
First thing Thursday was to check the smoke alarm. I put the new battery in again and after an initial bleep it remained silent. I swapped it for the old battery with the same result. Happy that it had just had a hissy fit I screwed it back in position. It’s been quiet since.
The forecast was looking much better so late morning I took a short drive to Middleton Hall and Gardens. Having fallen into disrepair groups got together to return it to its former glory by renovating it in the early 80’s. The history of the hall and said renovation is described as you walk around the hall. The gardens were pleasant too and the courtyard to one side which you didn’t need to pay to go into contained a range of artisan shops, one of which dispensed very nice coffee. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit – it was compact enough to see pretty much everything given the limitations imposed by my knee – and I would certainly recommend it if you were in the area. Lots of places to picnic too.
Friday was, as forecast, wet the whole day. More reading, napping and getting this blog post up to date. During the day a steady stream of tenters arrived and I awoke from my nap to find a country estate had been erected next door. One of the occupants at least is quite pleasing to the eye though. Can’t have been fun, the rain has been constant and the wind has gotten up too. At least it’s washed some of the bird poo from Hetty.
The last site had no amenities so all Patsy’s facilities were put to good use. I have no problem with that at all and have been inclined to do so more and more since there has just been me – and when sites closed the facilities during COVID. The downside of course is that your forever fetching fresh water and emptying waste. Here I’ve done a reverse ferret – used the showers and taken advantage of the washing up facilities. It piles up in the bowl during the day and I take it over to wash up after dinner and as a result it took three days to get through one barrel of water. When I’m back on a CL later on in the trip I’ll revert but it got me thinking about how polarised opinions can be on such matters, particularly when vented on social media. For some, if you don’t make use of the sites’ facilities you’re slumming it, for others, if you’don’t make full use of what your caravan has to offer you’re a cop out and clearly not a ‘proper’ caravanner. Both ridiculous views, we all caravan or camp a bit differently, that doesn’t make it the right and only way to do it, neither does it make it wrong.
I’ve seen the same arguments about motor movers. For me they have proved invaluable – I’ve been on several sites where to get a view you need to go nose in. Even with two of us Patsy was too heavy to move yet the motor movers have done their job. Otherwise I generally have one go at reversing – which has got better with experience – then use the mover if needed. Yet according to some online that makes me not a ‘proper’ caravanner. Nonsense. I was going to type bollocks then changed my mind….
Which brings me to the internet. For some, like me it’s essential. I don’t have another half to argue with anymore so keeping in touch with friends online is important. I like sharing photos and blogs of my travels and enjoy the interaction the internet gives. For others, they like to get away from that, and that’s fine too. Both are right if that is what suits, now excuse me whilst I dismount rather unceremoniously from my high horse. It isn’t easy in skinny leather jeans you know, particularly when you’re not skinny…
I’ve spent most evenings’ watching TV – how shocking - I’m clearly not a ‘proper’ caravanner. Whatever. Purchasing an unlimited data plan for Patsy’s SIM for the month has proved wise, having chewed through 20gb of data in the first week. The signal has been much better here than at Walton-on-Thames though I’ve still mostly set the laptop to download overnight. An external hard drive of British comedies downloaded from er, various sources complements the offerings from BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
When I’ve been pretending to do something creative on the laptop I’ve been listening to local radio. I do this a lot, you get a taste of what’s going on in the local area and it makes for a pleasant accompaniment, notwithstanding that a lot of the same issues crop up - bin collections, crumbling roads, mis-managed football clubs and allegedly corrupt or at least out of touch local councils. We’re all in it together, apparently.
Right, it’s now Saturday and there was a long enough break in the rain to get the canopy down dry. A bit more packing up this afternoon, then it’s further north to Cheshire.
If you made it this, good on you – and thank you!
Cheers
Rich