Week 1. Hurrah - We're on our way.

Tuesday 30th July 2013

The mileage on the cars odometer reading12,252 and 370 days after reaching Little Henham we are on our way again.

Oh Joy!!

The re-commencement to travelling was, though, not easy. We both had new specs last week and Sue was in addition having new lenses put in her “old” sunglasses which was hoped would arrive this morning. At 9.00am departure day we called the optician, “. . . sorry they haven't arrived, we’ve had the delivery from the lens people today and yours are not here. . . .”. We had to pop to the local launderette as the washing we had done the day before which had got soaked while we were out yesterday afternoon and we didn’t want to transport sopping wet clothing and joy of joys at 9.30am we had a phone call from the optician “. . . Good morning - your sunglasses are here waiting for you. . . “

By the time we had got the specs, dried the washing, packed the caravan for travel and said our good-byes to Kate and Vernon Muskett our landlords for the past year, and driven off, all in pouring rain, it was not around ten, as we had hoped but approaching midday - were we upset - of course not we are again both retired, our time is our own.

We have driven up and down the lane from farm to lower road many, many times in the past year and very rarely meet anyone coming the other way, today with the caravan on the back we met a car, fortunately the other driver indicated she would reverse and started backing (being a local she new all the passing places and within a few yards she pulled off the road to what was, until two days ago, a grassy bank. Unfortunately because of engineering works nearby the bank had recently been landscaped and only when she drove on it did the lady realise the grassy bank was now a slippery mud bank. Another delay while we struggled to push the stuck car from the sticky mess back on the road; it was now well past noon as we resumed our journey north.

Without further incident we motored north and late that afternoon arrived at Birley Alms Hotel CC CL our fiftieth site since our travels began in 2011 - We are back on the road!

Wednesday 31st July 2013

As stated in an earlier blog we have returned to Lancashire to off load accumulated but unnecessary kit at our container. We are coming back this way so we have also left our bicycles as we don’t think we will be wanting them in Scotland.

Friday 2nd August 2013

Our morning appointment in Chorley, Lancashire has been cancelled so earlier than anticipated we are on the move again today, we have travelled over the Pennines to Yorkshire where we are to collect some made to order bags from “Bags 4 Everything” a company owned by a friend we first met in Spain and with whom we spent Christmas 2011 and visit relatives who live near Halifax.

Sunday 4th August 2013 11.00pm

Had a superb weekend with Sue's neice and her family which started with a first class meal a pub the Dog and Gun in the nearby village of Oxenhope on Friday evening. Despite booking a table for 6.45pm the pub was so crowded when we arrived we didn't actually get a table until gone 8pm, the food was, however, well worth waiting for. It continued on Saturday with me cooking my signature dish - paella, people who are fortunate (well I think they are fortunate) enough to have been treated to this dish will know it is served with large quantities of white port or our special sangria, 3 bottles red wine, 1/2 litre brandy, 1/2 litre Cointreau, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 vanilla pods, 2 apples, 3 oranges, 125gms sugar and 125ml lemonade (be careful not to overdo the lemonade), cut up apples and oranges then com pine all ingredients and leave in fridge for three day before serving. we slept till 10 am this morning - can't think why and tonight we had steak cooked to perfection and accompanied by cheesy baked potatoes and a tomato and basil salad. This was followed by creamy deliciousness. Thank you Lisa, Graham and Roseanna for a fabulous weekend.

Monday 5th August 2013

Moved south this morning heading for Stratford-upon-Avon where we had an appointment with caravan chassis manufacturer AL-KO Ltd to inspect our caravan for a possible problem we had been travelling south about an hour when AL-KO rang, their only available engineer had gone sick and would not be at work wednesday morning. We rearranged the appointment for late September. Now why travel 100 miles south if there is no meeting to attend, we cancelled our booked site and rearranged to extend our stay at Wood View an extra two nights. 

Now travelling north an hour later we were back within a mile of where we started this morning heading to Penrith.

We packed up in pouring rain, drove six hours, mainly in pouring rain, and set up in pouring rain - travelling in UK is such joy.

Wednesday 7th August 2013.

Maryport Harbour

Went on the first of, we hope, many trips out today. We went by ‘the pretty route” to Maryport, hurrah to navigators, because ours took us all through narrow country lanes (some a little too narrow for comfort), but great fun nevertheless. Maryport is very popular with tourists but to me was a bit of a disappointment, it had some super dooper new housing developments overlooking the harbour but that was populated by a few rusty old hulks with a few equally disreputable looking yachts moored alongside. The nearby marina was new and smart but virtually empty, as were many of the shops in the town. Sad.

Thursday 8th August 2013

IMG 0601sml.jpg

Yesterday we went to the seaside so today we went to the countryside, for a drive, and a very pleasant drive it was. As we drove towards the village of Forest-in-Teesdale we noticed a sign to High Force which we visited some years ago. It is a short but steep walk down to High Force a spectacular waterfall, often said to be the highest waterfalls in England but at 21.5m drop this is easily beaten by several others, it is however the highest uninterrupted drop of water and is well worth a visit, as is Low Force which is much less spectacular but at the end of a very pleasant mile or so stroll along the River Tees.

I had noticed the plugs on each end of our EHU (electrical hook up) cable seemed to be pulling off the end of the cable sleeving and the three inner cables could be seen, that will not keep the damp or rain out. As we were driving around today we passed a caravan accessary shop and bought new end fittings, I’ve just installed them and feel much happier now.

Friday 9th August 2013

When you go on holiday you can generally take enough clean clothes etc to last the whole of the holiday, when, however you live a travelling lifestyle the laundry has to done regularly and today was washing day. Sods law states that where a Launderette advertises itself as “self-service or service wash” and “adjacent large car park” it’s to good to be true, and it was as that particular launderette is now just a laundry. There is another in Penrith, thats the one thats still quite near to parking and its free, but one hour only and no returning for another hour. Such a pity the washing takes an hour and a half.


Last Updated - Sunday 27th April 2014.             © Seve  Ghost 2014