share our journey as we changed our lifestyle from having conventional jobs to being caravan site wardens living in our motorhome and travelling UK and Europe
Driving back across the Pont de L’ile de Re we waved goodbye to 4 magical days on the Isle promising to return again soon to explore more of its beautiful countryside, culture, beaches and villages. It certainly hasn’t seen the last of us, but for this trip it was now time to move on to our next destination. The Loire Valley and visiting its Chateaux were next on our plans.
The Autoroutes were once again kind to us navigating around La Rochelle and heading North East towards Tours, within a couple of hours the scenery was changing and we were seeing signs for Chateaux. Our Campsite for 2 nights was Camping Le Moulin Fort a CAMC recommended site located alongside Le Cher river at Francueil.
The site was in a superb location being only 10 minutes cycle ride to Chateau de Chenonceau which had been a must see on my bucket list for years. A dream of mine as an avid photographer being to capture the arches spanning the river.
We soon settled on our allocated pitch which was large and flat with just the right amount of tree shade to enjoy dappled sunlight for most of the day. It was a bonus when our neighbours arrived back who were English and had been coming to this site for the last 30 years so knew all there was to know about the area. The rest of the day was spent enjoying their lovely company and partaking of some very lovely wine.
The following day we offloaded the bikes from the motorhome and pedalled the short distance alongside the river to Chenonceau. Being a Sunday we hoped that it wasn’t going to be too overcrowded but despite the many coaches in the capark it was surprisingly crowd free. The grounds and Chateau are so vast there was plenty of room for all. The avenue of tall plane trees leading to the Chateau set the scene for a view on a grand scale. Emerging from under their shade we were met with a fairytale scene of towers, turrets and balconies, their white stone facades blindingly bright against the brilliant blue sky. I was in photo heaven.
The Chateau was built in the 16th century on the former site of a fortified castle and mill owned by the Marques family. Only the keep- The Marquess Tower- was left standing which they restored in Renaissance style. Chenonceau is known as the Ladies’ Chateau as throughout its history females have played the most prominent role in restoring and embellishing the complex and its gardens. One such lady was Diane de Poitiers, being King Henry II favourite lady and who he gave Chenonceau to in 1547. She commissioned the famous arched bridge over the River Cher making the architecture of Chenonceau unique in the world. Then lo and behold Catherine de Medici- who was King Henry II widow, exchanged Chaumont-sur-Loire with Diane for Chenonceau and had a gallery built on top of the bridge to be used as a Ballroom. It is 60m long and has 18 windows. During the second World War the River Cher was the line of demarcation between occupied and unoccupied zones. The main entrance to the Chateau was on the right bank in the occupied zone and the South door of the Gallery gave access to the left bank so making it possible for the Resistance to pass many numbers of people through it and into the free zone.
The Gallery Ballroom
We continued our tour of the many rooms inside, walls elaborately decorated with tapestries, ceilings panelled and intricately painted, and four poster beds far too small for an adult of today’s average height.
Stepping back out into the dazzling sunshine we toured the immaculate formal gardens, vegetable and flower gardens, the maze, orangery, apothecary, wine cellars and donkeys in a buttercup meadow.
After spending some time with the donkeys we reluctantly wound our way back to the bike park and cycled back to the site, collapsing in our deckchairs with a welcome cool drink and reflecting on an amazing day.
As the sun was setting we were treated to a display of hot air balloons slowly gliding along the course of the river and over the Chateau. Now that’s the photo I wish I’d snapped!
Catch the next and final blog of our French Roadtrip Part 5- More Châteaux and Heading for Home
After spending the winter time off site and at home in Shropshire, the end of February had now arrived and it was time to go back to work and our summer home away from home back at Warwick Racecourse CAMC.
Having retrieved our onsite setup gear, utility tent, mats, chairs, tables, cooking equipment and work uniform from the storage unit, we collected Mo and headed off to site. The journey is all motorway and takes about an hour and a half so a fairly easy run – subject to traffic- between our two lives. Over the winter we had semi-air suspension fitted to the rear of the motorhome to smooth out the ride, also in the hope to reduce the amount of internal noise that is generated from the cupboards and drawers as we clatter and bang our way along the M6 motorway past Birmingham. That is one thing we never even thought about when contemplating moving from a caravan to a motorhome – the amount of noise that you hear when driving along. You never hear how much is banging about in a caravan when its being towed behind you, but despite wrapping the cutlery, crockery and oven shelving in towels and bubblewrap there still seemed to be a heck of a lot of noise going on behind us in the motorhome. I’m glad to report that the air suspension does a terrific job and all is now quiet, well quiet-er, than our previous journeys.
We arrived to site on a sunny and quite mild day, the motorhome was driven into the compound and we soon had the kitchen/cooking tent erected next to it. We don’t use an awning that’s attached to Mo so we have a quicker getaway if we are using the motorhome on our time off.
The site was looking very spring like with rows of daffodils standing to attention nodding their bright yellow heads as we passed, crocus poking up through the soil, blossom in the hedgerows and signs of trees budding all around. Although the days were sunny and surprisingly mild the hope that Winter was on its way out soon faded fast with clear skies and frosty mornings for the following days.
Jobs to get the site ready for opening were ticked off each day and before we knew it it was time to handover to our colleagues on opening day. The weekend was due to be a full house with members eager to start getting out and about after the glimmer of Spring days to come.
Back home again for our few days off the sun was still shining and temperatures mild so we decided it was time to tick off an item on our bucket list. Having lived within striking distance of the Wrekin all our lives, and for the past 3 years even closer, it was about time we actually climbed it. The Wrekin hill is a well known local landmark rising above the Shropshire plain situated between Telford and Shrewsbury. It’s summit is 1335 feet above sea level and can be seen as far away as Manchester and Gloucestershire. There is an iron age hill Fort almost 20 acres in size at the summit, aswell as a radio tower and toposcope. I’m not going to lie it was more of a slog to the top than I imagined, but perhaps that was more to do with the 4 month sabbatical we’d just had! It was busy with dog walkers, cyclists and runners all clearly much fitter than me. On finally reaching the top we were rewarded with 360° stunning views of Shropshire and beyond. The toposcope pointed out the direction and distance to other local landmarks, towns and points of interest which were all clearly visible as it was such a lovely day. After a well earned rest we made our way back down, this time putting my knees to the test instead of my lungs, arriving back at the base feeling very satisfied at our achievement and a tick off the bucket list.
More days out during this stint at home were to Carding Mill Valley, Church Stretton and Benthall Hall National Trust. Spurred on by our climb up the Wrekin a few days later we walked to the waterfall at Carding Mill Valley. What starts off as a leisurely walk following the stream then turns into a scramble over rocks for the final section. The waterfall itself was rather underwhelming when we got there unfortunately, but it was still very enjoyable to be out in the sunshine. There were many parties of schoolchildren there that day, kitted out with clipboards and rucksacks enjoying the fresh air and sunshine instead of a stuffy classroom.
Carding Mill ValleyBenthall Hall
All too soon our home time was over and back again we went to Warwick with plenty of work to do to keep us occupied for the next 12 days. The site was full most nights as the unusually warm spring sunshine was definitely encouraging people to get out and about on road trips.
Catch up with us next time as we take a mini break at another CAMC site and prepare for our own road trip to France.
After arriving home from our Peterborough and York trip it was time to get ready for Christmas. The cottage was duly decorated and I tried my hardest to get organised with gift buying. I can plan a holiday down to the finest detail more than 12 months in advance but when it comes to Christmas I’m afraid I’m very much ‘just in time’ much to the frustration of my daughter who has everybody’s gifts sorted by the latest end of September!
With Christmas festivities and family gatherings all done we had another motorhome trip planned for over New Year, this time we were off to Henley on Thames, London and Cambridge. We collected Mo from storage on the 29th December, with no delays this time due to weather, and prepared to set off on a dry sunny morning towards Henley. The majority of our gear is left in the motorhome so all we need to pack each time is food and clothes making it a quicker getaway. There are still always some last minute questions though – did we take the towels back after washing? how much coffee was there left in the jar? do we need to restock the toilet rolls? Steve always reminds me that we are not travelling to the moon and everywhere will have shops should we need anything vital, so panic over we go with what we’ve got.
Pitched up at Henley Four Oaks CAMC site we stayed put for the remainder of the day, the following day was dry but cloudy and we walked the 25 minutes into the town. The shops are interesting and plentiful to browse around and the walk along the river has lovely views.
The following day we moved on to Abbey Wood CAMC ready to explore London for the next few days. The site is a wooded area set on a hillside that you would never knew existed amongst the residential streets. It feels quite rural and has bright green parakeets chirping away in the trees. It was New Years Eve, we were not close enough to see the fireworks at the Eye but the pops and bangs started in the vicinity of the site from around 6pm all through to way past midnight so we saw plenty from the comfort of our motorhome and watched the London Eye display on our TV.
The Elizabeth Line is within 15 minutes walk from the site and is an easy ride into the City and then on to the sights so we used this on New Years Day and visited the Churchill War Rooms. It was raining all day so we arrived very wet and soggy but had plenty of time to dry out during the 3 hours we spent exploring the maze of underground tunnels, war rooms and exhibitions. The streets of London were very busy with people and the big clean up was clearly underway from the night before with barriers and road closures being taken down.
The following day it was blue sky and sunshine so we headed back into the City and visited the Piccadilly show room of Lotus to view the 99T F1 car driven by Ayrton Senna to win at Monaco and Detroit in 1987. Senna is a hero of Steve’s so quite alot of time was spent here! From there we wandered through the streets spotting famous landmarks, through St James Park, past Big Ben and to our next venue at County Hall where we had booked to see the Agatha Christie play ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ It was set in the original County Court building and was an excellent venue to stage such a good play.
January 3rd was blue sky and sunshine again so a perfect day to visit Greenwich. After taking the Elizabeth Line we then swopped to the DLR and had a birds eye view rattling along through the spectacular Canary Wharf, through a tunnel under the Thames and emerging in the lovely neighbourhood of Greenwich Village. The shops, houses and chilled vibe felt like a world away from central London as we strolled through the parks and browsed the many independent shop windows. We visited Queen’s House a 16th century mansion which now houses the Maritime art collection aswell as the Tulip Staircase, the first self supporting spiral staircase in Britain. A walk up the hill to the Royal Observatory gave amazing views looking back over the historic Old Royal Naval College and beyond to the impressive skyline of Canary Wharf. The National Maritime Museum is also very interesting to look around but the exhibitions are so vast you need a good few hours to see it all so we barely touched on all there was to see there. A wander on down towards the Thames took us past a traditional pie and mash shop and as it was around lunchtime it worked out ideally to pay it a visit! Deciding which pie to have was quite a dilemma, with single or double mash? with liquor or gravy? I opted for the liquor as it wasn’t likely I’d get the chance to try it anywhere else and was surprised it was a parsley flavour. I never knew that! Steve played it safe with gravy. The whole experience and the traditional shop/restaurant which has been open since 1890 was one we are so glad we stumbled upon. Onwards to the Cutty Sark, built in 1869 it was one of the fastest tea clippers of its time and in its seafaring career made 8 return journeys bringing tea to London from China. It is sited in dry dock on the shore of the Thames and now exists as a museum where you can visit its decks and learn about its history.
Back at the site we were checking the weather forecast and hearing on the news that snow and ice was forecast over the weekend. We were due to travel to Cambridge on the Sunday and although the likelihood of it reaching us in London was quite low we decided it was best to move on a day earlier than planned and miss any potential snowfall or black ice on the roads.
Abbey Wood
Cambridge Cherry Hinton CAMC is situated in an old quarry and the pitches are laid out in several dead end roadways with some being down slopes, so with more snow and ice potentially on the way we opted to choose a pitch out on top on the level. Except for a brief respite of an hour in which we walked to the local shops it rained almost constantly in daylight hours for our first two days so we watched alot of TV, ate alot of food and played alot of card games!
At last a dry sunny but cold day so we caught the bus into Cambridge. The bus stop is a 10 minute walk back on the main road and whisks you into the city in about 25 minutes. We strolled around getting our bearings, stopped off at Cafe Nero for a hot chocolate and then walked along ‘The Backs’ where the River Cam winds its way behind the Colleges. It was a stunning day giving glimpses of perfectly manicured College lawns, breathtaking architecture and time-honoured traditions. We stumbled upon the Wren Library in Trinity College designed by Christopher Wren in 1676, housing medieval manuscripts, letters of Isaac Newton, Shakespeare’s first folios and A. A. Milne’s original drawings for Winnie the Pooh. Out of all the jaw dropping items there the only ones you couldn’t photograph were the Pooh ones as Disney have the copyright!
And so ended our New Year Adventures. Another trip under our belts, more CAMC sites visited, more leisure time spent in Mo and more amazing memories made.
We shall look forward to re-visiting all these places again as time allows but in the meantime there’s still a whole world out there yet to see.
Catch up with us next time as we finish our wintertime at home and head back to site to open up for the season…..
Having our new 12 on 12 off rota set out for the season meant we could plan our time off this year to include some holidays. Not used to being able to have holidays during the summer it was quite a novelty planning where and when we could go. We decided on a road trip in Vinny to Normandy in May. As it was the 80th D-Day Anniversary in June we hoped to avoid the masses but still get a feeling for the celebrations being planned. We had 10 days between shifts in which to experience this iconic stretch of French coastline.
We left Warwick on handover day and headed down to the Brighton site for an overnight stay before boarding the DFDS ferry from Newhaven the following morning. It was a very clam crossing and after 4 hours onboard in a lovely reclining seat area we arrived in Dieppe. Our first stop over was located south of Dieppe near Etretat, a small coastal town with white pebbled beaches and a rock formation similar to Durdle Door in Dorset. The site was called L’Aiguille Creuse in Les Loges, it had a small shop, restaurant, takeaway, swimming pool and was a short walk to the village with shops, a market and the bus stop to Etretat.
Etretat
After two nights there we headed south west towards Mont St Michel, somewhere that had been on my bucket list for a number of years. Stopping off at Honfleur on the way we strolled around the picturesque old port and winding cobbled streets, it was a very pretty town with plenty to see.
Honfleur
Our campsite for the next 2 nights was Camping Haliotis in Pontorson. This was also a very convenient few minutes stroll to a large supermarket and the bus stop to Mont St Michel. The site had large lush grassy pitches surrounded by hedging as is the usual European way, a swimming pool and cafe area. Next day the weather was forecast good until afternoon so we hopped on the bus early and arrived at Mont St Michel before the main crowds. Later in the morning the crowds and parties of school children increased so we were glad of an early start. Wandering around the little alleyways and looking out across the seascapes the views were all I had hoped for, and it felt very magical aswell as satisfying that I had finally made it there.
Camping HaliotisMont St Michel
Our next stops were ones to be ticked off Steve’s bucket list. He is an avid reader and has for many years read alot about D-Day so had a long list of places to visit on his wish list. We made our way north to Sainte Mere- Eglise a small town where the American Airbourne Divisions parachuted in, landing in the early morning of 6th June 1944. The Airbourne Museum is fascinating to visit and very informative, the town has an abundance of WW2 memorabilia shops and themed cafes. The church has a reconstruction of the paratrooper John Steele hanging from the spire where his parachute had got caught, he had then pretended to be dead for several hours before he was finally cut down and captured by the Germans.
Sainte Mere- Eglise
After leaving there we headed to our final campsite destination back along the Northern coastline of Normandy. We were staying at Le Point Du Jour at Merville-Franceville-Plage for 5 nights and from there planned to visit the famous beaches and other iconic landmarks relating to D-Day. The road networks are a dream to drive, we mostly did pay for toll roads just so we could get to our planned destinations in the least amount of time so allowing us more time to be at the actual landmarks. If we hadn’t got such a tight timescale we would perhaps have travelled the more scenic roads and villages as Normandy is a very pretty region. The campsite was a great location adjacent to a beautiful sandy beach which you could take a short walk along to get to the town. Here there were food shops, restaurants, hotels and plenty of bars with spectacular views of the beach and sunsets. The pitches were a little tight for bigger vehicles but the Europeans don’t tend to be bothered about the closeness of their neighbour, and as Vinny was only short we tucked into our pitch nicely. The site had a swimming pool, 2 shower blocks and a small restaurant and takeaway.
The following day we headed out to visit Utah beach, La Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Military Cemetery. The beaches are so vast, so quiet, so deserted, it is hard to imagine the massacres that occurred on them on 6th June 1944. The Utah Landing Museum tells the story of more than 23,000 American soldiers who landed on the beach that morning their mission to protect the city of Cherbourg and its port from German invasion. There is also Le Roosevelt Cafe, a building and adjacent bunker that was originally a simple fishermans house in the dunes before the German army invaded the area when it then became their telephone exchange. Following the American Allied landings it was a communications centre for the American Navy, and is now decked out in memorabilia where it is very interesting to read the walls which have been signed and written on both by visiting celebrities, relatives of veterans and the Allied soldiers themselves from 80 years ago. There are huge free parking areas and also an overnight camping area further down the road.
Utah Beach and Le Roosevelt Cafe
La Pointe du Hoc is a headland bearing the battle scars of its role as the strategic German defence on the coast. Rangers climbed the steep cliffs using ropes under the fire of German soldiers who lay in wait at the top. It has mostly been left for nature to take over the deep craters left by the battle that ensued and for you to use your own imagination when you look around this windswept and now peaceful site. There is a museum and ample free parking as always.
Moving on to Omaha Beach we visited the Normandy American Cemetery. A key memorial site it contains the perfectly aligned headstones of 9,387 soldiers who fell in combat, aswell as the 1,557 who’s names are engraved in the Garden of the Missing. There are graves of 45 sets of brothers who are mostly buried together including Robert and Preston Niland who’s story inspired the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ There is also a chapel, memorial area and a visitors centre with an exhibition. The site is vast, very quiet and respectful and has the most immaculate grass and landscaping we have ever seen. There are lovely views looking down onto Omaha Beach through the pine trees and plenty of benches to sit and reflect on the sacrifice and enormity of what happened here. It had been a very emotive and quite draining day so after this we headed back to the campsite to recharge our emotional batteries as there was plenty more still to see and do the following day.
American Cemetery
Although the weather wasn’t hot and sunny all the time thankfully it was still dry and actually if it had been any hotter during the day it wouldn’t have been comfortable to be sightseeing outside all the time. Back at the campsites we did seem to be spending more time sitting inside Vinny than we thought we would as it wasn’t warm enough to eat or sit outside in the evenings. This then got us thinking about future time away – see blog Catch Up no2 2024.
The next day we set off for Longues- sur -Mer German Gun Battery, Arromanches and the British Memorial in Ver- sur- Mer. The gun battery is situated between Gold and Omaha Beaches at the top of a cliff overlooking the Channel and played a strategic role in the D-Day landings when the Germans spied the ships and craft heading towards the Normandy coast. It has a self guided tour on large information boards and explanatory signs.
German Gun Battery & Mulberry Harbour
Arromanches is pretty upmarket little coastal town with plenty of eating and drinking options in the town and along its beachfront promenade. The beach stretches out as far as the eye can see and is the location of the Mulberry Harbours. These are huge floating concrete blocks, having been towed across the Channel from England were then assembled to form walls and piers creating an artificial port used to land vehicles and supplies for the Allied troops. Meant to last for no more than 6 months the harbours can still be seen in situ today. On the clifftop overlooking Gold Beach is the 360 circular cinema showing a documentary film ‘The 100 days of the Battle of Normandy’ which bombards you from all sides with footage of the liberation of the region before the Allies moved on to free the rest of Europe from Nazi occupation. There is also the D-Day 75 Memorial Garden with its lifesize figures of soldiers made from metal washers welded together. The location is a spectacular viewpoint.
Arromanches-les-Bains and D-Day 75 Memorial Garden
Travelling east along the coast we arrived at the British Memorial of Ver-sur-Mer. It overlooks Gold Beach where many of the British landed but most strangely its access road is through a housing estate! The site comprises of a large three sided monument with cream stone pillars leading off in a large rectangle surrounded by green lawns. It was inaugurated in June 2021 and pays tribute to 22,442 soldiers under British command who played their part in the landings and subsequent Battle of Normandy, their names are engraved on the walls and pillars of the Memorial. It was here we had a surprise discovery on seeing the Standing with Giants silhouettes displayed that we had previously seen at Fort Nelson in Portsmouth last year. The art installation was there as part of the D-Day 80 commemorations due to take place from the Memorial on 6th June.
British Memorial
Heading back towards the campsite we crossed Pegasus Bridge at Benouville, one of the first points that Allied soldiers set foot on Normandy soil. The original bridge is now located in the Pegasus Memorial Museum nearby having been sold to the museum for 1 franc in 1994 when it was replaced by a new more substantial bridge. On the west side of the bridge the Cafe Gondree was reputed to be the first building to be liberated in France and is still run today by the then owners daughter who was living there as a small child in 1944. It is now a popular meeting point for re-enactors and their period vehicles with its walls adorned with WW2 memorabilia.
Our final day before heading home was spent visiting Deauville, a smart seaside town that has attracted the wealthy and famous since the 1800’s. It is known for its grand casino, golf courses, horse races and American Film Festival. Its wide sandy beach is backed by a 1920’s boardwalk with bathing cabins that are named after the stars of stage and screen. The town has lovely half timbered buildings and every branded boutique you could name has a prime spot on its many chic shopping avenues.
Deauville
On our last morning we departed Merville and headed to Dieppe for the crossing back to Newhaven. The sea was calm, the sun was shining and we reminisced as we sailed home from an unforgettable 10 days in Normandy. It has a stunning coastline, flower filled traditional villages and history around every corner.We agreed that it had been an emotional rollercoaster of a holiday, very heart-rending from the stories we had read, the harrowing scenes we then pictured and at the loss of so many lives from all sides. It is a time in history that will both be celebrated and mourned forever and a place that we will most definitely return to very soon. There is so much more to see and do there relating to D-Day and we haven’t even touched on the fact that Normandy itself has so many pretty towns,villages and countryside to explore.
Here’s the next instalment of the catch up blog to bring you up to date with our journey through our 2 lives;
2024 – New Year was spent on a cruise around the Med. Several ports of call in Spain Portugal and Gibraltar with lots of sightseeing, food and relaxing times. The day after we returned our son got married so it was a miracle we actually fitted into our wedding attire. The wedding was a beautiful occasion, a perfect day for a perfect couple, we were so very proud of them both.
View of Gibraltar from Iona
After all the exhilaration of the previous 2 weeks it was a bit of a shock to arrive back home to an empty shell of a room where the kitchen used to be. Between Christmas and New Year we had gutted the old kitchen ready for the builders to start while we were away on the cruise. Their first week had been spent ripping out, plastering, plumbing and electrics and their second was now just at the fitting new stage. It was a tough comedown but I had the vision that I had been planning for the last 8 months in my head and knew it would turn out just as I had envisaged. Steve took some convincing but kept the faith that it would! A week later it was finished, both of us overjoyed with every bit of it.
Not ones to sit on our laurels the next stage of renovation was already planned which was to landscape the exterior of the cottage. Weather delayed the start by a couple of weeks so it was now due to coincide with us leaving for our new role managing our own site. Remember when I said things change on the network over the winter months? well they certainly did for us and we got offered a job share contract at Warwick Racecourse instead, coincidentally still a racecourse but a longer season and working 12 days on and 12 days off. This sounded like a perfect work/life balance and we jumped at the opportunity.
Frosty mornings at Warwick
We left home on the 23rd February heading for Warwick. Bill the Bailey was collected from storage and Vinny the Van was packed with our onsite set up gear. Packing up wasn’t as labour intensive as it had been in previous years, this time around we could just pack a winter wardrobe and then swop over to a summer one on one of our trips back home which would be every 12 days now. We didn’t have to carry our whole lives with us anymore as were only an hour and a half from home if anything was needed.
Unpacking and setting up is now a well oiled operation. Well mostly, once we have remembered how all the awning poles fit together and which box the kettle is in. It still takes about 3 days to get everything in its place and ensure the awning is battened down and wind and rain proof, then time to food shop and sightsee before the official start work day. We managed a couple of days exploring our new location and its tourist spots before we began preparing the site for opening up to members. There was only us there and it was both a daunting and exciting feeling being our own bosses in effect and having all the responsibility on our shoulders. We soon found our feet and before we knew it our colleagues who we were job sharing with had arrived. We finished the site set up and after handing over to them we found ourselves on the road back to Shropshire again. This work/life balance was like a dream come true.
Back home and the landscaping was finished outside the cottage. It looked amazing. New external doors had been fitted aswell and the effect was stunning. But after 12 days of ‘homelife’ back we went again to Warwick and ‘worklife’
Having our rota set out for the season meant we could plan our time off this year to include some holiday times. Not used to being able to have holidays during the summer it was quite a novelty planning where and when we could go. Several ideas were put forward and we decided on a trip to Normandy in May. I have done a separate blog about our road trip as it deserves its own showcase.
As the season progressed time on site was a whirlwind of grass cutting, hedge trimming, cleaning and checking in. Although Warwick is a third of the size of other sites we have worked there is only Steve and I at any one time so everything is down to us. The vibe of the site is very transient, not many units book on site for longer than a couple of nights as it is not really a holiday destination site but more of a stopover or weekend site. This makes it a very high turnover of arrivals and departures which all take a lot of managing with the site nearly always being full. As Warwick is on a very convenient network of motorways and A roads it is ideal as a stopover to break the journey. Also once members realise just how much there is to do in the area they more often extend their stay or book again for on their way back. The horse racing season at Warwick Racecourse is from September through to May, so whilst we are open there are quite a number of race days and other events scheduled at the course. Race day is always popular with the site full and members able to watch from our side of the fence. The atmosphere is very tense at the finishing line which is right opposite the main stand and our site, especially if you have money bet on the winner!
Following our trip to Normandy in Vinny our Transit Custom camper, our minds got thinking that having enjoyed it so much and with our new working rota, having summer trips away would be something we could now do. Trouble was that for us Vinny was a little too small and uncomfortable for longer than a couple of nights so we tentatively started looking at the option of a motorhome. Ideally a 6m long campervan was our compromise but unfortunately after trying the sleeping arrangements in a few models it appeared that Steve was too long for the beds. Also as it wasn’t just for holidays it was for living and working out of every 12 days aswell it needed to have fixed beds and an adequate lounge area. And so a motorhome was decided on and we picked it up at the end of July. It was also a very sad day as we gave up Bill the Bailey and Vinny the Van in part exchange.
We had already planned a few days away at the end of July to Norfolk Broads CAMC site before we knew we were swopping to a motorhome, so we arranged to collect Mo (the motorhome) the day before, come back to Warwick for a night then head over to Norfolk from there. It was rather a whirlwind operation decanting everything from Bill and Vinny and repacking into Mo so everything was loaded into a pop up tent in our compound until we could decide between what was actually still needed and what was unnecessary clutter we had just accumulated in the last 4 years of caravan life. We had a great time in Norfolk, the weather was perfect and we really enjoyed getting used to being in Mo, the transition from caravan to motorhome was proving to be a positive one.
Mo at Norfolk Broads Mo at Bristol Baltic Wharf
We had another trip booked for a couple of days in August to Baltic Wharf CAMC. The weather was sunny and warm and we got out and about along the waterfront and to see the street art.
Baltic WharfBristol Street Art
Our time on site was nearing its season end although the arrivals were still as busy as ever. Once the school holidays are over its then the turn of couples who are road tripping up, down and across the country to come and stay.
End of October arrived and our first season as Site Managers was under our belt. It had been a learning curve but we embraced the challenge (hopefully did a good job) and enjoyed the site so much that we are going back next year. Mo has been put into storage near to the cottage and we have two trips planned in the UK over the winter months. Meanwhile the log burner is lit, the Christmas decorations will be coming out soon and we plan a peaceful perfect time off.
So there you are, a catch up of our 2024 so far. There will be more news and blogs to come from our winter road trips as they happen, but in the meantime keep watching for the Normandy blog posting soon.
Well its been a while since the last blog post, where has the time gone? I hope our regular readers are still interested enough to want to catch up with us and for any new readers please do start at the beginning and see what a journey we have had so far carving out a new life for ourselves. I will do a quick run through of our life ( in 2 instalments) since February last year when the last blog was and then I really will get back into blogging on a regular basis now I do seem to have more free time in my life.
From where we left off – February 2023 ;
…… And just like that our time in our cottage was over. End of February had arrived all too soon and it was now time to get our heads focused on our other life, caravan life was now beckoning once again. We do treat it as two separate lives, homelife and worklife, and are very lucky that we love the both. For the 2023 season we were headed back to our much loved Rookesbury Park in Hampshire, a place where we had cut our teeth as CAMC Assistant Site Managers, had been our peaceful safe haven during lockdown, and had taught us so much more about ourselves and each other. The site and the people were like putting on an old pair of slippers, the season sped by with its usual curve balls that only Rookesbury could throw at us but was a very happy, sunny and enjoyable time. We spent days off revisiting our favourite spots from our time spent in 2020 and 2021 and discovering new ones such as Fort Nelson and seeing the D-Day silhouette statues there – something we would see again in 2024 but didn’t realise it at that time where our life was going to take us.
Standing with Giants
Our rota was such that we only got to return to the cottage for 2 days every 3 weeks so not as much ‘home life’ this time, but what time we did have we made the most of. After having a new bathroom fitted the week after we left we were eager to return home the first chance we got, and boy it didn’t disappoint, a perfect start to our renovations. A new kitchen was next on the agenda so alot of time was spent planning that during the 8 months away, visiting Wren Kitchens was the highlight of my summer, sorry it wasn’t as enjoyable for Steve!
Bluebells in the Forest of BereD-Day vehicle staying on site
Another major event in our 2023 season was the decision whether to apply for promotion to Site Managers or not. We were in our 4th season as Assistants and had always said we would stay as that, but then the feeling began to creep in that maybe we could do a damn fine job managing our own site. So before we could back out we made the application, had the interview and by the beginning of September were Site Managers in waiting for the 2024 season. We were pencilled in to manage Cheltenham Racecourse site starting in April 2024 through to September. It wasn’t an ideal placing as it was such a short season but we were happy to get our feet on the first rung of the ladder and were ready to embrace the opportunity. Over the winter months the network has many chops and changes so we knew that by the time April came we may well not be going to where we thought.
After the excitement of promotion the last few remaining weeks at Rookesbury were spent readying the site for the closedown winter months. All the staff were moving on to pastures new this time so Roo was going to have a very different vibe for the 2024 season. Gooodbyes, hugs, tears and good lucks were exchanged as we pulled out at the beginning of November, homeward bound to our little slice of heaven back home for a few months. Bill the Bailey went into storage, Vinny the Van sat on the drive, all of us wondering what the next chapter had install for us. Meanwhile a cruise, a wedding and a new kitchen lay ahead!
Read the next blog Catch Up no;2 – 2024 to get right up to date with our journey through life.
Firstly apologies for it being a while since the last post, 6 months actually. Time just escapes me when the season is in full flow, working days are long and full on busy, and then our much needed days off are mostly spent away from site sightseeing and enjoying our local area, so again no time to squeeze in admin. But now our 2021 season has ended and we are back to living in a house for a while I can catch up and fill you in on what the summer months had in store for us.
As the previous blog said Rookesbury Park reopened on 12th April in line with the Govt lifting another level of Covid restrictions, from then on the site continued to adhere to guidelines of cleaning, sanitising, disinfecting and mask wearing. Everywhere felt totally safe and manageable as the nature of the job for the staff and the holiday for the members means interaction between everyone is conducted mostly outdoors, whatever the weather.
Work around site continued with a new level of gusto. Grass pitches were now open and along with the hardstandings they were all getting booked to capacity every weekend. There were a few spare pitches during weekdays in June and up to the school summer holiday breakup but it seemed like the UK was going to continue its stay cation boom again this year. Arrivals were an even split of ‘first timers’ and ‘seasoned’ members, both with equally high demands on our time and resources. The site and its number of occupants now the visitor restriction had been lifted aswell was taking alot of managing, not to mention the increased groundwork as we were now in the full flow of our sunshine and showers summer. Grass and hedge cutting was a constant task, there was always the need for at least 3 staff out there for the hours straight after the bin run right up to arrival time. Hence the arrival in mid July of a fourth set of Assistant Managers, and very welcome they were. Ady and Nina @lifewithaview.co.uk were a great asset to the site and their enthusiasm and experience helped carry us onward and upwards through to the close. They will be returning to Rookesbury for the 2022 season so will be continuing to make their unique mark there.
Our time off days out continued with a trip to Winchester. A lovely city with a good mix of shops and the famous Cathedral where we spent a while strolling around and admiring the buildings. Another city visit was to Salisbury and yet another even more famous Cathedral. It was stunning inside, so peaceful, cool and calm and plenty to read up about on the information display boards dotted around. We saw the worlds oldest clock, Britains tallest spire and the best preserved of only 4 surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta. Adjacent is Cathedral Close, the largest in Britain where amongst the houses with their pretty walled front gardens is Arundells the home of the former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, Mompesson House a NT property, and 2 museums. We then found a place to sit on rolling manicured lawns under shady trees and take in the view of the magnificent spire. A whole day could be spent just visiting the Cathedral and Close, then there’s all the artisan shops and buildings adjacent in the town itself to browse around. I think I’ve just talked myself into needing another visit to explore some more!
Salisbury CathedralThe Close Salisbury
Moving onto our coastal days out we paid a visit to Lymington which took us on a very lovely drive through the New Forest and towns of Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst. Lymington is a quaint coastal Georgian town of named and independent shops, with a cobbled area winding down to the quayside where we enjoyed our picnic lunch on a bench in the sunshine. On our drive back through the Forest we saw ponies and Highland cattle by the roadside.
New Forest Ponies and Highland Cattle
Another coastal day out was to Mudeford Quay, a little further over the border into Dorset. We met up with friends who were holidaying in the area and spent a happy few hours there. We took a ferry boat from the Quay over to Mudeford Spit, which is a stunning strip of soft white sand housing equally stunning and very expensive beach huts. When we saw a for sale sign we of course Googled the price just to see, 375k was the price tag so I think we’ll be sticking with our caravan!
Mudeford Beach Huts
More visits to our old favourites of Titchfield Haven, Southsea, Hamble le Rice, Warsash, Port Solent and Porchester Castle were regular spots to sit in Vinny on the not so sunny days, taking in the seascapes whilst drinking our flask of coffee and having a slice of cake.
Port Solent
Then came the opportunity for a rare night away from site when we took a trip over to the Isle of Wight and were able to stay over at CAMC Southlands site. We went in Vinny the van thoroughly enjoying the whole campervan experience. The site is immaculately kept and the sunset views across the countryside were stunning. Thankfully the weather held out until a couple of hours before our return ferry was due, so we managed a quick tour of the East side of the island and its seaside towns before dashing under cover from the rain, ending up in a pub in Cowes for a feast of a meal.
On the Isle of Wight ferry
August, the month of next year’s site selection was suddenly upon us. All conversations seemed to end up talking about possible sites, weighing up their pro’s and cons, not too big, not too small, not near a main road, has to be near the coast. So many boxes needed to be ticked but we also knew there would have to be compromises. Our selection was duly submitted, fingers, toes, legs, arms and anything else that was crossable was crossed and we waited. It was the longest 4 weeks in history. In the meantime being at fabulous Rookesbury kept us focused on the current season and job in hand, no time to dream of next year yet, still nearly 3 months to do here.
It was a glorious hot sunny day, the last day of our weekend off time and we were on the beach. The clock was ticking towards 5pm, surely they must be sending the email out soon, it was nearly headoffice going home time. And suddenly a flurry of pings from our phones, the jungle drums saying the selection decision was out. The sun was shining so brightly I had to dive under the beach towel to read it, listed alphabetically by site name I scrolled quickly down straight to the S’s to see whose name was next to our no:1 choice. It was ours- actually ours- Steve and Sally Hadley were going to Start Bay! As tears of joy and amazement mixed together with sand and suncream it began to dawn on us that we were about to embark on the next chapter of our life.
In more ways than we could of imagined our lives were going to change next year, living and working in Devon for 8 months was only going to be part of the story.
Catch up with us next time as we draw the season at Rookesbury to a close, we pack up to come home to the house, take a sunshine holiday and make another life changing decision.
Our few settling in days on site since our arrival have flown by, we longed to have days out to the coast which we had missed so much but apart from the fleeting view of the Solent as we travelled to our essential shopping store we resisted the urge. The winds for the first 2 weeks of the month were amongst the worst we have experienced in a caravan, night after night we were convinced the awning was going to take off and fly across the site taking everything with it in its wake, the hailstones were so large that with the force of them hammering the roof it was a wonder the skylights didn’t crack and the roof get peppered in dents. The gusty winds continued day and night but thankfully the rain held off and so we were able to set about ticking off the maintenance jobs needed around site. Fence painting, gutter clearing, service point repairs, fire point signs and bells repainted, jetwashing mossy areas under the trees and all the behind the scenes paperwork ,online training and yearly assessments were done in the days leading up to our contracted open day. The site was ready, we were ready but the UK sadly was still not ready. We were being furloughed again from the official day of opening until the week before the next phase of unlocking, the 12th April, the date the whole touring fraternity was waiting for.
Bluebells in Hundred Acre Wood
Since we arrived back the trees were now beginning to bud with new leaves and blossom, the yellow gorse out in all its glory brightening up the landscape, ivy has been removed from tree trunks and the lower tree branches in the coppices to open up the view across the site. Daffodils, primroses, bluebells and hawthorne blossoms are appearing on a daily basis and the grass is beginning to grow, unfortunately also in the places where we don’t want it to. Wildlife is still laying its claim to the site with the acres of empty pitches giving them a few more bonus weeks of tranquillity before they have to disappear off into the depths of the woods to make way for the members and their white boxes. Muntjac, rabbits and pheasants are all common sites as we share the same big back garden, buzzards circle overhead and the occasional sighting of red kites has us all scanning the sky for more. The woodpecker is back as our morning alarm call, hammering for all he’s worth on the tree right outside the caravan, the bird feeders are visited by chaffinch, blue tits, great tits, nuthatch, goldfinch, long tailed tits, bullfinch, siskin, coal tits and greenfinch to name a few. The big picture window on the front of Bill the Bailey gives us a prime view of them.
Bill the Bailey is proving to be a very nice space to live in. The floor space and openness created by being 8ft wide and having the G format seating layout is very beneficial to full time living. No more dancing around each other just to get from one end of the caravan to the other we can actually pass each other side by side, and no more me having to clamber over Steve to get out of bed for the 3am bathroom visit! Positive luxury compared to last year! We still seem to have the same sudden urge to both try to get through the door at the same time though only to discover that that isn’t any wider than the previous one! Belle has settled in like she’s never been away following us on our walks around the site, climbing trees, chasing leaves in the wind and there’s been a few unfortunate mice and vole casualties that didn’t get the message she was back so ended up spending their last living seconds in her clutches.
Wet and windy days of furlough enabled me to spend some time thinking about a facelift for our social media accounts and so a new logo was designed to mark reaching 500 Instagram subscribers. Also we have added vinyl advertising stickers to Vinny and Bill – thanks to @theweepinkvan- to promote the sites and hopefully reach out to anyone interested in our lifestyle and the places we visit.
After the initial site tidy up the few weeks of furlough passed quickly and before we knew it we were all systems go for the 12th April. The site was booked to capacity for opening day as we were still on hardstanding pitches only. One- o -clock arrived and they were queueing down the hill, a white snake as far as the eye could see. In through the gate came a steady stream of white boxes all shapes and sizes, all eager to find their perfect pitch and start making their memories once again. It was a whirlwind of smiles, waves and catching up with familiar faces from last season. There were an enormous amount of newbies who like last years holidaymakers had migrated over to the caravanning lifestyle due to the “new normal” holidaying restrictions. It was now a very different view looking out of Bills window across our big back garden.
We have managed a few lovely days out when the weather has allowed, aiming for a mix of city and coastal experiences. Emsworth is a picturesque old fishing village at the north end of Chichester Harbour, with narrow streets, walled gardens, Georgian houses and a mill pond. The small town has interesting antique shops and independent art and food shops which are a delight to browse. In the Middle Ages it was a busy port importing wine and later became known for its oyster beds. Oyster production is no more but you can still follow the Oyster Trail which is a historic walk starting from the Museum. Its most famous resident was PG Wodehouse who incorporated several local characters and names into his books.
Emsworth
Another sunny day took us to Titchfield Haven and a walk along the coastal path which rises above Meon Shore Beach giving extensive views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and all the sea traffic navigating the waterway. A walk along the beach passes properties which are a step up from beach huts but not quite permanent residential bungalows the path then climbs up onto the cliff top passing through blossom filled narrow paths then dropping down onto the shingle beach at intervals. We turned back after an hour or so as coffee and cake was waiting for us back in Vinny parked up on the beachfront.
Cliff top walk along the coastal path at Meon Shore
On a City day out we went to Chichester for a spot of retail therapy and culture. We parked easily (the advantage of having weekdays off) and had a very short walk into the main shopping area. The town has a mixture of High Street names and independent retail and having had our fix we then headed for the 12th century Cathedral unfortunately still not open for visitors other than for prayer, but it was very tranquil walking around the grounds and through the cloisters, a calm oasis amidst the bustle of the City.
That’s been our March and April, if you would like to see what we do and where we go next please subscribe to the blog on WordPress and you will automatically be notified when the blog is posted. Alternatively watch out for when the next update is out via Instagram and Twitter @2gocaravanning.
Way back on 4th November 2020 when we arrived back to the house at the end of our first CAMC season, the weeks ahead seemed to be endless especially as the following day the whole Country was plunged into lockdown#2 so life was not exactly going to be the whirlwind adventure we had planned. Fast forward to February 2021 and we were now counting down in days before we returned to Rookesbury Park for our second season as Assistant Site Wardens.
After an uneventful January, February was gearing up to be super busy from the off. After the initial flurry of getting jobs done when we arrived home we had come to a stop after Christmas so suddenly realising our time in the house was now getting shorter there were a few jobs that we wanted to get done before we left. The conservatory walls were given a fresh coat of paint, as was the downstairs loo and the garden given the last tidy up. Then started the task of trying to remember where we had put all the gear we had brought back with us all those weeks ago, and once we had found an item then putting it in a pile in various corners of the house according to where it was going to be packed for travelling. Which of the saucepans in the kitchen cupboard did we bring back? did we leave the patio umbrella there or was it buried under a mountain of other stuff in the garage? where on earth did the caravan tv remote get put? Bearing in mind we also swopped the caravan for a new one during the winter so items that would normally have been stored in the caravan ready to take back had also had to be unpacked and distributed around the house and garage in the meantime. Then it was also time for Bill the Bailey to have his wheels put back on, Steve had taken them off and put fixed winter wheels on as soon as we knew it wasn’t going to be used for a while, mostly as an extra security measure so it couldn’t disappear off the drive in the middle of the night without our prior permission!
Snow fell for the third time in a fortnight and we were keeping an eye on the forecasts for the week we were due to travel, no wind, no rain and no more snow please was our request to the heavens above. The days leading up to travel day were bitterly cold but mostly sunny and we managed to get out for the last of our local walks, having been used to scenic countryside views for the last 4 months we were looking forward to a change of scenery and enjoying sea views again.
Snowy Staffordshire countryside
No family farewells could be planned this time around, no party, no tears and no big send off. Goodbyes were said using WhatsApp video calls and then the time came for us leave. It was a grey day but dry and bright as Vinny and Bill were hooked up ready for their maiden journey together. It was easier to get everything in this time around as we now had much more space in both vehicles than a year ago where we had to squeeze it all in a single axle Sterling and a Kuga, but not forgetting that we had also left a cupboard full of gear at the site as we knew we were returning, not going to be so lucky at the end of this season though as we know we will have to move on for next year. The outfit looked very impressive as we pulled off the drive, 8 feet wide and 43 feet long it was a formidable presence on the road, we just hoped we didn’t meet anything just as wide coming down the lanes on our way out of the village as we were straddling the white line on occasions. We reached the A5 without meeting another vehicle and breathed a sigh as we now knew the roads ahead were all more than wide enough to accommodate our cherished vehicles, Steve is an experienced tower and was soon tuned into the wider width of Bill and how Vinny was coping with the towing, to the point where we had to keep an eye on the speedometer as Vinny was so at ease cruising on the motorway. Belle was again coming with us of course and happy sitting on my lap for the majority of the journey, occasionally sneaking over to Steve’s side to look at the passing traffic out of the side window and attracting a few smiles and waves from the other motorists. The miles were effortlessly whizzing by, the flask of coffee, chicken sandwiches and snacks all consumed and before we knew it there was the signpost. We let out a whoop whoop of joy as we crossed the County line announcing we were in Hampshire but the sky became dark and cloudy as we drove on and the rain became more persistent the nearer we got. By the time we arrived at site it was hammering down hard but the smiles on our faces were not any less as we turned into the gate and rolled down the driveway through the forest towards our home from home for the next 8 months. It felt so glad to be back.
Ready to Roll
A warm welcome was waiting from our Head Site Managers and we eagerly swopped news and stories of our respective time away from each other, they had continued working through lockdown #2 and into the beginning of January so they were now only being able to enjoy their downtime. As the wind and rain continued we manoeuvred Bill the Bailey into our wardens compound which was no mean feat as we were going in crossways this time, so thankful we had paid the extra money to have 4 movers fitted to the twin axle wheels just for such occasions as this. We were in position and level, apart from unloading the caravan so we could access the bed and front seats and finding the kettle we decided to call it a day, the awning could wait for a small window of better weather due the following afternoon. We settled in for our first night living in Bill and were so excited at finding out how comfy the bed was (as this was basically the reason we had bought it) that it wasn’t long before we’d turned in for the night and were falling asleep in our oh so comfy big bed. At that moment life could not have got any better.
Back in our home from home
A busy couple of days followed, the awning was erected and kitted out as our lounge and dining area again, the kitchen and bathroom pods refilled with our essentials and our uniforms unpacked and hung up hoping the creases would drop out. The rain mostly held off but the wind was very strong and we were battered by some horrendous gusts for a few nights, lying awake with fingers crossed that the awning had been secured down well enough to still be there in the morning. Everything had now found its place to be tidied away so we could sit back, relax and enjoy a few days “holiday” before our start work day. Even though by “holiday” I just mean a change of view as we could still not go anywhere other than essential shopping and exercise. Boris was still assessing the effects of the jab on his Corona case numbers and compiling a roadway out of lockdown so at this point we were still unsure if we would actually start on our contracted date or be furloughed to await a date announced sometime in the future. In the meantime the weather took a change for the better and we enjoyed our time during the warm sunny spring days out and about in our big back garden seeing what work had to be done to get it ship shape to open, and hoping we hadn’t become too unfit during our 4 months off to do it!
Catch up with us next time as we hopefully learn when we can open the site and welcome back the members to start making their memories with us once again.
Our journey back home from leaving Rookesbury was a strange affair. So many emotions were hitting us, initial sadness at leaving the site and the people behind, happiness at the thought of sleeping in a king sized bed again, apprehension in case we felt hemmed in 4 solid walls, excitement at not working for 4 months, then frustration as we remembered we wouldn’t be picking up our new caravan and heading off on our own holiday adventures anytime soon.
The traffic was moving and the tow an easy one. It was the first time towing with Vinny the Van and he did it with ease. Belle had been zipped into her house, a large carrying case with her bed in it, and placed in the rear of Vinny, hoping she would settle down to sleep as she is not normally a good traveller. We hadn’t gone far when I could hear her scratching about and then suddenly to my amazement a little paw appeared between the front seats then the rest of her as she squirmed her way through the seat gap and onto my lap. And there she stayed for the next 4 hours happy and content either looking out of the window or curled up purring herself to sleep. It seems she’s decided where she will be travelling in future.
Are we there yet?
Gradually we lost the signal for our favourite Hampshire radio station and the road signs for “The Midlands” grew more frequent. We marvelled at new constructions that had appeared and old landmarks that had disappeared during our months away, but one thing that hadn’t changed was the amount of traffic on the M6, how thankful Steve was that he wasn’t sitting in those traffic queues every day now. Pulling onto the drive was surreal, had we really been away for 8 months? It didn’t feel like it. The house looked warm and welcoming, it was clean and tidy, the roof was still on and all the walls were still standing! the kids had done a marvellous job of keeping house for us.
We left everything packed where it was in Vinny and Ruby until the next day whilst we just enjoyed sitting on proper settees and walking up stairs, then began the mammoth task of finding a place for everything to live for the next 4 months. It took 3 days to unpack it all and we are still living with piles of stuff on our bedroom floor and various locations around the house as there’s just no where for it all to go. Belle settled straight back in to her old routines, spending the days sleeping on our bed and sitting by the pond in the garden in the hope of a fish supper. The Rookesbury rodent population must be breathing a sigh of relief as they get a few months off from being hunted. Ruby the caravan was cleaned, hoovered and polished in anticipation of us being able to change it for the new Bailey Pegasus Grande we ordered way back in May during the first lockdown. We were supposed to be picking it up on the 9th November but second lockdown put paid to that. Oh how I wish now that we had arranged for the dealers to deliver it to us during the summer as they had offered, hindsight is a marvellous thing. We had booked 3 weeks away in the new caravan starting the following week which now all had to be cancelled as a: we hadn’t got the new caravan and b: Staffordshire was Tier 3 and so we couldn’t travel out to any sites that were still open. We pinned our hopes on December 3rd and rebooked for then keeping everything crossed we would then be Tier 2.
Arriving home on the day before the second lockdown came into force meant we were suddenly confined to our immediate inland vicinity and it took some getting used to after having had the freedom of coastal excursions on our doorstep for so many months, but the weather was decent and we managed to get external maintenance jobs done on the house. The garden was tidied, gutters cleaned out, patios and drive jet washed and Steve demolished the leaky old shed and erected a lovely new one. Holiday? this was no holiday it felt just like being back at work! Rather different to our planned down time of breakfasts out at Weatherspoons followed by leisurely shop browsing and sightseeing in various locations around the UK. Last January, before we started our new roles, we had booked to spend a month in an apartment on the Spanish coast for January 2021 determined to take advantage of the time off our new life was going to allow us. As the year went by we were increasingly resigned to the fact we weren’t going to be able to go abroad and so it was cancelled. So instead we booked to tour Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Cumbria during January and February, happy that at least we would be seeing lovely sights in our own Country albeit probably in rain and zero temperatures rather than sun and 20 degrees.
December 2nd arrived and we were back in Tier 3 so we were still stuck in the house. There was good news from the caravan dealers that they would deliver the Bailey to us as they could travel for work purposes. Bill the Bailey arrived and was manoeuvred onto the drive, taking up even more room as it is 8ft wide and 26 foot long. At least for now we could admire it and even sit and sleep in it on the drive if we wanted to. December 16th’s review still had us in Tier 3 and in December 30th’s we moved up to Tier 4. January and Februarys travels were cancelled and we are now working on a Plan D.
Bill Bailey arrives on the driveA snowy walk along the canalOur view “on site” on the drive
In the meantime we are lucky that we live in a lovely village with scenic views on our doorstep so are able to get out for walks along the canal and lanes, then return to sit in Bill on the drive to drink our coffee pretending we are on a site somewhere! So until we know what Plan D can be along with the rest of the Country we await with baited breath for the next review and update of our Tiers.
Catch up with us next time as we try to to put together a Plan D and review our first season as Assistant Site Managers.
2gocaravanning 