Iona is now ours

Blakemere Village, Northwich - Trip 1

February 2nd - 5th 2017, 

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We got the date to collect Iona from Spinney's near Northwick, Cheshire. We left home at 07.15 to start the three hour drive. Once past Nottingham we headed towards Stoke on Trent, all dual carriageway.

We arrived at Spinney at about 10.15 and did all the paperwork, including the dreaded payment. Neil then took us through the van explaining all the bits and bobs, that took about 2 hours. We then spent some time transferring all the kit we had from one van to the other and left for our campsite at Blakemere Village.

 The six gears took some getting used to but we have only done 11 miles so far. The campsite is

compact but well laid out and  the facilities are very clean. It took some time sorting out the few boxes we bought with us but now we have everything in cupboards. That may change as Sue gets used to all the extra space and we do have a lot of kit still at home.

Tea tonight will test the oven , chicken in red wine, cauliflower cheese and an MS desert. Hopefully the gas will be OK and last for tonight to save changing the bottle.

Day 2 , February 3rd

The beds passed the test and we slept well although I was up by 7.30am. After I had completed all the chores we went to look at the facilities which are second to none. Then it was a walk into the village complex to check out the shops and the brewery. We stopped at the chocolate shop to buy a 'thank you' for Jenny who is looking after Rambo while we are away.

 Then back to Iona to get some bags and an IPad so we can get a few pictures. Next stop was the Sandiway Ales brewery, where we purchased some beer just to try and then onto look at a selection of shops. 

 

These ranged from ethnic craft shops to Antiques and then a clothing/golf shop. Somehow I bought Sue some wellies and a hat. Now the owner of the shop was a professional golfer and he just happened to own a V8 Corvette Stingray that was once in the hands of a famous Man U goalkeeper. 

Day 3 February 4th

Let me introduce Grace.

When Grace was very young her father,Nick Holland died suddenly of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and since then a charity was formed to research this syndrome in young people. So when you buy a motorhome or caravan from Spinney you are given a Grace Bear. The idea is then to take pictures of Grace Bear wherever you take your new motorhome or caravan.

 

This could become addictive

We went for a couple of walks in the woods around the site then back to Iona. This is the first motorhome with a microwave so Tea tonight was Lamb Shanks, mange tout, brocolli, carrots and mini corn , I had a boiled potato as well. It was brilliant and we will try it again.

One new purchase worked very well, a draining board and a collapseble plate drainer.

Day 4, February 5th
Today we say goodbye to Cheshire and head home. The first job was diesel from the shell garage, I went for the pumps around the back but these were lorry only so turn around and visit the normal pumps. Lesson learned, the pressure of lorry diesel is too strong from standard diesel tanks.

Once filled up with fuel I let the sat nav take over and we were home in three hours. With six gears you change more often to get to sixth and I am not sure it has the same pull as Matilda but that may be because I was in too higher a gear. More to learn.

Back at home I reversed straight into the drive without any anticipated problems. Getting it parked so I can take the pony and carriage out may mean a bit of shunting. Now to reload with all the kit from Matilda and Sue now has the job of packing all the cupbords and rearranging everything.

Looking forward to our next trip.

Trip 1: 116 miles, 25.4mpg, 3 hrs.