Iona heads to Epworth

We have bought some Milenco Quatro ramps from a lady in Cambridgeshire. We need to pick them up the day before we set off for Epworth. This extra task will shorten the pre trip loading time so Sue has decided to load as much as she can on the Tuesday before we leave on a Thursday.

We drove to Chatteris and collected the ramps. By the time I added on the petrol and a McDonalds lunch it would have been as cheap to order new ones from ebay. Still we did get to see parts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire that we have not visited for years. 

We had quite a good run up to Epworth although it was mainly on twisty A roads. The site itself is just along the high street behind a bungalow that was built in-front of the old farm house. The pitches are on fields behind the old farm yard that is being developed into a house. The fields lead up a hill to a converted windmill and what looks like a fire beacon of some kind.

Our friend Carol is going to join us in her motorhome on friday evening. This will be Carol’s first camping trip off grid. I think it will be quite an eye opener for her because as a caravaner she is used to having electric, and a toilet and shower block. We are going to have to train her in economic use of lights etc.

Carol's Motorhome

We went for a walk and followed a footpath alongside a former railway line although the cuttings had been filled in over the years making a hilly landscape. At the top of an incline we changed direction and headed towards one of two converted windmills.

The town is famous for it’s links with John Wesley and a church in the centre is named after him. We were surprised how many different shops there were, especially hair and beauty based salons. Restaurants are also many and varied, catering for all tastes.   

                                                              

Eventually we ran out of town centre and headed back to the campsite, although I did manage to get Sue into the White Bear public house. Here we sampled a pint and a wine. I have to say the ale was outstanding and it was only the price and time that stopped a second being purchased.

We walked back to Iona and found another gastro pub in a converted school, we bypassed it and soon arrived back at Iona. It is fairly apparent now that without the sunshine and no electric hook up we are going to have to manage the battery use. We limited the TV to a couple of programs and the heating fan needs to be on eco. Sue cooked a prawn risotto tonight but before I remembered to take a we had finished it so all I can show is the finished result.

 Day 2: We awoke to rain and it continued throughout the morning. After lunch we decided to go for a walk rain or no rain. Today we started our walk along the same footpath as yesterday. At the top of the hill we turned right along the edge of the hill looking down to the campsite.  

The path lead us to the windmill that we thought was converted to a house but it appeared to be intact but uninhabited.  A short walk further on there was the beacon that we could see from our campsite. There is a plaque on the post which hopefully you can read in the picture.     From here we reached the road and headed back the way we had walked yesterday but we continued past the railway cutting and followed another footpath back towards Epworth. 

Along the way I took a picture of the original one roomed Schoolhouse which has now been extended and attache d to a new build Methodist church.      It was beginning to look brighter as we got back to Iona but the rain continued as we settled down to a cup of tea, or a beer in my case. Our friend Carol arrived at about six and after setting up she joined us for supper. We had a great evening catching up and with plenty off laughs the evening flew by.     

Day 3: No sun or rain just another overcast day. The rain did arrive in the afternoon so the day was spent reading. In the evening we went to Carol’s van for supper and Sue persuaded us to play a children's game of cards where you describe something without saying certain words. Anyway we were confused by the rules so we made it up as we went along. It was not helped by the Jack Daniels liquor that made the game funnier as the evening progressed. Eventually we left Carol and went back to Iona while we could still walk. 

Day 4: It was a brighter day and after waving goodbye to Carol we walked into town where there is a garden centre. It was Sunday and the restaurant was very popular but we had the rest of the place virtually to ourselves as we walked around. 

Sue spotted a couple of donkeys so we walked over to see them, they were here on 6 weeks holiday before spending the summer on Skegness beach giving children rides. Sue bought an Acer plant and we walked back home via the Co-op, where we bought a few bits for lunch. 

On the way home we passed a building that was a Temperance Hall according to the signage on the gable end. Further on there is a spar shop which again has been converted from  religious buildings. One is not a style salon while the other houses the spar shop.  

Trip 5: 120.6 miles, 33 mph, 27.9 mpg, 3.5 hrs travel.

Iona has a Change of Plans, now Derbyshire is in sight.

The view from our doorway

We were going to Woodhall Spa. We have been there at least 6 times and to be honest there is not a lot more we can say about it. With 3 years of pictures already on our blog it will be difficult to find something new.

 

With the van all packed we were just thinking of leaving when the phone rang, it was the warden at Woodhall Spa, she was very sorry but all the pitches are waterlogged and they are cancelling all bookings and closing the site to new arrivals.  

 

Well, not to be put off I searched the web and found a website called Pitch-up, a further search found various campsites but we chose one about an hour away in Nottinghamshire. I booked it on-line, set up the sat nav and we left. The route changed several times in the first 5 miles, firstly we were going to Grantham Lidl, but it was in the opposite direction so we turned around and headed for Sleaford. This Lidl branch shares a large car park with Homebase so it was easy to park. Shopping done, which included some new hiking boots that were not on the list but for £19.99 I could not refuse, we headed off towards Mansfield and beyond.

 

The last two miles were a nightmare, the sat nav destination was about 400 yds off but this lead us into narrow back streets away from the main road. I had a melt down and decided to stop and check the map on my iPad, so I could figure out when to ignore the dashboard wizard. Even 200 yards from the entrance we were told to head down a cul de sac.

 

Anyway we arrived at the site which is set on a hill, we signed in and filled with water and made our way to the pitch. Everything went well for about two hours and then the control panel started giving us warnings about the boiler, gas valve shut-off, overheating, flue blocked etc. The gas hobs still worked so it cannot be the gas or so I thought. After half an hour of false starts I turned on the new gas bottle, this seemed to cure the problem, so it maybe that the autogas has a lower pressure which keeps the cooker and fridge going but not the boiler when the bottle is nearly empty. Well I hope that is the answer, time will tell.

 

No more error messages from the boiler so it appears to have been the gas bottle nearly empty. We had only been using it for 3 days but that was when it was snowing and we were using gas for nearly everything. I am hoping we can get at least nine days out of a bottle during the summer. However when it is less than £8 to fill each bottle instead of £22 for calor it is not a great expense.

 

Day 2:

This morning it is overcast and there is possible showers forecast. Hopefully it will stay dry as we go and explore the local area.  

One of the old locks

Our walk started by walking down into the village of Ironville, passing over the Midland Railway steam line and past the local church built by the Butteley Company to enhance their model village. We found the Cromford canal that is disused and now no more than a stream. We followed it’s course to the point where the Pinxton canal joined. All you can see now is the bridge that spanned the canal to let horses continue along the Cromford canal towpath.

The old Pinxton and Cromford Canal junction

 

 

At this point there is a large reservoir that has now covered the old canal bed but there is a footpath that could have been the tow path and we were able to follow this and walk around the entire lake and back to our original position by the Pinxton Canal junction. We followed the towpath back the way we came to the bridge where we joined the towpath, here there is the remains of a lock. We passed under the bridge and came across another disused lock and a further bridge that showed where the tow ropes had worn grooves in the vertical stone work.

 

 

One of the bridges with another Lock in the background

On the bank above the canal is an impressive building that was built by the Butterly Company in 1846 as the Mechanics Institute, it contained a Library, Lecture room, Coffee house and Baths, it is thought it became the Butterly Company Colliery offices in 1904, over the years it changed uses and it is now apartments. 

 

 

 

 

We continued along the path to where the modern railway passes over the canal via an original three span bridge. Here we left the canal towpath and followed a track into the village of Jacksdale where there was once a coal mine that was part of the Pyebridge colliery. 

 

 

The mainline over the canal

 

Jacksdale Memorial

 

 

 

 

Jacksdale Pit Head Wheel

 

We then headed back towards ironville but took a diversion towards Somercotes, this took us under a disused railway bridge and a further bridge that carried coal trains from the pit to join the main line.   

 

Steady!

The walk this way was not as steep and halfway up the hill we passed over the course of the Pinxton canal which is now just a path. A little further on we joined a footpath through the woods that surrounded our campsite. This was steeper and very muddy, the going was slow with Sue worried about slipping over and breaking her other wrist. Eventually we got back to the campsite after walking just over five miles.

The weather had not changed from being overcast with drizzle and as the afternoon passed the mist returned. 

 

Not very busy

 

 

 

This shows the hill

Fish Stew to finish off the day.

Trip 4:  139 miles, 25.7 mpg, 30 mph, 4.5 hours.