The latest upgrade

After watching the football, England beating Panama , I got bored so I decided to carpet the ‘garage’ in Iona. That will stop everything sliding around and probably stop some rattles.

Grafham Water Deliverance

Trip  10:

The drive down to Grafham Water was easy and trouble free. We were not allowed on the campsite until 2.00 pm so we went to the car park by the Grafton Water visitor centre, here we had lunch and people watched. At 2.00 pm we headed back to the Shooters Hollow campsite.

The site is approached down a farm track and into a yard, however we had followed a tractor with a huge hay turner on the back. He went into the yard to turn around and we had to manoeuvre so he could get by. The farmyard was typical of one that had long since seen daily use. However there were a few newish cars parked about so maybe it was still being worked.

We were met by an elderly lady who explained that the contractors were Polish and they drove very fast so we should be careful if we went out. There was a toilet but Sue and I declined to enter because, rightly or wrongly, we judged it on the state of the surroundings. The owner lived in a static caravan next to the old farmhouse. She reminded me of Grotbags from the children’s TV programme. The Elsan point was basically a lid into the septic tank, gross. The water point was OK.

After filling the water I drove Iona to the pitch, passing under some willows and into an open space where five pitches were marked. In front of me were some leylandis which were about 50’ tall. I picked a pitch, no-one else was here, surprise surprise. The compass came out to check where the sun was and sure enough the leylandi cast a shadow from 3.30pm, so no solar in the afternoon.  Now I wanted to turn around and leave but Sue wanted to give it a try, and she thought is was highly amusing. I am now banned from picking sites without her approval.

Behind us were our neighbours in the form of Caravans stored by the stream. Some had not seen an owner for years. I could have sworn I heard duelling Banjos in the distance and the sound of pigs squealing.

Apart from the lack of sun and the rundown appearance, the site was sheltered with plenty of birdsong. I have been persuaded to stay at least a night here, although I told the owner we were here for two, possibly four nights depending on a phone call. I may have to ring myself tomorrow and ask myself to come home. Typically we have limited solar power yet despite being surrounded by trees and in a valley, we have plenty of TV stations and wi-fi available. The wi-fi has enabled me to find an alternative site if required.

We sat out until about 10.00pm and when I got up to go in it soon became apparent that I had had too much to drink. Sue went to bed and I tried to get on the Internet, but it took several attempts to put the password in, I blamed Sue. I went outside to check the chairs etc before going to bed but somehow I managed to fall backwards into a tree. The result was a cut elbow and grazes, I cleaned it up and went to bed.

Day 2:

I woke up this morning with a very sore elbow and shoulder. Sue applied some anti septic cream and found my shoulder was grazed as well as my elbow. We were planning a walk so Sue put a bandage on me because the cut kept opening when I bent my arm.

The walk took us along some field margins and through a mixed wood some of which looked ancient woodland, we then left the wood and followed the footpath around fields to eventually meet a cycle path which lead to the main road. We crossed the road and we were soon on the path that went around Grafham Water. The path took us across the dam which is about a mile wide, and we ended up at the visitor centre again. We walked around a bit of the shoreline passing the remains of a huge trout that some bird had feasted on. Before we turned back home we saw another two large trout and a carp all partially eaten.

We left the visitor centre and retraced our steps home, stopping on the way to eat the lunch Sue had made for us. Once back at Iona we had walked just over six miles. We sat outside in the sun and watched and listened to the wildlife, a few pheasants , a jay eating cherries, a white cat put in a brief appearance until it saw us.

Sue is cooking Paella on the cadac tonight.

Day 3:

Today it is breezy with sunny intervals and I think we will stay around the site. We were joined by a hen pheasant that seemed remarkably tame and took no notice of Sue as it wandered around Iona.

We have decided to stay for the full four nights so I went and paid the owner. I also checked the toilet which is in an outhouse, it was clean enough but the room had leaves on the floor and cobwebs on the asbestos roof, a typical farm building but not quite what you expect on a campsite.

The weather was breezy with breaks in the clouds so we stayed around the motor home until it was in shade and then we went off for a walk. We followed the same path as the other day but we only went for a couple of miles and then turned back. I showed Sue where the toilet was and we had a nose about the yard. At one time it must have been busy judging by the three huge grain sheds and other buildings. There are a lot of pieces of old farm machinery about and a selection of old ploughs in a lean-to. I wonder if someone does vintage ploughing matches because there was also a restored Massey Ferguson T20 tractor on the back of a lorry.

Tonight we had a bar-b-que , as usual cooked for three, but we managed to eat it all and finished with a burger and blue cheese.

Day 4:

The forecast today is full sun. I got up fairly early and sat outside reading. By 9am I was looking for some shade. It is going to be hot today. From a blog point of view a very boring day, we stayed by the motor home and read our books. We had another bar-b-que for tea and sat outside until dark.

Trip 10: 117 miles, 27.4 mpg, 40 mph, 2.54 hours

The Habitation door

Window Repair

After a great few days away at Bridlington we had a week at home to do all the normal things with the garden and house. It is also half term so we had the grandchildren over for a couple of days. On one of these days it had been raining over night and in the morning I went to check that I had not left the roof vents open.

As I opened the Habitation door of Iona I noticed some water spots on the inside of the door and there was water spray on the door step carpet. I first thought that the door had not been closed properly because this had happened before. However as I shut the door from the inside I noticed that the window vibrated, on further inspection the window, which does not open, was delaminating from the door. This left a gap of 6mm between the two surfaces and this is the route that water running off the roof takes when it rains heavily. 

I made a couple of phone calls and emails and the Auto-Trail customer services recommended a local motorhome dealer, although they do not actually sell new Auto-Trails. I rang them and they were happy to take on this work under warranty. This will take a couple of weeks to organise etc so I asked if I could tape up the window and use the van, to which they agreed this would be ok.

The window has been taped up with tank tape and we should be able to go on our next trip. After that I hope we will have a date for the repair, this will require rebonding the window and door which may take a few days. 

Worcestershire another first

We are off to Cob House Park in Worcestershire despite having a Habitation door window held in with duct tape. The warranty claim is in progress but we cannot wait for a fix.

The route took us to Nottingham then onto the A42/M42 around Birmingham to the M5. I had seen we needed junction 5 on the M5 but the sat nav wanted to keep us on the motorway. Of course I ignored her and followed the A38 which took us around Droitwich and into Worcester, over the river and  up to the A4204. We arrived ok but looking at the map It may have been better to follow ‘Jane’ our navigator.

The Cob House Site is a Park with fishing lakes and a Cafe / restaurant. There are animals to watch and feed and several footpaths according to the information board. 

The Stewards were very friendly as they always are and after filling with water we were told we could park anywhere. We opted to go along a fence near the lakes where it is fairly peaceful. We have a small motorhome  one side and a van conversion has just joined us on the other side. The weather is warm and cloudy with the sun breaking through now and then. We put the gazebo up facing the lakes so we can watch the wildlife and be sheltered from the breeze.

I went for a walk to the cafe to get a wi-fi connection, I got one and downloaded some emails. One was from the Lincoln garage where the warranty work on Iona is going to happen, well it was but Auto-Trail have told them that my chassis is not registered on the system. The next half hour was on the internet and phone trying to sort it out. I have been told that Iona is registered and they (Spinney Motorhomes) are going to put it on the system again. Hopefully that will sort it out.

Tonight Sue had macaroni cheese for tea and I had chicken and a salad. We ate outside in the gazebo. We were going to watch TV at 9.00pm but for the first time we could not get a signal. After several attempts and retunes we could not get any programs so we watched a dvd, the Krays. Fantastic film and we retired to bed later than normal.

The MayFly Cafe

Day 2:

Woke at 8am and once all the jobs were done we left to go for a short walk but we met another camper who explained that the reception had several planned walks. We took all the leaflets and chose a short 5 mile circular route.

The route took us down an old green lane and then onto country lanes towards Martley. At Martley we found the church and apart from looking very picturesque it was open. Inside it was amazing for a village church, with the roof of open woodwork, plaques on the walls with prayers and Psalms from the 15th/16th century. Painted murals on the walls with animals and ornate designs. There is a carving in cedar wood of Jesus , the tree once stood in the churchyard.

In the church there was a system to listen to several explanations and history of the church. It was very interesting learning more about aspects of the building and it’s history. Outside in the millennium meadow is a chair carved from a tree and a couple of ponds where the clergy raised fish for eating.

We left the church and followed a footpath across fields and eventually joined a lane and followed it home. As we entered the park we were going to pass a swan on her nest but the Cob swan was nearby, however I got close enough to see the Pen swan off her nest and 3 or 4 cygnets in the sun, they were fairly small and probably only a few days old. We stopped at the Mayfly cafe for a cup of tea and free wi-if, we got the tea but the wi-fi was too weak to use.

By the time we left she had lost all 4 cygnets

The afternoon was sunny and very hot so not much happened, I went for a stroll around the lake that is being drained, ready to be filled in and become the site of a 21 pitch caravan site. Our neighbour was fishing in an adjacent pond so I had a chat with him while he continually pulled roach and bream out. I left him in peace and went back ‘home’.

On the way home I stopped to talk to another motorhomer who was just putting his Cadac together. He had the latest version so being nosey I was interested to see how it differed from our original model. It turned out it was the first time he had unwrapped it and he had left the instructions at home. So feedback will be another time. Tea tonight is a Bar-b-que on our Cadac.

Day 3:

It is a bit different today, overcast with some dark clouds but the forecast says it should brighten up this afternoon with sunny intervals. We went for a short walk around the park and we found the fish breeding ponds and what appeared to be the original farm yard. Yesterday there was a fishing match on one pond and today it was empty so we had a closer look at the fishing side of the park. The swan we saw the other day had moved ponds and she had one cygnet in the water with her, we assume the others were on her back under her wings.

He liked a scratch

On the way round we found the goats and pigs, the reindeer were in a shelter at the far side of their pen. We saw mistletoe growing on trees near the lakes, something I had not seen before in such thick clumps.

Mistletoe growing in the trees by the lakes

This evening was going to be a bar-b-que but I got distracted by the stewards and then it started raining so Sue cooked inside and we ate tea in the gazebo.

Day 4:

We had a walk around the park and after 6pm we walked around the lakes while no one was fishing. The afternoon was warm so I took the gazebo down while it was dry, we dried the carpet over a fence so that we were virtually packed ready for leaving on Saturday.

The sat nav recommended a different way home avoiding Droitwich and joining the M5 at junction 6 instead of junction 5. The drive home was uneventful and took 3 hours. Our next trip is into Cambridgeshire just south of Duxford.

Trip 8: 239.3 miles,  28.8 mpg, 39 mph, 6 hours driving.