Castle Morton

June 1st. Lots of messing about with the lights before we could set off. One of these days all will go smoothly without hold-ups and rummaging about with screwdrivers.

I'm embarrassed to report that we gave up on the round-the-coast idea due to lack of affordable sites in places we want to visit. Most of them were (a)too dear, (b)too far from the coast or (c)Blackpool. Say no more. So we thought, sod it, let's go to Devon with a few days near Malvern on the way.


I have to tell you, Castle Morton Common is the most amazing place I've seen in many a long yonk. It's huge, green, tree clad, uncultivated and there are herds of free range cows wandering loose. We loved the cows.

We took a couple of wrong turns before we found the campsite, which is a field at a Riding Stables. Very nicely kept yard, lovely big posh horses and well cared for ponies. They have over 30 liveries and school horses. For those who like that sort of thing, the caravan field is adjacent to the schooling ring so there's plenty to watch. You are asked not to mess about with flapping awnings while nervous ponies are being ridden. Fair enough. The Malvern hills are in the background so it's an idyllic setting. The common is perfect for walking, cycling or picnicking. And it's free!

Liz, the owner, is pleasant and helpful. There's a shower and toilet plus chemical disposal and it's only a tenner per night.

Marlbrook Farm Caravan Site
Castle Morton
Malvern W13 6LE
01684 310369
07811 801499
liz@marlbrookfarm.co.uk

Off we go again

Apologies for the Enid Blytonesque title to this post. I still lust after being one of the Famous Five (but not bloody soppy Anne). Further apologies for the out-of-sequence placing of the photos. We're still fiddling about trying to work out how to do it - that is, Kim's fiddling about while I stand in the background cursing with great gusto at how long it takes.

April 6th. Kim's tooth was yanked out. Glorious weather so we decided to take Dorothy to Shropshire, our favourite county. We stayed at Ebury Hill, near Shrewsbury. Ebury Hill was a hill fort in the Iron Age and, more recently, a quarry. It's a big site with 100 pitches but laid out in such a way that you don't feel crowded. No shower block so therefore inexpensive. There's fishing if you want it but sod all else, which suits us fine. Good views.




Wroxeter. This is Kim sitting on the remains of the forum columns. To the left is Watling Street, still open to traffic.







Me outside the Roman villa, posing as an eccentric old biddy.











The Roman villa as featured in the Channel 4 programme 'Rome Wasn't Built in a Day'.










Wroxeter Roman City.







Ebury Hill Camping and Caravanning Club Site (non-members welcome)
Ring Bank
Haughton
Shrewsbury
SY4 4GB
01743 709334

Kim forgot to pack socks so we had to take a trip to Asda to buy some new ones. I think it was a deliberate oversight in order to satisfy his sock fetish. We bought wine and rum while we were at it so it wasn't a wasted trip.


April 8th. I'd tidily stashed my undies in the bottom wardrobe drawer in the bathroom but discovered, to my dismay, that my clean knickers were wet. Leaking shower! Oh groan. All the carpet was soaked as well so that had to come up. Bloody silly idea, if you ask me, to have fitted carpet in a caravan. I don't know how the last owners kept it clean but we've made it filthy already. It'll have to go.

Chaotic bathroom notwithstanding, we visited Wroxeter Roman City, which was quite splendid. We ate our picnic and went on to Haughmond Abbey - magnifico. Well, we've just joined English Heritage so we might as well get our money's worth.

I won't be boring and describe the shower mending process but the handy Kim sorted it out while I kept out of the way and read a book.

Sunday 10th April. Another touristy day out. We picnicked in the grounds of Buildwas Abbey and then went on to Much Wenlock to see the priory. It's big. I'd even go so far as to say awesome! We walked up the hill from there to have a look at the old railway station and came upon Windmill Field, which was the inspiration for the modern olympics. I didn't know that. I made a few notes to remind me to look it up properly so I can write an article and earn a few pennies. The trouble is, being surrounded by so much history, one becomes blase - but our transatlantic brethren love this stuff. We finished the day with a visit to Ironbridge, which was heaving with tourists. I thought the bridge would be visible from all quarters but we had to walk miles from the car park to get a glimpse of it. I was going into whinge mode so Kim bought me a cup of tea to shut me up. All this sightseeing gives one sore feet and a brain cell overload.






The parlour: Buildwas Abbey












The crypt










Buildwas Abbey












Wenlock Abbey











Topiary at Wenlock Abbey






Tuesday 12th April. Home for my dentist appointment, hospital check-up, a ton of washing and sorting out my ancient dad. We're looking forward to the next trip out but I'll try not to title it 'Two Run Away Together'!

Moving up a bit

We're probably not going to Europe this year, so the plan is to travel all around the coast of Britain - not all at once, although that would great, but in bits and pieces, as and when we get the chance. At the rate we go, it'll probably take about 10 years, by which time we'll be towing Dorothy with mobility scooters.

So we left the luxury of Willowbank's hot showers and headed North to a little place called Hundred End.

Landsdowne Camping
Shore Road
Hundred End
Southport, PR4 6XP
01772 814075
www.landsdownecamping.org.uk

We were met at the gate by the owners and a dog the size of a donkey. They'd seen us driving past on the way to getting lost. What's to be said about this site? There are a couple of fields, electric hook-ups, water and chemical toilet disposal. What more do you need? Oh, there's also a fishing lake and a garden shed full of tourist information leaflets. The owners are very friendly and helpful. It's flat and windswept and we had to take down the awning before it blew away. If you're after entertainment, children's playground etc, forget it, although there are a couple of swings and a slide. It suited us very well because we enjoy peace and quiet and we were the only ones there, until our last night when a gang of lads with tents turned up. They were no bother. The kindly owner put them on the other side of the field, well away from us. He also installed a chemical loo in a little garden shed for their use. This garden shed was the size of a sentry box! But any portaloo in a storm I suppose.

There are buses to Southport or Preston. We never use the car unless we have to. So we went to Southport one day for a fish and chips lunch. Then we sat outside a pub on Lord Street, enoying a drink while we waited for the bus back. The weather is amazing for April and it all felt quite continental and holiday-ish.

Another day, we walked across fields to look at the Ribble Estuary, which is a bird reserve (RSPB). You'd think you were in Holland with all the dykes and ditches. The whole area is dedicated to growing vegetables. I don't know how they manage with the howling winds, but there are lots of hedges. We saw oyster catchers and shell ducks. Of course, we forgot to take the binoculars or the camera! It was very much like our own Dee Eastuary at home, mainly salt marsh, but a lot wilder and more dramatic.

Unfortunately, we had to cut short this trip as Kim had diabolical toothache so we came home to let the dentist sort it out.

The verdict on caravanning after our first few days away? Excellent, and we can't wait to set off again. The electric heater is such a luxury we can't help feeling we're cheating but what the hell!

Maiden Voyage of the Good Van Dorothy

When Kim towed Dorothy out of the storage yard (I was out of the car shutting the gate - I hate that bloody gate, I always get my fingers trapped trying to slide the bar across) I could hear the most terrible rattling and banging coming from her innards. Being me, I feared the worst - ruptured chassis at least. So I made Kim get out of the car to listen while I towed her across the yard. It turned out to be pans rattling about in the oven. That's OK then.

For our first trip we went to a Camping and Caravanning Club site at Ainsdale. Very nice and terribly civilised and tidy: Dorothy had to be lined up alongside the gravel edge, awning this side, car the other side. Deviate at your peril! I was most impressed that Kim was able to reverse her into place. Reversing! I haven't got the hang of it yet and doubt I ever will. My brain won't cope with it.

What a good job we weren't in the back of beyond because it turned out we didn't have a waste water pipe. So into the car to drive to Southport to buy one. The people in the office gave us the address or we could have been a long time searching. Everything to do with caravans is half the size and twice the price of normal household stuff.

Well, we got it fixed and installed ourselves very nicely with the awning up and everything put away.

Willowbank Holiday Park
Coastal Road
Ainsdale, Southport PR8 3ST
01704 571566

This is a nice clean site, well laid out, but no view as it's in the middle of a residential area. Half a mile down the road you hit the sand dunes, miles of them. We used to picnic here when I was a kid, we came on the train from Liverpool. The last time I was there was on the back of Rod the Sod's motorbike in the 60s, wearing my can-can petticoats and no crash helmet. Ah, the immortality of youth! Southport is the nearest town. It's a gracious seaside town with lovely Victorian buildings, but don't expect to see much of the sea as the tide goes out for miles. Good shopping if that's your thing. Plenty of eating places and great fish and chips.

We stayed at Willowbank for 2 nights. The second day we were there, our friends Bunty and Stan, who live nearby, visited for lunch and a long afternoon of nattering. Most pleasant. We sat in the awning in the Spring sunshine and the men got very drunk. Bunty was driving so had to stick with cups of tea. I might have had a glass or two of wine.

Introducing Dorothy

This is a blog about travelling with our newly acquired caravan. We’ve named her Dorothy because of Yellow Brick Road connotations. We’re not expecting to come across phoney wizards – but you never know, anything’s possible.

Anyway, for those remotely interested, she’s an Abbey Caprice, twenty-one feet long and about twelve years old. She sleeps two so there’s no room for stowaways. We bought her because she has a proper bathroom with a walk in shower, so we don’t need to stay at campsites with shower block.

We started this camping lark in 2008, with a large tent. We loved it but I didn’t enjoy traipsing across dark fields in the night when I needed to go to the toilet. (I had a bucket for widdles, but big jobbies really require a flush loo!) And it wasn’t much fun in wet conditions. We woke up one morning, after a thunderstorm and torrential rain all night, to find ducks swimming in the large puddles outside.

So we progressed to a folding camper with toilet and cooker. Luxury! But it wasn’t much warmer than the tent – we used it in September and it was mighty chilly at night. So we started to lust after a caravan in order to extend our camping season. I know, much wants more! So we sold the camper to a very nice young family who’ll have a lot of fun with it.

And now we have Dorothy. None of us are in the first flush of youth but when did that stop our gallop?