Last Trip of 2017

Unless anything particular comes up this last weekend was probably my last overnight for 2017. There's nothing else in the calendar and I've got very little holiday left.

I was attending a boat rally just over the county border in Warwickshire at a pub. When we first started going there I was stopping in the donkey field but it's now a full blown, and very nice, caravan price. The downside is that the price has gone up, £20 a night is not unreasonable but it's about the most I've spent this year.

The lack of mains power, and hence heating, was a nuisance. In particular the flame failure on the stove played up, a combination of the cold air and the gas not running too well in the low temperatures. Fixing that is a priority. The only other issue was running out of water on the last night. I got my last drink though and brought the washing up home!

Snowdon Again - The End

Having spent a fantastic weekend with friends in Llanberis it was a steady but reasonable drive home, mostly along the A5. The campervan behaved well while I was away, with only a couple of issues to deal with.

I need to be careful to ensure the curtain on the exit door doesn't get stuck outside in the rain. I'll be washing the curtains at the end of the season anyway but I recon another press stud may be needed. While I'm on I'll add press studs to the bottom corners of the front curtain just to close the gaps at the ends and a wire across the bottom of the back curtains.

I discovered after I got back that my work mobile had slipped down between the back seat and the side of the 'van. I ended up unscrewing the top of the seat locker to gain access to retrieve it. I'm planning to remove the seat temporarily to give access when I sort the electrics so I'll figure out either putting a tray in there or at least filling the gaps with foam.

On a positive note I had the compressor coolbox running most of the time from Wednesday evening through to Monday morning. I'd set the battery saver to its lowest setting but after 4 1/2 days with only a short drive to recharge the battery it still hadn't cut out. That bodes well for festivals, etc.

Snowdon Again - Day 3

Firstly something I forgot to mention on Day 1 of the Blog. I believe I spotted my previous campervan, Little Dai, on my way here. I can't explain why but out of the corner of my eye I spotted a silver small van parked in a driveway. I immediately thought, "That's a Daihatsu!" It was a few moments later I realised I was in the area where I know the purchasers live so put two and two together.

Today, after a larger than normal breakfast (think I over-bought in the farm shop) I left site for the short drive to Sygun (pronounced Sugin, the opposite of what non-Welsh speakers would expect) Copper Mine. I've been down coal mines, a slate mine and a lead mine so copper was a new one for me. It's different in that you're not guided round but make your own way. They do give you a hard hat (it's needed) and warn you that there are 186 steps to climb, mostly open metal ones. Strangely I don't find the height too much of a problem when underground.

The commentary at each point (you press a button to start it) was reasonably well done. The story isn't that much different to other mines, what I miss without a live guide are those extra off-script snippets that you tend to get, the recorded commentary is just a bit dry. I finished with a reasonable coffee in their tearoom before driving round the mountain (cue song) to Llanberis and the hotel. I was in two minds about going for a walk but got distracted by the bar being open!

That's about it from a campervan point of view for this trip. Tomorrow a group of TOGs will attempt to climb (or take the train up) Snowdon, but a few drinks may be consumed in the meantime. I'm stopping until Monday so will report again when I'm home.

Snowdon Again - Day 2

Back to normal today, playing trains! The main reason for coming to Snowdonia early was to ride the Welsh Highland Railway. I simply couldn't fit it in last year!

The WHR is part of the Ffestiniog Railway (and mustn't be confused with the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway which also runs out of Porth Madog). Fortunately I left the campsite a bit earlier than I needed to for the walk to the station as just after I arrived the heavens opened. There'd been heavy rain on-and-off overnight anyway but it had largely stopped for a while. The train was busy but I managed to find a single seat. The only problem with narrow gauge carriages is they tend to have narrow gauge seats and I have a broad gauge b*m but I coped.

It was only really as we were approaching Caernarfon that the weather cleared so I moved to the semi-open coach instead. I stuck with that for the rest of the day although I did have to put my anorak back on and shift sides at one point.

The scenery is absolutely stunning for much of the journey, with (on a rare clear day) views of Snowdon. It's about the only railway I know with three distinct weather zones though. You have the mountain weather, cold but dry winds, maritime weather, cold, damp breezes and in between a brief temperate zone where the wind is noticeably warmer.

Putting my anorak on, Porth Madog must be unique in having two different heritage railways in the station running different articulated loco styles. As I mentioned yesterday the WHR runs mainly with Beyer-Garrets (the one hauling us today was built in Manchester in 1958 for South Africa). They have a single firebox and boiler with articulated wheelsets at each end, the front carries the water tank and the rear the bunker. The Ffestiniog have the Fairlie Patent locos, these have two separate fireboxes and boilers, again with articulated wheelsets.

The reason for these designs is basically to get a large loco onto a tight radius track. Most were narrow gauge (only one standard gauge Garret survives, in non-running order at Bressingham although the 3' 6" gauge one I saw in Queensland is a much larger loco). A standard tank engine simply wouldn't have the power, or tractive effort, to haul heavy trains in the same way. Even with the design when pulling out of a couple of stations this morning with a full train on very wet rails they got some wheel slip, the climb out of Beddgelert is steep, the line doubles back on itself twice as it leaves the station to gain height.

Once back off the train I decided to treat myself to an ice cream. I may have found a new favourite flavour! Banana and Choc Chip was delicious if subtle. I've followed that up with a pint while I make use of the pub WiFi.

Snowdon Again - Day 1

I'm writing this Wednesday evening but not sure when it will get published as there's no mobile signal! I'm spending a cutie of nights in the campervan before moving on to a hotel in Llanberis to join friends for another attempt at Snowdon (we were beaten by the weather last year). I will be cheating this year though, my plan is to go up by train and walk down.

I'm stopping first at the Beddgelert Forest site. It's over 45 years since I first camped here and around 35 since I was last here. Sadly this may be the last opportunity. The site is now run by Forest Holidays, a joint venture between the Forestry Commission and a VC company. They have plans to reduce the number of pitches by around 70% and build a number of lodge houses plus a bar, etc.

The drive down was fine with a quick stop at a farm shop just off the AT for fresh supplies (and a coffee and piece of carrot cake). The site is very unstructured beyond the hard standing pitches being in certain places so I'm parked in the middle of some trees. Initially I had a caravan adjacent one side and a tent the other, at a discount that would probably make the Caravan and Motorhome Club wince! For some strange reason the tent removed their add on canopy and kit to a different tent at the other side of the pitch area then took the original tent down.

Over the course of the evening I also saw a fully inflated airbed being taken for a walk and, week after it was dark, a couple picked up their tent and moved it to a spot right adjacent to a pathway. From past experience here I suspect this all relates to waterlogged ground.

I decided to walk down into the village itself, ostensibly 2 5km away, I think these are Welsh Long Kilometres! I did get a reasonable pint and dinner though before walking back again. I'll be going again tomorrow probably to catch the train on the Welsh Highland although I could always use the request stop at the top of the site. I didn't have time for this railway last year and it's particular attraction for me is that they use two Garrett articulated locos reimported from South Africa.

An Overnight Trip

This is just a quick post to keep the blog complete. I had a weekend away with friends at a watersports centre in Essex. The campervan was really only used as transport and for overnight sleeping.

The one thing that proved its worth again was the compressor coolbox. I could leave it running all day on the leisure battery without worrying, keeping my sandwiches, cans of coke and a few beers (for the evening) cold. In the end the beer went unused as we went to a pub for dinner, it won't go to waste!

The next trip away is to Snowdonia, only a couple of nights camping before I head for a hotel.

Moorish Trip - The End

As I've been stopping in a hotel since Thursday I haven't updated the blog but there were some highlights.

Thursday morning I decided to get an early start from Minehead so was off site by about 7am. If I do leave early I try and be as quiet as I can be of course! Having parked in Okehampton the first job was breakfast, I'd just walked to the high street when I spotted the Wetherspoons! Unusually there were a couple of very minor problems, I chased up my breakfast when a group I knew had ordered after me got theirs' first, then the sausage was missing. No real problem, easily sorted, I might have got a free coffee out of it but I'd gone for the free refills anyway!

I had a wander round the town, including looking round the small museum, but as it was wet and miserable I skipped the castle for another year and went to the hotel for lunch. The Manor House Hotel is a Sport, Craft and Spa hotel. Their activity weekends are great value and there's lots to do. We had a group of about 50 there and had a great time.

To fit with my usual activities I signed up for the Dartmoor walk, which had the advantage of a ride on the Dartmoor Railway. This is one of the shorter heritage lines (at least from Okehampton to Melden Viaduct which we did) and is run with diesel railcars. There wasn't much of a view as it was raining! The walk leader was very good and took us round some industrial heritage before we got back to the railway and, more critically, the buffet coach! The coffee and cake were very welcome. The Dartmoor is another very friendly volunteer run railway so is thoroughly recommended.

Other activities I took part in were Adventure Golf (we stopped counting strokes), Archery (I'll do that again) and I started a sign for the house. The run back from Devon is really just a slog. Even cutting across the Cotswolds doesn't alleviate the tedium that much but there's little alternative. I will be going on the weekend next year but I doubt I'll combine it with a holiday next time.

Little Trains - Moorish Trip Day 5

After travelling on the longest heritage railway in the country I visited one of the shortest. The Lynton and Barnstaple is a narrow gauge line currently just about a mile long, but with big plans for expansion. It's in a very picturesque setting on the moors with views of the coast.

The L&B features in the model railway press quite a bit these days as it's being used as the prototype for a number of ready-to-run models. One of the reasons I chose not to model narrow gauge was the absence of such stock, I don't regret the decision but it opens up more opportunities for modellers.

The other small railway of the day was the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. This is a water balanced funicular between the two towns. These are always good fun if a little bit nerve wracking for anyone with a fear of heights. Lynmouth especially if a total tourist trap with a long line of cafes and gift shops, the Flood Memorial building is worth a visit though. I did also walk around Lynton, it's very hilly!

The roads around there have some very steep gradients, 25% (1 in 4 in old money) is quite common. The 'van managed ok but one thing I have to remember is that the petrol engine likes its revs. I ended up going up Porlock Hill in first gear having had to slow at the bottom. It's all part of the learning curve.

As Porlock is another pretty little village I decided to have a wander round. It was there that the gadding of the week finally caught up with me and I literally ran out of energy. It wasn't a problem but it cut the day a bit shorter than it might have been.

Back on site I settled down to a drink of Sheep Stagger Scrumpy (please read that carefully) and a snooze before dinner. That's the last night of the camping part of the trip so I decided to prepare for a reasonably early start to spend some time in Okehampton before going to the hotel, more on that later.

B******s to Alton Towers - Moorish Trip Day 4

The weather today has been a huge improvement, albeit very windy at times. There was a lot of debris both on site and out and about from last night's storm but it didn't cause any problems.

I had intended to have a good walk today but having done a fair bit over the last couple of days decide to have a drive instead (the leisure battery was also due a charge I reckoned). I wanted to visit Watchet but took the coastal route from Minehead through Blue Anchor, so called because when ships hauled up their anchors there they were coated in blue clay, or that's the story anyway! It came up in conversation a bit later about how the name conjures up images of a delightful quiet sun-kissed bay. When I stopped briefly for photos I could barely open the car door due to the gale! It's not a protected spot at all and sadly is now largely spoilt by the huge holiday park just off the beach.

Watchet is a delightful small town with reasonable facilities. I visited both the Town and Boat museums. The latter is largely dedicated to the "flatner" boats. These were double-ended flat bottom boats used mainly in the marshes and levels in the area, although some were also sea going. Both museums were free, although I made a reasonable donation to each. I had a walk out onto the harbour wall as there's a short stretch of the original mineral railway still there, I very nearly lost my glasses to the gale so was very careful.

I had my morning coffee and cake at the marina office/shop/cafe, which also has an antiques/collectables centre upstairs. I declined the opportunity to buy a Lego Millennium Falcon, apparently the largest set they have ever produced, as it was £850! A conversation ensued with the dealer manning it and a local gentleman. I learned more about local cricket than I really wanted to know but it was interesting. I did return later and bought a GWR sign for £20 that would have been at least double from a specialist at the railway shows. I've got just the spot for it but won't spoil the surprise for friends and family.

The next place on the list was the Bakelite Museum. This is one of those delightfully eccentric British collections. It's currently housed on three floors of an old mill (the top floor has some interesting agricultural equipment but is all but inaccessible up a ladder). They have decided though that is untenable in the current location. Damp is a major issue and being out of the way they just aren't attracting visitors. This will be the last year there so they are looking for new premises or it's likely the museum will close. Exhibits range from a Trabant car to eggcups and just about everything in between made from, or containing, early plastics. I really hope they do find a new home and are able to display things properly.

A quick trip from there into the village of Williton
provided lunch (a delicious bacon and brie baguette) and necessary shopping, bread rolls for breakfast, before I took a slightly circuitous route back to the site via a cider farm. I was quite good, I only bought a litre of the dry cider, Sheep Stagger Scrumpy.

The wardens on site have done an excellent job clearing up most of the storm debris, although if the wind doesn't die down fairly soon they'll have more to clear up tomorrow. It will be my last full day in the campervan before moving on to a hotel, I think back to railways with the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway and the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway on the agenda. It would be a shame not to visit them while I'm in the area.

It's Raining, It's Pouring - Moorish Trip Day 3

Weatherwise this has been about as bad a day as I've had on holiday for a long time. It started off wet and got steadily worse, with high winds as well. In some ways sitting on a steam train was a good thing to be doing but the photo opportunities were severely limited.

The West Somerset Railway is remarkable for one thing, the sheer friendliness of the volunteers. Every single one from the ladies in the shop at Minehead to the two gents minding the track crossing at Bishops Lydeard was ready for a good morning or a chat. It's darn good value for money too as it's the longest heritage railway in England.

On a fine day you'd get a good view of the coast in places and there's a reasonable amount of interest. I had considered alighting at Watchet to explore but in the rain decided I'd drive up there another day. There's a boat museum there among other things. That will probably be tomorrow if the weather is better, although there's also a railway museum* at Washford which isn't open until Wednesday.

*Although it's the West Somerset Railway the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust run this particular museum and have a small restoration group there.

I did explore the small Gauge Railway Museum at Bishops Lydeard but the model railway display wasn't open, always a problem midweek.

On return to Minehead I visited the Turntable Cafe, an excellent pasty and home made cheese sandwich sufficed for lunch. I then wandered through the town, getting wet, before looping back round and up to the site. I can't say I achieved much by doing so, but at least I've seen a bit of the place.

The next couple of days are very weather dependent. The forecast is reasonable at the moment, dry with some sun. If that's the case I'll get out and about. If it does turn out to be wet I'll have a look for some indoor attractions to visit - there's always the Bakelite Museum (see the book Bollocks to Alton Towers for details).

Milling and Castling - Moorish Trip Day 2

A fairly energetic day today as I walked the couple of miles to Dunster (and back), the village is quite a bit higher than Minehead, so it was mainly uphill on the way there. The weather wasn't great either, a light drizzle that was never really heavy enough to put a waterproof on. Fortunately when I went to the pub yesterday I'd spotted the "Byway to Dunster" signs which saved walking the main road.

I was greeted by the sound of the church bells ringing peels, not very evenly I have to say! The one-but-lowest bell was like Corporal Jones, just too late every time! The village itself is a tourist trap from end to end, and would be considerably improved if they could ban vehicles, but it's very nice. I fancied a coffee by the time I got there so started at the Mill Tearoom. This is part of the National Trust estate but it's a delightful spot, sat in the garden by the river, or at least it was once the family with noisy untethered brats left. I don't mind children having fun but when they're running and shouting right by where other people are sitting trying to enjoy a quiet drink it's unacceptable. The waitress reckoned the seat I'd chosen, nicely shaded by a tree, was her favourite spot.

From there I paid my not unreasonable £12 (it's a bit cheaper if you don't go round the castle itself) and first toured the watermill. This is a working mill but they generally only actually grind flour on Wednesdays for a few hours. It's very unusual in having tandem wheels which run from a single water source. I had a bit of a chat with the lady miller before starting the ascent to the castle itself. The paths are steep in places, you can easily see why the first castle was built on the spot by the Normans, and apparently it was nearly impregnable.

I declined to join any of the optional tours of the kitchens or attics, but did walk round castle interior. I had to leave the rucksack at the entrance, which I was more than happy to do. Unfortunately many places now won't allow you to leave your bags, "For security reasons!" The guide acting as left luggage officer had two coffer chests to put the bags in! He did attach a numbered label and hand over the counterpart so I was confident of getting my own bag back.

The castle is largely as it was between the late Victorian and mid-20th Century periods. The interior hasn't got a huge amount to recommend it, it was quite good that there's a sitting room that you can actually use as such though, with sofas and a few games for the children. Otherwise it's the usual "don't touch", I'd left the snooker cue in the 'van so although the table was set up ready I didn't ask if I could have a game.

More uphill walking took me to the Victorian underground reservoir which was opened up a few years ago. This is in/under the main part of the Norman castle, it was built at the time modern facilities such as flush toilets and baths were being installed in the days before scheduling of ancient monuments would prevent such damage to archaeology.

The steps down from the highest part, the original Motte of the Motte and Bailey castle, were evil on the knees. The risers were just too high to comfortably step down and the treads were just too long to do in a single step. Down on the main castle green they'd got some more free games for children and adults but you could also try archery at £4 for 8 arrows - if I choose I can try for free later in the week!

The castle (and me) being exhausted I wandered round the village a bit, took in some more sights and found a pub. The first pint of Exmoor Bitter slid down well so I decided to have another one and lunch. The starter of grilled goats cheese was good, the Hunter's Chicken less so.

The walk back wasn't too bad, being more down than up. All through the walks and at the castle I kept hearing the steam whistle of the trains, so that's what I'm doing tomorrow.

Strange Contraptions - Moorish Trip Day 1

I'm calling this a Moorish Trip 'cause I'm starting on the edge of Exmoor and ending on the edge of Dartmoor!

I didn't get the earliest of starts (by my standards) but was away from home just before 8am. I made a quick call in to services for breakfast then cut through the Cotswolds to the M5. It's not quite the quickest route but it's preferable to dashing round the motorways. What I didn't expect to see was a garden shed driving the other way! I believe it was the one that featured on Shed of the Year a while back.
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The next stop was Gloucester Services. These were opened a few years ago by the same operators as Tebay on the M6. They are certainly not your average services! No McDonald's, Costa Packet, etc. but their own run restaurant & cafe and a farm shop. I'd deliberately waited until I got there to stock up on some fresh produce and wasn't disappointed.

The Strange Contraptions in the title of today's blog refers to the Helicopter Museum at Weston-Super-Mud. I have to say you very quickly get whirlybird overload. There are big ones, small ones, huge ones and tiny ones! The place is absolutely packed out with helicopters and various forms of autogiro. I find the latter the most interesting, including one that was built into a plywood dinghy designed to be towed behind a ski boat. The cafe did a decent lunch as well.

I decided to skip the M5 for the run to Minehead, partly due to the 7 minute delay getting to the motorway, it seems strange that they've dug up the large roundabout on the main route in to a holiday resort just as the season is getting going! The trip along the A38 and A39 isn't much slower and far more pleasant.

The caravan site is right on the edge of the town, but just isolated from it. I could have had a pitch at the top of the site well out of the way but they're a bit far from the toilet block and sloped the wrong way. I had a brief explore, i.e. found a pub where I watched the Derby for no reason other than it was on. It was a friendly place with decent beer so I may go again.

The plan for the next couple of days is to not move the 'van at all. Tomorrow I'm planning to walk to Dunster, only a couple of miles, where besides the castle there are various other attractions. There is a village guide which, on the map, shows "Countryside Paths" and "Countryside Walks (Wellie Walks)". A simple and useful distinction IMHO. Monday it's back to the railways.

C2C - The End

On the Saturday morning I moved on from the site to an Essex marina for a river festival. I was sleeping on a yacht rather than in the camper van but I was then due to drive home on the Monday.

Unfortunately a family emergency meant an urgent return home on the Sunday which brought proceedings to a premature end for us, and meant a bit of rushing around to and from hospitals. Hopefully all is sorted now though and I can still get away on the next trip very soon.

Apart from the problem with the mains electric, and the improvements I still want to make to the 12v side, the camper behaved well. Storage is an issue, but it's manageable. I'll have another run through what I'm carrying and decide if there's anything I can leave out.

I was pleased with the driving of the Berlingo, it cruises happily at 70 so is a bit quicker than the Daihatsu. I also did a check on the fuel consumption over the holiday, is was about 37.7mpg including a mixture of long and short runs, that's around 15% better than the Daihatsu which will help with holiday costs.

Bluebells in Steam - C2C Day 7

The Bluebell Railway is one of the first, and most famous, heritage railways having opened way back in 1960 (before I was born!) We've never holidayed in the area so this was my first visit.

Overall it's probably much like most railways I visit. It was busy, partly due to a large holiday party for which several coaches were reserved. For some reason the railway is based at Sheffield Park when in truth Horsted Keynes (apparently pronounced as canes not keens) would have been a better location.

The train journey from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead doesn't have all that much to recommend it, although you do go from East to West just after setting off as you cross the Greenwich Meridian but that's about as exciting as it gets!

One plus point is that you are allowed to wander round the engine sheds, the contrast of locos in both size and condition is incredible. There are tiny tank engines in good condition right up to a 9F (about as big as general use locos got in the UK) in need of a lot of restoration.

It's understandable that the bulk of their repair and restoration efforts have to go on locos that will be useful to them, but that does mean that older, less efficient, tank engines are being neglected.

The catering was less successful, they may have been caught out by numbers but by the time I got in to the buffet there was a very limited choice of sandwiches available and I'd already decide I didn't want a hot meal.

Horsted Keynes is probably the most famous station on the heritage railways, and has featured in many films and TV series (I think it's Platform 2 that's regularly seen in Downtown). To get off the train there would have left me a 2 1/2 hour wait for the next service so I decided to drive up to get some photos and try the advertised buffet there instead. The guide leaflet didn't mention this is only open on weekends! As it happened they were doing some maintenance work so had turned the coffee machine on, at least I got something to drink.

The carriage works at HK have a good viewing gallery so you can see the work being carried out, I wish more railways would provide this level of access. The handrail across one part is made up of the different woods they use in the restoration work, with a note about how and where they fit in, an excellent idea.

There​ was also a demonstration panel and description of scumbling (artificially decorating cheap wood to look like something more expensive). This was a common technique in railways, canal boat decoration and domestic settings, our grandpa grained the interior doors in the house. Some years ago we were lucky to have a tour of the "hidden" parts of Bristol Temple Meads station including the GWR Boardroom. This had recently been restored, with scumbled panelling which, according to the tour guide, "Only 7 people in the country can do!" We called her out on this, saying there are plenty of people, including the boat painter who'd recently finished our pews at church. "Oh but this is grade 2 listed" she said. We pointed out the church is  grade 2* (but didn't say there'd been quite a debate on how glossy the finish should be).

Still being in need of sustenance, and the 'van stocks being deliberately run down, I did pick up a nice fresh sandwich in the village shop then found a quiet car park to sit and eat it in. Had I been thinking I'd have headed back to a cafe near the caravan site as I've got a voucher for a free cheese toastie, it's an advertising trick to get you to buy their cheese, but I didn't think of it at the time.

Tomorrow it's through the Dartford Tunnel to the marina in Essex for the river festival, it'll be a lot easier in 20 years or so when they build the next bridge a few miles downstream of the existing crossing but for now it means tackling the M25 unfortunately.

Moving On - C2C Day 6

Today saw a change of caravan site as I make my way vaguely in the direction of Essex for the weekend. One of the major reasons for changing to campervans was the fact I can easily move on and visit attractions on the way, in this case that was Amberley Working Museum.

By comparison to Beamish, etc. it's quite a small place (still 36 acres) with a bit of a mixture of exhibits. Being mid-week, and with a heavy reliance on volunteers, not everything was open of course. It would have been great to see the bodger and other greenwood crafts at work.

The people who were about were pleasant and chatty though, and I enjoyed the visit. The site is an old chalk pit, mainly used for lime production, so the first activity of the day was to take a ride up the quarry line behind a small Hunslet narrow gauge diesel. The "toast rack" coaches (so called because that's what they resemble) came from a closed railway on the Isle of Man. One of the unlabeled exhibits at the top is a semi-derelict standard gauge tank engine. I did look to see if it was a Peckett, it could be but no maker's plates were in evidence.

After lunch, the Ham, Chicken and Leek pie was delicious but it was all cold, I decided I'd seen everything. I then made the mistake of going in to Horsham as I needed a few supplies. Having just about negotiated my way in to the car park (and had a panic when around three floors up there was a sign saying the height restriction above level 3 was even lower, it turned out that three floors up is level 1, go figure) I wandered round what is supposed to be a nice market town. I could literally have been anywhere in the country.

Without the aid of the SatNav though I found Sainsbugs and got the necessaries, mainly bread rolls or no breakfast butties. It was only a few miles further to the caravan site at Slinfold. I did wonder if I'd gone wrong as the site is a fair way up a narrow lane. It's one of the smaller sites in the Club network, and is run by volunteer wardens. Due to size and spacing issues I was allocated a pitch, that's fine with me, on this site it makes little difference. A while later while sitting in the 'van reading and relaxing one of the wardens did come up and asked if I wanted to borrow a chair to sit out! I thanked her but said I do actually have one. I was actually quite happy in the shade with a breeze cooking through the open doors, still it was really thoughtful.

The pub is only about a half mile walk away, I was in two minds about eating there (although I'd also got a salad in the fridge), however the chef didn't turn up. They're supposed to serve food from six, it was nearer seven thirty when they started taking orders. I decided not to bother but might come back tomorrow.

Subs and Bangs - C2C Day 5

To get maximum value out of the Naval Museum ticket I spent today at the Submarine Museum then Explosion - the Museum of Naval Ordinance, both on the Gosport side of the river.

It was all a lot quieter and less frantic than the main Dockyard museums, but interesting. The highlight of the Sub museum is the guided "tour" of HMS Alliance. It's not really a tour as you just walk from end to end, but then that's about how much space there is. I found it very interesting but really can't conceive how people spent so much time in such a cramped space.

That said, Holland 1 (the Navy's first sub) and X24, a WW II Midget Sub are much smaller still. The former was, at one time, largely cosmetically restored but when the repairs deteriorated it was returned to "as found" condition. You can get inside, and again there's very little space (I had to collapse the walking pole!)

Having had a good look round, including the displays of artefacts which most people seemed to ignore, and had a coffee and piece of cake, I drove back in land a bit to "Explosion". I was somewhat put off this due to the name, I find museums that have become "experiences" often aren't very good. To be fair this one is. There are a lot of items that would go bang ranging from early canons and mortars through naval guns to nuclear and conventional missiles. Some of the modern presentation works ok, but the AV display that's the centrepiece of this wasn't working.

I think neither museum would necessarily justify the entry fee on its own (it's about £15 for a single attraction compared to the £38 for everything for a year), but as part of the overall museum experience they are worth visiting.

I called in to Wickham, the nearest town to the caravan site, on the way back. Another nice little place for a wander, and there was a temptation to head back for dinner but I've overdone the walking a bit and it's nearly 3 miles each way. I can't be bothered to drive so I wish I'd brought the ebike.

Tomorrow I leave this site to go further inland towards Essex. The next one is no facilities so I'll have to see how I get on, not that it should be a problem but having site toilets, washing up areas, etc. does make life in a small campervan that bit easier.

Musings - C2C Day 4 1/2

While sat sitting here with a cold beer watching the world go by I've come to some conclusions about the new campervan.

On the positive side:

Having a seat long enough to stretch out on while reading, drinking, etc. is a huge gain. It was probably the single biggest issue with the previous Daihatsu 'van.

The compressor coolbox, despite being expensive, is great. Apart from being much better insulated anyway it is so much more efficient than the thermoelectric ones, and much quieter. I left it running on the leisure battery the last couple of days while out without it draining the battery (it's got a variable voltage cutout, even at the highest setting it hasn't triggered). Having nicely chilled beer is a real bonus.

The LED lights I added are near perfect. The bright strip light is great for when sorting things, cooking, tidying, etc. but too much when relaxing. The warm white SMD tape however is just right of an evening when reading and boozing.

The throw I bought from Dunelm for the seat is great. The cream leatherette looks ok but you don't half stick to it wearing shorts in warm weather!

The downsides:

Obviously the mains electric not working is a nuisance. It's not a huge issue to sort I don't think, I suspect a wire has come loose. As the 12v also needs improvement I'll sort both together.

The curtains aren't great. A couple of extra press studs will help, and I think I can live with them.

Storage space is an issue. It's just about adequate for a week away. I think a roof box is on the shopping list.

Normal Day - C2C Day 4

Well it was a normal day for me, I visited a heritage railway!

This time it was the Mid Hants Railway, better known as The Watercress Line. The first puzzle of the day is what's happened to the camera battery I charged up yesterday. It's not in the camera bag or the charger, and I can't find it anywhere else. As they only go in an elastic pocket on the front of the bag I can only assume it fell out at some point. No point worrying about it, I've got two more it's just a nuisance as I'll have to make sure both are charged overnight.

The railway itself is similar to many, they do at least open the buffet well before the first train so I had a mug of coffee. You get an all day ticket so, starting from Alresford I went up to Alton, back to Ropley, up to Alton again and finally back to Alresford.

The reason for that is the main engineering sheds are at Ropley. They have a well marked heritage trail which takes you up past the sidings and there are viewing platforms for both the engine and carriage workshops. They are one of the railways that repair and restore engines for other owners, to raise funds, as well as their own work. The sandwich I had from the shop there was slightly disappointing, in date (just) but certainly not freshly made.

The loco for the day was a common or garden Black Five (an LMS one, not a 5MT), this seems to be their main loco as it's powerful enough to haul a decent size train up the 1:60 gradient to Medstead and Four Marks station but small enough to be reasonably economical. You can tell when it's pulling up the hill from the exhaust beat.

There​ was an issue on the final journey back from Alton, the loco stopped on the run around loop for a long time, then still had to go all the way back past the signal box (a good 100 yards beyond the points) before coming forward to pick up the carriages. It turned out to be a signalling problem, the run right back was probably required before the system would unlock the points again.

I ended the afternoon with a wander round Alresford, restocking the meat supplies (minted lamb burgers for tea, sausage for breakfast) and doing a bit of other shopping. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day.

In the Navy - C2C Day 3

Well in the Naval Dockyards anyway! One of the main aims of the trip was to visit Portsmouth, it's over 25 years since I last went, and a lot has changed.

After a few minutes wait to get in (under the watchful eyes of two Heckler and Koch armed Police) I paid the rather hefty £36 entry fee. The ticket is valid for a year and covers a lot though. The first shed I visited is a working repair area. They're working on various, mainly wooden, vessels with much of the work being by apprentices under supervision. We did wonder whether a couple of small boats were really being restored rather than rebuilt when they were mostly new timber (the answer is yes, as long as something is retained of the original).

The Victory now doesn't have guided tours, which does mean you don't have to book a time slot. I'm afraid the recorded audio guide is no substitute for me. I was very impressed with the way you're guided round the ship with no huge signs saying, "This Way!" A few other attractions could learn from this. I was reasonably quick, I've seen it before and I was trying to keep ahead of the crowds that had boarded just behind me.

Last time I was there the Mary Rose was in the early stages of preservation with little supporting display. That's fair enough, but all I can say now is wow! The new visitor centre is fantastic, with good interpretation and the artefacts cleverly displayed. You make your way through the "decks" with the opposite side to the ship being used to display the items as if they were on board. Mostly you're viewing the ship through glass but one level (accessed through airlocks) is open.

A couple of things that impressed me here, one is that photography (non-flash of course) is actively encouraged, with a few specific "good places" marked. Another was the provision of lightweight folding stools that you could carry around and return at the end. I could have done with those later in the day! I finished up in the tea shop for a coffee and scone (butter so no argument about which way round to put the Jan and cream).

From there I visited the Monitor Ship M33, these were relatively unimportant and not expected to last long so weren't named. It was basically built as a floating gun platform for the Dardanelles​campaign, shallow drafted but with a second hand 6" gun at bow and stern  - these were so powerful that only one could be fired at a time, if fired as a broadside they'd capsize the ship, fired fore and aft together they'd crush it. They were designed to fire in support of land infantry, not to fight other vessels.

M33 was used at Gallipoli, I'm not a fan of video interpretations but this one was very moving, giving a feel of the real horror of one of this country's military failures. No blame on the ship,  in one 36 hour period they fired over 300 shells from the forward gun and at full rate could fire 10 shots a minute. The mechanism for closing and locking the breach at the rear is so intricate you can really believe this, although I suspect a good few fingers were lost when the loader wasn't quite quick enough. M33 was quickly known as a "lucky ship". Over the years it took 4 direct hits and survived, although the lack of any armour may have helped (shells went straight through without exploding).

I wandered through the museum itself and a couple of other smaller exhibitions before tackling the Warrior. That really could have done with the Victory approach to guide you round the ship as I'm sure there were parts I didn't find! They're currently working on a major restoration project as unfortunately water has come through the bulwarks​ and damaged the metal framing underneath. Modern materials are having to be used to make a visual repair that's not entirely historically​ accurate but should be long lasting. Using modern steels, replacing some wood with metal and rot resistant hardwood will make a huge difference to the long term life of the ship.

The final exhibition was about the Battle of Jutland. Although both sides claimed victory in this, the Pools Panel would have rated it a score draw, the Navy say it won us WW1. Its a difficult claim to assess but it did mean that the German High Seas Fleet returned to port and didn't venture out again until they mutinied and surrendered. The fleet was late scuppered at Scapa Flow. The was a lot of damage to the ships sunk at Jutland caused by commercial interests as the steel is free of nuclear radiation contaminants*, I believe the fleet at Scapa Flow is still being cut up for this but the ships from the battle are, in theory, protected by international treaties. As designated war graves British divers and companies are forbidden by law to damage them but there is no actual law covering others in international waters.

*Steel produced since Hiroshima/Nagasaki and the extensive testing of the 50s is contaminated and not suitable for use in various instruments.

After all that I decided I could either have lunch on site, probably adding another couple of £s to the car park bill or head off. I couldn't continue walking much longer. As it was a pay-on-the-way-back car park I didn't hang about and forgot to set up the SatNav. I swear the route I took, by accident, was a lot shorter and quicker than the way TomTom took me this morning! I'd got food to use up so a cheese roll and pie, eaten at a picnic area in the Bere Forest, sufficed.

I've still got more to do on the Dockyard ticket, there's certainly the Submarine Museum at Gosport so I may do that on Wednesday. Tomorrow it's back to the railways.

Give me Power - C2C Day 2

It looks like you'll have to do without photos this trip on the blog, network connectivity just isn't good enough.

Day 2 started with a lovely breakfast at the boatyard (which was near Chichester by the way, I forgot to say that earlier) before I drove inland to Hollycombe Steam Collection. It's a slightly odd place with a mixture of railway, farm and fairground steam. I did have a couple of train rides, on the miniature Garden Railway and the narrow gauge Quarry Line.

Other highlights included a double acting beam engine from a farm power plant and the fairground organ. It's well worth a visit I think. It was also their Miniature Steam day, in other words they'd invited people with models of traction engines, etc. to come along and drive up and down! The engineering on many of these is fantastic.

Having had a decent day I headed back towards the coast to the CMC site Rookesbury Park site North of Fareham. Booking in went as smoothly as usual, I get little hassle from the wardens as the quickly realise I know what I'm doing. Setting up I hit the first snag with the new camper. In all the work on the 12v systems I didn't actually get round to testing the mains. Plugged in on site to find the socket doesn't work. Power is getting in as the trip test works and I've checked the immediately​ accessible things so that'll have to wait. It makes charging things slightly more complicated but the main use would have been for the coolbox. I'm really pleased with the compressor coolbox, it would have been a real problem without the mains trying to keep a thermoelectric one cool.

First Night - C2C Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of my Coast to Coast trip (I'm starting at a boatyard on the South Coast and ending at one on the East Coast). It was also the first night away in the new campervan.

I must admit the Berlingo is a much better motorway driver than the Daihatsu was and I had a good trip down to the boatyard, via a farm so for a few bits I'd forgotten. The test of the day was fairly boring, just eating, drinking and talking! The party was to celebrate James the Red Engine, nothing to do with Thomas, but a shiny new red Beta diesel in a boat, well it was a good excuse.

Setting the 'van up for the night is easy enough, a bit quicker than the old one, but the bed is much more comfortable. It's nice to have a flat, reasonably wide, bed for a change. The only thing I would like is curtains that keep more light out but it's not such a problem that I'll change them. I might get the press stud kit out though and secure the tie backs, considering he'd gone fairly mad securing the curtains that seems a bit of an omission.

I'll report more over the next few days as I get used to things. First signs are positive though.

Table D'hote or Let There be Light

It's been a fairy busy week with lots of goodies arriving, and hence needing fitting.

The table components were delivered in the middle of the week, and duly fitted. I'll set it up and take a photo some time but suffice to say it works OK. I'd hoped it would fit down behind the units inside the tailgate but the fittings are just too wide so it's been added to the end of the seat with the bed extension. That does mean that if the toilet is stowed as well the front seat is too far forward to be used. That's not a problem, I probably only carry a passenger a few times a year and it would only be the work of moments to move the table and board to the floor temporarily.

The single biggest issue with the conversion was the lack of any lighting. In itself it's not a huge issues, there are plenty of LED battery lanterns available but I decided I wanted a more permanent solution. I decided to order the same LED light as I'd used in the previous campervan. They're effective, but a bit stark so I wanted an alternative for when I'm relaxing. The solution to that was a warm white LED strip. I wasn't entirely sure where I'd use it but thought I'd get it and see.

I'd already ascertained that it was possible to remove the trim where necessary to feed power cables to the roof, and it quickly became apparent that the light would fit above the unit facing forward and the LED strip would go just inside the tailgate facing backwards - that may seem odd but it means you get a soft indirect light.  It took a bit of work with the fishing rods to complete the wiring but I got there. The light is screwed on but the LED strip is self-adhesive.

The two photos show the lights on, and also the new wiring. There was very little 12v wiring in place, and I wasn't entirely happy with it, so I decided it would be improved. Normally I'd have kept everything inside the cupboards but the back of the unit isn't actually visible unless the tailgate is open so it made more sense to fit things there and keep them accessible. It's only a temporary setup at the moment. The choc-block will be replaced with proper distribution fittings. The converter had a liking for 30A fuses which I'm not happy with as some of the wiring isn't going to take that current if a short occurs so there'll be a fuse box with appropriate protection.

I've moved the 12v "lighter" socket to the front of the unit which seems far more sensible than on the worktop. Also visible in the pictures is the kitchen roll holder that filled the hole. It's probably overkill but never mind.

The other main job, given that I'm away soon, was to work out where the heck I was going to stow all the kit. The essentials have all gone in, just, with a bit of creative effort. It's left one space in the seat locker free, apart from the sleeping bag, for clothes and incidentals. The toilet, bin (an Ikea one I bought for the previous camper and couldn't fit it) and fridge (a Waeco compressor coolbox, expensive but much better than the thermo-electric ones) fill the floor space behind the front seats. I'm happy with that, it would be largely dead space anyway.

There were a few final tweaks just to finish off. I had to pull the radio out to fit the aerial adapter for if I ever do listen to analogue, unlikely but might as well have it working. While I had it out I plugged the original back in and made sure it was switched off before removing it again. That means the car clock works properly. I should have got this right first time having had the same issue on a previous Citroen. I've fitted a new phone holder as well, and run the cable for the dash cam. The latter was a cheap Aldi purchase and I'm really not sure if it'll get much use but I'll give it a go to try and enhance the website and blog. 

Slowly but Surely...

I've managed to get some of the jobs done this weekend, but by no means as much as I'd have liked.

I did a little bit of shopping Saturday, but had to revert back to the web for some things. I believe I've solved the problem of the table, but more on that when the fittings arrive. The major purchases are coming in slowly, I ordered a set of fitted window blinds which, after a false start with not understanding what all the fittings were for, are now in place. They will help reduce sun glare and keep temperatures down a bit but, whilst they're far from opaque, the main purpose is to reduce the feeling of sitting in a goldfish bowl.

I wasn't happy with where he'd placed a 12v socket on top of the worktop so decided to move it. I came up with a cunning plan to fill the hole, a length of wardrobe rail and fitting - I now have a built in kitchen roll holder! This was on the jobs list for the previous campervan so made sense.

The double socket mains outlet continues to frustrate. I've found the proper long M3.5 machine screws that I have in stock from when I fitted the mains on Dai, so I can replace the forced in woodscrews but I've found there just isn't quite enough space to get a plastic patress box in instead of the metal one and the existing metal one has been damaged. It's not a huge problem overall.

The New Camper

On the day I took my previous campervan in to the garage for it's MOT I noticed that Chapel Motorhomes had just listed a Citroen Berlingo single berth conversion on their website. I looked at their two berth conversion a few years ago, which was OK but not right for me. I've been looking at the market for a while considering whether to change or not, but had just about decided not to. That changed when the Daihatsu failed its MOT with emissions problems. It was one of those things that could be very simple to sort or I could spend a lot of time and money and still not resolve it.
Initially I intended to have a trip down to have a look, and phoned to arrange this, but further thinking made me decide to take a bit of a gamble and buy it sight unseen. I'd checked the history online and everything checked out OK, and the company has been around a while with no bad reports, so I was happy to go for it. If I hadn't there's a chance I would have lost the opportunity and I couldn't find anything much else suitable.

Overall this camper was a little older than I wanted but I just didn't have time to keep looking or to buy a vehicle and get it converted so I considered it fate that this one came available on the very day I needed one. Finance, insurance, etc. were easily sorted and my brother offered to take me down to fetch it. I'll admit first impressions were slightly disappointing. Some of the interior is a bit more worn than the mileage would have suggested (I'm not suggesting anything untoward, someone had rough hands!) That feeling passed though by the time I got it home. It drives really well, especially as it has the 1.6 high power petrol engine.

There are a few, resolvable, issues with the conversion. The table is really too big, especially when you add the leg and its tripod base. I'm guessing it's the same as the one for the two berth conversion. There is also nowhere sensible to store it without taking up much of the seat locker space. I've got a couple of options to resolve this, the simplest being to leave it at home! There was a similar storage issue with the board that makes up the bed to full length, but I found a simple solution to that. A bit of work with some strapping and fittings mean it now stores at the end of the seat until needed. It does slightly obstruct the underfloor storage compartment that's there but I'll only use that for rarely needed items.

The biggest flaw in the conversion is the lack of an interior light. My original thought was to manage with the vehicle interior lights in the short term, possibly with LED bulbs, but these only work with the ignition on so that's not viable. It's an odd omission considering there is a leisure battery fitted but it won't take too much sorting. An LED strip light is on order and I've got a cunning plan for some mood lighting.

I did have one serious problem on the run home. I'd taken a couple of CDs to listen to, then found there was a radio-cassette fitted! I spent a fair bit of the weekend replacing this with the Kenwood DAB radio retrieved from the previous camper. That's all working (eventually, I had to run a separate ignition switched feed) but there may now be an issue with the original clock display. \it's working but seems reluctant to let me reset the time and has locked up a couple of times. It needs sorting somehow. There will be a little bit more wiring to do - at the moment the radio only works when the ignition is on, I'll add a switch as I did previously so it can be used when I'm camping.

The final job of the weekend was spending lots of money! I'll describe the individual items as they arrive and are fitted.