InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

We left home about 1050. Loading up was easier and I added the small table and chairs to the underseat locker accessible from the outside. All in the hope that it would be sunny, or at least warm enough to sit outside. The first problem was before we arrived at Ashford. Some total dick thought it was a good idea to close the M20 from J10A to J9 London bound on the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend. Yes folks. These people walk amongst us every day. Traffic had to go through the centre of Ashford. Guess what the original name of the M20 was called? Yes. You guessed correctly - The Ashford Bypass. It took 25 minutes via Hythe Road A20 to rejoin at J9. Traffic at walking pace if you were lucky. Once free there was little holdup until the M25. A couple of slow bits where we almost came to a stop. As such we decided to miss our usual coffee and Reggie pee break at Cobham and to continue to Fleet on the M3. Around this area there's roadworks in several places. They are widening the carria...

Thursday Evening. The Garden House CL was really nice. It was a little noisy on the road outside. This was due to the A12 roadworks closing the road and traffic seeking an alternative route to the A14 and the North Sea ports. On the plus side it had five hardstanding pitches with electric hook-up. We had to borrow a longer cable as ours is only 14m long. Martin the host lent us a 25m cable to reach the bollard. We managed a dog walk in the enclosed area so Reggie could have a run off the lead. Then as raindrops started to fall we returned to the van. Gas on. Dinner a couple of Ginsters chicken and mushroom slices and baked beans for dinner. The rain got harder and lasted until into the night. Friday. After a few Reggie interruptions during the night we finally got up around 9am! It had stopped raining and so we had breakfast and broke camp. The A14 was okay and even the roadworks on the A12 weren't too onerous southbound. The northbound carriageway was totally opposite. We stopped ...

Wednesday.  The day we were going to Walberswick to meet Claire's sister, Sally, and her husband, Ian, who were in a house there before moving into their new house next week. We arrived just before noon and parked on the Common Car Park. Plenty of room and gravelled. The cost? Just £3 for 4 hours. As it was almost lunch time Claire and Sally went up to the deli and Reggie and I had a walk around the river area. Here most of the houses are on legs around 3 feet off the ground. High tide was 3.20pm.  With no sign of them returning we then crossed "Wally's Bridge" and head up to the beach. There are some dunes, fenced off to save them from human feet, and then the sea. To the left there is the river entrance and beyond that Southwold. To the right in the distance it looks like Sizewell nuclear power plant. A bit like at home where we have Dungeness nuke to the right as we look out to sea. Personally I don't have a problem with nuclear power. I...

Arrived at the CL at around 4.45pm. We decided to override the satnav and take the M11 route rather than the A12. Why? The directions from the owners expected us to come that way. The satnav might not have brought us on size appropriate roads.  We are later as I had to wait for some replacement keys to arrive in the post. On Sunday when we picked Molly up, the key broke off in the locker lock.  This key opens the hook-up and gas lockers as well as the storage locker. I ordered two (to be safe!!) but waited for them to arrive as I wasn't confident with only the original spare. The post arrived today about noon. Altogether just over 4 hours. That includes a diversion to ASDA at Rochester Airport to save 12.2p a litre on diesel. I still managed to get £99 in. The pump handle clicked off a little before. On the way back I think we'll do the same detour and fill it again! Pretty much plain sailing. Pee break at Thurrock and a visit to Greggs for lunch and Costa for coffee. The...

The staycation to Suffolk stating in three different Caravan Club certificated locations begins tomorrow. Of course the weather has turned for the worst over the last week plus.  The torrential rain and even hailstorms seem to have passed for now, but the temperatures aren't actually that high. When we picked the Moho up from the storage site on Sunday it was raining quite hard and it stuck until the evening. The forecast for the area we are going to looks a little un-summer like. Luckily, and fortuitously, I have booked hardstanding at all three. After the rain we have had over the last few weeks grass pitches are going to be like swamps. The lady at the Garden House CL did say that they have well drained sandy soil, but I still asked for a hardstanding pitch. If the weather is dodgy we won't be getting the awning and chairs out anyway!  Molly the Moho will be needing fuel before we get back as well. The range on the dashboard is showing 200 mile or so to empty....

What a superb end of the season run in. One game to go. Upto 10th in the National League. A new owner and gradually getting a sorted team to play every week. Sadly I wasn't able to go to enjoy the success! Four wins in a row. No goals conceded!

I have to admit that the paperless office that we were told was coming in the 1980's has never really arrived. Personally, I like to have some paperwork with me for the sites we are going to be visiting.  There's not much for the CL's we are staying at next week. One I have paid for, the others take cash on the day.  I have them in the satnav but it helps to have their directions written down. I have also printed all the other trips as well. Some more informative than others.

The V5 log book arrived on Tuesday for Molly and I have just got around to ordering the Crit'Air certificate. It was a simple job to apply on the official site and €4.60 later I have it on its way in the post. I did it quite late and so it was this morning when I got the confirmation that it was done and dusted.

I assume as the email address hadn't changed that there was a problem at Google/Blogger? Anyway here's a test! Edited - this took 35 minutes from sending to arriving as a draft.

Another couple of sites booked in advance. At the end of this we will have a week left to turn northwards. I think this is the time we start to use camping-car park stays.  The first site in this section is on the Mediterranean. It's about 150 miles from the overnight stop.  I have booked two nights here -  Camping La Brise de Camargue . The non toll route is mostly on the N7 and passes by Arles . The next two-nighter is near Millau and is on the Tarn river -  Flower Camping Saint Lambert . This is another short trip of around 111 miles on a non-toll route. The shorter days gives me a chance to look for places of interest on the way.

At last a few miles under my belt. I think I have left it a little late to get my miles in though. The table shows that I haven't dropped too far down since January! Only about six places. Maybe when my February/March mileages go onto the system maybe move up one. Or not. Full table.

We have been watching too many vlogs on YouTube and they has made us want to get away again in the new van.  So far we have only been out to Tesco to fill with diesel and then to Sissinghurst Castle Garden for a run out to see how it handles. "Molly", as we have named her, went straight into the storage site and has been there a week or so. I had a day trip on the bike with my brother Neill and a friend, Phil, on Sunday. We went to the memorial service at the Canadian National Monument at Vimy Ridge in France.  I have written this up in another blog on Travellerspoint . We were lucky that the weather was good. Sunny and around 18C once the fog in the Channel had worn off. So this one will be in a couple of days to Back of Beyond in Dorset. The weather has been horrendous around here since Sunday evening. The forecast for Friday to Sunday looks okay, at least not raining! As I write this it is lashing down.   We stayed there last year on the way to the week we had in Devo...

With it being Easter Sunday we had been unable to secure a day trip with Eurotunnel. We could have had a short stay trip for £94.50. Instead we decided to go with P&O for £34.50.  So to make it to Dover for the 8.25am meant getting up early. It's Sunday after all. So when the alarm went at 5.55am it was a struggle. I needed to be at Dover at least 60 minutes before sailing.   So I was away by 6.25am. The V-Strom starting first prod and we were away. It was foggy on the M20 and A20 but luckily the holdups over the holiday weekend had mostly gone. Getting through French passport controls took around 30 minutes. It would have helped had Dover Port have had some staff on duty to marshal the queues. It was chaos. I met up with fellow travellers in Team Meldrews' members, Phil on his R1250RT and my brother Neill on his K16. We were loaded quite quick, and first on. We retired to the lounge for the 90 minutes crossing. It was foggy until a couple of miles off the French coas...

Wow. With Motorhomes and Camper Vans still selling beyond the expectations of many in the industry it does seem rather odd that when someone wanting to spend money is ignored totally. It's a week since I contacted the two next nearest Certified Locations of the Caravan Club to enquire about an overnight stay in easy range of Bosworth.  Neither has bothered to get back to me. At least the other one did say that they weren't taking bookings this year. So I have expanded the diameter from the battlefield.  One more to try. If this proves to be another blank then I'll go elsewhere to spend my hard earned cash! I have also sent an SMS to one of them as the contact number was for a UK mobile. Let's see shall we?

It's two months today before we head up the frog and toad to Eurotunnel to start our next trip away. I have been concerning myself with getting ready for a series of staycations in Molly and have not done much other than look at maps and the various booking sites for this trip. After all. It's two months away... We have two stops on the way down and the second leaves us about a 90 miles from Claire's friend's house.  I don't expect to overstay our welcome but I guess with the non-toll route we need to keep an eye on the clock. So I have been hitting the web and the ACSI book and have found an ideal overnight stop that won't break the bank. It's around 70 miles onwards from her friend's and we should be there is good time.  I have have booked two nights in a quiet campsite called  Flower Camping La Châtaigneraie . Including the tourist tax it comes out at €42 for two nights.  The site has a swimming pool and being June it might not be full of kids, plus a...

With a trip planned for Sunday to France to attend the memorial at Vimy Ridge I thought it was a good idea to make sure Vera Strom was fit. She started first press of the button and I set off for a blast down the M20 to Sainsbury's at Folkestone Park Farm. As it is Easter travel chaos was exacerbated by the Roundhill Tunnel being closed. What cretin decided to do that at this time of year...? Distracted by a bloke asking me about the bike I picked up the wrong pump and selected the E5 Super Unleaded at 8p a litre more than the normal stuff. Too late once I pulled the trigger!! I had about 80 miles range left in the tank. That was bought in France in September on the way back from Aragón. I then had a relatively simple ride back through the town to the coast road and home. Some traffic trying to get through Folkestone though to avoid the hassles on the motorway. Only one problem on a slight incline when the woman in front started to roll back. Luckily she woke up after I had shouted...

Sunday started a bit late as we had been out to see the Illegal Eagles at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. We'd had a rushing day, picking up Molly, out again to fill the diesel tanks and then to the concert, whilst squeezing in a dog walk. We decided to have a first "family" outting in the new van, and we plumped for Sissinghurst Castle Garden. We actually went there a few weeks ago when we first got Suki back from winter storage. Then we were the only vehicle in the coach parking area where the parking attendants told us to park last year. This time, as in March, there was no one on duty at the gate and it seemed that people parked wherever. The coach park full of cars, and worse, the disabled area was full, but only around half displayed the blue badge.  We managed to park in the right area. It was around 3pm. We decided to have a walk around the estate and then stop for a coffee. This we did. It was quite muddy in some places.  Once b...

It does seem that with both Suki and Molly, I have become somewhat of a Milenco Man! Maybe as they make what I need at a competitive price. Firstly it was the steering wheel lock. A large yellow bar that fixed to the steering wheel to make it difficult to manoeuvre the vehicle with it fitted. Then came the pedal lock. This goes overt he clutch and brake pedals. It's darned heavy and made of thick steel. Next came the mirror guards. These were sort of bolting the stable door after the horse had bolted. We destroyed the left mirror on Suki when we caught it against a bit of tree trunk hidden in a bush overhanging the road edge.It's maybe doubtful whether the would have worked in the instance but they have been superb since. They, especially the left one, have some scrapes. Before fitting to Molly I applied a couple of black reflective strips. In light they show white not black. They might show oncoming vehicles how wide the van is, or not as the case maybe. :) ...

We picked up "Molly" on April 1st. Paperwork sorted and the VED paid. Handover.  Rear cameras working. Solar panel working. Start mileage was 6500. Then I had to drive a mere 21 miles home. She was locked up on the drive for a couple of hours whilst we packed all the stuff we took out of "Suki" a week ago into her.  Then we went out to fill the diesel tank up. I opted for Tesco at Cheriton as it's the least rip off garage for fuel in the locale. The starting mileage for Fuelly is 6530. Yes. That is £106.00 to fin the tank that was a quarter full to start with. Of course there were a few teething problems. One being the hab door lock was a little tricky. Very stiff to open the handle when unlocked. Maybe a little squirt of WD40 into the lock might sort it? The other time waster was fitting the carpets. They had been rolled up in the underseat storage that made them hard to stretch and get on the press studs that keep them from moving about. What else? Rat...