SP26 - Day 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
Day 1
We planned to set off at around 1030 for the drive across to Wyndham Farm in Gillingham in Dorset. In the end we were away at 1029?
It was relatively easy going with the first stop at Cobham Services for Reggie to stretch his legs and us to get a McCafe.
As usual the approach is four lanes of solid traffic. The millions they spent on the A3 job action, "to speed up journey times" was wasted on the M25, in both directions. Hopefully some benefit, for someone. Whoever they are. Wherever they are.
As we were heading to the South West we took the M3 to the A303. The duel carriageway sections are a doddle. Then the eff up at Stonehenge where the road is reduced from 2 lanes to 1. The dawdle past the stones and through villages.
It all adds to the stress for drivers and locals whose villages are overrun with traffic. Not to mention pollution from idling engines.....
We arrived at the CL easily enough. A nice 5 pitch site along side the farm.
Reggie had a few walks and made friends with the owners dogs, a labrador and a whippet.
For £20 a night with electric hook-up it was perfect.
It was the first time we used the Pathfinder 4G and Lebara SIM card. I ran it on 12v and it used about 8w of power. Being on EHU it was nothing.
Day 2
Destination Cofton Holiday Park near Dawlish in Devon.
First stop Stourhead NT. Today we had only about 90 miles to go and much of it on the A303.
Both Google and TomTom took us down some narrow roads until we were practically in the car park. Although there's signposted parking for motorhomes, there's no marked spaces at all. We parked on the end of a row so that we had easier access, and to get out again. A short walk and a coffee later, we set off again.
As it was Saturday, the parking was full. With sunny weather the crowds were out.
Getting back onto the A303 seemed harder than expected with TomTom trying to send us back the way we came all the time.
Even the famous switch it off and back on wasn't successful. I kept clearing the route it had plotted, and eventually after pulling into Sparkford Services it got the message.
Next stop was Halfords in Yeovil as I managed to forget the magnetic UK sticker on the fridge at home. That done, some last minute shopping at Tesco. We seemed to navigate around Yeovil several times, we passed the football ground twice, before the A303 and A30 brought us to a massive halt in Exeter. Eventually we arrived at Cofton.
Check in was easy. We followed the lad in a golf cart. We had a hard standing pitch, #73.
Not the best. It was by the join of two interior roads go triangular. Not very level. There were better ones nearby that were empty when we arrived and when we left. I guess we got that one as we were only there for one night.
The site is very busy. Swimming pools, bars and restaurants. All doing a good trade.
We opted for fish and chips from the Chippy. To be honest, it wasn't the best. The chips were okay, but the fish was bland.
Again we had the Pathfinder switched on to provide WiFi. There is free WiFi at Cofton but only in the bar/restaurant complex. It was very slow.
Day 3
We had to be off site at 10am. A little early for camping pitches. Okay if you have rented a caravan or lodge and they need to clean them before the next guest...
We just made it.
The TomTom was supposed to take us to Dawlish and then Newton Abbot on the A380. Instead of west or north west it was taking up to Exeter to join the A380.
Our only stops missed, so next we decided to continue to Saltham, a National Trust house and gardens just before Plymouth.
Once we had passed Torquay and Paignton we ended up in Totnes and then onto the 380! All the way following yellow signs saying the "A38 Diversion" route.
We eventually arrived at Saltham around 11am, after three miles on a road barely wider than the van.
We met a Mercedes coming the other way. He reversed into a passing place and we squeezed past. I don't think you could have squeezed a cigarette paper between our rear bumper and his. Fortunately no contact, although out left mirror was pushed back. Luckily it's designed to fold. Thanks Google Maps.
Once in the estate we parked on the hill towards the exit. Again it was a warm sunny day and Sunday. Although the parking was pretty full, the walks around the gardens was very relaxed.
There was plenty of shade and many of the lime trees were very low hanging. We got a good spot though. We didn't need solar as the battery was fully charged from the driving.
Both NT sites, here and Stourhead have inside seating if you travel with a dog. Here we chose to sit outside as there was plenty of shade.
Once back in the van we did a tour of Plymouth to find the docks.
Sailing was scheduled for 1645. With pets, you are supposed to be there at least 90 minutes before sailing. So 1515. We arrived at 1435. We were quite quickly through checking in. Then a long wait in one parking area.
The parking was packed with bikes. The loading guy said they had 200 on board.
Plus all the campervans and caravans.
In the end we loaded with ten minutes to spare. We are right at the back on the port side. There's a Freelander tucked in the corner behind us ..
Our cabin is an outside one on Deck 6. It's not too bad. Comes ensuite. We had to do two journeys up and down three decks to get what we'll need for 24 hours and if course, Reggie.
We had dinner at 1900, back in the cabin by 2000! The food in the self servlce was pretty good. It was €17.50 for two courses. Drinks extra. We both had a pasta carbonara. Very filling and a large portion.
I took Reggie for a pee break. Then he settled down under one on the bunks.
No urgency to get up in the morning as we are at sea. Only Reggie's call of nature will get me up!!!
Tomorrow we are scheduled to arrived in Santander around 1500 local time...
Sometime around midnight Reggie tried to get off his mat onto the bed. In the end we shared a single bed together.
We awoke to the announcement about a variety of things including the opening hours to the restaurants et for breakfast.
As it turned out that was good as Reggie's last raw meat had gone off. It was in the fridge in the van and in a cool bag with ice blocks. It was terrible.
I rushed along to the self service a deck up from us and bought two breakfasts. Actually decent value for €9 each. One with scrambled egg. Reggie ate some of the egg and a sausage and some of our bacon.
We are about 4 hours out from Santander as I write this. It's a bit grey and overcast outside today.
At least Biscay is not the raging torrent it can be.
Update: 1312 UK time:
The steward knocked to say we should start putting the dogs in the vehicles.
We are about an hour out of Santander. We still have to wait before we return to the van though.
From the dog walking area we can see Spain across the horizon.
Update 1335 UK Time:
Reggie in the van and we are on the dog promenade.
I took a couple of panoramic photos. One landscape and another portrait.
NB:
The reason this is all in one piece is that there's only 90 minutes of free and very slow WiFi. All the rest is paid and quite expensive.
The phones are switched to airplane/flight mode and so nothing gets in or out.
Once we land I'll switch it on and let Tesco Mobile roaming take over.
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