On the Road Again!

Day 2 Another lazy do not a lot day. After yesterday's problems with the van not starting we put in behind us.  We made it through the day reading and relaxing.  Maybe it's difficult to explain, but being away in the van doing nothing much, is more restful than at home. Even Reggie is much calmer and more relaxed. Day 3 The test today.  Would the van start?  The Green Flag guy found nothing wrong on Sunday.  The battery was charging and I have the printout from the diagnostic machine he had.  It shows that the battery was good. We cleared away all the gear from outside the van. And then I had to get off the Milenco levellers. The engine started. I left it running as I tidied the levellers away.  Next stop the motorhome service area to dump our waste. All good? Nope. O...

After our stay a couple of weeks ago we decided to come again. The £17.50 a night on a grass only (no EHU) pitch was still running and so we booked another two nights. This time from Sunday to Tuesday. Packing the van up for two nights with our new larger outdoor mat and table we collected from Go Outdoors last time, was simple enough. I set the route to miss the narrow roads but TomTom Camper decided to choose the narrow road way. Until we got pretty much to where it thought we should be and my route.  Then it sorted itself out. On arrival we were met by the warden. I kept my foot on the brake so that the stop/start system didn't drive away.  On the Ducato when you come to a stop, the system stops the engine. When you release the foot brake, the engine restarts.  With an automatic, the van simply drives away.... Except it didn't this time. The engine didn't start. I put the gears in...

As we have been home from France for over a month, it's time to get away. Even for a couple of days. The CCC have an offer at some sites where pitch prices are about half the normal cost.  It runs in August. We decided that after the really hot weather where neither us or the dog are happy, we decided to try a new way of securing Reggie in the van, and a local trip seemed a good idea. Canterbury then! It's in the offer and only 20 miles from home. Looking forward to getting away. The heatwaves we have had have left the countryside parched and we have the odd grass fire.  Not as bad as France and Spain though. Usually the day time temperature in Kent in August rarely exceeds 25C and the heatwaves have put day time temperatures as high as 36C for days on end, with overnight around 25C!!!

Back in December I was looking at a few days before the Christmas season to go away in the van.  With Chatsworth House Caravan Club site closing in the summer, that ruled out the Christmas Market there. Then I saw some vanlife vloggers had been to Sandringham Estate for the Luminate Show. 💡 Luminate also have special nights during the run where people can take their dogs. It's only one night a week. That's six nights where there are no dogs!!! Based on the dates for 2025 on their website, I made a guess on when it would be on in 2026 and booked a couple of nights at the Caravan Club site. The deposit was only £5.  I blogged on it before: https://invictamoto.blogspot.com/2026/01/sandringham-camc-site.html However, Luminate bookings opened this week and I was two days out with my guess.  I was thinking the dog friendly days would be the same but they aren't. Dog day is now Monday.  So I booked the Caravan Club site to get up there earlier on Monday and leave on Wednes...

I had thought of booking a second night at Kings Orchard Marina for after the convoy and the visit to the NMA itself, but that would leave us 200 or so miles to drive home on Monday. In the UK that distance on a working day will be horrendous. So with that in mind, I had a look at the two clubs again. One ridiculous price. One a waste of space. The Caravan Club sites south of Birmingham came out at £46 a night. That's Broadway and Moreton in Marsh. Okay, you know the standard but very expensive. The Camping & Caravan Club? We recently joined. Once this year is up I won't renew. Many journeys we do require one night stays. The CCC appear to differ. If they bother to have a site open, they have a two night rule. This applies to the Chipping Norton site. We wanted a night away in January. The site nearest us required two nights. Hardly serving club members. Any sites that are open in November are two nights!! So. I went back to pitchup.com to have a look at what they had betw...

We are members of both of the two biggest caravan and motorhome clubs in the country, but neither has a site open in the Tamworth or Lichfield areas! Why the Caravan & Motorhome Club's nearest site closes on October 21st, when that is a traditional time when schools in England are on half-term, is a mystery. The Camping and Caravan Club sites in the area are showing only grass pitches no electricity available. Maybe that tells them something? They do have hardstanding but it's not available or sold out. One site has 150 pitches. The drive up is around 200 miles. Easily achievable on a Saturday. Not so achievable on a Sunday after the event at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) on the Sunday. So in the end I went on pitchup.com and did a search. I found a site between the convoy meet-up in Tamworth, and the NMA, and booked it. It's Kings Orchard Marina . I have booked one night before the Convoy and depending on how busy it is, we could stay afterwards as well.

  I have thought about joining this mob as well as the Caravan and Motorhome Club to give us more opportunities to find somewhere in the UK to stay on our trips away.  Starting membership at the start of the year also seemed easier to manage. So, let's see where it takes us.