On the Road Again!

The usual start time of 10am. I left home around 9.40am and arrived just after 10am. Quite a few bikes on the recently concreted "motorcycles only" parking strip. I was at the end nearest the café . Cal already there with a tea. We went in and ordered.  Neil turned up and we ate, drank more tea/coffee and it rained. We've barely had anything for around 5 weeks! The problem we have, and no doubt other countries also have, is "summer ice". It's the rubber build up on the road surface that becomes slippery when wet. Just like the Bon Jovi song!!! Luckily, it wasn't too bad apart from the roundabout at Brenzett. More due to a diesel spill. You could smell it. We waited for the rain to pass and the sun came out again. Then left. So that's another 30 miles on the odometer.  July total 46!

We decided to do this rally as soon as we saw it was published. Luckily it was the week before we were to go to Yorkshire for the Van Love Festival. It started on Thursday but we had other commitments and only signed up for two nights from Friday the 11th July and coming home on the 13th. What a great time we had.  We were on the third row of vans from the front and so didn't have an unrestricted view of the take off and landings of the aircraft. But it was a short walk to the runway fence to stand and watch the spectacle as it unfolds every hour or so in front of you.  It's so popular that on Saturday there were so many cars in the parking lot that shares the grass area we were in, that the cars were almost upto the MCC boundary.  It would have been nice had the site management put up a small barrier to show them where the extent of the public parking was.  The Rally was £15 per unit per night.  Day parking is £3.50 and p...

The rally was only about half an hour, or so, away from home in Rolvenden in Kent. We had never heard of Hole Park before and although we have gone through the village a few times we hadn't even noticed the brown tourist sign pointing off the main A28. The Camper Max satnav had it though and so we blindly followed that as we neared the estate. We chose to ignore it at first as the route it wanted us to take initially wasn't that wide or well surfaced.  Then again, the A28 from Ashford was pretty awful in places. Not so much potholes as 4 feet by 2 feet areas an inch deep where the surface had gone AWOL. On arrival we avoided the narrower entrance nearest the village and continued on to the one better signposted. The rally field was inside the entrance to the estate.  There were a few vans there and we drew up next to the hosts van.  Once signed in we decided that as the field sloped a little we'd stay at the bottom alongside a large Carthago liner.   ...

To say I didn't really know what to expect was an understatement. The arrival time at the "site" was supposed to be 6pm.  As it was in a school we had to wait until all the kids and staff were gone for the weekend.   On the way we stopped at the White Cliffs as the route from home was via Dover around the east coast of Kent to Cliftonville. We were lucky with parking at the Cliffs as the new designated motorhome parking area had only two other motorhomes and no cars.  The first time I think. Signposting is still pretty awful though; far too small to be seen unless you look closely. We had a coffee and a short walk with Reggie.  We both like looking at the port of Dover under the cliffs.  As it was a Friday there was a lot of activity and the queue of lorries on the A20 was about halfway back to the Capel turn off. About 2 miles blocking the left lane of the A20. The port itself was full of trucks queuing for the check-ins. Not many cars caugh...

Although over the years as a motorcyclist, I have been to many bike rallies across the UK and Europe, I have never been to a campervan rally. Claire on the other hand has been to one particular motorcycle rally in the Czech Republic a couple of times but not for many years. So it will be our first as motor caravanners! It's over the weekend of St Patrick's Day and so we will have to (endure?) take part in the rituals that surround the green festival. We will be suitably attired.  We had hoped the Claire's Irish citizenship would have arrived in time but we are still waiting.  Her Granny came from Cork and passed away soon after we got married.  That alone entitles Claire to become a citizen.  Proving it has been a long wait.... Picture from https://www.twinkl.co.uk/teaching-wiki/leprechauns

In fact there are never any bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover as they don't actually live in Dover, nor the wider Kent, not in the UK at all. With the van still sitting on the driver and diesel at Tesco in Cheriton still the cheapest it has been for a long time, we decided to have a run out to Diver, a walk on the White Cliffs and then back home via Tesco. As it happened after I got back from Kent Greyhound Rescue, where I volunteer twice a week we did a "big shop" at Sainsbury's in Hythe. Much of what we wanted was sold out or simply not stocked!  Quark FFS! So that was also added into the return trip from the Cliffs. I took the Canon 1100D with me today. The old Nikon D50 had gone to Brighton with us and it never left the van.  As it was sunny and dry, I decided to give the Canon a run out. The thing with digital is you can simply bang away and there's no anxiety about wasting a shot. Anyway.  After a walk we ended up in the café and of course, it was cof...

Today we had a short run out to Dungeness with the simple idea of a walk and get some air. When we set off it was slightly misty. As the day progressed it became foggy instead. CIn the cold and freezing weather we went into the End of the Line Café and had a coffee. The last train had departed already and there were few people around. The cafe is good in that half the room is dog friendly with signs on the table showing where to sit.  Who is this strange apparition? Once finished we went for a walk, but it still cold, about 1°C and we didn't get far before running back to the van. Then home time. The drive along the coast was smooth and it got foggier as we went along. A short run out but we needed it and so did Malibu Molly. The Old Lighthouse

Today we had a short run out to Dungeness with the simple idea of a walk and get some air. When we set off it was slightly misty. As the day progressed it became foggy instead. In the cold and freezing weather we went into the End of the Line cafe and had a coffee. The last train had departed already and there were few people around. The cafe is good in that half the room is dog friendly with signs on the table showing where to sit.  Once finished we went for a walk, but it still cold, about 1°C and we didn't get far before running back to the van. Then home time. The drive along the coast was smooth and it got foggier as we went along. A short run out but we needed it and so did Malibu Molly. The Old Lighthouse

One of our favourite dog friendly stops in Hythe when we are on the High Street. A bacon sandwich and an espresso to start with. So many "coffee shops" have become "corporate" with national (and international) chains opening up all over. Maybe should have taken a before photo! We are lucky that we have so many independent cafes and places to have a coffee and meet friends. That Nutmeg is cozy and in summer has a garden, and dog friendly, is a bonus. Support your local "mom and pop" stores and cafes...

A short walk along the north bank of the canal.  Walking towards Hythe, the horse chestnut trees in full leaf and with this autumn's conkers weighing the branches down.

Today Claire and I volunteered to "person" the Guide Dogs stand at the Fayre. I took a picture before everything started to get busy and a few of the carnival parade. The two hours we did seemed the fly by. Our next stint will be two hours at the Venetian Fete in Hythe on August 21st. We are on the stand from 4pm to 6pm. Come on down.

Me and Reggie on this evenings walk down by the Royal Military Canal in West Hythe. Couldn't get the dog at an angle to miss out the bin!!

Just exercising the Sony Cybershot with a few cloud shots. They seem to have come out better than the ones I have taken of sunsets....