On the Road Again!

Over the years we have had two dates that we keep clear so that we can go away; our wedding anniversary in October, and Claire's Birthday in February. A third is my birthday on December 23rd. We go to the panto at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. In the past we would go to (usually) Spain and use the timeshare week on either of these occasions. The first time to Spain looks to be way back in 2008 for her birthday. I went back through my Flickr photos to see when the first Spain photos appear. More recently we have just some trips more locally and since we became " vanlifers " we use the van more and we have stayed at the Brighton Caravan Club site. This year I was looking at something different. France or maybe across to Belgium and Germany. Then I googled all the ferry and Le Shuttle and gave that idea up. For a week away the cost, including Reggie, would vary between £225 and £435. We have around £160 in Tesco vouchers we could use against the fares. It will be intere...

Before we set off, the weather forecast for the weekend wasn't looking too good. On the way up it had rained until we left Essex and had brightened up. A little spit of rain as we approached Cromer but that was all. This morning after breakfast we got our gear on, walking boots, and set off to find the beach.  It was much easier than we had made it the evening before.  Part of the route goes between two static caravan parks and there is no traffic, but eventually there's a 50m section of so that meant Reggie had to put up with the cars and buses!  There are bus stops right outside the site entrance and so with our senior citizens bus passes we could have used the bus for free. East Runton has some shops and the de rigeur fish and chip shop and a cafe.  Ideal for the holiday maker staying a little nearer than we were. From the road there's a hill past the car park. Half of which has a height barrier (at the back) and the front half withou...

Friday.  We finished loading the van up and set off about 1030 or so.  We had to navigate the Dartford Crossing and given that it was Friday, we were expecting a tough crossing.   For some reason there are four lanes of traffic that approach from both sides. The Bridge coming south and the tunnels going north are also four lanes.  So why doesn't the traffic simply get in lane and drive through without miles of tailbacks on both sides?  There's a 50mph limit and that shouldn't cause any problems, but it does.   Maybe the drivers that use it are too stupid for their own good! Anyway although there was some traffic building up it wasn't as bad as we have seen it in previous occasions and we were through reasonably quickly. We usually stop at the services at Thurrock just after the Crossing but we had already planned a farm shop stop at one that had been recommended by  The FrenchiesMotorhomies on YouTube . To get th...

Recently Caravan Club members were told that there would be a voucher allowing them a free night at a club site. The voucher needed to be used for a booking between New Year and March 27th. I had a look through for places within around 200 miles for a two night stop. It was harder said than done. Many sites are closed in winter.  In the end I found that the Seacroft site at Cromer on the North Norfolk coast opened in mid-March and so I booked a couple of nights. I had wanted to book something around Claire's birthday in late February. At the moment this will be our first trip of the year. https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-sites/england/east-anglia/norfolk/seacroft-club-campsite/