On the Road Again!

The final day of this Easter Bank Holiday. "Where are we today Claire?" If you know, you know... We were up earlier to get away as close to 9am as possible. The plan was to get the "jobs" done and get away. I did the black waste with Reggie tagging along. He was off lead and he ventured away to check out what might be living in the barn. The destination: The Tiptree Jam Factory Tea Room in Tiptree, Essex. The TomTom took us on the A1120 route that we are used to and we made good time around Ipswich and back down the A12 past Colchester before Tiptree. I had checked it was open on Bank Holidays. It was. I parked in the overflow parking lot. They have a marquee in the garden that is dog friendly. Access is through the usual tea rooms and the small Wilkins museum. We ordered the Tiptree Breakfast and tea and coffee. Reggie didn't settle so I took him back to the van and ...

The plan for day 3 was originally to stay at Colchester Country Park and maybe go into Colchester to have a mooch around the castle etc. Although the site is okay, the distance to the centre was too much, and of course the traffic noise. It was LOUD! So in the week I emailed Sarah at the Waterpump CL, where we were booked on Sunday overnight, to add a second night, Saturday, as well. The altered plan meant we would have normally meant being off for 11am, but we were booked until Sunday. In the event, we had all the blue jobs done, and the waste water drained in good time. But where to go? I had thought Aldeburgh, but Claire thought with it being Easter, then it could be packed. So she suggested Snape Maltings. Nice walks, culture in the form of art works by famous sculptors, and a really nice dog friendly café. Once onto the A12 heading towards Ipswich and with a quarter of a tank used we decided to fill up at our fa...

Another quietish night once the party crowd in the seasonal caravans had piped down and gone to sleep.  We still had the drivers to visit the loo almost all night.  It seems that the rules, and there are a few, weren't applicable to the guy that needs the loo at 3am and needs to drive 300 yards. Anyway we set the alarm from 8am. We didn't want breakfast as I had a trip on the way back planned for breakfast! In the end I was up a few times with Reggie for his pee breaks. A guy across the way decided that 6.15am was the right time to empty the garage at the back of his motorhome with all kinds of crap including a gas BBQ complete with grill, metal wheeled stand and 10kg Calor bottle! Then let his spaniel dog run around all over the place without its lead. Once up we set to work doing the packing and I noticed that the motorhome service point had a car parked close up to it.  There's a square marked out and painted with criss-crosses, but it's hard to back into it with a c...

An early weekend? What's that?  Well it's a Thursday to Saturday trip that does have one of the weekend days in it! As usual on a Thursday morning I was at the greyhound rescue foster home a few miles from where I live.  More information on the charity from Kent Greyhound Rescue . I had only seven dogs to feed and exercise and left the last one in the care of another team member to keep an eye on so I could get home before 11am. Pack the van and get away for the 11.30am start. We just about managed that. We couldn't get into the site until 3pm according to the paperwork I had printed off after booking. The paperwork actually gives the pitch number as well. We were going to be pitch 59.   On the way up we made easy progress up the M20 to the M25. Even the hazard and road block that it is the Dartford Crossing, it's a tunnel going north, was relatively easy to navigate. Rather than stop as usual at Thurrock Services we carried on until we were on the A12.  We avoi...

This weekend in the UK has two things happening.  Firstly the clocks go forward an hour in the small hours of Sunday, and secondly, Sunday is "Mothering Sunday" or as it is more widely known as "Mothers' Day". I still have my Thursday morning visit to the Greyhound Rescue  to feed and give the dogs a run before we can set off. I am usually back before 11am and so if we get the van loaded up pretty much on Wednesday afternoon, then we can then leave ASAP.   The destination is to Essex again. Waldegraves at Mersea Island again.  We last stayed there back in May 2023 and I thought it would be another opportunity to get away before the kids Easter holidays. We tend to not do a lot at Easter any more. So two nights on a hardstanding pitch with EHU will cost us £25 a night. In March dogs go free and that saves us £4! Going a bit earlier in the week, THursday, might mean we avoid the influx of two years ago.  It was virtually empty and t...

After packing the van in dribs and drabs over the last few days we were finally ready to leave at 11am.   Our destination was Fen Farm on East Mersea.    Paul worried me en route saying that we were on a grass pitch.  With all the rain we had been experiencing I had visions of us getting stuck on the pitch.  The campsite confirmed that the wardens would take care of us if there was a problem and tow us off if necessary.   We had a good run up to Essex.  Even the Dartford tunnel was kind to us.  We stopped at Thurrock services to let Reggie out for a pee and we had some coffee and cake!  We weren't in  too much of a hurry as we could not cross the causeway until the tide had gone down.  How exciting!   So a good run up to Mersea with the satnav taking us through Colchester.  Once on the island we headed for the Company Shed where I had high hopes of getting some nice fish.   We managed to park Suki ...

We were finally packed up and ready to leave just before 11am. The drive up towards the Dartford Crossing was very odd as the Ohrex Satnav seemed to think we needed to go through London. Even once we ignored it and it kept recalculating it seemed to think we had more than a hundred and thirty miles to go. A quick cancel and reprogram and it cut that to 36! It still took us through Colchester itself. Amazingly the Dartford Crossing was flowing traffic. Even though we planned to stop at Thurrock Services I got in the right tunnel. The left one was held at a red light. Our left turn off the M25 was done easily as there was no traffic in the roadway. What the hold up was I have no idea. From there it was plain sailing. The satnav reboot had us arriving at the entrance to the site just after 3pm. By the time we arrived the tide had dropped and the causeway was open. There was plenty of evidence that when high tide the sea covers a large part of the land.   I had fitted my brother's...

After quite a bit of rain we had been wondering about the condition of the grass pitches at Fen Farm. I did email to thank them for the information pack and to say that due to the tide, we wouldn't be able to get to the site before about 2pm. I added a note about the grass pitches. They replied to say they had good drainage and the wardens would make sure there were no problems. Phew. Then I happened to look in "spam" and find a later email. As follows: Hello Due to the recent rain, we have several areas that are unsuitable for pitching Please ensure you check in with our Wardens on arrival so they can pitch you accordingly  A lthough the fields are starting to dry up, we have more rain forecast, but we will do our best to accommodate you safely Best Regards Gulp. Looks like suck it and see!!!!!

The second staycation this year will be at Fen Farm Caravan Park on Mersea Island in Essex. We have stayed in Essex before on a "tester" stay in a pod near Clacton. This was before we had a fortnight in Scotland and a week in a glamping pod. More and more places are installing this type of accommodation. They appeal to people that want to camp but don't want a tent or don't have a caravan or a Moho!  Even our local Camping and Motorhome Club site has loads of them now.  A bone of contention with members that own a touring caravan or Moho/campervan as facilities for tourers are now seeing up to twenty or thirty non-members using the facilities and they aren't getting updated or improved. Anyway back to Fen Farm. It's £20 a night and that includes the EHU. It's relatively cheap even for late March.   I know what an island is! What I didn't realise until the site emailed, is that the island is cut off at high tide. There is a webcam so that you can see...

So Glamping Day arrived. The car was packed and we were off just after 10am. The initial plan was to go to Saffron Walden and speak to Chris about the GT. TomTom estimated that we'd be there at 11.24am. In the we had to abort as it was way after that and we were still stuck in traffic some 60 miles away and we had the glampsite to go to. I emailed Chris and as he was away today (Saturday) it will have to be another date.  We made a stop at the services at Thurrock to let Reggie go for a pee and stretch his legs, and then we set off again for the glampsite.  Despite the actual roads not matching the Google map image, we arrived in good time and of the three pods, we were the first to arrive.  The key is kept in a small key holder and we had the combination! The pod is quite spacious inside, with the front half having the table and chairs on one side and the futon on the other. At the back is the kitchenette and the bed opposite, the en-suite at the back...