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Sunday 30th December 2018

We spent this morning wandering around the old part of Durham which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visiting the Cathedral, which is the resting place of St Bede and has the shrine of St Cuthbert. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take the castle tour as it is closed over the festive season.

Durham is a university city and has a vibrant air to it, there are numerous sports facilities bordering the river and the university uses many old buildings including the castle for its educational facilities.

This afternoon we took Layla for another long walk along the River Wear and finished the day by spending the evening with Peter and Alison sharing a few convivial drinks.

Saturday 29th December 2018.

Last year we drove south to spend New Year in Oxford, this year it’s the north’s turn to host our New Year trip.

Today we drove north for 201 miles much of it on the A1M1, it was a dry and sunny day and the traffic wasn’t too heavy, unfortunately as we got to the Sheffield area we began to get buffeted by strong westerly winds. They were so strong at times it was hard to stay in lane and twice it pulled the vent in the bathroom open so it was with some relief that we eventually arrived in Durham.

We are staying on a small site owned by Durham Rowing Club which is a modern building on the side of the river Wear it’s within a short distance of the city centre and only costs £15 a night. It has all the normal facilities of a small site and you are issued with a fob that gives you 24 hour access to the Club house and its showers etc plus you are welcomed to use the bar when it’s open.

We are staying on site with our motorhome buddies Alison and Peter and after lunch they joined us in a circular walk with Layla along the banks of the River Wear which forms an oxbow lake effect below the ancient city of Durham.

I’m sure many motorhomes are celebrating this Christmas in their vans in many exotic places, well we too are spending our Christmas night in Homer, however we are only walking 5 metres from the front door to spend our night outside.

As our daughter Steph used to tell us when she was doing her sociology degree, we are a “reconstituted family” i.e. when Michelle and I got together we bought with us our four offspring from previous marriages. This means that at great times like Christmas our house is bulging with our off spring, partners and family friends, and of course with the odd glass or two of alcohol imbibed “sleepovers” become necessary.

As I mentioned in a previous blog whilst on a recent trip in Somerset the near side mirror smashed. I spent hours on the web searching for an affordable replacement, initially I found one for £120 , later one for £85. Then I decided to search for van/truck/bus mirrors and lo and behold tracked down a perfect replacement in Bulgaria for £18 including postage. It’s now fitted and Homer has had a Christmas present.

We will once these two days are over leap into action and get Homer ready for our New Year trip away to Durham.

Merry Christmas everyone.

December 12th 2018.

We went out from the site today in Homer, something we don’t normally do. We travelled the short distance along the coast to the pretty little village of Porlock.

Not unusual for this time of year in a tourist area there were a few shops shut but the majority which obviously serve the local population were open, the buildings were interesting with thatched roofs in evidence.

We drove on from there to the coast at Porlock Weir where there was a large car park overlooking the pebbly shore, empty at this time of year but I expect rammed in the season. The harbour there has a lock gate which I’m assuming is to protect the boats at high tide, we enjoyed a walk around but the weather was cool and there was moisture in the air not quite drizzle. As we headed back to Minehead the sky cleared and the sun came out so after a quick lunch we walked back down into Minehead and a mooch around the shops.

December 11th 2018

Thankfully we didn’t have too much trouble finding our way out of Bristol and drove to Minehead avoiding the M5.

Sadly shortly before arriving in Minehead I eased over to the left on a narrow road to avoid oncoming traffic and a protruding branch smashed the near side wing mirror, as they are rather large it’s going to be an expensive repair when I can track down a replacement, thankfully it’s not electric otherwise I would need a second mortgage.

The site is very pleasant arranged on a series of terraces unfortunately you can’t see the sea but it’s a nice open aspect. After lunch we walked down into Minehead to the beach where Layla had a mad half hour running around as we walked along towards the harbour.

A few feet from the steps leading up from the beach to the harbour wall I suddenly sank up to my knees as my feet went through a thin layer of sand into deep mud, thankfully I was able to pull my self out and crawl to firmer ground. Michelle later said “I wasn’t going to come and help I may have got stuck” what a hero she is. It was a very soggy two mile trek back to the motorhome, the showers here are good and I was able clean myself up, not sure about the trainers though.

December 10th 2018

After an enforced layover whilst Homer was having the 5th gear synchro sorted we decided to have a pre Christmas mini break.

So this morning we cruised down the M5 listening to a Cream CD with Michelle playing along to Eric Clapton on air guitar, I’m sure he would have been impressed!

We are staying tonight on the Caravan and Motorhome site Baltic Wharf, which is metres from the waters of Bristol wharf/ harbour and has a pub 30m away.

Our feet trod the cobbles that bordered these busy waters,

What others had done so before us?

Royalty, ship masters and their families.

Slaves in chains,

Rough and ready sailors from around the world,

Emigrants waiting to travel to new lives in new countries.

Now in a new era, tourists and trendy residents in converted apartments,

Throng those ancient cobbles with a history to tell.

We walked for about 3 miles this afternoon enthralled by the sites that are there to see including SS Great Britain the famous first passenger steamship designed by Brunel that for a while sailed between Bristol and New York and then later to Australia. It ended up in the Falklands where in 1937 it was scuppered and sank, later in 1970 Sir Jack Hayward of Wolverhampton Wanderers fame paid for it to be refloated and towed back to Bristol.

We certainly only skimmed what there is to be seen here on this swift trip and I’m certain we will be back here in the near future.

Sat 17th November 2018

Homer is currently temporarily off the road whilst we wait for a repair to the fifth gear on the gear box so today we took the car and headed off into Shropshire.

Our first port of call was the showground at Oswestry that this weekend is hosting an Antiques and Flea Market, our middle daughter shares our interest in visiting such venues so she came along for the day.

We have been to a similar event here previously and on that day discovered that they were filming episodes of the popular TV show “Bargain Hunt”, a few months later we saw the episodes on TV and were surprised to see ourselves in the background of one of the scenes, today there were no such distractions.

Both Michelle and Sophie found items of interest to purchase whilst my expenditure was restricted to hot sausage rolls and coffee!

After leaving the show we drove the short distance towards to another favourite place we like to visit, The British Ironwork Centre, again somewhere Sophie hadn’t been.

Unfortunately some of the best sculptures to be found here are on the grassy field which was fenced off due to it being very wet underfoot, but non the less it was a pleasant visit in warm sunshine.

On the way home we stopped off at Much Wenlock a pretty village, there’s a small car park there that’s only 10p for two hours, we were interested to see that as on previous occasions there was a long queue outside the butcher’s, it must be a gold mine! There’s a very good second hand bookshop opposite the butcher’s and I picked up a couple of novels I’m looking forward to reading.

All in all a pleasant day out.

Friday 9th November 2018

We have driven close to this historic monument on numerous occasions but have never visited, so as we were only a few miles away we decided after packing up to take the opportunity to visit.

Now. I will confess we took the wrong road and ended up approaching the aqueduct from the “wrong side” and ended up parking in a car park by the side of the canal 50m from the aqueduct that is designated for other use, thankfully being November it was quite empty and we didn’t stay too long.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop to enable the canal to cross the River Dee and have access to Llangollen. It has 18 arched stone pillars and is topped with a cast iron structure to carry the canal, it took 10 years to build and was completed in 1805. It stands 38m high and is now the oldest and longest navigable aqueduct in GB and the highest in the world.

I have seen it on TV many times and seen the narrow boats crossing where to one side there is no railing and a sheer drop to the river below, I’ve often wondered how I would feel about crossing it and am pleased to say that walking across on the tow path with a railing to the side didn’t worry me at all. The autumn scenery was beautiful and one day I hope to return and cross by narrow boat.

Thursday 8th November

We decided to give Homer’s wheels a spin as we haven’t been away since our return from France at the end of September, however during this time Homer has successfully passed his MOT and we have had the alternator replaced as it was beginning to show signs of malfunction.

We haven’t travelled far just 59 miles over the border into Wales to Chirk a C and M site adjacent to the grounds of Chirk Castle a National Trust property that we visited by car some years ago.

There were enough people using the site to make it feel OK and the wardens were very pleasant, not always the case, the site is however over run with rabbits they were everywhere and this gave Layla great cause for excitement. At one point she and I watched a battle between two crows, two magpies and a squirrel over some titbit, the squirrel won! The whole episode was watched by a rabbit sitting 10 m away nibbling leaves, all very Beatrix Potter.

After lunch we walked the mile into Chirk and explored the village including buying two nice cakes for after tea, amongst other outlets there is a good pub that allows dogs in, an Indian restaurant and a small Spar supermarket.

Thankfully the weather has been kind to us it’s dry but blustery.

November 4th 2018

As Im sure many will know being a parent of adult children brings a different role in life, instead of leading assistance, you find yourself on the receiving end of “invitations” to help, which of course it’s a pleasure to receive.

*Usually it starts with a phone call.

*Often for help in a practical way.

* Normally requires me to fill the boot with tools.

The latest call for help came from our youngest daughter, she and her partner had bought a new larger shed to replace two aging ones that were in the garden when they took over their current property.

So yesterday Michelle and I drove the forty miles to their home where we spent the day emptying and dismantling the old sheds.

Then today accompanied by my son Matthew and Gran, we returned, everyone took on different roles, yesterday’s demolition site was tidied up and a bonfire lit.

Slowly the shed was constructed, levelling the base proved difficult but once done the rest of the shed began to fall into place, during the afternoon the weather got more and more dismal and the light began to fade, we hurried to felt the roof with me perched on the top like a garden gnome. As we knocked in the last few felt tacks the first spots of rain began to fall. We haven’t quite finished windows and doors need fitting and a new log store is required, so next Saturday calls.