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Monday 26th April 2018

A beautiful sunny day greeted us when we awoke this morning so we decided to take Layla for a good walk before heading home. The site warden had recommended a route across farmland on a signed footpath so we headed off in that direction.

Initially we walked along a narrow country lane bounded by dry stone walls with sheep munching away in the fields on the other side, every where the walls, rocks ground etc is covered in deep green moss. The walk took us through a farm yard with old tractors and machinery and then past an old ruined cottage, along side it in the remains of what was probably a barn two old cars were rusting away. We entered an ancient wood, again deep in moss and Layla enjoyed some free time here bounding around over rocks and around trees, the journey back was the reverse of the way there with the added experience of Layla meeting chickens for the first time.

After lunch we headed home, again Homer struggled on hills and we had the added problem of when we pulled up for fuel, the filler cap refused to come off so I had to prise it off with a screwdriver, a better alternative will have to be sought.

Altogether a very enjoyable few days away and an area we will definitely explore again in the future.

Sunday 25th March 2018

We left Barmouth at 11.30 am and drove the short distance along the coast to Harlech. Here we parked up and made a visit to Harlech Castle.

The castle has had a long and varied history and now is a World Heritage site. It was built on instructions of Edward 1st during his invasion of Wales, taking only 6 years to construct between 1282 and 1289. It fell to Owain Glyndwr in 1404 and then recaptured by English forces in 1409. It changed hands between the Lancastrians and the Yorkist troops during the War of the Roses in 1642. Later it was held by Royalist Forces until it fell to the Parliamentary Army in 1647.

Whilst we were there it was being used as the finishing post for a triathlon taking place in the area, one has to admire the fitness of the participants.We had a quick snack in Harlech before saying our fare wells to Alison and Peter before driving the short distance to our current location.

This site is very picturesque, well laid out and maintained but a little somewhat isolated from other places, it does however have a good modern pub within 100m of the entrance to the site. We had a voucher for a free nights stay so a no brainier for us.

Saturday 24th March

Although it rained overnight we woke to a very pleasant day so as decided the previous evening we set off to explore more of Barmouth, the tide was out so we were able to walk for at least 1.5 miles along the beach to Barmouth. Layla loved it apart from the very end where she fell off a concrete slab and fell in the deep water, she had a very surprised look on her face.

Barmouth is in the Welsh county of Gwynedd lying on the estuary of the River Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Barmouth Bridge carries the Cambrian Railway line over the River Mawddach and in season there is also a ferry which sails across the estuary to Penrhyn Point where it connects to the Fairbourne Light Railway. Although initially known for ship building Barmouth is now predominately a tourist town.

When we reached Barmouth we decided to continue our walk and we walked out of town and across the bridge over the estuary as started to do so the train came across too. Upon our return to town we found a nice cafe and had lunch, this was followed by a mooch around the shops and then a slow stroll back to Homer.

At 5.30 pm we again walked back into Barmouth to The Last Inn where we had a very pleasant meal and a few drinks and walked back in the dark, again we joined Alison and Peter in their van for drinks and conversation.

A very enjoyable day all round and we believe we walked at least 8 miles today.

March 23rd 2018

We took a slow drive along the coast today, covering only 40 miles to today’s destination. We stopped at Towyn parked on the promenade and went for a walk, the wind was very strong and the waves were crashing onto the sea wall, very refreshing. We then motored on to Fairbourne and parked against the sea wall, after lunch in Homer we went for another walk in the bracing wind not near the sea though as the tide was in and dashing on the pebble bank. We then enjoyed the short drive through some beautiful scenery to arrive on this camp site.Its a large site catering for caravans, motorhomes and tents, each pitch is large and well marked out, ours has water, electric and tv points at a cost of £19 per night. Our friends Alison and Peter had already arrived and we are pitched next to each other.

We sat out in the sunshine and had a cuppa for half an hour or so and then walked along the promenade (approx a mile) into Barmouth, I called in to a pub called The Last Inn and booked us in for a meal for tomorrow night. We had a good ramble around the town and then found a fish and chip cafe where we had an early tea before walking back to the site. Later we joined Alison and Peter in their motorhome for a few drinks, nibbles and an evening of conversation.

March 22nd 2018

Having been released from my plaster cast on Monday afternoon we decided to go ahead with an out line plan to take a 4 night break away in Wales.

We took the scenic route which was never going to be quick but was certainly reasonably traffic free. Our first stop was at Machynlleth in Powys where we arrived two and a half hours after setting out, there is a good large car park that we could put Homer on at a cost of £1.30 for two hours. After a snack lunch in Homer we took Layla for a walk around Machynlleth, I was on a mission to find a replacement wiper blade as one had disintegrated this morning when I cleaned the windscreen. Our first stop was at a fabric shop which had a beautiful range of material, we bought three lengths of colourful fleece to protect the seats in Homer as Layla has now grown to the point she can jump up onto seats. There are a lot of antique/ bric a brac shops and other one off shops and I’m certain we will be back to visit again in the future, as I’d just about given up hope of finding a wiper blade I espied a tyre and exhaust garage, enquiries lead me to discover they did sell wiper blades and 10 mins later I was the proud owner of two new wiper blades, well done Huw Lewis Garage!

The journey onto Aberdovey was only a short one and we drove past our campsite stop on the way, we parked up on the beach car park a very expensive £3 and took Layla on the beach, she loved it chasing around and leaping onto sea shells, then she met the sea and was totally puzzled, it kept moving! After barking at it for a while she took some tentative steps into it and tried drinking a few mouthfuls, I feel she remains to be convinced it’s a suitable environment for a dog.

We then drove back to the campsite Nyth Robin which I have to say is a gem, well laid out in separate areas, facilities modern, well lit at night and a good walking area for the dog through a forest trail.Its cost us £20 for the night including electric hook up, not cheap but we feel well worth it.

After we had parked Homer we discovered the water pump wasn’t working, close inspection showed that the outlet pipe from the water pump had sheared off and the fuse had blown. Out came the super glue which appears to be holding well, and a new fuse albeit not quite the correct one was installed so with a glow of satisfaction of having running water I prepared and then started cooking the tea, just as everything was coming up to heat the gas ran out. I rarely loose my temper but my attempt to swap the pipe from the empty cylinder to the new full one using only one fully functioning arm wouldn’t work and I lost my cool, eventually Michelle had to come to my rescue and tea was duly cooked accompanied by a couple of generous glasses of wine.

We comfort ourselves that we don’t give in when things go wrong but together we sort out the problem as best as possible, and tomorrow is another day.

March 18th 2018

A year ago today we collected Homer from Mansfield and made a nervous drive home, I’d never driven anything as large before so it was definitely a new experience!

We knew when we decided to purchase the Hymer at 18 years of age that we would need to carry out some work on it and that has certainly happened throughout the year, some has been cosmetic and to change the interior to suit us. Other work has included a range of mechanical improvements, most of which was planned and with an aim to make the driving and handling more agreeable and one change, the starter motor, which certainly wasn’t planned when it ceased to work in France.

Over the past twelve months we have spent a total of 41 nights sleeping in Homer, 23 of which were in Europe, we have visited France, Germany, Luxembourg and Holland. Visited and stayed in 8 UK counties, Cambridgeshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Oxford, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Denbighshire.

We have already made plans for a UK trip away next week and further one in July, also in the pipe line is a trip to Germany in May and France In August, Happy Days ahead.

March 7th 2018

Today we took the opportunity of an improvement in the weather and took a ride to the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre situated on the outskirts of Craven Arms in Shropshire.

This centre is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm managed by a charity Grow, Cook, Learn connecting people to the food, history and landscape of the Shropshire Hills. The centre is a modern building with a roof covered in grass, it contains a variety of facilities including amongst others a cafe, information area , free wifi. Also an exhibition area which has a Shropshire Hills Through Time Exhibition with a visual and audio display of the landscape, a skeleton of a mammoth and a chance to use your senses to explore the region from the Ice Age to the modern day.

To the rear of the centre are the 30 acre Onny meadows bordered on one side by the river Onny, we took the 1.5 mile Onny Meadows Trail and gave Layla plenty of exercise, we also had a very enjoyable lunch in the cafe where the portions were very agreeable.

As we walked back to the centre it began to hail sharply and marked the end of our visit, the roads on the way back over the Long Mynd were still bordered by deep snow drifts.

March 5th 2018.

It has now been 12 days since I stupidly fell through the air and ended up with a fractured wrist, the x-ray shows its knitting together nicely and it is projected the plaster cast will be removed in two weeks time. It’s been a very frustrating time, we should now be preparing for a trip to France but that has had to be postponed until April and the poor weather with snow drifts and blizzards hasn’t been very helpful.

We’ve taken the opportunity of my inability to drive Homer to do some work on it in preparation for when we can hit the road again, we have had the interior re-carpeted a professional job courtesy of my son. We have bought some organisers to fit out the wardrobe which hopefully will make finding things easier and also free up cupboard space elsewhere, and also changed a neon light with a re-placement LED set up which should help reduce the drain on the leisure battery when we have no mains hookup. Cupboards have been emptied and items that haven’t been used or we can manage without have been removed, benefit of experience. Much of the the latter work curtesy of the assistance of my other half.

Layla continues to grow and is slowly learning new skills, she can now be let off the lead when we walk away from roads and comes back when called, she enjoyed the snow immensely not at all bothered when the wind chill factor was minus fourteen and we were wrapped up in layer upon layer to keep warm.

Fingers crossed if all goes well we will take a trip in Homer before the end of the month.

Friday 16th Feb 2018

I will start by stating that the three of us are now at home and Homer is parked safely on the drive thanks to the kindness of family members Steph and Will who drove down to Moreton in Marsh and rescued us. Other people, friend Phil and staff offered and gave us great support.

We paid for an extra two nights on site and even though the site was technically fully booked for the weekend the staff were prepared to allow us to stay longer should the need arise and when we couldn’t leave until late Friday evening waived any extra charges.

We did a lot of walking to occupy our time which Layla enjoyed and broadened her experiences of shops, cafes, traffic etc, the weather wasn’t over kind with lots of rain at times but we survived it all and still smiled.

Whilst on site I managed to book an appointment for Monday at our local fracture clinic and dependent on the outcome we will have to see if our trip to France in March will have to be postponed.

Wednesday 14th Feb 2018

At 8.30 am I decided to take Layla for a quick walk, currently she isn’t quite tall enough to manage the steps so I picked her up to carry her out, as I stepped out I slipped on the step and fell heavily to my left, crashed into the door and ended up in a heap on the floor.

Thankfully Layla landed on me and apart from a quick yelp she was fine, unfortunately my left arm didn’t feel the same and was quite painful. Back inside I took a couple of painkillers and Michelle went to the site office to see if they had crepe bandages. The staff insisted I should go to the local hospital and 10 mins later gave us a lift there.

Ninety minutes later after seeing two nurses and having an X ray I emerged from hospital with my left arm in plaster. We were due to leave the site at midday but obviously an arm in plaster was going to make driving difficult so we have extended our stay for a further two nights whilst we sort things out.