End of Year Catch Up…

28 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by Simon Barlow in Amarok, Blog updates, Christmas Markets, Durham, Uncategorized, York

Tags

Accessories, Durham, holidays, Jorvik, National Railway Museum, Touring, travel, York

Wow… it’s been quite a while since our last posting, and many thanks to all those of you who have emailed asking if we are OK. We are both fine, thanks.

Back in October we were due to go to the Caravan & Motorhome show and we had booked in to the campsite at the NEC for 4 days. However, the day before, we actually wondered why we were going. Plenty of other bloggers and video bloggers would be going and posting on YouTube. I guess the plethora of video bloggers filming each other meeting other video bloggers wasn’t what we were about…. so we went to the C & M Club site at Southport instead.

The weather played ball and we had a great few days in the October sunshine getting some cycling and walking in. This was also a bit of a try out for the bike rack on the Amarok and a change in how we pack. Although I’d done a couple of check-runs to make sure everything was stable with the bikes, this was the first real run with the caravan in tow and I’m pleased to report that the rack was stable and didn’t affect the towing in any way.

The bikes were fairly easy to load and unload thanks to the drop down step I’d previously fitted to the rear of the Amarok and all things considered, I think we will now be taking the bikes on more trips. The other change was to how we pack. We now have ‘pre-loaded’ more of the items we take away with us and this makes things a lot easier having a stacking system with boxes for specific things. We are lucky that I have a “bat cave” at home. It’s a workshop really that allows us to store our packing boxes (check out the Really Useful Storage Box Company ) and get them stocked up ready for the next trip over a period of time. It now takes about 10 minutes to load the Amarok and all thats left is to load the clothes.

The other bit of kit that we are long-term testing is the Sterling Power Wildside unit. I’ve written a couple of things in the past about this unit and so far the only thing I can really add is that it has exceeded my expectations of its performance. After not using the caravan for a couple of months and having a parasitic current draw from the alarm (the small charging circuit and 12 volt battery in the alarm has failed yet again!) by the time we had towed from Manchester to Southport our battery was fully charged and the fridge was cold as expected.

Christmas Markets…

Many of you will know in December we like to kick off the festive season with a Christmas Market or two. For the past couple of years we had gone down to Birmingham but this year we fancied trying something different. We booked a couple of sites to give us the chance to try somewhere different.

The first was Durham Grange C & M Club site just off the A1M. This would put us very close to Beamish Museum and Durham. Although Durham Grange is really close to the A1M Junction 62 you can’t really hear the traffic and is a great little site. The general site and facilities were up to standard and the wardens very helpful.

We were on a fully serviced pitch and my standard ‘kit’ of parts allowed connection to the grey water drain without any head scratching.

Again we were lucky with the weather, mainly dry but turning much colder. Beamish is only about a 20 minute drive away and it meant that we could have a full day at the museum without having a silly o’clock morning start. If you have never visited Beamish, I would recommend you put it on your “must do” list, especially if you have children/grand children. One thing you must do while there… go and see the dentist and have a chat and then visit the fish and chip shop with the coal-fired frying range. Standing outside smelling fish and chips frying mixed with the smell of coal fires really takes me back to my early childhood.

Durham Grange is also a great base for a trip into Durham. The Cathedral and Castle are worth a visit and there are plenty of shops to explore in the tiny streets in the city centre. Getting into the centre from the caravan site is easy. On the other side of the A1M to the site is a park and ride that takes you right into the city centre. However a word of caution….. if you walk you have to cross two-three lane slip roads to the A1M and it’s busy even out of peak periods. Trying to walk back to the site in rush hour has to be avoided. We got the park and ride bus in but decided that it would be safer getting a taxi back. In summer however, if you ask the wardens they have a map with the details of a riverside walk into the town centre.

Three days at Durham Grange really didn’t give us chance to explore further, it has been added to the long list of “must go back so we can see….” collection.

Next stop…. York

York has to be on everyone’s list of favourite cities. We had chosen a Tranquil Touring site – York Caravan Park for the second part of our festive tour. Despite the weather forecast of strong winds for the next 24 hours and an increasing chance of light snow the further south we got, the drive down from Durham was an easy tow and the sat nav directed us round Yorks outer ring roads. The only real traffic we saw was around the ring road. As York is a bit of a no go for visiting by car the ring road and feeder roads to the various park and ride points can be a bit congested, but a bit of patience and we were only around 15 minutes late based on what our sat-nav had predicted when setting off. The temperature by now was also dropping and hadn’t risen above four degrees for the whole journey.

York Caravan park is only a couple of miles outside York and right outside is a convenient bus stop with a bus that will whisk you right into the centre in about ten minutes. It had been several years since we had both been to York and one of the stops Sue wanted to do was Jorvik viking centre. The bus dropped us off and we headed in the general direction of Jorvik through all the Christmas Market stalls. At one end of the market was a large teepee that had a log fire burning in the centre and a bar serving all manner of festive spirits. While Sue opted for Mulled Wine, I decided on a mug of hot chocolate with Baileys… well it was only three degrees with a bit of a wind chill.

We really enjoyed Jorvik and it seemed bigger than we remembered it… which I don’t think it was unless they dug a bit more up. Unusually I didn’t see a restriction on taking photos… so I managed to sneak a few… without flash of course (just in case… and I hope I’m not in breach of copyright!).

While mooching round the shops we came across The Cat Gallery (45 Low Petergate) and couldn’t resist a visit…. emerging with a rather fitting mug for Sue “…everything tastes better with cat hair in it”. We headed back towards the station to catch the bus back to the site. As it was Sue’s birthday today, a bit of a tradition to mark the start of our Christmas is the annual viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Nothing better than sitting in a toasty caravan with frost forming outside, a satisfied fullness from an enjoyable meal and a couple of drinks watching a favourite movie.

National Railway Museum…

A visit to York cannot be called complete without a visit to the NRM. The cold weather had now really arrived and far to our west in the Pennine hills snow was forecast. We however had a cloudy but bright frosty morning.

We caught the bus again and this time stayed on all the way to the railway station. You can cut through the station over the foot bridge to the railway museum.. which if it’s raining can be handy. Over the past few years we have done quite a few railway trips on heritage lines and visited a few of the museums but the last time we were here was 32 years ago. A lot of the exhibits had changed of course and the site has expanded.

By mid morning we were part way round it was time of a coffee and we stopped by The Dining Car Restaurant and Sue tried out one of their speciality teas with a sausage sandwich and I can say their coffee was up-to-standard and so was their bacon sandwich. A huge improvement on the old BR offerings!

One of the things that I personally think is a “must see” at the museum if you have any interest in railways is hidden round the back of the Flying Scotsman in the store-room. The museum has opened up its stores so you can wander the shelves and see some of their collection that they haven’t got room to put on display and in here you will find the layout used to train signalmen. Each day (check timings) a number of retired signalmen put on a live demonstration on the layout of how signaling works and that is followed up by what can only be described as a re-enactment of a rail disaster. The one we watched saw 7 signalmen going through the sequence of events and demonstrating on the layout with running trains what happened. Very thought-provoking. It’s a must see but please check the timings so you don’t miss it.

It seems that these breaks are over all too soon. The temperature was hovering around one degree and the water hose had frozen overnight as we started to pack up. Snow was forecast later that day and the Pennines had already had an inch or two of snow and it was falling over the M62 west of the Pennines for the run back to Manchester. Thankfully towing our caravan with the Amarok is quite easy and we have a towing ratio of about 65% which really makes things easy and stress free in difficult weather conditions.

The snow wasn’t too bad and not as much as was forecast and we arrived back at the storage facility at the time the sat nav predicted when setting off. Last trip of 2017 done and planning for 2018 can commence.

Some other bits…

As I write this Caravan Chronicles this year has had over 7.8 million page hits – around 14.5 million since I started the blog (I’m still amazed!). This year has basically doubled the number of the previous years total. A lot of this is due in part to links from other blogs and forums, to some of the technical pages. I did look at some of the links into the site and saw that how to connect batteries for example were linked to off grid housing forums, boating, canal boat, sailing, RV, eco and everything in-between. I now find that I receive emails containing questions from all over the world about all sorts of subjects. How many emails?…. well this year it’s been over a thousand that I’ve answered. As a consequence it now takes me a bit longer to respond.

I have found out though that folks that follow links to Caravan Chronicles from some forum or other that they don’t really know about Caravan Chronicles and simply assume that there is a highly paid team in the background answering questions and have a specialised knowledge of their particular field of enquiry and get quite upset when I tell them I haven’t a clue about the house batteries on a Fairhaven 32 foot motor launch and how they are connected (totally made up question of course).

I remember the late (and great) John Wickersham once telling me “Once you have answered a question in print that will be your life”.

The other question that pops up now and again are about ‘merch’ as the Americans refer to it. Do I have a shop with stickers, mugs branded paraphernalia etc. Nope, nada. So far I have resisted the temptation to commercialise, product place or have adverts on the blog. I don’t really want to go that route.

I do however do the occasional review of products that manufacturers send me and try to attempt to be as honest as I can with what I write. I do also work with a couple of manufacturers on products that they are developing or ideas that they have but these don’t get written about.

What’s happening in Caravan Chronicles in 2018…

Well there will be some trips of course and we will be visiting our “local” caravan show at Event City in January.

We are in two minds whether to get a new caravan… we would like a twin axle, twin bed, mid bathroom layout, but we keep thinking there is nothing wrong with the one we have… decision decisions!

There are a few things that are going to be changing on the blog. I have been procrastinating on starting a searchable Q & A page. I’m not sure if this is possible in a WordPress blog and it might mean having to change how the site is hosted. I also want to link up to an interactive travel map. I’m still researching this one though. I’ve also been thinking about the blog’s style and look…. it’s over five years old now and does it need an update?

Towing covers….

OK, so now I have a question for you….. I’m a bit undecided about getting a towing cover. They seem to be gaining popularity and after our trip, the front of the caravan could have done with some protection from all the road salt and grime thrown up. As we have never had a cover of any sorts, I’m looking for a bit of feedback on features to look out for and things to avoid. I’d be grateful for any pointers.

Sue and I hope you have a very Happy New Year and safe travels in 2018.

PS… as I sometimes do, a few arty photos…. (proper engineering in monochrome!)

About 12 months ago I ditched using Adobe Photoshop which had been my go-to photo editor for over 10 years in favour of the free Polarr Photo Editor… which I do like for it’s speed and ease of use. I’ve been playing about trying to reproduce the varoius classic postcard looks from the turn of the 19th centtury and mid 20th century…

Feeling Festive and Shooting a Video…

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in Accessories, Christmas Markets, Gadgets, General, Gifts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Caravanning, Caravans, Maintenance, Touring, tow vehicle, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

This time of year is great for getting away in your caravan or motor home and getting into the festive spirit. We have owned a caravan for 5 years now and every year to extend the season we have managed to take in a Christmas Market – Lincoln, Erddig, Cheltenham, Oxford, Birmingham to name a few. This year would be no exception and we had decided to re-visit Birmingham. Around the same time as we were planning this, Andy Harris, the TV presenter, owner of RoadPro and avid motorhome enthusiast had been in touch and had a product he wanted us to try out… and make a video!

Monday 12th December

We had booked in again to Chapel Lane Caravan Club site in Wythall on the outskirts of Birmingham. Its ideally located for getting into the centre of Birmingham via the car or train.

We picked up the caravan from the storage facility and set off at 10:50 for the 104 mile trip down to the site. The motorways were showing clear on the GPS. Slight delay through the roadworks on the M6, but no major holdup. Pulled into Chapel Lane Camping and Caravan site at 13.15.

Pitching the caravan is by now, a well rehearsed act… pink and blue jobs and we both get on with it. However my awning setup routine was interrupted by Sue announcing “the loo won’t flush” You can read all about that in the previous post: Flushed With Success…. Eventually.

Twinkly lights under the full moon

Tuesday 13th December

A little trip out to CAK Tanks for a spare part was the order of the day after ringing to confirm they had the part in stock. Before we set off Sue prepared the evening meal in the slow cooker (crock-pot). Sue recently ‘re-discovered’ our slow cooker and has been trying different recipes. It really is ideal for the caravan…. prepare everything in the morning, turn it on and set off for the day knowing there’s going to be a hot meal ready when we come back. Absolutely ideal for caravanning in the colder months.

We punched the address for CAK Tanks into the sat-nav and set off. It took us about 25 minutes to get there. This was our first visit to CAK and let me just say YOU GUY’S NEED A BIGGER SHOP! The existing shop was packed to the roof with products and I guess they only had a tiny percentage of what they actually stock on display and I would have loved to have spent hours browsing (and a small fortune probably) and chatting to the staff.

We arrived back at the caravan and I set to sorting out the ‘repair’…. which wasn’t really a repair, more putting right someone else’s mistake.

Wednesday 14th…. the video man cometh!

We were up fairly early to make sure everything was tidy… not that it usually isn’t, ready for Andy arriving. He was due to arrive about ten and had already got permission from the Caravan Club to shoot video on site.

Thankfully we were lucky with the weather. The previous days gloom and drizzle had given way to clear sky and in the morning bright sun. As for the video and what it was all about…. well you will just have to wait a few days but needless to say I ain’t going to win anything in the talent stakes!

Thursday 15th December

Wednesday night the temperature dropped and the fog started to appear. We were up early again and peering out of the caravan window. After our showers it still didn’t seem like daylight had arrived properly. At least it wasn’t raining. We set off a little after nine to walk the mile or so down to Wythall station to catch the 09:57 train to Moor Street station which is perfect for visiting the centre of Birmingham.

Waiting for the train at Wythall Station in the morning mist

Waiting for the train at Wythall Station in the morning gloom

Walking down New Street

Leaving the main entrance of Moor Street, if you cross over the road and climb the steps opposite it brings you out at one end of the Christmas Market on New Street and you just follow the stalls. We dropped in to a Costa Coffee to stock up on caffeine and followed the trail of stalls. The stalls run along New Street and into Victoria Square where a number of the food and drink stalls are located.

Some of the stalls in Victoria Square

From Victoria Square follow Fletchers Walk toward Centenary Square where all the Christmas Craft market stalls are located, opposite the building that houses the Library and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. (You can use the loo’s in here if required). There was an excellent stall dispensing hot cider with sloe gin… well it would seem rude not to!

The big wheel in Centenary Square next to the ice rink and library

Back at Victoria Square we partook of the first festive continental sausage… washed down with mulled wine (Sue)… and a hot chocolate with whipped creme (Me) and it wasn’t even noon yet!

We walked part way back down New Street past the stall on the other side and eventually cut across to New Street Station and the shopping malls for a spot of window shopping and in search of a late lunch.

Friday 16th December – British Motor Museum, Gaydon

Last year, our efforts to visit the British Motor Museum were shorted lived. When we arrived it was shut. Not doing any checking about opening times was down to me. If I had, I’d have discovered that there was a £1.1 Million refurbishment being undertaken. This year however, I did check and it was open (well the first floor of the ‘Collections’ centre was closed while the floor was being repaired) and after a thirty minute drive from the site we arrived spot on 10:30. It’s well worth a visit if you have any interest in British car manufacturing, however I was a little disappointed that there were not as many Land Rovers on display as I had expected… plenty of Jaguars (well it is owned by Jaguar Land Rover) but a bit thin on Landy’s. Here are a few photos rather than me waffle on….

Sue’s second favourite car

Above & Below: Laura Croft’s Tomb Raider Landy

Sue’s favourite car…. I’d better start saving!

A highlight was this 1935 Royal Winchester caravan. I managed to get a couple of photos through the windows without too much reflection. With a lot of the cars the door windows were open, and although you are asked politely not to touch the exhibits… you can almost put your head through the window for a closer look and to sniff the interiors… its surprising the memories this triggered. Unfortunately the caravan had all it’s windows firmly shut and I would have loved to have been able to at least have a closer look (and sniff) at the interior.

This did get me wondering, as we have been building caravans almost as long as we have been building cars, do we have a national collection of caravans anywhere?

On the way back we called in to Hatton Shopping Village, the place we found last year. The shops were fairly quiet as it was Friday and obviously the schools hadn’t finished for Christmas yet. There were over a dozen Christmas stalls set up outside in addition to the many specialist small shops. As it was about lunch o’clock we dropped into Spinning Jenny, the restaurant, bar and tea room. Sue opted for fish cakes and I plumped for the gammon.

However it arrived on a routed and planed scaffolding plank. My pet peeve is food served on planks, shovels, roofing slates or for that matter anything that is not a plate or something that can be suitably washed. OK I can accept a cheese board on wood, but grilled meat… unless they have a butcher’s apprentice trained to scrub a butchers block for twenty minutes with water and bleach washing up… I have a problem with it. That said… it was very nice.

As are most of our caravanning trips it had come to an end and the following day it was time to go home.

If you havent thought of using your caravan or motor home out of season, or thought about visiting a Christmas Market, start thinking about it now. Using your caravan or motor home in the winter isn’t an issue, they are all designed for all year use and have good insulation. Our tip is when you arrive put the heating on full blast and get the living space up to a comfortable temperature as quick as possible. Don’t fall into the “Keep the heating low to save gas/electric and let it warm up slowly….. use the “blast furnace” setting and get the heat into the van quickly, once it’s comfortable reduce the setting to maintain the level of warmth you are happy with.

Sites are usually quiet this time of year and you won’t have too many problems booking somewhere…. the hardest thing is deciding on which Christmas Market you want to visit… or visit two! Spend a few days at one then move on to another, that’s what caravans and motor homes were designed for, moving about. Remember you can go everywhere like a local!

OK that’s it for our travels this year, we are already looking forward to 2017 and the caravan and motor home show at Event City in Manchester in January…. then the NEC in Feb…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Simon & Sue

A Cheeky Pre-Christmas Break…

24 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK, Weekend Break

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravan Club, Caravanning, Christmas Break, Towing

Now being classed as ‘semi-retired’ i.e a part-time job means that I’m limited as to when I can get away. This coupled with Sue’s on-call commitments and theatre schedule at the hospital means that our trips are a bit last-minute. Regular readers will know that since buying our caravan we have always tried to fit in a Christmas Market trip, just to get into the festive spirit. This year looked like it was not going to happen. However, having to use up the last of my holidays before year-end and coupled with the fact the cardiac unit at the hospital was quiet meant we could just about fit in a cheeky little break before Christmas. We had originally set the time aside for a possible trip down to the Isle of Wight to see some friends as one of them was due to undergo surgery a couple of weeks earlier. However surgery was delayed and it would have been too soon after the op. So the next problem was where to go?

Over the past few years we have done a few Christmas markets and a quick check of the ChristmasMarkets.com web site soon gave us the dates for all the markets and Birmingham seemed like a good candidate. Next was to find a site within walking or bus distance – who wants to drive to a christmas market when there is lots of wine being mulled !. The Caravan Club came up trumps with Chapel Lane Caravan Site about 8 miles south of all the Christmas action. A quick check of the Caravan Club website showed the site had spaces and four nights were booked.

Thursday 17th December

We were both off the day before and so we could take the clothes and bedding down to the caravan, which made it easier as all we had to do was load up the comestibles boxes and fridge stuff into the back of the Freelander on day of departure.

Setting off from the storage unit at 10:20 soon had us on the M60 and eventually navigating the road works on the A56 cut through to the M6. Although quite busy the traffic was flowing. We made a brief stop to pick up coffee at Sandbach Services (yep we had forgotten to make a flask of coffee before setting off). I’d programmed the site in as a POI on the sat-nav so it took us straight there without any dramas. It was about 12:40 when we checked in. The site was quiet with maybe twenty or so vans and motorhomes so we had a choice of pitches, eventually opting for one on the corner opposite the facilities building.

Well we had to have some Christmas lights…….

Friday 18th December

The weather was forecast to be grey and overcast but no rain and after talking to the wardens the previous afternoon we had an option of catching the bus ( either the X50 or 150 from near the campsite entrance) or catching the train. A train journey of twenty minutes versus a bus trip of about an hour won out. It’s just over a mile (1.2 to be exact) from the site to Wythal Station and it took us about twenty minutes to walk there.

We originally opted for Snow Hill as a destination but looking at the map, Moor Street Interchange was closer. Tickets were £6.80 return each for an open return and the train seemed a logical choice as it was more frequent at peak times. You can buy tickets from a machine at the station entrance.

Victoria Square

Moor St Interchange is right next to Selfridges (the pimply building) and is a good landmark to use for getting round. As it was only 10:30ish we… well me.. actually needed a coffee top up so we made a stop at a coffee shop to check the map and come up with a plan of action. The streets were still fairly quiet and we wandered down New Street towards Victoria Square. Following the market signs we navigated round a building that was in the process of being demolished to Centenary Square where there were some smaller craft stalls and a ferris wheel. We headed back towards Victoria Square where the smell of cooking bratwurst sausages, donuts and mulled wine got to us. We purchased a couple of mahoosive red bratwurst sausages, which were delicious.

Looking down New Street from Victoria Square

Looking down New Street it was getting busier and we set off towards New Street Station. A few weeks before we had watched a program about the demolition of the old concourse and opening up of the building, including a new roof, and we, well me really, after working for a number of years for one of the train companies and passing through New St so many times, was keen to see the results. The transformation is amazing….

It was now light and seemed bigger, and the transformation with all the shops and food areas was such an improvement. However one thing to note – the signs for the toilets on the main level all direct you to facilities that are on the rail side of the barriers. The only loo’s that are available for non rail travellers are on the mezzanine level.

Even though it was a grey day never rely getting fully daylight, the light coming into the main concourse area made such a difference.

We had spotted a couple of options for lunch and continued exploring the rest of the malls that were now linked to the main station building. It reminded us of Boston, Mass. where you can walk from one mall through to the Prudential Centre and on to another mall without ever going outside… kind of handy with their winter weather.

Eventually we headed back outside on to New Street and wandered past all the market stalls that were all now brightly illuminated and with lots of people shopping. We did notice that some of the stalls did seem to repeat, having the same things for sale as another stall further up the street.

By the time we had got to the other end of New St again (and I’d bought a new camera) it was time for a late lunch and a sit down (plus I wanted to play with my new purchase). We wandered back to New Street Station and headed for a tapas bar (Tapas Revolution, Grand Central Station) we had spotted earlier.

After enjoying some tapas washed down with a rather nice house red, we ventured out again and re-visited some of the locations we had been to earlier so I could take a few photos with the new camera (OK why the new camera… well normally I’d have a full frame body with a 70-200 on the front and a couple of other lenses on my back pack and sometimes I just don’t want to carry all that gear about but have something I can slip in my pocket but still have the functionality and resolution of my normal gear and a Canon G7X fitted the bill)

Mulled wine, hot chocolate with squirty cream and live festive music…

By the time we got back to Victoria Square again, Sue decided it had to be mulled wine time by now and I wanted one of those hot chocolates with the squirty cream on top. The large Swiss chalet building had a bar underneath and a balcony with a group playing festive music. Just as we got served, it started to rain so we squished in under one of the covered tables with a few others to listen to the music. All very festive… except for the rain but it was way to warm to snow.

Saturday 19th December

For the past couple of years I’d always wanted to visit the Heritage Motor Centre as it is located adjacent to the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre the home of the Land Rover Collection. I’d had it as a POI in the GPS for a while and we had been in striking distance of it on several trips, but never had the time (or it was a school half term) However we thought it would be a quiet time to visit, so set off to drive the 12 miles from the site. We came off the motorway and followed the sat-nav through some road works and turned into the road that leads up to the entrance and were met with a small banner cable tied to the fence:- “The Centre is closed for refurbishment and will reopen on the 13th Feb 2016”. Nooooo!

It’s my fault, I should have checked on-line, but in all fairness who the heck thought they would close the whole damn thing. I was not a happy camper to say the least. I’d even picked up a brochure in the site information centre about it too!

Sue to the rescue

Sue being Sue had put one of the pamphlets from the information centre in her bag about Hatton Shopping Village which also had some christmas things going on and was only a couple of junctions back along the M40, so sat-nav suitably programmed we turned round in the empty drive to the motor centre and headed off to our new destination. It was a bit off the beaten track and if you go when it’s raining you need a 4 x 4 as the overspill car park is a field of deep Warwickshire mud.

There is an eclectic collection of shops from farm produce to bridal gowns and everything in between. It’s not huge but there are some nice outlets selling local crafts. We both spied a sweet shop that had a resident chocolatier and after small investment we emerged stocked up with a bag of hand made chocolates and regular readers will know my weakness for coltsfoot rock and traditional cough candy. Opposite the sweet shop was a furniture shop and in the small window there was a rather nice reproduction art deco square table lamp that would just be right in our hallway at home. Wallet somewhat lighter we emerged with a lamp. We continued our wanderings… past the bridal gown shop where a young woman was trying on a wedding dress… It took me all my strength to stop Sue from pressing her nose up against the window… not really, but it did look nice even I have to admit that.

We continued round and as luck would have it just as it was lunch o’clock a cafe appeared. The menu had a reasonable choice – Sue opted for salmon fish cakes with poached egg and hollandaise sauce with green leaf salad and I went for chicken schnitzel and a cheese sauce.

Unfortunately when it arrived mine was served on a planed down scaffolding plank. Sorry but scaffolding planks, bits of driftwood, roofing slates, cute mini dustbins/flower pots/buckets, shovels (yep there is a place somewhere that serves breakfast on a shovel) to me are not my cup of tea. Call me strange, but I do like a plate with my food.

On the way out we called in the village shop and picked up a hand raised pork pie and a selection of local artisan cheese along with a jar of sweet chilli jam and a fresh cottage loaf – still warm, just the required ingredients for an evenings grazing sat with one’s feet up in front of the TV. I wouldn’t say Hatton Shopping Village is a destination in its self, but it is worth stopping off if you are in the vicinity or passing near by.

Sunday 20th December

We woke up to clear blue sky and a chill in the air, it was only 6 degrees according to the digital thermomiterbob do-hicky, which was a drop from the past few days where it had been in double figures.

After the incident of the closed museum the previous day, I did check to make sure the “Think Tank” was open, it was and so we set off in the Freelander back into the centre of Birmingham not far from where we had been on Friday. It took us around 25 minutes and passed through the centre of Kings Heath so mid-week or on a Saturday it might take a little longer. Birmingham Science Museum is housed in one of the university buildings at the heart of the university complex. Quite handily there is a multi-story car park right next door and we took a gamble that on a Sunday morning it would be quiet. If you do decide to pay a visit head for the multi-story car park on Jennens Road rather than the sat-nav info on the web site as that takes you to Curzon St – the ‘wrong’ side of the car park for the entrance. Walking out of the car park it’s easy not to see the sign for the entrance. Car parking was a reasonable £3.20 for the time we were there.

For the two of us, including a planetarium show it was £27.50, which is not too bad I guess. The museum is spread over 5 floors (there are lifts) and we headed down to the ground floor to start there.

The museum is great for children/grandchildren with lots for them to get involved with, however for me, it does seem a little haphazard in it’s layout and as though the curators have had to cherry pick exhibits to fit into the available space.

After we had visited the planetarium for one of the shows we headed back down to the ground floor to the cafe for coffee. We were in the queue and the chap in front of us wearing a USMC shirt turned and asked “Is that a Breitling Emergency you are wearing?” It must be a man thing. I can generally spot Breitling watches at 20 paces and Sue is always amazed at this skill. And Sue herself wears a Breitling that she would never expect anybody to recognise. After a bit of a chat it turned out he did have the right to wear that shirt – he was a US Marine (semper fi) and he still had his Breitling issued by Uncle Sam.

I think Sue was swatting up…. expecting me to ask question later…!

I can’t resist a bit of Black and White now and again!

Monday 21st December

Monday started clear and chilly, and it didn’t take long to pack everything away. We had already taken the awning down on Saturday evening as the wind was quite gusty and it was flapping around a bit so while Sue cleaned inside, I loaded up the Freelander and squared everything away outside. It was a joint effort making the sammiches for the trip and I stored them in the electric cool box on the back seat of the truck, along with some water.

It wasn’t long before we were ready to hitch up and pull off site. We remembered to post the barrier tag through the reception letter box and we headed out on to Chapel Lane. The run back home was as easy as the trip down with the M6 being fairly free-flowing again.

What do we think?

A great four-day mini break with a Christmas Market, some trips and some great memories. Chapel Lane Caravan Club site is an ideal base for Birmingham and the surrounding area. There are plenty of things to do and see in Birmingham and within a 20 to 30 minute drive from the site there is easily a week’s worth of places to visit. Extend the driving range to 45 minutes and there is enough to do for a second week.

The site seems well run and very clean and there is little or no road noise. Showers were hot and the facilities block well maintained and clean. They however might get a little busy when the site is full. The Club WiFi works OK with good signal strength and good phone signal too. TV reception was not a problem.

Would we go back? – It’s on our list of places to re-visit as there are still lots of places to visit in the surrounding area.

For those wishing to visit the Caravan Shows at the NEC it would be a good base for a show visit and to include other attractions in the same trip.

We would just like to wish all our caravanning and motorhome readers a very Merry Christmas.

Simon & Sue

More Mulled Wine and Markets…

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, Events, General, Mini Break, Motor Home, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Uncategorized, Weekend Break

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andy Harris, Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Christmas, Christmas Market, Jamie Oliver, Oxford, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailers, Waddesdon

Part Two of our Cheltenham and Oxford festive outing…

Wednesday 10th December

Thankfully the wild weather that was affecting northern England and Scotland didn’t extend as far south as Gloucestershire and after a bit of a late start we were packed up and ready to say goodbye to Briarfields and set off for Oxford. We called in reception to drop off our electronic tag that operated the security barriers and waved goodbye to our neighbour who was leaving in his campervan after an overnight stay. The Sat-Nav gave a distance of about 37 miles and a time of one hour twenty minutes to complete the journey. We pulled off the site just before eleven o’clock and headed out into the late morning traffic enroute for Oxford Camping & Caravan Club site.

We hadn’t being travelling long when Sue produced a ten pound note out of her pocket… “That’s the deposit for the electronic tag.”

“Hmm I don’t remember paying a deposit”

When Scott booked us in I think he forgot to take a deposit, and Jo assumed he would have and gave Sue ten pounds back. So apologies Scott and Jo, we seem to be ten pounds up on the deal, just means that we have an excuse to return next year to give you the money! Mind you, I don’t think we need an excuse as there is still so much to see and a visit to Gloucester in the summer is definitely planned.

The trip took us through the beautiful rolling hills of the Cotswolds, the sun was shining and it was a pleasant drive to Oxford. We had stayed at the Oxford C & CC site a number of times before as it is convenient for exploring Oxford. It does have a downside though. It can be noisy as the main Oxford to London railway line runs only a couple of hundred meters away and through the night there is plenty of railway freight run on that line. Additionally there is a large factory that sometimes can be noisy. All that said, the advantages tend to outweigh the disadvantages.

We arrived at the site about 12:20 and checked in. During the winter months the site has to run on a reduced number of pitches due to the ground conditions and motorhomes are parked on the tarmac road areas. We were shown to our pitch which was on the northern side of the site. The grass wasn’t too soft but had obviously been wet for a number of days.

That evening the clear skies of the day gave way to a drop in temperature as the sun set. Behind us was a Hymermobile Motorhome, which had three satellite dishes on the roof. Now it was either an outpost of Mission Control or Andy Harris of the Motorhome Channel had upgraded to a Hymer…. but we could not smell any fresh toast being prepared, so discounted that idea.

Had Andy Harris upgraded to a Hymer?

A quick trip to Aldi to stock up on Gluevine and a few other essentials and a quick wander round Go Outdoors finished off our day.

Thursday 11th December

The weather forecast for the day was generally windy and rain but Friday looked like it would be clear again so we decided to put off our visit into Oxford for the Christmas market until then. Sue had always wanted to go Blenheim Palace and thought it would be a good destination for the day. Checking on-line they had Christmas events and it was looking promising. I checked the ticket price and was floored at the cost. For the two of us for the Christmas attractions it would be just over £45 to get in. As we were mulling that over I clicked on Trip Advisor and read some of the reviews for the Christmas event…. there weren’t many but most complained about the cost and there wasn’t actually that much to see. However one lady that had posted a review (Margaret151151 ), her last line was “…Now our visit to Waddesdon at Christmas WAS well worth the money!”

Neither of us had heard of Waddesdon!

A quick ‘google’ soon found the website and it did look interesting and the ticket price a more reasonable £36 for the two of us. Decision made, I bought the tickets on line which gave us timed entry into the house and Sat-Nav programmed we set off for Waddesdon. Located on the A41 between Bicester and Aylesbury it didn’t take very long to get there.

The house is the former home of the Rothschild family… (or some section of it… I’ve not read up on it yet) and is set in wonderful landscaped gardens. While most of the house was closed for its annual winter deep clean, one wing was still open and had been decorated for Christmas… with dozens of Christmas trees grown on the estate specifically for certain rooms in the house, so the height and width of the tree had been monitored to ensure an exact fit… here is just a few:

The trees and decorations were all themed for the rooms and they really were spectacular. Not often I stand in front of a Christmas tree(s) speechless! The timed entry into the house really worked well and there wasn’t a mass of people who could make enjoying the spectacle a disappointing experience.

The corridor from the Manor shop to the restaurant

From the house we headed down to the stable block, a short walk from the main house to the cafe and shops. If we had been there a couple of days earlier we would have also had chance to visit the Christmas market that is also held there.

The impressive and lavish stable block now houses shops and a cafe

A late lunch in the cafe followed by a walk round the Bruce Munro light installations in the grounds in a vain attempt to walk off the calories.

Waddesdon is somewhere we are planning to return to so we can see the rest of the house. We both would recommend it as a definite ‘to do’ on anyones list of Christmas places to visit.

All too soon we were back on the road towards Oxford again… it was fast approaching mulled wine time.

Friday 12th December

The weather wasn’t quite as promised but it was clearing slowly. We walked across to the Park & Ride stop opposite Go Outdoors to catch the number 300 service into the centre of Oxford.

Just as we arrived, it started to rain again so we headed in the direction of the indoor market for a mooch round in the dry. By the time we had come out the rain had stopped and we set off towards the Christmas market. Sue had an Italian version of mulled wine (well it is nearly Christmas!) while we wandered around the many stalls. As always is was rapidly approaching ‘lunch o’clock” again and we kept an eye out for a suitable place. Last time we were in Oxford it was with our friends Pete and Julie (Julie sadly passed away last year) and we had tried to get into “Jamie’s” – Jamie Oliver’s restaurant but it was full. This time we managed to beat the crowd.

We decided on a light lunch and opted for…..

JAMIE’S ULTIMATE SHARING PLANK

£10.50 PER PERSON

For two or more to share.
Artisan fennel salami, mortadella, spiced chicken-liver pâté, truffled salami & fennel pork scratchings with grissini & music bread, Cauliflower fritti,mozzarella & aged pecorino, tomato mostarda & crispy shallot rings, Olives & pickles, grilled marinated peppers, & crunchy kale slaw

… and a carafe of house white.

Now I’m not sure what I was expecting. It was nice with a good selection but maybe I was expecting more of a ‘wow’ than I got. Service initially was a bit slow off the mark but there was a Christmas party of around 20 people starting to arrive that seemed to delay things a little. The service did improve after the party group got sat down. The lunch was enjoyable and the atmosphere in the restaurant vibrant. However… I was missing the ‘wow’ that I thought I’d get… not sure what the ‘wow’ should be but there you go. Bus Guide_0001

We headed out again to cover a few more shops and to do another turn round the Christmas market – just in case we had missed anything. The light was starting to fade and all the Christmas lights decorating the streets came on. Deciding it was time to head back we retraced our footsteps back to the bus top to catch the 300 back to Redbridge Park & Ride opposite the caravan site.

Saturday 13th December

The temperature on the digital thermomiterbob said minus 2.6 degrees outside and it felt like it as it was only 10 degrees inside the caravan (OK who turned the heating on to the lowest setting then… that would be me!)

It was a bit of a lazy start packing up – Sue attended to all the inside ‘pink’ jobs while I looked after the outside ‘blue’ jobs. Thankfully the water in the Aquarol and the wastehog hadn’t frozen. I drained the loo flush tank back into an empty container and just before 11 we were ready to hitch up.

Now this is the first time that this has happened to us. The pitches at Oxford are lower than the tarmac road and on hitching up I discovered that due to the Freelander still having the front wheels on the road, the tow ball was so low I could not rotate and raise the jockey wheel so we had to unhitch again. We struggled and swung the caravan round so we were at an angle to the road and hitched up again… same problem. So we had to unhitch and swing the caravan enough so that the front wheels of the Freelander were off the road, hence lower so hitching up for a third time finally gave us the clearance to swing the jockey wheel round under the A frame and raise it.

It’s my fault as one our very first trip to Oxford with the caravan we had hired I watched someone have exactly the same problem… I should have remembered. By 11:30 we were pulling out of the site heading for home.

Surprisingly the roads were quiet. The A34 onto the M40 was very quiet and we made good time. On the M40 a National Express coach driver after taking about 40 seconds to actually overtake us (we were doing about 55 mph) decided that he didn’t actually need to know if he was clear and just pulled in without indicating with about ten inches clearance between the back of his coach and the front of the Freelander. I wish we had one of those CCTV camera recording do-hickeys.

A brief stop at Norton Caines services on the M6 Toll road and using the Caravan Club membership card to get our discount at the toll plaza we hit the M6, which even though there are road works at the M6 / M6 Toll junction was free-flowing and no delays. The rest of the M6 north was quiet too… we had never seen it run so freely even on a Saturday. By 3:30 the caravan was parked up in its storage bay and we were off home… time to go and give ‘the boys’ (our three Siamese cats) a good ‘polish’

Summing up…

Six days, three cities, two christmas markets… done!. Visiting Christmas markets is a great way of getting in the festive spirit. We used christmasmarkets.com to find out when and where the Christmas markets are. If you can’t get out in your caravan this year to a Christmas market…. start planning for next year or we might beat you to it!

The sites…

Briarfields is ideally located for exploring Cheltenham and Gloucester at any time of the year. With the additional on site motel, it’s great if you want to explore the area with family or friends that don’t have a caravan or motorhome. The site is well maintained and the facilities are spotless and it offers free WiFi. It could do with another Grey Water Disposal point though.

It is however about 1 mile (1500 metres) from the threshold of runway 27 at Gloucester airport so there will be aircraft passing overhead at around 300 to 400 feet but don’t let that put you off. They are mainly small single engine aircraft with the odd executive jet and the noise is not obtrusive. The airport operates restricted hours so the aircraft won’t be passing overhead all night. If you are an aircraft spotter it’s ideal!

Time it right and you can do Gloucester Victorian Christmas Market and Cheltenham Christmas Market in the same visit. I would suggest you book early though as it will fill up quickly, especially at Cheltenham Gold Cup time.

Would we return to Briarfileds? – Yes. Would we recommend it? – Yes.

Oxford C & CC site is ideal for exploring Oxford as it’s so easy to get into the centre by bus or walking beside the river. Oxford is a great place to visit any time of the year and is one of those cities you want to go back to time and time again. The Oxford C & CC site is a little tired, but well-kept. As the site is actually owned by Go Outdoors the C & CC club do have limitations on what they can do there to improve things. There is the known noise problem from the railway line, but in fairness it’s not constant like a road.

Would we return to Oxford C & CC? – Yes. Would we recommend it? – Yes.

Mulled Wine And Markets…

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, Events, General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Gloucester, Oxford, Touring

One of the great things about owning a caravan or motorhome is that you can go everywhere like a local, you don’t have to be a day trip visitor. In the past we have visited Christmas markets at Lincoln, Erddig and Chirk. This time we wanted to see if we could fit two Christmas Markets in one break.

Using www.christmasmarkets.com to browse the options we settled on Cheltenham and Oxford, two markets that we wouldn’t ordinarily do in a day trip. Choosing two sites near by would allow us to visit them like a local and not have to worry about driving and parking.

Situated between Gloucester and Cheltenham (near GCHQ) is Briarfields Motel and Touring Park run by Scott and Jo Sanderson. Briarfields has around 75 pitches and can accommodate motorhomes up to 40 feet in length. For Oxford the obvious choice would be the Camping & Caravan Club site.

Travelling in December always needs a bit of additional thinking about. Roads tend to be busier and the vagaries of UK weather can make even a normal journey an adventure. With that in mind, a flask of coffee and supply of sammiches for the journey seemed prudent… just in case.

Sunday 7th December

With the Sat-Nav programmed with a POI for Briarfields we picked up the caravan from the storage facility and at exactly 10:35 we pulled out heading for the M60. The Sat-Nav indicated 133 miles to destination. The traffic was unusually light, even for a Sunday and the run down took just three hours, no delays and fine weather all the way.

We pulled in and stopped at reception. Checking in was quick and simple and we were given a useful information sheet that had lots of information, everything from the bus routes into Cheltenham and Gloucester, site layout and a password for the free WiFi (other sites please note… WiFi should be free!) Passing through the security barrier we followed the perimeter road round to our pitch and were surprised just how full the site was.

All pitched in the late December sun….

The weather had been clear all day. While storms and gales had been forecast for northern England and Scotland it was calm and clear skies. However, the temperature did start to drop in the evening.

Power Problem 1.

Our friends F & R who had hired a motorhome as a ‘test’ to see if they liked it (read Time with Friends… ) had given us a lovely small Christmas tree complete with battery operated lights for the caravan when we went down to stay with them on the Isle of Wight in September. When we were all set up we got the little Christmas tree out and put it on the table… turned the lights on and… nothing. The batteries were flat. Despite plunging into the depths of my camera bag… and tool bag… and side pockets in the Freelander I didn’t have two double A size batteries. Ho Hum, we would have to get some in Cheltenham tomorrow. However, by the time I was finishing my second glass of mulled wine I suddenly realised I hadn’t checked my “Man Cupboard” in the caravan. Ah-ha… a recently acquired LED torch (a torch is what we call a flashlight for the growing number American readers out there) I had forgotten about had two of the required AA size batteries. With tree now looking resplendent with it’s LED lights shining brightly we celebrated and had another glass of mulled wine…. or two (I swear those litre bottles of Gluewein from Aldi have a hole somewhere that allows the contents to evaporate)

Monday 8th December

Monday morning was quite busy on site. The lady in the fifth wheel unit next to us was packing up as was the caravan on the other side of us and for the first hour or so there were a steady flow of caravans and motorhomes departing after the weekend. We had decided to head into Cheltenham for the day. Just outside the campsite on Cheltenham Rd you can catch the number 94 Stagecoach Gold bus that takes you into the centre of Cheltenham. From the site it only takes about ten minutes and the bus conveniently terminates on the Promenade right in the heart of the shopping area.

We did a bit of window shopping and in the Lakeland shop Sue discovered some nifty storage containers that sealed but had a vent you could open in the lid for microwaving the contents… ideal for pre-paired lunches. It was advertised as “Porridge-To-Go” but we recon it can be used for anything. By now it was lunchtime and as it was Sue’s birthday we kept an eye open for a suitable establishment. Now I’m not a big sea food aficionado and Sue is, but a few times while in the Trafford Centre in Manchester we had passed “Yo Sushi” where there always seemed to be a long queue and I’d said I wouldn’t mind giving it a try sometime. Now we just happened to be passing Yo Sushi…. and with my nose pressed to the window I said “Do you fancy giving it a go” There wasn’t a queue and we opted to sit at the ‘bar’ where we could watch all the dishes pass right in front of us. As we were Yo Sushi virgins the basics were explained and we were told it was “Blue Monday” so nearly all the dishes were priced at the lower ‘blue’ rate… handy.

Now what was intended as a small lunch ended up being over two hour’s of trying between us nearly every type of dish that passed in front of us on the little conveyor system… as well as ordering one or two specials.

As we left Yo Sushi the clear sky was changing colour into the faded blue as the sun was preparing to depart for the day. The shop window lights were now brighter than the day was and creating their own shadows as you walked past. There was a distinct chill as we headed towards the wooden huts that made up the stalls of the Christmas Market. With it being Monday it wasn’t too busy thankfully and as we approached the aroma of mulled wine, bratwurst and roasting nuts mixed with the sweet smell of aromatic candles filled the air…

People were now starting to spill onto the streets heading home or doing some shopping. We walked down past the last few stalls and headed towards the bus stop. As the service is every ten minutes we didn’t have long to wait for a bus and joined the other people heading home for the evening. We made a slight mistake in where we got off the bus. Not thinking to check where the bus stop was for the return trip, we knew it had to pass GCHQ then round the roundabout before heading down Cheltenham Rd. but where was the stop?. Playing it safe we got off just before the roundabout and followed the underpass to the other side. We needn’t have though, as the bus stop is right outside the front door of the motel section of the campsite. Well at least we walked off a bit more of our extended lunch!

Power Problem 2

We got back to the caravan and we had left the heating on it’s lowest setting and it felt quite chilly. On our first winter outing we discovered the quickest way to get the temperature inside up to comfort level was to turn both electric and gas on to the highest setting on the Truma heater. I turned the electric on to 2000 and went to light the gas… nothing. The familiar ‘click click click’ of the igniter wasn’t there. Bugger. Quick check of the gas… yep plenty and the gas hob lit OK. Right it must be a power problem. Checked the fuse in the 12 volt panel – it was OK and if I removed it the igniter on the hob stopped working. While the hob was on might as well put the mulled wine on to warm up!. At least the Christmas tree lit OK.

Right… where to start. I don’t do gas… so if it was a gas problem it would have to wait till we got home. Thankfully a while ago I put all the caravan documents on Sue’s kindle, so while warming up drinking a glass of mulled wine I perused the Truma handbook. ….. blah blah blah…. change the battery annually… What battery?. Reading further I discovered that right down at the bottom of the unit behind the front panel is a battery that runs the igniter. So, heater off, screwdriver out I removed the front panel and I found the little sliding door that concealed a single AA battery. The Christmas tree lights had to be sacrificed and a battery borrowed… so with a new AA battery installed the gas ignited. Refitting the front is a slightly more challenging task than it’s removal by the way!

They say things come in threes…

That evening we were sat watching something on TV and the mains powered lights went out… can we have any more power problems. “Bloody bollard’s tripped” I announced to Sue…I thought the bollard may have tripped as it’s only a 10 amp supply and by the time I had got my feet on the floor the lights came on again. “Ooh that’s novel” and we both peered out of the window in the general direction of the bollard who’s light was shining brightly. However it was very dark past our bollard. All down past us caravan doors were opening and people were appearing. The lights went off again and came back on almost immediately but past us everything was still in darkness. About five minutes later one of the motorhomes opposite us came and plugged into our bollard with I guess his short EHU lead extending his normal length EHU lead. I said to Sue that as only part of the site was in darkness it’s odds on that they have dropped a phase on the supply.

As the temperature inside our caravan had now reached the melting point for lead… yep forgot to turn the gas heating off… I went outside for a cigar and to cool off a bit. Scott the owner of the site had just finished talking to one of the motorhome owners opposite us and came over for a chat. It would seem that the local electricity supply company had indeed dropped a phase somewhere between the substation and campsite…. it was going to be a long night for someone trying to find the fault in the cable.

Tuesday 9th December

Overnight the temperature had dropped to zero and there was a light frost on everything.

It was one of those grey damp winter days that you just know isn’t going to improve much. We had pencilled in a day in Gloucester. Despite flying into Gloucester Airport on many occasions neither of us had ever been to Gloucester before.

Catching the same number 94 bus, this time in the opposite direction took us past Gloucester Airport and a couple of caravan dealers and 30 minutes later we were right in the centre of Gloucester.

Even for a grey Tuesday morning there were a number of shoppers braving the winter dampness and following a little map of the town centre we had we completed a tour of the shops and shopping mall ending up back near where the bus dropped us off.

As it was now lunch time and we were almost next to a J D Wetherspoon’s, it seemed like an omen. The J D Wetherspoon’s in Gloucester is a converted cinema and at one end a large proportion of wall that would have been the original screen’s position has been replaced by glass, so we sat next to this glazed expanse and chose something warm and filling from the menu.

Gloucester has had long maritime history especially in trade and after lunch we walked down to the old docks that over the last few years has seen a substantial investment and now boasts apartments, offices and retail units built in the old shipping warehouses. On a damp Tuesday afternoon in December is was almost deserted, but in summer we guessed that it would be heaving with people.

After wandering round the outlet mall we headed back into the centre towards our bus stop for the trip back to the caravan site. The following day we were due to move on to Oxford for more mulled wine and another Christmas Market.

P.S. I managed to get a pack of AA batteries from W H Smiths and that evening our little Christmas tree’s lights shone brightly again… as did my LED torch!

Next: More Mulled Wine and Markets…

Getting into the festive spirit…

06 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, General, Mini Break, Travelling In Europe, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, Christmas, Christmas Market, Christmas markets, Oxford, Touring, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

What!… It’s only August!

One of the great things you can do in the run up to Christmas to get you into the swing of things is stay a couple of nights at a site that’s within striking distance of one of the many Christmas Markets held all over the country (and Europe for that matter) Staying local also allows you to sample some of the mulled wine and cider that’s on offer.

Last year we had booked to visit Cheltenham’s famous Christmas Market, but unfortunately due to the builders not removing scaffolding from around the house in time we had to cancel. However to make up for it we decided to do two markets this year! We have booked into Briarfields an independent site just outside Cheltenham with a good bus service right into the centre of the town. From Briarfields we then head back north to Oxford to the Camping & Caravan Club’s site for a few days so we can ‘do’ Oxford’s Christmas Market too!

If you fancy the idea of visiting one of the UK’s many Christmas Markets we use this handy website that lists all the dates and opening times… http://www.christmasmarkets.com/UK.html and currently they list over 150 markets in the UK and over 250 markets all over Europe.

If you have never caravanned ‘out of season’ don’t worry. Caravan’s are great in winter… when it’s nice and toasty inside with some mulled wine… who cares what the weather is doing!

So it may only be August, but find yourselves a Christmas Market, find a site and get booked in and even better invite some caravan or motor home friends to join you.

A very early Merry Christmas.

Simon & Sue

Aww shucks, we never made it…!

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, Camping & Caravan Show, Christmas Markets, General, Projects, Travelling in the UK, Trips

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Briafields, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, ISO 11446, Manchester Caravan & Motorhome, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

For all that were waiting for our blogs and tweets from Cheltenham Christmas Markets last week, well we never made it. Unfortunately some work we were having done at Caravan Chronicles Towers over ran and the day we were due to set off, they were just erecting scaffolding on two sides of the house!

I emailed Scott & Jo Sanderson from Briarfields to let them know we would not be able to make it, offered my apologies and hoped to see them next year (Cheltenham is one of our favourite places to visit and shop). So we missed out on the Christmas Market for this year… Ho Humbug. On the up side, we do have some bottles of mulled wine that need testing!

Anyway, what it did mean was I could spend some time planning for next year. I have a two or three projects planned for the DIY enthusiasts amongst you and maybe a couple of new things too. I’m also hoping to be able to do a bit more of an in-depth review of the Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show at Event City in January as well.

I also managed to finish a little piece about ISO 11446 after Roger contacted me via email with a question. Roger had his vehicle fitted with 13 pin electrics at the main dealer and after a fridge defrosting towing session found out that the fridge connection was missing from the factory fitted 13 Pin towing electrics. This is not uncommon, especially on cars of German manufacture. The OEM wiring kits from the factory don’t always include leisure battery and/or fridge circuits, these have to be added by the main dealer in the UK.

So if you are having a new tow bar and electrics fitted from a main dealer or specialist tow bar company, always check that the electrical installation is to ISO 11446 to make sure you get all the right connections made, and if you want to know what it is, here is my simple guide: ISO 11446 – 13 Pin Trailer Connections

9Y89QGK43NF3

Not long now…

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, Christmas Markets, Events, General, Projects, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Uncategorized, Weekend Break

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Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, Christmas Market, Christmas markets, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

Well not long till we set off for Cheltenham Christmas Market ! We looked for a campsite close to Cheltenham and found one just 2.5 miles from the centre. Briarfield Touring Campsite (@BriarfieldsUK on twitter) is open all year and offers 72 hard standing pitches with all the usual facilities and free WiFi. There is a regular (every 10 minutes) bus service into Cheltenham so it means we don’t have the hassle of driving in and parking. So with the free WiFi hopefully we will be blogging and tweeting from Cheltenham in a few days time!

There is still time…

If you want to have a quick getaway and visit one of the many Christmas markets in the UK check out www.christmasmarkets.com to find out where they are and the dates. It not too late to gat a quick couple of days away in your caravan or motorhome and there is nothing like wandering round a Christmas Market drinking some mulled wine to get you in the festive spirit!

Replacing the road lights on your caravan with LED bulbs

I was hoping to have this article published by now as a number of people have emailed and asked me about it…. what are the benefits?… Is it legal?… Any problems?… Would it solve one manufacturers brake light problem? I did intend to get it on-line so that the ‘all season’ caravanners (like ourselves) could take advantage for the dark mornings and evenings.

Well unfortunately the company that was going to supply me with a selection of bulbs to use on long-term test and so I could photograph the ‘before and after’ of replacing the bulbs has pulled out. I was trying to do a deal with them so that you could order a full set of LED replacement bulbs for your caravan at a big discounted price from a UK supplier rather than chance you luck on one of the well-known auction sites and have the bulbs of varying standards coming from the far east.

So for the moment its on hold until I can find another UK supplier.

A Big Birthday and A Christmas Market

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, Events, General, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Damon's, Freelander, Lincoln Christmas Market, Thorpe Park Lodges, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailers

This was to be a bit of a celebration weekend. It was Sue’s big birthday on the Saturday, two projects I have been working on were coming to a finish and we were going to meet up with some friends Pete and Julie, who we hadn’t seen for over a year…. in fact since we went to Barnard Castle Camping and Caravanning Club’s site back in August 2011. Mind you it wasn’t a certainty we would see them this time…. they live in a small valley on the North Yorkshire Moors and it was looking like they might be snowed in.

Last year we had wanted to go to Lincoln’s Christmas Market but Sue had to work the weekend that the Lincoln market was on so we had to change date and location to Wrexham (see my post Wrexham Christmas Market). This year it fitted in nicely with Sue’s birthday. Back in September I had booked a site that was only five or six miles outside Lincoln at Thorpe-on-the-Hill just off the A46. Thorpe Park Lodges is a C & CC CL which only started a couple of years ago but from their website looked really nice. As you can probably guess from the name is mainly lodges but does have a number of pitches for caravans and motor homes.

Ant and his DR107

The first project I had been working on ground to a halt. I had been building a new ‘Santa’s Sleigh’ on a trailer for my local Rotary club and what should have been a simple task of obtaining 12 volt LED rope light proved a challenge. 12 volt is available in the USA, but not it seems in the UK. After two weeks of trying, I decided to run the old lights from the previous float via a couple of small inverters. Come spring when I have a bit more time I will be ordering 12 volt rope light from the USA. The second project is an aerobatic airplane. A close friend has been building a DR107 aerobatic aircraft and for my sins I designed and built the electrical system for the aircraft. After a bit of an issue with the new engine which required its removal and return to the engine builder, we had reinstalled it and were waiting for the guy who built it to come up to the airfield to do the final checks so we could start it. Unfortunately I was waiting for stuff to arrive for the float so wasn’t there for the start…. which went well. I was due to go with Anthony the following day to set up some of the electronics now the engine was running but had to put it off till after the weekend due to a delay in getting bits for the float. Ant decided to go and was on his way to Sleap airfield to do some finishing work on the aircraft and unfortunately hit black ice. He managed to reduce his car to a mangled pile of scrap and in the process broke both legs, crushed a couple of vertebrae and broke an arm. It took about an hour to cut him out and as a bonus he got a free flight in the air ambulance. Considering he’s a captain for Easy Jet it must have been hard not to say “cabin doors to manual” when they landed at Stoke Hospital. He was in intensive care for several days but the day before we were due to set off for Lincoln I went down to see him in hospital. I have to thank his girlfriend and family at this point as I kind of jumped the queue a bit as some of his family had not been able to see him yet.

Friday 7th December arrived and we loaded up the Freelander with our boxes. It was only a short run to the caravan storage place and by 11:10 we were hitched up and on our way. Normally our route to Lincoln from Manchester would be over the top, either Woodhead or the Snake Pass. Both were closed due to snow, so to head south-east we had to set off north up the M60 to join the M62 and turn east to head over to Pontefract and pick up the A1M southbound. At least the Freelander was behaving its self running on UK diesel after our problems with the French stuff, although we are still looking for a LR Discovery as the primary tow vehicle now.

The M62 had its usual Friday crawl through the road works but once through that it was a fairly clear run south on the A1 to just north of Newark-on-Trent where we picked up the A49 into Lincoln. We pulled into Thorpe Park Lodges entrance bang on 2:00PM. The barrier is controlled by a key less system so I left Sue in the Freelander and wandered in to find reception… which was still in the final stages of being built. A helpful young chap who was just finishing off some of the exterior trim work on the building greeted me and he walked back with me to open the barrier. He told us we could park on any of the vacant pitches and said they would be full for the weekend. We followed the little track round past a motor home, then past another mahoosive motor home based on a lorry chassis, past another and finally on to pitch 8 which had a view through the trees of the fishing lake… mind you they all had views of the fishing lake!

We unhitched and with the help of the chap who let us in swung the van round and pulled it forward ‘nose in’ to the pitch so we had a perfect view of the lake. We soon had the steadies down and the heater on. Between each pair of pitches is the EHU bollard and next to it there is a fresh water tap so no long walks towing the aquaroll were required. It would not take much to upgrade each tap to allow a super pitch type water supply to each caravan or motor home. I didn’t even have to turn the Status TV aerial to get all the lights on the signal strength meter lit, I have never seen them all on before!

Saturday 8th December

A view of our caravan through the trees

It was Sue’s birthday and she opened all the cards we had brought with us. We had arranged to meet up with Pete and Julie in Lincoln at 12:00. They were staying on a site at Sturton near RAF Scampton. They had not been able to book into Thorpe Park Lodges as it was full when they tried to book!

Earlier that morning I had been chatting to our neighbours who were in a rather nice motor home next to us. They were from the north east and had also travelled down for the Christmas market. They had tried to book a taxi earlier to take them into Lincoln but had been told that it was not advisable to take a dog as it was already very busy…. I’d looked at the park and ride for the market and found it only operated from Lincoln show ground which was about 12 miles away to the north and cost a whopping £15. A taxi seemed like a good idea. We rang the number our neighbours had given us and ordered a taxi. The girl on the other end of the phone told me it would be 11:45 before it could pick us up as they were busy. I said we would wait at the entrance to the site.

By 12:10 Pete was on the phone to Sue asking where we were…. just as the taxi arrived. We agreed to meet them in front of the cathedral…. and asked the taxi driver to drop us close to the cathedral. We followed the A46 bypass around Lincoln and as we crossed a roundabout half joking I said to Sue “Look there’s a Frankie and Bennies, if it all goes pear shape and we can’t find somewhere in Lincoln for your birthday we can go there” The taxi driver overheard us and as we approached the next roundabout he said “If you like ribs, Damon’s is the best place to go”. The taxi driver dropped us off as near to the cathedral as he could. We wandered down the street and rang Pete & Julie to tell them that we would be there in a few minutes.

This is where it started to go pear-shaped. In its effort to cram as many stalls in as possible Lincoln council had to instigate a one way system and at first it was not too bad, but by the time we had entered the market we were down to a shuffle wedged in between hundreds of others shuffling in the same direction. We reached the first corner and knew that Pete and Julie were just the other side of a temporary barrier across the street. The ever efficient council support staff took a break from their texting to tell us that it was a one way system and we had to go round… we set off again shuffling along past some stalls which we couldn’t get near as the shuffling masses pressed on relentlessly. We approached the cathedral gardens and there was a gate staffed by more council support staff…. some texting but most leaning on the barrier. I asked if we could go through round the front of the cathedral… sorry this is for disabled only you have to follow the one way system. It took us 35 minutes of mindless shuffling like something out of a bad 1950’s Russian propaganda film to complete three sides of the cathedral. Lincoln Christmas Market had succeeded in removing any Christmas spirit from us and hundreds of other people. To make matters worse an Orwellian dismembered voice kept announcing over the tannoy that there was a one way system in operation for our convenience….

We finally met up with Pete and Julie and Sue managed to grab a cup of mulled wine as we shuffled past a mulled wine stall relentlessly on towards the castle. Once inside the castle grounds this is where in my opinion it became dangerous. We got to a point where the route turned and became narrower. The shuffling stopped and we were penned in. I turned and looked back and saw they were still allowing people in to the castle grounds and the exit was blocked. We stood for about 5 minutes not moving, then we shuffled forward a couple of feet and stood again for another five minutes. Behind us they were still letting people in. Small children were now being lifted up and put on the shoulders of parents and I could not have lifted my arms up. Some pwople were obviously getting a bit panicky and a few of the stall holders were now letting people ‘escape’ the mass and stand at the back of the stalls. It took 40 minutes to reach the castle gateway, I guess a distance of maybe 100 metres and cross over the small bridge. That was it, we like hundreds of others were looking for a way out. We had all had enough.

We eventually made our way out and found ourselves at the top of The Steep Hill. Sue and I had a number of years ago visited Browns Pie Shop and I thought that this might be somewhere for a spot of late lunch as there was no chance of getting anything in the Christmas market. However the council support staff struck again. In site of Browns Pie Shop we were told we had to follow the one way system… which meant going down a back street to the bottom of The Steep Hill and coming back up with the one way system. For feck’s sake. Sorry Browns Pie Shop, you lost some trade.

Earlier Pete and Julie had driven to the park and ride…. and after recovering from the shock of the £15 fee decided to drive in to Lincoln and chance parking…. which was not actually a problem as they found a pay and display car park right in the centre which was a lot cheaper. After trying to negotiate our way through the main street that was jammed with people shuffling towards the Steep Hill, and the entrance to Christmas Market Purgatory, we headed back to Pete and Julie’s car.

Damon’s takeout menu

We soon found ourselves heading out of Lincoln on the A46. In the car we were discussing what to do for Sue’s birthday as none of us wanted to go back into Lincoln and as luck would have it we were approaching the roundabout where Damon’s our taxi driver’s recommendation was. Julie or Sue said lets call in and see if there is a menu we can look at for tonight. Pete parked up and the girls disappeared inside. I stood next to Pete’s car and had a cigar. I’d not had a cigar since we were in French France.

The girls came out clutching a menu…. we all had a quick look and agreed this was the place. They had recommended booking as they were busy so the girls disappeared back inside and booked a table for the four of us at 6:45. Pete and Julie ran us back to our caravan so they could have a look round the site and have a quick coffee. THey then set off back to their caravan and we agreed to meet up in the bar at 6:30 for 6:45 at Damon’s

It’s funny the things that you do sometimes…. I decided that the kettle needed a sort out. Ever since France it had built up a huge amount of limescale. Luckily we had some white wine vinegar in the comestibles box and a quick boil with a 50/50 mix of white wine vinegar and water shifted most of it. A second boiling with a fresh mix cleared the rest and a third of just fresh water to remove any possible taste of vinegar. One of my next jobs will be to tackle the water heater and pipes in the caravan as we definitely have reduced flow.

We arrived early a Damon’s and sat at the bar for a while. It was announced our table was ready, but no Pete and Julie. We decided to sit at the table and wait as the bar was filling up quickly. While we sat waiting we perused the menu… 6:45 and no P & J. We were sat at a table for six on our own and this place was packed to the doors… the waiter came back, were we ready to order? Er…no we were still waiting for our friends. Sue rang Pete…. “Where are you?”. “Stood at the bar”. After much arm waiving and gesticulating Sue went off to collect them. I spotted on the back of the menu it said anyone with a birthday gets their meal for free. When Sue arrived back with P & J I asked one of the waitresses… all we needed was proof like a driving licence. I asked her if she had her driving licence with her…. Sue had a firtle in the magic bag that is the hold-all of all handbags…. no she had left her purse back in the caravan. It’s just our luck!

Considering the place was packed to the rafters, the service was excellent and the food was great. The taxi driver was right, Damon’s was the best place to go for ribs… and steak for that matter. What started as a disaster of a day was made up for by our visit to Damon’s, and if you are in the Lincoln area we can recommend it… and if it’s your birthday take your driving licence!

Sunday 9th December

Not wanting to head back into Lincoln again, we had a quick look on the internet for anything else that was on. At the Lincoln Show Ground there was an antique market … sometimes these are just excuses for people to empty the contents of their loft onto an old pasting table. Pete had gone in search of LPG for their car and we agreed to ring them if the antique market was anything special. There were a few interesting stalls, but we didn’t spot anything that was worth raiding the piggy bank for. We rang P & J and arranged to meet them for a pub lunch. They were staying near Sturton-by-Stow so we headed out that direction and found two local pubs in the village. We chose The Plough Inn simply because there were more cars in the car park… logically thinking it was more popular. Sue tried to ring Pete to tell him… no signal… I managed to send a text through but as Pete was on a new phone and he only had Sue’s number he might ignore it. We went in and ordered drinks. We were perusing the large blackboard that was acting as the menu when the people leaving the table just in front of the blackboard commented and said they had just had a meal and it was wonderful. This was a good sign!

P & J finally arrived and we all ordered, I decided to go the whole hog and ordered the mixed grill…. well it was a very late ‘brunch’ really. The recommendation given to us earlier was not wrong, it was good home-made and honest food. After spending a lazy Sunday lunch in the pub, we headed off to P & J’s caravan. We had not seen their ‘new to them’ caravan. Their last one had sadly ‘died’ not long after the Barnard Castle adventure and they had spent a while looking for a new van. This one was a rather nice and well looked after 1998 Coachman Wanderer 16/5

It was getting late, I was all coffee’d out and the wine had run out about an hour earlier. It was time to leave P & J and head back to our caravan. We went back ‘cross country’ on some of the smaller roads which had been gritted not long before we drove over them. It was only about eight miles this way we missed out the A46 and traffic-cone city. We settled down in the van with our feet up to reflect on the weekend. With the exception of the Christmas market, maybe it had not been a bad weekend. We had a couple of nice meals with good friends and we had both been able to enjoy a drink or two in turn, although we didn’t drink any of the mulled wine we took with us!

Monday morning arrived all to soon and it was time to pack up and hitch up. The couple of motor homes that didn’t leave on Sunday also started packing up and by the time we were hitched up, there was us and our neighbours from the north-east left. We left at around 10:50 and at 13:20 we pulled into the storage place to drop off the van.

Would we visit Lincoln Christmas Market again?. Probably not, but we would most definitely stay again at Thorpe Park Lodges, but don’t tell anyone….. we don’t want it to get too busy there!

Merry Christmas

S & S

PS….. I’ll leave you with a few pictures from Thorpe Park Lodges site

The small bridge across to the fishing island

Looking from the amenities block towards our caravan in the distance

One of the fishing pegs on the island

Our caravan from across the lake

The view from the right hand side of the van

Caravan Chronicles

~ not just another caravan blog

Category Archives: Christmas Markets

End of Year Catch Up…

Christmas Markets…

Next stop…. York

National Railway Museum…

Some other bits…

What’s happening in Caravan Chronicles in 2018…

Towing covers….

Feeling Festive and Shooting a Video…

Monday 12th December

Tuesday 13th December

Thursday 15th December

A Cheeky Pre-Christmas Break…

Thursday 17th December

Friday 18th December

Saturday 19th December

Sue to the rescue

Monday 21st December

What do we think?

More Mulled Wine and Markets…

JAMIE’S ULTIMATE SHARING PLANK

Mulled Wine And Markets…

Getting into the festive spirit…

Aww shucks, we never made it…!

Not long now…

A Big Birthday and A Christmas Market

Christmas Markets…

Next stop…. York

National Railway Museum…

Some other bits…

What’s happening in Caravan Chronicles in 2018…

Towing covers….

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Monday 12th December

Tuesday 13th December

Thursday 15th December

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Thursday 17th December

Friday 18th December

Saturday 19th December

Sue to the rescue

Monday 21st December

What do we think?

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JAMIE’S ULTIMATE SHARING PLANK

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