• Home
  • Help Guides
    • Storage Sites
    • Equipment Reviews
  • Links
  • Document Library
    • Electrical Drawings
  • Photo Gallery
  • Trip Map
    • Caravan Log
    • MPG
  • Shop
  • About
    • Contact

Caravan Chronicles

~ not just another caravan blog

Caravan Chronicles

Tag Archives: Glastonbury

Glastonbury 2016…

23 Saturday Jul 2016

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

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, Somerset, The Old Oaks, Touring

A bit late but here’s a round up of our last trip down to Glastonbury…

Monday 20th June

As we’d been able to pre-load the caravan we had chance to get an early start on the 215 mile run south down to The Old Oaks just outside Glastonbury. Generally we have been lucky with the traffic on all our trips and this today was no exception. The M6 was smooth flowing and after leaving the caravan storage facility at 7:45 we pulled into Stafford Services around 9:30 to collect a couple of take-out coffee’s from Costa and have a leg stretch. By 10:00 we were back on the M6 and the easy traffic meant we could fairly breeze along at 55 all the way down to Birmingham, only slowing down for the four lane high level sectioned roadworks just after the start of the M5. It had been on and off light rain all the way until we passed over the high level bridge at Avonmouth when blue cracks started to appear in the overcast. Having been down to Glastonbury when the festival was on several times before we noticed that the signs for festival traffic had changed slightly and there were more of them. Winding our way around the outskirts of Glastonbury, which was now in bright sunlight was almost second nature… to the point Sue was commenting on things that had grown in peoples gardens since we were last here. I finally pulled the handbrake on out side reception at 13:20…. a total time of just over 5 hours if you take off the 30 minutes stop at Stafford  Services.

The usual post setup photo

The usual post setup photo

Tuesday 21st June

Tuesday started out cloudy but bright and we decided to walk into Glastonbury. From the site there are a few paths you can choose. A good idea is to pick up an OS Explorer Map (Number 141) as it shows not only the paths into Glastonbury, but if you want to walk the 1.6Km across to the festival you can do so using public footpaths across the fields.

OS Explorer Map No 141 (c)Ordnance Survey

OS Explorer Map No 141 (c)Ordnance Survey

IMG_0593Leaving the site via the footpath that runs up to the two old oaks, at the gate turn left and follow the path to Stone Down Lane, At the next gate turn right up Stone Down lane for the steep pull up Stone Down Hill heading directly towards the Tor.

Once you reach the top, and have regained the strength to carry on, bare right at the junction and continue to follow Stone Down Lane past the base of the Tor (photo). Follow this road for a few hundred metres and at the next junction bare right following this as it climbs up slightly for a couple of hundred metres. At the next junction you are at the top of Bove Town where it joins Paradise Lane (you can follow Paradise Lane back to the campsite). Turn left and head down hill, down Bove Town and it brings you out on Wells Road, just at the top of the High Street. I think it took us around 50 minutes to do the walk. All the walking meant it must be time for some form of snack… brunch maybe…. and we wandered down the High Street towards our favoured Heapy’s Cafe. Sitting outside enjoying brunch we could keep an eye on the local market and all the comings and goings of the very popular (and cheap) veg stall….. and a few of the craft stalls too!

IMG_0595 IMG_0596IMG_0598After doing our usual saunter round the shops and sights we decided to head back following the Main Road and up Wicks Lane. This is not a route I’d recommend if you are nervous about walking along the side of a busy narrow road. It is however a much flatter route if a bit longer.

Wednesday 22nd June

As it was arrivals day for the festival, it’s always prudent to either stay local or go somewhere miles away. We opted for the stay local and headed off to the Clarkes Outlet Village in Street. Setting off early…. just in case!

Turning right out of the site into Wick Lane didn’t hint at the chaos unfolding on the roads. However at the end of Wick Lane…. it was stationary traffic heading towards Pilton on the A361. Thankfully we were heading in the opposite direction and it was clear. We continued to pass standing traffic… that by now had festival revellers wandering about… in one camper van they were cooking bacon… I could smell it as we drove slowly past and in another it looked like the bar was open and a group were all sitting down in the road between the vehicles. The traffic was still stationary as we went round the roundabout on Magdalene Street and still standing traffic. By the time we reached the roundabout at the A361 – A39 junction it was just a mahoosive car park. Following the A39 past “Burn’s The Bread’ bakery and over the river it was still stationary and looked like it had been for a while. As we got to the big roundabout where the bit of dual carriageway is… still a car park and at that point we turned into a very quiet Clarkes Outlet Village.

Arriving early the shops weren’t open yet…. but the local Frankie’s & Bennies was and they were serving breakfast.. it would be rude not to wouldn’t it!

Several hours (and shopping bags) later it was time to head back… the A39 car park  from earlier was still a car park. Ok… plan of action. Having the OS Explorer map in the car was handy and after a bit of finger tracing…. Cue the music…. we set off like we were in The Italian Job navigating round Milan. 25 minutes later we were back at The Old Oaks having crossed standing traffic on the A39/A361 three times. Navigating like a local….. DONE!

Thursday 23rd

Having never been to Cheddar Gorge… well Sue had when she was about 12 or 13…. it was time to correct that. Thursday started out well…

IMG_0608

Lets say we had 110% humidity and 10% of that was falling… it never rains on holidays. The local weather report following the morning news was upbeat and the rain was expected to clear, which it did almost as soon as the forecaster said it, it stopped.

Firing up the Freelander we punched the destination into the Sat-Nave and trundled off hoping the previous days traffic had now cleared, which it had.

Arriving in the village we parked at the first car park at the bottom of the gorge, donating a large slice of my wallet to do so to the young woman in the small office. Never having been here and to be honest not doing any research beforehand we did not know what to expect. Following the signs we wandered in the general upwards direction towards the entrance. On arriving we were a bit stunned to see the admission price… OK we wanted to visit but hell I didn’t want to invest enough for a 10% equity stake in the place. Deciding we needed more info before committing…. and caffeine to overcome the financial news forecast on the state of my wallet, we wandered in search of coffee. Passing the cheese factory shop and always on the hunt for nice cheeses we hopped in and out again. Now that was just taking the… £6.50 for something that was more wrapping than content. (Note… go to Wells market on a Saturday and you can get huge blocks of local hand-made cheese for half the price). We spied a tea shop – The Wishing Well Tea Rooms, that had a raised vantage point and a free table….

IMG_0612

… and ordered coffee and scrambled eggs on toast while we contemplated our next move… which it turned out was a leisurely round-about drive back heading up the gorge and going cross country.

IMG_0613

Our route back took us past a couple of the entrances to the Festival, which by now were full of very soggy revellers….

IMG_0614

That evening it was Cadac time…. unfortunately One Harry Caravanner forgot his apron of disguise… so I had to step up to the plate and came up with a Tex-Mex…

IMG_0617

So… Cadac all set up….IMG_0621

Yes… it’s all under control dear…. yes I have stirred it…. no its not burning….

IMG_0620

… doing nicely…..

IMG_0622

… add the sauce and more spices….

IMG_0623

… and serve on a wrap….

IMG_0624

…`waddya mean… where’s the salad?

Friday 24th June

IMG_0630

Clouds on the horizon greeted us when we got up, but sun was forecast for most of the day with a shower or two later. Deciding we needed some exercise we decided to do a circular walk round the site and so headed off along one of the many footpaths that are around the site, heading off first to visit “the girls” (the chickens) and to see how the pond work had being going over the closed season.

IMG_0633

A lot of effort had gone into tidying up and clearing weeds from the pond… not that it really needed tidying up in the first place mind you…

IMG_0632

IMG_0635

We set off past the two old oaks and along the track that looked down on to the site, which is actually quite hidden from the surrounding areas…

IMG_0637

… and you do get a view across the valley of the festival site… yep it’s just over there…

IMG_0638

Turning back onto Wick Lane the sky started to darken and we picked up the pace as we could see the rain slowly moving towards us from the hills to the east. By the time we turned into the site spots were falling and we just made it as far as the little hut with the elsan point… unfortunately this picture doesn’t show the torrential downpour that had us trapped there for about 10 minutes…

IMG_0641

 

IMG_0642

The rest of the evening was damp to say the least!

Saturday 25th June

Saturday is Wells market, and definetly worth a visit. There are some excellent little craft stalls and some really good local food stalls with everything from fresh local veg to French and Italian olives, locally cured meats, a rather delicious smelling bread stall and one of those stalls that when you want one you can never find one…. a great stall selling every type of shoe and boot lace you could possibly imagine. Enjoying the scrambled egg on toast a couple of days earlier, we found a suitable place to sit overlooking the market and ordered the same again, complete with two large coffees. We just about managed to finish or brunch and coffee when the rain came down again briefly.

IMG_0646

As we were due to head home in the morning, the afternoon was spent tidying up, generally pottering about and watching this guy…

IMG_0645It’s always a welcome break coming down to The Old Oaks and it always seems no sooner than we arrive than we are packing to leave. Better start planning the next trip then, which might have a few changes in the setup… lets call it “Project Wolf”. Stay tuned for more!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

When Things Don’t Go To Plan…

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Accessories, General, Mini Break, Towing, Travelling in the UK, Trips

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, One Hairy Caravanner, The Old Oaks, West Somerset Railway

A few weeks ago we had a five-day break down at The Old Oaks, Glastonbury but all did not go quite to plan.

We had loaded up the caravan over the weekend ready for an early departure on the Monday. I’d done the usual checks, including wheel nut torque and tyre pressure…. oops, the left was down from its normal 62 PSI to a lowly 50 PSI and the right hand side was sitting at 52 PSI. Now at home I have a compressor and air lines in the workshop and it’s a simple matter of pulling out the retractable airline and squirting a bit of air in the tyre, but one thing I don’t have is a suitable 12 volt air compressor. Never the one to miss a tool or accessory buying opportunity after loading the caravan we headed in the direction of one of the well-known auto stores. Finding the correct section in the store and reading all the boxes of the various options it seemed they didn’t have an offering that would hit the magical 62 PSI…. not even the all-singing digital set your pressure and bob’s your Uncle £60 version. OK I’d have to come up with an alternative.

Monday 28th June

We set off just after nine for the 200 or so miles drive south to Glastonbury. I’d decided that it would be easier to stop off at a garage as soon as we could to correct the tyre pressure in the caravan tyres. I’d thought about the route and the only garage i knew that would allow me to get the Freelander and caravan in was the first services on the M6 – Knutsford. We joined the M60 in Stockport and picked up the M56 past the airport. The main cause of damage to under inflated tyres is over heating brought on by overloading and speed. We weren’t overloaded and I reduced speed as much as I could on the motorway without hopefully causing any problems. I had noticed that the caravan didn’t feel comfortable being towed. Normally towing with the Freelander is a pleasure as Land Rover know how to make vehicles that can tow, even an older one like ours.

It wasn’t too long before we were leaving the A56 and joining the M6 south and within a few hundred yards I was indicating to pull off into Knutsford Services. We have only been in Knutsford Services once before to meet up with friends coming down from Scotland to head in convoy to the Isle of Wight and one thing that struck me, being more aware of the need for them towing a caravan, is the lack of signs. We followed the road round for the filling station and pulled in looking round for the “Air Line” sign. Sue jumped out and walked over the forecourt shop, emerging a few minutes later. “The air line is round the back” Great… we were in totally the wrong position and would have to reverse back “and it’s out-of-order” Fantastic. No choice but to head back on to the motorway and call in at the next services – Sandbach.

What a difference, plenty of signs and you didn’t have to go through the garage forecourt to access the airline. It was a pay-to-inflate unit and setting the pressure to 62 before pulling out the air line, which was quite long enough to reach we were soon back to our normal operating pressure. Sue popped into the shop and picked up two coffees and we headed out back on to the M6. What a difference a few pounds of air pressure makes. Within a mile or so I could tell everything was behaving and feeling as it should. Since this trip I’ve bought a portable 12 volt air compressor that is capable of inflating to 95 PSI and Ill be posting a full review of it shortly. If your tyres are only a few pounds out, sort it out before you set off, it makes the world of difference to the towing experience.

Living in Manchester, like most Mancunians, we have a love hate relationship with the M6. We like the fact it is close and allows us to go north or south easily but hate the fact it is prone to mahoosive tailbacks from time to time. This morning it was the former, no accidents, traffic flowing easily and we maintained a cruise of 55-56 MPH all the way down to Birmingham, only slowing down for a bit of congestion at the M5 junction. The M5 was quiet and by 1:00 we were pulling in to Michael Wood services for a sammich and cup of coffee. Setting off again into the afternoon sun it was an easy hour and a half drive down to The Old Oaks, pulling in at exactly ten to three.

Ove winter, the entrance to The Old Oaks has been updated to allow the installation of automatic barriers.

Over winter, the entrance to The Old Oaks has been updated to allow the installation of automatic barriers.

Up-dated landscaping to the front of reception.

Up-dated landscaping to the front of reception.

As usual, checking in is quick and easy and the staff are always friendly and helpful. As we hadn’t had chance to do our usual pre trip caravan wash and polish we took the opportunity to book a full wash and polish by a local company. This can be arranged by the staff in reception.

We were parked once again in the walnut circle, and as connecting to power, water and drainage is always straight forward at The Old Oaks it didn’t take long before it was wine ‘o’clock.

Pitch with elbow space… you never feel hemmed in and plenty of grass to sit out on.

Pitch with elbow space… you never feel hemmed in and plenty of grass to sit out on. Glastonbury Festival is on the hill in the background.

And the view from our pitch….

SPB_5D_098290

Tuesday 23rd June

Tuesday is market day in Glastonbury, and as Glastonbury festival was due to start it’s always full of interesting characters and after a tour of the market stalls, sitting outside Heaphy’s Cafe enjoying a coffee (green tea in Sue’s case) and Panini in the mid morning sun affords one the pastime that is people watching.

My feet were starting to hurt and were rather tender and I was hobbling rather than walking by now. The back story to this is back in March I’d gone back to work after a few years of ‘retirement’ and working airside at Manchester Airport we have to wear safety shoes, that are mainly plastic and Kevlar, so we can pass through the metal detectors without steel toe caps setting them off. These safety shoes don’t allow feet to breath and for the past couple of weeks I thought I’d got athlete’s foot and had been treating it with a proprietary medicated powder. However my feet had started to blister and walking was to say the least uncomfortable.

We drove back to the caravan and had an afternoon of sitting in the sunshine watching all the comings and goings at the site and catching up on a bit of reading, in my case a couple of copies of Land Rover Owner magazine.

By early evening we were both feeling a bit hungry so my alter ego “One Hairy Caravanner” assembled the Cadac and rustled up something from our purchases earlier in the day….

SPB_5D_098297Local sausages, pan fried new potatoes, spicy omelettes (Mexican style) made from fresh eggs laid by the chickens at The Old Oaks, and salad.

By 7:00 I could hardly stand and Sue headed down to reception to find out if there was a local surgery where I might be able to get an emergency appointment. Sue appeared back shortly “We’re off to hospital” she announced. I though this would be a  long drive to one of the major towns, but only three or four miles away was the local cottage hospital – West Mendip Community Hospital. 10 minutes later we were booking in. The receptionist entered my name, date of birth and address and up popped all my GP’s details. We sat in the waiting area with a few others waiting our turn.

Eventually we were seen by a nurse ( I wish I could remember her name) and in conversation it turned out she was from Stalybridge and worked at Tameside Hospital before moving south to an area her and her partner loved and had spent many holidays there. She took one look at my feet and decided it wasn’t athletes foot… and declared a second opinion was needed. A few minutes later another nurse practitioner appeared and  after delving into a bit of medical history it suddenly dawned on us that I’d had an allergic reaction to something. Now backing up a bit, about 18 months earlier I’d bought a pair of – love ’em or hate ’em ‘Croc’s” to use pottering about in, but after a couple of hours wearing them I’d got tiny blisters over the top of my feet… didn’t wear them for a while, tried again and the blisters came back, even with socks on. It turns out I had a reaction to the plastic in the safety shoes at work.

Feet covered with cream and bandaged and with a big box of antibiotic pills we sat outside the caravan…. this was going to scupper all the plans we had for the holiday.

Wednesday 24th June

Having the ability to only hobble a few yards and having to have my feet dressed twice a day meant it was a feet up kind of day, doing absolutely bugger all. By now I’d read everything. Sue had depleted her reading matter and sat in the sun realised that she might just have to tow the caravan home on Sunday. This would be a bit of a challenge as Sue had never towed the caravan. I’m definatly going to get her on the next Caravan Club towing course.

We did manage a genteel walk (or hobble in my case) around the fishing lake at The Old Oaks and along the new path created that takes you through the woods and round the top of the site.

I managed to just about capture a couple of the dozens of dragonfly’s that were around the lake…

SPB_5D_098307 SPB_5D_098319 …and somewhere under here was a big fish that kept causing a splash as it was after the insects…

SPB_5D_098306

Wednesday night was curry night, and we, like a lot of the other caravanners and motor-homers ordered a curry, collected by a couple of the staff from the site from the local Indian restaurant.

Thursday 25th June

Thursday started rather misty…. well it was at ten to seven!

SPB_5D_098330

WSRDispite the misty start, by eight o’clock it was burning off nicely and promising to be another warm sunny day.

Today was the day that the guys were coming over to wash and polish the caravan so we put the chairs away so they had a clear run around the caravan.

The twice daily feet dressings seemed to be working and we decided to head over to Bishops Lydeard, just north west of Taunton, to take a trip on the West Somerset Railway for a day out in Minehead. The first steam train departed for Minehead at 10:25 so estimating it would take about an hour to drive we set off just before nine. I’d already programmed the station as a POI into the Sat-Nav a couple of visits earlier as we had always intended to go before now and the cross-country route was an easy drive through some picturesque countryside. West Somerset Railway is apparently, the longest heritage railway in England.. although I have heard that Severn Valley hopes at some point in the future to add to its route which may be slightly longer. Then again West Somerset has ambitions to connect up to Taunton via Norton Fitzwarren.

It takes about an hour and twenty-five minuets for the train journey from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead, passing through eight stations. One of the more notable stops is the one just before Minehead at Dunster, where you can visit the castle or walk through the old village.

SPB_5D_098332

Somehow pictures of steam trains always seem better in monochrome…. well to me anyway!

SPB_5D_098333Although I worked for a rail company for years, I know very little about steam engines, apart from the basics. I do like some of the engineering details though. This do-hicky was gently hissing steam but I haven’t a clue as to what it is or does.

SPB_5D_098338

I appreciate all the people who give up hours and hours of their time to volunteer and work on many of the heritage railways we have visited. They look after everything from the engines and rolling stock to the track bed and buildings in a supreme effort to maintain some of Britons finest engineering heritage. It’s always worth visiting these railways in en effort to support them… and it’s always a good day out too!

SPB_5D_098340

Sue waiting patiently while I wander round taking photos, even getting the coffee in!
SPB_5D_098342

One of those classic “looking down the platform from the train” shots…. SPB_5D_098348

The first glimpse of the sea after passing through Williton…SPB_5D_098350

…and of course the other classic train shot… the train rounding a bend…

SPB_5D_098359After years of traveling on trains up and down the country, it is great to not have the background engine noise from a DMU or some motor or other running on an electric unit… just the clickety-clack of wheels passing over rail joints. No welded rails here. The down side is of course sometimes getting covered in ash if you forget to close the window at the appropriate moment!

SPB_5D_098367

Minehead is probably more well known by generations of families for the Butlins holiday camp than anything else. There is evidence of human occupation in the area since the Bronze and Iron Ages.

A handy pocket guide with a map available free at the station.

A handy pocket guide with a map available free at the station.

There was a small port at Minehead by 1380, which grew into a major trading centre during the medieval period. Most trade transferred to larger ports during the 20th century, but pleasure steamers did call at the port. Major rebuilding took place in the town following a fire in 1791. The town is the starting point of the South West Coast Path National Trail, the nation’s longest long-distance countryside walking trail.

Minehead’s picturesque harbour with its RNLI station and shop, also hosts summer pleasure boat cruises on the paddle steamer Waverley and motor vessel Balmoral.

It doesn’t take too long to walk the sea front and using a handy pocket guide we picked up on the station platform we set off up the main shopping street in search of coffee and brunch avoiding the crowds at the cafe next to the station.

Although it was overcast, it was warm enough to sit outside and do a spot of people watching as we ate lunch. Sue needed to find a chemist to stock up on bandages and gauze pads for dressing my feet… which were improving at a remarkable rate, and according to the guide there was a “Boots” on the main street.

Medical supplies replenished we explored some of the other shops. The further away you go from the sea front, the shops change from mainly tourist/souvenir to a mix of local and specialist.

SPB_5D_098370 SPB_5D_098368 SPB_5D_098373

By now it was time to head back towards the railway station. We planned on catching the last train back at 16:25 arriving in Bishops Lydeard around 17:35. I think a lot of people were planning on this and the platform was fairly busy… I guess how it must have been in the heyday of rail.

We got back to find the caravan all lovely and shiny in the evening sun. The guys had been and washed and polished the caravan and after a close inspection I concluded that they had done an excellent job. I can recommend the service.

SPB_5D_098376

Friday 26th June

“Phew what a scorcher” could well have been the headline in any of the red tops. Clear blue sky and first day proper day of Glastonbury Festival. We had passed by Clarkes Outlet Village several times and naively assumed it was just an outlet village for the Clarkes shoe factory, but reading through some of the tourist info available in the information centre at The Old Oaks discovered it was lots of shops. Sue never wishing to miss a ‘shopertunity’ (and me neither really… ) thought it might be worth a visit.

There is a great selection of major brand outlet shops that seem to go on forever and they link up with the main shopping street of Street – the town. There is a selection of chain restaurants there too if you need sustenance on an extended visit. Sue spied a “must have” handbag that was a bit of a bargain and I managed to pick up a pair of sandals from the Clarkes shop.

Friday night is ‘fish and chip’ night at The Old Oaks… you place your order anytime throughout the day and they are delivered direct to the site. The only thing we found was it’s worth popping the oven on before they arrive to warm the plates and heat up the fish and chips for a few minutes. These were washed down with a rather nice bottle of local cider bought in the site shop.

Saturday 27th June

Another place we had always intended to visit on one of the previous trips down was Haynes_0001the Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford near Yeovil. It’s only a short drive following the Sat-Nav across country, almost the same route you take to the Fleet Air-Arm Museum (another ‘must’ if you haven’t been before).

The museum, which was established in 1985, is an Educational Charitable Trust chaired by John Haynes OBE, of Haynes Publishing Group, the company that publishes the Haynes Manuals. The museum contains over 400 cars and motorcycles.

When we arrived in front of the recently refurbished and new sections of the building the local motorcycle club was holding an event and there were stands from motorcycle suppliers, the local police and ambulance services with displays including some of the bikes they use. It was an added bonus to the visit.

While there you can visit the Museum Motoring Shop or get a coffee or a meal in the  Café 750 and if you really want…. you can get married there too!Haynes01

“Do they do them in any other colours?”
100_3387

Err… that will be a “No”… this is the red room.
100_3386

Sunday 28th June

All to quickly our time was up for this break. Sue was pleased that she didn’t have to go through the traumas of towing the caravan for the first time as my feet were recovering quite well. We packed up and by 10:15 were leaving The Old Oaks heading towards the M5 and back north towards home. Nothing went to plan on this trip really, but sometimes it’s just like that and there is not much you can do except just ride along with it. We had great weather and as usual The Old Oaks and it’s staff proved why it’s probably one of the top sites in the UK.

Epilogue

It was unusual for me to return home from a trip and have to go back to work the following day. I’ve not had to do that for a few years and hence why this post about the trip took so long to write… next time I’ll start writing while we are away.

So where is our next trip going to take us ?. Well, back in January (before I knew I’d be returning to work) we had booked a number of trips away, some of which we had to cancel. However one of the trips we did book that we can do was to another Tranquil Touring sites for our wedding anniversary in September –   Plough Lane Caravan Site, near Chippenham.

What’s next, Well I have a review of a rather handy 12 volt tyre inflator which I mentioned earlier that I have been impressed by coming up for you and I’ve been trying to catch up on all the emails the blog receives. Since passing one million page views a while back the blog is as busy as ever and companies are now interested in asking me to review kit and equipment, so there might be some sponsored reviews coming up in the near future. I’m still blown away by how fast the blog has grown in just over three and a half years since I started tapping away on a keyboard.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Time With Friends… Pt 2

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Fleet Air Arm Museum, Glastonbury, The Old Oaks, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

Previously: Time With Friends… Pt 1

Wednesday 9th April

We left Morn Hill around 10:40 and set off for The Old Oaks, F & R following in their motor home. Somewhere along the route we caught up with a police escorted wide load and for around 40 minutes remained at a slow steady speed which didn’t do much for our MPG!. However just before we reached Longleat, the load headed off in a different direction and we could continue at our normal pace. Passing Stonehenge I noticed that F & R were not behind us anymore… As we were coming through Pilton on the A361 I said to Sue “that looks like F & R’s motor home in front”. We followed it through West Pennard and debated on whether it was F & R a few cars in front of us. When they slowed and turned right into Wick Lane, it could have only been them… unless someone else had hired a motor home from the same company and were also staying at The Old Oaks. (I never did find out exactly where we lost them and which route they took).  It was exactly 13:00 when we pulled in so the 81 mile journey took us 2 hours 20 minutes averaging a little over 34 MPH Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Time With Friends… Pt 1

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Travelling in the UK, Trips

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravan Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, Morn Hill, Morn Hill Caravan Club, Motorhome, The Old Oaks, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers, Winchester

Spending time with friends, especially good friends is always a pleasure. Since we had ‘retired’ from flying, it had been too long since we had managed to spend time with F & R although we did keep in touch by phone and email. They had fancied the idea of a motor home and wanted to give it a try, so a plan was hatched to spend a week at two different locations. We would take the caravan and they would hire a motor home.

As F & R would be hiring a motor home from www.landcruise.uk.com in Chichester, West Sussex we thought it would be best to choose a location not too far away for the first part of the adventure. I chose Morn Hill Caravan Club at Winchester as they accepted non-members and none of us had ever been to Winchester. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Glastonbury and an Anniversary…

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Travelling in the UK, Trips

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Caravanning, Caravans, Fleet Air Arm Muesum, Glastonbury, guy salmon, Guy Salmon Land Rover, One Hairy Caravanner, The Old Oaks, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

Last year while in France we had problems with the Freelander. This was put down to the amount of bio-ethanol the French mix into their fuel and there are now lots of postings on various forums about this. Not only Landrover but BMW and other manufacturers have been affected as well. After returning to the UK and after the first tank full of fuel bought here, the injector rattle all but disappeared. However it was still there and over the next 4000 miles in the UK it got increasingly worse. I’d gone through the process of using injector cleaner without any improvement. I’d also checked the injector wiring harness (there is an issue with contamination on some vehicles) and a few other things so it was time to bite the bullet and book the Freelander in to our local Land Rover dealer for a full checkup. So two weeks ago it was booked into Guy Salmon Land Rover in Stockport. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

We don’t normally do site reviews…..

06 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Reviews, Travelling in the UK, Uncategorized, Weekend Break

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Glastonbury, Site Reviews, The Old Oaks, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer

… but sometimes there has to be an exception. Site reviews are subjective, and what we find fine, others may not, plus there are other website that specialise in reviews. The reason for this review is because we found The Old Oaks near Glastonbury rather exceptional. Now before I get going, I’d just like to state for the record that neither Sue or I have received any form of payment or gratuity for this review. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Glastonbury and Warwick – Part Two

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, One Hairy Caravanner, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers, Warwick, Warwick Racecourse

Click Here for Part 1

We wandered down the main drive to the camp site, past the dog exercise field and turned right on to Wick Lane. Following the lane to the south we heard a couple of jets in the distance. Since arriving on site we had heard quite a few helicopters making their way in and out of the festival site, I guess taking artists in for their sound-checks and providing some of the aerial shots seen on the news. They weren’t obtrusive and it wasn’t constant and even after hanging up my flying gloves I still turn to look up at them. We wandered further down the lane stopping at the entrance gates to each field to look at the view, each field giving a slightly different vista. We could hear a jet doing a high energy turn somewhere in the distance.

A different view through every gate... the Festival site is in the distance

A different view through every gate… the Festival site is in the distance

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Glastonbury and Warwick – Part One

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, One Hairy Caravanner, The Old Oaks, Touring, Towing, travel, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

Our next little ‘adventure’ happened quite by accident. A Twitter follower of Caravan Chronicles ‘tweeted’ about an article that I’d written a while ago that appeared on Caravan Talk about towing, which I subsequently expanded into two articles and posted on Caravan Chronicles (Understanding the Dynamics of Towing), and I ‘tweeted’ back a quick thanks for promoting it. Out of curiosity I had a look at their website – The Old Oaks

They were the 2012 runner-up to Caravan Talk’s Campsite of the Year award and from the website, it looked like a place to include on the list of “must visit”. Within an hour I’d booked us in for four nights and so we wouldn’t have two long tows I also booked us in at the Caravan Club’s Warwick Racecourse site for a couple of nights on the way home. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

What a difference a year makes….

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, Travelling in the UK, Weekend Break

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, One Hairy Caravanner, The Old Oaks, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers, Warwick Racecourse

This time last year – (well 27th to 30th March actually) we were at the Caravan Club’s recently opened site at Bridlington. The weather could not have been more different. The North Sea at Bridlington was as calm as a mill-pond and we sat outside at a pavement cafe on the sea front enjoying a morning coffee in the warm sun.

The sea was almost as still as a mill pond

The sea was almost as still as a mill pond

In fact the evening was so nice, my alter ego “One Hairy Caravanner” donned shorts and SPB_5D_096524sapron and deployed the Cadac to conjure up the evening meal. We had three fantastic days in Bridlington and enjoyed three days of great weather…. and as I look out of the office window now, it’s sunny, still blowing a hooley and the wind chill makes it feel like below zero out there. What a difference a year makes!

Looking forward to June, by chance (well Twitter actually), we came across a site in Glastonbury…. The Old Oaks –  http://www.theoldoaks.co.uk Some of the reviews it has received and the pictures posted ment it had to be worth a visit. So we have a few days there and maybe visit The Fleet Air Arm Museum and the East Somerset Railway. On the way back we call in at Warwick Racecourse site for a couple of days so we can visit Warwick Castle again and do a bit of shopping. Now where to go in April and May?

A little landmark passed today at around 12:30. The blog had it’s 55,246th viewer, which means that today, just under three months into the year it has had exactly half the number of visitors it had in the whole of last year. Many thanks to all who have visited, posted and tweeted about Caravan Chronicles.

Here’s hoping for a wonderful hot summer!

S

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...
Buy Me A Coffee

Caravan Chronicle Stats

  • 44,391,334 Views
Follow Caravan Chronicles on WordPress.com

Follow Caravan Chronicles and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Is This A Growing Trend..?
  • Adapting Our Bike Rack for e-Bikes
  • Has Bailey Built Our Perfect Caravan?…
  • Just a quick one…
  • A Few Mods and Updates…
  • A Bit of a Milestone…
  • Finishing Off A Few Jobs…
  • “Put your lights on mate…..”
  • Well that took some cleaning…
  • How have you all been doing?
  • Copying Content… Again!
  • Here’s Something I Think You Want To Take a Look At…
  • Ticking All The Boxes…
  • Vehicle Wiring Projects… Some Thoughts.
  • A Bit of Unashamed Promotion…
  • Season’s Greetings…
  • The problem with information from the internet…
  • I can’t think of a snappy title…
  • Euro 6 Engines, Smart Alternators and Your Leisure Battery…
  • For Anyone Restoring A Vintage Caravan…

Archives

Categories

RSS Links

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

CaravanChronicles.com Tag’s…

13 Pin Plug Accessories AL-KO Avtex Bear Extender Bike Rack Blackpool Blackpool Illuminations blogging Cadac Camping & Caravanning Club Canterbury Caravan Caravan Blog Caravan Club Caravan Electrical Caravan Electrics Caravanning Caravans Caravan Show Caravan Talk Caravan Tyres Cheltenham Chirk Christmas Market Christmas markets Cleaning design Event City Factory Visit Fiamma France Freelander Glastonbury Glossop Caravans Humor Insync Jonic Bedding Lady Heyes La Tournerie Ferme Leisure Battery Leisure Battery Charging LPG Refilling Maintenance Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Modifications NEC North Western Caravans Ltd OLPRO One Hairy Caravanner Oswestry Oxford Product Review Project Safefill Sat Nav Sterling Caravans Sterling Power Wildside Swift Factory Swift Group Swift Talk Technical The Old Oaks Touring Towing tow vehicle TPMS Trafford Centre travel Travel Trailer Travel Trailers vacation VW Amarok Warwick Racecourse WiFI

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

  • Follow Following
    • Caravan Chronicles
    • Join 670 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Caravan Chronicles
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: