10 day Road Trip. Leeds Habitation, Kingsbury Water Park, Cheshire, Review Port Merion & Hereford.

 Time for the annual pilgrimage to Leeds for the habitation check at the Vantage factory and a little road trip.

Each year around July we trundle up to Leeds for Krystal's annual check up. I guess we could find somewhere nearer but the Vantage factory is excellent at keeping everything up together and great at repairing anything that needs it! We usually have one night in a Premier Inn and do a little road trip combined with a visit to rellies in the Cheshire  village of Tarporley. Not too much of an arduous journey overall and makes a pleasant mid summer break.

This year we decided to stop enroute to Leeds and break the journey just outside Birmingham at the Camping & Caravanning site Kingsbury Water Park. An easy quiet motorway journey and we made good time. The site is just off the M6 and easy to find. A usual club standard site, clean and tidy. The shower block could do with a little update, not my favourite showers but overall well looked after   and surprisingly not too busy.  A little noisy as it is very near the motorway, but a good stopover nevertheless with a handy pub a short walk away.

It was a lovely afternoon so we set off for The Dog and Doublet just up the road. A nice walk through the park to the river.

The pub is right by the lock so on a nice afternoon a quiet place to sit.

 Food served here all day but we decided to cook. The following morning just enough time for a quick sashay around the lake for bit of feathered friend spotting. A good spot for fishing too.

Next port of call later that day, Leeds, to drop Krystal off. A couple of hours later and we had arrived. Dropping the van at the factory, we made our to a local Premier Inn at Whitehall Road opposite the railway station, for £89 a night we thought it was reasonable and in the town centre as an added bonus. Just a 35 minute stroll back to the factory the next morning.

Krystal flew through all her checks and after picking her up the following morning we were off the Moor Lodge at Bardsley.

Always a good stop over. Beautifully kept site. The owner told us the only tourers he was accepting now were clients from Vantage and Consort. The site was primarily for holiday lodges. We wandered off down the lanes to the Bingley Arms  and had a lovely meal. It gets very busy so you do need to book if you want food. Another very pleasant night spent in Krystal.

Our next stop was Shays Farm near Tarporley in Cheshire. A lovely friendly site with a short walk to the Shrewsbury Arms, anothr great English pub. There is also a campsite there, but we love Shays Farm, quiet and very clean and tidy.

Fabulous glamping pods complete with hot tubs also on site. We wandered up for a look.

Certainly very inviting. We spent a great two days here and met up with Paul and Ann-Maria for a trip to Chester. Very busy and full of tourists. We went into the Cathedral where a very tuneless organ recital was underway. Ann-Maria and I clocked in to listen....very avant-garde!! Um...not really a quiet meditative experience! Den and Paul went off to explore the shops, Ann-Maria and I drew the short straw. Still, it was an experience.

The grounds and gardens were certainly more tranquil.

Soon time to say goodbye and move on! We were on our way to Port Merion in North Wales. The Italianate village where the 70's cult series The Prisoner was filmed we were looking forward to a return visit, the last time we went was in the eighties.

A very promising start and a warm welcome at Port Merion. Check in time wasn't until 2.00pm, we joined the queue. We were given a welcome pack and everything was explained. All the facilities were open to us as we were residents. We could eat at the hotel but we would need to book. All the other places that served food and there were quite a few, closed at 4pm. On checkout day we would have to leave our pitch by 10am but we could park up in the free carpark and enjoy the facilities for the rest of the day. We had booked two nights.

The campsite was all hard standing with water TV point and electric. We thought the pitches were a fair size we had opted for a medium pitch. £130 for two nights!! Toilet and shower facilities were OK, pretty standard, sadly only three showers and three loos in the ladies. Open wash basins with no privacy cubicles. Washing up sinks were limited to two but the water was hot!

We had a good look around the village finding it mildly disappointing. Everything was a lot shabbier than we remembered. We were also unable to get a table in the restaurant on the following evening so had to settle for a table that night. We had a pleasant lunch on the terrace outside one of the numerous cafes.

The village was pretty busy, but not as exciting as we remembered. A Few shops and more cafes selling mediocre food. Lots of nice walks though difficult to get away from the crowds.

Dinner was at The Port Merion Hotel, overlooking the estuary. Not a fabulous experience, fine dining and well over priced. The steak was nice though, the "heritage carrot" was a joke. the bill  was £203 for two. Not one to go back for. The view of the estuary was stunning, shall we say it was an experience!

The following day showed the site in all it's glory and it was raining. We were woken up early to the gentle sounds of smashing glass as the bottle bank next to our pitch was emptied. Unfortunately the position of the motorhome park is next to housekeeping. We were also serenaded by the gentle peeping of back up delivery lorries. The showers were disgusting, running in water and not too clean, I gave it a miss. We tried more food in a very grubby café, where the ladies loo was blocked, Port Merion really needs to get a grip on it's facilities. Needless to say we will not be back. Port Merion is well and truly out of our system. The moral or the story, never look back!!

Last stop and suddenly the sun came out. Back to Luckshall near Hereford. A lovely meal in the riverside restaurant, a peaceful night on a beautifully kept site. Sadly no paddle board with us as we could have gone up the river. Always next time.

Have 9 nights really flown by? Another lovely trip. Next stop France.