Two Months Living in April the Camper.

Well we have managed to survive a whole two months of down sizing! The results of this are that we have actually managed 23 nights away in total, that's usually leaving on a Friday night around 5 pm and returning on Sunday lunchtime. We try not to travel more than an hour from home to make the travelling easier. As we live right near the motorway junctions to all corners of the world, which ever one we pick on a Friday, especially during the summer will be busy! School holidays mean we can leave around 2 pm so we are able to travel a bit further.

So how has it been? Well we love our new van April especially being able to sit in the van with the door wide open, makes it feel more like camping, less like " glamping ! "

 Down sizing has meant we have been utterly ruthless in getting rid of things we didn't actually use. Loads of things have gone, from colanders large and small to combs, mugs, glasses and tools. It seems over the years we have slowly collected so much stuff! Now our cupboards are clear and we are really trying to be careful about what we take. The positive side to this culling of our lives, is that packing and unpacking is so much more efficient and quicker. I still haven't quite got to sorting out the food packing though, as for a weekend we return with a lot of what we take. I have a bit of a thing about running out of food, which is daft, as a meal missed would not really hurt us and probably do us a bit of good! The fridge is great though and although smaller than our last one, actually carries food better because of the layout.

The bed is finally how we would like it and is really comfy. The answer to lumps and bumps, is a Marks and Spencer mattress enhancer in the super king size, a perfect fit! It took a few goes to get that right. I have adapted a duvet cover to fit as a bottom sheet and we take a summer or winter duvet for the top. The bed fully made up is a massive king size. It can also be turned into two singles or you could sleep sideways. Plenty of variety then! A bonus is that either of us can get up for midnight rambling without climbing over each other. Also a great place to sit and watch TV or read, not to mention the morning cuppa which fits nicely on the bedside shelf.

The bedding neatly fits in the side locker and the pillows we leave out for daytime lounging. Den has been fully trained in bed making and storage.

I guess if we were in warmer climes, we could leave the bed made up if we wanted too.

The toilet and loo work well, I like the bench type toilet and the wash basin although an old fashioned design that tips up is perfectly adequate. I have managed to spray myself a few times by not putting the tap down before turning it on! Den has tried the shower and it's fine you just have to move any extras out of the shower room before you use it, including the table which is stored there. A bit of a "faff" but that's the main compromise.

 Loads of internal storage in the overhead lockers. The blinds and windows are great too, let in loads of light and the fly screens keep the bugs out.

Cooking is easy in the full size cooker and grill and the electric hotplate is useful for morning coffee.

We have fitted a Thule Euroway G2 920 tow bar bike rack and that works well.  We wanted a rack that would enable us to open the rear door with the bikes on.
We had to have an additional switch fitted to turn off the reversing sensors, but the bike rack is light weight and can just be tilted forward enough to get stuff out of the boot.

All in all two happy bunnies at the moment and April fits on our drive!! Strange but we thought downsizing would be far more problematic than it has turned out, but time will tell.

Magic, Mystery, Hills and Valleys.

Now a whole month since our lovely April popped up. We have certainly made good use of her and managed every weekend away and two Bank Holidays. We decided we had better make sure everything worked well and with the exception of the tow bar reversing bleeps, everything has so far! The only two things we haven't actually tried yet are; the shower and the gas BBQ... hopefully waiting for the sun to shine.

We have managed to stay at 5 sites so far, all very different:

Isle of Avalon at Glastonbury.
Uphill Boat Marina at Weston Super Mare.
Unity Resort Brean.
Blossom Touring Park at Abergavenny.
Forest and Wye Valley Touring Park at Forest of Dean.

We have used the facilities at all the campsites, showers, loos, washing up and at the Forest of Dean and Uphill Sites sampled the local cafe for breakfast. At all the sites we have had a mixture of weather, which has meant we have had to use the van heating, lovely and cosy it is too! We have also managed in most cases, to go on one of our legendary "tramps", some more memorable than others!

Isle of Avalon  http://www.avaloncaravanpark.co.uk/

Nice easy to get to site, although next time we need to come off the M5 at J23 and not follow the SatNag, across the Somerset Levels, interesting journey though it was, we were glad we were not in Billie! Still Den needed to try out April on some windy roads.

Pretty little site a 10 minute walk from Glastonbury. Some handy footpaths nearby which we will explore next time. Poor TV reception here, but we think it could have been the trees. Nice roomy pitches and a large tenting field. Definitely a feeling of magic going on here, we were surrounded by a group of friendly ( we hope) witches, complete with a cat. All very spooky but then that's the joy of Glastonbury!

April, feeling the Glastonbury vibes!

Blossom Hill Touring Park http://www.blossompark.co.uk/

This was a strange little site. Friendly and helpful with metered electric but we drew the line at 20 p to use the hot water sinks to wash up. Really not sure what was going on here, the owners spent their time in the little reception huts playing with the dogs! Lots of statics and a bit of a hike into the nearest town Abergavanny. Generally quiet, although on a slope so you need the chocks! We may check it out again on another trip! Lots of hills nearby and beautiful scenery.

There was a nearby Golf Course which also had camping and a club house which served meals and drinks. If we were going that way again I would be tempted to stay there instead. Wernddu Camping and Golf Course http://www.wernddu-campsite.co.uk/

Uphill Boat Yard and Marina http://www.uphillboatservices.co.uk/

We loved it here, loads of walks to do sand, sea and scenery, perfect. 

We have done the Magic, Mystery and Hills, now more Hills and Valleys.

Forest and Wye Valley Camping http://www.forestandwyevalleycamping.co.uk/

A new site near The Forest of Dean. Family run and full of tents , toddlers and small children at the end of the half term break. We survived! In a great part of the country and because it's all new, great facilities. It's in the woods and we did a little tramp across the fields to St Briavels the nearest village. Breath taking scenery!

We wandered around the valleys and could almost have done "The Sound of Music" over some of the hills, but we were too out of breathe. Wild garlic in the woods may have come in handy at the Isle of Avalon, or perhaps not, I'm confusing vampires with witches! 

We are hoping the weather perks up so we can go again, loads more of the woods to get lost in.Very near home so a perfect weekend away site.

April has done very well for a little van and we certainly love going out and about in her. More adventures to follow.

It's A Girl ! Welcome April ( Our New Van)

Finally after nearly 7 months our new baby has arrived. A lovely slate grey, rear lounge panel van conversion who we have called April! Not that original but very appropriate.

For the last few months it has been very strange being  "Non Motor Homers" but our new van is a real treasure and so warm and comfy! We have decided that strictly speaking April is a "Camper" rather than a motorhome, somehow camper van seems to fit her and us better.  We picked her up at end of April and have spent the last few weeks bonding. We have already managed 7 nights away, so feel that we are really getting to know each other really well.

Although small, she is perfectly formed with all her bits intact and everything working as far as we can tell. We recently spent a weekend away at Uphill Marina near Weston Super Mare, parked up by the side of a Bailey Approach and felt no pangs of regret whatsoever. April certainly seems to suit us so much better and for us is almost proper camping, well it will be when the sun shines.

As soon as we got April home we started to pack her. Its amazing how much one motorhome holds. We decided to be ruthless in packing the new camper, so quite a bit has been left out. As we filled her up with stuff we discarded lots of bits, did we really need 6 tin openers?

 Crockery, cutlery and tools were all culled. We are still not completely sure we have got it right yet, but a few more trips should tell. She drives beautifully and although initially filling the tank up with fuel was a financial trauma, we think she will be really economical. The tanks hold slightly less water and waste and the fridge is smaller but more useful. Everything we really needed fitted in...just, we are still adjusting!

Of course a new baby has to have a few new "little extras" we have ditched the lounging Lafuma chairs ( relegated to the garden) in favour of two new Isabella chairs, the table is on order. Sadly our wonderful weather means we haven't tried them out yet. Things we have to leave out.

• The aquaroll ( too big we have a small water carrier in case of emergencies)
• The big chairs, the little chairs ( there's only two of us!) Replaced by two new ones.
• A case of tools ( I expect some of them will creep back in)
• Towels, towels and towels ( Den says I have a fetish, we now have micro ones)
• Throws to cover the seating( we bought the van so we'll use it!)
• Extra cushions ( we use the pillows)
• Extras cups, extra glasses ( guests can bring their own)
• Cutting down on clothes ( washing facilities usually available)
• Spare bucket ( we have a fold up one)
• Spare washing up bowl ( do we really need two)

Time will tell if more has to go.

So far we have managed a few country lanes and supermarket shopping so we must be getting better. Can't wait for the next trip.

Sand Bay Circular Coastal Walk.

At the risk of alienating any motorhome or 4 wheel camping fans, sorry, todays blog is about walking again! In the words of Diana Ross...." I'm still waiting..."

Our new IH fun bundle, is on order and we wait with anticipation till D Day, for us  March 1st. Hopefully we will then be back to 4Wheel Camping, with a bit of walking and biking thrown in!

In the depths of winter, we thought we had better get out and about, this walk appealed!

Sand Point Circular Walk.

At the risk of sounding really boring we did do this walk twice, two weeks running. On the first attempt we actually bumped into Den's work colleague Pete and his wife Lesley when I stopped to ask directions. How spooky is that, in the middle of nowhere! Even spookier, I shared the same name as Pete's wife, the first time I have ever met another Lesley. We enjoyed the rest of the walk with cheerful company.

The following weekend we decided to take the map, a picnic and do it all again. It was a beautiful morning warm, sunny and cold but not windy. Sand Point is north of Weston Super Mare on the coastal road and the car park was busy!!! Two tries and we found the 1st point on the walk at the rear of the car park. The beach was lovely but we headed towards the headland and up the very steep steps.

The climb to the top was hard going but well worth the effort, we were glad we had taken walking poles, boots are a must, it was very muddy.

Cold but not bitter although we were well wrapped up.

When we reached the top of the climb, we were on the headland over Sand Point with fabulous views all around and the beach below us.

Looking back towards Sand Bay and the beach, which is a dog walkers paradise.

The headline provides loads of leisure activities from seal spotting, photography, dog walking, sheep worrying, to kite flying. The kite fliers were there but we didn't actually see anyone take off as it wasn't really windy enough.It appeared half the fun was loading a heavy kite on your back, climbing the hill and then waiting for the wind which never came. A bit like wind surfing really. 

We were following the National Trust walk directions but following serious debate, they were wrong!! Eventually we decided their left turn had to be a right turn and we made our way across the field through the ruined walls built by French prisoners captured during the French Revolution Wars ( 1792 - 1802) towards the sheep fold.

There were lots of these old stone walls up on the headland as these fields have been used for sheep grazing since the Middle Ages and possibly longer.St Augustine's Priory and Barn is just over the hill. The Bronze Age burial site on the headland shows how valuable this piece of the coast was.I guess if you wanted to find an ideal farming and fishing spot that was easy to defend this could be it.

There were quite a few sheep and cattle grazing but appeared fairly docile! Always a bit worried by the cattle especially the horns.










We actually finished this walk enjoying lunch on a wall in the sunshine overlooking the sea towards the Welsh coast. A quick romp around the boggy marshland at St Thomas's Point a MOD restricted area and back along the top.

This is the view out towards the salt marshes at St Thomas's Point. It was so quiet here you could hear the sheep.

Back towards the old pier at Weston Super Mare. Sadly, fallen into disrepair.

The path back to civilisation, not for the faint hearted. It wasn't that bad just muddy.

A walk we would highly recommend, beautiful views but go early the car park gets crowded and wear boots.

I H Van Final Specification

Well, great excitement this weekend as we headed up to the dealer to finalise the colours and specification on our new van.

We visited the IH Motorhome stand at the NEC and after discussing colours with the very friendly Tiggy, from IH, we almost settled on our new colour scheme. Being the kind of person who needs to cover all bases before making a simple decision, I wanted to have another look at the colour samples before finalising things. The dealer we are getting our new van from is based in the Midlands about 1hr and 30 mins from where we live in Bristol. We did think long and hard about buying from a dealer a bit further from home than we would ideally like, but the Midlands was slightly nearer than Portsmouth, which was our other option. We have had plenty of time to consider our choice of new van since the Malvern Show and the chance to look again in detail at the NEC Show last month. Happily, we are still really pleased with our choice.

We arrived at Nick Whales Motorhomes and spent an hour with Louise who patiently went through all our options again. We had masses of choices of colours and had to choose two wall carpet colours, floor carpet, worktop and door colours. Eventually, we finished and of course reverted to our original colour scheme from the NEC Show, basically browns, beige with a splash of blue ( ish)  Our van has been ordered from Fiat and we just have to finalise a few more IH options which we hope to do next weekend. Looks like we will be going for mostly factory fitted options with just a Thule Towbar rack to get ourselves. Will update after the weekend when we assess the  financial picture, can't wait.

Looks like the van will be ready to be registered for 1st March! In the meantime back to two legs!!

Uphill Walk 7 ( Revisited)

Being perfectionists, we decided after the previous weeks tramp, when our map reading skills went totally wrong to do this walk again properly! It also gave us the opportunity to take pictures with a proper camera. Being minus a van until the new year we will have to forgo the 4 wheels and use 2 legs, probably to the benefit of our waistlines and general fitness. We have also been blessed with some fabulous almost Autumn weather and thought we would make the most of it.

For any readers we may have this is the link to the walk.

Uphill Walk 7. Boatyard, Acccommodation Road, Bleadon, Purn Hill.

The walk is 6.5 miles. Leave out the section along the bank of the River Axe as the path is overgrown and very difficult to pass. When I get a moment I will report it to North Somerset Council. The alternative route is to take the road past the Mendip Model Car Racing circuit and continue down the road to the T junction with the A360. Turn right and continue along the main road until your reach Bleadon Bridge. Not as picturesque but less fraught!

We started this walk by taking a stroll past the marina and sitting on the beach for a bit. Public loos on the right towards the beach clean but you need a 20P piece.

The beach was beautiful and it was such a lovely morning we were tempted to walk along the beach to Weston, but that's for another day.

View out towards Brean Down.

Really quiet on the beach today. All day parking P & D £7.00.

View up towards St Nicholas Church which looks down on the marina.

We strolled back to the marina and spent a bit of time watching the Scouts having a raft race. Everyone looked like they were having a great time .

We knew the way we had to go at the start of this walk and the instructions are pretty easy to follow. Lots of dog walkers and a few hardy cyclists at the beginning.

We did wonder what this boat was carrying?

The path at the beginning of this walk is easy but walking boots or stout shoes recommended.

We continued until we got to the Mendip Model Car Racing Circuit. It was really busy and the place was crammed with motor homes and caravans, obviously a popular sport. We stopped and watched for a bit, noisy but obviously great fun! 
Ever onwards, we did the slight detour and eventually found ourselves on the other side of Bleadon Bridge, a slight discussion on route and we plumped for the footpath through the trees, this was the bit we went wrong on last time!

The view from the hill at the top of hill over Bleadon Quarry. After further discussion and a bit of back tracking, map reading and Garmin consulting, we finally found the right path! Easy with hind site, how could we have missed it last time?

Den in front of the kissing gate. From here down hill.

This time we actually found the right church. 

Bleadon Parish Church

It's really interesting when you discover places you have driven past but didn't really register. This little community has been here since Stone Age Age times and was where Bleadon Man was discovered.

Bleadon Man and More Historical Info.

We sat on the bench and ate our lunch, then on to the safari part of the adventure...wild animals.

Well, they were actually cuddly looking, I thought llamas but they they were actually alpacas. These cuddly creatures were running about in someone's back gardens, we took their picture. I later found out they were actually big business!

 The final path back to the start . We felt quite pleased with ourselves, we actually made the whole walk with only minor re routing...we must be getting better!!