Nottingham – Hello/Goodbye 27th Feb – 1st March

So the day had finally dawned. It was time to travel to Nottingham to say goodbye to Mr M and hello to – well we probably won’t bother with a name for the new van, other than our pride and joy. We had picked it out back in October 2014 and it had been a long wait. I did muse on the journey up about whether I would still like it,  but I shouldn’t have worried. The journey was long but pretty reasonable, given that it was a Friday.  We had left as early as we could,  as it was hoped that we could get the motor mover switched from old to new that very evening. It was dependant upon us arriving before 4 – which we did. Sadly, it turned out that there was no-one available to do it and so we made an appointment for 08.30 the following morning.

Lowdhams – from whom we had purchased the new van, is just outside Nottingham on the outskirts of a village called Lowdham. They are a huge operation – with a 26 acre site that includes a rally field and overnight pitches for customers – with hook-up. It’s actually closer to Gunthorpe on the River Trent and as we crossed the bridge I noticed several narrowboats moored nearby – a sight which always makes my heart beat a little faster!

We got set up and packed up a few more last minute things before driving down to Gunthorpe for an early dinner. We had booked at the Unicorn, which must be heaving in the summer because of its location by the river. Not on a chilly night in February though. It is a big pub and was quite quiet for a Friday evening, we thought. We had a very pleasant meal and the place had a nice ambience.. The area was flooded in 2000, and looking at the pictures, the pub/hotel was probably affected. We turned in early as we had an early start.

The next morning, it was up and away to the service area for the changeover to be done and the sad process of completely emptying Mr M was more or less completed. We dropped the van off and they told us to come back around 2 pm. Time to have a quick explore – and breakfast. We had packed all our crockery/cutlery which gave us carte blanche to go out for breakfast. We made for a place I had previously researched on Trip Advisor in nearby Burton Joyce. It had recently changed ownership and its name to the Bluebird Cafe, but we decided to give it a whirl anyway. A quick look at the menu clinched it. Eggs Benedict on the Menu? That’s a no-brainer for us! Plentiful coffee, delicious Eggs Benny and the morning papers. We did stop to wonder why we don’t go out for breakfast more often. Very pleasant indeed.

Burton Joyce, by the way, is renowned (!) for its nuclear bunker, which has recently been on the market.

Breakfast finished, we set off for Nottingham. Slightly disappointing, as the castle was clearly not the one that had appeared in all those Robin Hood films. There were some interesting looking caves, though, in the sandstone outcrop on which the castle is built.

Sandstone caves

We did happen across a very smart area adjacent to the castle, known as “The Park Estate“. Full of beautiful LARGE houses and parks (see the Estate Agency link to get an idea fo the properties on offer). One imagines all the Forest WAGs buying there. It has an interesting layout and was built on the former deer park for the castle. Sadly, in my opinion, The Park clearly went through a period where there was no control over building and there are some modern houses – quite boxy – which don’t at all fit with the beautiful period houses.

The blue on the map above is the Nottigham Canal – we had to have a quick look, of course. One of the few places on the system that we have never been. There’s a fair bit of upheaval in Nottingham as they are currently constructing a new transport system – known as The NET  (Nottingham Express Transit). We managed to find our way to B&Q to pick up a few bits that we knew we’d need – hooks mainly  – and then we got a call from Lowdhams to say that the van was ready so we made our way back.

Saying goodbye

There was lots of paperwork to sort out, which took a while and then it was time to remove the last few things from Mr M and say our final farewell. Silly to feel so sad but lots of happy memories were tied up in that van. But there are lots to be made in the new van, with which we are absolutely delighted. We had toyed with the idea of making a break for home but decided to stay another night on Lowdham’s free pitches. It gave us a chance to do some unpacking and find new places to stow everything, which was actually quite exciting.

Hello new un-named van

 

Dinner was at the local Indian restaurant in Gunthorpe. Once again it’s on the river and must have pretty good views, although it was dark, so not for us. . It’s a former pub and is now called the Bridge and Bayleaf and is very smartly decorated. The food was delicious too and then it was back to the van for a bot of television and our first night in our new bed.

Looking towards bed

Lounge

New kitchen

 

As it was a long journey home, we were up an away in good time. We arrived home at around 1pm, which gave us the rest of the afternoon and evening to relax and dream about adventures in the new van. The first trip is alreay planned. Off to the IOW for Easter with the kids in tow. Can’t wait!

 

 

Findon – for Cheese making! 20-22 Feb 2015

So a while back (May 2013) we went to the Foodies Festival in Brighton and I picked a brochure for a Cheese Making Workshop. Looked interesting. I stuck the leaflet in a drawer and promptly forgot all about it. Until December 2014, that is, when I decided to tidy said drawer and found the leaflet again. I decided to book myself on the course and that we’d make  weekend of it. I mentioned it to my friend Anne and she fancied it too, so we had a plan. We would make cheese, whilst our menfolk walked the dog and had a pub lunch and generally found things to do to fill the sad and empty day until they were reunited with us.

As it was fairly local, (in Poling – just past Arundel)) we hitched up and set off about 3.30. We were staying at Charmill Cottage, just outside Findon (near the Cricket ground). It had been raining for a couple of days and we were mighty glad that we had booked a hard-standing as it was very soft under foot (or wheel). There was no-one to greet us and it was pretty obvious where to park but there was no sign of the hookup we had booked. It was about 4.30 and light was beginning to fade so we rang the owner and he said he’d be along in about 20 minutes. No power meant no heating in the van, so we stayed in the car. It got to about 5 o’clock and the heat from the car had fully dissipated. Being February, it  was getting pretty chilly. I got in the van and put my dressing gown on over my coat in an effort to get warm and we rang again. He apologised and said he would be along in 10 minutes.  He wasn’t. The light had almost completely faded by the time he rocked up and sorted out the power situation. I was not best pleased,  but it’s not like we have encountered this sort of problem often, so heigh ho. All sorted.

 

The site looks like this in better weather.

Charmill in summer

We had put the kettle on in an attempt to warm the van and it was when the kettle boiled I realised I had omitted to bring any milk. A first for me! So we set the heating to tropical and set off in the car in search of milk. We sought advice and were told there was a parade of shops on the outskirts of Worthing, which was just down the road. We found an M&S food among others and bought milk plus some fresh fruit salad for our breakfast. Then it was back to the van for supper,  a bit of TV and then bed. We were both tired so an early night seemed like a good idea.

We had a quiet night and woke to a sunny morning. This augured well for the boys’ walk on the Downs. After a lovely brekker, we set off on the short journey to the cheese-making venue and arrived in good time. We had coffee and greeted the other people who were attending and started lessons – after a thorough hand cleaning. We learnt many new skills and the bunch that we were with were really good fun. We learnt how to make Brie, Quark, Mascarpone, Ricotta, Feta and Greek Yoghurt. I will never forget all the cheese-making songs (Don’t Leave Me This Whey, My Whey , Let it Brie, – so on).

Adding the culture

Dubble bubble

Cheese ladies

More cheese chums

Stirrer

Cheese!

 

It was an action-packed day and the course over-ran. We had “lunch” about 3.30! Shortly after, the boys turned up after their very muddy walk.

The boys’ walk was obtained from the AA website ( a really good source, where you can search for walks near a particular place name) and it took them from Amberley station. along the river, up onto the South Downs and then back to the car. It was quite an energetic walk and Paul promptly fell asleep on the settee at the Farm whilst Gray avoided sitting down because he was sure he would seize up!

Chaps Selfie

Arch and the pheasant feeder

View 1

View 2

Anne and Gray had a B&B nearby and we had a plan to meet for dinner with our old chums from our  Canada trip, Bob and Barb as they live nearby,  so we temporarily went our separate ways.

The venue for our repast was The Beresford in Middleton on Sea. We had a lovely evening, with good food and good friends making the time pass swiftly. When we left the pub it was quite frosty but we had a warm and somewhat sad last “proper” night in this caravan.

The short journey home was done in no time, the next day. It was actually nice to get home early – we’d had a lovely weekend and also some time at home to start the sad process of “de-cluttering” the caravan,  ready for the following weekend, when we were due pick up our new van. Exciting but tinged with sadness, as we have had some great times and travelled many miles in Mr Munch.