The House Has Sold and We’re Out & About
Zagan the motorhome is out. Out out! It’s been a good six months of stasis, during which he’s been half frozen, his starter battery died and he’s been nibbled by mice, but he’s finally out and on the road on the start of a wee motorhome holiday. We’re currently surrounded by shades of green, serenaded by sheep in a farmer’s camping field at Measham, near Ashby (N52.708704, W1.48774).
We picked this spot as it’s only a 30 min drive south of our home near Nottingham, so if we have any major problems on our first nights away we can retreat home and get ’em fixed. We already knew the van’s fridge was a tad wonky on gas, lighting but sometimes refusing to stay lit, suggesting a dodgy thermocouple or energy source selector switch, so we’re booking pitches with hook-up for the time being. I’ve tried to sort it but failed and am now kicking myself for not getting someone to look at it. Zagan’s really well equipped for ‘off grid’ living but with the fridge not working reliably on gas we’re restricted on where we can stay, plus we have to pay for electricity we don’t otherwise need. I’m a muppet sometimes!
A bathroom tap leak as also re-sprung, leaving a small pool of water in the shower tray. The last time this happened it magically fixed itself, both a blessing and a curse as we’ve no idea where exactly the water came from or whether the issue would re-occur. Now it’s happening again I’m clinging to the hope it self-heals in the coming days and I can again ignore it! I know, I know, I never learn…
Other than that we’re good. The fridge is icy cold on hook-up, the re-sealed main skylight has remained bone-dry, our internet TV is streaming away, the water heating’s working fine, and we’re in good shape for a few days/weeks away. LPG is a tad rare these days it seems so we nipped a few miles the day before setting off to a bit of a hidden spot (thanks to mylpg.eu) who’d confirmed by phone they had some left and brimmed our refillable bottles. I love that warm feeling I get when we’ve just refilled these gas bottles! On the way here we headed to the garage and brimmed off the diesel tank. That’s the first time ever we’ve spent over £100 on one fill-up (our vehicles don’t have huge tanks), times are a-changin’ folks.
As you might have spotted from the post title, our house has a buyer! Once we’d finished cleaning/decorating/repairing, the carpet fitters worked their magic and we popped it on the market. It sold the day of the first viewings. The buyers were in a good position so we accepted the offer and the sales process is proceeding, at the pace of a stoned snail, as these things do. My dad’s also happily installed in the bungalow after his house also sold on the first weekend of viewings. We’ve a break in various parent’s hospital appointments and we’ve both completed our big running goal for the spring (the Boston UK marathon – Ju’s first ever marathon) so after I-don’t-know-how-long we we’re free to aimlessly wander around for a bit!
After we skipped quite a lot of the Scottish west coast on out last trip up there, driving south from Durness on the NC500, we ummed and arred about heading back up that way. It’s a fantastically rugged and remote-feeling part of the world, reminding us of Norway albeit with a little less hugeness. I was excited at the idea of heading back over to Mull to relive a white-sand beachside visit with our pup-young Charlie and first panel van Harvey at Fidden Farm Campsite near Fionnphort (N56.306859, W6.363997), looking over the sea to the holy island of Iona.
One for another time though. The weather forecast was poor and we were drawn to warmer and dryer conditions further south, to pastures new. We’ve instead hatched a plan to head down to South Wales, to the beaches and coastal paths of the Gower and Pembrokeshire.
In need of hook-up for the time being we’re keen to book ahead to avoid spoiling a fridge-freezer full of fresh stuff, so pulled up pitchup.com. Unlike websites like www.ukcampsite.co.uk and www.searchforsites.co.uk, pitchup,com only lists a relatively small number of places to stay but lets you easily search their availability on the site. The result: it turns out it’s a bank holiday weekend folks! Whoops! We’ve been retired for over six years now and we totally forget about this stuff. So, the most popular beach-front sites which we fancy staying at all appear to have no leccy pitches available this weekend. No problemo, we’ll get somewhere booked for next week and amble down there over the weekend, staying at quieter spots like the place we’re in now.
So, that’s it, the sun is shining, we’re out and about and it feels great! Neither of us have toured South Wales before, so any suggestions for places to stay or visit would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Jay
Hi
Nice to see you out and about.. A day at Skomer island is a must, if you go as far as Pembrokeshire (Westhook campsite next to boat departure was topnotch). Looking forward to your trip to Scotland and hope to cross paths as I’m a bonnieland resident.. Cheers..
Thanks for the tips Swathi – appreciated! Jay
Highly recommend the site we stayed at here –
https://denby.home.blog/2021/06/15/629/
There isn’t hookup though, but it’s a lovely site around unmown fields, fab views, plenty of space.
The walk we did (again in blog) the next day up Pen y Fan and around the horseshoe was well worthwhile.
https://pwllynfarm.wixsite.com/camping
Great to see you out and about again. I often revisit your old posts for inspiration, particularly as we’re returning to France this year after a three year break.
Pembrokeshire is lovely and, although busy, it’s still possible to find quiet places. We enjoyed our time there last year: https://www.vanvoyage.co.uk/2021/05/a-few-days-in-pembrokeshire.html
Have a great trip and looking forward to reading about it.
Paul
Hello J&J,
congratulations to be back on the road again, with one less problem .
Enjoy motorhome life again,although when it’s not very far away from home.
Stay healthy Heide
Great to see you out and about and good to hear plans are coming together. On your way to or from Pembrokeshire you might be able to fit in a visit to the National Botanic Gardens. It is a fabulous place to spend a sunny day. When we visited last year we stayed at this lovely little laid back site, Glantowy Farm CL, Llanarthne near Carmarthen. It was about an hour’s walk to the gardens or an easy cycle ride. More info on the blog – https://backontheroadagainblog.com/2021/11/26/touring-around-south-west-wales-in-a-campervan/
Lovely to see that you are once again back on the road – I see from your sites visited map that you have not ventured to Norfolk. We have some wonderful sites here and some not as expensive as other parts of the country. There is a lovely site near Sheringham in North Norfolk which we have stayed at a few times now. The site is Woodlands Caravan Park and it is right next door to Sheringham Park where there is some lovely walks. The site sometimes have stay 5 nights and pay for 3 or stay 7 nights and pay for 5. North Norfolk is an awesome area of Norfolk.
You must be pleased that the house is sold, a weight off your mind. Hubby and I are on the road again from 11th May, our first time in Europe since covid and my hubby’s bowel cancer. A bit of sun will do us both the world of good and most of the paperwork needed to travel has now gone which is an added bonus. I hope you sort Zagen out soon, we also had sink leaks while in German but did a quick fix with superglue donated by a lovely German couple on site.
Hello, good to hear from you again,
Be sure to visit Rossili Bay while you’re on the Gower, with breathtaking views and a wonderful sandy beach. Have a great stay.
Pat
Hi guys. Great to see you out and about again. We have very fond memories of many years camping at St Petrox campsite. Quite basic but very friendly and close to amazing beaches (Freshwater, Barafundel, Broadhaven to name a few. Hook ups available (limited numbers) very popular with climbers. Enjoy!
I can highly recommend Mewslade Caravan Club CL at Rhossili. There is hook up and great walks direct from the site.
Thanks Anne – we’d already booked into Hillend – heading over in a couple of hours – that whole area looks really nice. Cheers, Jay