All posts by Ray

Meeting Lee & Don

12th August 2017 Ray Leave a comment

Saturday 12th August 2017

Today we drove over to Evesham, meeting up with friends Lee & Don to watch Dons’ beloved Wealdstone play Gloucester City. Not the best of games, it finished 2-2, a disappointment to the travelling supporters. After the game we returned to the van with a plan to meet up later at The Prince Of Wales in Ledbury.

The Prince Of Wales

We reserved a table and enjoyed a few pints of the local brew and the best steak & kidney pies I’ve had for a while.

After dinner Lee & Don came back to view the caravan & have coffee before setting off for their lodgings nearby.

I spent a while Perseid meteor viewing before turning in.

England

National Trust Croome

11th August 2017 Ray Leave a comment

Friday August 11th 2017

Croome House

We visited National Trust Croome today. The former home of the Earl of Coventry & site of a Second World War secret airbase , RAF Defford, where developments in radar and aircraft autoland technologies were carried out.

Much of the land required for RAF Defford was requisitioned from the Earl of Coventry in 1940, with the station’s technical area being built on the eastern part of Croome park. The laying of the runways necessitated the closure of a public road, and extended across Defford common.

An interesting museum and house with lovely walks around the lake & river.

Back to the caravan for some R&R before lighting up the BBQ.

England

The Tour Begins

10th August 2017 Ray Leave a comment

Thursday August 10th 2017

We’re Off! The tour begins and we set off from Denham in reasonable weather for The Elms – Ledbury, a Camping & Caravanning Certified Site.

First task was to pull into nearby Beaconsfield services to fill the LPG tanks for the first time and carry out a leak check. All joints were sprayed with leak detection fluid and a thorough check for bubbles found none 🙂

10.08.2017 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 226 – Cumulative: 226

We took the long way round route of M40, M42, M5, M50 with a coffee break at Warwick services. The caravan towed very easily at 56mph, mostly on cruise control.

I carefully checked and set the nose weight of the caravan to 80kg before we left and there was no hint of sway enroute.

On arrival at the site we were met by the very cheerful owner who directed us to a pitch at the top edge of the site. The field was quite wet but the car pulled the van up just fine.

The Elms is set on a sloping field without marked pitches.

The toilet & showers are basic but clean.

The Elms – Ledbury

After setting up we had a small meal before wandering down into Ledbury to visit The Prince Of Wales, a pub the site owner recommended.