About Clunegapyears

Travelling around Europe with James in our motorhome. And now solo, with friends

359-477 : Gin Journey Better than Vehicle Journey

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Clunegapyears

Text by J

Pix By K … just in case you don’t recognise his inimitable style!

359 -362 Saturday 27th – Tuesday 30th August 2016: Mooching at Ash Vale

Saturday in UK – sun shining – a good place to be… train to Ealing via Reading to meet Sarah, Sinead and the gorgeous Jade – all of one year old – mind you, the 2 S’s are very gorgeous too !

Proud parent/grandparent and the girls lunched well at a classy restaurant in Ealing – so classy Sarah and I had a classy hamburger – Sinead had been over partying the night before with the extended Clune family and was ever so slightly off colour… but a grand time…. SouthWest trains ferried me back to North Camp station.

K’s walk over Ash Ranges … a haze of heather.

And a distant view of Guildford Cathedral. The Ranges are usually verboten to the public, except for high days and holidays, so it was great to be able to walk over some of my childhood haunts before the fences.

As Chardonnay was reclining at Fair Oaks (K’s sisters house), we decided to give her a wash and rinse. K had found a super product on the net “1drywash” – no water required – microfibre cloths, spray the liquid on and the cloths lifted the considerable grime – 6 months of dirt from France and Italy – the last wash was at Punta Braccetto on the south coast of Sicilia… As I polished the surface to a gleaming shine, I was reminded of the song from HMS Pinafore – “I polished up the knob on the big brass door – and now I am the ruler of the Queen’s Navy!” I suppose Chardonnay is a grand ship (the only one) in our navy and we need to keep her ’shipshape and Bristol fashion’! The dirt was well above her ‘plimsoll line’ before we started – another nautical term that originated in Brizzle.

The following day saw us commencing our income tax returns – what did Benjamin Franklin say? “Nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes!” We’ll pay the taxes and stay with the living… Now, I have done self assessment online for years – this time HMRC didn’t want to let me log in – multifarious phone calls to a million phone menus and submenus – and emails – I gave up and I have decided to get a good old fashioned paper copy of the forms… HMRC website is having technical problems – did Benjamin Franklin do it online… it was in the 1740s! He inventd the lightning rod, bifocal glasses and the urinary catheter tube! Are you all glad you read this erudite blog? Nothing geeky here then…

Following the excitement of the tax return debacle … (J can’t log in as his passport is Irish and you just can’t get hold of a person if you ring!), a still day – walking the dog and seeing K’s munchkin – Maddy!

Dawn next day saw Katherine driving her parents to Heathrow for a flight to Chicago – the windy city! Another small piece of erudition – why is it called ‘the windy city’? Nothing to do with the strong winds on Lake Michigan – in the 1870s (and now?), the city was full of windy politicians who delivered hot air! I’m clearly on a roll – why is the baseball USA Championships called “the World Series?” Many folk think it’s the USA stating it rules the world of baseball – but no, the original championships were sponsored by the New York World newspaper!

Back to the intrepid Aged Ps and their latest world travels (and no – they are not sponsored by any newspaper!) – they are starting to drive on Route 66 on a Harley Davidson motorcycle with Diane piloting and Grahame on the pillion seat – ‘giving advice’ in fluent Spanish! Diane replies in fluent German and they understand each other perfectly. I am refusing to ruin a good story by substituting a Hertz rentacar for the Harley – you will all agree…

If you want a ripping read about the Chicago 1893 World Fair – read/download “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson….not for the faint hearted though… about the original serial killer.

Afternoon – the gallant Autoglass engineer came to replace the windscreen in Grahame and Diane’s family charabanc… and some house cleaning at Rothbury for the return of the not-hairy bikers from USland.

463 – Wednesday 31st August 2016: Big Spend in Southampton!

Munchkin Maddy was encouraged to leave her bed in the middle of the night – 0830 hours actually – to accompany Mum (et moi) to Southampton for the big pre-Uni expenditure! Computer purchase in the Apple store followed by buying up most of Ikea! I took Oscar and Chardonnay to Fiat to have a faulty engine sensor replaced at a cost of £300! There must be blog followers out there that have suffered from the faulty engine management system light on the dashboard – something of a black art… I must stress that Oscar does not have a faulty sensor – his sensors are particularly well tuned – to food especially.

464 – Thursday 1st September 2016: Dancing Cows – Really?

Thursday – and a mini MoT for myself – there appears to be no faulty (or Fawlty) sensors here either – varicose blood tests, etc.

New Forest was our next adventure – another joyful meeting with Frances and Edward – we have followed each other in our motorhomes around Euroland – first meeting for a liquid New Years Eve in Port Empedocle near Agricento (valley of the Greek temples) on the south coast of Sicilia… the motto on their van is “adventure before dementia”! We have had some ‘adventias’ with those lovely folk! A grand New Forest lunch and reminiscing…Oscar learned one of life’s lessons – don’t walk up behind a New Forest pony – he received an educational glancing hoof blow for his troubles – the pony delivered this without so much as glancing up from his/her grassmunching!

Would this one be edible, or just beautiful?

Whilst in Lyndhurst, we discovered “Dancing Cow” gin! Distilled locally, it is strong – well, you know how a cow behaves after a stiff gin – she dances! Marshfield Farm ice cream was a must – it comes from “Pennsylvania” village (not Transylvania) – and not in the USA – but on the A46 going in towards Bath…

Following on advice from Frances and Edward, we wild camped along the seafront in Barton on Sea – gorgeous views and starry night – looking out to the Needles on the Isle of Wight. There are three Needles but there was a fourth – a sharp shaped rock of chalk that collapsed in a storm in 1764 – called “Lot’s Wife”! I’m not suggesting any of our wives have sharp tongues…

K has been reminded that this week is return to school for students and teachers – she really wishes she was there with you all in Cotham School…. well, perhaps not… but our sympathies to all teachers who labour far too hard and long – for their vocation and not for the money…

464 – Friday 2nd September 2016: Wet so Nothing For It …

We walked along the fast eroding clifftop from Barton to Milford on Sea in pouring rain with soggy doggy – the only solace was hot sausage rolls from a burger bar… followed by a liquid and shared lunch in a pub. Purchase of the Dancing Cow and Apple Vodka from across the road … we did not have to wobble far.

Keyhaven on the same coast was our nightly free bivuac – more starry skies and dreams of ice cream…

You can just make out the Needles off the Island, as the locals call the Isle of Wight.

The cliff path was sort of officially closed as so much had eroded into the sea and the local farmer is objecting to the path encroaching more into his fields.

465 – Saturday 3rd September 2016: Second Home & a Second and Third Boutique Gin

Walk around the wild life area and salt flats of Keyhaven … We have deduced that ‘twitchers’ are not the most communicative folk – obviously wrapped up in their watchfulness – armed with ‘big uns’ – binoculars and lenses actually – not anything else!

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I want to ride in this boat … so to speak! Just look at that name.

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Looking back to Keyhaven harbour. Chardonnay is just above the far right boat. A super overnight spot.

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View across to Hurst Castle.

Quick shop at Lidl in Barton and then food prep back along the coast … not far from the marshfield ice cream vendor … had to go back for another!

Michelle and Craig came to supper – we were now back in Coxbridge Farm CL – we sample another boutique gin – “Brockmans” and a rhubarb gin – is there a gin theme here? The lovely Tabitha (just passed her test!) was chauferrying her parents, gladly.

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Umm, which to taste first? And Michelle and Craig, are you sure you don’t want to leave them with us?!

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J on a sounds like … a win … gin!

466 – Sunday 4th September 2016: Music in the Meadow

Lazy morning – benefits of retirement and the wonderful world of motor homing…

Off to “Music in the Meadows” in Farnham – with Sharon – free rock and roll – and ice creams – not free…

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Pic actually from a few weeks ago … this one was not so sunny, but we still managed an ice-cream … not Marshfields though!

Friends in the evening in a Guildford pub – another stress-free day – pretty much like all our days…

467 – 468: Monday 5th September – Tuesday 6th: Min Trip to Bristol

The lovely vet in Aldershot – Sarah – administered some of Oscar’s vaccinations – necessary for his travels in Euroland this winter – France, Spain and Portugal…

And onto Weston-Super-Mare is not “Weston-Super-Sludge” really but at low tide there is a lot of – sludge! We caninely ambulated to Sandy Bay headland and the views out over the Severn Estuary are quintessentially English. Lundy Island, etc. Nightfall – a nice free lay-by with 2 other Hymers – friendly folk – as all charabanchomers are indeed!

Water on my left …

… and on my right.

469 – Wednesday 7th September 2016: Catch Up Walk

Wednesday 0900 hours – our Mercedes station wagon/shooting brake/estate car into Merc Weston – for – another one of those pernickety engine sensors! Now, my theory is that there is a factory in charabancland that makes these things that catch you out just when you say “we’ve spent enough money on this vehicle for the current year”!

A walk along the Severn from Lovers Lane/North Warth Road to Severn Beach where I resided for 10 years as a hairy hermit (no bike though) before meeting the love of my life – Oscar! No – Katherine! My grand residence was ‘bijou’ and was filled to the gunnels with – books – many on 16th century England and a certain poet called Christopher Marlowe whom I may just have mentioned before in these musings… An Elizabethan rake, spy, street fighter – and alleged author of the Shakespearean canon. I must quote from “Doctor Faustus”:

“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships

and burnt the topless towers of Illium

Sweet Helen make me immortal with a kiss

Her lips suck forth my soul, see where it flies”

According to the official inquest conducted by Colonel Danby, the Queens coroner, he was stabbed to death on 31st May 1593 in a lodging house in Deptford Strand – but we Marlovians believe he was secretly transported to france on the evening tide – to live in Europe for many years sending back plays to a Mr Shakespeare for publication under WS’s name… One of the best books on the subject is “The Reckoning” by Charles Nicholl…

On our walk through the village, we met Amanda whom I knew from the local Estate Agents, Nicky who owns Downes Bakery – she provided us with half price coffee and munchies. I just had to visit the Second Crossing Maintenance Unit – where I re met wonderful ex-colleagues and firm friends – more tea and reminiscing… my time with Bridges was the most satisfying work experience – ever!

The Second Severn Crossing.

K went Merc Weston to collect the suitably repaired car – and Oscar and I set sail for Hortham Farm CL – just a few hundred metres from our Brizzle residences. We corralled the wagons in a circle – fought off the ‘Injuns’ – rescued the womenfolk – too many John wayne films, James… Anyway, we set up our nest for the night to await Oscar’s Mummy. She arrived in the pm and a peaceful evening …… with a BBQ.

470 – Thusday 8th September 2016: The Hab Door is Usable BUT …

Walking on Brizzle Downs – after we dropped Chardonnay at Family Leisure Travel …what an amenity – one adjoining road is Ladies Walk – ladies of the night – or the good merchants of Bristols’ ladies – who knows? our lovely lady K was there – with her men – moi and Oscar… Time on our hands … Blaise Castle – – beautiful forest walk (no shortage of perambulationing today) – and guess what again? Marshfield Farm ice cream!

Knobbly at Blaise.

Our home-from-home van was ready at 3:30 pm – a moderate bill to FLT (always reasonable) and I joyfully set course for Hortham Farm for a relaxing evening… “many a slip twixt cup and lip” ! One mile from FLT – the charabanc of love did a fair imitation of the Dying Swan – right on the dual carriageway! I pleaded with her – cajoled her – prayed… but only engine sighs in response, alas. Now James – “nil desperandum – non illegitimi carborundum” – get out your school Latin grammars, folks… What does every man do in an emergency – you telephone your wife, of course! K reversed her path from the nearby Lidl and went into the nearby Fiat garage to seek assistance. Fiat gentleman engineer came with her to our stricken swan – and plugged in the diagnostic magic box – have you ever seen a swan plugged into a magic box? More sighs and head scratching – no result but lots of indecipherable code numbers – and no – not a lottery win – that would be useful! AA engineer arrived to scratch his head knowingly followed by the chap that should have been a low loader (!) – this was 6 people thus far thread scratching – including Oscar! 9:30 pm saw a low loader to hoist the swan on board – so carefully that swan’s bottom was millimetres from the tarmac… very sad to see our home being transported away on a truck. We drove in our K Merc back to Hortham Farm to pick up a few things – and then headed for K’s parents house in Ash Vale – for a stiff drink! Thank you very much Grahame and Diane – again…..

About to be hoisted up…

Just spotted in time that the large rear end was about to be scrapped alone the tarmac … ‘sliders’ being put into place.

471-477 -Friday 9th – Thursday 15th September 2016: Sitting Pretty and Comfortable

We have spent most of the last week doing jobs, dog walking, dining with Caroline and Terry …

The Girls (some of K’s oldest, nothing to do with their age – although Al is now officially 2 years older than K … until December!) and families came over on Sunday afternoon …

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I will get that bear from you …

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… how high?

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The younger generation girls behaved and put on a dance show, the two dogs chased and play fought and even the adults sort of behaved!

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The most amazing choc almond cake courtesy of Bron and her two girls.

How cute is he?

We popped down to see lovely Gladys in Eastbourne (94 years young) – walking on Beachey Head – reading sad memorials to the people who jumped in desperation of their lives… it puts our problems into perspective – our van can be repaired/replaced – but people cannot be replaced…

Eastbourne from Beachy Head.

A few of the memorials … a Chaplain’s car was parked nearby.

K has been out spending with Maddy buying more necessary items … folders, pens, 3M Command tape and …. makeup!

OK, I may be about to go off to Uni, but what are these things?

As I write, Fiat of Bristol just phoned – to say they thought the solution was found – road tested the van – and it has broken down – a low loader is on it’s way – deja vu? The glass is still half full, we say…..

450 – 458: The Lakes

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Clunegapyears

450 – Wednesday 17th August 2016: Up to the Lakes – Eventually

I took Oscar to the vet for his Rabies jab … he gave a non-manly, wimpy yelp. Then the plan was for me to leave the car on the Aged P’s drive and James to pick us up in the van, as it is not easy to get it in and out of my parent’s drive … too many overhanging branches and an oak tree half way up, which I know only too well! Many moons ago I reversed up the drive with the driver’s door open … it did not stay attached to the car!

However, J had managed to get hold of the right person at Viscount Motorhomes near Southampton, as we wanted the leak from the fresh water tank sorted … they would squeeze us in if we brought the van straight down. So about turn and, not knowing how long they would keep the van, we took the car down too. As it happened, Chris saw us straight away and, despite his suit trousers, crawled underneath and managed a sort of Heath Robinson fix. And all for £20 cash. Highly recommend Viscount! The overflow pipe had come unattached and a proper fix would mean dropping the water tank. He thinks that this will hold, but as we are heading off to Spain and Portugal for the Winter, we’ll get Family Leisure Travel in Bristol just to check it out in September when Chard makes a visit to them.

We then drove back up to Ash Vale to finally drop the car … it was gone 3.00 p.m. by now. Choices, do we drive till about 6.00 and stop or push on through and get to near Alderley Edge in Cheshire as was the original plan? We hit rush hour traffic approaching Birmingham, so we made good use of the 2hr motorway services free parking time limit. We cooked supper, washed up and had a nanny nap. By the time we set off again with 5 mins to spare before incurring a ‘you’ve outstayed your welcome’ massive fine, the traffic had all cleared and we felt refreshed. We drove on to about 12 km from Alderley Edge to an off road lay-by listed by wild camping.co.uk …. we drove in and straight out. 5 solitary men all waiting for a female to arrive, and it weren’t gonna be me!!!! Fortunately there was another off road lay-by half a mile away. This one was frequented by a couple of trucks, who were settled for the night without fee paying company! Much more peaceful!

451 – Thursday 18th August 2016: Alderley Edge (WORK) Walk

A short drive, passing the East Cheshire Hospice in Macclesfield, where a fellow motorhome blogger’s (manlyferry.com) wife was with cancer. He blogged later that she passed away the next day.

We parked up in the Alderley Edge National Trust car park and followed a walk I’d found on the internet … it took in a real mix of scenery: the Edge and its rock formations, fields and some of the most expensive real estate I’ve ever seen … footballer territory. Some serious renovations / extensions going on. A Porsche next to a Range Rover, both with 16 plates was not uncommon! Lovely rolling views across the Cheshire scenery.

Alderley Edge: we did not add our own names to the graffiti.

A very classic Jag, followed by a Porche – no point us checking out price houses here!

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A random bunch of flowers on a bench … has to be a story here.

Soup in the van and then we did a couple of hours work! Yes, really WORK! That dreaded word that J retired and I fled from. J had been approached by a former business contact … would he be the critical friend on their bid to manage the transfer of the Severn Bridges back to the Government? At a rather day good rate! J read through the bid documents … he’d even written most of the bid spec! I wrote his CV and Pen Portrait for the bid document … amazing how much he’d done that sounds really REALLY good in his career. If anyone else is interested in using him as a ‘critical friend’ … in his specialist areas of construction, PFI, bridges, concession agreements, Gaelic Football and, of course, red wine … let me know and I’ll send you his most impressive CV!

There was an ice cream van in the car park and for once, it was not a Mr Whippy, but proper scoop flavours … we deserved it after doing WORK!

We packed up and headed on up fairly close to the Lakes. We stopped along a pretty valley in the Trough of Bowland … never heard of it before. Very rural and a lot of sheep. In for a really quiet night … we thought. We watched a tractor towing a box on wheels with a couple of youths in it. 20 mins later it returned overflowing with youths. We twigged …. A Level Results night + a few tents in the field next to us + drunken youngsters DOES NOT = a quiet night. So we washed up and drove a mile up the road, where it was quiet. We made the observation that both Maddy and her friends were ALL hitting the night clubs, but here in the country they camped around a bonfire … know what I’d rather do!

452 – Friday 19th August 2016: Ravenglass for a Week

Wet, wet wet! And not a boy band! Grr! I needed to return a 12 volt light strip to the eBay seller as I’d actually ordered a 12 volt fan … they would send me the fan free of charge, if I returned the light strip. We stopped in Ulvertson, put on all our waterproofs and I printed the return label in the Library. I am now the proud owner of a Cumbrian Library Card … I had to join as a member to be able to use the computer for all of 3 mins to print the label! Being wet and miserable, there was nothing for it but to repair to a Trip Advisor recommended hostelry for lunch! A new experience for us … we had to sit outside with the smokers due to the dog.

We’d booked a 2 bed with en suites cottage for a week with the Aged P’s. We originally had planned to travel to France on 15th September when the Aged P’s were to be in the States (again!), so this was an opportunity for us to spend some time together. Little did they realise at the time that we’d end up seeing quite a bit of us! A really comfortable cottage on a working farm. The owner had fingers in lots of pies … beef calf raising, firewood deliveries, holiday cottages, and bed sits … his family were just about to move out of dairy … farmers receive 13 pence per litre, but it costs 23 pence to produce. Only downside of the cottage was the kitchen which lacked essentials so half the contents of Chardonnay’s kitchen ended up inside. 2 km walk down to the estuary and then across to Ravenglass. A handy location just off the main A595.

453-458 – Saturday 20th – Friday 26th: Aged P’s First Lakes

Given my parents travelled all my life. I know no-one else who has been to all the States in the USA (bar Hawii, which they don’t fancy). They have now hit the 100 counties visited. Yet, they had not been to the Lakes! J lived and worked up here for a while and we’ve visited together about 4 times and love it … we really wanted them to love it too. But the start of the week was not propitious to generate a similar feeling in them. It rained. And rained some more.

On Saturday, we took delivery of our week’s food … Tesco delivery from 27 miles away … what good service. Mum and I knitted! And then she unpicked what I’d done! A few days ago,I’d discovered she’d nearly finished her own jumper so I’d taken her to the local wool shop … she’s knitting me a thick jumper with a pattern and what are little hernias or nipples, depending in where they land! I’m being supervised on a very simple poncho, where I still manage to fail to count 8 stitches accurately.

In between downpours I walked to Ravenglass and then the Aged P’s ventured out. We all got caught and came back drenched, down to our knickers! J had bolted back to the house at the first hint of a raindrop, but stayed dry!!!

On Sunday, it was still raining. J and I pulled out the trusty wet weather gear and packed a picnic. The plan was to catch the ‘Lil Ol Ratty’ steam train up and walk the 9 miles back. But the train had suffered a rain induced land slip and was not running. In fact there had been so much flash flooding that a number of stations and roads were also closed. We went to coffee and cake whilst we considered walking halfway up the Eskdale Trail and then back again. We bumped into the Aged P’s who’d driven round to Ravenglass …. their boots were still wet from yesterday despite newspaper being stuffed in them and the heater and hairdryer from the van, and they did not fancy another drenching. They put us onto the right path and off we set … stripping layers as the weather improved. We turned back as I sunk up to my knee in mud and bog where a tree had blown over.

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The rain did clear but it largely remained misty.

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Our spirits were not dampened!

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Soggy Doggy!

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This path is impassable!

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A very high tide covering the path back from Ravenglass. J sporting his multipurpose sun / rain hat.

Monday saw us go to Hilltop, the National Trust home of Beatrice Potter. This was her home before she married the local solicitor. She kept the house as her work studio. She purchased a lot of land and farms and being passionate about farming and left it all to the National Trust, some of it in her lifetime.

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Beatrice did all the drawings; she had a Scientist’s eye.

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‘Satisfactory in every way’ – Quite a warm commendation for a Victorian!

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Peter Rabbit must be around the corner.

Tuesday boded changeable for the weather so we headed up to Cockermouth to see Wordsworth’s birth house. Another new dog experience as J and I had to take turns to go in. We had a picnic on a thoughtfully supplied table and benches along the river. A local explained how the diggers were there to dredge the river as part of the flood prevention measures, but it had been too wet to put them into action. She’d lost most of her possessions in flooding two years ago.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

that flies on high o’er hills and dales

when oft upon my couch I lie

in vacant or in pensive mood”

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Childrens’ poetry amongst the apples in Wordsworth’s birth house.

On the way home we directed Dad (who did all the driving, as we’d never have got Chard down some of the lanes) along Wast Water to Wasdale Head. This is J’s favourite lake which he introduced me to … the deepest in England and a good starting point for a climb up Scafell. Although Mum and I had designated today a dry day … there was pub and the sun happened to come out so we sat on a bench admiring the bucolic scenery (water, hills and sheep) consuming a drink followed by an ice-cream for us and chocolate for them. Lovely … so pleased to show them this area.

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The sheep on the other bank were being rounded up at speed.

Wednesday was due to be fair so we directed Dad up Hardknott Pass and Wrynose. The wheels did scrabble on a couple of hairpins. We tend to think of the fells rather than the lakes. And this is the Lakes at its best. A number of hairy passing ‘situations’ including a blonde in a BMW jeepy thing who did not know her edges and very nearly took the wheel arch off the Aged’s car, totally ignoring my instructions. The motorcyclist, held up by her incompetence, had a few words to say about idiots in cars too big for them!

James had been threatening to get me to run up Hardknott and a few months ago, I would have given it my best shot, but I’d had a nasty touch of food poisoning recently and not been running … that’s my excuse anyway! James, what’s yours?

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Up at Hardknott – it would have been a killer run. Whoever thought I’d be grateful to food poisoning!

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We picnicked at the south of Grassmere water … very pretty and again a generously provided bench. Grassmere is the burial place of Wordsworth so we viewed the grave and consumed an ice cream … Mum didn’t you consume most of a bag of fudge??? I managed to consume two pairs of shorts and a pair of walking trousers in the Mountain Warehouse epic sale for £28! The trousers alone should have been £50. Love a bargain! Can justify the spend with a bargain!!

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Mum and I walked from our picnic spot to the southern point of Grassmere Water.

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Thursday: Dad had been doing all the driving and tomorrow would be the long drive home, so today we decided would be a no drive day … other than we cadged a lift to Ravenglass to catch the steam train up. Actually being the first train of the day, (yes we were up and at ‘em in time for the 9.25 am departure) it was diesel and we got 10% off :). A pretty ride up and we managed to prevent Oscar from leaping from the moving doorless carriage! Coffee and cake at the top. The Aged P’s had a walk and caught a train back down. J and I headed off to do the complete Eskdale Trail. The place where I’d sunk on Sunday had largely dried up. An excellent walk and really well signposted.

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On the narrow gauge railway.

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Other than the amendment to our EuroTunnel booking … this is Oscar’s first ticket.

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We stopped to chat to a local near the house at the end of the walk … an exhausted Oscar found a soft spot of verge and went to sleep!

Being the Bank Holiday weekend, we all decided to leave really early on Friday to avoid the holiday congestion. The Aged P’s left about 7.00 and we were 30 mins behind them as we had to try to de-fluff the house a bit … we keep seeing white fur balls from Oscar! Seeing accidents is always unsettling, and sadly we saw a 7 car nudge up and then later a more serious rolled car … not a good start to the Bank Holiday. We’d decided to stay at the Aged P’s as it is really handy for the station and J was catching the train on Saturday up to London to see his two daughters and granddaughter.

437-449: Settling Oscar

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Clunegapyears

437 – Thursday 4th August: Oscar Collection Day

A good run around the resevoir and we set of to collect Oscar. He is indeed a handsome beastie, but somewhat scarred and very scabby from his most recent hammer and tongs fight with the other dog in the house last Saturday. Apparently the battles commenced as soon as Oscar hit two years old and his testosterone started raging! He has sores on his snout as well from where he was muzzled. So he came from a loving home, but needed to be in a single dog household. Another bonus … he’s used to travelling in a motorhome as the previous owner showed all her dogs. Win win!

Only 5 mins away was Pets At Home …. £251 lighter, we came away with leads, bed, food etc!

We could have descended on my ever accommodating parents, but as we spend most of our time living in Chardonnay, we felt it wisest to book onto a caravan Club CL so we could be still and get Oscar used to us and being in the ‘van. I’d booked 13 nights at Coxbridge Farm, caravan Club CL in Farnham, which is:

very near the Aged P’s, my sister & family and a lot of friends
where J and I got married 5 years ago … was it really so long ago? The time has flown by 🙂
where I grew up, so I know the area really well.

I was delighted to find that my old very pragmatic vet (Sarah who’d ‘vetted’ my previous 3 dogs … and put two of them down!) was still in Aldershot – appointment booked 🙂

Maddy meeting Oscar.

Handsome boy.

438-449 – Friday 5th August to Wednesday 16th August: Settling Oscar

We’ve walked a lot and soon discovered that we can let Oscar off the lead … he does not stray far. We are working on his recall, and unsurprisingly he can be a bit deaf, so we are careful where we let him off. Strangely he has been discouraged from swimming … a Springer not like water … unheard off! We are sort of encouraging him in, but on second thoughts could this be another Oscar bonus as do we really want a wet dog in our motorhome?!? Training is going well as he is seriously greedy.

Not sure about this wet stuff!

The vet suggested we delay his series of jabs (normal jabs & booster as the previous owner did not believe in them, rabies for the pet passport and kennel cough as we don’t know the dogs he will be meeting) … a series of 4 appointments, each about 2 weeks apart. Ho hum … we’ll have to put back our departure to France to the start of October. Fortunately we are not inconveniencing Kay and Stephen who were going to travel out with their two collies with us, as their Taz is lame and needs to be kept quiet.

We’ve also been catching up with a lot of friends and I’ve been able to see a lot of Maddy and the Aged P’s. Maddy made the mistake of running at Oscar so he’s now nervous of her. The Aged P’s are very dog friendly – they’ve dog sat all my previous Springers – numerous times. For some reason Oscar is terrified of Dad and avoids Mum … can only think it is because we’ve been at their house a lot and he thinks we may leave him there. Dad blowing raspberries at him may not have helped!!!

It feels like Oscar been part of our lives for ever already. We are tripping over him a bit in the van, but his bead is under the table and we are training him to respond to “in yer bed” when we move around. We also lifted the carpets, which to be fair were pretty stained and these have gone to that free and large repository, called the Aged P’s attic!

A great decision to ring the Welshie rescue organiser … we’ve landed a gem.

We took the van to Southampton Fiat Professional to check out the diesel particulate filter and loss of power … all good, but the sensor is faulty … a known Ducato issue, but the part is in back order … at least we know we’re fine to drive Chardonnay. We also managed to get a slot in Viscount Motorhomes in Southampton to look at our on board water leak. It turns out the overflow pipe had come out of the tank … £20 cash for a 10 min turn around and what he hopes will be a permanent heath robinson fix.

432-436: Last Days in Donegal

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Clunegapyears

432 – Saturday 30th July 2016: A very Important Game

We filled our water containers and emptied the toilet in the very convenient public toilets and wandered up the road the the regular Saturday local market int he village hall. A bit of knitting, some local slate products, a stall of local fruit and veg and a lot of cakes. I picked up red onions and a lettuce … J picked up a carrot cake! The healthy and unhealthy! But we will share :).

J was keen to watch the Donegal and West Meath GAA Gaelic Football All Ireland quarter final, so we were looking for a pub. We headed into Dungloe, which had its Mary of Dungloe festival – they select a local lass to be the Mary (a bit of a beauty pageant) and lots of bands in bars. Limited parking, so we ended up adjacent to the fun fair … concerned that we might get a bit stuck there come 2.00 p.m. when the fair opened. A quick wander into the town and then, it not grabbing us, we left and headed for the hills.

We had a pub in mind, but the small village was host to a cycling event so the pub wasn’t showing the football. We did drive along the finish line with crowds either side of us … slightly embarrassed to be there, but tempted to give a few royal bows and waves, we extracted ourselves. We continued into the Glenveagh National Park – some stark hills making the scenery interesting – at the visitor centre I was told about The Lagoon, back out of the Park, but it would definitely be showing the game. So back we went. A large pub with a lounge and local’s snug; we went into the snug. Since the barman said we could park overnight in the car park, we forced down a couple of ciders. Back to the van for a J nanny nap and then back into the pub for supper. Very traditional pub menu – so much deep fat fried that one set of foreign tourists arrived, read the menu and left. However, the fish and chips and spicy deep fried chicken fillets were all well cooked. An elderly couple had a quick chat … in very strong local accents … he was 80+ and had missed the game as he had been at work – labouring!! A couple of bottles of the quaffable single choice of red wine (i.e. no choice at all … red or white) and we slept really well!

433 – Sunday 31st July 2016: Erigol the Terigol

We thanked the pub and I asked where I could find a post box in the neighbouring shop, which sold everything from ice creams to grass seed and tins of beans to fertiliser. Post box a few miles up the road, but the shop owner offered to post my postcards with his post tomorrow … nice people in this neck of the woods.

Back into Glenveagh National Park and we parked by the already full car park by Mount Eribol. On paper, it does not sound like a difficult climb – being only 751 m high and the 76th tallest in Ireland. Erigol the Terigol gets its name due the the initial clamber across and in muddy wet bog. The steep ascent is then over scree to the top – some hands and knees. Nearing the top, the heavens opened and the mists descended so we could only see about 2ft in front. Fortunately, we’d seen some of the views of the other peaks and the coast on the way up. I was relieved to have my walking poles for the descent, supporting my dodgy knee and giving me some balance as we slid down the screes … J went down 3 times, and we watched a couple where he went down, then she did, and then they did synchronised bog diving! A ‘cool’ mum was making her 9th climb up Erigol and her young son’s 5th. Another chap at the summit, had climbed the highest peak in 30 of the 32 Provinces of all of Ireland in 2.5 years.

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The on road car parking got busier every time we looked back … this is definitely on the way up as my poles are in the back pack and J does not yet have a soggy bottom!

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It might not look much, but it was possibly the steepest climb we’ve ever done.

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Some of the views before the rain and mist came in.

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You can just make out the coast.

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The summit.

When we got back to the van and changed, we had a slight issue with Chardonnay. She sort of started and then fizzled … no power at all though. OK, so we have European motor insurance. Oops – no phone signal. J got a lift down towards the next town where he could ring the insurers and then a local garage rang him back – about an hour and half before they could attend to us. J then had to walk the 2 miles back up the road to me, as I’d stayed in Chard … no-one hitches or picks up hitchers now :(. A chap arrived from the garage where J had rung from … doing a favour for a mate further away. He got us going – I had to drive in second gear, revving at 3000 rpm back down to his garage in order to clear the diesel particulate filter. A common problem with these Fiat Duacto motorhomes … they engines are designed for white van man gunning the engine, which clears the filter. We’d been nursing the engine for improved fuel consumption and only been doing easy slow short hops. We now know that we need to regularly do 30 mins + where we get the engine hot.

We drove a short distance back to the coast to near Rinnageeragh and found a fabulous car park amongst the dunes over looking another white sandy beach … oh yay! A quick walk on it and we read the plaque about 4 young girls having be drowned here in ’72. A local confirmed that the beach here is treacherous due the the undertow, but that it was a good walk along the coast to several small bays and a long sandy beach … these were OK for swimming. That’s tomorrow’s plan then!

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434 – Monday 1st August 2016: Walk, Bays and Beach BBQ … Phone Call!

Having slow start, as we planned to stay a second night, I did pilates amongst the dunes. We walked along coast trying to identify the little used path, which was quite fun, passing lovely white sand bays and beaches. We made is as far as the Carrickfinn Beach, busy with life guards. It got even busier when about a thousand teenagers arrived from one of the summer Gaelic language schools with their tannoy! We wandered back the way we’d come, stopping at one of the bays for some still cool beers and a swim (minus wetsuit) for K.

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A bit of a clamber up from the beach to get around the headland.

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Mountain Goat – made it!

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Mount Erigol in the background – looking pretty tame, but we know better!

I’d previously checked with a life guard – it is allowed to have BBQs on the beaches … so that’s what we did. We carried down the BBQ, table and chairs, as well as all the necessary. A fab location and one of those memorable events. It became even more memorable when I took a call from the London and Surrey Welsh Springer Rescue organiser. We’d discounted having a dog as it would be inconvenient, expensive and would limit what we could do and where we could go. But we’ve seen a LOT of motorhomers with their faithful hounds, some really quite large dogs in not so large vans. It felt like a gap in our lives. So I’d just picked up the phone and rung the rescue organiser before I could rationalise against doing so – only about 3 days ago. The conversation had gone along the lines: There is a massive waiting list for them.

I know, I’ve had one before.
Where did the previous dog come from?
Tina Smith.
I know her and she’s really strict about who can have her dogs. Y
es, my last was one of her not so good gun dogs … I did a bit of training with him with Julie Reville.
Yes, she’s retired now.

This call was to say that there was a 2.5 year old dog in Solihull – could we pick him up from there? Of course! The West Mids organiser would ring us tomorrow morning! Somehow the Tcall had ticked all the boxes and `i’d pretty much gone to the top of the UK waiting list!

We opened another bottle by way of celebration and stuck a fire log on. What a simply fabulous day!

435 – Tuesday 2nd August 2016: Decision Made – Head for Home

Several phone calls later … we’d changed our return crossing from Belfast to Cairryan to …. tomorrow. Whilst the current owner would have kept Oscar until the 18th, when we would’ve picked him up, she had two male dogs who’d were going at each other hammer and tongs and we just wanted to get him! We packed up and flitted across to Belfast. We will just have to come back to this part of Ireland to finish off the coast next year. I put our Stendhal Festival music tickets up for first come first serve on the Motorhome Craic forum and even managed to get them posted that night. We overnighted at a free motorhome aire in Bentra Grill, as the Carrickfergus service point was faulty. A really quiet night too.

436 – Wednesday 3rd August 2016: Belfast – Cairnryan – Solihull

Up with the lark for a 7.30 crossing. Nothing to report other than we drove all day and made it to a great free parking by a reservoir near Solihull – dog pick up destination!

429-431: Donegal Coastline and Dodging Showers

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Clunegapyears

429 – Wednesday 27th July 2016: Carpet Bagging Fish

Roving reporter tonight – James:

Overnighting last night? And course the readers will know of “Lusty Beg”? Now we say ‘readers’ because we know there are at least 2 – Amelia being our reader and roving reporter based at Killiney Beach – and Mary Kate reporting from Banbridge assisted by Michael and Daniel (of the new fashionable first ever haircut…). Anyway, getting back to Busty Leg (oops, Chardonnay is not really busty – or busting a leg…). A stunning (that word again) small ferry crossing to a major party venue (conferences and weddings) – we declined to party there and settled for our own Chardyparty… We woke to heavy downpours 😦 No run and a damp enthusiasm.

Donegal Carpets have graced the Ambassadorial residences of countries around the globe, prestigious hotels, wealthy houses, Buckingham Palace and – “Aras an Uachtarain” – the official residence of the President of Ireland. Very sadly, this may be coming to an end… But on with our story…

I had a little prior knowledge of the Donegal Carpets business – Katherine had not really heard of them. So we journeyed to Killybegs town to find parking for our friendly beauty – Katherine! (Actually, I could be in a spot of bother here, so don’t tell her – she doesn’t weigh 4 tonnes – she’s a mere slip of a girl…). Anyway Chardonnay proved difficult to park (she’s not a difficult lass – neither is K (he quickly and diplomatically added…). K wandered across the road to the local TIC – and the nice chap offered to have us parked just off the main street right behind his office! He obviously spotted our 2 beauties – Chard and K!

Armed with maps and lots of useful information, we strolled up to the carpet factory/museum. As always the staff were friendly, professional and very well informed. Started by a Scot in 1857, it grew quickly (4 factories initially) – 3 closed after 10-30 years leaving Killybegs only. The photos show the immense skill and detail involved – every single carpet over 150 years was unique and completely to the owners individual design. K did some weaving and knotting of a carpet in progress…see photos – I was cameraman of the day. The wool for the weaving could only come from the local black-faced sheep – clearly, the sheep facial expression came out on the designs!

The competition from synthetic and mass produced carpets has taken its toll and the last carpet was weaved 3 years ago – with no present orders…

We can only hope that somehow this lovely piece of local industry and history can continue – who would like to buy a nice carpet factory?

The longest loom in the world.

1920’s pic all knotting away. The minimum requirement was 350 knots per minute, but some got up to over 600!

Our wild camping for the night was at Teelin Pier – another lovely quiet harbour – lots of activities during the evening – kids rowing classes, boat trips, fishing… and another gem from our neighbouring fisher folk. K perambulated to chat with some fishermen – and came back with 2 large mackerel – free gratis! Supper was the freshest of fresh Donegal sea produce. Later, our Katherine came upon a couple of Latvian/Lithuanian fishermen – conversing in Russian – K’s Russian is a little rusty – like “2 large vodkas please” – she somehow came away with some generously sized pollock… second free and fresh fish supper tomorrow evening! K: Honest injun … I did not set out to blag two lots of fresh fish … I did offer to pay!

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The views out of our window at Teelin Pier …

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430 – Thursday 28th July 2016: A New Wooly and an Inspirational Man

Guess what fell from the skies during the evening and night – a kind of soft mixture of moisture, vapour and magic mist! Some folk would call it heavy rain – but we prefer the mystically damp theory! It was so mystically magic the it crept vertically through the open roof lights and attached itself to some clothing – but not to our duvet! We slept peacefully, having enjoyed another (they are increasing) alcohol free evening…

The – lets call it ‘nice rain’ sort of decreased and we shot off (shooting off for us means a leisurely departure at 1030 am) to the area of Malin Beg – not Ballyseg…. We happened upon a Donegal knitwear outlet shop en route and we stopped ‘just to look’ at the Aran-style sweaters. Within a few nano seconds, K’s face lit up at one beautiful cardy-style item. We settled for an early K birthday pressie and the purchase was completed in lusty style … (K: my birthday is not till December!)

As we headed for the beach having been warned of the dangers of the mountain track – we fell into conversation with Pablo (injured toe) and David – Peruvian and Irish lads who were long distance walkers. We suggested they might take a lift with us to Glencolumcille – they were happy sandboys – they had camped overnight on the beach!

A LOT of steps down and back up (!) to the beach …

… proof that we did make it!

Glen Columcille Folk village was established in the 50’s/60’s by a true visionary – Fr James McDyer. A native of Donegal who worked in London initially – he was transferred to Glencolumcille in the 50’s. He immediately recognised the plight of the local folk – emigration, lack of jobs, etc. Under his leadership, they built a village hall, holiday cottages to let and many other projects. He lobbied government for electricity power supplies, water improvements – a saint – you don’t have to be formally canonised to be ‘saintly’. To attract more tourism he created a small village to show life through the ages.

Glen Garish pass en route to Naran beach – the next overnight stay – is the equal of the most spectacular passes in the Lake District!

Glengesh Pass … amazing views, just too misty 😦

Loads of peat cutting all around Donegal. J remembers wielding tools to do this as a wee lad, but nowadays it is is nearly all machine cut.

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Glencolumbkille Folk Museum

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Would that be an empty glass?!

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Whilst Catholicism was repressed the Priests went into hiding and toured villages. If a couple wanted to marry, they poked their fingers through a ‘Promise Rock’ and became bonded. They could then live as a couple until the Priest arrived and performed a formal marriage service.

Naran beach is a popular resort but still not too busy – loads of youngsters on a 2 mile long white flat sandy beach – another Donegal gem! Not an amusement arcade to be seen. K walked the 2 km white sands whilst I had a minor nanny nap. Once the beach carpark emptied out, we move Chardonnay so we would awake with the sea and beach views … also right next to the left open all night toilet block … how convenient is that?

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The overnight view of the 2km miles of white soft sand.

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Views on K’s walk … layers of mountains and tones …one of those peaks is Mt Errigal, highest mountain in Donegal.

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Someone’s hours of work that I photographed on the way out of my walk …

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… to witness the joy of some other children then destroy on the return leg. I wondered if the creators would be upset when they came back to the beach tomorrow.

431 – Friday 29th July 2016 – Not Moving in Naran Beach

K rinsed clothes while we were right next to water and then we attempted to move Chard to a longer and less in the way parking space … only to be told by an unpleasant cafe owner that the whole car park was NOT for motorhomes and to read the sign. We’d read every sign … rubbish! No mention of cars only, but we gracefully moved out of his sight. K would have fancied an ice cream later today, but no way will she buy from him! The other locals in a different cafe and the life guards had all been really relaxed when she checked last night about where we could park up.

We ran for not too many miles on the beach – “Tra Mor” in Irish Gaeilge – large beach. Today, Friday – we decided to be still, spend another night in this completely unspoilt corner – and travel onwards tomorrow to where? Any where we call home.

We met Stephen and Christine – relatively new to motor homing and had coffee and cakes! Still working and thinking of going full time – our advice is – just go for it! We had a short walk along the coast until the path disintegrated. Donegal really has not got to grips with tourism … it could do so much more to attract walkers and cyclists, but I suppose it would spoil the uncommercial feel.

We shall be moving the van again tonight once the car park is empty, but not near the unhappy cafe owner!!!

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Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels

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