Christmas, the perfect time of year for camping.
Think about it; Boxing Day bus services end pretty early in the day. And it can be a real pain to get a cab late at night.
Fortunately, when faced with a long, cold walk home last night, there was an alternative.
So, we bought a big tent garage thing.
Despite sandbags and bolts (a nightmare to drill into tarmac), the thing was on the point of taking off today.
So the decision was taken to undo the 3-4 hours’ assembly and dismantle it.
Anyone want a 6m long flying garage?
A night off, so here’s a picture of a dog with her head out of a campervan window.
So, two years late, Glastonbury happened this year.
While a slow and expensive form of travel, the van made a huge difference to the experience. It wasn’t just down to sleeping in a bed (sort of); there was a lot more space than on the campsites and no need to carry everything from a car park.
This was going to be my last Glastonbury, but I’m already wondering about the chance of a ticket next year.
Unfortunately, the van’s new oil leak became something of an issue as we drove through Bristol.
This resulted in a large amount of smoke and the need to have a lengthy break to let the engine cool down.
Oh, and a wing mirror fell off.
So the van (the old one, not the everyday van) went in for an MOT and service a week and a bit ago.
A quieter, or less noisy, version of the van came back today. Regrettably, that meant that my bank balance is now £800 lighter.
Thinking positively (I try to do that), it’s running well and should make it to Glastonbury next week.
Less positive is the financial impact of 19 MPG.
Northern Kin, a dog friendly festival.
I’ve only been to Nottingham a couple of times in the past, so our eBay purchase of a van front end created the opportunity for a third visit.
It made sense to drive down yesterday and pick up the rusty lump up today. That gave us a chance to fit in some decent pubs, starting with the Doctor’s Orders, a pretty cool micropub I’d found on Mansfield Road the last time we were there.
It’s everything a micropub should be; decent prices too. Also discovered last time was the Crafty Crow, also run by the Magpie Brewery.
Naturally, we had to visit Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, allegedly the country’s oldest pub. I knew that the beer wasn’t going to be the best, but the building’s a real experience.
There were one or two other pubs, but I didn’t take pictures.
One minor negative was the £25 dog surcharge at the hotel, the highest of the three hotels accommodating the dog this year (£10 and £20 at the other two). So we made sure that the dog made the most of the facilities.
This morning, we collected the van front end. Fortunately, we managed to squeeze it in without resorting to the angle grinder I’d taken.
Yes, it has holes. But I love it. We’ll attempt to remove it from the van in the morning.
I came across a van on eBay the other day. A Riviera conversion, a left hand drive import from the US.
The registration’s just a couple of digits from ours. Obviously, I’ve drawn the conclusion that they both arrived in the UK together.
Following the arrival of replacement fabric for the van’s pop-top, the dog and I had a walk to the storage yard with it, yesterday.
It was strangely warm inside the van, so we rested before our return home.
I’d forgotten that we’d left festival beer in the van.
On arrival at our hotel in Liverpool, we found that the van would actually scrape into our usual long stay car park. While not actually a case of scraping, the height clearance was scarily slight.
Our luck changed when we were told by our pet friendly hotel that the establishment was no longer pet friendly. This was something of a surprise, since our reservation, which included the dog, had been accepted the previous week.
Fortunately, on walking into the Adelphi, we were told that dogs were welcome.
We celebrated with a drink in the Head of Steam, knowing that the chain allowed dogs.
There was, however, something of a loss of productivity in both this bar and the hotel, since staff took time out to play with the dog.
Talking of the dog, she felt the need to pose with landmarks.
We ate at Down the Hatch, a really good veggie/vegan cafe, which also – yes – welcomes dogs.
Followed by a good night’s sleep
(another micropub might have been involved too).
The following morning, we breakfasted (the dog had eggs), then set off for Keswick. we stopped off at Lancaster to stretch our legs and take refreshments.
We stayed at Castlerigg, on a site close to where I’d stayed with my youngest child 21 years ago.
We were soon joined by another T2, a year younger than ours.
We only spent a couple of days in Keswick; we regretted not staying longer.
The dog seemed to have a good time.
Enjoying cake at the Theatre by the Lake.
She also discovered a gem of a micropub, the Crafty Baa.
It was also good to see that a once really terrible little bar had become an excellent veggie/vegan bar/restaurant/hotel.
Although the decor hadn’t changed in two decades (the other room was busy).
And, this morning, we returned home. in a roundabout sort of way.
Over the last couple of weeks, the van covered over 800 miles without a single problem. That was something of a surprise.