The van has leaked a lot less than I’d expected today.

We’re currently in Shifnal, in a pretty nice pub. The dog’s making weird noises, as she often has done as of late.

I used to stay here often when in Telford for work, simply because it’s nicer. We’re here because it’s nice and it fitted in with our route.

We’re actually staying in a field, three miles away. It’s possibly the best ever field; there’s even another T2.

Anyway, Whitby was … well, you know Whitby.

And then there was Lincoln. Ish.

We’d actually forgotten where we’d booked. My beloved had a Lincoln number on her phone. She rang it and they said they thought we might be booked there. We arrived, a lovely place in the middle of nowhere, while it was gorgeous, we knew it wasn’t where we’d actually booked. On checking my email, I discovered that I’d actually booked elsewhere.

Peterborough (and Kings Cliffe) had to happen next. We stayed at Ferry Meadows. We almost didn’t. One of us had booked the wrong date, but fortunately they had a free pitch.

And then to Stamford (the birthplace of my beloved). After a week in the van, we opted for a hotel.

So Shifnal happened next. It’s literally a one street village, but a really nice one.

It’d been ages since I’d been to Ironbridge, so that was a must.

While the weather in Ironbridge wasn’t the best, we were able to shelter in a great little micropub, the Coracle.

We actually stayed at Hunger Hill, just outside Shifnal.

There was even another T2 on the site.

I’d like to say we’ll be back, because the site was great, but it’s pretty unlikely that’ll happen.

Liverpool next.

A few more pictures.

We picked the van up today, with some apprehension.

After finding that the van had never actually been Neptune Blue, or even the colour which purported to be such, we’d thought that going back to original might be a step too far.

After all, on the face of it, we were talking about a white van.

But we love it; pastel white, still used today, was the right decision.

With a couple of hours free, I tested a change of colour.

I think it works. Well, it should do really; since the van began life that way.

Years ago, I used to spray bike frames. So this can’t be much different?

So we finally found the van’s M-plate.

It seems that the lower half of the van wasn’t originally painted in Neptune Blue.

R1R1 means that it was originally painted in pastel white, both top and bottom.

We’re now considering options.

One would probably expect a 42-year-old vehicle to have some problems. Our old van las a couple of leaky windows, some surface rust, no heating and an oil leak. For the latter, we tend to carry oil, so we can top-up at regular intervals. Because, wherever the van is parked, large oil patches are usually left behind.

During its service last week, we were informed that we actually have multiple oil leaks, one of which is more serious than the usual T2 leaks.

As a result, our van is currently without its engine. The picture below was taken just a couple of days before surgery.