Devall Travels

I had an email from Warners Show about camping shows we hadn't booked for. We are already planning and booked to go to Norfolk again. Then I saw on the Motor Caravanners Club (MCC) that they have a club area at the Newbury Show. There's a small discount for staying in a club area. We decided to book a club pitch. By then we should be able to exist off grid for a much longer time than we have at rallies at the moment.

The final day of this Easter Bank Holiday. "Where are we today Claire?" If you know, you know... We were up earlier to get away as close to 9am as possible. The plan was to get the "jobs" done and get away. I did the black waste with Reggie tagging along. He was off lead and he ventured away to check out what might be living in the barn. The destination: The Tiptree Jam Factory Tea Room in Tiptree, Essex. The TomTom took us on the A1120 route that we are used to and we made good time around Ipswich and back down the A12 past Colchester before Tiptree. I had checked it was open on Bank Holidays. It was. I parked in the overflow parking lot. They have a marquee in the garden that is dog friendly. Access is through the usual tea rooms and the small Wilkins museum. We ordered the Tiptree Breakfast and tea and coffee. Reggie didn't settle so I took him back to the van and ...

So Day 4 comes and boy was it WINDY! This weekend is supposed to host "Storm Dave" but up in the north and Scotland. We were parked up nose into the wind. But it didn't stop the gusts rocking the van quite violently. We also had the Remis blind on the roof light above the bed rattling.  We survived. Reggie survived. The plan for today was to go to Claire's sister's house after lunch.  She only lives 4 miles from Waterpump CL, but there are several ways to get there, some of them along sketchy roads. So that was the one TomTom chose. We had a pleasant few hours there catching up and having some homemade apple cake. Once we were away, TomTom chose a different way back. Although this was slightly longer it was on better roads. After a cup of coffee, we had a walk across to the pub. It was about ten to seven and it was closed. It did look like someone was in the kitchen though. Claire tried the door...

The reason for coming up in the van for the Easter holiday weekend was for me to go to the football at Colchester United. On Google Maps the walking distance would suggest at least 45 minutes to an hour walking.  I decided on a cab each way. I tried to book a couple in advance with no luck. They have Uber but they aren't reservable in advance. It was Easter. It was Good Friday. Kick off 3pm. When we checked in the young bloke that handled it said definitely a cab. I phoned the one on the site's info sheet. The number took we to an automated system. I booked cabs in both directions. Come 2pm, or a little before, we headed to the entrance and the cab was already there. So soon after 2.10 he dropped me off by the ground. The return pickup at the same place. All the updates about the cab were sent by SMS to my phone. I had a walk to Wendy's to get something to eat for lunch but the queue out of the door was too long. I opted for Greggs instead. A sausage roll, a co...

The plan for day 3 was originally to stay at Colchester Country Park and maybe go into Colchester to have a mooch around the castle etc. Although the site is okay, the distance to the centre was too much, and of course the traffic noise. It was LOUD! So in the week I emailed Sarah at the Waterpump CL, where we were booked on Sunday overnight, to add a second night, Saturday, as well. The altered plan meant we would have normally meant being off for 11am, but we were booked until Sunday. In the event, we had all the blue jobs done, and the waste water drained in good time. But where to go? I had thought Aldeburgh, but Claire thought with it being Easter, then it could be packed. So she suggested Snape Maltings. Nice walks, culture in the form of art works by famous sculptors, and a really nice dog friendly café. Once onto the A12 heading towards Ipswich and with a quarter of a tank used we decided to fill up at our fa...

We got away around 1230. A little later than expected.  The site at Colchester Country Park was a 2pm check in. We made good progress until the Dartford Crossing and even then the usual catastrophic traffic jams weren't too bad. It would make is safer and allow everyone to move more quickly if trucks over 7.5 tons were restricted to the left tunnel.  The site reviews show it is close to the A12. It is. We were allocated pitch 78. The A12 joining road was only about 40 yards away. Yes. It's very noisy.

I have made a slight change to the weekend.  Rather than have three nights at the Colchester Country Park site, I emailed them to say that we would only be staying for two nights. There's no refund on cancellations but I can swallow that. I haven't had a reply from them.  Although there is quite a lot to see in the area, it's all a fair walking distance and some of the reviews aren't too kind about the noise from the nearby A12. The two nights will enable me to get a cab or Uber from the site to the football stadium and back again.  I had already booked Sunday night at the Waterpump CL and I asked if they could accommodate us on Saturday too. We are booked in. It means we can arrive early there and maybe have Saturday lunch in the pub, or arrive later and visit  Aldeburgh  or somewhere on the way up from Colchester. One of the days we will see Claire's sister for an Easter visit. The only problem is the shortages of diesel fuel. All due to Trump's...