Motorhome Madness with the Walters

 We learned, and made sure we got a middle of the field plot this time. We also left nothing outside. It didn’t rain. Neither was it baking, so we decided on a bike ride down the Fazerley to Birmingham Canal. Ian wrestled the bikes off the rack and we headed out. This end of the canal the towpath is a bit narrow and bumpy, but the scenery is lovely and we made pleasant, if slow, progress. The dismount point for me came with a dark bumpy tunnel. Pushing was infinitely preferable  Past this tunnel the path got a bit better and we picked up speed. Although tunnel number  two was a little tricky. Dark, bumpy, no edge rail, and a blind person coming the other way! Somehow I coped, but Ian reminded me of my light a bit too late.  We started going through less salubrious areas, at one stage a guy was coming the other way with a couple of carriers and a full length ladder across his handlebars. After nine miles we reached spaghetti junction and decided to turn back. Three mo...

 Overnight there was some Rain. Rain is fine in a Motorhome or caravan unless you are parked under trees. Then you get irregular pitter pattering that becomes very annoying. Needless to say we didn’t sleep too well. We had also left the chairs, some shoes, the little doormat, and towels outside. We live and learn. We had a leisurely couple of hours before unplugging everything and setting off for Birmingham. Unfortunately we had yet more woe on the roads. The A48 from Lydney to Gloucester was closed leaving us no choice but to head for Chepstow, over the Severn Bridge, and join the M5 there. Thank goodness we weren’t going south! We stopped at the lovely Gloucester services for lunch where we found that the M42 was closed, again. It must be the worse road in the country at the moment. The detour takes you round the top of Birmingham, but thankfully not on the M6 toll this time. It’s a whopping £11 for Motorhomes. At last we arrived at Kingsbury water park caravan site to a very fri...

 Our first big trip in Dame Shirley was a double header. Part one was a trip to The Forest of Dean for Elliot’s wedding. Due to our large number I had booked a chalet and a Motorhome pitch at Whitemead Forest Park near Lydney and the weekend required military style planning.  First up, Kathy, Einar, and Sam arrived on the Thursday night Sam tries out Misty’s new bed that she got for her birthday Sam in his own bed The following Friday morning, after Ian had wrestled the bikes onto the back, we set off in Dame Shirley with Misty. Must to her disgust, we dropped her off at Grandmas in a straight swop. A weekend of delight with Amy and Monty awaited her.   Don’t leave me Mummy! Due to the late departure, we were forecast to arrive at Whitemead Park around 4.30. Due to a hiccup by Georgie Kelly, Dame Shirley’s new special Motorhome Satnav (purchased at great expense after the Bakewell debacle) we were forecast to arrive around 5.30! Still, every cloud has a silver lining. We ...

 Dame Shirley Bassey had finally arrived at Moorgate Road and we were eagerly planning our very first weekend away. Before that though, we had to buy loads of ‘stuff’. Tesco proved very handy, yielding lots of kitchen items, my particular favourite being a folding washing up bowl. An early sixtieth birthday present from mum was a very nice portable barbecue. Boxes started arriving from Amazon containing pans, tools and a table.  On Wednesday Ian attempted to connect the wi-fi. After about an hour and a half and lots of swearing he gave up.  On Thursday I received a carpeted ramp in the hope that Misty would be able to get in by herself. It seemed to work! After work Ian had another go at the wi-fi after reading the instructions. He managed to get it working pretty much straight away. The TV is a smart TV so we can watch Netflix, Amazon Prime and BritBox as well as all the usual channels.  Misty entrance ramp By Friday morning I was loading food and clothes into Dame ...