Motorhome Madness with the Walters

 We woke up to a clear, dry day. Yay! After less pfaffing than yesterday I made porridge for breakfast. I wanted to get to the showers before they closed for cleaning at 10.30. Lovely day through Dame Shirley’s window Porridge and toast After a nice hot shower (not push button) we discussed what to do with the day. Ian wanted a run and I wanted the Christmas market. Well, we could do both. While I washed up and tidied, Ian set off to run to Baslow and back, twice. A run When he returned he had mud all up his legs. He could not come into Dame Shirley like that, so I banished him to an outside chair while he had a cup of tea. Out in the unexpected sunshine He tootled off for a shower then we headed through the secret gate and on up to the market. We had our eye on a few things that we had spotted yesterday. First up, beef brisket on potatoes covered in raclette cheese and pickle. We shared a portion between us and it was very nice. Brisket Time for a wander and a few purchases. Then ...

 It rained overnight. Oh boy did it rain! York was flooded once again we heard but, despite being by the river, Chatsworth is OK. Ian slept fitfully as he kept hearing things dropping on the roof. I slept like a log. We awoke around 8 with the rain still battering us, and I made coffee. No point in getting up so we pfaffed a lot. Then I made a lovely full English, with beans! Cafe quality Full English All the while the rain was beating down. From the window we could see people is sou’westers and dogs in raincoats braving the torrent. ‘Do you fancy a walk into Baslow and some lunch?’ Ian asked. Normally I love a little walk to get some air, but not today. Thankfully Ian’s mums heating and water weren’t working! He spent an age on the phone to various people to arrange an emergency plumber who mended it very quickly (thanks to Chris for rushing down to let him in when he should have been working) . Then Chris had a query that necessitated the full laptop/ipad spread on the table. The...

 Last year, just like York , I booked a few days at the insanely popular Chatsworth site. Unlike York, there was no flooding (yay) and we were able to go. The site itself is always popular as it is on the Chatsworth estate, but at Christmas it gets ramped up to 11 due to the Christmas Market and the House decorations. Ian had run the Donny 10k on the morning of our departure, doing a respectable time, and getting a nice medal.  Ian and running pals After he escaped the busy car park, got home, showered, and had lunch, it was 2.30pm. We jumped into a preloaded Dame Shirley , got Sir Georgie Kelly fired up, and departed for our final sojourn of the year. As we approached Baslow there were cars parked all down one side of the busy A road, presumably all trying to avoid the extortionate parking fees. It made it tricky for Ian to get through, especially with a bus coming the other way. Nevertheless we arrived at Chatsworth CMC site around 3.30. I had booked a serviced pitch ...