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European Adventure 2017
Well here we are in England! We have to keep pinching ourselves to make sure that this is really happening after so much anticipation! I'm sorry for the delay in updating the blog but we have had one or two technical issues which hopefully have all been sorted.
The best thing was seeing Ryan at the airport to meet us at 6.30 in the morning after 30 hours of travelling and from there we went to pick up the motorhome. Luckily the registration papers came through and we were able to drive it away about 4 hours later and we headed off down the road and parked up the drive at Ryan’s home. There we stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed meeting Ryan’s friends Frankie and Damian and their little girl Emilia. Ryan was a great help driving us about and helping us get all the gear together to kit out the motorhome from bedding and towels to cutlery and pans. We managed to make it through to 9pm that night before hitting the sack.
Next day we visited ex neighbours from Christchurch who relocated to the UK after the earthquake and then headed to our first night in a camping ground on power so that we could test the capabilities of our new machine. After ringing around 5 camp grounds we managed to find one that had room for us and so we ended up at Henley-on Thames which was a lovely camping ground and the facilities were amazing with central heating throughout the amenities from the toilets and showers to the washing up room and laundry.
Yesterday we met up with Charlie and Mandy as they took delivery of their van and we had a few minor things fixed on ours. Then we split up again and we visited Louises’s partner’s parents and had a nice meal with them while Charlie and Mandy went back to her Aunt and Uncles to wait for Lidka and Leicester to arrive in a few days’ time. For us our tripping around started in earnest. We headed across to Gloucester to visit a 2nd cousin I had never met and had a lovely afternoon with her wandering around her little village of Eastington. The motor home only just fit up the lane to her house and it was an interesting exercise in parking and then getting back out.
Tonight as I write this we are parked up in the yard of a 15th century pub called the Hobnail Inn and it is on the Brit Stops list which is a huge collection of small businesses such as pubs, vineyards, market gardens or the like which offer free accommodation in the hope that you will support them. These are often in off the beaten track places and give you a really local experience.
The main impression we have of England so far is how green and beautiful it is. The old buildings and quaint villages are simply delightful and it really is a wonderful place to visit. When the buildings were put up 300 years ago it was never envisaged that there would be modern motorcars navigating streets designed for horse drawn carriages. One street we clipped the passenger side mirror on a parked truck’s mirror. Luckily no damage. Geoff’s offering odds of 2 to 1 that one of the mirrors will need to be replaced prior to our return! Any takers place your bets now as these mirrors cost between 300-500GBP.
An interesting thing that happened the other day was when Geoff went to pay for groceries with cash and produced a 50GBP note. Just like what happens when you are buying wine in NZ a supervisor was called to check the note to ensure it was genuine before the purchase would go through. They rubbed it with their fingers then checked it with a light and gave us the impression they would have preferred a creditcard.
It cost NZ$195 to fill the motorhome….just waiting to see how far it will take us.
The best thing was seeing Ryan at the airport to meet us at 6.30 in the morning after 30 hours of travelling and from there we went to pick up the motorhome. Luckily the registration papers came through and we were able to drive it away about 4 hours later and we headed off down the road and parked up the drive at Ryan’s home. There we stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed meeting Ryan’s friends Frankie and Damian and their little girl Emilia. Ryan was a great help driving us about and helping us get all the gear together to kit out the motorhome from bedding and towels to cutlery and pans. We managed to make it through to 9pm that night before hitting the sack.
Next day we visited ex neighbours from Christchurch who relocated to the UK after the earthquake and then headed to our first night in a camping ground on power so that we could test the capabilities of our new machine. After ringing around 5 camp grounds we managed to find one that had room for us and so we ended up at Henley-on Thames which was a lovely camping ground and the facilities were amazing with central heating throughout the amenities from the toilets and showers to the washing up room and laundry.
Yesterday we met up with Charlie and Mandy as they took delivery of their van and we had a few minor things fixed on ours. Then we split up again and we visited Louises’s partner’s parents and had a nice meal with them while Charlie and Mandy went back to her Aunt and Uncles to wait for Lidka and Leicester to arrive in a few days’ time. For us our tripping around started in earnest. We headed across to Gloucester to visit a 2nd cousin I had never met and had a lovely afternoon with her wandering around her little village of Eastington. The motor home only just fit up the lane to her house and it was an interesting exercise in parking and then getting back out.
Tonight as I write this we are parked up in the yard of a 15th century pub called the Hobnail Inn and it is on the Brit Stops list which is a huge collection of small businesses such as pubs, vineyards, market gardens or the like which offer free accommodation in the hope that you will support them. These are often in off the beaten track places and give you a really local experience.
The main impression we have of England so far is how green and beautiful it is. The old buildings and quaint villages are simply delightful and it really is a wonderful place to visit. When the buildings were put up 300 years ago it was never envisaged that there would be modern motorcars navigating streets designed for horse drawn carriages. One street we clipped the passenger side mirror on a parked truck’s mirror. Luckily no damage. Geoff’s offering odds of 2 to 1 that one of the mirrors will need to be replaced prior to our return! Any takers place your bets now as these mirrors cost between 300-500GBP.
An interesting thing that happened the other day was when Geoff went to pay for groceries with cash and produced a 50GBP note. Just like what happens when you are buying wine in NZ a supervisor was called to check the note to ensure it was genuine before the purchase would go through. They rubbed it with their fingers then checked it with a light and gave us the impression they would have preferred a creditcard.
It cost NZ$195 to fill the motorhome….just waiting to see how far it will take us.
- comments
Sarah-Louise Glad to see your having a good time! Change all your 50pound notes into 20 and 10. So many places won't take them as they are the most common counterfeit note made, I got caught out with that till someone finally told me.
mum great to see
mum great to see pictures now I can visualise it all. made great breakfast reading. I well remember and miss those narrow lanes I used to cycle along in my youth.