United Kingdom – DJmotortouring

Days 6,7 & 8 – Canterbury, Kent

Day 6 saw Mick and I arrive at Dave’s place in Canterbury for a small reunion (Mick decided to join me for a couple of days) before I head off to mainland Europe…

Stayed in Canterbury longer than anticipated but enjoyed every minute of it. Drank some good local ales (Kent County from Whitstable and Musket Flash in the Pan which I think comes from a micro-brewery in Maidstone) in a couple of very good pubs (The Bell & Crown and The New Inn)…

Tried to ignore Canterbury Cathedral (which everyone takes pictures of and is for the most part covered in scaffolding) in favour of views which better reflect Canterbury as a whole and I saw a side of Canterbury I had not seen before. It is a compact and charming town with much to see. The only downside is the litter and graffiti – it really is bad – shame on you Canterbury!

*Okay, so there is a little bit of Canterbury Cathedral without scaffolding*

A surprisingly interesting place to visit was St Martin’s Church which, they say, is the oldest church in the English-speaking world…

… and my favourite…

… Mary Tourtel was the artist and writer who created Rupert Bear!

The best part of the visit to Canterbury (although a close second was our winning a charity quiz for Sri Lankan Orphans during day 8 – well done Team Oblivion) was our night at the Spiegeltent Salon Perdu. We arrived in Canterbury during the city’s Annual International Arts Festival and took the opportunity to see the Red Stripe Band perform in the tent which is a highly decorated (lots of mirrors) travelling dance tent which originated in Belgium some time in the 1920’s. It’s been everywhere. It was a great venue for the Red Stripe Band who play a wide variety of Boogie, Swing and Rock & Roll and encourage dancing on the dance floor, in the aisles and even behind the bar – they were probably the most fun band I have ever seen/heard. Particularly entertaining was a musical trilogy of It’s Alright Mama, The Benny Hill (Chase) Music and Lily Allen’s It’s Not Fair.

The Channel Tunnel and mainland Europe beckons…

Day 5 – Sutton, Surrey

I wouldn’t normally mention a visit to Sutton (it could never be described as a “see it before you die location” – it’s more of a “I must have died and been really naughty” kind of place) except I popped in to see my mate Mick.

That would be the extent of today’s blog except that his lovely wife Mim, recently returned from visiting her hometown Boro’ (i.e. Middlesbrough – she’s a smoggy), provided a nice welcome and a great meal – tandoori chicken with new potatoes and a home made salsa. I cannot leave the map coordinates but, on a more positive side, I’m not posting any photos of Sutton.

Only other item worthy of mention is that Mick and I enjoyed a fine evening in The Gander public house on Oldfields Road, Sutton drinking London Pride (albeit bottled London Pride) and watching West Ham thrash Tottenham 3-2 in the Carabao (League) Cup. It’s Arsenal in the next round of the cup and I am now en route to Canterbury to see another old friend before crossing to France.

Day 3 – Bedford, Bedfordshire

Day 3 (Monday 23 August) saw me drive to Bedford to see my parents (Hi, Mum, Hi Eric!). Parked up at the Box End Watersport Complex in Kempston (N52.125 E-0.522) – the Sat Nav works! No hook up available (it was half term and there were lots of wake board enthusiasts there for the week – nothing left for me) but plenty of level ground to park the van up and electricity was not ever going to be a problem because Travel World had changed the two leisure batteries in the van before I left Telford. Thank heavens for the warranty not expiring until 24 August!

An evening meal at the Alamin Tandoori in Bedford was what you might expect of the longest established Indian restaurant in the town (great welcome, excellent service and… Indian food).

A few pics of Bedford:-

Last photo is of the chef at the Alamin Tandoori.

Saddest part of the visit was that I noticed they have demolished the Queens Head pub on Kempston Road. I was last in there with my Uncle Bill in the 70’s. All that is left is the pub sign.

Day 1 – Bridgnorth, Shropshire

Day 1 (Saturday 21 October 2017) : The journey begins – Prestbury, Cheshire to Bridgnorth, Shropshire via Travel World in Telford.

Parked the van in Travel World’s yard at Telford (pending a change of leisure batteries Monday morning) and visited family in Bridgnorth. Apologies for not staying awake long enough on the Saturday night to see everyone but the beer at the Bamboo Bar & Pie Shop has a particularly soporific effect when taken in quantity.

Talking of the Bamboo Bar & Pie Shop, the steak and ale pie I had for dinner was outstanding. The local ales are good but the pies are out of this world – reasonable portions, great pastry and packed solid with good sized steak pieces. A hearty meal and at not a bad price either. The Bamboo is on the High Town side of Bridgnorth close to the town bridge over the River Severn and highly recommended if you like steak pie.

I am advised Bridgnorth is in fact two towns, being the High Town “with good views down” and the Low Town “with good views up”. It is said Charles I declared the view from the High Town as “…the finest in all my Kingdom” but, without taking too much away from the place, he was perhaps too easily impressed.

The town was a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War but it surrendered to the Parliamentarians after a short siege and was subsequently destroyed by the victors. There’s little left of the castle (although some of the keep remains, albeit leaning over at an alarming angle) but the town has considerable character and there is much else to appreciate.

It is perhaps a sad reflection on me or at least of my tastes that I found one of the the most striking features of the town to be the large number of real ale pubs – I shall return!

Bedford, Bedfordshire next…

Wifi Test (near Buxton)

Currently checking out the “The Van” on another wild camp (if an overnight stay at a remote car park near Goyt’s Lane, Buxton, can be termed a wild camp) the main purpose of which, in no particular order, is to test (a) the heating system in readiness for the impending tour and (b) the new communications system (or, more specifically, the Huawei E5577 Mifi device purchased from Motorhome WiFi which I’m hoping will enable me to better access the internet during the tour) and (c) my knowledge and/or understanding of the Pioneer Sat-Nav System which I had installed when I bought the Van (or I’m going to get lost).

The house sale is moving slower than expected (this time it is not all down to lawyers) and it looks as if I will be spending a great deal more time touring Europe in Winter and Spring as opposed to Summer and Autumn. In these circumstances I thought it prudent to give the heating system another test before I go. I’ve just turned the heating on (although it is not that cold outside) and we’ll see how it goes overnight.

The MiFi device appears to be working a treat. Indeed, I’ve connected the lap top to the device and have been able to access the DJmotortouring website without any difficulty. Adam, who together with Sophie, runs Motorhome WiFi told me that the system is easy to set up but I am neanderthal when it comes to technology and I really didn’t think I would be able to cope. Guess what? Adam was right. It was simple. Thanks, Adam. Thanks Motorhome WiFi. Let’s hope it works as well in Bulgaria as Buxton. We’ll see.

I’m determined to finish this blog on a high note and will not therefore talk about the Sat-Nav System. It will suffice to say at this stage that I’m pleased I still have my UK Road Atlas in the Van!

Time for a glass or four of Malbec.

Speak to you anon.

p.s. I reproduce below a couple of photos of the site where I’m parked. It is one of two small car parks either side of the road. This lower car park is slightly larger and more sheltered but it is on a small slope. My mobile ‘phone tells me the coordinates are N53,1625 W1,5755. First thoughts are it is not a bad place to park.