Luton to Broadlands

It’s the last long haul to Norfolk today and we left Luton at 10.45am.  Everything went very smoothly and we finally stopped for lunch once I’d got past the nasty bit at Thetford.  We then had just 21 miles to go to Norwich so I knew I was nearly there.  When Mike drove we’d always go round the inner ring road to Wroxham but I really didn’t fancy that route and took us along the A47 towards Great Yarmouth.  At Acle we leave the main road and make for Potter Heigham which is then a short drive to Ludham Bridge.  The Broadlands Caravan Club site is just before the bridge and we pulled in at 2.50pm.  We chose pitch number 3 because I know that I can get online at this end of the site!!  My 3 dongle is brilliant.

It wasn’t long before the heavens opened, we had thunder and lightning and Hamish made himself sick as he absolutely hates thunder.  Joy!!  Thankfully the bad weather has passed now and he’s settled down.
Tomorrow we take over Broadland Mars from Richardsons at Stalham and so you’ll need to visit my Broadland Blog for the reports on our holiday.  I won’t be able to blog until we come off the boat so don’t expect anything for at least a week!  Hope to see you over there.

A Day in Luton

I had a day off today as we were spending it at Jamie and Phill’s.  Apart from walking Hamish and popping down to the local shop for some bread, I had a lovely lazy day.  The dogs were quite happy together …

The boys, Michael and Mark were going to the O2 tonight to see the Steps concert and so Phill came home to change and meet up with the others then they’d be picking Jamie up from work on their way to London.  Mark was given the important job of being in charge of the tickets …

They were all using Facebook and tweeting during the evening and we gathered they were having a brilliant time!

Devizes to Luton

Today I’ve got to get us to Junction 12 of the M4 where we’re meeting Phill who’ll be driving us round the M25 and M1 to Luton.  He’s at work during the day and the earliest he can get there is about 6.30pm.  Units are supposed to be off site by 12 noon but while chatting to the Warden he offered us a stay until 2pm if we’d like it.  This was brilliant as it meant we could stay here rather than driving around and finding somewhere to stop and kill time.  Most of the morning it rained and the local ducks were enjoying the ever increasing puddle …

It finally stopped raining and although it wasn’t quite time to leave the site I decided to get on the road.  I was pretty nervous about driving the M4  and sitting around was making it worse!  The weather could have been kinder as it was raining once again but I had no choice – I had to get us there and I did!  We spent a couple of hours at Membury Services and got to Reading Sainsburys just after 5pm.  Phill was keeping in touch and letting us know how his journey was going which was great to start with but not so good once he got in a cab at Reading!!  The traffic was dire and it took ages for him to do the four miles from the station to us.  Hamish kept watch for him …

and eventually I got a call to say he had arrived and could see us.  It was really nice to be able to sit in the passenger seat while he drove us to Luton.  Thank you so much Phill for helping me on that horrible leg of the trip x

Five Acres to Devizes

We woke this morning to sunshine which seemed like a miracle after the night we’d endured.  The wind had blown so hard that it rocked the van and then the rain hammered down to add to the noise outside.  I’d checked on the AA Route Finder to see how long it should take to get to the campsite at Devizes and it gave the journey time as an hour and a half.  We left Five Acres at 10.15am and stopped for a coffee after I‘d been driving just over an hour.  I was on the A350 which took me through Westbury which I was dreading as it’s very twisty, narrow and always full of lorries but we sailed through with no problems – phew!  Then it was a short drive to the site where we checked in.  I asked for a nice easy pitch to park on and the warden took us to a lovely one where I could just drive straight in – perfect!!  After connecting up the electrics I left Mike in the van while I took Hamish for a stroll in the dog walk.  It was amazing how far behind Cornwall Wiltshire is with regards to blossom on the trees.  There were a few trees in bloom but most were only in bud.  With the sun shining we had lunch and then sat outside until it began to get darker when we moved inside.  The heavens opened and then the sun came out again – typical April weather.  

Luckily when it was time for Hamish’s evening walk the sun came out.  We set off along the towpath where several boats were moored.  

There were some Canada Geese in the field opposite and I think this one was possibly sitting on a nest …

On the way back we could see the campsite through the trees …

and then I took  this photo of the evening sun on the canal …

I must admit it’s a favourite of mine!

The Start of our Trip to Norfolk

Well the day has finally arrived when I start the momentous journey (for me!) to Norfolk.  With Mike having lost the sight in his right eye and me now doing all the driving, then I need to get us there by driving the motorhome.  I’ve driven it from storage to Portreath garage for its MOT and I took it to fill with fuel but  the thought of motorways, lorries and cruise control was filling me with dread!  Paul very kindly drove it down and parked it in the cul de sac behind our house at the end of last week but this morning it was down to me to manoeuvre it out and hit the road!

We set off at ten o’clock and once on the A30 I began to relax.  Mike turned the cruise control on for me and it was great!  We cruised along at 60mph and I just had to cut it when I wanted to take over – all very easy.  We pulled into Sourton Services for a coffee and for me to suddenly realise just what I had accomplished. 

We moved on, topped up with fuel at Honiton and stopped for lunch in a lay-by.  Then it was just a short hop to Five Acres Caravan Club Site which is our first overnight stop.  We pulled into the site at two o’clock and after pitching up it was kettle on and a much needed cup of tea!

Odds and Sods

I’ve gathered a few photos lately which don’t really deserve a post of their own so I’m putting them all on this one.

Firstly when travelling on the Park and Ride from Threemilestone to Truro I saw that the Graffiti Grannys (Cornish yarnbombers) had been hard at work and it all looked very pretty …

When we had the short spell of warm weather I managed to get a bit of painting done to the garage wall.  It’s not finished yet but I’ve made a start!

Coffee break time with Hamish …

A mini with eyelashes parked at Tesco last week …

Blossom in the village …

A rainbow a couple of days ago …

and last but not least my two boys fast asleep together …

Third Time Lucky!

I’m really fed up with cameras.  I was so pleased with my new Olympus VR-310 until the third time I used it and connected it to my laptop to get the photos downloaded.  When I went to disconnect it the laptop wouldn’t let me do a safe remove.  I turned the laptop off and then removed the cable only to find when I turned the camera on again that it had reverted to Chinese writing and there was no way I could get it back to English.  I also had the shutter stuck out and a blank screen – not good.  I’d bought it from Boots.com so took it back to Camborne Boots where a lady was most helpful and got a replacement one ordered while I waited.  It arrived the next day which I thought was brilliant service – no complaints there – and I must admit I was a bit nervous of using it!  The photos taken at Tehidy were on the second camera and I put off downloading them when I got home but had to take the plunge and see what happened.  This time the laptop didn’t recognise the new software of the camera and so once again I couldn’t do a safe remove.  After chatting with Jo we decided the only thing I could do was pull the plug and hope for the best.  Well you can guess can’t you?  Yes we were back to Chinese writing again.  The next morning I rang Boots.com and explained what was happening.  As it was a replacement one they said I had to have a refund which suited me fine as I was not a happy bunny.  We popped it into Redruth Boots and they organised the refund and return of the camera.

So now I had to make a decision.  Did I order the same camera again or choose another model?  I really liked this model and the bonus was that it used the same battery as I had for my old camera.  So I ordered a black one this time instead of silver and bought it from Tesco.com for a change.  I’ve got a card reader and so I’m not going to link it up to my laptop.  I can charge the battery with my old charger or use the plug and cable provided for the battery to charge in the camera.

Mike and I went for a walk along the Tramway today and I took some close-up photos of the flowers in bloom along the way.

We turned round and headed back …

The card reader was used and thankfully I still have a camera with English instructions on it!  No laptop was used in the production of these photos!!