Saturday:
Our maiden voyage with the new rig and it was snowing! With numb fingers we put the towing cover on, new mirrors and hitched up. Pleased to say everything went to plan, and we eventually left the storage yard with the heated seats on. Next spanner in the works was that access to the Tyne Tunnel was closed from the A19, so a wee diversion was in order to get back on track. Following this we had a good journey down to our first pit stop. The wind was rather strong and gave us a good buffering on occasion, but I’m please to say the car pulled the ‘van like a train, she didn’t bat an eyelid. The towing cover decided to drop a little en-route, probably due to it being heavy with the rain, plus we didn’t fit it properly as the weather was so adverse at the yard. A couple of stops along the way kept it in-place however, and then we arrived at the campsite.
We quickly booked in and found our pitch. Access was a bit tight for reversing, so we resorted to the mover. Now this was a bit different again, a twin axle does not manoeuvre as well as a single, so a few attempts were required to get it just so, another learning curve! We then began setting up, again not as quick as usual as we were still finding places for ‘things’. We settled in for the night and enjoyed the luxury of the ‘van with its fixed bed yet once again.
Sunday:
Nothing planned for today other than to finish off setting up and finding homes for everything. I put the new awning up, which went up very easily and provides just the space we require, namely for shoes, bin and a dry access into the ‘van. The satellite also went up, as TV signal is not the best on the site. This again went well, the stand is much better and simpler to install. With the EasyFind LNB I also found the Astra birds without any hassle at all. Food, wine and TV later, Sunday came and went.
Monday:
Weather not so great, so a simple relax day inside the ‘van – nothing wrong with that!
Tuesday:
A trip to Chesterfield was in order today. We first went to Ravenside Retail Park, to pick up a few bits ‘n’ bobs. From here we headed to the town centre, to view St Mary’s Church with its infamous crooked spire. There are numerous markets here on various days, we had just missed one being late afternoon. We returned back to the site to have a wander about as the weather was fairly pleasant.
Wednesday:
Glorious weather and a trip to the nature park was in order. This is a well kept area complete with children’s playgound, cafe and plenty of benches to sit and rest on. The walk around the lake is a modest one, so should be suitable for most people. We completed our little trek and then returned back to the ‘van and sat outside, fist time this year! Spent some time reprogramming the Avtex TV to have a meaningful satellite channel list, much better now.
Thursday:
Another relaxing day with just a short trip out to the local Morrison’s, in order to fuel up ready for our return trip on Saturday.
Friday:
Feeling a little under the weather, we stayed on site all day and relaxed, after all it is our final day!
Saturday:
Awning down and everything packed away. We had a good journey home, with just an accident on the A1 to contend with. However I must say, crawling traffic is a lot easier with an automatic!
Site Report:
– 86 Pitches
– 16A EHU
– Hardstanding pitches, some fully serviced
– Washblock usual high standard
– Piped music in the washblock
– Information hut
– Plenty of service points
– Easy access from M1
- Date: 16th March 2019
- Nights: 7
- Pitch #: 5
- GPS: 53.257928, -1.352245
- M1 > Markham Lane > A6192 > Meadows Drive > Pavilion Drive