March: Ludlow

Having finally got over a period of cold and snowy weather this weekend we were really keen to properly trial our first stay-away with Wilby Fyne.  Our first choice has been to book a four day break, taking full advantage of the 3 nights for the price of 2 offer made by an excellent touring park in Ludlow Shropshire.  Neither of us had paid any attention to this part of the country so it seemed an appropriate choice for a Pioneer!

We'd also purchased two folding Viking Vision electric bicycles (shop around, we bought these bikes for under £500 each including delivery)...along with a rear basket-style carrier for Roxy, so that she can join us as we risk our lives along some more adventurous tracks on two wheels!

So...we left home on the morning of the March 16th with Wilby loaded up and the weather less that bright...but this didn't bother us much, as after all pioneers don't worry about the weather!

We made some stops along the way, before arriving at the site late in the afternoon with light snow dancing before our eyes.  As during the journey we'd stopped to make a cuppa before finding that the gas connection was less than secure our first task was to ask at reception before visiting a local garage to get that sorted.  Undeterred by such small challenges we returned to the site, this time in sunshine, and soon settled down to prepare something to eat.  However, after an hour of being unable to find the things needed to prepare a basic meal we spent over an hour re-arranging the carefully pre-arranged cupboard contents!  By the end of the day things were fine though...and we both (and the dog) slept well 'til morning.

Next day the snow flurries again alternated with sunshine...so first thing in the morning we decided to walk from camp into Ludlow (just over a mile).  The market there wasn't anything to write home about, but the country town atmosphere and historical buildings were of interest.  It's a pity though that the winding streets of the small town were so disrupted by heavy traffic.

One painting in a shop window caught my eye...

After walking around Ludlow for a couple of hours (we bought a dog coat for Roxy) we returned to the site for lunch and then browsed the map before taking Wilby for a run to view the local area and to visit some of the local towns. 

The weather at that time was still alternating between snow flurry and sunshine...but soon after we'd returned to the camp site that evening things changed for the worse.  In fact we couldn't see a lot through the windows...and then, upon deciding to trial the oven by heating up some apple crumble, we found that the gas cylinder was empty!

An hour later, with the snow settling around us and the sky clearly full of the stuff, we sourced the weather reports for the area...and learned that in fact heavy snow was forecast for the whole of the UK, including 'back home'...with road-ice warnings to follow.  This didn't bode well, particularly as we were surrounded by unsalted country lanes...so we decided to pack up and travel back before the situation worsened. 

Next morning, back home, it was clear that our decision to return had been the right one...there's a LOT a snow out there today! 

February update

The past few weeks have been spent making seat covers for the sofas (due to the muddy dog paws  previously mentioned).  We've also been buying things that 'fit' and that add a touch more comfort to our proposed holiday experiences. 

We also went along to the Caravan and Motorhome show in Birmingham recently.  I must say that I did like the look of several of the new motorhomes...particularly the Adria Coral Plus (which was priced in excess of £70,000) but I can also say with equal honesty that many of the motorhomes were not as nice as Wilby...so I came away feeling that the show was well worth visiting, because I'm now more than happy with what we've got! 

We've just booked our first four day, three night, stay-away...so let's hope that the sun shines and the weather warms up very soon. 

Meanwhile the garden is coming along nicely.  We'd stripped out all of the shrubs and plants late in the summer of last year before rotovating the borders and adding compost, grit and vermiculite (we have very heavy clay soil) prior to re-planting.  Since then, as the plants have been dormant through the winter, I had no idea what had survived and what hadn't.  Happily now though we have fresh growth appearing everywhere, so along with the daffodils things are starting to look good again.  Frogspawn appeared in the pond on St.Valentines Day, so Spring is definitely in the air!