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!
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.
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!