Herself and I always like to get a break in during the autumn, as it makes the long dark winter somewhat more bearable. This year finding a free slot in our rather congested work diaries has proved more difficult than usual, hence the lateness of our autumn break.
Once the planets had aligned and approvals granted from our respective Ayatollahs is was time for some searching. I knew the rough area we wanted to go so it was just a matter of opening up a a fist full of windows and going through dummy bookings, applying available discounts looking for the cheapest deal. The CAMHC upped their game on the day I was booking with their 10% autumn deal, so that was that.
The van was loaded up down in storage on Friday afternoon, so just a matter of sitting it out until departure time tomorrow.
Saturday 7 November
Herself couldn't sleep last night, a little concerned about some medical issues she's having that the Dr and consultants can't seem to put their collective fingers on, so by the time I'm dressed and downstairs by 7am she's been sat up watching TV for at least 3 hours.
We're down the storage yard and hitched up ready to hit the road by 9am, having expertly used the movers to get the caravan out of the plot. You know, we've had a mover now on our last 3 vans, for over 11 years, but if it wasn't for a certain Turkey Teethed influencer I would never have known how much of a game changer they were.
The tow up through mid Wales was very pleasant, if a little slow going at times, and we're north of Llandrindod Wells when herself suggests pulling over so she can throw a few sandwiches together for breakfast / lunch.
After this the roads further north open up a bit and we make very good time, even accounting for a wrong roundabout exit and a turn round in Welshpool our predicted ETA is still 3/4 hour too early to be let into the "Circle of Trust" so we turn off the A6 with the intention of sitting it out at the Chirk Truck Stop, only another missed exit means a trundle along the B5070 trying to find a turning space.
A small industrial estate comes to the rescue and I start to expertly manoeuvre the rig near the Castell Howell depot. I did it, and really should have asked Herself to get out and film it, but Herself does not have blood red acrylic talons to wave in from of the lense and I'm not a Turkey Teethed Class 1 HGV driver who's been gifted a reversing camera in exchange for selling my soul.
Maybe if I had a reversing camera I would not have made a complete hash of the blindside reverse? Who knows? We made it back to the truck stop to sit it out until it was safe to approach the site.
Rolling up towards the entrance to Lady Margaret's Park at 1303 hrs there are 5 units in front of us, with a pair of bright orange coats making a nuisance of themselves. The club have a new system in place whereby on sites that are geared up for a Fast Checkin, your site fees are automatically taken from your account before arrival and you just drive up to the barrier. APNR does its magic and you go find a pitch, texting them which number your on once pitched.
Supposed to be seamless, and the technology works, which for the life of me I can't understand why the orange coats felt it necessary to stop each unit, ask some details and tick you off a peace of paper before letting you though to the APNR controlled barrier!
Fully serviced pitches were scarce, with many weekenders having arrived yesterday, and we have a choice of just 3. Settling on #79, we go about setting up. In little over an hour we're done, except that is for not being able to get a decent TV signal,and the van is sporting a new Maypole Ashbourne inflatable porch canopy to give the door an element of protection in the winter months.
While I'm setting up my phone pings letting me know that my Amazon delivery is at the collection point in Oswestry, so leaving Herself catch up on a missed night's sleep I set off on my own to collect my jacket, meaning I won't now go cold this week.
On my return I clip the dogs on and we take a stroll along the footpath beside the site that takes you to Chirk.
I stumble across 2 blokes who have somehow got their car and a trailer down here and are helping themselves to fallen wood! Not too far today as I'm a bit concerned about Herself, and by the time I'm through the gates at the bottom end of the site my phone is pining asking where I am.
I've not long sat down and Herself says "Your friend is just over there." I look puzzled. "On Facebook." I look even more puzzled. Turns out an imaginary friend off the internet WestieMum is stopping on the same site as us, and is pitched just 6 vans away. I saunter on over to introduce myself, kick my Crocs off and am invited inside for a chat.
Back at the van Herself has been busying herself and tea is on the go, very nice it was too, a Lamb Bhuna, Pilau Rice with chips, and a side of Onion Bhajis. All frozen meals courtesy of CKs.
I stream the Wales v Japan match on my laptop and Herself does her very best to watch a pixilated programme on 5USA.
Now as much as I adore caravanning in the summer months there is something special about going away in the darker months, and at the risk of sounding like the taloned one, there's nothing like slowing down and getting cosy in the caravan.
Only I managed it without a myriad of cushions and throws from B&M or a few bottles of cheap wine mixed with squash!
Sunday 8 November
Herself more than slept the clock round last night, retiring at 7pm , frustrated with the lack of TV, and not waking until gone 8am this morning. She must have needed it!
After a quick breakfast of cereal, Surreal for me, we throw some clothes on and head off out to walk the dogs. Autumnal walks are wonderful, especially through woodland with the crisp fallen leaves crunching under your boots. The trouble is you also need to be very careful as to where you're walking as those same crispy leaves provide excellent camouflage for doggy turds!
We don't stop long at the van and head straight out for the day. Rolling into Llangollen at just gone 10am we note it's not yet open and the square is taped off in readiness for the Remembrance service. We roll on through.
Now I love a mountain pass, and where there's one close by I can't resist, so we head off to traverse The Horse Shoe Pass both ways.
As scenic as it is I've done far more challenging passes.
From there we head back towards Llangollen, diverting to the Horseshoe Falls. The car park is rammed with kayakers, unloading and squeezing themselves into neoprene. We feel a little out of place, and it also doesn't look Herself's Knackered Knees friendly, so we move on.
Next stop is a World Heritage Site, The Pontcysyllte Aquaduct. Parking up and feeding £3.50 into the Turpin machine, we clip the dogs on. Now I am still unsure at this point if Herself will be able to do it, not just her knees but she doesn't do heights. At all.
Things weren't helped as we approached and there's a woman coming towards us clinging to the railings taking very controlled small steps, while shaking like a sh***ng Dog! Herself is very sym[athetic and encourage, but I found it funny due to my very inappropriate sense of humour that would have the HR department in work reaching for the emergency counselling biscuits.
The views were spectacular, and Herself managed it both ways with no drama, though there were other unfortunates clinging to the railings as they lost confidence half way over!
Next we need to pay some respects. An auntie of mine recently passed away, and my uncle and her were keen canal boat people. Her wish was to have her ashes scattered at one of their favourite mooring places on the the Llangollen Canal near the Sun Trevor Bridge (No.41W). It nearly didn't happen though, as pulling into the car park of The Sun Trevor Pub we see a sign that parking is for patrons only. No bother though as we intended to have lunch there anyway.
I go in to square it with the G'vnr.
"Hi, I've parked in your car park but we're just popping over the road to the canal, you see my auntie has recently had her ashes scattered there and we'd like to put some flowers down, then we'll be coming back in here for food and drinks."
"The car park is for patrons only."
"Yes I know that, that's why I said we'll be coming back in after we're done over the road."
"No, the car park is for patrons only."
"Yes, and we will be in about 15 mins time."
"We can't have people just leaving their car here while they go off, there will be no room for customers."
"But we will be customers, in about 15 mins."
"Have you booked?"
"Well no."
"How long are you going to be?"
"Like I said, 15 mins tops."
"How many are you?"
"Just the two of us, and the two dogs."
"I don't know if we can fit you in, you'll have to book."
If what we had to do wasn't so important to us I would have walked, but stuck with it as he dragged his feet over to the laptop. After scrolling through a few screens the man from delmonte say yes.
"Name?"
"Davis."
"How many?"
"2 and 2 dogs."
"Contact tel number?"
"We're going to be 10 mins, why do you need that? You can see the 4x4 in the car park from here."
"Contact tel number?"
"07817 4****8."
"Ok, that's booked."
With that pallaver over with I make my way out where Herself is looking puzzled.
"Don't ask!" as we cross the busy A5, over Bridge No41W and onto the towpath.
Time now for lunch and the G'vnr is in the window watching us ready to pounce as I head towards Trude. He's in the doorway as I join Herself having retrieved a bag of treats for the dogs and we squeeze past him while he grunts.
A very pleasant young man shows us to our reserved table in the near empty dining room and we settle down to what I must admit was a very nice lunch. Herself had salmon and I had a beef roast dinner.
With full bellies we left, leaving no tip, which is unusual for us, and headed eventually into Llangollen. Parking up in Market Street I struggle to find a Turpin machine that's working, but pay for 1 hour given that our Herself's blue badge entitles us to an additional hour free.
Castle Street is busy and we thread our way down it towards the bridge over the River Dee. A crowd is gathered looking on a kayakers come down over the Llangollen Town Falls. Herself has done quite a bit today, and between her knackered knees and medical condition her body is telling her enough is enough.
We take an outside table on the small terrace of Deeside Cafe Bistro overlooking the falls and spend some time soaking in the riverside view and watching on as kayakers traverse the falls having come down from up river, probably from the Horseshoe falls.
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I must admit it was a lot more entertaining to watch when one of them capsized, and their capsize drill didn't work, and they had to do a wet exit, appearing to nearly drown in the process.
I feel the chill just thinking about the bloke bobbing up and down in the freezing cols water, but console myself with a nice Latte and slice of Victoria. A far more sensible option as far as I'm concerned. Just don't tell my diabetic nurse!
Back on site we chill for the rest of the day .... and evening. Tea is some home cooked beetroot we brougt with us thrown between a few slices of real bread purchased fresh from a bakery in Llangollen. Lovely it was.
Before we could settle down I had a bit of an episode. These senior moments are coming far too often for my liking, especially when they last for a year!
Ever since we've had this van we' ve I've been frustrated that I've been unable to get a decent signal from the directional antenna, even on sites that it was never a problem with our previous vans, but put it down to dodgy wiring bt Coachman that I would get looked at during the first service.
The club describes the signal strength here as "Fair" at best but comments on "The Book" from people who've stayed here report no issues, aside from having to tune into English transmitters rather that Welsh ones. In readiness I did some research before coming to get a bearing for suitable transmitters and whether they are suited to vertical or horizontal alignments.
Yesterday I'd downloaded a compass app for my phone and lined the antenna up to The Wreckin at 130 degrees before setting up the LG to do its magic, however we only got 30 channels with most of those being unwatchable, and when the fog came in come as darkness fell those few also turned into a pixilated mess.
I promise Herself I'd have another go, thinking that the trees nearby are blocking the view, so open up the compass, point the antenna to a bearing of 7 degrees before asking the LG very nicely to tune in. Just 20 channels this time and none with a picture, just radio stations!
We could stream via Prime or Disney but I don't think we've got enough data to last the week, so think I'll have another go at The Wrekin.
Now I don't quite know why my lift wasn't going to the to the top floor on this one for the past year, but while twisting the antenna round to 130 degrees and winding from vertical to horizontal I had a light bulb moment.
You see that little dial sitting just to the left of the blue light, the one with min and max? Well I started twisting it clockwise, and kept turning it clockwise until it would turn no more.
I dare not fess up to Herself yet, and check my bearings once more, crank back to fully horizontal and fully extend before locking into place, before asking the LG once more to have a go at getting us some progremmes to watch.
I'm sat there intently watching the numbers on the tuner. 20 ..... 40 ...... 60 and all the way up to 179 channels found. Pressing OK and then flicking through they all seem to be crystal clear. It looks like I've spent the last year trying to debug a problem that was literally fixed by turning a knob!
There is something about sitting in your own caravan of an evening doing absolutely bugger all for a few nights or more. People my age just call it a relaxing holiday, but this new brand of influencers can't do normal stuff, they have to invent something new like they've discovered it and would now have to rebrand it as something absurd like a transformative experience at a wellness retreat!
Monday 8 November
I'm up early doors with seven hours sleep behind me and a back that feels like it has the structural integrity of a damp digestive biscuit this morning.
The site is shrouded in a thick layer of fog and the temp has dropped noticeably from yesterday. After a quick breakfast of cereal again we take the dogs on the all too familiar walk along the side of the site, coming back in by the lodges and back up to the caravan.
Piled into Trude we point her nose towards the city of Chester. I had intended to use the Frodsham St car park which is reserved for Blue Badge holders, but access to that appears to down a pedestrianised area. We Herself doesn't fancy going down it so we divert into the car park above Tesco where parking is free for 4 hrs is you spend £15 in store.
We make our way down Frodsham St, taking a right at Eastgate Clock and another right onto St Werburgh St to the front entrance of Chester Cathedral.
Entry is free, but as always there is a suggested donation to enter of £5 per person, and as always the entrance funnels you in single file and you have to pass 2 members of staff dishing out guilt trips while brandishing card reading machines.
You can read all about the Grade 1 listed Church of England Cathedral HERE , so I'll not bore you by rehearsing their text in a far inferior fashion.
With our little contribution to the £6K a day it costs to keep the place going we set off for a wander. grand building it is, but I don't think it can hold a candle to either St Davids or Chichester.
Talking of candles, we pause to light a fistful in memory fo far too many departed family than I care to mention. No chance of escaping making a donation here either if you have a conscience, as next to the cash box is another card reading machine, with suggested donation amounts set out on the screen. I settle on £1 per candle.
It's strange, I've always had a large extended family. My Dad was one of 9 children and my Mam one of 3, so there was never any shortage of Aunties and Uncles floating about, now all but 3 Uncles and one Aunty are left, with both Mam and Dad gone, and it takes some getting used to.
We complete our tour before braving the cold once more, cutting down Godstall Lane ending up on the walkway above Eastgate St looking for somewhere for Herself to rest. Ye Old Boot Inn was a no no as they were not dog friendly, so we carry on to Shrub. They have a heated terrace overlooking the pedestrian area below that is ideal for people watching.
Front of house / waiter is very attentive, and with the warmth of the halogen heaters working their magic we soon decide on lunching here as well as drinks. The menu looks a bit strange so we settle on a burger each and share a dish of fries.
Very good it was too, and was one of the tastiest burgers we've both had in quite some time, and we had a delightful time looking down onto the street below as a busker belted out a few numbers while a guide dressed as a Roman Soldier, I'm guessing he was just actually dressed as a Roman Soldier and wasn't actually a real Roman Soldier that was left behind when the Romans abandoned Chester sone 1630 years ago!
**Edit .... It was only back at the van in the evening when typing out this blog that I discovered that Shrub is actually a Vegan restaurant. The only time I've even encountered Vegan food before I wasn't impressed, and an Uncle of mine (one of the ones who is still alive) described the spread as looking like a cow had wandered in and shit all over the table!). I can't quite make my mind up as to whether I'm pleased because my burger was plant based and far better for me than processed red meat, or hard done by because the burger didn't contain any processed red meat! Either way, I hope I don't start hugging random trees any time soon!
Back to the car park we head, where Herself goes up to the car with the dogs and I head on inside to spend £15 to we can get a voucher and escape the car park. I ended up blowing over £30 by the time I thought oh we need this, and oh we need that!
From here it was the short hop over to the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet where I proceed to enter a world of pain to rival that that Herself is feeling in her knackered knees.
This place is different to the one we have back in south Wales though, with price tags on a different planet. One shop we wne tin was selling toddlers jackets for whopping £130, and there were plenty of takers!
Similar to the last time were here we found it difficult to get anything and abandoned our efforts pretty quickly. Herself and I don't do shopping, so we rested her throbbing knees while having a cider in Under The Oak in the centre of their seasonal street food market. In the modern world of influencers desperate to create content to post to keep the algorithm and engagement numbers ticking over, the two pints of Stowford Press would have been billed as a much need escape!
The dogs have been on leads since their walk this morning so we head to the nearby Stanney Woods for them to have some off lead time chasing a ball. No mistakes this time though, and we didn't get lost like the last time we were here 3 years ago.
Straight line out, 180 degree turn and straight line back.
Back at the van we waste no time in changing into our PJs. We're going nowhere else today, and I get into JFO mode to throw together our evening meal.
Lamb steaks braised in minted gravy, served with with new potatoes and steamed veg. Superb it was too, and the lamb was very tender having been left festering in our slow cooker all day while we were out.
Now, if I was one of these caravan influencer types, no scratch that, just one particular influencer, I'd have a modern obsession with video documenting every bloody min of my life and would have posted a reel claiming that this perfectly ordinary meal had become a culinary journey!
I've reached the glorious stage of life where I can distinguish between actually wanting to do something and feeling obliged to do it because apparently that's what people want to see, and am tired of the bullshit generated by the influencer generation.
Tuesday 10 November
Going visiting today, so after showers and a quick breakfast I walk the dogs out of the site to the castle gates where Herself picks us up to make tracks across Offa's Dyke.
Having no address and just a vague recollection of where the house was I was quite pleasantly surprised to be pulling up outside my Uncle's residence at just after 11.15am in Telford. Even though putting on a brave face having been widowed just a few short months ago he's understandable lost.
From there we decide to take a look at Ironbridge, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the village named of course after the iron bridge that crosses the River Severn built by Abraham Darby III in around 1780. The bridge was the first major bridge to be built if iron in the world, and the gorge is widely recognised as being the birthplace of the Industrial revolution.
We parked up on Waterloo St, free for Blue Badge holders, clipped the dogs on and made out way down the hill to the bridge.
Crossing the abutment and onto the deck we go up to the apex and take in the fine views both up and down stream.
Thoughts turn to lunch so we head on over to the very handily located Tontine Hotel. Dog friendly it is and we dive inside for a spot of lunch.
I know we'd only just eaten a very nice lunch, but thoughts soo turn to tea. Immediately next door is the (World Famous apparently) Eley's pork pie shop. I dive in and procure a few to take back to the caravan.
Herself had spotted a brown sign for a Christmas shop on the way so we picked up the signs for Tipple's Christmas Shop as we approached Shrewsbury. I tolerated it dutifully following Herself around, and even she remarked that she thought there would be more there!
Back on site we clip the dogs straight on to take them for a walk before the last of the light faded. Same path down along the side of the site, through the gate and back up through the site with hundreds of rabbits darting all over the place.
Wednesday 11 November
Wake after a superb night's sleep and pop up the block for a shower. By the time I get back Herself has also risen, made the bed and lit a flame under the kettle. I do some research on today's planned outing, but it appears to be a no go. Far too much walking for Herself's knackered knees and not nearly as dog friendly as the statement "Dog Friendly" suggests.
Cereal / Surreal for breakfast and Herself goes about making herself even more beautiful while I wash up. I empty the bowl into the sink, and that's where our day starts to go tits up.
Now the sink has been a little slow to drain all week, but I'd put it down to the Colapz waste pipe holding water at the slight lip into the gully. I tried everything, first using my palm as a suction cup trying to create some moving air, then how water out of the kettle.
Nothing.
I then went outside and disconnected the waste. Surprisingly nothing came out of the caravan pipes, nor the colapz snaking across the gravel.
Back inside I go and try some more suction work. I go into the shower room and the bosh in there is full of greasy water and black bits! Back outside I crawl under the van and release the waste pipe from the outlet .... nothing comes out, so take my screwdriver to the back, loosen all the clamps and uncouple the flexible bend from the fixed 32mm pipe.
Woosh. I got hit from both directions, first a burst from the washroom sink, then the contents of the long pipe from the itchen waste empties its content over my chops. There's a blockage somewhere in the fixed pipe network under the van!
Luckily we're on a fully service pitch, so I get out the hose attachment , point it firstly into the pipe at the back expecting it to discharge out of the pipe outlet nearest the kitchen sink.
No, it merely backs up on itself! Round I go and insert it into the other end, closer to the T junction in the pipe. Wallop! Water starts to gush our of the back end flushing out some horrible black gunk with it. I heave it running for a while and go inside. The kitchen sink is now empty, and Herself says it gurgled a bit"
I feed the hose in through the window and get some high pressure water blasting down the plug hole until that flows freely and stops backing up.
Satisfied that we are now flowing freely I'm under the van again reconnecting all the wates and re securing the clamps!
A closer inspection of the black gunky bits, on the floor not all over my chops, reveals they have a ribbed texture, so my money is on grease got lodged on the corrugated surface of the bend under the kitchen sink at some point and now built up to the point of a blockage.
I'll pour a few watering cans on hot water from the block down there tomorrow before giving the system a good clear out with Puriclean.
Somewhat delayed we head off out for the day, and punching the stated postcode for "Worlds End" into the satnav we make tracks. On arrival it would appear that we are not at "Worlds End" but are in the car park for the Minera Quarry Nature Reserve, with what looks to be Worlds End towering some 408m above us.
We turn around and thread out way through the lanes looking for a way up. First we stop by Postman Pat, who roundly ignores out asking for directions, deaf or ignorant I can't decide. next we stop at a cottage where two women smoking roll ups are moving some logs.
"Oh, down the hill and turn left. After that I don't know!"
A start at least. Next we stop by a bloke walking his dog, we'd seen him back at the quarry car park, but thought better of asking him.
"Oh, hang on, let me think."
So we did, parked diagonally across the single track road while his cogs turned.
"Right, go down here until you pass a pub on your right, then you're looking for a bus stop on an island, turn right there and then right straight away again. Down the hill, round some sharp bends, then a sharp left over a small bridge the up the hill and down the next one and then back up again. You should see a sign then telling you to turn right."
He was bang on and must spend some time walking these lanes! With some relief we start climbing up onto the Minera Mountain. After we've gained some altitude I pull over to the right to let the dogs out for a run. I look around and this appears to be the place I'm looking for. The scenery looks very much like the pictures others have posted online.
I soak in the view while throwing a ball for the dogs. Herself admires the view from the comfort of Trude.
We continue on over the mountain on the single track unnamed road admiring some spectacular scenery as we go.
We eventually get to somewhere called Worlds End and we have a ford to cross, I'm like a big kid, but Herself is in need of a pee, so I'm not allowed to back over it to have another go, nor get out to take a picture!
Not much water in it in any event. Our My next has no exact location on the internet, the Esclusham Mountain Viewpoint is on an unnamed road in Coedpoetth, so I punched the village into satnav and dutifully followed ignored the instructions as I didn't fancy going back over the mountain, that and I didn't rate Herself's chances of retaining control of her bladder over those bumps again. We followed the road and came out on the Horseshoe pass by the closed Ponderosa. We're now on the lookout for a pub. Firstly for a pee, and secondly for lunch.
Every pub we came across was either closed or boarded up until we rolled into Coedpoeth. Rolling into the village we abandoned Trude in the car park and made out way round to The Cross Foxes Hotel. Confirming they are dog friendly Herself burns a track to the Ladies while I get some drinks in. It's a wet only pub, so just drinks it is.
It was however a very pleasant hour chatting to Mein Host about his frequent trips down to south Wales to watch football and rugby in Cardiff.
I managed to find the viewpoint we were looking for on Google Maps, some 2 miles away so we started using that instead of Trude's built in unit. as we're closing in Herself says it looks very familiar, and sure enough as we arrive it is. We're at the very first stopping off point this morning!
Oh how we laughed!
We head straight to Llangollen as we have some gift shopping to do. Finding a space to abandon Trude was a little easier and with my Granola now being a VERY distant memory we're looking for a place to have a VERY late lunch.
The Bull Inn has a chalkboard outside, meals served all day and dog friendly, so we head on inside and settle at a table, I go up to the bar.
"Could I have a couple of menus please?"
"Oh, we've not got food on today."
"But your sign outside says food served all day?"
"Yes, I know. But not today."
I don't bother debating the point any longer, return to our table, out my hoody back on and shoulder my daysack.
Down the street we dive straight for the Dee Side Bistro again and had a tabe with a window overlooking the river as rafts tumbled over the rapids while I devoured an all day breakfast and Herself a burger - real meat this time.
The shopping didn't happen again either. Shops selling either cheap tat or shops selling more cheap tat but pretending it's a tasteful item with the price ticket marked up accordingly.
Haven driven through it last night the intention was to walk the dogs in the grounds of Chirk Castle adjacent to the site, only we missed the turning that we'd spotted last night so ended up taking them over to the onsite dog walk before settling down for the evening.
Thursday 12 November
For the first time this week we wake to blue skies, not that we can complain mind as we've not seen any wnd or rain.
After breakfast I do the usual and walk the dogs out of the site to the gates of the Chirk Castle estate while Herself finished making herself even more beutiful.
First off we call at Clwyd Caravan & Leisure to procure some waste pipe cleaner from their accessory shop, and with that out of the way we set off to try and do some gift shopping once again.
Tinternet waxes lyrical about the shopping village at Plassey, so we head straight for there. Talk about over rated. It takes us 15 mins to have a pee and look in the units that were open, and that included waiting 5 mins to fins out the price of an item while Mystic Malcolm did a tarot reading. What sort of person has a shop with not a single item marked up with a price?
We decide to give Oswestry a go. I'd always though Oswestry was a well heeled place so assumed there would be a range of good independent shops. We did 3 circuits of the place following the very confusing signs trying to find the car park entrance. During these 3 circuits we'd seen enough to make a decision that it wasn't worth stopping, even if we could find the car park entrance.
"What about that old station place? You know, the one we used to take your Mam and my Mum."
"In Welshpool? That's miles away!"
We pull into the side and let satnav crunch the numbers. Just 15 miles, and we know we will be able to get stuff as gifts, so having had enough of gambling we go for the safe option.
The Old Station Welshpool comes up trumps, and less than 30 mins after parking up we're coming out with a carrier bag and £130 lighter!
Thoughts now turn to lunch, and the first pub we come across that isn't either boarded up or shut is the White Lion in Llynclys. They have a lunch menu where meals are £10 each, washed down with a pint they hit the spot lovely, and we press on to find somewhere to walk the dogs.
We've been up here once before, but didn't really recognise it as the place seems to be a bit more overgrown that when we were last here 14 years ago.
The Old Race Course common is a heritage site, and is where one of Britain's first ever horse race course was, sounds grand doesn't it, but in reality the figure of eight trach is still somewhere the good people of Oswestry bring their dogs to shit.
We want to take a look at the Chirk Viaduct and Aquaduct on the way back to site, it immediately becomes apparent that the decent down to it, ind indeed the ascent back up are beyond the capabilities of Herself's knackered knees, so we admire from a distance.
Back on site we set about starting to break camp, doing everything we can outside in readiness for an easy getaway in the morning.
I get into JFO mode later on and throw together an evening meal of a lump of cow's back (medium rare) served with chips, onion rings, mushrooms that look like they've been on the roids and some peppercorn sauce.
Lovely it was, and once the dishes were cleared away we both head up the block for showers. The showers here are fantastic, recently renovated with water pressure that will take off any loose skin!
Sparkly clean we return to the van and I relax with a beer and rum chaser.
Nos dda
Friday 13 November
We had toyed with the idea of stopping an extra night, but Grumbles belly will be beside itself by now, and Herself had promised him we'd be back in time for tea today.
Unusually for us it was quite a relaxed departure morning, not waking until 8am and then pausing for a cuppa and bowl of cereal. The dogs get a walk before we finish breaking camp and hitching up.
We're rollin gout through the gate at 9.25aml and while we have a 4G signal on the Netgear Herself goes about ordering a click and collect from Morrisons later this afternoon.
It took some time to complete as the signal drifted in and out, but she got there in the end and we settled down to enjoy a delightful tow in the sunshine through the wonderful mid Wales scenery. We're pulling into the yard at 1pm having completed the 119 miles incident free.
That's it for this time, so until the next one ....... da bo!
