After a night at the Ramada, we got up and checked out. We went to Subway for breakfast before heading back onto the M40 to complete our journey to Calcutt Boats. The van felt good to drive again and we made good progress arriving at Calcutt Boats at around 11.30. Me and the dogs stayed in the van as it was pouring with rain whilst John went to check on Merlin. We could see her moored up at the Boatyard so we were hopeful that she was ready for us to go on board.
Our last day on the campsite in West Sussex today and we are heading back to Calcutt Boats hopefully to pick up Merlin. We had breakfast and packed the van and set off. I drove today to give John a rest and also to get used to driving the van. We made good progress up the motorway until we reached the M25 we hit traffic for a few miles. We then turned onto the M40 and the van started to vibrate a lot. We pulled over and John noticed that one of the tyres had blown and the wires were sticking out. We rang the RAC and patrol man Andy came to our rescue. He put our spare tyre on but then told us that this tyre was not very good either so he felt that it would be unsafe for us to continue our journey. He then kindly escorted us to the services at junction 8a and then arrange for two new tyres to be fitted. He waited with us until the fitter arrived and even stayed with our vehicle whilst we walked the dogs and got some refreshments. Excellent service thank you Andy.
Woke to rain this morning but it cleared very quickly. By the time we were ready to go for a walk to the beach the sun was shining and it was very warm. We walked to Climping Beach with the dogs. A bit disappointed as it was very pebbly and not much sand for the dogs to walk on. After the beach we walked back to the Black Horse pub for lunch. Another very nice dog friendly pub and we had a lovely lunch. The staff were very friendly and the service was excellent.
Woke up in the hotel with Abi and Debbie with a bit of a hangover but it was a very good day.
So an early start today as we are moving campsites today. We are heading for Alison's Woodpecker camp field in Littlehampton, West Sussex. John will be staying at the campsite on his own tonight as I am heading to Fontwell Race Course Ladies Day with Abi and Debbie.
Another very peaceful night at the Meadow Brook Farm campsite. We got up quite early but as we have no plans other than to chill out at the campsite today we had a slow start.
We had a lovely peaceful sleep last night, no noise at all other than the cockerel crowing in the morning. The weather was lovely so we headed out with the dogs for a walk on the meadow. As Georgie had been so good in Lisa's being off the lead and her recall we decided to let her off the lead to run around the meadow. She was very good to start with but then she saw a cat and ran after it. She would not come back to us at all and eventually ended up stuck in the owners yard. It was so embarrassing having to wake the owner up to ask him if we could get Georgie out of his yard. She will not be going off the lead again unless we are in a secure field, naughty dog.
We said a sad farewell to Lisa and Dougie this morning and started our journey to the New Forest. The plan was to visit John's Mums grave with some fresh flowers, do a bit of shopping to stock up and then head to Romsey to the Meadow Brock Farm camp site.
So as planned we got up early, filled the van with water, emptied the toilet and we set off for Innsworth to get our windscreen refitted. It was not too far a journey and we arrived at 9am and the fitter Rich was waiting for us. He has his own business in the retail park Autovision Windscreens. He was really helpful and did an amazing job at a very reasonable price and I would happily recommend him if anyone wants a new windscreen.
Rained again overnight so a slow start on the campervan but it brightened up later in the day so we were able to sit outside. In the afternoon we went for another walk down Knapp Lane and then we planned to go into the Black Smith's Arms for an afternoon drink but was closed. We then took a short walk up to the Globe and had a couple of drinks before heading back to the campervan for supper. The evening was quite pleasant so we sat out for a while. A few new campers joined us in preparation for the bank holiday. We are planning an early start tomorrow as we need to go to Innsworth to get our windscreen fitted back into the rubber, hopefully!!!! Then a short trip down to Peterston Super Ely to spend a few days with Lisa. The dogs are loving being outdoors most of the day and have enjoyed chilling in the sun.
It rained a lot last night and still raining in the morning so we are going to stay put until the weather improves. So we had breakfast and then did some chores on the van. If you don't keep everything tidy then the van becomes very cluttered.
Our final morning in Abergavenny so we were up early to pack up the awning and chairs ready for a short trip to Lydney in Gloucestershire. We were on the road by about 10 after saying goodbye to the lovely couple Howie and Val who we had met whilst in Abergavenny. We headed back into Abergavenny town centre to get some fuel and then we headed off on the A40. The journey was going quite well until we came across a road block and had to follow a diversion which took us down some very narrow roads, but we finally got to the campsite by about half 12.
