28. Nov, 2018

That night was spent in the car park of ‘The Butchers Arms’ www.thebutchersarmsfringford.com in Fringford (GPS: N51.952146 W1.121566), an establishment participating in the ‘Britstop’ scheme www.britstop.com whereby a free nights motorhome parking is offered, with varying degrees of facilities, and in return, I suppose, they hope you’ll spend money with their businesses, though you are not obliged to. We did, and enjoyed a nice meal and drink in the restaurant giving The Chef a night off.

After that it was on to Winchester where I got to see again, after many years, my grandfathers’ WW1 DCM medal displayed at The Royal Greenjackets Museum http://rgjmuseum.co.uk (GPS: N51.062907 W1.320942) to where it had been donated on his death. Not that he joined the Greenjackets back in those days, but with the continuing decline of our military forces and the amalgamation and loss of so many famous regiments, that’s what he’s been lumped in to.

28. Nov, 2018

28. Nov, 2018

Then it was off to the New Forest for three nights on a campsite with no facilities other than fresh water and a dump facility. Such basics didn’t even come cheaply. Never mind, the New Forest was somewhere we’d been meaning to visit for some time.

There were dogs everywhere of course, with many owners having two or three. For some people one is never enough. Walking around without a dog lead in our hand made us stand out like a sore thumb. It was here that I felt our habitation battery was past its best. Ever since it went flat down at Gibraltar a couple of years ago it’s never been quite the same, not holding a charge like it used to.

Next we were off to Poole in Dorset for a very pleasant day in the large public car park with dedicated motorhome parking spaces down at the water’s edge, followed by a cheeky night’s sleep in the car park of the folk who carry out repairs and servicing of the habitation area of our motorhome.

Next it was along the coast for a lovely day in Lyme Regis where we could easily park the vehicle in a dedicated motorhome parking space for just two pounds all day (GPS: N50.724049 W2.941276).

28. Nov, 2018

28. Nov, 2018

By now I’d decided that we needed to change the habitation battery and as there was a company selling the battery I wanted at a good price in Plymouth we made our way there. After a night parked up in an Industrial Estate just the other side of the Tamar Bridge, we were in to Plymouth where we parted with about £180 including fitting (the front seat has to be removed to get to the battery).

I had intended to spend a day looking around old haunts in Plymouth, but by now was concluding that touring the UK is best done with a car and caravan as suitable overnight parking or campsites for motorhomes, that is, close enough to town centres and places of interest are hard to find. In the 45 years since I was last in Plymouth with a young family serving in the Royal Navy, it hadn’t got any prettier, so back on the road we went.

Because of the difficulties finding suitable campsites and parking facilities we were beginning to curtail our intended travel plans. Next stop was now Porthleven near Helston in Cornwall (GPS: N50.088904 W5.317953) which holds many happy memories for me, as I was based at RNAS Culdrose as a young man, and the area where later, I would holiday with my young family.

My word how Porthleven has changed. All very posh now with fancy coffee shops and restaurants. Rick Stein even has a place there.

Whilst camped there for a few days we used our bus passes for a trip down to The Lizard for a walk round, and a traditional Cornish pasty for lunch.