FRIDAY 13-9-24

Predictably it was a cold night and at 05:30 when the internal temperature had dropped to about 10°C I put the central heating on, but turned down to about medium, just so that it kept the worst of the cold at bay.

Unfortunately my darling Rosina has now succumbed to the nasty cold that has afflicted me. For that reason we didn't hurry to get up, and when we did surface, we treated ourselves to that lovely hot shower. This is now day twelve of our self sufficiency on this trip.

Basically we've not been on a campsite nor been hooked up to mains electricity, instead living on our wits, not so much of our choosing, it's just that there haven't been suitable campsites where we've needed them. Strange as it may seem, we quite like touring this way as it gives us so much more independence.

There was no way we were going to walk all the way to Blists Hill Victorian Town our intended destination for today. I had established that the number eight bus didn't go up the road we needed, so I suggested we get a cab. The Chef popped in to the pub at midday when they opened in order to get the number of a taxi company while I carried on refilling the fresh water tank.

She came back saying the taxi would have to come from Telford so I said "To hell with it, let's take the motorhome", so we did. There was a risk we'd lose our place in the car park but we've already identified a 'Plan B' for parking should we need it.

The satnav took us the shortest route which is understandable, except I've told it we're a lorry in the hope it doesn't send us down silly roads. Despite that we came across 'Jack the Lad' in a delivery van coming in the opposite direction too fast, given the width and bends in the road. He clipped our wing mirror pushing it round but thankfully nothing was damaged. I like our wing mirrors because they're low-tech and I carry two spare mirrors with us incase we do get breakages. Many vehicles, including ghastly Fiat Ducato motorhomes have intricate mirrors with built in indicators, demisters, motors to move them in to the side of the vehicle when parked, and who knows what else. To have one of those smashed off would probably cost a fortune to replace.

Having had a quick combined breakfast and lunch we arrived at Blists Hill Victorian Town at about 13:15. Given the price of the tickets I was not terribly pleased to find they also charge for parking despite the fact you can't get there unless you drive. I stuck the vehicle in the corner of the coach parking area thinking to myself if the parking charges are huge I'd just nip back out of the gate and away. That was before I spotted the notice saying they had a camera operated parking system.

So in we went and parted with fifty-three pounds for two tickets. I confess, I paid for them because I felt a bit too embarrassed to charge them, at that price, to our joint account.

The village is set in the year 1900, although their prices are very much twenty-first century. We wandered around popping in to some establishments that had a member of staff (a 'Demonstrator') explaining all about their job etc, but there weren't many of them to be honest. You could see that when it's busy there are far more demonstrators on duty. This always winds me up because they don't reduce the price for the periods they're not as busy and frankly don't put as much effort in to it.

We came across the train ride in to a clay mine. We were just in time to catch the next train which was to take us on an adventure of unimaginable excitement, and all for just an extra two pounds per head.

The little train and its coaches were all electric. I tell you, those Victorians were well ahead of the game.

After a very short trip in to the mine the train stopped and we sat and watched a video presentation of a dad and his lad working down the mine which was projected on to the wall of the tunnel. Then the train was whacked in to reverse and out we came again. Oh deep joy, I felt as if I'd been taken for a mug.

So more wandering around before conceding defeat and deciding to head for home. When we arrived back in the main entrance the staff were falling over themselves to ask if everyone had enjoyed their day there. Day? We barely managed a couple of hours. I confess I got in first when they looked as if they were about to ask me the same silly question, and I asked if there was an alternative route back to the pub car park. There was and she explained what it was. That helped them to forget asking me that silly question, because if they had I swear I would have had a Victor Meldrew moment and told them EXACTLY what I thought of their venue and pricing. We were all spared that embarrassing  moment.

So after paying by card the parking fee of three pounds (I believe their Victorian parking machines which grabbed visitors around the waist spun them 180 degrees and shook the very last coinage from their pockets became too expense to maintain).

It didn't take too long to get back to the pub after which my darling woman has taken herself off for a lie down on the bed.

So that's us done with these museums. Had Walt Disney built them he'd have made sure they were all next door to each other, that there was free transport between them all and you also got to hug Mickey bloody Mouse. Unfortunately however those Victorian pioneers were so self centred they built their foundries and the like, all over the place. Resulting in there being numerous museums around here all available for one ticket price, and good luck to you in getting between them all.

Tomorrow we're off down the road for a selfish 'Me Day' though I find The Chef is usually very good at taking an interest in wherever I drag her, and gets something out of it. If however she doesn't feel up to it she can have a lie down while I indulge myself for a little while. Then it's off to who knows where. From now on it's all about the weather versus what we'd like to do as well as if we actually feel like doing it.

THURSDAY 12-9-24

I had an early night wearing T shirt, pants and socks. Thankfully it was a much better night and The Chef slept like a log. During the night I checked the internal temperature and it was 11°C, needless to say come this morning both the hot water and central heating were back on again.

We didn't rush to get away from our parking area in Shrewsbury, but before we did I'd manage to dump the black water in a toilet block across the road, and the grey water was used to irrigate the nearby hedgerow.

Our first stop was a visit to the very nearby Tesco store to top up the fuel tank. I don't like using supermarket fuel, but we haven't been doing very well at finding a filling station selling quality fuel.

It was about a fifty-minute, wet journey to our next destination. The car park of Ye Olde Robin Hood Inn (N52.626767° W2.472212°) which is a very good location for visiting the Ironbridge Gorge Museum www.ironbridge.org.uk  Not having done any research  for this trip we realised that the pub is located between two groups of museums under the umbrella of Ironbridge Gorge Museum. We were at a lost which to visit and so made for Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, probably a couple of miles away. We had hoped to be using the local bus service, especially as the bus stops are just outside the pub. However neither the pub staff nor locals could throw any light on the service and so, as usual, we did it the hard way, and it was mostly uphill.

We stopped off at the side of the River Severn to take a couple of pictures of The Museum of the Gorge which was used to load iron on to boats to be taken down river for forward shipment.

There were quite a lot of exhibits at the Coalbrookedale group of buildings but they weren't exactly firing me up. The most important exhibit was the Old Furnace where, in 1709, Abraham Darby used coke rather than charcoal to power the furnace which allowed for the large scale smelting of iron, and so began the Industrial Revolution.

It was a long walk home, but at least it was downhill. We had the added bonus of having an almost clear blue sky. The rain and cloud having passed over while we were in the museum. That's three occasions now we've seen the sun on this trip. We're so lucky.

After we got back I got busy topping up the fresh water tank as The Chef fancies a shower and hair wash in the morning and I certainly wouldn't deny her that. It would have been handy if the tap had been much closer to the lower car park but you can't have everything. Then we put our feet up for a while which I was most grateful for as I'm on the mend but I don't have a lot of stamina.

At six o'clock we popped in to the pub to spend a bit of money with them as a thank you for hosting us for free. The meals and beer were quite good, though I think we'll be self catering tomorrow night.

So here we are now with our feet up watching a bit of telly with the heating on. I believe they are forecasting a frost tomorrow morning so it looks as if we're in for another cold night.

Tomorrow after showering to thaw out we'll be setting off in the opposite direction to Blists Hill Victorian Town. Even though the tickets to that one are quite expensive I think it will be more interesting.

WEDNESDAY 11-9-24

Well it was a nice peaceful night, and a very long one. Yesterday evening I suddenly went down with a nasty cold resulting in my not having a wink of sleep.

This morning we began the day with a little bit of sunshine, but it didn't last long and as usual we ended up expecting yet more rain.

The first job was to pop down the road to the local Sainsbury's supermarket for some bits and pieces, then it was off to Shrewsbury, a journey of about forty-five miles. I would have liked to top up the fuel tank before arriving but our only options along the route were cheap and nasty supermarket fuel costing only a couple of pence a litre less than the quality brands, or expensive quality fuels along the motorways. I was a bit concerned that we'd be sucked in to the M6 (Toll) road, but feeling so rough I was prepared to pay the money if it made life easier. But I needn't have worried, having changed the menu options in the satnav to avoid toll roads, the satnav, for a pleasant change, performed faultlessly delivering us to a parking area across the road from the Shrewsbury P&R site (N52.740459° W2.725614°). Having packed waterproofs and brollies in my backpack we crossed the road for a ride in to town for the very reasonable price of one Pound a head return. It was so cheap I didn't have the heart to be cheeky enough to use my bus pass.

Almost as soon as we stepped off the bus the heavens opened, so that seemed a good enough reason for The Chef to pop in to a few shops for a look around. She often buys online from M&S, but the problem is she can't judge the quality of the product without feeling it. So she'll go round and have a good feel eyeing up potential future purchases.

We weren't in town too long as it was wet and miserable and although the town has many period timber framed properties, they start to lose their appeal eventually. I'm certain that Shrewsbury would be much more appealing if visited on a warm, sunny day and a blue sky.

On our return home, having puts bits and pieces away, I took myself off for a lie down which was most welcomed.

Tomorrow we're off down the road to a BRITSTOP pub with a very good location for visiting the Ironbridge museum. Problem is they say to book ahead, but when you try you're told it's on a first come first served basis, so we just have to hope we can bag one of the four spaces available.

TUESDAY 10-9-24

We managed to watch a bit of television yesterday evening, the first opportunity we've had on this trip. We tried to ignore the flashes of interfered as HGV's thundered past our layby.

I'm amazed we got any sleep last night due to the noise from the very busy road outside as vehicles sped past just feet away from the side of our vehicle, not only that but each passing rocked the vehicle from side to side. But amazing as it seems, we both got about seven hours which was rather good.

Before leaving our layby we checked the internet weather and news before setting off for the last five miles in to Tamworth. I was a bit behind with posting the blog because we were quite tired by the time we pulled over yesterday having travelled quite a distance without having planned to. But rather than delay our visit to the town I just uploaded the text intending to finish the job off later today.

We parked up in the coach and motorhome allotted parking area to find the daily charge was just £1.50 which was great value, even better value because the machines were broken and so it was free.

Rain was forecast from midday for the rest of the day and so we took macs and an umbrella in my backpack. I'm beginning to think that wet miserable weather is rather like treading on a dog turd - you just can't shake it off and it follows you everywhere.

I still wasn't sure why I'd earmarked Tamworth as a place worth visiting. It was a rather poor looking community and there were quite a few empty shops. Interesting  there were lots of mobility scooters being ridden around by people of all ages and sizes. In fact Tamworth could probably give Benidorm a run for its money as the mobility scooter capital of Europe.

After walking round for a while we decided to eat like the locals, well, except those with a refined palette who  ate off the local market stalls, and dined in their 'Greggs', enjoying a hot sausage roll and  a coffee.

Then it was another wander around the shops before visiting the castle. I think maybe that's why I thought Tamworth might be worth a visit, as we had a very interesting two-hour look around it with all its exhibits.

The grand finale of our trip in to town, having noticed the 'No Overnight Parking' sign in our car park was to visit the council office based in the theatre and try to get permission, their policy was no overnight parking, but the wink that they wouldn't be bothering us was a great help because otherwise we'd have had to set off towards Shrewsbury this evening in the hope of finding somewhere to lay our heads on the way.

On our arrival back home we put the hot air central heating on and turned the small bathroom in to a drying room. We now hope we can dry off the few bits that got wet before bedtime.

This evening will be a nice hot meal and a glass of wine before watching a bit of telly, including the national news as we need to keep an eye on Fagin Starmer to see if he's picked our pockets again to raise money to bribe his union leader bosses.