Weds 20 May 2026
Travel Day as we headed north from our site at Hanley Swan to the M5 and Birmingham.
After a slight delay on the M42 we duly hit the M6/A14 to reach Hunter Towers just after lunch. As usual, the tidy-up was completed in a couple of hours – just in time to collapse on the sofa with a cuppa!
Tues 19 May 2026
It was a first today as we used the „On Demand“ community transport offered by Worcestershire County Council to get from our site here in Hanley Swan to Malvern and back.
It has to be said that we were suitably impressed by the whole experience from the prior booking to the actual process of catching the bus. Needless to say, a mobile phone was an integral part of the process with frequent updates as to bus times and locations. A good experience. It was just a pity it rained all day.
It was also the first time that either of us had been to Malvern and what a shock with the gradients we encountered. Needless to say we survived. The Priory with its church provided a welcome sanctuary from the rain and the Elgar Concert taking place within was an added bonus.
After our „Abbey Road“ coffee stop we once again found a dry refuge in the local Library to read through the numerous local history books to learn more about 19th Century Malvern.
Inevitably the weather has improved since we arrived back on site. It‘s travel day tomorrow as we head back to Hunter Towers via Birmingham, the M6 and A14.
Mon 18 May 2026
Well, that was a day and a half as we visited Wocester by bus!
The umbrellas were out as we headed to the bus stop to catch the 363 Service to Worcester. For some reason the bus was a good fifteen minutes late which added to the „will it be coming“ vibe but never fear! Good job we had another couple to chat to as we patiently waited in the rain.
The ride itself lasted about half an hour before ending at the main bus station in Worcester. Our first port of call was the Cathedral and surrounds. Who could fail to miss the River Severn running nearby? Pity the weather didn‘t play ball but the outside photos were OK and recorded the moment. We‘ll put all the evidence online when the internet connection is better.
As you would guess, the Cathedral did not disappoint with the tomb of King John I arguably the highlight but the mark of the English Civil War between 1642 and 1651 was everywhere.
Now for the „surprise“ bit.
Whilst having lunch in the Cathedral Cafe it suddenly dawned that a former aquaintance might still be working at the associated school. A conversation later with a random member of staff and a quick phone call and „hey presto“……a totally unexpected meeting some twenty five years later!
The rain didn‘t abait in the afternoon and it was fortunate that we were able to visit the Guildhall in the city centre but apparently Monday is not the best day to visit Worcester with most of the museums closed.
We returned to the site here late this afternoon just in time to book another trip into Malvern tomorrow.
Sun 17 May 2026
The walking gear was duly called upon this morning as we headed into Hanley Swan for what turned into a circular walk and a liquid lunch at the Swan pub.
Needless to say a few ZZZ‘s were had this afternoon and we are now top fit and contemplating our trip to Worcester tomorrow. The weather forecast is not good but we will be prepared!
The internet here is just about OK to write the blog but large files like photos are a pain to upload. We‘ll keep trying but it may be necessary to do an update when we return to Hunter Towers later in the coming week.
Sat 16 May 2026
Travel Day today as we made our way to Malvern from the New Forest.
The route took us back toward Southampton then north on the M3 before turning off to Newbury and the M4. It was then north west to Gloucester and the M5 before heading to Malvern. Luckily we found a very convenient fuel stop before reaching the site here in Hanley Swan.
The periods of heavy showers seem to still be with us but the on-site fish and chip supper made up for the changeable weather.
Thurs 14 and Fri 15 May 2026
It‘s been two days of dodging showers here in Hampshire but we‘ve managed to get out and about on the bikes on both days.
Having been here in 2017 we decided to avoid the busy A35 keeping to the western side close to the former Holmsley South airfield. Within twenty minutes of setting off we met a German couple deep in the forest and as always happens we kept bumping into them all day. Inevitably, we invited them to share an evening drink and a good night was had by all.
Today (Friday) has seen us again out early trying to beat the showers. We decided on a circular trip which took in Bransgore and Burley once more before returning to the site here.
The rain duly arrived this afternoon but after we had cleared away. The tour continues tomorrow as we head north to the Malvern Hills site.
Weds 13 May 2026
Well, that was an interesting twelve hours as we waited for responses to our calls for help with the water pump problem.
The good news is that not only did we make contact with a mobile repair guy from Southampton but he arrived on-site early. His diagnosis – a burnt out pump motor which had signs of a minor leak anyway.
Despite our initial struggles to pin-point where the pump was the replacement was made within half an hour and we are back up and running again – thank goodness. Time to breath out again!
We‘ve been blessed with showers and wind today but have been on a short walk to the New Forest Airfields Momorial nearby. As you‘ll see from one of the photos, the New Forest had its fair share of wartime airfields.
Well, it looks like we will not have to abort the tour as we suspected last night and can move on to Malvern at the weekend. The weather forecast here does not inspire over the next few days, however and we‘ll see if the bikes make an appearance.
Tues 12 May 2026
An early start today as we headed south to the New Forest and the Centenary Site in Bransgrove.
In reality it was a head west to Cambridge before heading south on the M11 as we tried to avoid the A12 traffic problems in Essex. Our total travel time turned out to be some five hours with a couple of stops en route.
The site here isn’t as busy as we had expected and it didn’t take long to get set up.
We do have a major problem, however that appeared during the course of the afternoon. Our water pump has failed and we do not have any running water in the motorhome which is a right pain! We’ve made a couple of phone calls and are awaiting responses to our calls for help. We’ll wait to see if we can get an engineer to take a look here but if not it may be necessary to cut the trip short.
Watch this space!
Tues 14 April 2026
Back at Hunter Towers once again after a good trip from Carsington Water today.
Luckily, we had no problem with getting fuel and managed to find a suitably wide filling station in Belper before hitting the M1.
Mon 13 April 2026
A sunny morning provided the backdrop as we headed to Matlock on the 110 service from Ashbourne, a trip that took about forty minutes.
After a quick “Greggs” we explored the town before following the River Derwent to Matlock Bath where most of the “action” was. It was amazing how many bikers were on the road for a Monday. The afternoon was spent enjoying the ice cream and watching the world go by before returning to Carsington Visitors Centre only to be told by the bus driver that the bus didn’t go past the camp site! An extra two thousand steps later we made it back.
It’s back to Hunter Towers tomorrow but not too early, eh!
Sun 12 April 2026
Oh dear! It’s a “Miss the Showers” day here in Derbyshire.
The day has gone something like this; easy morning with a leisurely breakfast waiting for the noisy neighbours with three obnoxiuos ill-behaved children to disappear down the road. Open the weather app and study the impending doom as blue blob after blue blob headed our way. Work out the time between each blue blob and then decide we are going to get wet whatever course of action is decided upon.
In the meantime, we discovered that our iPads have an interesting problem deciding our location when attached to Starlink. It seems we are now in Vietnam which is not a problem but slightly annoying when the ipad time settings are not automatically reseting on disconnection! Manual reset required.
The horns of the weather bull were firmly grasped early this afternoon as we finally ventured out to find the bus stop which we plan to use tomorrow as we head north to Matlock.
Needless to say we were duly caught by the weather bull but thankfully before we had ventured onto the pathway across the dam to Carsington Water Visitors Centre. The 2km open pathway would have offered no shelter and the abort button was duly pressed. The only photo of the day speaks volumes, me thinks.
So, it’s off to Matlock tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a fine day!
Sat 11 April 2026
Somewhat of a strange day here in Derbyshire but one that has turned out quite well it has to be said.
No one turned the alarm on this morning and it was almost 09.30 am as we surfaced. An almost unheard of event! The focus of the day was on the East Anglian football derby between Norwich and Ipswich and the morning was spent marking time but it was perfect for a late shower and sort out.
The match turned out well with a victory for Ipswich and we duly headed off for our afternoon walk straight after. Ten kilometers later we were back on site having made it to Hognaston only to find the pub opened at 6.00 pm. There was no way we were waiting for and hour and a half and a quick retreat was called for.
We’ve made up for it though with a couple of beers on site and looking at the other Championship results it’s been a good day for the Blues.
Fri 10 April 2026
It was a surprise to wake up to a sunny day here in Derbyshire but there were no complaints as the bikes were dusted down ready for action.
The good weather remained with us for the whole day which was split between the morning and early afternoon bike ride/lunch followed by a „chill“ session back at base and a chance to catch up on the paperwork!
The photos posted today will give you some idea of the trip which was about 11 miles in total with some great views from all around the Reservoir. The Visitors‘ Centre provided lunch and it was then back to the site here. Needless to say, the bikes are now back in their stables ready for another day.
We had a number of our neighbours disappear whilst we were on the trails and these have already been replaced by new weekend campers. With school most probably starting on Monday the chances are they‘ll only be staying a couple of nights.
The weather forecast for the weekend is not brilliant and we‘ll see what the weather is like before making any plans.
Thurs 09 April 2026
The overriding thought before setting off this morning from Hunter Towers was whether one tank of diesel fuel would see us up to Derbyshire and back?
The availablity and prices of fuel en route suggested that with fingers crossed we may get away with it but oh that £2.02 per litre price tag on the M1 was indeed a shocker!
As always these days it was an early rise to beat the road closures. We departed at 07.30 am and made good time via the A14 and M1 to our stop-over near Leicester before continuing to our site at Carsington Water.
As usual, we planned to arrive at 1 pm and were only five minutes out. The site here is quite full but we managed to find a great spot with views over the Reservoir. The set up didn’t take long and lunch was served just after 2 pm. The forecast showers duly arrived mid afternoon but after we had installed the “Starlink” internet connection loaned to us by M.
A big “thank you” to M for the loan. It may be worth looking into with the Christmas list this year still to be written.
The bikes have been added for this trip and we’ll see how the weather is before readying the “steeds”. Time for a glass of wine, me thinks!
Weds 25 March 2026
The sudden appearance of strong wind in Brighton last night took us by surprise and it was luck that everthing outside was packed ready for our departure today.
The wind had died down as we left East Brighton Park at 9.30 am and three hours later we were back at Hunter Towers. The trip was smooth and thankfully uneventful apart from the closed roads around Hunter Towers. Have the planners thought of access?
Hopefully we will manage to escape on Friday to get to the habitation check!
Tues 24 March 2026
A much chillier day today as we just about caught the Coastal Hopper bus from the Marina here in Brighton heading to Eastbourne.
The journey along the coast took just over an hour with some interesting views from on top of the double decker.
Eastborne, like Brighton yesterday was a building site with the main town centre streets awash with barriers and diggers. We headed for the prom to escape but the cold wind put an end to any thoughts of a long walk so a long lunch was the order of the day.
The return bus trip back to Brighton was longer than that in the morning and it seemed like we had stopped at every bus stop that was ever created. The wind is well up at we relax back at our site. It‘s just started to rain. Back to Hunter Towers tomorrow.
All in all, Detlef seems to have started the season well. There are a couple of „light‘ issues that need attention on Friday and hopefully these can be sorted by the dealer then.
Mon 23 March 2026
It was a slow start to the day with an unexpected „lie in“ followed by an even slower breakfast.
Not to worry though as the bus took the strain on our way into the City Centre for a wander about and a spot of lunch.
Wow, Brighton appears to be the largest building site in the UK at the moment with both extensive roadworks and buildings being shaped and crafted. It was a definite case of find the road crossing in amongst the large section of road cones at times.
All in all we spent four hours in the City Centre and on the Prom with the obligatory walk on the Pier. The „Lanes“ were surprisingly empty this afternoon. Maybe everyone like us decided to visit the Royal Pavilion instead!
The bus trip back to our site was abandoned for a brisk walk back along the cliffs. The step counters have now been reset with yours truly clocking in at 17,200 for the day! Time to put the feet up, me thinks.
As for tomorrow? A weather watch is called for before a decision is made!
Sun 22 March 2026
The weather was perfect as we headed out of Suffolk today for the three hour drive to Brighton – our first (short) tour of the year.
Detlef is booked in for its annual inspection this week so it made sense to have a pre-season „ try out“ beforehand. We are here for three nights before making our way back to Hunter Towers later in the week.
We duly arrived at 1 pm just in time to experience our online quick check in for the first time. No visiting the office on arrival with this system! One can also view which pitches are free before arrival!
We set off to walk to Brighton Marina after lunch and to get our bearings once more. It‘s been a while since we were last here and the Marina is certainly showing its age; closed retail outlets and many of the buildings in need of a new coat of paint.
We‘re now back on site here in East Brighton Park. Tomorrow we‘ll be heading into the centre of Brighton by bus as the bikes are still in their stable at Hunter Towers.