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.