Thursday 10th march and its off to Golden Valley near Ripley in Derby shire http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=6159 on the recommendation of a colleague at work. As we left home it was quite windy but not to bad,but when we arrived at the storage the wind was howling through the security fencing and the lights were swaying drunkardly and I'm thinking should we go or wait till tomorrow ? As we only have about 25 miles to go sod it we'll risk it.
On the road up to the motorway the van is being blown all over the place at only about 35 mph, onto the motorway and its a struggle to get up to 50 mph which can only be reached in 4th gear. Its hard to get out of 4th but I manage it only after the junction with the A1 where there is a downhill bit, finally getting into 6th around junction 2 of the M18. but anything above 50 mph and the van is being blown all over so I keep to 50 mph to be safe and also because Martine is having kittens in the passenger seat.Although I'm only doing 50 the car is running on well over 2500 revs when usually it does 2000 revs at 60 mph.
We eventually arrive without any mishaps, its a short drive off the main road up a private road and it looks quite inviting, with a log cabin effect for the reception area.There's an electronic barrier so I have to park up and go and check in. As I leave the car .......OMG......no wallet in pocket !!!!
I search the car but soon realise i have left it at home.
I inform the man on reception and also tell him I will return home after setting up and retrieve it......no prob......
What an idiot......
The site warden gives us a load of bumf about the site and surrounding area, and instructs us to follow him to the pitch.
immediately we have to climb a very steep hill where a sign advises caravans to only use 1st gear, but its only a short drive, past the toilet block onto what is described by martine as Morrison's car park !!!!.....but Morrison's is better than this, this is just hardcore and rubble. There's no uniformity to this .......its like they have thrown the electric boxes into the air and where they have landed is where the pitches are. They are just higgledy piggledy all over the place, but for the first time we do have a fully serviced pitch that we can use. Its great not having to fill up the water or empty the waste.
After setting up numb nuts returns home to fetch his wallet!!!!!! and arrives back about an hour later armed with a Chinese.
Martine is not best pleased .......no digital free view reception........"I thought you had checked for digital coverage?"
"yes did , but i looked at that many sites before choosing this one that I forgot which was which" D'oh
After eating the takeaway we walk down to the bar area but the place is in darkness, so its back to make the most of fuzzy telly........
The next morning its Chinese puzzle time again as we attempt to erect the awning for the first time with hopefully this time the correct poles.......
Everything is laid out on the ground and all the parts seem to be there, so we set about the task.....
It goes quite well but takes about 3 1/2 hours which is to be expected really, but everything fits where it should.
On the road up to the motorway the van is being blown all over the place at only about 35 mph, onto the motorway and its a struggle to get up to 50 mph which can only be reached in 4th gear. Its hard to get out of 4th but I manage it only after the junction with the A1 where there is a downhill bit, finally getting into 6th around junction 2 of the M18. but anything above 50 mph and the van is being blown all over so I keep to 50 mph to be safe and also because Martine is having kittens in the passenger seat.Although I'm only doing 50 the car is running on well over 2500 revs when usually it does 2000 revs at 60 mph.
We eventually arrive without any mishaps, its a short drive off the main road up a private road and it looks quite inviting, with a log cabin effect for the reception area.There's an electronic barrier so I have to park up and go and check in. As I leave the car .......OMG......no wallet in pocket !!!!
I search the car but soon realise i have left it at home.
I inform the man on reception and also tell him I will return home after setting up and retrieve it......no prob......
What an idiot......
The site warden gives us a load of bumf about the site and surrounding area, and instructs us to follow him to the pitch.
immediately we have to climb a very steep hill where a sign advises caravans to only use 1st gear, but its only a short drive, past the toilet block onto what is described by martine as Morrison's car park !!!!.....but Morrison's is better than this, this is just hardcore and rubble. There's no uniformity to this .......its like they have thrown the electric boxes into the air and where they have landed is where the pitches are. They are just higgledy piggledy all over the place, but for the first time we do have a fully serviced pitch that we can use. Its great not having to fill up the water or empty the waste.
After setting up numb nuts returns home to fetch his wallet!!!!!! and arrives back about an hour later armed with a Chinese.
Martine is not best pleased .......no digital free view reception........"I thought you had checked for digital coverage?"
"yes did , but i looked at that many sites before choosing this one that I forgot which was which" D'oh
After eating the takeaway we walk down to the bar area but the place is in darkness, so its back to make the most of fuzzy telly........
It goes quite well but takes about 3 1/2 hours which is to be expected really, but everything fits where it should.
But when it comes to pegging it down is where the problems arise.The ground is rock hard and a few of the metal tent pegs are bent in the process so the plastic ones are used but cant be hammered in fully. The storm straps pose quite a problem as well, and the rubber mallet I have doesn't have much effect, but a kind lady in the adjacent caravan has obviously experienced the same problem and lend me a metal hammer which has the desired effect.
Its secured but the pegs are by no means knocked in as far as they should. Everything done I venture down to the office to pay the site fees, where the warden informs me that the snack bar would be doubling up as the bar in the evenings as its low season.
On further inspection of the site its quite clear that people are actually living there, I spot at least 2 taxi firms represented on cars parked outside vans and while I was retrieving my wallet last night Martine said she saw a lot of workers return to their vans with their yellow high vis vests and work boots.
There are quite a few seasonal pitches and the some of the vans are in a state of disrepair with one or two of them with collapsed awnings.
There is a good children's play area though.
In the evening we go to the snack bar come bar where they only have canned beers and lagers but the bar maid is quite friendly and we get to watch Benidorm on a HD wide screen telly.
The next day I'm off back to Sheffield again to watch the mighty Wednesday but that's a fruitless exorcise as we lose again.
Sunday morning and we don't bother with breakfast and get stuck in to pulling down the awning and packing everything away to be ready to leave for 12.......we are informed that we can stay till 6 ........no thanks let us get away.
Its a nice calm day going back and sure enough the cruise control is set at 60 mph and the revs are just over 2000 ,the wind coming down had a big effect on the van.
After parking the van we find a nice bacon sandwich van tucked away by the Harley Davidson shop....very handy as he says he's open every day.
I realise this is the first time we have out with the van and not gone via bolsover or back via Louth......things are looking up
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