Goodbye Bessacarr,
Hello Celtic Rambler.
2010 forces changes to our travel retirement plans. Back in March our insurance company refused to renew the policy on our motor home because we were not present with it. (when away from agreed parking place, insurance lapses when vehicle is left unattended for 24hrs or more). We were left with only a few days to get to Malaga before our policy expired. We made it, despite Iceland’s volcanic efforts to delay us.
Being present with the MH we were now able to renew the policy. I was informed by the agent from Safeguard that this condition was on the policy document. In fact it is not, and when challenged with this, I was told that “full conditions were available from “Head office”. !!!
We planned to take a 60 day holiday then bring the unit back to the UK to make alterations to the galley. Doubts about our ability to leave the MH in Europe brought into question our holiday plans. It seems we were very lucky, we had had no problems over the last three years sometimes leaving the MH for months at a time.
When we arrived at the storage camp site we met a camper who informed us that towing by ”A” frames were now not accepted in Spain and he had been pulled up several times as he drove from Barcelona. This news was the final nail in the coffin. We decided to forgo our holiday and return home. As they say on the stock exchange, SELL SELL SELL.
The search was on to find a 5th wheeler, they are classed as a caravan and cover is available to leave the unit in Europe unattended. We would also have one less vehicle to worry about.
We sold quickly and made our purchase of a Celtic Rambler on 1st July. We picked up our new purchase from the Isle of Man and made our way to Cornish Farm camp site, about 12 miles from home.
We needed to stay on board to come to terms with our purchase and make decisions on what to do with the interior. A week later and we were home. It took two months to redesign and refit the interior. The 1st task was to reduce the width of the King size bed. Why you might ask? Try making a bed with only 11” space between the side of the bed and the side of the van. The moment you bend to tackle the bed clothes, your backside collides with the wall and you are involuntary catapulted into bed, no benefit to me at my age. Funny yes, but the joke soon became a pain in the are#s#e. We now have a standard double bed with 17” of space all round.
Next I had to deal with the electrics. All mains controls together with 12v fuse block were inconveniently placed under a small settee next to the main door. The settee was too small to be of any comfort. We required a permanent dinning area so we used the space for that purpose and I built a tower column adjacent to house all the controls.
Re-arranging the main seating area was essential as I had to find room for a single bed, The Celtic Rambler is a very comfortable unit but only has a double berth, a third berth is available if you make up the settee. We now have a single bed already made up which easily draws out from under the settee on wheels.
We had arranged to take the unit to the manufacturers in North Wales for a service on the 27th September. Whilst there we agreed to have the coupling and receiving bed changed, as a new, much lighter improved coupling is now available. It allows you to engage/disengage at almost 80 degrees, essential for smaller sites found on the continent.
One of the two LPG storage cupboards on CR is now used for a commercial vacuum cleaner which is piped to an inlet in the saloon near the door. A conveniently placed on/off switch controls the Vac. Mary uses a flexible pipe that reaches all parts of CR. As a bonus, the pipe can reach the truck, although Mary hasn't tried it yet! The remaining cupboard now houses a lightweight refillable LPG tank.
The smaller size of the new towing bed fixed in the truck will allow for lock up storage for water pipes and electric cables etc. Also a cradle to house a large LPG tank which, via a umbilical pipe feeds the CR (Celtic Rambler). Both can be filled from a garage at more favourable prices.
A bit chancy I know, now being late September, but we decided to make a holiday out of the journey to North Wales as we are not familiar with that area.
We first camped locally at a CL site at Wrantage near Taunton for a few days whilst we tweaked things and loaded our bits and bobs ready for the journey. Good value at £10/night including water & 16Amps.
28th September. The drive was uneventful, It took us 5 Hrs with a couple of breaks to get to the “The 5th Wheel Co”. After staying at the factory for 3 nights we made a painful financial exit. We spent a few days at Dyserth camp site just a few miles from the factory. The short drive with the new coupling was so improved we forgot the expense, however at £15 a night we thought Dyserth a little too much for out of season.
It is now the 1st October 2010. Fifty years earlier was a day to remember, we were married! Since our immediate family are scattered, Daughter and Husband at sea sailing somewhere in the Mediterranean, eldest Grandson working in Canada, youngest Grandson working in Australia, it took the edge off our celebrations, however, we comforted ourselves as we had arranged something exciting for later in the year and in any event we had a superb meal at a local pub.
The pub is very popular as their cuisine is excellent
Across the road from the pub is a local landmark, a water fall which is very impressive. The highest in Wales.
Our first day out from the camp site took us to Llanfairfechan, a small resort with a huge pebbled beach.
We had lunch at a small cafe walked the beach and enjoyed the sunny day.
The next day we drove towards Llandudno. The pier there was almost deserted, never mind, we walked the full length anyway, (‘cos we’re fit).
A days trip to Betws-y-Coed was well worth the effort. It’s a beautiful resort.
Unfortunately we had to go home for a day so we decided to drive part way to Hereford, leave CR there and take the truck home. We are so pleased we did as the site is excellent, the weather continued to be 16/18 degrees with no sign of rain. We stretched our holiday out to a month returning at the end of October.
When we drove home we passed through Wye Valley which is beautiful, just catching the trees taking on their winter colours.
Tinton Abbey was a surprise as we had not heard of it’s splendour. It’s these discoveries that make a holiday memorable.
We drove back over the bridge into Wales, then crossing the border back into England and north back to Hereford. We were pleased to be back to find CR hadn’t missed us. We took Sunday lunch at a local pub.
We learnt that the landlord had purchased a pub in the next village to our home. I hope the food is as good?
Hereford is a great city.
The council employs the partially blind as parking attendants? We parked using our disabled car parking badge in a designated place. When we arrived back we found a parking ticket stuck to the windscreen. I couldn’t believe it. I spotted the attendent across the car park so I made chase to point out to him the errors of his way. Mary, not wanting to witness the fracas walked away never to be seen again, so to speak. The warden said I shouldn't park in the shade? I offered the attendant my spare specs which he kindly declined! The upshot of it all was, he couldn’t rescind the note, it was then that I realised Mary was missing. I knew she was tired and I became a little concerned. I blamed the blind parking attendant who panicked, then, using his mobile phone he immediately called the police to report a missing person. Don’t worry he said, with a guilt wriggled face, we have cameras in all the shops and throughout the streets in Hereford! Half an hour later Mary appeared between two hunky cops who were frog marching her down the street, her feet hardly touching the ground. And was she pleased to be found? Not bloody likely. With help from the cops and the attendant, I got the parking ticket rescinded at the town hall. I thought a job well done! Mary’s opinion differed!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I might have known where she was hiding?………… Marks & Sparks
Here are some other pictures of the City.
This guy was singing opera for all he was worth, and very good he was! In fact the city square was full of bustling entertainment.
We heard that this building had caught fire after our visit, shame, these are photos of the rooms inside which had been painstakingly preserved.
There is some beautiful villages close by, one of which was strongly recommended to us to visit. On arrival we were surprised to see the whole village had been taken over by a fairground. We did duck under some stalls to peer into some shops but it was difficult so we gave up. To add to our disappointment the fairground rides were not operating!
If you are into history, then Hereford could be a good place to start. The original “Mappa Mundi” (map of the ancient world) is stored here. There is also a very interesting library containing the first books ever printed which were chained together, not in recent times, but sometime in the distant past when a book was a treasure worth stealing. You could request that the old locks and chains be removed so you could read some of them. Some other time perhaps!
Back to the campsite to prepare for home, we want an early start in the morning for home.
