Up The East Side - Let’s Get Going

Finally, the day arrived. Our set off date for the tour I’ve called ‘Up The East Side’. The tour would take us up the eastern side of England and on into part of the easter side of Scotland.

We arrived at the motorhome and completed our preparations. Although we’d already done a number of trips to Sheldon, there was still much to be transferred from the car and some more final preparations to complete. This was done and we were ready. I set the SatNav and went to put it in its holder. Only to discover that I’d got the wrong holder!

My mistake and another doh moment for me.

Now, with a motorhome of this size, I believe its important to take precautions about the roads I’m taken down. The SatNav we have is one that is designed for trucks. It means that I can enter Sheldon’s dimensions and weight in it. It then takes you on what should be ‘safe’ roads Sheldon’s size. I view it therefore as essential. Without a holder, it is very difficult to use. So I cobbled together a system where it sat on the dashboard, just in front of Margaret who then shared the instructions with me - not the best way of promoting marital harmony!

Despite this minor setback, we set off just before 11 am. The journey went well and at 1 pm we stopped for lunch which was prepared in the motorhome - no need to get out of the vehicle (except to walk the dog), as all facilities are on board (including toilet). Whilst we stopped I had the idea of securing the SatNav on the stand I brought with Velcro. This was done and it felt secure. Lunch was taken and we set off on the final part of the journey. Again it went well and the temporary SatNav holder worked. We arrived at the site at 2 pm and were given a very friendly welcome from the site wardens. The site was pretty full but we felt confident in the arrangements which had been made to ensure our safety.

The Entrances at Fineshade Wood and the Stamford CAMC Site

The first site was a Caravan and Motorhome Club site called ‘Stamford’. It's a few miles outside Stamford (actually between Stamford and Corby). Set in ‘Fineshade Woods’, which is Forestry Commission Land and part of the larger ‘Rockingham Forest.’ A Medieval Forest, which originally was one of William the Conquerors Hunting Forests. It is rural and remote. There are no facilities on the site apart from electric hook-up, fresh water, wastewater refuge and chemical waste disposal points. It was ideal for our needs, so soon after the relaxation of the Covid19 guidelines.

On arrival, we set up at the site and decided that we would take Jerry (our dog) for a walk. Next to the site is the Park Visitor Centre. So we went to take a look at what is available here. We were pleasantly pleased. There are a number of walking, cycling and horse riding marked trails. The visitor centre offers plenty of parking, bike hire, a cafe, toilets, and other amenities present in visitor centres. We chose the signed Yellow route, as our first walk which is 2 miles long. The walking was easy, the weather good and we enjoyed our first few hours in the area. (I’m glad to say that we continued to enjoy our stay despite deteriorating weather). On return to the visitor centre, we enjoyed ice cream and returned to Sheldon for a bit of sunbathing. A lovely day and we felt relaxed and chilled.

We slept well. Our dog though is a creature of habit and he seems to have developed the bad habit of wanting to get up anytime after 5 am. This has continued to happen since we arrived here - he’s started as he means to go on!!! I’ve managed to push the time on until 5.30 am, but by then he is ready to get up and relieve himself. Not good for a holiday, but all part of the fun of having an elderly dog.

Breakfast taken, chores done and it was time to decide what to do. Margaret wanted to do some more ‘sorting out’ in the van, so I agreed to take Jerry for a longer walk. This time I chose the 3 mile Purple Trail. It was very pleasant. The area is full of a variety of wildlife, flora, and fauna and I was able to put my new app ‘Seek’ by Inaturalist. The app is superb and helped me to identify some of the plant life which I’d not been able to identify and were new to me. This adds to the enjoyment of the walk and can also be used for plants and also wildlife.

Jerry didn’t let us down. At 5.30 am he was walking around the motorhome, crying and trying his best to ensure I was awake. He was ready to go out again. It was still raining, so reluctantly I set off. I got wet, he got mucky, but he was much happier. The rain continued to fall throughout the morning. But at lunchtime, the weather improved. We had a quick lunch and set off to walk the Yellow Trail again. On this occasion, we did it the other way around, which changed the views and walks perspective. On return to Sheldon, the rain resumed, so once again we were inside.

Our time at the Stamford site would soon be over. The next day we would move on to 'pastures new,' as they say. We had enjoyed our stay. Yes, the weather had been disappointing. But the site had given us the opportunity to get back in Sheldon,

In next week's blog, I look forward to telling you about that.

In the meantime, you may be interested in following our progress on the app. polarsteps. It's a free app that you can download from your app store. Just download it from whichever AppStore you use. Set up an account, search for stephentime9 and you'll be able to see where we are in realtime when we are travelling.  

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