Ed & Gill's Motorhome Blog

Despite a Very! Blustery night slept really well. Woke up to another windy but bright & sunny day.  Walked across the fields to Cotherstone village where we obviously had to try out the new Community Cafe in the old chapel. Mum has been singing its praises for ages despite never actually having been there herself 😂. Anyway she was so right about it. They have done an absolutely amazing job of converting the chapel into a warm, bright & inviting space. At the heart of the cafe is a huge log burner & thanks to the new windows the light floods through on to the stained glass  window which is stunning. Refreshed by great coffee & warm scones we carried on along the Tees Railway Walk to Romaldkik. Brief stop at the Rose & Crown for a beer in the sunshine.  Then followed the footpath along the River Tees, over the Balder & up through the fields back to the campsite at Doe Park.  The fields are full of tiny lambs, in all the hedgerows  daffodil...

What did we learn today? How to fill up the LPG bottles 🙌 When the electricity doesn’t work in the MH it’s not necessarily your fault 😂. Problem with ehu, just moved to another pitch & problem solved 😅. Arrived at a cold, wet & windy Doe Park, Cotherstone. Which meant a lazy afternoon in a cosy MH. Then  braving the stormy weather for a walk to The Fox & Hounds for the best  Pie & Chips / Liver & Onions with mash! ever.  Slightly precarious walk home in the dark (somebody had a little stumble) but head torches saved the day. Wonderful clear night, dark skies, billions of stars, pretty cool to lie in bed & look at the Plough through the sky light.

Finally, almost 3 weeks on from collecting the MH we’re setting off on our first road trip! First stop Sleepy Hollow Campsite Wirksworth Derbyshire.   Fab little site with just 5 pitches. MH facing a field of sheep & lambs, cute but very loud at 5am this morning 😂. Basic but super clean shower & toilet available in two little sheds raised up on a sort of platform. Pleasant walk across the fields to Wirksworth yesterday. Quite a few little independent shops to browse. Couldn’t find a pub that took our fancy, so back to the MH to enjoy the last rays of sunshine & a beer.  Had a perfectly warm & cosy first evening in the MH and we were relieved to find that  the bed was comfy too.

First trip finally planned! for one week, leaving on Friday 28th March. Route & campsites all sorted in one afternoon. First stop will be Wirksworth Derbyshire, next up to Cotherston Cumbria, then Hadrians Wall/Meklridge Northumberland, and finally breaking our journey on the way home near Harrogate. Table booked in the bar at the Fox & Hounds Cotherstone for Saturday night, woohoo! Spent today continuing to get to know how everything works eg fridge, heating, hot water & making her nice & cosy with a few home comforts. Ed did an amazing job cutting a piece of carpet we had going spare to fit until we can get new carpets made to measure.     Roll on Friday.......

  One week on and the motorhome is looking very much home on the drive. We've spent the week buying exciting things like a toilet refresh kit & toilet chemicals. But better still buying all new fun stuff like bedding, towels, and kitting out the little kitchen with kettle, toaster etc. Although she arrived valeted & perfectly clean I've cleaned every nook & cranny and as we're starting to fill her up with our belongings she really feels like ours now. Ed has been doing all the serious stuff figuring out how everything works. Finally on Saturday we got out for a drive in her, over to Grafham Water and now we're chomping at the bit to get away properly in her.

Very excited that our new to us motorhome is finally on the driveway. Can’t wait to get her kitted out with all or own stuff & really make her feel like ours.