Motor-homing "Up Over".

If Australia is "Down Under", then I guess we are "Up Over" at present.
After getting absolutely conned and ripped of in getting from Central London to Elm Park (another story) to collect the motorhome we arrived to find it needed new tyres -we insisted they be fitted before we took delivery, so a delay in our departure till after 12 noon. Once on the road we managed to negotiate our way out of the Greater London area, destination Cambridge. one thing about touring Up Over is that nothing is very far away compared to the distances we are accustomed to Down Under. It seemed as though we reached Cambridge in no time at all even though we have made the decision to stay away from motorways and major roads as much as possible. Our "home" for the next 14 days is a very comfortable Peugeot 2.8 litre turbo diesel powered 4 berth high top fibreglass unit. It is an extremely comfortable and easy to drive vehicle with the turbo charged engine really up to the task of moving us along at a comfortable 55 - 60 MPH in conjunction with a great 5 speed manual gearbox. We stopped at an info centre located on the outskirts of Cambridge which was also a "Park & Ride" station. These are a great idea - parking is free and only £1 for the return bus fare into the CBD. We decided to take our chances and drive ourselves. Fortunately we found kirbside parking very close to the centre of town with parking ticketing machines - £1 for 2 hours. Cambridge is a very old university city consequently there were lots of young people on the narrow streets. We had a lovely two hours wandering and taking in everything. We took the opportunity to do some grocery shopping at Sainsbury's then headed out of town to find a caravan park for our first night, a beatifully setup park in nearby Comberton. "Highfield Farm" has grassed areas surrounded by river pebble "pitches" as they are called here. The farm is divided into manageable areas separated by hih hedges. We chose a spacious area adjacent to a grove of trees. The cost of £13.50p per night seemed a bit on the pricy side but as we were to find out later was in fact very reasonable considering the lovely layout and facilities.
Next morning we departed around 10:30am, destination Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. As luck would have it there was a Robin Hood festival in full swing in Sherwood Forest, so we parked at the visitors centre (after convincing the gate attendant we should not have to pay £3 parking as we were only going to the visitor centre - crap) and had a good look around. Robin Hood himself was roaming around looking for Maid Marion, so Gail accosted him and suggested she was a better subject for a joint photo. Everything was fine until she asked him if he was "all a quiver" at posing with her. I don't think he caught on - the Poms have a limited sense of humour. Having thrown the festival hero into utter confusion we decided to move on before the parking attendant woke up to us. We drove a short distance, found a free park, then went for a long walk into the woods of the real Sherwood Forest. Moving on we proceeded north to Teversal for our next overnight. This particular park called Shardaroba turned out to be a British Caravan Club site, and as we were to find out - outrageous with their rates £21.50p (work that out in $A - I don't dare). Anyway we bit the bullet and stayed, then the rain started in buckets. We are experimenting with the best place in the motorhome to sleep. So far have tried the over-cabin double bed which has limited headroom, then the converted kitchen table - more room but a pain to setup and dismantle every day. Next option is singles- oh well.
Next day we moved to York and booked into a CP at Stamford Bridge which is about 9 miles out. As we had arrived here at lunchtime we caught a bus from the village into York. What a fascinating city, The Shambles, The Minster and all the very old and narrow streets. We walked and walked until our feet were ready to drop off, but more particularly until we found where the return bus to Stamford Bridge left from. A great day all round.
On the move again, this time a little uncertain as to our overnight destination, but in the general direction of the Scottish border on the east coast. Once again we opted for minor roads where possible as these provide the more interesting scenery and small villages. Bamburgh Castle on the NE coast warranted a short visit, then on to cross the border north of Berwick On Tweed. Anxious to see more of the eastern coastline we diverted to North Berwick (no relation to the former) about 50 miles south of Edinburgh. There is a highland gathering on here tomorrow (Sat) so we have booked into the loveliest spot overlooking the ocean for two nights and plan to spend most of tomorrow at an authentic Highland Games - eat your heart out Hunters. It will be interesting to compare the weight of the heaviest Stone they lift and the Caber Toss with Bundanoon. Will take lots of photos for Lauren & Lauchie.
Kevin & Gail.
www.alaska-2006.blogspot.com

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