2023 Touring Highlight(s)

 We had 125 days away, half of them on the Continent. Places new always provide the most for me and out first trip to the >Czech Republic< as part of our >2023 tour< was a significant highlight of the year along with a visit on the same tour to the >Postojna Caves<  Also part of the same tour were visits to Lake Bled, with its fantastic scenery and the Croatian coast, but being places we had been to before, they just didn't provide the same excitement.

We have yet to make plans for 2024, much depends on keeping my C1 licence due for renewal in the Spring.

peedee

We didn't have that many days away this year, but the highlight was a week on  the Isle of Mull and the boat trip to see the Sea Eagles. 🙂

We managed 64 nights away this year each trip good in its own way. Favourite was probably the 10 nights we had at Chester during the Coronation week nice weather and with Eurovision being in Liverpool the same week the atmosphere around the place was great tour of the Mersey tunnel was fantastic. Also had a wonderful 3 weeks at Broadway club site in the Cotswolds which was great lots of nice places nearby and plenty to cycling done. Also had lots of nice local weekends mostly at Ayr Craigie club site The Ranch in Maybole and at Strathclyde park. Here’s hoping next year is just as good 

For us, 2023 was the lowest nights away (discounting Covid year) since 1996 when we were still at work! We did get a late start to the touring year because we had one of our bathrooms refitted earlier in the year. It was mid may before we got out on our first trip to Swiss Farm and Henley. This was followed by small tour of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in June. Unfortunately our September trip in September was curtailed by Margaret's mobility problems with her hip. We did manage to get to Cromer for a week in October so its been a season of ups and downs! We just have to look forward to 2024 in the hope that we will spend more time away, but who knows?

David

2023 saw us away in our MH for 141 nights, of which 20 were spent in the UK and the rest in France and Spain.  None of our trips involved staying on Club sites although we did spend a very pleasant 14 nights on a C&CC THS at Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk during carnival.

The highlight was spending nearly a month in the Vaucluse area of France staying on village aires, enjoying the Provençal weather and lifestyle.

Our touring was seriously affected by my caring duties last year, so short breaks tended to be all we managed.

We met up in person with some new friends, twice as it happens, and treasure those laughs and fun. We got to see a few more NT places and gardens on our list, Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire being the best, Lyme Park possibly the most underwhelming, but still enjoyable. We have enjoyed a lot of local visits, I went back into Wentworth Woodhouse on the Lady Mabel Tour and relived my teacher training days, we had a picnic at The Yorkshire Sculpture park, that bears another visit. We re joined C&CC and found a couple of very very nice CS sites, one close to Harlow Carr, another garden highlight we repeatedly visited in 2023. Clumber Park for Tour of Britain and get used to my new road bike. A couple of great pub stopovers, one next door to Gaydon Motor Museum, the other in Bollington for Lyme Park. Bleak, near empty Cayton Village Site in November was filled with laughter as we spent the evening in a Glamping Cabin with our best friends, but the highlight was definitely a week away in a gorgeous cottage in North Wales just before Christmas. Castles and scenery galore, and seeing our elderly Lab’s delight at dipping his very old paws at the seaside again❤️

Well our highlights started in December 2023, 28th to be precise when i flew to Spain to pick up our caravan, car & dog that i we had to leave  behind when we both flew home in an airambulance when my OH had a severe stroke whilst on site in Mazarron.

Myself and Spanish daughter left Mazarron (temperature 22 degs) on the 3rd Jan 23 bound for Santander and the ferry, first night we stayed at  Aranjuez just south of Madrid, from Aranjuez we motored on up to Burgos arriving 4th Jan (temperature minus 5 degs), daughter returned to San Miguel via train on the 5th jan, whilst in Burgos, got the dog wormed and did our best to keep warm.

Should have been on ferry 8th Jan, received email from BF to say sailing delayed until 9th Jan due to bad weather, Left Burgos morning of the 9th (temp 10 degs raining) previously rock hard grass pitches on municipal site now like a bog, succesfully negotiated leaving the pitch, well done the Sorento, but not before causing some minor damage to rear of caravan after skidding into a tree, encountered some minor snow on route to Santander.

boarded ferry approx 1200 hrs 9th Jan, terrible crossing to Portsmouth for first 6 hours as Bay of Biscay very very rough, but did get a free bottle of wine with dinner for being brave enough to be 1 of only a handful of partakers of dinner, we did arrive safe and sound in portsmouth 10 Jan 23, I dont think Rufs knew what was going on for most of the voyage, he just slept on the bottom bunk.

But all good OH almost recovered now, we spent, 14 nights on a site in Cornwall, not club site , that had great disabled facilities, we hope to return in May this year, we then spent the month of September on a non club site in Devon, a site we have used many times and I knew OH would feel comfortable with, again we hope to repeat this experience, not sure about venturing into the EU again, can have many nights away in the UK for the cost of insurance and ferries etc., but never say never.

We managed 235 nights away this year, mostly on CLs as usual, and not a single CC site, but we also rejoined the C&CC, making much use of their over 60's discount on their club sites. As well as meeting up with friends, both on site and just for the odd days out, including fish and chips at Happisburgh, our highlights were finding the lovely Rhandirmwyn site in beautiful sunny weather, and attending the Norfolk and Suffolk DA's  N Norfolk Railway's 40's Weekend meet at Breck Farm.

We missed seeing you last Christmas Nellie, couldn’t make it, and we haven’t seen friends in Cornwall for far too long, but we are in touring limbo at the moment. Got plenty planned for this year though, and we might just get our passports renewed….

Good that your OHs doing well Rufs, thankfully.

11 weeks touring Scotland with our caravan seeing the most spectacular scenery and fulfilling an ambition of OH to stay at Altnaharra. Although born in Aberdeen has been living in England for most of his adult life so really enjoyable to revisit old haunts from childhood and discover new places together. Can’t wait to go back in 2024 hopefully