Trials & Tribulations - Portugal to the UK

Having never had a motor home but always been envious of people who had we decided to look into buying one ourselves.

At the beginning of this year whilst living in Portugal we saw an old 4 birth Fiat Ducato Weinberg going for a very reasonable price.  We bought it and duly took it to the garage and spent quite a bit getting it checked out and having vaious work carried out.

We set off for the UK in March of this year hoping that there would be no problems but, alas, this was not to be the case. Despite all the rigorous checks and money spent we broke down near a place called Irun in Spain just before the French border. Fortunately I had, had the foresight to take out full European breakdown cover so our motor home was towed to a garage in Irun and we were placed in a 4* hotel in along with our little dog.

To our horror we were told that it was the water pump and after a full diagnostic check were also told that it was going to cost us €1,400 to fix, not only that it would also take a week to get the parts and do the repairs.

To our delight the company we had the breakdown cover with said that they would pay half of the repairs if we were prepared to wait for them to be completed, which of course we accepted without hesitation.

After the initial shock we decided to make the most of it and ended up spending a wonderful week in a beautiful small but bustling historical city. We did lots of exploring and knew our way round it like locals by the time the week was up.

Just down the road from the hotel we came accross a beautiful nature reserve with a large lake and lots of wildlife. A real bird watchers paradise and a must for any twitchers to visit.  We spent many happy hours walking the paths around the estury and lake.

The hotel staff were so friendly and helpful and made us feel very welcome. They even gave us a 50% reduction on the cost of boarding our little dog (€10 per night) in the hotel (not covered by the insurance breakdown cover).  The receptionist said she felt sorry for us having broken down and spoke with the manager who agreed the discount.

So if you ever visit Irun in Spain and want to have a couple of nights in a wonderful, typically Spanish hotel make sure to check out the Alcazar Hotel.

Since being back in the UK we have had a couple of trips out at the weekends. First one was to Thrybergh Country Park in South Yorkshire and last weekend to Seaton Sluice in Northumberland.

Despite our initial problems I am just so glad we bought our old bus. We have had so many memorable experiences already and look forward to many more.