Bevis on Wheels- travels in a motorhome: January 2015 Planning time

I've been reading other people's blogs- always an interesting activity. I enjoy reading about where people have been, what they saw, where they stayed, how much it cost.....I also realized that I rarely put things like fuel costs, site prices etc in my blog but I do keep a record of what it costs us to travel. I am currently looking at planning a trip through France to Northern Spain with friends, a trip to Greece again ( can't resist the pull of the Peloponnese) and various other trips in this country. If you haven't seen the Motorhome & Campervans UK page on Facebook- I can recommend it as a fast and friendly way to get help and support with motorhome issues. Reading it passes some grim dark nights!

Places we've been since we got back from Greece

Well I've been a bit lazy about keeping the blog up to date.....but here goes with an update:

October The Keelman pub at Newburn near Newcastle upon Tyne

En route to a music festival at Selkirk, we rang the pub which is by the river Tyne and is a brewery to see if two vans could stay overnight and they were very welcoming. We took Mam there for a meal and she got a taxi home while we enjoyed the brewery products! A super place to stay but you'd need to ring first as it gets busy.

the river Tyne near Newburn - 5 mins from the A1

My lovely Mam , Pete and Mel at the Keelman

October Selkirk Music Festival

Every year there is a music festival in Selkirk but you can stay at the campsite at Selkirk swimming pool at any time. It's a nice site with hard standing or grass and showers and loos plus kitchen area.

We went to Galashiels where we found that there is free motorhome parking overnight in the centre.

fabulous view at the border, Carter Bar on the way up to Scotland

November Castleton Caravan Club site

We had a few days away with a friend who has a new motorhome- another convert to the joys! We had lovely weather and lovely beer, food and walks.

November Dunkirk Inn near Denby Dale, Wakefield

We rang the pub and asked if we could stay over...all three motorhomes.
Although the car park is just up the road from the pub and sloping we had lovely food and drink and a very quiet night.

December Another trip to Hawes, North Yorkshire and Rowntree Park, York

Friends came up from Portsmouth and we went to Hawes with Mel. The wardens there were very helpful and despite fiddling about changing pitches, we parked nose in to a pitch so we could see the amazing views. We had some sunshine and a good time. A visit to the cheese factory was great!

A snow flurry made a pretty scene from the van window.

We went next to York and stopped off in Leyburn for coffee and a look around the lovely little place giving Pete a chance to leave his glasses behind in the cafe. Rowntree Park is currently having work done and it felt cramped after Hawes but it is so convenient for the city centre and the Christmas market. We did a tour round the walls and several pubs......as usual.

cheeky squirrel

December Brownhills at Newark

Pete had been researching since we went to the motorhome show in Lincoln and seen the new Tracker. I wanted a new kitchen but wasn't surprised when he said would I mind if the new kitchen was in a new van?
We love the layout of the Tracker FB so rang round dealers till we got a good deal with everything we wanted thrown in. We had a good handover from Rick who was patient and methodical explaining the things that are very different from our older van , We need to spend some time reading the new Fiat camper instructions as there are many new features. After a free Christmas dinner and swapping everything over, we stayed overnight to make sure everything functioned as it should and we were very happy.

December Hawes again

We'd booked this New Year trip early in the year to make sure that all of our group got on and we had a great time despite having to dig out the snow from our lane in order to get there. Mel managed to get on at the last minute too. We had some good walks and though the weather wasn't glorious- it was good enough. We spent New Year's Eve with the wardens and other campers in the games room which we've never done before but it was a laugh. We watched fireworks as we headed back to the vans.....already planning where to go in 2015.