Friday – late morning and we were off, sadly having to leave Archie, our 9 year old Border Terrier (an avid caravanner!) behind. Legoland was not for him. His place was taken by our 6 year-old neice, Evie. She joins us every year for a weekend away. The journey took about 2.5 hours, with stop and we were soon setting up at Hurley Riverside – a fully serviced pitch (sewage and water plus electricity) right by the Thames, between Henley and Maidenhead.

Once setup, we ventured out and visited Hurley village and the lock. Very pretty and lovely to see the boats. Very nostalgic for us. We love boating, too, and have done the entire Thames from Limehouse to Lechlade.

A nice cuppa, a paddle and then off to Maidenhead and the inevitable visit to Waitrose , after which back to the van. Gave Evie her tea and then had a walk along the Thames and the Nature Trail provided by the campsite.

Saw lots of bunnies and then it was back and bedtime for little people, and a quck squizz at the Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony for us.

There were hordes of kids on bikes roaming the site and loads of Dutch and Germans. Very near the Olympic rowing venue, so glad we booked nice and early! Apparently competitors and volunteers are also staying on site, which meant a lot of off car movement at odd times. Otherwise, we had a good night.

Saturday – up early and off to Legoland. This wa s a surprise for Evie and she was ecstatic. We had a great fun day and the additional expense of “Q-Bots” (which basically allow you to walk straight up to a ride and not queue!) proved a fantastic investment. Had a great day and were there for 7 hours! Exhausting!

We had an early table booked at Prezzo in Maidenhead so by the time we got back, had a quick shower we were off out again. We had a great meal and full marks to Prezzo for their children’s menu, which kept Evie entertained for the whole meal. After this it was home and bed, first for Evie and then – shortly afterwards – for us!

Sunday – up, breakfast and off to feed the ducks on the Thames (just a whole loaf of tiger bread then!) Then out to meet Mel who was coming by train to Maidenhead to collect Evie, who had an urgent and vital party (she’s 6!) to go to. Back to the site for coffee and lazy remainder of the morning – including a luncheon courtesy of Waitrose. Starting to wonder whether I should ask them for sponsorship for this blog?

Off and away by 2 pm and home by around 4.30. A lovely weekend with lots of happy memories.

As we had not had time to explore on our previous visit, we decided that another visit to the Surrey Hills AONB was in order, so it was back to East Horsley.

We started our Saturday with a drive round the area, which is very beautiful indeed with some amazing properties that I really envied. We skirted the edge of Greatlee Wood, then down to Sutton Abinger and eventually stopped in Peaslake for a coffee break. Our meandering route eventually led to Godalming, where we went for a mooch round the shops and very tasty lunch. I bought a French china gravy separator for £4 in a charity shop. Divertimenti have them for £22.50! We had parked in the Waitrose car park and I popped in for some odds and ends – just can’t ignore a Waitrose! Had a relaxing afternoon and evening and a great night’s sleep.

I got up and walked the dog round the lake and we had a scrummy breakfast of boiled eggs and toast – a Sunday morning favourite. We had a leisurely morning reading and then started the packing-up process. We noticed with some concern that a family had gone out and left their dog in the caravan. As they still hadn’t arrived back when we left and as it was a hot day, we reported them to the site management.

As we were leaving, we noticed a strange ringing noise – much like the zils on a tambourine. Worrying! We stopped and looked but could not quite detect the source of the sound. Another stop revealed that the Swift hubcap was missing – a little annoying as it’s all but brand new. The sound appeared to be emanating from the Alko wheel centre. All the wheels bolts seemed tight so we went on our way with no ill effect.

As we had nothing planned for this weekend, we made an impromptu decision on the Friday evening to check in to our local CC site, Rookesbury Park. We awoke to rain on the Saturday morning. Paul’s back was bad and I had a painful, swollen arm so we were not in the best of spirits. The prospect of a night away was a cheery thought, though, and we set off on our journey. It took us all of 15 minutes! When we arrived there was another brand new caravan. They had just picked up and were very excited. By some coincidence they recognised me and said that I had sung at their wedding! (It later transpired that we had met Nigel Hocking’s nephew and wife! Small world.)

We pitched up and had a relaxing afternoon reading and snoozing. It rained and rained. And then it rained for a while, before a couple of heavy showers. We began to wonder how easy it would be to get off site. Rookesbury Park site is mainly grass but the site manager had told us he would pull us off (!!) if there was any problem at all.

The people in the caravan next door had a dog who was obviously not allowed inside when wet. So he was chained up outside, where he barked incessantly. Nice.

After some rain overnight, (quelle surprise!) we woke up to – yes, more rain. We had our usual Sunday morning brekker and packed up. The moment of truth. Dolly made light work of it and we drove home, glad that we had made the effort and feeling relaxed and happy.

Friday – left home around 3.30 and had an uneventful trip to the C & CC site at East Horsley.

A very friendly welcome and much admiration for our new van! We were soon set up and off to Cobham for a few odds and ends in Waitrose. Paul had work calls to USA to make so I shopped alone. Bought some yummy things – including an intriguing pot of “Balsamic Pearls”.
We were both looking forward to our first night’s sleep in the new van and, as we had a pretty early start, went to bed early.
Saturday – up at 7-ish after a comfy night and in the shower (nice!) and breakfast before packing up our contribution to the day’s picnic – Scotch Eggs and Victoria sandwich (both made on Thursday evening) and hot beverages for the day. The night had been showery and the morning wasn’t looking a whole lot better with threatening grey clouds and a sharp and chilly wind. Great for a day’s boating!
We all (Bruce Mel, Lenny & Evie Carter and Kate, Paul and Holly Hansford)arrived at Farncombe Boathouse, near Catteshall Lock on the River Wey, within a couple of minutes of each other. We paid the damage deposit, picked up life jackets for the littlies and began our briefing. Soon we were on our way towards Guildford. The weather was very kind all day and our picnic would have fed double the crew. A lunch time stop for Pimms went down very well indeed. Stopped at Dapdune Wharf on the way back for a short visit and eventually made our way back to base. And reluctantly handed back the boat.

We drove back in convoy to the campsite so that everyone could come and admire our new acquisition. After a quick cuppa, everyone left us to our own devices and we passed a pleasant evening watching Pacific .

We very much enjoyed our first weekend away in Mr Munch and can’t wait for the next time. Some images from the weekend follow:

A 4 o’clock slot for pick-up saw us leaving home at 2.30 for the journey to Gomshall (nr Guildford). All went well until we realised that Paul had forgotten to bring the apparently all-important driving licence (paper part) which was required to finalise the transaction. A hurried phone call to our son, George, fortunately saved the day and we left towing our new pride and joy. A sad farewell to Sir Percy – our former van of almost 4 years and we were off. We decided on a name on the return journey – choosing Mr Munch after leading Expressionist exponent Edvard Munch – to be known as Eddie for short. We arrived home at around 7 pm and spent the rest of the evening putting all our effects in and familiarising ourselves with the new layout and cupboard spaces, ready for the weekend to come.

This is our new blog. Inspired by our blogging for our Canada trip, we decided we’d document – mainly for our own interest – our travels, mainly in the UK but, occasionally, abroad with our new caravan. So – here goes!

The new van is a “Swift Expression 554”, which is a special edition from Michael Jordan Caravans, based on the Swift Challenger Sport 554 but with more tasteful upholstery!! It looks a bit like this