We are loving our itinerant lifestyle! We've stayed in some funny places, like a cattle auction mart in snowy upland country, a muddy picnic spot next to a reservoir and a harbour. One night we shared a town centre car park with overnighting lorry drivers and ‘enjoyed’ being serenaded by a church that belled the time - 1.00 am, 2.00 am, 3.00 am, each half hour…….. 😱😱
We have also taken advantage of our Caravan and Motorhome Club membership occasionally. We get an electric hook up that enables us to charge up essential equipment like phones, laptops and our vacuum cleaner. We get a decent shower, laundry facilities and an opportunity to muck out the van. Believe me, it's been a challenge keeping our space clean when we have two dogs who like mud-larking! Thankfully there are some very useful things on the market these days, like a big spongy towel (Aquasorb) that does a great job of cleaning up the dogs and we wouldn't be without our big (plastic!!!) trug for bathing them and for keeping our own muddy boots in. Also, Hymer, very thoughtfully, included an outside shower on our van. Good thinking, Hymer!!
German engineering and design has a good reputation and I now understand why. This 12 year old van is really robust and every possible convenience has been considered. There’s a place for everything and it keeps us snug, even in sub-zero temperatures. Amazingly, we have lived in it with two lively dogs for three weeks without once feeling the need to kill each other. I hope I speak for Gareth here too, though he has sometimes expressed exasperation at my lack of mechanical insight 🙄😏His knowledge of the workings of our rig is now quite detailed. Mine extends to knowing the best way to store our crockery, food stores, clothing and bedding in the most accessible and least precarious way.
We are seeing parts of the UK that we have never before visited and the slow journey has sometimes given us pause for thought. Parts of the country that I imagined would be desolate and deprived, are, in fact, beautiful, well cared for and vibrant. Our impression of our father-and-mother land as we re-entered it from the wealthy Marches, however, is of a land almost forgotten. In general, housing is noticeably more poorly built, often incoherent with the surroundings, un-maintained and littered with all kinds of things; everything that signals either a struggle to make ends meet or what feels like ignorance and a ‘don't care’ attitude. Wales is a beautiful little country, but leaving the homeland to travel to other parts of the UK opens the eyes and the mind and it's saddening to see so clearly how Wales’ naturally democratic outlook has made for a an eclecticism of architecture that mostly struggles to look charming.
So what next? Hmmm……. Our slow journey south again, visiting family along the way and exploring highways and byways we have previously passed by in a hurry to get somewhere has terminated in Killay. Parked up opposite Owen and Jess’s awaiting the start of caravan season, we are turning our attention to house hunting again. The little house here in Killay that we have made an offer on (an ugly little place - still a ‘sow’s ear’ in spite of the present owner’s efforts to make a silk purse of it) has revealed itself to have a problem. Our confidence in the choice is once again disturbed so we have held back until it is resolved. Searching the Internet for other possibilities, it seems that the pickings are a bit thin. So, watch this space….. again.
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