{"id":4556,"date":"2023-11-02T21:54:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2025-12-24T22:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T22:28:02","slug":"9-the-final-two-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=4556","title":{"rendered":"9. THE FINAL TWO WEEKS."},"content":{"rendered":"\"Print<\/a> Print This Post<\/a>\n

Ingon Bank camp site is just a couple of miles north of Stratford on Avon.\u00a0 The ground here is excitingly moist – and, as the name suggests, a bit “un-level”.<\/p>\n

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Although it doesn’t look like it in the photo, in fact it was so “slopey” that we had real difficulty getting our home-on-wheels anywhere near level.\u00a0 Especially as the wheels managed to sink into the ground as we watched.<\/p>\n

Still, the rewards were great.\u00a0 The view from the loo was beautifully open and rural …<\/p>\n

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And sunset out the front was special too!<\/p>\n

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OK.\u00a0 \u00a0There were two reasons for coming to this neck of the woods.\u00a0 First, to visit granddaughter Sophie who has just started studying biochemistry at Birmingham University.\u00a0 And second to go to the caravan show at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre).\u00a0 Both about 40 minutes drive away.<\/p>\n

We tried to pick Sophie up outside her lecture hall.\u00a0 But, unbeknownst to us, (but probably we should have guessed) it’s smack bang in the middle of a traffic-free campus zone!\u00a0 Thank heavens for mobile phones!<\/p>\n

Sophie’s hall of residence (Shackleton) is located in “The Vale” – a collection of halls surrounding a lake in a lovely park.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sophie had booked a meal at the Giggling Squid in Harborne.<\/p>\n

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(OK.\u00a0 This is actually the branch in Leamington Spa – but don’t tell anyone!)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s only about two kms to the west of Sophie’s flat (and a similar distance NW of the University campus).\u00a0 But there are a lot of one-way streets about.\u00a0 Thank heavens for Google maps!\u00a0 To everyone’s surprise, we found an unrestricted parking space within 70 metres of the restaurant!\u00a0 Result.\u00a0 The restaurant was excellent too!\u00a0 Double result!\u00a0 And I’d say that Sophie has already mastered the student art of eating well whenever a suitable opportunity arises!<\/p>\n

Incidentally, does anyone know how “Americano coffees” got their name?<\/p>\n

As we left for “home” we realised just how many 20 mph zones have been established in the city suburbs.\u00a0 We must have switched from 30 to 20 and back again a dozen times before we got back to the M42 motorway.\u00a0 I’d say it’s a money making exercise.\u00a0 Fines all round for the unwary!\u00a0 So Wales have got it totally wrong with their nation-wide default speed limit of 20 mph in urban areas.\u00a0 And it’s not much better when only selected areas are restricted to the lower speed!\u00a0 Grumble, Grumble!\u00a0 Still it was really good to see Sophie and her set-up.\u00a0 Now we can visualise the surrounding when we are talking to her.<\/p>\n

The visit to the caravan show was fairly unremarkable.\u00a0 As the name suggests, there were a lot of caravans on display.\u00a0 However, very sadly, we couldn’t find a replacement for ours.\u00a0 For sure, some looked a lot more modern inside but many had become more flimsy looking.\u00a0 There’s a lot of weight-saving going on so that they can make them wider and longer.\u00a0 Most top-end caravans are now eight feet wide.\u00a0 That’s the width of a standard transport container.<\/p>\n

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… and do I really want to join the HGV brigade AND tow around a fixed bed?\u00a0 I don’t think so – not yet anyway!<\/p>\n

Although there were a couple of serious contenders, the list of compromises with each one seemed too long.\u00a0 So, once again, we came away from Birmingham without a new caravan!\u00a0 And once again it is confirmed that Glenda knows as much about all the different models as any of the sales people – and quite a bit more than some of them!<\/p>\n

During a break in the rain, we continued to maximise the benefit of our NT subscription!\u00a0 This time it was Charlecote Park.<\/p>\n

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There was an earlier medieval house on this site, but the present house was built in 1558 by Thomas Lucy and his bride Joyce Acton, a Worcestershire heiress.\u00a0 They married when he was 14 and she aged 12.\u00a0 A bit keen!<\/p>\n

In fact, there have been Lucys living at Charlecote since the 12th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Wealthy country gentry, their income came primarily from land, occasionally augmented by fortuitous marriages.<\/p>\n

And yes, the house sits in the middle of yet another deer park!<\/p>\n

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The park is home to a herd of about 200 fallow deer.\u00a0 \u00a0Since we visited, the park has been largely closed after the River Avon, which flows past the estate, flooded following heavy rain.\u00a0 So we were lucky with our timing.\u00a0 And that’s the end of deer stalking on this trip – I promise!<\/p>\n

In fact, as a result of the damp weather, we are considering changing plans a little.\u00a0 Our next site is one of our favourites.\u00a0 It’s near Chipping Sodbury in the southern Cotswolds.\u00a0 Apparently,\u00a0 the grass is VERY wet, so we spent a “happy” morning desperately trying to find an alternative with hard standing.\u00a0 In the end we settled for one night at Oak Tree Farm with Rachel and Jonathan.<\/p>\n

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Nice and dry with a great view …<\/p>\n

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Our final NT visit of this tour was to Dyrham Park.\u00a0 A few miles north of Bath, it’s a huge estate with a very significant down-hill path to the house.\u00a0 Of course, down-hill slopes transmogrify into up-hill ones on the return, but we will worry about that later!<\/p>\n

The front door …<\/p>\n

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… and the back door viewed from the formal garden …<\/p>\n

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And the estate church …<\/p>\n

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The best bits here were the two alcoves in the wall in front of the church.\u00a0 Proper little sun traps they were.\u00a0 However, we were beaten to them every time one became vacant.\u00a0 Perishing tourists!<\/p>\n

Apparently, in 577 a significant battle was waged at Dyrham. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded how Saxon leaders Cuthwine and Ceawlin defeated Britons Coinmail, Condidan, Farinmail and Email “at the place that is called Deorham” before capturing Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath. The battle was a decisive victory for the West Saxons repelling Britons into Wales and Cornwall.\u00a0 But don’t you just love the names of the combatants.\u00a0 They’d fit in nicely in 21st century Chelsea!\u00a0 I fibbed about Email being involved, BTW.<\/p>\n

Anyway the much more recent history centred around William Blathwayt and his rather wealthy wife-to-be, Mary Wynter, who owned the estate at the time.<\/p>\n

During marriage negotiations, William remarked on the “necessity of building a new house”. Dyrham today is very much his creation.<\/p>\n

The first works started in 1691 with the digging of a canal for the new elaborate gardens.\u00a0 Sadly, Mary died the same year and never saw the transformation of her ancestral estate.<\/p>\n

At least the sun has reappeared again!\u00a0 But the bad “deer news” is that the entire estate herd had had to be culled as a result of TB infection.\u00a0 Apparently there are just three roe deer enclosed in the park at present.\u00a0 They have “broken into” the park over recent years and are now being monitored for TB.\u00a0 A lot of work is going on to allow for the reintroduction of deer within the next few years.\u00a0 Some of the major work is trying to minimise close contact between the resident badgers and the soon-to-be-reintroduced deer.<\/p>\n

On the way back to the caravan we stopped to top up with diesel (to get us home) and to buy wine and chocolates (for Rod and Marion – and us!).\u00a0 While queuing to pay, the cashier asked the customer ahead of me for proof of age.\u00a0 She didn’t have any other than a photo of her 27 year old daughter!\u00a0 Embarrassment all round.\u00a0 Especially when the cashier declined to ask me for ID!<\/p>\n

The sun sets on our last day camping this trip…<\/p>\n

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Tomorrow we go to stay with Rod and Marion (friends from school days) for a couple of nights while Farmer Jonathan stores our little home-on-wheels in his barn next to their own caravan and campervan.\u00a0 Luckily, farmers can reverse anything anywhere!<\/p>\n

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At Hinton Parva (and my sat nav insists there are two places with this name – AND insisted on trying to take us to the wrong one), we re-discover accommodation with running water, showers and toilets connected to drainage.\u00a0 Although, in this case, the connection had only been re-made a few hours before we arrived.\u00a0 But that’s another long and expensive story!<\/p>\n

A walk in the long grass on the Ridgeway got our feet nicely soaked before Mike and Margaret (Rod’s friends from his RAF days on Cyprus) joined us for lunch and an afternoon of reminiscencing.<\/p>\n

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Ah yes, before I finish, the Americano.\u00a0 Allegedly, during WW2, American soldiers couldn’t cope with the strength of espresso coffee, so they added a lot of hot water.\u00a0 Accordingly, locals nicknamed their brew “Americano coffee”.\u00a0 Similarly, “French Fries” got named by American soldiers fighting in Europe, thinking they were in France, not realising they were actually in Belgium at the time.\u00a0 Either no maps or very bad ones!<\/p>\n

So there we have it!\u00a0 Our non-trip to Greece.\u00a0 That destination will have to wait for another day.<\/p>\n

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But at least the artwork “Lily pads”, bought in Northumberland and moved in and out of the car on a daily basis for the last five weeks, is now on the wall!<\/p>\n

Footnote: The trip brings the distance we have towed this caravan to an impressive total of 23,970 miles over the last 10 years. That’s equivalent to a complete circumnavigation of the globe!\u00a0 We have now lived aboard for 862 nights and we’ve enjoyed every day!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ingon Bank camp site is just a couple of miles north of Stratford on Avon.\u00a0 The ground here is excitingly moist – and, as the name suggests, a bit “un-level”. Although it doesn’t look like it in the photo, in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uk-tour-not-greece"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4556"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4629,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions\/4629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}