I have chosen a steam train image for this post as we seem to have been watching and riding on them a lot over the last few months and it therefore seemed appropriate somehow. Having spent time with the Flying Scotsman locomotive in May and then visiting the National Railway Museum at York in June, we found out that our friend Mike is visiting the UK from Switzerland and he fancied a steam train ride from Loughborough in August. So that’s why you’re getting a steam train photo 🙂
Now I have mentioned most of the above in last months post so this month I thought I would look back a little on what changes we have made to our campervan since we set off and why. Firstly let me say that the solar panel is excellent and super efficient and does an amazing job of keeping both the leisure batteries and starter battery fully charged.
Now some of you may remember talking to us about why we didn’t install campsite EHU mains when we built the van. The main reason was that we could save some campsite fees by not paying for electrical hook-up as I had installed a suitable 240v inverter to power all our mains devices. Well it turns out that many campsites have decided to install EHU on every pitch so they can charge more money per pitch whether you use it or not.
The obvious response to me therefore was to install an EHU socket in the van and use as much electricity during our stay as possible. A more logical and acceptable approach from site owners might have been to charge per kWh which would encourage a degree of fair usage, and indeed some sites actually do this. However as greed is generally the order of the day with campsites we will continue to avail ourselves of their services to the best of our ability.
Next, water. We installed a fully functional sink in the van before we set off and over the course of three or four months we rarely used it. In fact it was so redundant that we decided that the worktop space it occupied would be better suited to a kitchen prep area or laptop workspace so out came the sink, taps, water bottles and associated wiring. Subsequently we now have a much bigger worktop and the bottle storage is used for storing heaters, cooking items, EHU cables and assorted items.
Moving forward… our original plan was to spend January 2023 in the Canary Islands but that was put on hold because we still had Treacle with us. We miss Tay & Treacle so much on a daily basis but we have to continue our travels and that is why we have now booked the month of January 2024 on a couple of the Canary Islands – it’s likely going to be a touch warmer there than in the UK. The USA road trip may also be back on the table for later in 2024. Stay tuned.
It’s been another very enjoyable month travelling Babes with a few more catch ups, some wonderful dog sits, very generous kind hosts and beautiful places visited.
The changes we’ve made to the campervan have really helped with the storage and surface space. Fitting the EHU has been very useful, we did a great job on that, we work ever so well as a team and it goes without saying that of course the solar panel is excellent because – you did your research 😜
Now the weather has changed somewhat I’m very much looking forward to our month in the Canaries but that’s a little way off yet and we’ve got loads more adventures coming up before then. 😊
Back to the Canaries will be great, I don’t think I’ll be back there until April though as that’s when my preferred hotel reopens.
Be sure to make the most of the next 2 days, this appears to be our summer!
Yep really looking forward to the Canaries, can you believe it will be over 17 years ago that I last went abroad!
You enjoy the last few days of summer too 😄
Keep enjoying what your doing and continue to have fun 😊
Cheers Carole, we will do our best 🙂
Hi Guys So good to hear things are going well.
Good idea to go to the Caneries in the winter months.
Enjoy all you plan to do.
Looking forward to seeing you in December.
Lots of love and hugs Auntie Ruth and uncle John x x x
Thanks very much Auntie Ruth and Uncle John, we’re really looking forward to seeing you in December too 🙂
Lots of love and hugs xxxx
Hi there Annette and Stephen – great to hear your latest update, sounds like full on for you at the moment. Really sorry Gerard and I didn’t get over to Lins and failed miserably to contact you electronically but with various summer activities and the grandchildren off school the summer, so far, has been fairly hectic.
Hopefully we will be more successful in September. I believe Paco is missing you two, you clearly did a great job.
Have fun and we’ll catch up soon.
Lots of love
June and Gerard x
Hi June and Gerard
Glad you enjoyed the update and don’t worry about not getting over to Lin’s last month, we knew you had a busy week, hopefully in September after the school holidays we can have a catch up.
Paco is a sweetie and no trouble at all, we’re looking forward to seeing him again in September and of course Lin as well 😉
Take care and enjoy the rest of the holidays.
Lots of love
Annette and Stephen xx
Hi Stephen and Nettie, Great to hear all your adventures
Sounds good what you have done to your van
Looking forward to seeing you later in the year. Love to you both
Aunty Annie and Uncle Micky 😘🤗❤️🤗😘
Hi Aunty Annie and Uncle Micky
Glad you enjoyed the update.
The changes made to the campervan have definitely been worth it as we are currently on a campsite using the electric with the laptop on the worktop where the sink would have been 🙂
We’re looking forward to seeing you in December too.
Lots of love and hugs
Nettie and Stephen xx
Keep posts coming. If that isn’t living the dream I don’t get it. Have fun
Hi Andy, sorry we missed you on our last visit, maybe next time we’re in the area.