Lots more firsts came in October. We knew that by driving a large motorhome it would take us a while to get to the Lake District. In our old life we would drive in a day in the BMW X5 stopping once along the way to get some refreshments and let Merlin stretch her legs and do what she needed to do. 

In Beatrix we decided to split the journey into 3 days worth of driving. It was a sensible plan. The first day we drove from Mill End to a Brit stop. 

Two small asides here:

Aside 1) Motorhome language 1) Here let me pause to explain for those who don’t do motorhoming or van lifing what a Britstop is. This is a great concept which you pay to be a member of and you get information on pubs and eateries where you can stay in a motorhome for an evening without charges, the places openly request you buy a drink or a meal from them. In France this concept is captured by the French Passions – which allow you to stay on local vineyards or farms and buy their produce – more on this in 2022!

Aside 2) Checklists – The trip to the Lake District started in the petrol crisis of the UK in September 2021. As we left Mill End we knew we needed to get some diesel to be able to get to the Lakes and were going to have to plan where we thought would have fuel. It would be pretty embarrassing running out of diesel in a 8.8m motorhome afterall. Shortly after leaving Mill End we realised the bed above the driving seat was not correctly stowed it – read the bed actually fell down on top of us whilst we were driving. We had to stop pretty damn quick to sort it out. We managed to stop at a petrol station that had diesel so whilst sorting the bed storage above the driving area we filled up with diesel. This check of making sure the bed above the driver is secure has now been added to our leaving checklist. We will share with you our leaving check list for those who are interested in another post. 

We stayed in our first Britstop just off the M6 called the Wheatsheaf Pub and it was a little nerve wracking. We had only stayed in Beatrix in campsites that had barriers and kept you very protected. This was new territory, as effectively we were staying in a pub car park. It is different. You are aware of the sounds that are around.  All that being said we had a wonderful Sunday lunch and it gave Toby some down time from driving. It was a great little stop over and had it not been for Covid I think the pub would have been a bit busier. It did exactly what it needed to.

From here we drove to a Certified Location (CL) site.

Aside 3) Motorhome language 2) There are two main camping and caravanning clubs in the UK they are the Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC) and the Caravan and Motorhome Club (CAMC this used to be the Caravan Club). They each have main club sites which have all the things you need showers, toilets, running water, laundry facilities chemical toilet disposal etc. They are usually big and well staffed and there is a cost associated with that so they are more expensive. Each of these clubs then associates with smaller campsite to offer discounts to their members. They call them either affiliated and certified locations (CL). Each of these has a slightly different meaning and if you want more let me know in the comments and I can give more details in another blog. For now I just wanted you to know what a CL site is as we stayed in one of these on our way up to Coniston. 

The route to the CL site, called Old Barn Farm, was relatively easy. The roads were busy as they always are in the UK however wide enough for Beatrix. When we got to the site itself however the entrance was a little daunting and we were unsure if we would fit, even though we had called to explain our size. The entrance to the site had two stone walls and we were unsure. Whenever this happens I have to get out of Beatrix and check the things Toby can’t see – which is a fair amount when manoeuvring an 8.8×2.35×3.5m motorhome. I ungainly got out of Beatrix – as you can’t use the steps when her engine is running and helped navigate the entrance, although it was tight we would did in fact fit. 

There were 5 pitches at the CL site and one was already taken by a caravan. We thought we would be best placed in the pitch at the end of the site as we are quite big and would be out of the way. The pitches were sloping somewhat and we tried to reverse onto the pitch. Beatrix’s wheels spun a little on the grass and we could not make it onto that pitch. It is not great when a 6.5tonne vehicle with a semi automatic gearbox wheels begin to spin as it can do some serious damage to the vehicle. We stopped trying to get into that space and Toby reversed reasonably easily into the one next door. We just hoped it would not be too busy and that we would not get in peoples way. Luckily for us, the caravan and us were the only people staying at the site that night. We got ourselves sorted and then went for a walk into the nearest village to give ours and Merlin’s legs a stretch. We got up the next morning knowing we only had about 14 miles to do, however it would be on very narrow Lake District roads. 

Thanks for reading

Sally, Toby and Merlin