"Just". Makes it sound like it's just around the corner. In fact the distance from Plymouth to home is further than the distance we've just done across Spain. On top of that we can expect some poorer weather - according to the forecast delivered by a passing Messenger of Doom at our last stopover - and we still have to get The Wobble sorted out.
We drove the coast road from St Jean de Luz and very pleasant it was too. Clearly a popular holiday spot, there was lots going on and everywhere seemed pretty busy. We searched for a nice spot to have lunch and settled, initially, on a grassy bank adjacent to a beach. The area was packed with families with kids, all making quite a row, but the decision to move on was made as we prepared to leave Elly and walk down to the beach. The disco started up....a bloke with a loud hailer plugged into an amp the size of a wardrobe began his warm-up, Butlins-style, and nearly knocked us over with the blast. We got back in and drove a few hundred yards further along the road to a lay-by where the noise was a little more bearable, it being only traffic. Of course, as we drove away having eaten we passed an ideal quiet spot just down the road....c'est la vie.
We'd intended to stop at a post office and send the tea to Marc but we were across the border and into Spain without noticing it. (I packaged it up and was then going to send it from home, but the cost is twice what the contents are worth, so we'll find another way. Sorry, Marc).The border is the river, I guess, but there's nothing to show it other than signposts to "Francia" suddenly appearing. With nothing else to do or places to go we decided to head for the ferry terminal, even though we'd be about 6 hours early.
We were surprised, then, to find quite a large number of cars were already there. We joined the queue and set up camp, just like in Plymouth 3 weeks ago, and cooked an early supper.
Sue has perfected the use of a thing called a "Wonder Cooker" which looks just like a saucepan lid with a few holes in it. This little bit of kitchen magic lets you make toast in a frying pan and chips without oil. We used it now to make pizza - on a camping gaz stove. How's that for a trick? The other folk in the line gave us some odd looks, but that was probably more to do with the washing hanging out than anything else. Or the smell of our supper as they ate their sandwiches from the cafeteria.😋
The ferry crossing was very pleasant. Flat calm and sunny, in fact. This is the 5th time we've done it and have been blessed with these conditions every time. That's probably the Kiss of Death now; all future crossings will be rain-lashed and stormy. Should've kept quiet. As usual, too, the SS Pont Aven was comfortable and certainly better than flogging the same distance up to the Channel ports on the Autoroutes. Something seems to have happened to the Internet-at-Sea facility though...a bit like the "free wi-fi" on camp sites. Only available if there's an "R" in the month and you know which tree to climb to snare the signal. Since it's "free" though, it makes it impossible to moan about it....
We waited a long time to board but as a result were once again at the front of the queue to disembark, so were at the Landrover dealer in Plymouth in time for them to have a quick look at the problem we believed we had with the steering. Mike had e-mailed them with part numbers etc but none of this was necessary. They tightened up the nuts that we were frightened of shearing off, test drove her and pronounced Elly "fixed". Needless to say we were grateful that the problem was relatively minor and we could get on our way immediately, rather than spending the night in Plymouth. The service manager made no charge for the work, either! Unfortunately though, we hadn't gone more than a couple of miles before The Wobble was back, and as bad as before. Do we turn around and go back, or carry on? We chose the latter but stopped for the night at a very pleasant campsite just outside Buckfastleigh....
This wasn't the easiest place to find as the proprietor - Andrew - doesn't advertise. We spent an amusing 20 minutes negotiating the back streets and by-ways of the village, using OSM mapping to find the site. This took us, in true Satnav style, down some very narrow lanes and streets which nearly cost Andrew some business - Mike nearly gave up and went somewhere that was easier to find. The Navigator did a fine job, though, and the effort was worthwhile. A lovely site; quiet and with a beautiful view. We heard the bells of Buckfast Abbey...and we watched the swallows doing their low-level formation passes over the field, catching moths 3 inches above the ground.
The 660 miles from Plymouth to our back door were driven at an average of 45mph. Any faster than that and The Wobble would start and stuff like steering wheels, bottles and tooth fillings would begin to rattle. The outside of the front NS tyre looked more worn than the inside and different to the OS tyre, so we suspected that the wheel alignment might have been affected by our off-road activities. We decided to press on rather than trying to find someone to check it, and made another stop near Carlisle for the night. We chose the site because it was on the OSM map and close to the motorway. So we shouldn't have been amazed at the exhorbitant cost for a night's "parking". We didn't want 'lecky, though. "Electricity is free" said The Manager. Most, nay ALL sites charge extra for this, apart from this one. This Free facility meant we got no discount for not wanting it and not using it. Clever or cynical? Reminded me of the "free showers" in the Atlantic campsite in Morocco. They didn't work, but because we hadn't been charged for them my complaint fell on deaf ears....despite the fact that it was the only reason we were in the bloody place to start with! If it weren't for the (inoperative) showers we'd have been down on the beach. For free.
Having done another security check of the steering everything still seemed solid and OK to carry on home. We were both very tired and tetchy by now and decided not to put the roof tent up as we hadn't yet tested the on-board sleeping arrangements. This means rearranging the back end to provide a "double bed" or more accurately a large single. At this stage it was clear that one of the air mattresses had developed a leak so wasn't going to be too comfortable, but as there's only room for 1 and a 1/2 of them anyway, this wasn't a big deal. With the curtains closed and the blackouts on the side windows we were cosy and not particularly cramped, and the insulation stopped any condensation even though it was damp and chilly outside. We had to unplug the fridge to prevent it bothering us and blowing hot air in Mike's face all night but apart from that the setting-up was easier than we thought. For a "single" it would be a much better overnight arrangement than lugging a 65kg roof tent around and lot less obvious, too.
We also set up the awning with its side curtain for the first time and this gave us somewhere sheltered to eat. The dark colour meant they got very warm in the setting sun and this would be a problem in hot weather. On this occasion, though, they acted like large radiators - very comfortable on what became a dank evening. We'd hung the awning at what might be called an "upside down" setting which makes using the zip on the roof tent cover much easier. The 15cms or so of reduced height does make setting the side curtains more difficult and they didn't want to hang straight. Maybe we'll experiment more with this since, on level ground, the front of the truck is going to be about 10cms higher anyway on the levellers, which will also affect the heights of the "front" and "rear" awning curtains. We also might think about some kind of skirt to seal off the wheel arches and the gap under the chassis. If we do this we'd have quite a comfortable sleeping area that wouldn't be as quick to set up as the roof tent but quite a lot more convenient in some ways.
We finally arrived home almost exactly 48 hours after leaving the ferry. We, like many people I guess, don't think that the drive home is worth reporting. However, we live in a beautiful part of the country - somewhere that many make a holiday destination in itself - so we decided to take the scenic route through the Highlands instead of our more usual A-Roads. The extra speed the A-roads allow wasn't going to be an advantage to us anyway, given The Wobble, so this was a good opportunity to make a Grand Finale.
The mountains between Perth and the Moray coast aren't in the same league as the Pyrenees in terms of height but just as scenic, so we stopped more often than we'd normally do to take photos:
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| A Well-Kept Secret....a lovely road and no German motorbikes or Dutch motorhomes. |
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| Just one more mountain to climb. The Lecht ski area is just over it. |
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| Us alongside Ben Rinnes. He wasn't in. I dunno what the mountain is called.... |
The next day Mike got busy with the hose and washed about a ton of Spain out of the wheel arches and chassis rails. While doing this he found the real cause of The Wobble - the NS front wheel had lost its balance weights. Checking the others they were all in place but on the inside of the wheel and hard to see. Looking carefully around the rim it didn't look as if any weights had ever been there but this can't be true or we'd have had the problem much earlier. Anyway - lesson learned - change the wheel next time and that might sort it. We'd turned it through 90 degrees to see if things changed and thought that if it was a balance problem doing that might make a difference. Obviously not. Anyway, a visit to one of our local tyre fitters has solved the problem - the guy who was doing the balance made the comment "Ye must've had a serious wobble fra' this'n". Not wrong, mate. He added what seemed to be about a pound of lead to the wheel....at no charge. I'd mention his name but Head Office might give him a hard time if I did.
So, that's it for this year as far as long trips are concerned. Time now to think about what worked, what didn't, what we took and didn't use and better ways to do things.
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