Pyrenees .... A Mixed Bag

 Up in Broto the warm and friendly La Cantinera provided a couple of local beers (Ambar) to wash down a tiny tapas style beef burger before I walked back over the new pedestrian steel bridge for a very quiet night.

The blanket silence was explained when I woke as 5'' of snow had fallen and without a breath of wind settled magnificently even on wires and fencing. The clear skies saw some good solar input as I walked up the valley to Torla where the view of the old village and church had not changed since my last visit 38 years previously. I had walked up with a young couple so joined them for coffee before returning to Broto for another beer. A thaw the following day enabled me to cycle up to the Ordessa Valley where being even higher and shaded from the sun the snow was even deeper.

Moving on to the lovely old village of Ainsa I parked in the aire and walked down to sort out my Digi Mobile SIM in a phone shop as the company had requested €20 euros or my number would be disconnected. The shop seemed to think I had been signed up for a contract but were otherwise unable to help so I topped up for another 100Gb for €10 and later rang Santander to see if they could sort something out.

The old village and castle are very beautiful and I got chatting to Matthew who is traveling with his lovely dog Lola and a keen cyclist. I was very impressed by how he had fitted his ebike inside the rear doors taking up very little space.

Two good rides the following day took me in to the local countryside although the heavy clay soils did rather gum up the wheels and drive train, later Matthew and I walked down for a beer : he had been out on an exciting looking ride out towards Bielsa that followed a water channel cut in to a sheer rock face.

Coincidentally we both turned up at Benasque so rode out together up the valley following for much of the ascent a rather snowy track that made for some amusing sliding and slithering before we crossed the river for a fast return on tarmac and another beer in town later. The proper aire required access via a website and code which wasn't working so we along with another couple of dozen vans just used the adjacent car park.

A superb back road through the mountains brought me to Rialp via Vielha where another aire sat on the edge of town. I had done a good shop in Vielha so enjoyed cooking a meal after a walk round and slept well on another cold night.

Quiet Arseguel was located high above the main valley which I had reached by climbing the Miravall pass that reached 6,600' and was the location for a popular ski resort. Under blue skies it was a stunning area and the van was pulling well up the long climbs.

The aire at Arseguel only had two places and is the parking for the traffic free and very picturesque village. The water was on but the power wasn't which wasn't an issue so I walked around the quiet streets before returning just as a ludicrous expedition truck attempted to squeeze in beside me. The poor turning circle and visibility led to him crashing in to the covered parking roof and as previously I came to the conclusion that driving one of these monsters must be a constant headache.

Another walk later took me down to the old laundry area where a series of stone troughs used a spring water supply to provide the necessary, there should have been a view of a range of mountains reaching 8,500' but the low cloud obscured the panorama and I returned to the warmth of the van. Now that the split charger is working properly the leisure battery is doing a good job of powering up the Eber (which uses very little of either fuel or power once in action) but I would like one night on hook up just to get it fully charged. I've not had a connection over the last three weeks and there has been limited solar so perhaps I'll run the genny if I tuck away quietly one night. I've had another sort out of storage and created more space with better weight distribution by placing the lightweight printer on a rear wardrobe shelf and putting the cordless drill, batteries, charger and the fan heater under the single central seat along with most tools, spares and recovery equipment. This all came about as having split up my US dollars in to five packs I had forgotten where I'd stashed them. I have now found four of them.......

Leaving the truck to get down the tight curves of the mountain road I took another high road past another ski resort which was absolutely buzzing with long queues for the lifts, presumably there were good conditions as the snow was a couple of feet deep. 

Down at Planoles a new aire alongside the station was ideal other than that the hook up points were paid for by card and the reader declared that there was no internet connection so no juice was available. I looked at the possibility of catching a train down to Ripoll and settled on the 14.00 departure giving me time for lunch. None of the usual train apps even referred to the service let alone enabled me to buy a ticket and the unmanned station only had validation terminals so I decided to wait and see.

The line is mostly single track with trains crossing at various stations of which Planoles was one so first the northbound train arrived, followed shortly by my southbound one. Once we were underway I got my ticket from the conductor and was in Ripoll within half an hour where I walked through to visit the  stunning monastery with its ornately carved main entrance and quiet courtyard cloisters.

Back at Planoles heavy rain set in overnight and has largely accompanied me today as I passed through the Garotxa Volcanic Park stopping for a look round ancient Santa Pau.

Thus late afternoon I arrived at tonight's stopover which is provided by a community of people who live in a spectacular setting. The ancient fortified tower and other buildings alongside a small church provide a home for around ten adults and half a dozen kids. They all try and live sustainably and run the commune in a very eco conscious way and welcome people to stay for a small contribution. Pascal proudly showed me round as there are facilities in the old tower, a campers kitchen in a two storey open fronted stone  building that has a relaxation area above, and various vegetable gardens that are carefully tended. It must be a superb place in the summer when meals are eaten communally but with the grey skies and persistent rain I was happy to retreat in to my cosy capsule and plan my route out to the coast to visit the very NE part of Spain that will be new to me with a couple of days in Barcelona next weekend before my sailing a week tomorrow.

Bonus Pics Here

Calm Crossings but a Wobbly Start

The line up for the Bilbao crossing indicated that this too would be a crowd free crossing, almost no freight and I guessed an occupancy level of about 20%. We were boarded two hours before the midnight departure giving me time to get to my cabin, shower at length and then step outside to watch as we eased away from the dockside. The Santona is another of Brittany Ferries LNG powered ships carrying some 800,000l kept at -162°C so was a virtually silent vessel that powered smoothly across a flat sea.

In the early hours we would have passed close to Land's End but I had slept well and woke to see the NW coast of France slip by centred around Brest. A full English breakfast in view of the calm conditions was justified and good value but should have been served warmer and I then enjoyed the full fat WiFi package that covered the entire crossing for £20. 

Bizarrely whilst walking the outer deck I spotted Paul from Porthmadog, a fellow MBA volunteer who was heading to Morocco for his first visit. He too was 'doglegging' via Ireland as the direct sailings were full. He'd bought some very expensive vehicle insurance but they'd not sent a Green Card so that was causing him some concern. I reassured him that he could get insurance on arrival at Tangier Med and that Green Cards are more or less a thing of the past and certainly no longer green. Like me he had obtained an IDP but he wouldn't need it and I gave him the blog details plus my contact details should he need further advice.

That evening I treated myself to the Azul restaurant's a la carte menu and enjoyed the shoulder of lamb, half a bottle of Bordeaux and a pavlova to finish.

A family with 3 unruly kids turned up and, to be honest if a little snooty, they really should have gone to the Taberna as the predictably indulgent parents asked if they could alter the menu choices so the kids could have pasta and tomato sauce or egg and chips. The kitchen duly obliged but it is a bugbear of mine that people are so picky....

Anyway after time on deck noticing the milder temperatures I retired for another night's kip only to be woken by various rumblings at 06.00. Not my meal but the ship pulling in at Bilbao two hours ahead of schedule, as it transpired for the purpose of refuelling as neither Rosslare (nor Portsmouth) have as yet put in the necessary infrastructure so the ships have to carry twice the amount needed. There is a similar nonsense on the West Coast of Scotland where again due to lack of infrastructure the LNG CalMac use for their new ferries is supplied by 40 tankers a week travelling up from Lincolnshire, and of course returning empty!

We disembarked at 08.00 and I ensured my passport was stamped (Irish passengers were of course exempt) and as expected on a quiet Sunday morning there was no diversion to complete the new EES biometric formalities that will lead to the ETIAS scheme later this year.

The quiet roads soon had me away from the city and within a couple of hours I was on a camper park up at Onati on the edge of the small town. It was cold again being inland and at altitude and I noticed the leisure battery wasn't charging so stuck the new panel out as clearly it had not been charging since leaving Brecon. I'd not noticed this as I'd been on hook up courtesy of Jan and the Pope but despite a prod of various wires under the bonnet I could not trace the issue, partly because it would require running the engine to the annoyance of my neighbours. I walked in to town where there is an old steam engine marking one end of the Via Verde cycle route and then headed back to the van to sort out things from the crossings.

On the Monday having filled up with water I stopped at the local agricultural co-op for Camping Gaz and propped up the tailgate whilst retrieving the three empty cylinders. Unfortunately whilst my back was turned the single pole I'd only used (STUPID) retracted in the warming sun and the heavy tailgate crashed back down : fortunately I had closed the gas cupboard door otherwise that would have been destroyed and there was no other damage, phew! 

Unfortunately they didn't have any full cylinders anyway but a CEPSA forecourt a few miles away did and at almost a third of the UK price at £21 each. 

I decided to stay at an aire en route to Pamplona as it had power available for 3 hours at a time but it turned out a jeton obtainable from local shops was needed and Spain being Spain it was siesta time. However further on the aire at Irutzun on the Plazaola Via Verde is usually in full sun so I parked up there and put the new 80w panel out. It was also quiet enough to have the engine running and I decided that with different voltages either side of the relay that it might be the culprit.

Down in the village I called at the cafe/bakery where Gary and I had caught up a couple of years ago and returned to the van and a slightly fuller battery. It was a bitterly cold night at first but snowfalls in the early hours raised the temperature to just below freezing but cancelled any thoughts of a bike ride or even a walk up to the old monastery.

I skidded down to the cafe again for a coffee but being Epiphany everywhere else was closed so I raided the deeper recesses of my store cupboard for the evening meal.

On departure the following morning the water outlets were frozen, as indeed was my water pump despite being inside so I headed away carefully down the icy hill and picked up the road east and past Pamplona. At sleepy Agoitz I finally managed to get some groceries before pulling in at the village aire whose water was turned off for the winter. I still had plenty of course but at this time of year it is important to fill up at every opportunity. Still my pump had thawed and again whilst the panel was in the sun I did some more testing of the split charge system.

Heading south next day I called at a couple of garages who didn't stock relays but one directed me to a ferreteria in nearby Sanguesa who produced the required 12v/70 Amp 4 pin relay. I popped this in at the car park but with no success so somewhat flummoxed headed on to Jaca for the night.

The aire in town was quite busy but again the water was off but an alternative out on a developing industrial estate had a working tap : if you provided a handy set of pliers to do the necessary. Back in town with good sun for the panel I began further investigations and by checking continuity and voltages decided the 70amp fuse which looked intact might be at fault. I removed one spade connector but the other was seized and took some freeing off and lo and behold was the source of the problem. A heavily oxidised terminal was soon shining again after the application of some wet and dry and the 25 year old system was restored to working order, much to my relief... it was a good learning curve and I now have the old relay as a spare and have a 70 amp fuse and holder put away with it. After tidying up my tools I wandered in to Jaca and bought a Digi mobile PAYG SIM to put in a spare phone to act as a hotspot, an arrangement which worked well across the Caucasus last year and will be the plan for this trip. €10 for 100Gb seemed a bargain but interestingly the new SIM was logged against my passport for counter terrorism purposes.

Back at the aire it had filled up but was a quiet place to spend the night and I moved on today with the split charge finally doing its job. I filled up with fuel having now only covered 250 miles to get to northern Spain from Brecon, fuel being about 20% cheaper over here and also returned to fill up with water before heading east and then north to the Ordesa National Park up in the snowy Pyrenees - Lourdes is some 30 miles due north across the mountain border.

A paid aire at Oto was my destination and I arrived after a long climb through heavy snowfall that brought me to one of Spain's many spectacular road tunnels. Emerging from this in to bright sunshine was surreal and I pulled up on a level field on the edge of tiny Oto with a sign asking you to pay via the TripStop app. €15 was asked for and would be OK if the water and loo/shower cabins were operational but as it's a National Park this is really the only sensible option. After lunch a friendly guy dropped by to say that the site was actually closed, despite the info on P4N and the app but he said I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted. When I said I'd settle up via the app he insisted there would be no charge and further insisted on refunding me in full - a really decent gesture.

Anyway the rain has eased off so I'm off out to look round Oto and then walk on to marginally larger Broto for a beer. 

I've found before that getting going takes some adjusting and requires some administrative tasks but now feel ready to tackle the challenges ahead with vigour and enthusiasm and for those reasons alone will seek out a beer tonight.

No further pics this time.....

To Russia With Love......

A P4N location at the Old Colliery Pub on the outskirts of Edinburgh proved the ideal place to spend two nights as it was next door to the P&R so I enjoyed a decent meal in there before a final check of my paperwork.

Tap and go made it easy to catch the bus in to the centre at Prince's Street from where I walked the mile or so out to the Russian Visa Application Centre. This turned out to be a nondescript and unsignposted office behind a block of flats whose steel roller shutter door was just lifting as I arrived at 10am. My appointment wasn't until 10.30 but the place was hardly humming and a polite lady asked me to sit down at a glass screen and then checked off my forms, took my passport and then fingerprints from both hands. A receipt was issued for the couple of hundred pounds in cash that covered the visa application fee and returned tracked postage and I was away in under 20 minutes.

Walking back I passed the old Holyrood Castle which is £25 to get in but only a pound if in receipt of benefits so I decided to give it a miss and visited the new seat of the Scottish Parliament alongside. The security guy was a friendly Moroccan and as the Parliament wasn't sitting it was possible to have a good look round the modern structure although quite where £400m went was hard to see.

Outside I decided to hop on the City Tour open topped bus for a good view of the major sights before I caught the bus back to the P&R and dined again in the pub.

After the rush hour had died down I set off south down the A1 in torrential rain, at one point narrowly missing a lorry prop shaft strewn across Lane 3 : the bemused driver was stranded on the hard shoulder a mile later.

I detoured in to Huddersfield to get a new two pin sensor that I hoped would sort out the coolant after run pump issue and was impressed by the stock held at the renowned Brickwerks.

Finally back in Sheffield I joined Mandy and friends for Carol's 80th birthday walk and called in to Curry's at Meadowhall where Emily and Joe had a decent enough refund waiting for me. The newsagent in Stannington issued a 1968 International Driving Permit for a princely fiver, Post Offices no longer provide this service.

The local Kwik Fit fitted 3 new Michelin CrossClimates and put my unused spare on as the fourth one but retained the best two 'old' tyres : one as a spare to go back in the cradle underneath and one to be taken and fitted to a second rim in due course. They had done 20,000 miles and all worn evenly and would be good for another 10k but I wanted good tyres from the get go and the spares had to be meaty enough to do the job if necessary. The second spare sits nicely on the bike rack and can contain the spare fuel can : as I am only taking one bike the weight is about the same. We also managed to change the sensor which seems to have resolved the issue at last which is good news.

So after a final day of packing everything for the next ten months I headed down to Brecon and stayed the night at Jan's prior to my dental appointment which fortunately revealed no concerns. I had left the bike and other clobber with Jan and headed over to Bristol for a night on Dale's drive as on Tuesday I had arranged for a new clutch to be fitted. It was a lovely evening catching up with him, his daughter and her boyfriend and I was away first thing to drop the van down at Gloucester Road Gearboxes who had done the previous clutch 8 years and 110,000 miles ago. I walked in to Bristol for a couple of hours and then met Dale at his works as he had taken time off which allowed us to walk his now fully recovered dog along the Avon at Saltford. A dairy farm that has diversified in to cheese making has a good cafe to stop at and it was even warm enough to sit outside before we returned to the car. My phone rang and it was the garage asking what they were doing to my van, so I confirmed it was a clutch replacement to which the guy said 'why?, there's nothing wrong with it..'. I explained my travel intentions and the reasoning behind my request which he completely understood, confirming that it is not possible to check how much a clutch has worn. He also stated that the gearbox was on its way out which had me somewhat alarmed unil he explained he meant it was coming out....

After another enjoyable evening at Dale's I waited until a call the following morning confirmed all was well and caught a bus down to the centre. At the garage the manager was fascinated by my plans and confirmed that the clutch was nearing the wear indictators so my decision was quite justified even though as the van sports a dual mass flywheel the bill was £1200!

Back at Lower Chapel I sorted out more tools and the 3 each of oil, fuel and air filters plus front and rear pads, 12l of oil, the spare alternator and two rear springs that I would be taking with me and on the Wednesday night joined good friends from the badminton club for the Christmas Meal. The Bull at Libanus yet again put on an excellent spread for us.

A couple of days spent in Brecon saw the EcoFlow power pack supplementing the leisure battery as the cold grey weather meant zero solar. The Rotary Club Brass Band entertained people in Bethel Square, I enjoyed a final crumpet in St Mary's Church before sadly the cafe closes and only just spotted a stealth van parked alongside one day. The Post Office produced the $5,000 in small denominations I had ordered as in Central Asia cash is king and ATMS few and far between, which was split up and hidden in ten different locations around the van. Then on the Monday I headed up to Sue Pope's campsite west of Llangurrig for the rest of Christmas week. I was the only occupant and with the weather turning cold was content to fill up with water, plug in to the power and prepare for the staff Christmas party the following day. This went well with everyone I invited turning up and the festivities going on for minutes.

A bright but breezy day saw me complete the circuit down to Rhayader and round the Elan Valley with a return via Cwmystwyth where the winds had increased and bowled me along to the start of the climbs back over to Sue's. I picked up a message from Crad to say that my passport had eventually been delivered a day late by Royal Mail and did indeed contain the much hoped for multiple entry transit visa for Russia valid for 6 months from mid April.........

Christmas day saw me ride out to Nant Syddion bothy where apart from a wind damaged loo shed and rusted out flue all was well. My return against an incredible head wind was arduous and slow going leaving me no time to call at Nant Rhys and indeed that evening the wind chill was significant until things eased around midnight.

I called at Crad and Dawn's to collect the passport and my last meds and was hugely privileged to join the whole family for a late breakfast, all 3 sons plus two wives and two grandchildren plus various dogs. It must be ten years or more since I saw everyone under the same roof so there was a lot to catch up on. Just after leaving them the van clicked over the 150,000 mile mark, 120,00 of those under my care. Not bad for a 25 year old vehicle......

Finally I returned to Lower Chapel where Pete joined us and on the Saturday five of us rode over to Erwood and back in good conditions : a tough ride for the traditionalists but at least the ebikers opened all the gates....

Sunday saw the three of us walking up to the old folly above Talybont returning via the Hop In in Brecon for cider and tapas before sorting out a semblance of caving gear for a quick trip planned for Monday.

As the clutch guys needed to inspect the job after 400 miles to validate the warranty I offered to drive as I needed to get some miles on and we pulled up at Penwyllt alongside the South Wales Caving Club hut to meet the others including two very excited 6 year old lads on their first ever trip. To keep to the party size limit we three pushed off on a separate trip once inside the system's Top Entrance and spent a happy couple of hours whilst Jan experimented with her new phone's camera. We all met up again in the Big Chamber Near The Entrance and dropped back to the hut to change and show the boys how huge the system is as there is a remarkable survey on the common room wall.

Pete left early morning and I was not far behind with my appointment at the garage taking under ten minutes before I headed back to Wales with time to call at Mike and Claire in Talybont who are just starting a whole house redecoration after having all their walls insulated internally prior to a heat pump going in.

That afternoon I repacked the van with all tools, service and rescue kit now in one place under the single seat and the following morning loaded the spare tyre and bike, attached the cover and headed down to Brecon to get my laundry done only to find the machine broken, ditto at Sennybridge where due to -5 degrees overnight their machine was frozen. They have also removed the jet wash but moving on towards Carmarthen I found one at Nantgarredig so gave the van its first clean since July thanks to the Yorkshire hose pipe ban. A launderette in St Clears was working so I arrived at Fishguard ferry port in plenty of time for the 01.30 sailing.

New Year's Eve fireworks entertained us at the magic hour and by 01.00 all 9 cars were loaded and we were underway. There was no problem finding a corner to sleep in on the almost deserted vessel and we disembarked without issue on time.

I headed out to the beach below Rosslare village and crashed out until late morning before clearing my head with a bracing walk along the sands. Culletons of Killrane allow overnighting in their car park and I enjoyed roast duck washed down with Guinness before a quiet night.

So today I have spent the time down at Carne Beach with another bracing walk before tucking away until check in opens at 20.00 for the 32 hour sailing to Bilbao that leaves at midnight. Direct sailings from Portsmouth were fully booked until mid February but this slight dogleg has cost the same despite the extra crossing as fares from Eire are cheaper. From Bilbao I will head slowly to Barcelona for a ferry to Rome by the end of the month where with luck Mandy will join me for the Vatican City, Southern Italy and then Greece.

My trip to Central Asia is ambitious for both me and the van and will no doubt be full of adventures and surprises. There has been a lot of planning and thinking on my part but behind the scenes the trip would not have happened without the kindness and support of many friends who are, to name but a few : Crad, Dawn, Jan, Ian, Dale Michelle and Megan, Greg, Pete, Mike and Claire and of course Mandy....

If it all goes belly up there is only one way to point the finger : right back at me !!

A few pics here

Visa vis a Curry....

An afternoon online in Newtown whilst the van heater was being serviced moved the Russian tourist visa application on a little with a request sent to the Passport Office for my historical passport details via a Subject Access Request which could take up to a month. The Eber bill was lower than expected which was good news and I called at my brother's in Bishop's Castle for a catch up and overnight stay.

En route to Derbyshire I called at the rather chaotic independent VW garage in the Hope Valley who had taken my old white van off me 8 years ago : apparently it is locally owned, still OTR but is doing far fewer miles with only my average annual mileage added on in all that time so currently showing 365,000 miles. I asked them for advice on the coolant after run pump which they suggest changing but I decided to replace the relay first and also the sensor as the pump runs fine, it just won't switch off unless I pull fuse 19.

In Derbyshire I caught up with Pete and Nina who were recently back from Germany and then headed to Sheffield via Meadowhall as I had decided to get a new PC running Windows 11 and Microsoft 365, all a far cry from my last purchase a decade or so ago.

A member of staff took me through the various options with performance, battery life and internal storage options a priority for me as I wish to create GoPro videos whilst offline, off-grid and far from The Cloud.

Thus an Acer Aspire 14" flip screen PC with a 1TB SSID was ordered with delivery arranged for the following day so I headed off to Mandy's to sort the van out. Whilst looking through the paperwork I noticed that the billing and delivery addresses had been transposed and with no option to call the store direct I headed back in pouring rain and rush hour traffic. To cut a very long story short which over 3 weeks has entailed over 60 emails, twenty phone calls and countless delivery and tracking messages I have now had a refund for the wrongly delivered PC. At one stage DPD were stating that the item was not available to collect in Wales, despite CCTV of the driver walking away with said package......

Anyway the store managers Emily and Joe worked very hard on my behalf and deserve many thanks and whilst all this was going on I got to grips with a second identical device and OS during our time in the Lake District where there was good WiFi at Langdale.

We had headed there via Saltaire where we enjoyed the galleries and displays in the original mill and then moved on to nearby Skipton which has a very sensible approach to overnighting vanners with a good deal on multiple day/night stays if you can work out the payment system but basically three days and nights for under £20. We caught the Settle/Carlisle train, always a favourite, up to Appleby for a look round before returning with a quick interruption at Ribblehead to admire the viaduct as a huge timber train crossed high above us. During a walk through Skipton Castle Woods we had a remarkable view of an otter hunting in the old moat before visiting the castle itself which was well worthwhile. The market was lively and vibrant on a cold day but fish and chips warmed us up and we kept the heater running overnight.

Passing through Settle we had a look round whilst I dealt with calls re the PC and then headed over to Millom on the South Lakes Peninsula near Barrow where the quirky Estuary View Escapes P4N spot provided a memorable night. Louise, the very friendly owner, explained the history of the large flat expanse of land that had once been a thriving dock and a ship dismantlers. We walked along the flats at low tide returning through Millom and passing the stylish headquarters of CGP a hugely successful publisher of educational revision guides set up by a frustrated former maths teacher.

Wet weather the following day put paid to plans to do a bike ride so we will have to come back one day and thus we arrived in a rather dismal Egremont and were hard pushed to find much of interest. Cockermouth however was much more lively and we enjoyed exploring the back streets, shops and brewery noting also a building slowly collapsing in to the river after damaging floods in recent years.

Our destination lay at Buttermere where we could park up at Gatesgarth Farm in their yard, although we didn't meet the owner but chatted to three lads heading up to the bothies high above Honister before squeezing in a walk round the lake before dusk.

After another cold night we woke to snow on the upper slopes and a clear blue sky so tackled the steep north ridge path up Fleetwith Pike to emerge with a magnificent vista of snow capped mountains away to the south. We stopped for lunch at Dub' s hut which since becoming an MBA maintained building is much improved by a wood burner since my first stay back in 2012 post MI.

We descended the icy path alongside a stream reaching the van by early afternoon and set off for Keswick via Honister Pass. Stupidly I should have realised why there were several cars parked at the foot as within a couple of hundred yards having crossed the bridge I lost all traction due to ice and the van came to a halt before starting to slide backwards. Fortunately the Cross Climates found some traction but I could only get back down the hill and across the bridge via the bends by using the handbrake only, thus preventing the front wheels from locking up which would mean losing all steering. There were a few tense moments and we were lucky not to end up damaging or stranding the van but eventually were able to turn round and warn others as we headed out. They in turn advised us that other routes were blocked and as Whinlatter would also be dodgy we returned to Cockermouth and took the main road round to Keswick Caravan and Camping Club site. Here we had booked in for two nights and managed to extend this to three due to weather related cancellations. We were soon parked up with EHU and took a walk in to town to check out the theatre for the following night.

Next day we met up with Mandy's family for a walk followed by an evening watching a performance of the Wizard of Oz which was excellent. On the Friday we went to see the Christmas lights being switched on and joined a large crowd who had turned out to see the event. 

Saturday saw us heading down to Ambleside after a big food shop and we arrived early at the timeshare but were able to offload the bikes and our belongings before it got dark.

Sunday saw me getting soaked as we walked via Little Langdale and Lingmoor to Dungeon Ghyll so I resolved to chase up a new waterproof. Tuesday was a good day for a bike ride so we rode down to Wray Castle, crossed Windermere on the ferry and returned via Bowness to Ambleside and then took the cycle paths around Rydal and Grasmere before the hard climb over to Elterwater on the back road.

In the evenings I was working on my application form for a Russian tourist visa for next April which has involved a lot of historical data gathering including education and work history, marital details, previous passports, countries visited over the last decade and even details about both my parents and their passing. An official Letter of Invitation was also needed which had to include the entry and exit dates as well as accommodation details for my brief visit, after a few errors a company in St. Petersburg eventually provided the necessary document by email. It was hard work but fascinating and I was grateful I keep a printer in the van and had managed get it talking wirelessly to the new PC, my phone and my tablet as all 3 devices were in use at various stages of the process. After some deft emailing, fee paying and additional form filling on my phone whilst out cycling yesterday I finally got the thumbs up from the Pre Check Service to make an appointment to attend the Consulate in Edinburgh in person for the biometric submission. This appointment is scheduled for Monday so I am currently tucked away  just off the A7 waiting to move on to the outskirts of Edinburgh tomorrow from where I will get a bus in to the centre.

However I have digressed from the narrative - back to the matter of a waterproof coat....

I decided to try a Paramo but on the walk back via Loughrigg it let water in so I called the shop to arrange a return. On top of the ongoing calls, texts and emails regarding the missing PC this rather overshadowed the first week but it was good to see Sandra and Marcus over the weekend and we all enjoyed the swimming and a meal in the on-site Stove restaurant after a walk over to the remarkable Cathedral Cave at Tilberthwaite.

They dropped us in Ambleside where I got a refund for the coat and bought a RAB GoreTex from Cotswold Outdoors as should it prove unsatisfactory there is a shop in Brecon.

Our second week revolved around more walking and swimming, a second session in the spa with it's superb outdoor pool experience and a good deli lunch and another good ride out to Hawkshead from where the visa application was finally submitted. We also headed down to Ulveston for the day which as well as being the birth place of Stan Laurel was a very pleasant place to explore and enjoyed a cuppa in the Beatrix Potter cafe whilst returning through Bowness.

So another hugely privileged fortnight in luxurious surroundings came to an end, the area has strong connections to my family and its history and I always reflect on how my parents enjoyed many happy years up here having been in almost from the start. We had enjoyed the talk given by Andy who has worked here for forty years and knows a great deal about the history of the site when it was a caravan park and previously a gun powder works. I hope to enjoy many more years there but am equally content to be back in the van on a wild and windy night. 

After a look round the Lakeland store in Windermere we went our separate ways with Mandy safely home on the train and my plans to tuck away at Bowness thwarted by large numbers visiting the Christmas fair. Thus I drove on to a quiet spot off the A7 in the Borders for a peaceful night.

After Monday's appointment I will return to Sheffield where Currys have some vouchers waiting by way of redress and I will start the packing up of the van as I need to be in Brecon a week tomorrow for a dental appointment. With luck the visa may be issued before Christmas leaving me free to get going, otherwise it is likely to be in the New Year. Should I fail to get it at all then I do have a Plan B but let's wait and see.

Looky looky.

A Bridge Just Right......

The van flew through its MOT as expected but there was no indication as to the source of the alarming if intermittent grinding and creaking noises so I took a mechanic out for a drive and barely managed to reproduce it. However they suggested changing both lower wishbone arms and hey presto silence was restored : £500 well spent. 

With the operating season drawing to a close we enjoyed the Peak Sightseer Open Top bus once more with a pleasant break in Bakewll. As usual the drivers added to the experience and this time a lively family group pitched in as well.

Whilst in Hathersage we had a look round the David Mellor Cutlery Factory and Shop where the excesses of our privileged society were clearly evident, outrageously priced items often bought by public bodies for state use such as silver toast racks at £1200 for use in Embassies around the world, many in countries where that exceeds the average annual income...

After resting up for a few more days in Sheffield I headed down to Priddy for the weekend before moving on to Cheddar where Julian, the owner of Petruth Paddocks Campsite, had very generously offered free camping to cycle path volunteers. Unfortunately at Priddy I woke to a flat engine battery caused by my coolant after run pump failing to switch off. Fortunately my Noco Boost worked as expected and I was soon off to Cheddar.

Pete was already set up so I headed round to the site on both banks of the Cheddar Yeo where the aim was to install a 20m bridge supported on three concrete pillars to complete a further section of the Somerset Circle we had worked on back at Shepton Mallet.

Mark, our main contractor was digging out the footings and before long we had the first shuttering in and a couple of tons of concrete were being carefully poured in by the remarkable steel wrist attached to his ' rubber duck' excavator, so named after its tyres, not the fact it likes water.

I called at Cheddar Tyres who were happy to sell me a Varta 105ah battery with a five year worldwide warranty and offered to drop it round to the site that evening. The Bosch had lasted 8 years which is good enough for me. 

The owner forgot to drop the battery round so appeared rather apologetically the following morning after a call and was kind enough to lift the new one in position as I had been careful not to use my right shoulder where possible and the bigger battery was quite a beast. Apart from momentarily losing the battery bolt, found by Pete's magical magnetic index finger, all was soon restored and as we were on EHU I left the new battery getting a top up charge.

Over the next few days we assembled further shuttering to enclose the rebar using plastic daisies to keep everything true and Mark and his team continued to move up the many tons of mix, all of which needed settling with the vibrating poker. The weather was mixed and made keeping the gazebo intact something of a challenge. Gallons of tea were made thanks to a nearby householder offering us access to his water tap and locals dropped by with cakes and expressions of appreciation and support. By midweek we had the two south bank supports completed and then began removing one set of shuttering to be moved to the north bank for reuse across the fortunately shallow Cheddar Yeo.

Whilst we were attacking the shuttering Mark was improving the track to facilitate access for the bridge sections due on the Monday. Two aspects of two of the pillars had to be detached carefully as all the volunteer names had been cleverly cast in reverse using plywood letters, a mammoth task undertaken at the Shepton Work Party with a fret saw. On releasing the plywood the names appeared as if by magic, oiling the plywood before pouring the concrete was essential to ensure their smooth release.

The project kindly offered four of us a meal out in Cheddar so we dined well and gratefully in the Bath Arms, Tim and Jane are a lovely couple who when not exploring Europe by bike or motorcycle volunteer for the YHA as locum wardens as well as the cycle path work.

With a weekend off to play with I headed down to see a friend at Crediton who was recovering from a broken arm incurred whilst taking his motorcycle for a service prior to a much anticipated trip to Patagonia. A deer wrote the bike off and John was lucky not to sustain a more serious injury but was of course disappointed to lose the trip. We had a good catch up over beer and pizzas in the excellent Three Little Pigs in Crediton and I left the following morning to enjoy the journey up the Exe Valley to Lynton where I stayed for what may be the last time at Greg and Alex's house in the Valley of Rocks. We enjoyed good steaks and a catch up in Lynton, they hope to move towards Somerset to be nearer family but the housing market is a bit sluggish at the moment so timings are a bit uncertain.

Back at Cheddar on the Monday I prepared a few tools and donned freshly laundered work clothes for the week ahead. A good number of volunteers had turned up so we allocated tasks around removing the remaining shuttering, fetching large plastic culvert pipes and so on.

The huge amount of steel and timber for the bridge had arrived several hundred yards down the track so Mark and his buddy carefully loaded a huge trailer and began to manoeuvre the forty foot steels on to site with inches to spare. Final checks on levels and length were made before Mark took his machine to the limits to lift the first section up above the pillars and then out over the river, mindful that the banks were not particularly substantial. To relief all round the first one was soon in and a good fit with the second following shortly afterwards, all this down to the extraordinary civil engineering skills and experience of John Grimshaw and Caroline Levett. After some careful adjustments the expansion pads could be fitted but then we realised the second pair were missing so a call to CTC, the manufacturer in Huddersfield saw them put with an overnight courier and we used timber off cuts in the interim.

The shorter (still 20') beams were bolted to the main ones with plates secured by Huck bolts which exert a substantial torque after which the remaining lattice work, cross pieces and other assorted sections of galvanized steels were installed before the hardwood uprights for the handrails were secured. The redundant shuttering was cut to size and used for duckboards to enable the handrail crew to work away from myself and Martin who were installing the 100 deck planks, each secured by 12 stainless steel screws and weighing upwards of 20 kilos. Unfortunately the absence of sharp bits, let alone long enough ones, slowed progress down as each plank had to be piloted, removed, fixing hole drilled, plank replaced and screws driven in.... This put a heavy drain on the various cordless drills and with most of us only having single pack chargers and only two outlets on the genny it occurred to me that a mains drill would have circumvented a number of issues. Eventually Mage's in Cheddar were able to provide bits and after a final push on the Friday all the planks were down, the handrails fitted and Mark was able to use a variety of machines to start finishing off the approach ramps, drainage and final touches. As at Shepton it was a fantastic team effort full of good will, varied skills, many laughs and understandably the odd frustration but we left in good spirits proud of yet another job well done.

Pete headed home to recover whilst I returned to Priddy where Bill turned up for our planned weekend cycling. On the Saturday we met Pete in Shepton, eventually, and took Bill along the new section of trail from Thrupe Lane in to Shepton and then out past a huge bonfire to see the bridge installed last year. After a thorough soaking we dived in to a caff before checking out the cemetery path and then heading separately back to Priddy. Bill and I took a number of green lanes, made treacherous by the downpours to reach Wells, I had been riding very cautiously as my shoulder was improving but I didn't want another tumble just yet.

Dale and Michelle joined us for an excellent night in the Hunters with Dale returning the following morning for a group ride. We rode across to Charterhouse and then along the ridge to Black Down with excellent views across to South Wales and then dropped to Rowberrow and eventually Sandford with me again taking great care and letting Dale and Pete take the lead with their ebikes. The cafe attached to the care home is a great concept and does lovely food fuelling us for the return to Cheddar where the bridge ramps were almost completed. Bill and I rode up Cheddar Gorge as the eboys tackled a steeper alternative with us all arriving back at Priddy by mid afternoon.

After saying our goodbyes we went our separate ways, in my case heading for Brecon as I had a flu jab due on the Monday morning. It was all quiet down at the Prom and the service at the clinic was as friendly and efficient as ever : my annual cholesterol bloods were also taken and I spent the afternoon pursuing my Russian Visa for next year's planned trip. This proved laborious and time consuming with the Consulate in Edinburgh giving out conflicting advice and an online form that failed to save on numerous occasions. Deep in the detail of said form I found that details of previous marriages and  divorces including names and dates were required as were details and dates of all countries visited over the last decade. Without old passports to refer to this required intensive scrutiny and cross referencing of the blog and my photos to provide the required information, not helped of course by the lack of 'cross border' stamps within Europe.

A final stumbling back was the need to provide full details of my three previous passports... I called HMPO and was told they have limited information which they could/would not release unless I submitted an SAR or Subject Access Request which gives them a month to reply to. Thus things are on hold but over 3 wet days in Brecon I achieved a lot and made use of the Ecoflow power pack to supplement the leisure battery as there was no solar at all.

I noticed that the new fish pass had after the first heavy rain already got blocked by timber debris and a lost kayak - the project had taken many months over the summer and looked inadequate from the start, it has so far proved impossible to find out what this ludicrous initiative has cost. I met Crad and Mike for a catch up over breakfast and joined the badminton session on Wednesday night but soon realised it was a bit ambitious to be playing again so met a few players in the rugby club later before a quiet night in the centre of town. 

Thursday was a chance to meet Tim and Jane from the cycle path project who were wardening the Brecon Hostel before I headed to the cosy Coliseum cinema to watch the Bruce Springsteen film. 

On Friday I moved up to Jan's for the weekend as she had a new greenhouse to erect so cast an eye over the lengthy manual and then ran through a parts check where all seemed well. I spent the rest of the afternoon giving the bike a good clean and sorting through my tool box as a useful set of ratchet ring spanners and a half inch drive socket set had been purchased at Aldi. Pete arrived later and first thing Saturday morning we began assembling the 7 main panels in the shed. These were then bolted together on the base and the roof bars attached to stabilise everything before the glazing began on Sunday. It was a well designed and sturdy piece of kit and the instructions were clear if occasionally complex but by the evening we had a completed greenhouse including  sliding doors that left us a couple of hours on Monday morning to fix everything down at 10 locations before I had to head off leaving Pete and Jan to install the wooden staging. It was an enjoyable experience, Jan had fed us well and Ian had kept us watered so I left for Newtown where the ever friendly and efficient Groom's Garage serviced the Eber for a very reasonable £200.

I caught up with my brother in Bishop's Castle before calling at the VW garage in Hope where Will and his mechanic remembered me from 8 years ago and said my old van was still OTR locally but had only put another 20k miles on in that time to add to the 220k I had done over 13 years giving a total of over 360,000 miles - this van is about to pass the 150k milestone..

Anyway I am about to meet friends in Dethick where I have spent the afternoon chasing up the passport people having found another email address to use. I find it very satisfying that I can be sat in a soggy field with access to information and the ability to print off forms and copy documents, all off grid, whilst being warm and cosy.

Tomorrow I head to Sheffield from where Mandy and I will head to the west side of Cumbria before we start our annual treat of a fortnight in Langdale.

Beyond that my plans depends on whether or not the visa can be secured so watch this space and CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICS

 

King Alfred's Way To Go.......

 With the van safely parked up in Frome Pete joined us on the first leg of our six day ride by showing us a largely traffic free route through to Westbury for a coffee stop and then the short sharp climb on to the chalk escarpment that becomes the White Horse Way and Imber Range Perimeter Path. Stunning views under a cloudless sky with light bikes and packs saw us make good progress to high above Erlestoke where Pete turned back and we dropped rapidly down to a point south of West Lavington where we could pick up the KAW proper. It is a www.cyclinguk.org compiled route available as a GPX download from their website so is not signed as such. It links sections of other well established routes covering around 220 miles, mostly off road and encircling the old county of Wessex.

Thus the rest of the day was spent following sections of the White Horse Trail/Wessex Ridgeway before turning north SE of Devizes to cross the Kennet and Avon Canal at All Cannings. We grabbed delicious pears from a box at a house gate and then passed over the canal to stop at an impressive long barrow. To our surprise it is only just over a decade old and was built in the traditional manner by the local land owner. The £340,000 construction and ongoing maintenance costs are covered by the letting of 340 niches deep within the structure where cremated remains can be left. It was hugely impressive and well worth a visit, there are open days at the various solstices and equinoxes.

Climbing Tan Hill, one of the highest points in Wiltshire at just under a thousand feet gave us a good spin down to Beckhampton and a quiet entry in to Avebury. As luck our hosts at the charming Avebury Lodge were just back so we soon had the bikes tucked away and were shown our room. As antique collectors and sellers the house and room were full of an eclectic mix of paintings, sculptures and furnishings with our window looking directly out over some of the stones and towards one of Avebury's two great avenues.

After freshening up we nipped in to the pub next door to reserve a table and then spent the remaining daylight hours walking the stones and following the Avenue. With few visitors around we could really appreciate the history and sentiment attached to this unique place before a well earned and excellent meal.

A substantial vegetarian breakfast after a good night's sleep set us up for the steady climb north to pick up the ancient Ridgeway passing right through Barbury Castle Hill fort, looping around Ogbourne St George and then turning north with Swindon in the distance. The rest of the day was spent following the Ridgeway on superb tracks, making good progress in the dry conditions and, in my case, remembering walking it one cold February in the early 80's. A sign to the Rose and Crown at Ashbury tempted us to drop off the route for welcome refreshments before we picked up the trail and stopped to inspect Wayland Smithy's original and ancient long barrow. Uffington Castle above the White Horse of Whitehorse Hill provided yet more interest and passing above Wantage we spotted a live-in lorry whose chilled occupant was relaxing under the sun on a roof top settee.

Soon after passing under the busy A34 we were dropping off in to Goring where the Thames is crossed and the eponymous Path heads south to Pangbourne for our second night. An excellent room in the Elephant Hotel gave us a chance for hot baths after 50 odd miles after which we walked in to the centre for a curry before sleeping well.

After a full English breakfast we retrieved the bikes and began a day of careful route finding using the OS App and my Satmap to follow the Thames in to Reading. The Kennet and Avon Canal then led us out of town with a number of dilapidated live in boats contrasting strongly with the cruisers back at Goring. Allowing boats and their surroundings to become so rundown and such an eyesore will do nothing to help those of us who choose alternative lifestyles gain acceptance from the mainstream, certainly an issue for van life.

We met two brothers, carpenters from Barnstaple who have worked on the Lynton funicular who were hoping to do the route in 3 or 4 days but the frequent stops for route finding were already slowing our average speed but also giving us time to enjoy the scenery.

A mix of lanes, tracks and bridleways threaded us through the rural parts of Berkshire and on in to leafy Surrey before crossing the M3 and eventually reaching Farnham where the Bush Hotel provided another welcome hot bath, secure bike storage and easy access to a friendly Italian restaurant. Breakfast surrounded by businessmen and pilots from Heathrow resting up provided interesting snippets of conversation before with continuing good weather we rode through Tilford and round the Frensham Ponds. We passed a film location on the army training reserve at Hankley Common and some heavily laden soldiers whilst thoroughly enjoying the autumnal colours and smooth flowing tracks.

Then with no warning and for no apparent reason my front wheel went away from me and I fell heavily at speed landing on my right shoulder. It was a hard fall and winded me completely but after some bellowing I was able to stand, retrieved my glasses and Satmap and found the tools to realign both handlebars and saddle. Otherwise the bike seemed OK and whilst my shoulder and chest hurt like hell strapping on the rucksack and carrying on seemed to ease things. Mandy was shaken up but I reassured her we could continue although she needed to open any gates and we took things steadily through the Queen Elizabeth Country Park and after crossing the A3 decided to walk the steep Buster Hill. 

Now largely following the signed South Downs Way route finding was easier and we passed Winchester Old Hill to enter the Meon Valley eventually reaching the Bucks Head at Exton which was lively and welcoming. The local vineyard had finished harvesting that day and the workers were celebrating with wines and the pizzas from an impressive wood fired oven but we had arrived at dusk and were tired so after a long hot bath to try and ease my shoulder and ribs we headed to bed. Unfortunately what was clearly a broken scapula made sleeping almost impossible and moving doubly so with breathing also impaired I was not particularly well prepared for our final full day. A good breakfast helped but light drizzle and a strengthening wind also spurred us on to deal with the task ahead. Crossing the M3 and passing beneath St Catherine's Hill put us in Winchester and King Alfred's statue near the cathedral that marks the recommended starting and finishing points and as we were quite wet coffee and cakes in a warm cafe were very welcome. A few painful hours against an increasing headwind, although we had lost the rain, made for a challenging day and the exposed sections of the Monarchs Way towards Salisbury were slow going.

However we then turned north so the winds eased to crosswinds as we followed the Avon Valley up to Amesbury. A pub lunch followed by coffee late afternoon in a small cafe right on the route, a surprising rarity as much of the Way is far from settlements, saw us arriving at The Antrobus Hotel in the centre of Amesbury. As the cheapest of our five nights we weren't expecting much and thus weren't disappointed. The faded glory of the impressive building combined with a spectacularly chaotic storage area for the bikes contrasted sharply with the luxury of previous nights. However the shower was hot and it was only a short walk along to a decent curry house where we spotted the hotel owners dining...

After a lighter than usual breakfast we headed north passing Stonehenge in the distance on a dry but very windy day. A couple of hours later we had completed KAW but decided to return to Frome via Westbury along the road that runs along the base of the escarpment as this provided some shelter from the 45/50 mph headwinds of the approaching Storm Amy. An excellent farm shop at the Three Daggers Brewery provided a final boost and we arrived in Frome mid afternoon after a thoroughly enjoyable week. The varied scenery, superb views, largely excellent accommodation and determined, tough company made for a memorable ride. We had thought five days would allow time for looking around but in reality we had to push on so few photos were taken and there are no extras with this post.

After a good Italian in Frome we headed to Priddy for a couple of days resting and to clean the bikes before moving on to Brecon via the excellent St Fagans Museum of Welsh Rural History. Our visit coincided with a large conference hosting around a thousand delegates but we still enjoyed the mix of buildings so carefully relocated to the large site.

After a couple of nights in Brecon we called at Lower Chapel to collect post and a few stored items and squeezed in a gentle run along the canal and back via the Venison Farm Shop and Cafe at Bwlch before joining friends for a long overdue reunion at the Shoemakers. We returned to Sheffield where the van passed its MOT and the alarming screeching and squeaking seems to have been resolved by replacing both lower wishbones so after a good clean and sort out I am ready to head off again.

We had taken one of the last runs of the season on the open top Peak District Sightseer bus which was as excellent as ever : local scenery and top deck views combined to give a memorable day out.

I will be returning to Cheddar for more cycle path volunteering with a visit to the Map Shop at Upton on Severn en route in the hope of obtaining maps for my trip to Central Asia next year. A trip down to Crediton will allow me to catch up with John whose planned 3 months in South America has been cancelled after a deer hit his motorbike at speed, writing it off and leaving him with a broken arm and much bruising. 

Then in Brecon once more I have a couple of GP appointments, a greenhouse to erect and I also hope to squeeze in another glider flight and test a new ex army Gore-Tex bivvy bag during a short ride in mid Wales.

Plenty going on as ever......