Ode to Beamish

August was *supposed* to be a quiet month.

But life is what happens when you've made other plans.

Up popped a job in Durham.

I had only been to Durham for one night as a guest of the lovely people at Elddis Caravans, and thanks to their traditional North Eastern hospitality, I don't remember too much about it. But I DO remember making a mental note that this was a lovely city and I wanted to come back and 'do it' properly.

And it was the Airstream Summer Euro-meet on the way.

So what was not to like?

First port of call was Old Hartley Caravan Club Site at Whitley Bay, where I enjoyed a stunning view from the window of the Airstream:






An enjoyable morning was spent cycling into Whitley Bay, having breakfast at Costa, then doing some snaps of the lighthouse on the way back:






Next port of call was The Grange Caravan Club Site just off the A1 near Durham:










My friend Steve was over from Seattle, so it was nice to have company for a couple of days. The summer was also spent making accessory videos for Milenco, and for the 'action' shots of the towing mirrors it was also rather useful to have a cameraman while I did the driving!







Being in Durham, it would have been rude not to see a caravan from nearby Elddis of Consett, so they brought along one of their brand spanking new 2011 Avantes. The nice thing about taking so long to blog about it is that the review has now been published so I can mention it.

Like many UK manufacturers, Elddis has really raised the bar when it comes to the interior design... very 'Boutique Hotel' methinks!




As part of a touring feature, I toddled off to Beamish Museum. Which, I must add, has a really good PR department staffed by real, warm, friendly, efficient human beings and not vacuous PR corporates. Maybe because it's not in London?

Best make it clear right now that I am not a museum person. Not in the slightest. But I DO have a weak spot for living museums, and museums of modern history. Something that I can relate to, even if it is to understand how my Nan used to live.

Beamish didn't meet my expectations. It surpassed them in every way. I was first in and last out. I had the most FANTASTIC day. Brilliant, simply brilliant. It really made for the high point of my whole trip. So much to do, so much to see, and everything is brought to life with real characters doing real things... Hopefully the pictures will give some idea as to what this place is like:
















The whole day was rounded off by a brass band playing in the bandstand on the village green. How absolutely blooming perfect is that?






There was a lot of work to catch up on after that, so after a few days shut away in the Airstream I took myself off to Newcastle. I love that city:





To refresh the grey matter and for a bit of stimulation I went to the Baltic Mill Gallery that you can see in the picture behind the Gateshead Millenium Bridge.

I'm no artist I admit, or maybe I caught it on a bad day, but I wasn't overly moved by any of the exhibits with the honourable exception of a faithfully recreated spider's web. And the cake in the cafe wasn't great! But hey, the whole Newcastle/Gateshead quayside is a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon.

Cambridge - a total surprise

Late July/early August saw me heading to Ashridge Farm Caravan Club Site in Baldock, which is kind of on the A1 between Stevenage and Peterborough.




It's a wonderfully quiet and relaxing site, almost like being in someone's back garden. Plenty of good walks too, although my favourite aspect was being able to wander into the pretty village of Ashwell.

From there, after a weekend chez Keith and Anne at Commons Wood (out of course, but everywhere else was booked and it's always nice to visit a site where the wardens are so welcoming) it was time to head to Cherry Hinton Caravan Club Site in Cambridge. This site had only just re-opened after some extensive work, and very smart it all looked too.

Cambridge really took me by surprise. Granted, I had a local guide in the form of my friend Mr Perks, but I was taken aback by how agreeable a place I found it.

One of the things that I loved the most about the city and about the site is how accessible everything is by pushbike. I didn't use my car the whole time I was there.

On the first evening, I cycled into town with Mr P to visit some of the traditional and friendly hostelries which was a real treat in itself. Also time for a little night photography:






Another time Mr Perks and his good missus put their kids in their respective trailers and tag-alongs and we all cycled out to The Orchard tearoom at Grantchester to have a cream tea in the dappled shade of the apple trees... a quintessentially English summer's afternoon, and as perfect as it sounds.

Interestingly, my experience of the tourist information people in Cambridge wasn't altogether positive. In fact, it was downright appalling. This is one thing that I find in this job. If you want help and resources on somewhere really popular like Cambridge, forget it. But go somewhere a little quirky like East Lincolnshire or Swanage, and the tourist people will bend over backwards to help and facilitate your trip.

But you only need to step out of the tourist office and into the city to instantly forget a bad experience and not let it put you off such a wonderful, wonderful city. I really, really like it.

Blogger's Block

Blogger's Block... any blogger can tell you about it. It's nothing like writer's block where the author doesn't know what to say. Blogger's Block is where the author has left it for so long that he or she doesn't know where, or how, to pick up again. And the longer you leave it, the worse it becomes. And the more time you need to spend to try and claw your way back to the present day.

Add to that the added complication that sometimes my adventures are in connection with features that are going to appear in magazines months later, so by the time it's published, the timeline has gone haywire and it's hard to go back.

But anyway...

Right now I should be on a plane to Boston to go see some friends including my Airstream chum Sue.

Instead, I'm sat at home with bronchitis and 12" of snow on the balcony.

So this is indeed a perfect time to make a start and get rid of that Blogger's Block.

EU Airtreamers Summer Gathering

Earlier in the year, a couple of Dutch Airstreaming families mentioned to their English Airstreaming friends that they were coming to the UK for their holidays in August.

John and Carole decided to meet up with them, and publicised the fact on the UKAirstreamers Forum.

In short, a grand total of EIGHT Airstreams descended at Masons Campsite in the Yorkshire Dales.

As I wended my way to the site, I was blown away by the beauty of the area. Why had I never been here before?

As I skirted the opposite side of the valley to the campsite, I looked below me and saw Airstreams glinting in the distance in the evening sun.

The eight Airstreams on site were: two from the Netherlands, and six from the UK. There were three modern European Airstreams, three polished 'vintage' Airstreams, and two clearcoated US Airstreams.

Pitched in a circle, what a lovely sight we made:











That first evening was spent chilling out around fire pits and barbecues. Ian and Robina, whom I had met last year in Skegness by pure chance, invited me to join them and what a lovely evening we had.

The next day, weather was a mixed bag of sunshine and showers. But that didn't stop Carole and John laying on a fabulous cream tea for everyone. Carole's scones, I am pleased to say, were of her usual VERY high standard! Light, fluffy, and melt-in-the-mouth with lashings of clotted cream and jam.










For our Dutch friends, it was their first cream tea and first experience of clotted cream. And very impressed they were too!

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the day and enjoying each other's company:









Axel and Anieta had the longest Airstream I have ever seen in real life... it just went on and on and on!












Piet and Kai's amazing rig was a real head-turner and I couldn't stop taking snaps of it:












Of the three European models on site, the 532s were in the majority and the 684 in the minority... the first time I have ever known that!










And I fell in love with Harry.

Harry and his sister Meg brought their gorgeous little Bambi:







Harry stood guard, threatening anyone who came within 2 yards with a lashing from his wagging tail and a thorough licking around the chops:







Meanwhile, Meg sat inside on her throne, and put on her 'happy' face for the camera:






As they were feeling particularly benevolent this weekend, they allowed their staff, Jim and Kathy, to join them:





And Kathy might be new to Airstreaming, but she obviously 'gets it' already:






Another 'new' family joining us for the first time were Neil and Jo with children Ruby, Jack, and Freddy. They found out about the gathering purely by chance, having stayed at Mason's in their 'new' 1965 Overlander a couple of weeks previous. The kids in particularly liked the riverside location of the site:










And the last night was spent, of course, gathered around the fire pit. A torrential downpour failed to dampen the spirits as we merely covered the fire with Neil's gazebo. That evening many people discovered that the Dutch and the English have a similar sense of humour.






Particularly touching was a little parting gift made by Sven and Lynn, Axel and Anieta's children.

Neil and I left in convoy, with Bill going on ahead to make sure the narrow section of the road was clear before we left.

What a BRILLIANT time we all had! Big thanks to John and Carole for making it happen.

New Look!

You can always tell when I have work to do.

I update the blog.

And when I have LOADS of work to do...

I spend my time redesigning the blog instead.

It's called 'Writing Copy Avoidance'.

But with a fresh new look, at least there is more width so I can add slightly larger photos. Hurrah!

To be in England in the Summertime...

Since Devon, life's been good if not all that exciting... just attending to everyday stuff and of course having to go to work (EEK!) so the Airstream has been little more than my sanctuary in the evenings.

Best then go back to the trip home from Scotland at the end of June.

My friend Gary has always been on at me to visit his home county of Northumberland, so I did just that. Gary rocked up in his classic CI Sprite.

We stayed at a very nice CCC site, the name of which now escapes me. Friendly staff. And only about £7 a night for a single person without a mains hook-up, so a bargain to boot.

Gary suggested a few days out, and it was the Garden at Alnwick that particularly tickled my fancy. Like all good gardens, it's a work in progress and far from finished. But it's actually quite refreshing that the Duchess of Northumberland has 'vision' for the future, as opposed to the current trend of the 'Instant Garden'.

A lovely day was had.


















The next day we went up the coast to Bamburgh. We took lunch in the garden of a lovely little tea-room, and a coach party of 'game' pensioners arrived. As we listened to the wit and wisdom of the old dears, Gary and I were in fits of laughter. We weren't laughing AT the people, we were laughing with them. Quote: 'What? They come and take the order at the table? Ooh, you don't get that in Rugby!' and so on. It was like a real life version of a Victoria Wood sketch and after an hour we were almost crying. It was so lovely, so English, and the subtle but hilarious humour that only a true Brit would understand.

We had a pleasant, sun-scorched afternoon:











However, after a couple of nights it was time to head South and start work.

As I headed down the A1 back to reality, there was time to pull over for just one last photo with the Airstream, to 'sign off' an amazing few weeks.

Devon Sent

Apologies for the long pause. Too much Airstreaming fun, not enough time to blog it…

The journey back from the Hebrides was sweetened by a couple of days at the lovely CCC site in Sandringham. Not only did this provide a great opportunity to collect some pine cones for the woodgas stove (they make great firelighters when dried out!) but the wind blew a hooley that weekend providing some fabulous kitesurfing sessions in Hunstanton. Sunday's session was cruelly cut short by the '12 o'clock rule' despite the 100-odd empty pitches, but I'm not bitter and I think that's important.

After a few days at home worshipping my washing machine it was time to head off for the next holiday. Sorry, that should read 'assignment'. I would hate anybody to think that I have fun for a living.






I was excited to be heading for North Devon as it's a county I do not know at all. Destinations were three sites grouped around Ilfracombe and Woolacombe. Trying to make efficient use of my time, I also trialled a couple of cars at this time, and down fell my plan.

It is a known issue that the electronics in some swanky cars have 'bulb failure' systems so that when plugged in to a trailer, the car sends pulses of electricity around the trailer to keep checking the status of the lights. The trouble is, when the trailer lights are cool LEDs, the car doesn't detect them and sends the whole trailer into a mobile version of the Caribbean Disco Show. Brand spanking new cars like the Land Rover Disco 4 have software upgrades to prevent this, but older technology as we discovered in the Volvo XC60 and a three year old VW Taureg do the disco-lights thing. Thankfully, European Airstreams may be specified with 'normal' road lights in case this happens, but I like the LEDs. And so does my Nissan Navara.

With no known software fix to the car, there was nothing else for it but to strap a trailer board to the back of my Airstream. It didn't look pretty, but we were legal.

First site was Damage Barton Caravan Club Affiliated Site. This is a great site. Very Airstream-friendly with spacious pitches, each offering a panoramic sea view:




It takes about 30 minutes to walk to the beach from the site. Naturally, it's very popular with families and it's the kind of place where you discover caravanners who have been returning there every summer for over 30 years. I really really liked the site's feeling of space, the views, and the friendly staff, but be aware that the payback for those views is the exposed location.



For a more sheltered experience, the all-singing all-dancing Caravan Club Site at Willingcott is down the road:





It was at Willingcott I had a welcome that I will never forget. The warden's welcoming smile wasn't just bright. If she went outside on a rainy day and smiled she would bathe the entire site in sunshine.


With all the great beaches in the area, ideal for surfing or bodyboarding, the sight of wetsuits hanging up to dry outside caravans is quite common:





Next stop was the chilled, relaxed, facility-free Caravan Club Site at Brook Lea:





Really nice. I particularly like the way that at this site, the neat and tidy pitches comfortably roll into the more natural landscape.





Naturally, being so close to the beach meant that I had to go and partake of a little bit of kitesurfing. Woolacombe beach is very neat but there's not lot to the area itself. I much preferred the large, extensive beach at Saunton:





All that space on offer meant that there was a reserved area for kitesurfers away from the paddling families and surfers, meaning that everyone could enjoy the water. I LOVED jumping the Atlantic swell and riding the waves. It was fantastic.

It was so good that I got up at 6am, yes, 0600 in the morning on a Sunday, to go and make the most of it before the wind dropped.



Nearby is the charming little town of Ilfracombe. Despite a few negative comments I had previously heard, I really really liked Ilfracombe. It's a fairly unspoiled Victorian seaside town with a scenic little harbour:





Interestingly, there is very little beach there as there are hills and rocks in the way, so a hundred years ago tunnels were dug through and pools created for the Victorian bathers. 'Tunnels Beaches' is an interesting place, and under the English summer sun took on the air of an Italian lido. Lovely!





A little less lovely was the neighbouring Cafe Blue. It was one of those cafe bars with stylish decor and a decent coffee machine that looks really nice - and it is - but at 2pm most of the menu was 'off' and I was left sitting over 30 minutes for a cheese sandwich when it wasn't that busy. The manager spent most of his time looking trendy on his Mac rather than sorting out the fiasco in the kitchen and the staff were unapologetic. Definitely one to miss.


But of course, being in Devon means that a cream tea is an absolute must. Opportunities present themselves on every corner to indulge, but a stone's throw from the harbour is where the locals and the fishermen go. Adeles Cafe (www.adelescafeilfracombe.co.uk) is well worth sniffing out for the fabulous service and the wonderful home-made cakes:







All in all a great time was had, and I wish I could have stayed longer and enjoyed the area in a bit more detail.

Bit it was time to roll and head to Baltic Wharf CC Site in Bristol. This year the site has had a change of wardens, and the new couple Mick and Lynn are absolutely lovely. Baltic Wharf is fabulous - great little site in a great location, and the flower display that Mick and Lynn have done is stunning… a kind of Bristolian version of the hanging gardens of Babylon.




I was there to do a 'pre-launch' job, so the caravan has been blacked out to honour embargoes.


From there it was time to head back home for a few days, and once again become at one with the washing machine.

Laundry done, we're back on the road for another six weeks. Aye, Life is Good!