A day of visits

The Fox and Goose pub

Tilly parked up at the pub – the photo is wonky, not the car park!

Greywell war memorial

Our first full day with Tilly was one of visits – first stop was my mum and stepdad, to pick up all the boxes of bits which we’d had delivered.  There was quite a pile of packages waiting in the living room when we arrived – a bit like Christmas all over again.  By the time everything was opened, we had (plastic) glasses, crockery, cutlery, can openers, a carbon monoxide alarm, non-slip matting…and most crucially of all, a kettle!

After lunch we drove on to my dad and stepmum for dinner.  Parking there was a little bit more of a challenge, but I am chuffed to report I managed to reverse onto the drive (which is only just wider than the van!) in one go, and without churning up the grass verge.  We spent the afternoon and evening with them, before driving on to our overnight stop – the Fox and Goose pub in Greywell.  This is another spot where they welcome campers, only asking that you use the pub in return, so we were happy to pop in for a pint or two before turning in for the night.  Chatting to the friendly locals at the bar, I mentioned that I was a battlefield guide – so they told us we really should check out the village war memorial which was only unveiled and dedicated last November.  So that went on the check list for the following morning.

Another cosy night’s sleep, despite the chilly weather outside, and we were off.  The temptation of a nearby Toby Carvery for an all you can eat fry-up proved too hard to resist, but it ended up being a little hastier than anticipated as a fairly persistent snowfall set in while we were munching away.  So we pressed on – this time, sadly, just to get Tilly back to her storage site as we had work to go back to work the following day.  Fortunately, the snow was not too heavy and caused us no problems, and we managed to get parked up in our designated storage spot without too much drama, stopping en route at a friendly campsite to drain both water tanks and the boiler, just in case the cold snap persists.  I must confess a pang of regret as we headed back into London – still, it’s not long till our next trip, and Tilly has other caravans and motorhomes about her to keep her company until then!