So , we left in a bit of a rush, without the usual preparations and I forgot to pick up the left over curry we were going to have for tea. Fortunately, as it was a CC site, the sign by the toilet block said "Fish & Chips, from 5.30!" Nothing for it then, fish and chips. Our luck was in briefly, as we got the last two fishes from the van, they were obviously also having a bad day! The rest of the queue had to make do with anything that wasn't fish.......at least the chips were still on the menu. Disaster number 1, averted, for us!
The site was excellent, quiet and really well laid out with loads of hard standings. It was busier than we were expecting but we still had a good choice of pitches. A third of the site which were the grass pitches, were closed for re-seeding and the second toilet block was being up dated. Time for the bunnies to have a ball, but beware the bunny holes, health and safety elves at work. The existing loo block was excellent and up to the usual CC standards ( when and if,you can get a pitch on one of their sites of course.) Even the telly picked up a signal, although the phone was an issue, but more of that later.
Beware, the gates shut at 5.30pm. I wonder how many people they lock in every year?
Check out the park http://www.cirencesterpark.co.uk/
Saturday morning dawned as a bright dryish day. The van was really cosy as we had used the silver screens overnight. To be on the safe side, we had run the heating on low to take the chill off. The overall heating system in Billie is great and it can be used on gas or electric, 1 is fine for overnight. We decided to walk through the park into town. As we lifted the bed to get out our rucksacks, the strut holding the bed up stuck and before we realised what had happened, it damaged the laminate panel under the bed as we tried to close it. Den removed the mattress to check what had happened and climbed under the bed. Just as all this was going on the phones started ringing, it was a work problem. Getting to a phone with a sprung mattress propped up in the middle of the van was entertaining. It was then we realised that the phone signal here was very iffy, three mobiles and a signal that kept dropping out on all of them. Eventually, we had to go and use the actual "phone box", fortunately being a CC site they still had one that worked. Miracles of modern technology!!! NOT.
Finally, after a very stressful hour or so, all was calm. The work problems were solved until Monday and the bed was useable. Den removed the strut and would repair the damage when we got home. We did have a lovely walk through the park into town, lunch at a very nice pub and a stroll around the shops. We just made it back to the van before the rain came down. The X Factor on the telly and a bottle of wine, another exciting evening.
The drive home through the Cotswold was lovely with the Autumn colours just starting, an hour and we would be home. Not likely, M4 closed for an accident and an hours drive became two. Just another one of those weekends! The good news was Den repaired the strut damage and a new one is on it's way! Advantages of having a local dealer, a quick call to Chipping Sodbury Caravans and Billie will be back to normal, very soon.
Next weekend the Motor Caravan Show at the NEC Birmingham. Time to look at more extras. Tickets have been bought, the work phone can stay at home. Billie can have a weekend off, we'll take the car this time.
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