Jerry Buys a Motorhome ...

 I have had the urge to buy a motorhome for quite a long time. The usual daydream was wife and me bowling along leafy European roads, me driving, her frying eggs and bacon in the back. If we got to a crossroads, we would throw dice to see whether to go straight on, or turn left, or right. The weather was always warm and sunny ... we would wander hither and yon, across Europe ... and so on.

Now I have a motorhome, and what do I find? Frying whilst on the move is strictly verboten. Driving in Europe is harder nowadays, what with Brexit, and with my beloved P&O now completely up the Khyber. Motorhomes are rather more complicated than I had imagined, and need constant care, attention, and (usually) money. The weather is by no means always warm and sunny. Filling up with diesel makes you feel like a criminal and costs a fortune. And worst of all, Sue has decided she wants nothing to do with it at all. Claustrophobic, she says.

Compared to our spacious home, I dare say is it. But when compared to just walking, with everything on your back - tent, sleeping bag, food, toothbrush etc etc -  they do have considerable advantages. You can take a range of clothes with you, plenty of food, and best of all, bottles of decent wine .. and they are much more comfortable than sleeping in a tent. And they have showers! and loos! And mattresses!!

So, I must give it a go. This is Larry La Strada:

 

 He was built in 2008 on a Mercedes Sprinter medium wheelbase chassis and is a 3.0l automatic. He is in tiptop condition, and basically he was the smallest motorhome I could find that had a shower I could stand up in. He will fit, just about, into a normal parking space. He is quite tall, nearly 3m high, but very easy to drive and fits down country lanes.

I bought him towards the end of last year, 2021, and had him serviced, MOT'd and habitation checked, all of which he went through with flying colours. Since then he has been out twice, each time for just one night...

The first time, we went to Canterbury for the day. Larry fitted comfortably into the St Radigunds car park, which was moreover a very pleasant 10 minute riverside walk into the town centre. We could have spent the night there, but instead we booked an evening meal at the George & Dragon pub in Fordwich, who were happy for us to keep the van in their capacious car park overnight. Everything went very well, there are nice walks along the Great Stour directly from the carpark, and we happily recommend the G&D: good value pub food.

The second time, we headed out into Essex for the weekend, to the River Blackwater estuary in fact. Having joined the Camping and Caravanning club, we looked at their smaller, certificated sites. After an unfortunate experience trying and failing to book a site at Southminster, we settled on Gardeners Farm campsite, near Maldon. It was quite a basic site but a nice farm with nice people, a good farmshop, a range of animals and some pleasant walks to and along the Blackwater estuary:

    A bit more scenic than it looks!

    Bracing! 

In April, I went to a meeting of the La Strada Club, at Fulbourn on the outskirts of Cambridge. That will be the subject of the next post...