I was really surprised to feel so at home when we stepped back into the van after flying in from Ibiza. It just goes to show how comfortable we are in the van. This is something that we don’t think people understand – we constantly have, very kind, offers of a room when we’re in home territory, as everyone seems to think we might like a break from the van. It’s very sweet of you to offer but we really are very happy and comfortable thank you (and we’ll soon ask if we want a room!!)
We were quite busy over the weekend, including helping our friends out so that they could stay on the same site as us on Saturday night. They had a courtesy car without a towbar so we towed their caravan for them…
Yes – we did get some looks!! (We didn’t, of course, use the little car on the road – that would be illegal..)
After a night out on Saturday we had a long lie-in which was desperately needed due to our self-inflicted ‘tiredness’.
On Tuesday we set off again for Herne Bay. However, the beauty of having no particular plans (i.e. bookings) is that you can change your mind whenever you want. In this case it was when we saw that Steve & Denise, who we had met in Spain, had finally returned to the UK and were staying overnight at a Caravan Club site on our route.
So we diverted to Bearstead, having asked if they minded of course… However their wifi was hit and miss so they didn’t get my message. When Denise replied to say ‘yes, of course, where are you?’ I answered – ‘In reception!’
We had a lovely evening catching up, which meant of course that all our good intentions regarding food and drink (i.e. none) went out the window, as we drank up a storm, ordered an Indian and polished off a pile of Marks & Spencers profiteroles!
Steve & Denise set off again in the morning to meet friends in Warwick, while we had a lazy morning. After lunch we decided to go to have a look at Maidstone, via Sutton Valence, an English Heritage castle close by.
It took some time to find, even when we eventually got within sight of it – we drove past it twice…
This is a ruin that is free for everyone to visit but is maintained by English Heritage. There are a couple of information boards giving you some of the history of the site.
We then headed into Maidstone where there are a couple of lovely historical buildings, but, unfortunately, the charm wears thin fairly quickly… To be honest, unless you have a reason to be there, I wouldn’t bother.
On the way back to the van we decided to try to visit a National Trust property, Stoneacre (literally a stone’s throw from the Bearstead Club Site, albeit down very, very narrow lanes..). We really must do our research – it’s only actually open on Saturdays and Bank Holiday Mondays. (This is becoming another habit!) Anyway it looked rather lovely and is probably well worth a visit 🙂
Our next move was yesterday to Herne Bay – I’ll be writing about this in a separate post! See you soon x
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