Apologies for not adding this final instalment of Vince’s Christmas Tour until now but we had a bit of a grumptastic end to the trip….more of which later.
As we said last time out we planned to stay at a caravan park near Saltaire and were a bit concerned that they might be closed, but we needn’t have worried. We had a windy journey down to Yorkshire from Dumfries & Galloway; poor old Vince was wandering from lane to lane on the motorway with no input from me! We kept the speed down (which is saying something when our normal cruising speed is 56mph!) and stuck to the inside lane as much as possible so it wasn’t too stressful a run.
You know that thing when you find a site on the internet and it looks lovely, with lots of flowers & trees and magnificent views? That would be summer then. Driving up the long, potholed single-track road to Dobrudden Caravan Park on Baildon Moor was not quite the experience we’d expected. Bleak doesn’t even begin to describe it – there was even a burnt-out Corsa dumped by the side of the track; I thought we’d stumbled on to the set of Mad Max… After we’d entered the campsite via the huge electric gate, we turned on to the first available pitch and reversed in. There wasn’t much in the way of foliage and flowers in the middle of December, just muddy pitches and bare trees battling with Storm Barbara. The views were magnificent, though. We were on the highest point around so we were overlooking Saltaire and Shipley with their street lamps and Christmas lights already twinkling in the early dusk. The view was only spoiled by the odd sheep being tumbled by in the gale, and dog-walkers flying their pooches like kites. Did I say it was windy by the way?
We were collected by our younger daughter in the early evening for a family get-together which started with us hooking up with a crowd of carol singers. They were visiting the best of the live advent calendar windows I mentioned last time, so we had a tour of Saltaire Heritage Village with a good old sing-song and a stop at some beautifully decorated windows. It’s such a good idea, I think all towns should do something similar. A stop-off at Fanny’s for a beer was followed by a family meal at The Terrace – I’ve linked to their site as I’d thoroughly recommend a meal there if you’re passing. Their head waiter is a big bearded bear of a Frenchman who makes you very welcome and is happy to shout at the diners who are are slow to choose a dish or a wine in a very entertaining way. Entertaining that is, if you’re not the one being shouted at!
It was strange, and rather lovely to wake up in Vince on Christmas morning with the gale still howling around us, but warm and cosy with the heater on. I won’t bore you with all the details of our family Christmas – our older daughter’s first as a married woman with her husband’s family staying too. All I’ll say is that we attracted a few looks when we returned from their friend’s house – he’d kindly agreed to share the cooking duties and had cooked the turkey in his own kitchen. We made a fine procession walking the cobbled streets in a line with a steaming turkey at the front followed by the rest of us carrying spare chairs, pots & pans and a dining table!
Getting back to Vince on Christmas night after party games and FAR too much food, we noticed that the carpets felt a bit damp. We wondered if the high winds had forced rainwater through one of the skylights but that theory proved to be wrong when we opened the cupboard under the sink to find a pool of water there. I donned my Sherlock Holmes hat and grovelled around on the floor trying to find the source of the water with a torch. After some time Gill spotted some water in the shower tray too (we hadn’t used it at that point) and I eventually realised that when the water pump was pressurising the system there was a small leak from the tap. Satisfied that we’d found the problem we went off to bed after turning the pump off, only to find the following morning that when we emptied the washing up bowl down the sink – the entire contents came gushing out of the cupboard! Trust a man to miss the obvious and focus on a diddy little leak in the shower. One of the drain connections must have worked loose coming up the potholed track sigh….
With soggy carpets and no tools to fix the leaks, we decided to cut our losses and head home on Boxing Day after lunch with the family, then set Vince’s heating on the timer so he can dry out thoroughly on our drive over a few days. Our dealer is going to love us when we pop in yet again for a warranty repair! We’ve decided to leave it til next week so they can enjoy their New Year in peace.
– We wish the same to you, a Happy and a Peaceful New Year to all our friends and subscribers out there in Internetland. See you on the next trip! ♥♥♥
Obviously slurping the remains of the Chirstmas pop already , see caption of the gorgeous Gill .
Harpy Now Yeer to you bowf , sea yew inn the now yeer !!
You’re right. And it’s already edited :p
Despite the gales and leaks, you don’t look grumpy at all, Ken… quite the contrary but perhaps still a little bloated??? but I can’t say the same for Gill who looks as if she is having a good gurn. But still… a very happy and eventful New Year.
…and a Happy New Year to you both too! And I can definitely see the family resemblance coming through in Gill’s pic 😀