ManchesterSome five months after returning from the Southern Hemisphere, I once again find myself leaving the house at some awful hour and heading to the airport. I’m off to the Southern Hemisphere again and, despite the fact that it’s 03h30, I really am looking forward to a long trip almost due south to Johannesburg and beyond. In typical Manchester fashion, the balmy 5 Centigrade was offset by the light breeze driving the local drizzle into a frenzy! Standing in the rain resulted in a slight dampness, but moving forwards at any speed whatsoever resulted in a thor [View Full Entry]

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A little closer to home this time! Having lived in this historic village for over 5 years, the weather was good enough this year for me to wander into town and join in the Holly Holy Day. Nantwich was the site of a crucial battle in the English Civil War when, in 1644, the Royalists lay siege to Parliamentarian Nantwich. By the end of 1643, Cheshire was in the hands of the Royalists with the exception of Nantwich, which was a Parliamentarian Garrison. For six weeks, the village was under siege until Sir Thomas Fairfax and his army of 5000 Parliamentarians [View Full Entry]

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Having just returned from 3 weeks in New Zealand, I flew to the Isle of Man for the weekend - but it was shut. [View Full Entry]

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Last night was very cold. According to the forecast, it dropped to just 6C. Within the confines of the mobile bed it certainly felt that cold but, snugged up under my duvet, I really didn’t notice and slept soundly until about half seven. By that time, the sun was up, the tide was on its way out and the sky was blue. It was also significantly warmer than the overnight low. The day ahead was to be my last on the road. It was to be a day of stark contrasts, from the stunningly beautiful scenery to the just beautiful; from [View Full Entry]

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I was woken by the sound of the ducks quacking their way around the campsite trying to cadge breakfast off anyone. Ignoring them, I slept for a further hour and then, peering out of the curtains, noticed that the goat had been moved. Unfortunately, it seemed I was going to have to make alternative arrangements for breakfast. It was a little overcast so I resorted to breakfast thoroughly indoors. However, it wasn’t raining but, having washed up all the dishes and venturing outside to pack the cables away, it was clearly time to put a jumper on! The next problem was [View Full Entry]

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As I went to sleep, I could see storm clouds brewing over the mountains and yet, I slept soundly all night. Not a peep from me or the clouds. I awoke to a clear blue sky and, having eaten breakfast, opted for a brisk walk along the beach. Waitarere seemed to comprise maybe a dozen houses, and it appeared that all the occupants were on the beach that morning. I counted 5 of them! And so it was that I headed south along the beach in the fresh morning sunshine. The beach stretched for miles in each direction, in a dead [View Full Entry]

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It was rather interesting sleeping by the side of the road. I was disturbed by all sorts throughout the night and, upon hearing the refuse truck, was horrified to find that it was only 20 minutes past midnight. It was going to be a long night, made more difficult by the camber wanting to drop me out of bed and the pillow end of the bed pointing downhill! However, sleep came easily and I was up with the lark - literally! I appeared out of the van at 08h15 and decided to move it into the botanical gardens. The main reason [View Full Entry]

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I did not want to wake up this morning. It had been raining intermittently throughout the night and had sounded as though someone was playing drums (badly) on the roof. Come 08h30 though, I thought I should show willing. Peering out from the my bed, the weather still looked bad so I decided that it was pointless trying to see more of Napier as I’d already seen it in the rain. Instead, I’d have a leisurely drive to Wellington, over 350km away. And so it was that I found myself heading south at 09h30, having stocked up on water and emptied [View Full Entry]

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After the excess of last night (ok, I went to the beach and watched the fireworks), I really did not want to get up this morning. I have finally found the most comfortable position for the duvet cover and pillow and when the birds woke me this morning, I confess I lay there for another hour! Consequently, it was a quick shower, fast breakfast and, unfortunately, a trip to the dump station for the van. Despite all of this, I still managed to leave the site by 09h00. With the improved weather, I decided to take the road north east up [View Full Entry]

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New Zealand is certainly living up to its name; The Land of the Long White Cloud. It was raining when I went to bed, it rained all night and it rained most of today. So much so, that my schedule was shortened and I opted to assume that the weather would be better over the mountains in Gisborne rather than stop en route as originally planned. It was a long night, the warmth made worse with me being kept awake by the rain hammering on the metal roof of my bed. There was also quite a wind blowing which caused the [View Full Entry]

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