Maisey’s first trip and upside down sheep
The first day of Maisey’s first trip started well, it was
raining, however a trip to Aldi put a smile on my face, a camper van sat nav,
£135 off the list price. Good old Aldi. No chance of going the wrong way now.
She is like the Tardis, she swallowed all of the kit without a wimper, and
after setting up the sat nav and sussing out the cruise control we pointed her
in the right direction and off we went. Maisey is a joy to drive, very easy and
smooth, purring along the motorways, passing Birmingham, Bristol and Exeter
without a murmur.
Whilst cruising down the A30, the ‘Cornish motorway’ a mini
in the same colour as Maisey drew parallel with us, two young guys gave a big
grin and the thumbs up. Always good to be appreciated on the road. Hopefully we
will get more of this when she is decorated. Flowers, lizards for the sides and
clouds for the roof will look good. Just need to decide on the colour scheme.
Arriving at the campsite practical issues had to be addressed
like getting the van close enough to an electrical hook up, making sure the
awning had space in the trees and was the ground flat enough to avoid sliding
out of bed (a potential disaster if sleeping in the raising roof, landing on
the steering wheel in the middle of a deep sleep would be a tad uncomfortable).
Once the raising roof and awning were up Maisey looked fabulous, ready to be a
home for the next two nights.
Champagne, red wine, pate, pasta, cheese, port, coffee and
desert christened the van nicely. The kitchen works well with everything you
could want for. Sink, hob, grill and a fridge. I never thought I could get
excited about curtains, but tonight I did. They transformed Maisey from a van
to a restaurant, lounge and bedroom all in one. Wow. The first night sleeping
in Maisey was marked by sliding towards one side of the bed due to a slight
slope, it is good to know that the issues with a tent still apply to a camper
van. However tea in bed the next morning and not having to get dressed before
breakfast is good news.
The van is to enable more mountains to be climbed, so today
it is a walk up the highest part of Dartmoor, Yes Tor and the High Willhays, at
621m. Even though I used to live on the moor when I was a boy
I never climbed these tors, so at nearly 56 years of age it is about time I did. The weather was kind, and the views good. On walking off of the High Willhays I saw something sticking point out of the tufts of grass, getting closer it moved up and down and waved around, then I realised it was a sheep’s leg. The animal was on its back wriggling around unable to right herself, so a little help in the way of two hands to push her over and she was on her way. I guess we are all like sheep and need a little help on occasion.
I never climbed these tors, so at nearly 56 years of age it is about time I did. The weather was kind, and the views good. On walking off of the High Willhays I saw something sticking point out of the tufts of grass, getting closer it moved up and down and waved around, then I realised it was a sheep’s leg. The animal was on its back wriggling around unable to right herself, so a little help in the way of two hands to push her over and she was on her way. I guess we are all like sheep and need a little help on occasion.
