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South Derbyshire District

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    • TravelerIRELAND 2022
      Day 2

      You never stop learning

      May 3, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      Well, today started like no other we’ve had motorhoming, the RAC man arrived to sort our engine management light problem……and solve it he did, explained the issue and gave self help advice if it happens again. What more could you ask for? Basically a common problem for auto gearbox motorhome, they don’t get revved hard because the gearbox changes gear to prevent it and if you switch off the engine during the exhaust particulate filter regen (and there’s no warning to tell you its regening) it senses an incomplete regen and gives the engine management alarm. Only indication of the pending problem is cooling fan running after switching off the engine. Solution if the fan continues to run is start the engine until the fan stops. If the light comes on drive in power mode and “give it the gun” to rev it up or manually keep in lower gear and rev it up until the light goes out. Fingers crossed!! But in hindsight that’s intuitively what we did in Dubrovnik with the old van when the same light came up, but that was out of warranty and a week from the nearest Fiat dealer.

      So, van fixed, we heading to see Eris (and Ellie) for coffee and cake, of course. Lots of nanny time cuddling, feeding, changing Eris (including one poonami) before we headed out in the car to Staunton Harold Reservoir and the National Trust cafe for a light lunch and walk. It was a light lunch, they only had 3 toasties and a vegan cheese and pesto roll left, so we had all of them and some chocolate brownies. Followed by a 40 minute walk by the reservoir, very quiet and pleasant, before back to the car to go home and see Ross who had come home from work by now. Another poonami then back to the motorhome for tea and planning of some future trips before going back tomorrow for a couple of jobs and more Eris time.      Read more

    • TravelerIRELAND 2022
      Day 1

      Dubious Start

      May 2, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Things started to go wrong when we saw the signboard that the M40 was closed between Junction 11 and 12 in both directions due to an accident and the live updates looked like it would be for several hours so we took a “scenic route”. Next an engine management light flashed up followed by a message saying the stop start system wasn’t working! We stopped and studied the manual which said it was ok to continue and decided it wouldn’t be a problem as our vehicle is only 18 months old, under warrantee and has Fiat Camper Assist so it would be easy just to give them a call on arrival - THINK AGAIN!!! We started with calling the number in the Fiat information book and got the message number not recognised. We looked it up on the internet, same number, same message. The number was international so we tried different combination of plus signs instead of 00 etc but always got the same message. We then started looking for Fiat Professional garages on the Fiat website which also didn’t work very well. Next we logged into our Fiat profile and found 2 other numbers, first one - you guessed it number not recognised. Second number we got to speak to someone who preceded to tell us we weren’t covered on Fiat Assist then it sometimes takes a while for information to come through from Fiat, we pointed out we registered it in 2020 and even spoke to someone in Milan who confirmed we were covered for the first 3 years. The penny then dropped the call centre person hadn’t taken on board we were a motorhome not a car! So she tried to put us through to the camper department but it didn’t work. Loosing the will to live and imagining what this would have been like if we were in some foreign destination, with half the van ripped off due to an accident, I gave the number a try on my mobile and hallelujah we got through. A lovely lady called Laura found us on the system and is sending out someone to look at the van tomorrow morning. Tony has spent the last hour in “conversation” with Tesco mobile to see why his phone can’t call this number but not resolved. It is one of those days when you think “isn’t modern technology wonderful???”Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 6

      Weston on Trent

      October 22, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

      We pootled on from Swarkestone aiming for Weston-on-Trent. The falling sun meant for beautiful views over the countryside and wonderful colours and reflections on the canal. We enjoyed the last bit of the day, soaking in the su shine we had been missing for much of the journey, before mooring up just shy of Weston Lock.

      A short walk into the village took us to the Coopers Arms for dinner. The real ales and ciders on tap rounded off the day, and we ordered pie & mash, and fish & chips...the latter of which was so large I was simply unable to finish it! It was however absolutely delicious. A couple of pints later we wandered back to the boat trying to walk off at least some of the meal before retiring for the evening.      Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 7

      Kegworth

      October 23, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      Shardlow to Kegworth was a pretty uneventful run, being essentially where we live. Just beyond Shardlow, we went through the Derwent Lock which was the first double-wide lock we'd been through with another boat. It was interesting to travel through some of the junctions where canals meet the River Trent and Derwent, and indeed to pilot the boat down the wide stretches of the Trent, but pretty much from Shardlow onwards we could always see the power station on the horizon as we drew nearer and nearer to home. We stopped briefly at Sawley to pick up provisions before heading through Sawley lock which is a hydraulic lock (thankfully a Canal and River Trust person was there otherwise I think I'd have been turning the windlass and wondering why nothing was happening for ages!).

      As we came down the final stretch we were greeted by a C-17 doing circuits over East Mids Airport much to Ben's delight.

      We moored up just the other side of the Kegworth flood lock, cooked curry for tea and decamped to the Anchor to meet mum and Kev for some drinks...a few too many judging by Ben's hangover the next morning!      Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 7

      Shardlow

      October 23, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

      It rained once again through the night and the rain stayed with us for the rest of the morning. We went through the Weston Lock and on to Aston-on-Trent for a very brief stop (being too early for pubs and little else there).

      At Shardlow, we moored up for a walk of the area and a look at a house we liked that was on the market. Shardlow is apparently the furthest inland port and the buildings in the area are often renovated warehouses, mills or workers cottages. They are beautiful even when abandoned and we spent a fanciful half hour talking about how we could renovate one before retiring to the Clock Warehouse for a pint and some lunch out of the rain.      Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 6

      Stenson

      October 22, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Trundling on from Willington, the day was warm in the sun but the breeze and clouds brought a distinct chill. We arrived at Stenson Lock, our first double width (widebeam) lock - it was huge. It took ages to fill and the doors were a massive challenge to move! So much so that we ground-anchored in after the lock and stopped for a swift pint at the Bubble Inn on the lock.Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 6

      Swarkestone

      October 22, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Next stop - Swarkestone. Basically nothing here except a pub and a nursery, so we thought we'd investigate the pub. Turns out we've driven through here many times on our way to Calke Abbey and that the pub was pleasant enough (a Marston's pub with a distinctly chain feel but nice). The beer garden looks out onto the beautiful Swarkestone Bridge, lit up in the late afternoon sunshine. Unexpectedly, it also contained a cairn commemorating the further south the Jacobite Army (of Bonnie Prince Charlie) got in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. In the falling sunshine, we made one last push for the day to Weston on Trent.Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 8

      Willington in the Rain

      October 24, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      A breakfast of sausage sandwiches to stave off the hangover (for Ben!), before mum and Kev joined us on board at about 8am. We pushed off, aiming to reach Willington for the night.

      The day was pretty miserable: grey skies and drizzle, occasionally turning over to pouring rain, made for cold and wet driving conditions. Having stopped at Aston and Weston on the way down, and knowing there was little there, we just pushed on for most of the day, weather be damned.

      At Weston Lock, I hopped off and ran 5km to Swarkestone Lock, before rejoining the boat for the final stint. The weather held just long enough for me to complete my run then at Swarkestone the heavens opened and we got absolutely sodden. Pulling into Willington was more of a challenge due to the weather and lack of mooring points, so we land anchored in the rain before turning the boat into a massive drying room!

      A quick wardrobe change later, we visited the Green Man in Willington for some food and drink, before retiring for a relatively early night.      Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 5

      Barton Under Needwood

      October 21, 2020 in England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

      From Alweras, the route was rather sedate. Although we joined the river, there were a good number of long straight stretches before we rejoined the canal at Wychnor...and more long straight bits after that, bordered by the noisy A38. At Barton Marina, we moored up to walk into Barton-under-Needwood. A bit of a walk from the canal, this small town also boasted a fabulous cafe - The Skinny Kitten. Not only did they have an extensive collection of exquisite homemade cakes, the also had the biggest gin list I had seen and a selection of craft ales too! So we had more cake but this time with alcohol...rocky road with Black Powder Salted Caramel gin for me and lemon and elderflower cake for Ben with Rocky ale from Shiny Brewery. In fact the cafe was so good we stayed for a second drink - Ben trying Shiny Brewery's Affinity and me trying the Drunshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin (lemon, lime, grapefruit and gunpowder tea). Wandering back to the boat, we stopped by Barton Marina for a coffee but the whole place had the feel of an overly-manicured gated community, so we didn't stay long.Read more

    • TravelerCanal Boating Oct 2020
      Day 9

      Alweras Again

      October 25, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

      We left Willington reasonably early, aiming for Alweras by mid-afternoon. We therefore skipped Burton once again deciding that the half hour walk to town wouldn't yield any different shops to a normal town. Instead we pushed on, and about 6km outside of Alrewas mum and I jumped off the boat and went for a run. I had to stop twice to stretch my aching knees and nearly gave up at Wychnor Lock, but stretched again and pushed on, running along the Trent and over the beautiful footbridges into Alrewas...where we continued running to the nearest pub! We had a few drinks and some starters at the George and Dragon, before Ben and I wandered off on a tour of Alweras under a beautiful sunset.Read more

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    South Derbyshire District

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