Arto 69GL motorhome. The farm is accessed via a long and narrow lane with steep earth sides. You may be interested to know that Myfanwy made a deep plough furrow along the entire length because Huw forgot to retract the steps after getting deisel just before we arrived. Luckily, no substantial damage to the steps anyway. We did cheat a bit by eating with sister and drinking her red wine! We also tried out a number of things real time - like how to empty the loo and grey water tanks - and also how to tune in the newly installed satellite dish. So, pleased with ourselves thus far, we set off completely independently on day four and travelled north to Portmadog and by evening we got a pitch for the night in Abersoch near the end of the road on the Lleyn Peninsular. We plugged in the electrical hookup, turned on the gas and settled down for the night looking out onto Cardigan Bay.Next day it was sunny and after breakfast we set off to visit Portmeirion. This is the folly village which featured in the film The Prisoner. Splendid stuff, although I was begin
ning to master the skill of driving the left hand drive, 6.7 metre long and 2.25 metre wide Myfanwy around narrow roads and congested car parks. We rewarded ourselves with lunch in the cafe and then set off for the Centre for Alternative Technology, near Machynlleth. This is well worth a visit for those interested in saving the planet. The car park was again a nightmare but I must say the large coach which got wedged in was in a good deal more trouble than Myfanwy. The entrance is via a steep train-cum-lift which takes you up to the clifftop centre. The lift is powered by water and is quite a thrill for those with no fear of heights. Others just grip the handles tightly with eyes fast shut. We had a good look round the centre in the drizzle and eventually decided to look for somewhere to park up for the night. Motoring on past Aberystwyth we 'landed' somewhere south of Aberaeron on the coast. Parked up Myfanwy on hookup before taking a stroll down to the seafront to take in the breeze. By the time we got back it was really warm inside so we indulged ourselves in our hobby of sampling red wine. This was a funny site - very clean, but everything had a notice on it about how to clean it after use. The toilets, showers and even handbasins had diagrams showing how to wipe and polish them after use. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, it just seemed humourously clinical at the time. We began to wonder what were the consequences of not complying.Next morning was another fine day so we emptied the grey tanks, took on fresh water and set off for a visit to my mother and sister in Ystradgynlais. We stopped off to enjoy the view at the
Cray Reservoir. In the afternoon, we had planned to drive back home to Reigate before the Good Friday rush. However as we approached Cardiff on the M4 a blanket of Severn Estuary fog fell to the misery of motorists. Now, one of the advantages of being in a motorhome is that if this kind of problem occurs, you are not stranded in the way that other travellers are. We had the option of parking up for the night and opening a bottle of red. We made for the nearest pitch, which happened to be the Acorn Campsite near Llantwit Major. We were soon settled for the night and had forgotten about the dense fog. This was a good place to stop over with all mod cons. To my great surprise we found (by accident) that we had a free broadband internet connection on our laptop wi-fi whilst inside the van. Although we were once again on the coast, this was the best kind of surfing to be had on a foggy night.Next day was fine and bright and we had a fairly good trip back to Reigate. I reversed into our drive in one sweep as if I had been driving HGVs all my life. Approx fuel consumption on this trip was 20.1 miles per gallon. Here we discovered that the interior of the 110 litre freshwater tank was covered in gunge, algae and black bits. Lyris spent an afternoon flushing it out with Milton and now its OK, although I guess we will be using bottled water for drinking and cleaning teeth from now on!! We will be laid up at home now for a week or two to prepare for the next adventure which is a trip up the west coast of Ireland and then across to Scotland. If this goes well our Grand Tour of Europe will begin in the autumn.
Lyris and Huw
