FRIENDS, FOOD AND FREEDOM IN MY MOTORHOME

 One of the great things about my travels around Great Britain is that I am able to reconnect with family as well as friends that I have known for many years and meet up with new ones that I have got to know on social media, especially through both lockdowns.

In August I spent time in Kent and Sussex where I caught up with my daughter @samsiekate and her little dog  @frank.choccyhorror who spent time with me in the motorhome. I do miss her when I am on the road but she gets that it is something that I have always wanted to do and that I am so happy with my Nomadic life. We had a great time staying at a site in Worthing, then driving the motorhome down to the beach at Goring early every morning and setting up for the day. Her godmother Nicola ncmedialtd , drove down from London one day to join us and we were able to have a delicious lunch and swim, with much laughter, just yards from the beach and gorgeous views. 

One of the disadvantages of my motorhome life is that I do miss friends and family functions, so I was determined not to miss @kathrynsarah15 wedding party @chaffordpark. It was so nice to get dressed up,  put makeup on, wear high heels and go OUT OUT! after the lockdowns.  I had such a good time celebrating her wedding and catching up with my old work colleagues.

 I was so pleased when the bride and bridegroom popped into my motorhome to have a look. I even opened my gin bar for some of the guests who also visited.

The next day because I was camped in a field nearby, I helped to clean up the hall and Kassi did a rerun of throwing her bouquet so that I could catch it...I just need to find someone nice now.

I also got to meet up with Siobhan O'Connell @kilkeerock From one of the Tunbridge Wells @Womensinstitute who I had done a zoom talk to about my adventures in life, including my motorhome madness, during lockdown. It was so nice to put a face to a name after so long connecting on social media. I love the response from the Women's Institute groups that I have done talks with because one of my main motivations, doing what I am doing in the motorhome, is to inspire other women to age positively and to face their fears and to have adventures.

I could not miss the opportunity to also meet up with another of my social media buddies. I spent a wonderful day by the sea in Sussex, with Suzi Grant @alternativeageing , who has inspired me for years now. She is the trailblazer for all things positive ageing and I love her for it. She did not disappoint, we chatted for ages and I cannot wait to spend time with her again. She was impressed with my motorhome and put it on her Youtube channel (in the video MY week from Brighton to London and how to pack for a six day staycation...I cannot work out how to pop the link to it on this blog)

Many people ask me how do I decide where I want to head off to in the motorhome. Well, I  simply studying the map when I relax on an evening. I look to see where I have been and where I am now, then I see what is not too far away and read up about that area and see if it takes my fancy as my next port of call. 

That is how I found myself driving over the bridge into Wales in September. I had not managed to get to Wales last year because of lockdown and I fancied exploring around the Brecon Beacons. My first port of call was a fab site on a farm in Chepstow, not far from the Racecourse, the views were breathtaking. Once I have decided where I want to go, I search for campsites nearby. I am a member of both the Caravan and Camping Club and the Caravan and Motorhome Club. They have a lot of affiliated smaller CL and CS sites that just allow five motorhomes or caravans and they are often in beautiful locations, so I prefer to find one of those, rather than the big sites with all the facilities. As long as I have somewhere to empty my toilet and get water I have every thing I need in my motorhome. 

Very early one morning I heard a tapping on the motorhome and thought there were birds on the roof, I ignored it but it happened again, then in my sleepy haze I realised it was someone knocking on my door. I opened the door and saw the smiling face of the farmer who owned the land and he said " come out here and just look at this. I knew you would not want to miss it."

I threw on a jumper and wellies and hopped out to see the most glorious site of the clouds over the valley below. I was so happy that he had woken me up to see it. I never tired of the view during the two days I stayed  there. I lit a fire in the evenings and had my dinner and a glass of wine thinking, " this is just perfect". 

I then headed off towards Abergavenny for the FOOD FESTIVAL. www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com @foodfestival I heard about it when I called a local farm to book my motorhome on their field for a few days. I contacted the organisers and thankfully they kindly let me buy tickets late as they had sold out. 

I also got a ticket for the Festival at the Castle event in the evening. Earlier in the week I had contacted some friends of mine that I knew as a student and found out that they lived in the centre of Abergavenny. I cycled the six miles from the campsite into Abergavenny and left my bike in their garden.

 Then I had good fun hanging out with them at the Food Festival. They told me that it was not as big as previous years because of the Covid restrictions but having never been to previous ones, I was very impressed and loved the selection of stores and events going on. 

 James Strawbridge, the son of Dick Strawbridge, from Escape to the Chateau, had the castle as his dramatic backdrop as he did a fabulous cookery demonstration on cooking over the fire. He is an expert on how to live sustainably. 

There were many more talks and demonstrations throughout the festival. I would highly recommend it if you love all things food. And by all accounts when it is up and running without Covid restrictions it will be even more impressive. 

 We also managed to fit in a quick wild swim in Keeper's pond, up on the summit of the Abergavenny to Bleanavon mountain road, I am not going to lie, it was very bracing! but I always feel so invigorated when I get out, so it is well worth it. 

I then went to the Castle music festival on my own, which was fun, great music topped off by an impressive fireworks display. Afterwards I grabbed my bike from my friends garden and cycled the six miles back to the farm. I was a bit nervous as it was very dark but I had lots of lights and my high viz jacket.  

Once again I was able to meet some of my social media friends face to face  @themahojos. They kindly drove to the farm where I was staying in Abergavenny. I got to know them when they asked me to be on their Living Life Differently podcast. They have a gorgeous son, and they live in a van and plan to do a lot of travelling in it, so we had loads to talk about on our walk. I just love it when people you interact with on social media are even better in real life. I am pleased that my gut instinct with who to interact with seems to be working ok.

My final stop in Wales for now was Brecon, and as I drove from Abergavenny to Brecon I could not believe just how beautiful the scenery was. I had to pull over and make lunch and sit outside the motorhome to take in the views. Before having a walk in the hills and marvelling at my life and being able to do this. 

At times I have questioned myself about what I am doing and why I am doing it and when I look across the Brecon Beacons on a sunny day, I realise that the joy I feel inside and the peace I feel, is a great motivator for me to continue having adventures, living the nomadic life and motivating other women to live life positively. Even if it is just that they see the photos of where I have been and think "you know what I want to go there for a holiday" 

I am not saying that they should get rid of their property and most of their possessions like I did but just live life as positively as they can.

When I finally got to the campsite at the farm in Brecon I got a lovely surprise. My brother and his wife had been at that site the week before and they left me a little present which the owner gave me when I arrived. It made me so happy.