Trip 7: October 5th 2020,Cotswold View Campsite. Charlbury.🌦🌧
We were here last year on a grass pitch which was fine but this year we have gone for a hardstanding pitch with electric.
We filled up with diesel in the village and headed for the Cotswolds. On the way we passed a Shell garage at Bingham where we have bought auto-gas in the past. It appears they have followed other Shell garages and discontinued it.
We arrived at the campsite at 13.00 , it had taken 2.75hrs. The trip was easy although traffic around Coventry heading in the opposite direction was slow through the road works.
Settled in and had a bite to eat and then we went for a walk around the outside of the wooded area and through the campsite to check out the nearest shower block etc.
The gas bottle finally ran out so I can now fill up again once we get home. Tea tonight is a beef stew which we are both looking forward to.
We got woken in the middle of the night with the fridge alarm going off. I put it on gas and it worked so we went back to bed.
Day 2:
Thinking about the fridge, and remembered that last night we had a very heavy rain storm. I got up and put the fridge back on electric and it worked so the conclusion is that we must have had a power cut. Everything is back to normal now. A bright sunny start to the day but showers forecast later. We are going to give the disc golf a go later on.
After getting used to throwing the disc we graduated to the white course and then had a second round.
We were watched by a squirrel on one of the holes.
We also had a go on the zip wire which felt more scary than it actually looked.
We had about 2.5 hours playing the disc golf which was really worth the £8 for hiring the discs, and I found an extra disc in some blackthorn bushes when I was retrieving a miss throw from Sue.
When we got back to Iona it was 14.00 and there was a power cut but it only lasted until 16.00 and we had plenty of battery power.
We had a Chinese type stew tonight which was very filling. We went to the washing station to wash up but there were no lights, we managed but tomorrow we will take torches.
Day 3:
A bit overcast today but still bright. Today’s plan is to walk into Charlbury. We started through the wood and out along the footpath into Charlbury. The white cattle were laying exactly where they were last year. First stop was the toilets by the coop for Sue. She made me stand guard because she did not want to shut the door.
We then walked into the centre and down past the Church to the river looking for the footpath. We missed the turning and walked back up the hill to the path. This took us to the old mill race , the river was high and running fast.
We followed the path across the mill field and then crossed the river and followed the farm track back.
The track was flooded in places and when we got to the canoe club it became obvious that we should have used the top footpath. We now recognised where we were and continued through the church yard and the nature reserve.
Once back at the campsite footpath we headed for the picnic tables where we ate our lunch before making our way back to Iona. There were three people playing Disc Golf, we watched them throw for one hole. With one throw they were at the chains. Yesterday the same hole took us 5 throws each, we have along way to go.
Day 4:
The forecast was not very good so we had planned to stay around the park. However after early rain it did brighten up a little with the occasional sun breaking through the clouds. It is windy today so it is forever changing.
We spent the morning reading in the van and then after lunch we went to play table tennis with miniature bats. It was good fun and a laugh. We played for half an hour so we had a bit of exercise and some fresh air.
Tonight we have a Katsu curry dish. Sue had prepared the sauce at home and made the rest in the motorhome. When we had eaten we took everything to the wash stands. We went prepared with torches and as we got to the shower block we saw that tonight all the lights are on.
Tomorrow we head for home, we have had a good 4 nights and the weather has been kind to us. Next trip takes us to a farm without the luxury of a toilet and shower block but we do get electric hook up.
Trip 7: 238.7 miles, 27.6mpg, 40mph, 6hr
Iona’s Travels 