Poole

What a start to the morning, sunny and warm, with no chill in the air, just loving this mild weather, please let it continue! That said, the grey clouds are circulating, and we know the forecast is for rain showers later today. But we enjoyed the moment over breakfast, sitting in Marge with her side door open, enjoying the heat of the morning autumn sun, the temperature a respectable 16c. Here we were, just over a hundred miles from home, detached from reality, a campervan really does give you a feeling of freedom.

After breakfast we traveled down to Swanage, where we picked up a couple of mid century bargains to sell upon our return. One of them cost just £2.00.

At one, second hand shop we stumbled across fourteen stone phalluses or phalli (depending on which university you went to) of a reasonable size, alongside a display of some large dolphins, not sure of the connection.

Before heading back to Marge for lunch, we stopped by at the church to marvel at the display of poppies in the grounds, then it was on to the Swanage steam railway centre for a coffee.

Tonight's stop is the glamorous ferry terminal at Poole. Sadly we will not be boarding the morning ferry to France.

This evening we walked up to the quay for a meal and a drink, stopping to photograph the Sunseeker boats, the lights under their rear decks lighting the green of the sea water, one of them was named 'Angela's', not sure we could run to one just yet!

Up on the quay was a sea cadet tall ship called T.S. Royalist. During the summer you will quite often see a tall ship moored here, and they just seem to look right in the setting. Before returning to Marge this evening, we stopped for a second drink in an old pub down a side street just off the quay. The part of the pub we sat in had a high wooden vaulted ceiling, and the plaque on the outside of the building said it dated back to 1350.

Tomorrow we will journey back home, this two night trip just a little tease for Marge, who we know is itching go be taken on another big adventure!

Norden

Guess what, Marge has sneaked out again!

Despite it being the second week of November, the weather today has been remarkably mild.

As we journeyed south today to our beloved Dorset, the sun streamed through the semi-naked trees, their golden leaves fallen onto the ground beneath them creating a carpet of gold.

On the way to tonight's stop, we stopped to look at some camper vans, parking Marge a reasonable distance away, so not to hurt her feelings. She is a feisty thing, but not as young as she was, and a little lacking in power, but although we love her, we are tempted to buy bigger and slightly more powerful, however saying that she does everything we need, and has taken us to some great places this year. But we are just looking, no harm in that!

After realising what a bargain Marge was, we leave and head towards Poole to cast an eye over the outside of our rental properties, then move on down to Poole quay,

parking Marge in a normal car parking space, (another plus for her).

We take a walk to stretch our traveled legs. Across from the quay we check how many Sunseeker boats are being prepared for new customers, a touch of sadness as we realise it wasn't that long ago we were wowed by the size of one named 'King Power', it's owner also owned Leicester City football club.

From Poole, with the sky now inky blue, and Marge's headlights glowing as usual like candles, we headed to tonight's stop, The Halfway Inn at Norden between Wareham and Corfe, (I know we were only here three weeks ago).

Tonight we are not alone, for the first time, we are joined by another newer, smarter van, but it does not have the character of Marge. After a couple of drinks in the bar, it was back to the van for homemade chilli con carne.

What a life this campervanning is, let's hope the weather is kind over the next few months and we can continue our adventures. The forecast for tonight is rain, but we don't mind, the pitter patter of raindrops, whether we are in a tent or van we find soothing at night, also rain means a warmer night, and that's another recommendation for Marge, the smaller the van, the easier to keep cosy.

Longwick (Home)

A huge ivory moon last night, with ribbons of cloud gliding in front of it.

This morning after a dreary start, the weather improved slightly, so we took a short walk along the river Arun.

Moored on the river next to Marge, was a boat called Queen Sardine, for some reason this made us smile. As we sorted out the van for the off, the leaves were falling fast from the trees, spinning to the ground, and chasing to the corners of the car park in an autumn frenzy.

Our journey home, took us close by Arundel castle, then onwards into Surrey, where the weather deteriorated a little more. By early afternoon, we were near to home, and decided to stop at Marlow on the Thames for a short while.

The access to the town, is via a narrow bridge, so a little tight for Marge, but we know she has negotiated her way in and out of tight spots before!

We took a short walk, passed the slipway, where two swans were preening themselves at the waters edge, oblivious of us and the roar of the weir behind them. But after a while, we could see the rain clouds gathering, so headed back to Marge.

We are now home, and already our thoughts are of more travels, looking at blogs of other travelers on the internet. Hopefully, Marge will be on her travels again soon.

Arundel

A bright, breezy morning, with a sharp chill in the air, greeted us this morning. The price to pay for such a gorgeous warm sunny day yesterday. Along the coast we can see Brighton, a slate blue sky hanging over the town.

We took a walk out along the cliff top, we are enjoying our time at the coast, there's something relaxing and freeing about being by the sea. Our walk took us to a nearby campervan sales centre (we know), but it was purely to look. After a couple of hours of viewing one particular van, and having Marge valued, we decided to go across to Brighton for lunch.

We stopped at Brighton Marina. A few years ago we sold a boat we owned on the Thames (after it was broken into, and it never felt the same again), to a young man who had it transported here to live on. Despite taking a walk around, we couldn't see it, perhaps that was for the best, they say never go back!

We'd had our lunch at Pizza Express, sat outside, along with many other people, who couldn't believe that it was the third week of October and here we were soaking up the sun beside the boats basking in the marina. During lunch, we discussed buying another van, but as we were not both in agreement on this particular one we decided to give it a miss.

Tomorrow we must return home, so late this afternoon we retraced our journey back to the lovely Sussex town of Arundel.

Tonight's stop is in the pub car park of the Black Rabbit (please google it), alongside the river Arun. It is a beautiful setting, and the price to stay here is a donation into the charity collection box on the bar, but besides this we had a couple of drinks as normal. Tomorrow morning we hope the weather will be fine, as at the end of the river we can see Arundel castle, and we know it will make a great photograph.

Tonight, all cosy in the van, with toasted cheese and onion sandwiches and a glass of red wine, what's not to like! We are already thinking about a trip away with Marge in November, weather permitting.

Peacehaven.

A great start to the day this morning. After a warmer night, the sun was already bright and the outside temperature a respectable 15c.

Although we were close to Chichester , we opted this morning to visit Dell Quay, a small port within Chichester harbour. The harbour itself is the smallest area of outstanding natural beauty in England, but despite this, it is home to 55,000 birds, 10,000 boats and 8,500 residents.

We have been here before many years ago, but never the less, we enjoyed taking a walk along the shingle beach, the glassy surface of the sea dazzling in the bright sunlight. The sea so still, the flotsam too lazy to move.

The heat of the autumn morning, a respectable 25c, brought beads of sweat to our foreheads. The continuing fine weather, makes us want to fire up Marge and just travel, travel, travel! To us, being away in Marge is a real tonic, we just can't get enough of.

Leaving the tranquility of Dell Quay behind, we journeyed towards Newhaven. We couldn't believe it was already nearly three weeks since we returned there on the ferry from France.

Looking for somewhere to stop for lunch, we noticed a field full of pumpkins, as we waited for the traffic lights to change at a road junction. We diverted into the car park adjacent, already busy with parents and children enjoying a half term activity of picking their own pumpkins at the 'Pumpkin Patch'. After a look around to marvel at the different variety of pumpkins on offer, we settled back into the van for our lunch.

This afternoon we went to view another campervan, which was the reason for our visit to this area. As nice as it was, and would really have suited us, we felt the corrosion on the underside, and a bit too much 'touching up', made it a no go. Further research into past MOT's did not prove to be reassuring reading. Back in Marge, we appreciated her finer qualities.

Tonight, we are staying behind the The Tavern public house, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven. There is another van here. The couple are booked on tomorrows early ferry to France. They are heading to Spain for the winter, flying home for Christmas. Then back to catch a ferry to Morocco. We could only be envious.

Before going into the pub for a drink (the requirement for parking overnight in the carpark), we took a walk out along the coast road to the supermarket.

On our return, we were wowed by the dramatic sunset over nearby Brighton, promising a fine day tomorrow.