St Neots.

[floydraser]

St Neots Day 1 Wednesday 10th May. Dull and wet, rather like myself.

 

The main reasons for the trip were:

To blow the cobwebs out of the caravan; to check everything worked including the newly fitted electric mover. We always mothball the van for the winter months.

Respite from caring duties.

To check out the site and area for future visits.

For reason 1 the first outing is always around 1 ½ hours away from home just in case I have to nip back for something or we have to abandon the break altogether. One year I had to shoot home because I had left the toilet cassette in the garage!

There had been thunderstorms on the Monday and Tuesday. The Camping and Caravan Club's site at St Neots is right in the banks of the Great Ouse. I checked the weather forecast as we took our first G&T and it gave a flood warning for our area!The Ouse Valley Way is the only thing between the river and the campsite and there is no border. Hence the need for a code to use the facilities.

The warden who pitched us asked that we stay off the grass as much as possible due to waterlogging, we had an all weather pitch with hard standing and electric hook up. Even some of the other all weather pitches were under water!

Nice site, modern facilities and friendly staff.

Fishing (when the season starts) is just £3 a day but there didn't seem to be many swims. I'll have to hope there aren't many other anglers next time..

[floydraser]

Day 2 Thursday we walked into St Neots. I didn't take many pics because the weather made everything look so dull. There seems to be plenty of nice walks without having to drive and thankfully, a lot of tarmac pathways.

Signs under the bridge stated the speed limit to be 4mph but with the river at it's upper limit the flow down the middle must have been more than that! Looking around the boats and river though, this area didn't look more attractive than the Broads.

Looking at the Bridge House you need a little imagination: try a sunny day in Summer, a weekday lunchtime and a seat overlooking the river. Yep, I think we'll have to try that one.

Thursday is market day in St Neots. Big market square but only a few stalls. A couple of stalls selling plants, a couple selling ladies clothes, a bag stall where Mrs Raser bought yet another handbag, and shouty man trying to sell meat from the back of a large lorry, and failing miserably.

We walked back to the site with the intention of walking along the Ouse Valley Way to the River Mill pub. Unfortunately the path was flooded so we tried a round about route, but never made it. We stopped for a coffee by the river where we saw some plots of land for sale next to the river, for liveaboards. Price around £45k + £200 pa service charge for tap water and a remote parking space.

[floydraser]

Day 3 we tried Cambridge but it was a wash out. I remembered my way to Asda after 11 years but they had extended the place into a retail park. The cold rain was being blown about by a strong breeze so we left central Cambridge on the to do list when Mrs Raser will have her bus pass too and libation may be taken.

The day finished with a visit from a warden with the evacuation notice, and a firey sunset.

 

It was a lovely, relaxing time away but we were looking forward to getting home. The caravan mover proved to be a great success and the extra weight never made a dent in the economy figures. However on hitching up we discovered a problem: after 12 years of working, on and off, one of the indicators failed. I have made a Youtube video about the trouble I've had with the rear lights on this van and I thought it was all coming back to haunt me again. It turned out to be just a bulb. An orange tinted bulb for which I didn't have a spare so I popped in the clear one for reversing, just to get me home. I will be pushing the boat right out and buying TWO orange bulbs as I can't quite remember how many times I've turned each way, so I have no idea when the other one will go.

[Smoggy]

So which pubs did you try in my home town? The Ale Taster is a hidden gem....

[floydraser]

Sadly none this time but thanks for the tip. It was a bit early when we were in the town but luckily we had our own supply. There'll definitely be a next time though..

[floydraser]

Forgot to mention the site wi fi: it's beginning to remind me of holiday camps we used to go to as kids - the heated swimming pool had broken the week before and the engineer was coming after you'd gone home!