Day 41: Monday 28 April - Our Trip Resumes, by Ken

Having resolved Mabel’s insurance issue we were hopeful that DVLA have provided a registration number and we could finally get on the road. Those hopes were dashed immediately I spoke to Pete Maynard at Elite Motorhomes. He had heard nothing and felt it wasn’t worth speaking to DVLA as they would just give the party line of their turnaround time being 10 days. He suggested I might like to follow up with DVLA in future and gave me their number. I felt that Pete was shirking his responsibilities, but was happy to have control of that area and not rely on him.

We decided we needed to get on with our trip and use Smarty for transport. We briefly considered going over to Ireland which was the first country on our itinerary, but decided we needed to be closer to Banbury in order to collect Mabel as soon as DVLA had done their bit with the registration number. So, we booked two nights at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, a pub in Arnside on the River Kent immediately south of the Lake District.

After a brief shopping trip to Solihull we stopped for lunch at the Drum and Monkey pub in Bentley Heath where Jane ordered ham, egg and chips while I opted for pasta with chicken and chorizo.

The Drum and Monkey

Drum and Monkey Pub Sign

Back at Phil and Kerry’s house we packed a bag and waited until 15:30 when we knew Olivia would be home from school. We dropped round to John and Ruth’s house to wish Olivia a happy birthday and give her presents of books and some Euro for her summer holiday in Sicily.

Olivia Opening Her Presents (Watched By Her Friend Rachel Who Shares The Same Birthday)

Then we set off in Smarty for Arnside, opting to take the M6 toll road north of Birmingham to avoid getting stuck in the afternoon rush hour on the M6 which we knew from previous experience can grind to a halt at peak periods. Joining the M6 north of Wolverhapton we made good time on our journey northwards until signs advised there was a 30 minute delay on the motorway in the Preston area. We chose to leave the motorway and drive through Preston to avoid the delay but found ourselves in queues of seemingly like-minded people. As a result, our diversion probably didn’t save a lot of time, but at least we weren’t on the motorway going nowhere.

We arrived at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks well after 19:00 to be advised last orders for dinner were at 19:30. They must go to bed early in this part of the world. They held a table for us while we were shown to our room. Dinner was an average Hunter’s Chicken for me and a burger for Jane which she was happy with.

Sign In Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

After dinner we sat in a bay window in the bar and watched a glorious sunset.

Arnside Sunset