Going to the Chapel...

2 - 6 May 2014

Well, Chapel Lane Caravan Club Site, actually, which is our base for a few days away over the May Day Bank Holiday, located just off the M42 to the south of Birmingham. Packwood House (NT) was a convenient stop for lunch and proved to be a delightful place. This “small and intimate” Tudor house was remodelled during the 1920s and 1930s by Graham Baron Ash, who was a restoration enthusiast, collecting furniture, fittings, tapestries from other houses being sold or demolished, to recreate a manor house of the Jacobean era. The Carolean Garden is very pretty and behind it lies the impressive Yew Garden, from which you can look back at the house. 

Any vegetable gardener will be in awe of the Kitchen Garden, so precisely laid out and maintained. From Packwood it was only a short drive (10 miles) to Chapel Lane.

After a cold night (heating and extra blanket brought into action at 3 am!) we woke to a cloudless, blue sky, but despite the sun, there was a chill to the air. We made an early start to drive to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway (GWR) station at Toddington. We were on the first train of the day, departing at 10:00 am (quite an achievement!) and were joined at the next station down the line, Winchcombe, by our friends, Barbara and Clive, who are also motorcaravanning in the area. A very pleasant morning was spent riding on the train down to Cheltenham at one end of the line and up to Laverton Loop at the other. GWR are currently fundraising to complete the line as far as Broadway. Engines were photographed and refreshments taken; all very enjoyable.

After lunch at the 'van, we headed north and stopped to photograph a train as it passed over the Stanway Viaduct and then made a brief stop in Alcester to get a few provisions from Waitrose (no height barrier), where a young car park attendant immediately recorded our vehicle details. I asked if we were doing anything wrong (we were, after all, taking up two bays) but he assured us we were not; he was recording the arrival of every vehicle to make sure no-one exceeded the two hour limit. While in the store we remembered we had not yet joined up to “My Waitrose” so took the opportunity to do so, thereby qualifying for free tea and coffee and a free newspaper, having only spent £9.30! Bargain! Once we got back to the 'van, the sun was still shining so the day ended with some relaxation outside.

On Sunday we visited Chris, Marie and Ben, as planned. Louise and Steve were staying with them for a long weekend, so we had our first family get together since the arrival of Ben. And a lovely lunch out at The Bell at Bell Broughton – recommended.

Monday, and the last full day away. We whiled away the morning at the Transport Museum, situated in the old Midland Red bus depot, right next to the site. There are scores of buses on display, covering the full history of the motor bus from the early to the late 20^th century. 

There is a lot of information about social history, which makes it appealing to non-transport geeks! A miniature railway and bus trips were also on offer. The afternoon was spent exploring the surrounding countryside. NB Alvechurch has a free car park with no height barrier. To round the day off, John, who does not normally cook, produced a fine risotto, a lovely treat for me (I did do the washing up in return!)