Truma, Madly, Deeply

Derbyshire 1-2 July

Post from John

Home, one day at work then off again.

Late last year our Truma Combi unit (heating and hot water) stopped working on electricity, although it was still fine on gas. When we had Theodora serviced early this year, the dealer said it needed a new PCB; having installed it (and relieved us of a fair chunk of cash) they pronounced it fixed.

Errrrm – no.

As we discovered in Spain, things were better in the sense that power was actually getting to the unit, but nothing was coming out. Back in the UK, we phoned the dealer, who said it could be one of several different problems, and they would have to take out the unit and send it off to Truma’s UK headquarters. Ruth phoned Truma to ask their opinion; they promptly said “Why don’t you bring it directly to us?” As they are not impossibly far away from us (Foston, near Derby), we booked Theodora in for the morning of Thursday 2^nd.

We stayed the night before at a Caravan Club CL about 4 miles away; The Boars Head Hotel, near Draycott-in-the-Clay. This turned out to be a good choice; a decent sized, fairly level, field behind the hotel, with electricity provided, for £13 per night. We ate a tasty stir-fry in the hotel bar, with the added bonus that Ruth could watch Wimbledon on the big TV.

We arrived at Truma at 8.00am next morning and drove into their workshop bay; having parked the van, we were shown to the staff restaurant, where we could sit and enjoy a tasty bacon cob and coffee whilst the work was carried out. Two and a half hours later we were on our way, having had new heater elements fitted for (we thought) a reasonable price. We were extremely impressed with Truma; helpful over the phone, and knowledgeable and efficient at the workshop. We’d certainly recommend dealing with them direct if you have problems with your heating unit.

Calke Hall (NT) was the venue for a lunch stop and short wander, then back home ready to go back to work on the Friday.

Phew.

Here, There and Everywhere

Warwickshire and Oxfordshire 25th – 29th June

Post from John

Within the space of 14 days we have travelled to Edinburgh, Warwick, Banbury and Derbyshire. Whilst the trip to Edinburgh is technically outside the scope of this blog (we didn’t go in Theodora), I think it deserves a mention.

After all, it’s not every day that one’s daughter gets married…..

By way of recovering from the big event, we’d planned a short break in the motorcaravan. So two days after getting home from Edinburgh, we were trundling off along the A14, our destination being the Caravan Club site at Warwick Racecourse. It seems a bit odd weaving between the grandstands and over the course itself, but as usual, the club site was very good. Small, but the normal spotless facilities and just a 5-10 minute walk from the town centre. Also inside the racecourse are St Mary’s Lands, with a conservation area and lots of dog walks.

We spent Thursday afternoon in the Georgian surrounds of Leamington Spa, just a couple of miles to the east. The parks and gardens alongside the river Leam are an extremely pleasant spot to while away a sunny afternoon. Friday morning saw us taking the short walk into Warwick, where the Tudor heritage is a marked contrast to its younger neighbour down the road.  Half-timbered buildings, plenty of individual shops and cafes and the St Nicholas Park by the river Avon make for an enjoyable visit. We didn’t go to the magnificent castle, as we’d visited on a previous occasion.

Before moving on to Banbury, we visited Hill Close gardens. This little gem, located only a few hundred yards from the site, is a group of gardens dating back to the Victorian era, when they were used by the traders living in the town as a place to relax in. The gardens were saved from complete dereliction and redevelopment by Warwick council, and are now looked after by volunteers.

Moving down to Banbury, we stayed at a small private site, Barnstones Camping, a few miles outside the town. Although the pitches were somewhat smaller than club sites, it was nevertheless perfectly fine for a couple of nights. Heading in to Banbury on the Saturday afternoon, we assumed that the town was glad to see us, as they had laid on a welcoming parade….

…. then we realised that it was actually part of Armed Forces day.

A rather grey Sunday saw us heading off to Upton House (National Trust) a few miles west of Banbury. The property is the former home of Lord Bairsted, heir to the Shell Oil fortune and, more pertinent to the display, Chairman of Samuels Merchant Bank. At the outbreak of WW2, he moved the staff of the bank (about two dozen) out of London to live and work in Upton House. The interior of the house recreates this period, full of fascinating detail.

The view from the house is just the lawns and the distant fields:

 Walk across the lawn, however, and the hidden garden appears:

With the theme of “A Bank at War”, Upton House was certainly one of the more unusual NT properties we have visited, and we would certainly recommend it if you are in the area.

Monday saw us heading home in the warm sunshine, to catch our breath before setting off again.