Friday 3rd November (Day 1)
So off for a quick weekend. We arrived at the motorhome just before midday and found the habitation door would not open. Never mind as I could get in by the passenger door. Well I could have but parked too close to the caravan next to us. Fortunately Chris is slimmer than me and could just get in. We then got the motorhome out of its parking space and loaded it up with our clothes, food etc. We then drove out and filled with water. It was the a short drive to Stoke by Clare in Suffolk to a stopover at The Lion pub. The car park was quite small and not very appealing with three cars that were non movers. We parked up and my first job was to dismantle the door to fix the lock. Unfortunately a small Spring had broken so it was not fixable, this means to open the door we will look like burglars as we need a ruler to slip the catch. Next was lunch and a cup of tea. By now it was 2.00pm and we were off on a circular walk found on the Internet. It was a two hour walk where, not only were the instructions spot on, but also the way markers were all there, quite unusual. It was a pleasant and very warm walk with lots of information from the printed sheet. Stoke college was at the end of the walk with a 600 year history. There was also a solid dovecote with Anne Boleyn's crest on it. It was built by the college Dean in 1536 making Anne its patron as he tried to secure the future of the college. A complete failure as soon after Henry VIII chopped her head off! Back at the motorhome we stopped at the small shop by where we parked. We bought a few items and we're pleased to find we were supporting a shop run by, and for, the community. It was then a relax in the motorhome before going to the pub for a meal.
Saturday 4th November (Day 2)
Quite a bit of rain through the night and we wake to a grey forbidding sky. Yesterday the lock on the motorhome was found to be broken and today the shower. While water came out of it the pump would not turn on, so no pressure or hot water. A strip wash was the answer. We left the pub around 10.00am and drove back towards Braintree where we stopped for a quick Tesco shop. It was then a short 40 minute drive to Abbess Roding Hall, a Certified Location, where we met up with Chris and Carolyn. It was still raining so we sat around catching up on family news. The forecast said the rain would stop at 1.00pm; how wrong could they be? Well 12.45pm it stopped so we donned our walking gear and were off on a walk with a pub as our destination for lunch. 2.00pm saw us eseconced in the Black Horse for a huge sandwich 'snack'. 3.00pm saw us strolling, very full, back to the site. More chatting and catching up (and putting the world to rights) until 6.30pm when we walked two fields up to the Camping and Caravan Club Rally site as were invited to the firework display there. A good 20 minute display after which we returned to our motorhome to have dinner - beef goulash and cauliflower mash plus the odd bit of red grape juice. Much more chatting took place until midnight when we said our good nights.
Sunday 5th November (Day 3)
A cold start but with bright sunshine. After breakfast we booted up and went for a walk. The idea was to visit the ruins of Rockwood Hall but the footpath to it had 'private property' sign. So we walked on. The walk was still really nice and we saw old WWII buildings with radar and searchlights as as we were in an area where bomber command were based here at Matching airfield. There was also a memorial to those serving in bomber command. We also saw some deer which was a pleasant surprise. back for a cup of tea before we said our goodbyes and made our way back home.