Wednesday 28th (Day 1)
Well a day of events - well one mainly. We set off around 11.00am (the MH was at our address) for a stop at a pub by a canal with the intention of a nice stroll along it. Unfortunately it had rained all night and roads were flooded and the M25 was like driving through a curtain of mist with the usual "why was that long queue" being voiced. Eventually we were driving up the M1. Chris kept stating that the smell of diesel was strong - ignore. We filled up with LPG and continued on. I then realised we were not getting good mileage. We stopped at a layby and discovered we were shedding diesel everywhere it was pouring out under the engine. As luck would have it we were five minutes from a Fiat dealer. The tale then could have been very different with hotels / car hire etc. However after much talk and a bit of good luck things were sorted in a couple of hours. (If they didn't have the parts we would have to wait a week.) A result as had we not noticed we would have woken up tomorrow with no diesel! Off to the Boat Inn at Cheddleston. A lovely old pub by the canal. Due to the events and, not needing too much encouragement, a couple of pints was the first order. A nice chat with a family with a caravan nearby and then time to cook as the pub did not do meals except at weekends. A dvd and then bed.
Thursday 29th (Day 2)
A good nights sleep and a quiet night - apart from a few ducks. After breakfast we opted to do yesterday's walk along the canal. We thought it was the Trent and Mersey Canal and indeed another walker told us it was. It turned out to be the Caldon Canal openned in 1779 to transport coal and limestone to Stoke potteries. Part way we passed the Cheddleton Flint Mill complete with an old canal side crane for loading / unloading the boats. At one point the Caldon Canal went under another canal (Trent and Mersey?). On the walk back we stopped at a pub for a coffee. Continuing walking we paused to try and see a woodpecker tapping away. While close we failed to spot it. Setting off in the MH for Chester and Camperfest 18 was next. Traffic was quite good until we got to the Racecourse, our destination as the last 400m took 25 minutes. The ground was a bit squishy and the event staff only wanted one vehicle to go across the grass at a time. Even then the tractor was in use for some. So by 3.00pm we were all settled having said our 'hellos' to the 'Gang'. The rest of the day / evening involved sitting around chatting and general banter. Resa and Eric had earlier decided they could attend but the Easter and M6 traffic was dire and it took them a long time to arrive this, coupled with the fact that their tap had split giving the inside of their MH a good wash, caused them some consternation. The rest of evening continued with the six of us drinking and chatting until gone 11.00pm when bed was calling. The weather forecast for the next couple of days is 'ok' but not great.
Friday 30th (Day 3)
Considering that not a million miles away from our pitch was the biggest generator to supply electricity to lots of MH's it did not disturb us. Good Friday only meant one thing: Hot Cross buns for Breakfast. By around 10.30am we walked from the racecourse into Chester. This is a lovely compact city with timbered buildings and walkways either side of the road. A city I would recommend people to visit, although perhaps when the sun is shining and the temperature is in double figures. After a stroll around during which we found the market and bought some fresh vegetables and rump steak. We then saw a church minister walking up the road waving the incense around followed by a man carrying a cross and a group of people and at the rear two Roman soldiers. We followed them to the cathedral and entered. It is an impressive building. They had a service in 20 or so minutes so we're not overly welcoming and "It is Good Friday so no photographs" we were informed. As I type I have not yet been struck down by a bolt of lightening. After this we strolled around the city walls, stopping partway to put said steak in the fridge as we passed the racecourse. Next we met all of the twelve other people in the group for a pub lunch and chat. This was followed by a bomb burst of people with some going to the riverside, some to the shops and some back to base. Eventually we returned and had a late dinner with the best steak we have eaten in a long time followed by four of us going to Resa and Eric's MH for some chatting, putting the world to rights and playing UNO, which somehow I won. A late night.
Saturday 31st (Day 4)
Well it was meant to have rained from 6.00pm yesterday for 12 hours and it didn't so I thought it had, perhaps, missed us. However I was wrong as all night long from just before midnight it rained and rained. The racecourse ground has been very soggy and now we have a swimming pool outside our MH. It looks like we will need to be towed off. Anyway that is for another time. We started the day with a good cooked breakfast and then preparations were put into motion to celebrate one of the group's birthdays this afternoon - a 60th all but a few days. We then strolled over to the food festival - the 'reason' we came here. Lots of nibbles and tasters - cheese, chutneys, jams, wines, gins and more But it was still a cold event. A quick pop into town as we were running out of milk and some of the others needed the odd thing or two. Returning we were tempted into a pub for a beer and a chat with a couple from Llandudno also on the site in a 1976 VW and good luck to them. Back to 'the marshlands' and we all gathered for cocktails at the festival. I have never before seen people dressed for the Arctic drinking cocktails! it really wasn't warm at all. For my part, and unusually, I got very cold and returned to the MH to warm up. Preparations were then finalised for Chris' 60th 'celebration' (no not my Chris). She was nicely surprised and there followed an evening of drinking, laughing and general frivolity which, while like most evenings, the occasion made it special and a birthday cake and prosecco made a difference. Much too much drinking took place until gone 11.00pm when we all retired to bed with most of us deciding to stay tomorrow while a few were to leave.
Sunday 1st (Day 5)
We woke to a yellow thing hovering in the sky! Breakfast and showering was undertaken and then we all gathered discussing how we were going to get off the grass. I walked and worked out a potential escape route but the OH was in no hurry and opted to wait for the tractor, which didn't start pulling people off the field until midday. Much fun was had by our group watching people seek terra firma off the field some where successful and some failed miserably. By around 1.00pm I opted for my route to escape as we lost nothing, If I got stuck the tractor I was waiting for (along with a hundred others) would have to help me. My route worked and I parked on the concrete waiting for Chris to come across and join me. Then off to the Hollybush Inn on the Caldon Canal north of Stoke-onTrent where we had the coffee last Thursday. A good run of about 90 minutes found us parked up in a fairly level carpark. Resa and Eric were to join us but tried to get off the Chester site unsuccessfully. They were still an hour plus behind us so we went for a canal side walk and found the Caldon joined the Trent and Mersey canal about half a mile away. Returning to the MH we saw Resa and Eric had just arrived so a further walk in the other direction followed to the Boat Inn for a pint. Back again to the Hollybush and a change out of our muddy clothes and into the pub for dinner. What followed was an excellent meal at a very reasonable cost. A starter and Sunday roast for £20, Back to the MH for a quiet drink and then 10.30pm saw four weary souls go to bed. The weather tomorrow is wet followed by yet more wet with an outside chance of the wet being snow so a prompt start homeward is the plan.
Monday 2nd (Day 6)
As we left Resa's MH last night it started to rain lightly. This got more persistent as the night wore on and in the morning it was still raining. Clearly the decision to leave Chester a day early was a good one. We were up earlier than usual and so before 9.00am we were off. The pub car park was in a deep vale and as we drove up and out of it we encountered a light dusting of snow. The drive to park the MH was exceptionally good. We then cleaned most of the mud away and drove home. This was the slowest part of the journey. Overall it was a good long weekend. The MH problems, the rain, the mud and the cold would make you think otherwise. However the 'gang' and the fun made up for it. The question of whether we would return is "yes to Chester as it is a lovely city in the warm" but "No if it was expected to be cold".