Motorhoming by the canal, and a trip to Exeter June 2022

My daughter, Nicola, lives in Exeter, and we had promised to visit her to deliver a tumble drier to her. The tumble drier fitted in the 125 no problem, it would not have been so easy in the 105.

Prior to the trip I examined the map trying to find a good stopover in order that we could break down the travelling time into more manageable chunks. I found a pub online, the Hartley Arms in Wheaton Aston, not far from the motorway near Cannock (approximately halfway along our trip to Exeter). The pub is nicely situated next to the Shropshire Union Canal, and allows motorhomers to park overnight if they dine in the pub. It also advertises itself as dog friendly. https://tinyurl.com/msrd8fu7

I gave them a ring to book an evening meal on our first day, and confident that we had a stopover organised we set off to Wheaton Aston. After a non-eventful journey we turned off the M6 at Cannock and headed West to Wheaton Aston, which we found within minutes. After crossing the hump back bridge that spans the canal we turned left into the car park, and headed towards the far end of the car park as instructed. We parked up and took Finn on a walk along the canal path, admiring the barges parked up on the pub quayside. Once Finn had done his duty we decided to visit the pub to announce our arrival.

We found out, upon entering the pub, that it was only dog friendly outside of food service times, and that after 5pm we would have to take Finn out to the tables and benches on the patio, where we would have to eat our evening meal.

Whilst waiting for 5pm to arrive we enjoyed a glass or two of cider whilst admiring a weeks old puppy that was oblivious to it's surroundings. We then arranged an earlier time for our prebooked evening meal and returned to the motorhome to set up for the evening. We then took a walk through Wheaton Aston to explore our surroundings. It is a pretty village going through an expansion, with a large housing estate being built in it's centre.

We quickly visited the village shop to buy some essentials for the evening (chocolate!), and returned to the pub in time for our evening meal. Luckily it wasn't a busy evening and we had the choice of table in the outside eating area.

After our meal and wine we turned in early, and, surprisingly, were not bothered by any noise from the car park, until early next morning, when someone picked up a car that had been left overnight.

Whilst we have been happy with our stays at the Hartley I have become aware of another stop, with a different set up, not far away https://www.caravancampingsites.co.uk/staffordshire/anchorinn/anchorinn.html

We quickly rose, made tea, and as there were no connections to bother with, we were able to make a quick exit, with a plan to stop to eat breakfast at the nearby Cannock Services. We have since found out that there is a cafe nearby that can provide a substantially cheaper breakfast.

Whilst I visited the Costas in the Cannock Motorway service area, and received an excellent sausage bap Sue took Finn for a walk around the service area dog trail. She later bought herself a more healthy breakfast whilst Finn and I sat in the motorhome to await the rest of our journey.

Once everyone had eaten, and drank, and done their duties we resumed the trip to Exeter, and, after another non-eventful journey we found ourselves at the Exeter Racecourse site- https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-sites/england/devon-and-cornwall/devon/exeter-racecourse-club-campsite/ by mid afternoon.

Upon arriving we set to connecting up to the services, and telephoned Nicola, who along with her partner, Sy came to visit, and to inspect the motorhome for the first time. After a brief social time we decided to leave for a pre arranged meal at the Ley Arms in Kenn https://theleyarmskenn.co.uk , which I had arranged over the internet.

The meal was excellent, and the pub was a very special place, and had been there for many years. Interestingly, Nicola, who lives nearby had never heard of the pub before.

Nicola and Sy gave us a lift back to the site where we were to find that I had remembered the code to the Racecourse gate correctly, although , to be honest, I had some doubt.

We invited them in for a nightcap, organised the transfer of the tumble drier, bade them farewell and settled down for the night.

The next morning brought my 63rd birthday, which was another reason why we had travelled to Exeter, and Nicola had arranged a day out for us in the city, with a late Sunday lunch organised at the Agricultural Inn in Brampford Speke. - https://agriculturalinn.co.uk .

First we were given a guided tour of the city, where I was unfortunately taken by a stomach upset, which necessitated an urgent visit to a toilet (which luckily was located in the Tudor pub that Sir Francis Drake use to drink in, The Ship Inn - https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/devon/ship ). After spending a while in The Ship Inn soaking up the historic atmosphere we decided to recommence our city tour, eventually returning to the car for our visit to The Agricultural Inn.

Brampford Speke is a very small village, barely capable of dealing with the amount of parked cars attracted by The Agricultural Inn. The pub itself is very quirky with a courtyard, dining pods and wigwams/teepees in it's grounds. Luckily on the Sunday we visited it wasn't too busy, as I would imagine on a normal weekend day the grounds would be full of many noisy children. The day we visited was very quiet, and the outside barman only had to use his megaphone once. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in the grounds before being ushered to our table inside for what was an excellent meal. Nicola and I joked as to which of the two pubs over the weekend was the best.... her choice or mine.

Nicola and Sy returned us to the site where we made merry, drinking copious amounts of cider until the sun went down. We then said our goodbyes and settled down for the night.

The next morning we managed to leave the site within minutes of the deadline for departures, and set off up the M5. We stopped at the first services for refreshments and a dog walk before continuing what turned out to be an awful trip home. We were on the M5 the day that the Glastonbury Festival had finished, and spent most of the day in congested traffic.

Given the time that the journey was taking we were forced to make a number of stops for food, water and dog duties, which compounded to make the length of time the journey took to an incredible ten hours.

Not a nice end to a nide weekend!