The Happy Wanderer

Having been asked many times to write an article for the Church magazine I thought that I had better do something about it. But where do I start, well I suppose it started many years ago when I used to walk the South Downs Way with Ruby, this started as a one off then continued for the next eleven years till she was ninety, even then it was me who had to give up due to a bad back and six months in bed. She used to say to me that if you want to do something enough, do it! So thinking she was a good role model and having a stubborn nature I did and do, “travel that is”.

While recovering and learning to walk again, I started looking at motor homes with respect to travelling here there and everywhere. It just seemed that the more I looked at vans and worked out what I wanted to do with it, the bigger the van grew. So once well enough and had sold my business I proceeded to set about buying the van that I had decided would meet my requirements, a Pilote Galaxy and the adventures began. This was in the year two thousand, many miles have been travelled since then, the longest to date was one of six and a half thousand miles over two months, this I will cover at a later date, unless of course someone says “please no more of your ramblings”.

Yes! I was nervous when I took delivery of the motor home, so off I went to the New Forest to ensure that I had to learn every thing about how it all worked and how to use it. With the travels I had in mind it would be essential that I knew how every thing in the van worked. Then off I went on the first of my trips accompanied by my friend Sasha, my cat. That first trip was of quite small duration and distance compared to the ones I now undertake, but I was still learning to walk properly at that time.

That trip was round the North coast of Norfolk starting at Kings Lynne heading east to Great Yarmouth, many of the fishing villages and towns are well known to the Walsingham Pilgrims from St Georges Church having visited them on coach trips, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Hunstanton, Brancaster, Blakeney, Cromer; also of course Holkham Hall and Thursford Hall with steam engines and Wurlitzer Organ which was fantastic to sit down and listen to, not forgetting Merry Go Round on which I remember riding with nearly every other horse having a member of St George’s riding on its back when there a few years previously while on pilgrimage. All of these places had their points of interest and not only were they interesting but very peaceful and relaxing. While staying on some of the camp sites around the coast there were a lot of children about as it was during the school summer holidays. So when taking Sasha for her evening walk on a puppy lead it caused great interest, Sasha must have thought it her birthday as she had never had so much petting and stroking in her life. After leaving the coast I headed for Norwich to visit my brother for a few days then home.

Having completed that trip without too many problems and no disasters I started planning my next which would be of longer duration and many more miles, along the North coast of Scotland and island hopping down through the outer Hebrides. I will cover this in my next instalment, “when I get round to it”, not that I am away very much, as the Vicar says “I think I remember you! Didn’t you used to come to St Georges at one time?”

Christine Culley