Green Cockatoos over London

We have not long been back from what was our longest trip in two years and we were only away for two weeks!!!  Our little tour involved four campsites and our journey sort of involved a circumnavigation of London, although at a distance. Encouragingly the weather forecast looked to be good for most of the trip.  

Our first port of call was the Club site at Bognor Regis, Rowan Park. It is situated on the outskirts of the town and is opposite a small retail park which is handy for shopping. Some pitches do suffer from road noise but where we were pitched it was generally OK. There is a bus every 90 minutes from near to the campsite into the town. I know that doesn’t sound very frequent but those familiar with using public transport the key is in the planning. The fit could walk the couple of miles into town and you always have the option of a taxi if all else fails. 

Not meaning to upset anyone but Bognor is fairly ordinary and some might say run down but if you explore you do find places that turn that view on its head.  Another day saw us on the bus again but this time the much more frequent 700 Coastliner service that runs between Brighton and Portsmouth. We were only going as far as Chichester, a pleasant small Cathedral City. After a restorative coffee in M&S we set off for the Cathedral. Fortunately Chichester does not charge and entrance fee, instead leaving it up to the individual to contribute what they wish. Couldn’t leave Chichester without first wandering down to the old Ship Canal Basin. This was once part of a canal route between London and Portsmouth although it never enjoyed much success as it was completed too near to the birth of the railways.  

After our five days at Bognor we moved on the relatively short distance to Crowborough and the C&CC site on the edge of the town. Just because the distance wasn’t great it didn’t mean we arrived there quickly. The A27 was blocked at the Lewes Bypass so we had to go through the town. Now that we drive a fairly large motorhome I like to comfort myself that anywhere a bus can go so can I!!! It’s a bit of a false premise as they do it day after day. I do realise that breathing in at the wheel doesn’t actually make the motorhome narrower!!! We got through with inches to spare. 

Crowborough is quite good base from which to explore. We only planned to be there for three nights and our main place to visit was Royal Tunbridge Wells. Pretty good bus service every half hour. We had visited the Pantiles in Tunbridge before but I don’t really recall the main town which is higher up. The main shopping area is quite large and we explored this first. From here it was downhill, literally, to the Pantiles. It is an attractive area of, now mainly, restaurants.  The following day we walked into Crowborough which does not seem to have much of note about it, but we did find a pub where we had a meal. 

After Crowborough we headed for London and the Club’s Abbey Wood site. We decided to ignore the Club instructions for getting to the site. Not something I do every day but in this case I thought it justified. Instead of the A2 route to the site we continued on the M25 almost to the Dartford Crossing and left the motorway at junction 1A and headed for Erith and Thamesmead along better roads than Club directions. Worth pointing out that this route is not sign posted in any way which the official route is. At Thamesmead on the A2016 we exited towards Abbey Wood, easy peasy!!  

Abbey Wood has changed out of all recognition since our last visit fifteen years ago. It was also very busy with three Italian motorhomes being turned away as we arrived as the site was full. We did eventually find a hardstanding pitch. Because of the tree cover we couldn’t get the satellite to work but they do have a booster system. I suspect it won’t be a site or location that everyone will like as its right in the middle of urban London. The beauty, of course, is the easy access to public transport into Central London. There is a bus from quite near to the campsite which goes to Greenwich and unlike the train drops you off right next to all the attractions and with a bus pass, its free! OK it’s a slower journey but when you factor in the extra walking at each end by using the train there is very little in it.  Our first outing from the site was to Greenwich where there is a lot to see. Not only the Cutty Sark, but the National Maritime Museum, Royal Naval College, Queens House and the Greenwich Royal Observatory. All within easy distance of each other. However, just a word of warning it is quite a steep climb up to the Royal Observatory but there are lovely views from the top. Not only has Abbey Wood changed since our last visit but so has the London Sky Line with many iconic buildings.  

The following day we went back to Greenwich but this time on the train. Abbey Wood Station is also part of the Crossrail project so from 2018 there will be even better and faster links into Central London and beyond. We had been blessed with lovely weather during our stay and what better way to enjoy it than taking the Thames Clipper from Greenwich Pier to the City via Bankside Pier along the river. It’s not a cheap option but you can get discounts with a Travelcard or Oyster Card. Right by Bankside Pier is Shakespheres Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern art gallery and in front of both reaching out over the Thames towards St Pauls is the Millennium Bridge which Margaret was particularly keen to see. The wobble does not seem to be there anymore to any discernible effect. I forgot the cockatoos! With glass of wine in hand I glanced up at the tree over our pitch only to see what looked like a green cockatoo. It was only the first glass so could it be true? Fortunately, according to one of the wardens, there are quite a lot of such birds that live in and around the parks of London. Thanks goodness, sanity restored!!! 

Well two days exploring just a corner of London was exhausting and time to move on to our final destination, the C&CC site at Hertford. We again retraced our route back to the M25 and were surprised, with the new system, that we were very soon in the tunnel of the Dartford Crossing. It seems the M25 is busy whatever day or whatever hour you use it but we pulled off onto the A10 for Hertford with no delays. The approach to the site is quite narrow and despite it being after midday there were still quite a few people leaving, fortunately mainly in cars!! The following day, which was dull and wet at times, we walked into Hertford which was just over a mile distance, a real test for the old knee.! The next day it was back to MK and time to start thinking about the next trip! 

There is more of this story and more photographs on my website here 

http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/travels_in_the_uk_2015.html