La Vie à Quatre Roues! Jour 1

Portsmouth Harbour

With only 3 gears and an average speed of just 35 mph, M wanted to avoid the rush hour traffic so we were on the road before 7am, on a misty muggy morning. By 8.30am we were at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre, waiting for it to open!

After a stroll around the stones (see extra) and a look at the exhibition centre, it was back on the road and to Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire where we stopped for a picnic lunch, and a quick look around the house and gardens (see extra). And then things started to go wrong...

The engine wouldn’t start! After 45 minutes underneath the van, M managed to get the starter motor working and we were back on the road again. Stopping for petrol at Gosport, we then had the same problem! This time though it didn’t take quite so long to fix. Just as well then that we left so early and had given ourselves plenty of spare time to get to the ferry.

To be on the safe side, before heading to the port, we found a Halfords in Portsmouth to pick up some spare parts. Guess what? The van wouldn’t start and this time it took over an hour to fix. At this point we were seriously doubting whether we should continue the trip, but we persevered and made it to the ferry with plenty of time to spare. Thank goodness I’m in the company of a top notch engineer!

And so the adventure begins...