A Triple THS Holiday

We should start off, I suppose, for those who don't know, explaining what a THS is, Tempory Holiday Sites (THS) are run by The Camping and Caravanning Club District Associations (DAs) for other members of the Club to enjoy great value camping in some of the best holiday locations in the country.

We have had this week booked off for some time, its the first week of the school holidays, Adele needs a break but the forecasts have been dismal, rain, wind, storms in fact everything you wouldn't have expected in July apart from snow and it probably did that somewhere in the country.

We couldn't make up our minds where to head to, our original plan was to go to North Wales but that was going to be wet, we then checked the east coast around Wells-next-the-sea but that was wet and windy, our thoughts were then drawn towards Cornwall but that too was a very mixed bag.

Back to plan A, North Wales it will be but not until Sunday as the weather seemed to improve from Sunday onwards.

Sunday 21st July

Day 1

We woke to bright skies, we showered and had a light breakfast and were on the road for just after 9.30am, the drive up to Wales was pleasant, No motorways, A458 to Shrewsbury then the A5 / A55 into Wales.

We arrived at lunch time and booked in to our first THS, temporary holiday site, run by the South Lancashire DA of The Camping and Caravanning Club.

The site was very wet, the stewards told us that Saturday the rain was of biblical proportions so definitely arrived on the better day.

We found a quite spot, put the kettle on and had lunch.

After a rest we took the short drive into Rhôs On Sea, parked up against the sea wall and took Archie for his first walk on a beach only to find it was mostly pebbles but he didn't seem to mind.

After a couple of hours we returned to the van, the skies had brightened and we were treated to some lovely afternoon sunshine, we headed back to the site via the promenade road through Rhôs On Sea and found a great day-time park up so made plans to get up early tomorrow to nab a spot.

Back at site we cooked up tea and played ball with Archie, he was again taking all the attention of other campers as they walked by.

After tea we settled down with a glass of cassis and our opening game of Othello, which if you really need to know, I lost, not a good start to the holiday championships but I still have plenty of time to get back to winning ways.

Archie was wacked and so were we, I took him for his nightly walk whilst Adele made up the bed, back at the van he went straight into his crate, curled up and went to sleep. 

Monday 22nd July

Day 2

True to our word we were up early, washed and off to the promenade park up for breakfast, a true camper breakfast, full English.

As the morning drew on the parking spaces started to fill up, we were lucky to find this and, at the moment, is free.

After tiding from breakfast we took a walk along the promenade back into the town, a small seaside town without being over touristy, plenty of local independent and artisan shops.

I was early afternoon by the time we returned to the campervan, neither of us were really hungry so settled on a cup of tea and piece of homemade cake.

The decision was made to take a drive into Llandudno, somewhere my parents used to regularary go but we have never been, it was very busy and although we found some inroad parking neither of us fancied a stroll, we continued along the seafront and came across the toll road that would take us up onto The Great Orme, something Mom & Dad had spoken about with fondness, so for the princely sum of £5.50 we took the scenic route, now you may know Adele is not one for heights and I did think that she would not like this drive one bit but she surprised me and herself a little too.

The road was narrow and all but a small section, one way so made driving easy, allowing us both to enjoy the views.

We stopped off at Saint Tundo's Church, built in 12th - 15th century, it stood proudly and wind swept almost on the top of The Great Orme.

We continued to the top, the views were spectacular especially as the skies had cleared. It was very windy, Archie was not keen but we did manage a short walk to take in the views and see the mountain cable car decend down this limestone headland back to the calms of Llandudno.

We on the other hand were only half way along this spectacular toll road, we continued and found a colony of grey seals basking in the sunshine, we stopped in a convenient spot to watch these lovely creatures for sometime.

We contiuned our coastal tour and gradually came down to sea level and back into Llandudno.

What a beautiful afternoon, we returned to the site still buzzing about the scenery and the seals.

After supper we once again played our favourite board game, Othello, once again I lost.

Tuesday 23rd July

Day 3

Woke early-ish, 8.00am, we both had showers then decided once again to return down to the promenade seafront parking for breakfast. I took Archie for his morning walk and had some ball play on the beach. Over breakfast we decided to move onto our next location, another THS about an hour away in Criccieth, Wales. We checked on the Clubs app for the details only to find that this meet didn't start until next weekend, so a backup was needed, after a little searching we found a replacement in the nearby town of Porthmadog at the towns Rugby Club, Sat-Nav programmed we set off, it was just over an hours drive , we arrived in beautiful sunshine, booked in with the stewards, topped up with water and found a quiet spot the the mountains of Snowdonia in the background.

We were a little late for lunch so decided to have an early tea then as recommended by the steward, took the 10 minute walk into Porthmadog, the walk took us through the back streets of the town which were very still apart from the odd dog walkers who were struck by Archie and all wanted a chat and give some fuss to Archie who really didn't mind.

We walked around the deserted town and around the still and peaceful harbour, we met a chap who lived on one of the boats who immediately started chatting about Archie, he had had the same breed but lost him to old age about a year ago, we had an interesting chat before he climbed aboard his boat and we returned to the campervan.

It was getting late so decided not to play Othello tonight.

Wednesday 24th July

Day 4

We woke to light rain and drizzle, we drove to Criccieth to have breakfast by the sea, we found plenty of parking both free and paid, there is also a European style Aire with parking for eight MoHos and a full service point.

We ate breakfast with the drizzle turning to rain, we checked what time the Castle opened, only to find it was closed on Tuesdays AND Wednesdays! One of the reasons to come here was to visit the castle, why would you closed THE major tourist attraction in the town for two days in the middle of the main tourist season?

It was late morning before we cleared away breakfast, we had been chatting and reading, the rain was now lighter so we wrapped up and took a walk along the seafront up into the town past the closed Castle to the northern beach, here we were caught by gale force winds, the castle must have been sheltering us from them on the other side. We did get to the end of the breakwater before returning to the campervan, past a very busy fish and chip shop and ice cream parlour, neither of us fancied either today, now we were all soaked, poor Archie wasn't happy about being wet through.

Dried off and kettle on we had tea and cake which always makes you feel better.

It was late afternoon now and it felt like November so packed up and returned to the THS, it appeared that others had gotten fed up with the weather as some units had already left.

We prepared tea, a warming mediterranean dish, cod with butter bean and chorizo stew, which was really tasty.

The rain had now turned to light mist, I took Archie for a short evening walk then back for another game of Orthelle.

I lost again, done know what's wrong, must be the cassis or the chocolate revels.

Thursday 25th July

Day 5

We woke early, we had had a lot of rain during the night but was now once again drizzling.

After emptying the tanks on the campervan we made our way back down to the seafront at Criccieth, the weather forecast was for more of the same for the rest of the day and heavy rain tomorrow so, over sausage sandwiches we decided to make the most of today, visit the castle and take another promenade walk, if the rain didn't get any worse.

By the time the castle had opened the drizzle had changed to mist, it was warm but still windy.

The castle is owned and run by CADW, the welsh version of English Heritage so our membership cards got us free entry.

There was a small exhibition giving us an overview of the castles history.

We then took a steepish walk up the granite rock to the castle, there's not a lot to see and on a clear day the views must be wonderful but today those views were limited.

We had a good hour or so exploring before leaving the castle and walked back down the hill to Cadwaladers Ice cream shop, we were not going to pass it by twice, Adele had strawberry and cream, for me a Jaffa cake ice cream both were super tasty.

Archie had his first specific doggy ice cream which he seemed to love.

With the forecast still wet for tomorrow we decided to leave Wales or more accurately North Wales and head south to our third THS in the welsh border town of Ross-on-Wye. The only issue was that it over three hours drive away, much further than I had thought, we said that if I was tired or it was getting too late we would find a closer stop.

There are no motorways to us but the drive was pleasant and there was little traffic, the Skys got brighter and the sun came out, we past a sign to our hometown of Kidderminster on route which was closer than our destination.

We arrived in Ross-on-Wye late afternoon, booked in and found a riverside spot, parked up and had a gin.

Friday 26th July

Day 6

Woke early, our plan today was to drive to another riverside spot right in the middle of town to have breakfast, we found this spot on our last visit a year or so ago, when we got there it had been also found by other vanners but we managed to find a spot next to a Spanish Benimar MoHo.

This morning neither of us fancied a cooked breakfast so munched of French style pasties and drank coffee.

The roadside parking gave us four hours Free parking, after breakfast we took the riverside walk into town, Ross-on-Wye is a lovely town, lots of old black & white styled buildings, the old Market house is a gem but was covered in tarpaulin having a major restoration project.

Adeles anti-social behaviour order has now expired (LOL) so is allowed to go into charity shops again and there were plenty for her to mooch in.

Archie and myself found a shady spot and watched the world go by, in-between his admirers coming along to give him some fuss.

Shopped out we returned to the THS to enjoy some afternoon sunshine and cake.

The evening pressed on, we had a BBQ of burgers and salad before relaxing as the sun went down.

Saturday 27th July

Day 7 

We woke to another beautiful day, albeit slightly overcast, it was early so over a continental style breakfast we decided to take the riverside walk, we first walked the lane to St. Marys Church in Foy, built in the 12th century, inside the wooden vaulted ceiling and oak choir stalls are some of its original features.

We sat a while on a bench in the grave yard overlooking the sheep grazing on the River Wye flood plains before continuing our walk to the old cast iron suspension bridge that crosses the river, built so we believe in 1919.

We returned to the campervan via a public footpath which cut through the corn fields and gave Archie his first run off the lead, he played fetch with his ball and behaved himself impeccably, returning to us without to much trouble, how he would behave with lots of distractions may have been different but for now that was a job well done.

Back at the van we had a light lunch under the canopy before reading and snoozing in the afternoon sun, it was a good job we went for a morning walk as it was getting really hot by now.

Saturday Night Is Date Night and being away in the campervan doesn't stop this, we sat with an aperitif and nibbles before sitting down to Lamb Koftas with Mediterranean salad.

Our final game of Othello followed with another disasterous result, for me anyway. The holiday championship results Adele 4 - 0 Nige.

Oh well here's to our next trip when I can claw some better results back (hopefully)

Sunday 28th July

Day 8

We woke a little later this morning, the sun was once again out in almost cloudless skies, I took Archie out for a stroll around the field and returned for his breakfast and a coffee for me.

We had a small breakfast of bacon, egg and tomatoes with a round of bread, we sat reading for the rest of the morning. Archie sat and watched the fishermen.

One of the real benefits of using THS sites is that there are normally no times you must leave, so we made the most of it, we had lunch around 2.30pm just sandwiches and a bag of crisps. We didn't really want to leave it was quiet and pleasant here with only the odd canoe passing by to break the peace.

By 4.30pm we needed to pack away, its only just over an hour from home so reluctantly said our goodbyes and gave our thank yous to the stewards who ran this THS before heading to the M50 & M5 home, all was good until we reached Worcester South were there were long queues so headed off the motorway and travelled through the city before rejoining the A456 back to Kidderminster.

We have had another lovely holiday, we did have the odd mishap with wrong dates for THS and closed castles and we had some mixed weather but it didn't spoil it for either of us.

Here's to our next benivanadventure.

benivanadventures - travels in our campervan

Trip Details:

Miles: 426  

Ave MPG: 32.8

Fuel Cost: £ 87.35

Car Parking: £0.00

Autoroute Charges £ o.00

LPG £ 0.00 

Nights: 7

Camp Fees: £ 85.00

Camp Ave per night: £ 12.14

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