benivanadventures

The year started as it had ended with restrictions on our daily lives to help combat the Covid-19 global pandemic, we had hoped that this year we would see things start to improve, little did we know at the start of the year that things were going to get worse. January After a very restricted Christmas the pandemic took hold and we were placed in another national lockdown, only being allowed out for essentials. Vera, our van was parked up with us unable to use her. February Lockdown continued, but as the end of the month approached news came that it would soon end. March The national lockdown ended but we were advised to 'stay local' we found that Wales and Scotland were practically out of bounds and we really didn't feel like travelling at the moment. April With April arriving and the new shoots of spring all around us we started looking at trips away. There was a THS (temporary holiday site) advertised up in Southport at the end of the...

In our latest short video (links below), we take a day out to The National Trusts' Wightwick Manor, (pronounced "Wittick") it is a Victorian manor house & gardens located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. It is one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Aesthetic movement and Arts and Crafts movement. Come along with us as we take a look around. #nationaltrust   #wightwickmanor   #history   #dayout   #staycation   #westmidlands #wolverhampton   #treasurehouse   #benimar   #benivan   #benivanadventures   #travels   #travelsinourcampervan   #kenithecrow Wightwick Manor PLEASE LIKE & SUBSCRIBE Thank You for Watching See You Again On Our benivanadventures

Thursday 2nd December Day 1 We woke to a hard frost but beautiful blue skies, after breakfast we took the opportunity  to take 'Vera' our benivan 120 the short trip to Hanbury Hall, now owned by the National Trust, this 18th century, queen anne style stately home is set in lovely gardes & parkland. We had read that the volunteers have dressed up the house in a 1980s style Christmas. Our Party  Invitations After topping up with fuel we made the 30 minute or so drive to Hanbury, the car park already had twenty odd cars parked even though the house had only just opened, however the Trust only allowed 45 people inside at once so would be covid safe inside. The walk through the grounds were lovely, the house looked especially impressive in the winter sunshine.  Hanbury Hall The main entrance hall was all set for the party, a huge Christmas tree by the staircase, Babycham and Cherry B ready for guests and Slade on the record player. There was a baby grand piano ready f...

Thursday 4th November A Day Out We woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine, lots of sunshine, over breakfast we decided to take 'Vera' out for a spin, we checked English Heritage & National Trust sites but found most local places were closed so after a chat we decided to take a short road trip down to the Wye Valley and Symonds Yat. We cruised down the M5 & M50 motorways and arrived in Symonds Yat West, now I don't know if it was the lack of research before we left but arriving found little more than a large caravan site and amusement park next to the river, we moved on and stopped at Whitchurch to check where to go, we took Izzy for a walk and were really impressed with the village clock tower erected in 1867 From Whitchurch we drove the couple of miles to Symonds Yat East, a lovely area right by the River Wye, we looked for a parking spot, there were two car parks with plenty of space however, they wanted £5.00 parking, which was for four hours but we only wa...

Monday  25th October Day 1 We woke for an early-ish start and after last minute packing we were on the road for just after 9.00am, we had to get some diesel and Adele needed a couple of birthday cards and stamps so popped into town to Tesco's, topped up cards ready to post we were on our way. No, there is always something, I had forgotten to pack a coat, so back home for my coat, on the way went to post the cards to find the post had already been collected, so on to the post office. It was now almost 10.30am so not the early-ish start we wanted. Keni The Crow Now we are ready! But where are we going, something you would think we had already planned. We had thought of Cornwall but the weather forecast looked dismal but the south coast looked better. There you go plans made, we headed for the New Forest and an area around Lymington. The drive down was uneventful but the traffic was very heavy, after squeezing down narrow lanes on our last trip I had set the Sat-Nav to >3.5 to...