MMM – September 2019

September 2019outandaboutlive.co.uk 11

Your Letters, MMM,Warners GroupPublications, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH

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Discouragement and

encouragement

Last September, we travelled

from Northern Ireland to

Stranraer, Scotland, heading

to England for amotorhome

holiday. A sho rt distance

from Dumfri es on the way

to Carlisle, a red light came

on. We pulled on to the hard

shoulder andcontacted the

Fiat garage in Dumfri es. It was

very unhelpful and could not

do anything untilthe middle

of the fo llowing week. It was

Thursd ay so thatwould ha ve

meant staying there un til

the fo llowing Tuesda y or

Wednesda y.

Our insurance company

informed the breakdown truck

to move us. The se rvice that

came out to us,contacted a

garage it knew and was to ld

to take it over there. The

mechanic started the next day

and hadit fixed thatevening.

The problem was the

radiator hadgiven up. It was

a big job andvery reasonable

in price. The nameof the

garage is+James H Glen

Motor Engineers, The Garage,

Parkgate, Dumfri es DG1 3NB

)01387 860346

motgaragedumfries.co.uk

James Simpson

Going down town

I sing in a choir thatdoes a

week ina ca thedral every

summer andalways use the

’van as abase. When on a

‘proper’ holiday we also like

to stay on sites with public

transportnearby, so we don’t

have to worry about parking. I

have become adept at finding

convenient places.

Some of our favourites –

with public transport a short

walk and a bus ride of not more

than 30minutes – are,in no

particular order:

Cheltenham and Gloucester:

Briarfields briarfield s.net

York:Rowntree Park C&MC,a

15-minute walk into the ci ty if

you’re luck y enough to get in;

open all year it’s almost always

full. The club’s other site,

Beechwood Grange, is a bu s

ride away

Salisbury:C&CCsite with views

of Old Sarum

Wells:Wells TouringPark

wellstouringpark.co.uk

Oxford:Bladon Chains C&MC;

the C&CCalso has asite thatis

closer tothe ci ty

Cambridge:both C&MC and

C&CCsites

Peterborough:Ferry Meadows

C&MC site, from which you can

take a steamtrai n to the ci ty.

This summerwe’re singing in

Ripon Ca thedral and I’ll stay at

River Laver Holiday Park, which

is a 15-minut e walk. Watch out

for areview in MMM.

Penny Granger

EDLook out fortheGuideto

Motorhome Parking andBase

Vehicle Servicingfree with this

month’s issue.

Not so secure

My motorhome was stolen

during the hours of darkness

from an insurance-accredited

compound.

The compound hasa

security keypad at the front

of the site, as wel l as CCTV.

But the back of the site is

fields, andit seems the thieves

drove over two fields, cut a

chainoff a five-bargate and

stole my motorhome. They

had complete freedom to

presumably for ce entry andcut

my steering lock off. There is

no secur ity at the back and side

of this site.

I aminsured, but I will

hopefully get the insurance

company tostop this

compoundbeing accred ited.

J Maughan

EDCaSSOA (Caravan Stor age

Site Owners’ Association) has

the fo llowing tip s:

Security feat ures – dothey

appear well-maintainedand

are they as advertised?

Are the staffriendly?

Is the location convenient

for you?

Cost – the cheapest option

mayprove to be a false

economy. Savingmoney

maycome at t he expense of

security.

Opening hours –wil l the

site be able to accommodate

early pick-upsor late returns

if you need them?

Access – How ea sy is it to

gain acce ss to the facility?

Remember, it’s best not to

commit to storage without

seeing the compound irst and

really getting a feel for the site

and its security.

All CaSSOA-accred ited

storage sites aresurveyed

regularly by an independent

assessor t o ensure they meet

our standards of security.

You can ind outmore at

cassoa.co.ukand locate

your nearest site.

Innovative idea!

We’ve just returnedfrom

three weeks inJapan, not

in our Rapidowehasten

to add. The country was

fascinating, buttheir loos

were evenmore so.

Wecouldn’t resist taking

a photo of this one witha

basin over the cistern and

bowl. When the looflushes

automatically, astheydo,

the tap automatically runs

water for hand-washing.

How brilliantis that?

The Japanese areknown

for innovationbutwe

couldn’t help wonderingif

this idea might workin a

space-strapped motorhome

or campervan.Foodfor

thought fordesigners.

Jane Chapman

WellsTouringPark

LETTERS