Blenheim Palace

 June 4th

Sunshine and showers were forecast for today, waterproofs at the ready then. Arriving at the Palace by 10.30, we were amazed to have to queue to get in. Surely mid-week and a miserable day weather-wise would put people off, but obviously not.

Parking the motorhome was easy; we were shown to a section of the field well away from the main carpark. a bit of a walk to the house, but from the walled garden, much nearer. Anyway, we headed for the house, which was very quiet, surprisingly, considering the number of cars parked in the car park. A bonus in our favour, though, because we could go around at our leisure and take photographs without too many people getting in the way. I was mightily impressed by the rooms, even though restoration was very evident in some places.  It was a magnificent house.

 

The walled garden was about a 10-minute walk from the main house, and on the way,  we took a slight detour to see the formal gardens where a bust of Winston Churchill stood. 

Blenheim Palace was the home of Churchill. Below is an excerpt from this LINK

One of grandest homes in England, Blenheim Palace is the ancestral home of the Churchill family. Built between 1705–1722 for John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah, the land was a gift from Queen Anne on behalf of a grateful nation for the duke's victory at the Battle of Blenheim during War of Spanish Succession. 

The walled garden was a massive disappointment. So much could be done to make it stunning, a few beds of wild flowers doesen't hack it in my book. 

 

Toward one end was a maze, we did go in, and yes, we got lost.  Luckily a small bridge showed us a way to the centre and thankfully we made it out before the rain started. We sought refuge in a cafe, a cup of tea and cake just had to be purchased. It was a good way to sit out the storm.

 From the cafe, we made our way to a Butterfly house. Gosh, it was hot and humid in there. Glasses steamed up, and several times I had to wipe the camera lens. Fifteen minutes was all we could tolerate, and it was a relief to get outside into the fresh air again.

 5 hours were spent at Blenheim; no way would I have managed that a year ago. Having a new knee has improved my quality of life no end, I just hope my left knee stays okay too. I certainly won't hesitate to have that one replaced in the future if needs be.

 Off to see Ian's brother Alan and sister-in-law Angela tomorrow at Upton on Severn, and next weekend Stoneleigh is our destination. We will be checking out residential parks and mobile retirement homes at the Park and Leisure Homes show as our plans to come off the water are still a possibility.

And a few more photos

In one of the many old Oaks

Away again after dry docking.

 23rd May

 It was that time of year again, black FS's bottom! It happened to coincide with one of the hottest weeks May has experienced in the UK, breaking the record of 32.8 °C in London set in 1922. Kew Gardens reached 35.1 °C on the 26th May 2026, and we sweltered in the dock with our thermometer reaching nearly 40 °C. The 4 high walls acted like a suntrap, and the only time we could bitumen the hull was before 8 am. For 4 days, we had some very early starts, but when the heat continued, the early starts were extended for painting the gunwales and the tunnel bands.

 Our time on the dock was longer than usual. Dan and Vicci (owners of the dock) went away over the Bank holiday and couldn't refloat us until their return. Instead of rushing to get everything done in 5 days, we had 8 days to titivate. We came off the dock on the evening of the 29th. (Sunday) and Monday morning was spent cleaning the superstructure. After lunch, we took FS into the basin. Ian then went to fetch the motorhome, yep, we were going away again! 

Last June, we took a trip to Blenheim Palace, but because of my dodgy knee, we didn't get the full benefit of our ticket. I struggled massively then with walking, and the thought of going around the Palace with the pain I was in made me cringe. The ticket was valid for a year, and the 6th of June this year was when it ran out, so the decision was made to try again. Now that my knee has been replaced and all pain is gone, it was an easy decision to make. We packed the van and set off yesterday. The heat wave had well and truly broken, and rain of biblical proportions was experienced on the way to Kidlington.

 

The site was very basic, no toilets or showers, but fresh water and elsan were at our disposal. What we didn't know was that the London Oxford airfield, as well as the Oxford Parkway rail line transport hub (opened in 2015), was located in Water Eaton, just south of Kidlington and was very close. The planes stopped around 9 pm, but the trains continued to run until well after 11 pm. Groan... we had booked two nights! Still, it was only about 5 miles from Blenheim, so convenient, and the site was rural and really quite lovely. 

 Oh, and our family has grown. The motorhome now has our South African stuffed animals adorning the dashboard. 

 

And we return to good old blighty.

 May 17th. Going Home

Groan...why do we do it to ourselves! Many a sore head today, thank goodness for pain killers! Thankfully, Ian felt okay; there were still 20 km to drive to get to BoBo campers.

The last convoy.

  I happened to notice what I thought was a mark on the window. It was actually a crack in the screen. Blast, 5 weeks without mishap, and we now bring it back with a cracked windscreen. It must have happened several days ago, during the drive along one of the many roads with potholes and roadworks, the lorry's wheels threw up stones, and we know we were hit a few times. The main stone chip was right at the top and in the middle of the screen.

Did we have windscreen insurance? Ian was pretty sure we did include that but only once we return the motorhome will we find out. The nearer to Johannesburg we got, the quieter roads disappeared and the mayhem of the motorway took over. 5 lanes of drivers overtaking on either side, some weaving in and out barely missing the vehicles in front. I feared for our lives and we definately didnt want to be crashed into  so close to BoBo campers.

 

An accident had occurred on one of the main roads; it's no wonder, the South Africans drivers are maniacs. Taxis ignore red traffic lights; how they don't get wiped out amazes me.

 

 

Either side of the road, markets lined the route. 

 

 

I, for one, was glad to arrive at BoBo's. On arrival, we were met by one of the staff. A walkthrough to make sure everything was present and correct, and clean. We did have to tell them about the toilet cassette. For the last three days,, any liquid has bypassed the seal, making for some unpleasant smells. Ian took to emptying the cassette every day; it was the only way lifting the toilet lid became bearable. With the motorhomes all going out again in two days, we made sure they were aware of the problem. As for the windscreen, yes, we were insured... phew

Now we had a three-hour wait until the bus arrived to take us all to the airport. It was during the wait that 2 couples got news they didn't want to hear. Flying with the airline BA, they were told the flight was delayed and would now take off at 01:30 am instead of 19.25pm, also the flight had been overbooked and wanted volunteers to give up their places and leave on the 20th instead. In fact, there was no guarantee that any of them would get on the plane, and they would have to queue at the BA desk to see. The compensation that was on offer was hotel accommodation, all-inclusive, and money back to be discussed. If that had been us, we would have taken that without hesitation, but Colin, Ann, Steve and Sheila all had commitments and had to get back and needed to be on that flight. Our flight was with Virgin, so once we arrived at the airport, goodbyes were said, and we really didn't expect to see any of them again. But as luck would have it, as we sailed through passport control and were on our way to the lounge, we met Steve waiting on one of the chairs for Sheila to return from trying to get into one of the three lounges on offer. The good news was they had managed to get on the flight, but was not looking forward to the delay. We had priority passes for the Aspire Lounge, and when Sheila returned, we offered to get them in as guests. 

 

Sheila and Steve

 

Our flight was called on time, so we left them enjoying the benefits of airport lounges and headed for the gate. We paid for economy delight tickets for more leg room and priority boarding, but I wish we had gone the extra mile and paid for Premium. Only two seats per row, champagne, wider seats, the seat backs went down further, and plenty of leg room. Meals were served first and could be ordered. Andy and Karen chose this option and put their photo on the group chat.
 

 

And we also heard that Colin and Ann had secured their seats on the BA flight and as celebration took this photo in another of the lounges.

 

 Eleven hours later, after hardly any sleep, we landed at Heathrow. The time was 6.30 am, our National Express coach wasn't until 9.30 so we had a while to wait. Still, what was a few more hours wait when you're exhausted! Once on the coach, it was another 4 hours before we reached Nottingham. It stopped at Luton, Milton Keynes, and Leicester before our stop, then we had to find a taxi to get us back to FS. We eventually stepped back on board a tad before 2.30 pm.

 

This has been a holiday of a lifetime, on our bucket list for ages and seeing what we came out to see, the big five, was a highlight for me. Our team leaders, Kobus and Dedrie, made this experience perfect, and without them, I doubt if we would have had half as much fun.

 

 And Ryan, the person who got so many of us out of trouble, rescuing when some were stuck and fixing things that needed fixing, including Ian and Vanassa's cassette!

 

 

 

What's next, we ask ourselves. Nothing on the cards at the moment, we need to recoup some cash before going on another adventure. 

Next week, we will dry dock FS, blacking her bottom, and maybe take the motorhome away for a week in June. So I'm putting the blog on hold for a while and will resume at a later date. 

 

Just Ian and me left alone underground!

 

May 16th. Country Park, Gauteng

Our very last site was but a mere 130km drive, nothing compared to the kilometres we have driven over the last 5 weeks. In fact, Ian totalled it up to just over the 5000km mark! 

Anyway, we were off to the Cradle of Humankind. To read about why it is called this, click HERE, but a brief history,  

Subterranean limestone caves have turned up a rich fossil record for human evolutionary studies. These findings have led to the 'Out of Africa' theory, theorising that most human ancestors originated from one general spot… Africa. 

A group photo was taken outside the dome.

From left to right; Tracy, Rob, Ian, me, Bob, Kathy, George, Maureen, Helen, Simon, Ann, Colin, George, (his wife Jill was unwell so not in the photo) Malcombe, Annette, Jayne, Martin, Steve and Sheila. At the front was Andy and his wife Karen was also unwell.

 

Entering the dome, we were taken down several flights of stairs to an underground area where interactive exhibits explained the evolution of humankind. 

 MRS PLES

 Unfortunately, we only had 2 hours here because at 2 pm a booking to see the Sterkfontein Caves. It's a fascinating archaeological site and cave, famous for yielding the first fossil remains of the first adult specimen of Australopithecus africanus. Also the primary minerals found at the site include:

• Calcite & Dolomite: Dolomite bedrock makes up the cave system, while calcite is the predominant secondary mineral responsible for forming speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone) and cementing the fossil-bearing sediments known as breccia 

.

• Quartz: Present in the form of chert and sand grains, quartz is particularly vital for scientific dating, as researchers measure rare cosmogenic isotopes within quartz to determine the burial age of the cave's fossils.

 

So what can I say about the cave...well, if I had known what we were in for, I would never have ventured down those steps!

In our younger days, we both did caving with hard hats and headlamps as our only source of light, negotiated cravasses and squeezed ourselves through some tight places, especially in New Zealand. Caves, therefore, worry us not, but with the old age of 73 and suppleness we no longer possess, what we experienced was most unpleasant.

It was explained by the guide that there would be some narrow bits, steep, uneven steps, and in some places, it could be claustrophobic. Whilst our group got kitted out with hard hats, more and more people joined the group until there must have been at least 50 people waiting to go in. Quite how this would work was something I did wonder about. 

The guide then called us seniors to the front, all 24 of our group, and said we would control the pace. I was quite impressed that he considered our ages, but that was all to change the further we got into the system.

 As more and more folk tried squeezing into a small space, the 'seniors first' idea went out of the window. Everyone was pushing to get to the front, and we soon found ourselves well behind. A small lake drew a lot of attention; it was down a series of steep steps, and so we could take photos, we were told to rejoin the group when we had finished. 

 

But this was where it went horribly wrong. Following the poorly lit path back to the main group, we were suddenly stopped in our tracks by a steep metal staircase rising up to a hole in the rock. Several people were in front, and I watched in horror as one by one they either crawled, bent over or sat on their bottoms to get through.

Oh eck...when it was my turn, I really was unsure as to how I was going to cope. I tried the 'lean forward' position, but the knees had to be bent, and even though my now decent right knee could cope, no way would my left knee be able to do that without a considerable lot of pain, and I couldn't risk crawling, so on the bottom it was! Got through okay and managed to stand up again, only to be greeted by yet another jagged hole, but bigger than the first.

This time I went through backwards, found that easier to do, and when I again straightened up,,,OMG there was another! Ian followed, but where was everyone when we finally emerged? 

 

Left alone, I was really peeved! What sort of guide would not stay until the last person had got through! He had led the rest back to the surface without even checking the numbers. And it was only because Deidrei, Kobus's wife, was concerned we weren't with the group that she came back to find us. Needless to say, no tip was given to the guide; Kobus was furious and said as much to those in charge.

Only another 30km to go to get to The Country Park campsite. Waiting for us was a chef spit-roasting a whole lamb over a braai. it would be ready for us to eat at around 6 pm, so in the meantime, we spent the free time cleaning the inside of the motorhome and packing.

 

Kobus came to tell us drinks were laid out on a table, and to help ourselves, it was all included in the organised braai. No need to be told twice, we left what we were doing and joined everyone around the fire. We raised our glasses to Kobus, Deidrie and Ryan for making this such a memorable holiday and sorted out any problems we had. The drinks flowed and went late into the evening. Once the freebies of wine and beer were gone, we all brought out what we had left and continued the merriment. Food was served by the chef, we had lamb, chicken, vegetarian dishes, pasta, rice and salads. It all helped to soak up the booze. 

Right of the photo, Bob, Kathy (Americans) Simon and Helen.

Chap in black was another Ian with his wife, Vannessa. They were missing in the group photo above

Kobus with Ian

 Tomorrow we fly home. Motorhomes will be dropped back to BoBo campers at 11 am, and a bus will collect us to take us to the airport. Our flight isnt until 8.25 pm so it will be a long wait. Hopefully, we can get into one of the airport lounges.