Country: England
Distance travelled:
Weather: warm with blue skies and big fluffy cumulus

The dog walkers were back by 7am, just in dribs and drabs, but enough to indicate that Broaks Wood is a popular walking spot. It’s amazing how few people pick up after their dogs around here, especially since there is a £1000 pound fine if you get caught. Nobody likes picking up dog doo but even fewer like standing in it either.

With the promise of showers and washing machines at tonights’ campsite, we were up and moving fairly quickly. We’re starting to get the hang of the packing up process. Switch the fridge over to battery, turn off the boiler and the 12v power, check and lock all vents and windows, make sure the drawers and cupboard doors are properly latched. And make sure the external step is retracted. Don’t want to be cruising down the road with the step hanging out gouging every car we pass.

We made it to the Lee Valley Campsite without any trouble. It is located some 20km from the centre, but with the urban sprawl I still think of it as London, probably Greater London, I suppose. The campsite is real spiffy with lovely green grass and well spaced pitches and the amenities are to die for. There is a French motorhome just beside us and one from Poland just beyond them. And a caravan from the Netherlands has just pulled in. I went out and stuck the Australian flag sticker we have bought onto the front bumper so we can join the multi-cultural party.

Since we have electrical hookup, I spent the afternoon trialling our portable washing machine. It is way too small to wash anything like a towel or bed linen but it is perfect for a few days underwear or a couple of shirts. I cheated though, because since I was washing our towels and sheets in the site laundry, I put all the wet stuff into the dryer which is huge rather than festoon it all around the Van. Mark is confident that once we get the solar panels installed we will be able to run the washing machine from our leisure batteries. All we need then is water.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with mundanity, cleaning, sorting, researching. Nothing much to write home about, tomorrow should be more interesting. We trek into London to catch up with Mark’s friends for lunch. I hope the weather is as good tomorrow as it was today.