Heading South

The teaching session in Whitley Bay on Saturday 17th was from 10 till 5.  We decided to head straight off after the session and try and get about a third of the journey home to Cardiff covered that evening so that there would not be so much to do on the Sunday.  Before we set out I had tried to find a campsite around the Harrogate region to stay at Saturday night, but every one I looked at was fully booked for that night.  We had noticed however, on the journey up, that it was possible to pay to park overnight at a motorway services.  For some reason this had never occurred to us before as an option.  So we decided to just drive and see where we ended up.  We ended up at Tamworth services on the M42.

There are several advantages to stopping over at a motorway services: you can just stop when you are ready to; you do not have to worry about finding the campsite before it gets dark; the car park is always lit so it is easy to find your way around; facilities are guaranteed; and breakfast is easy to come by.  I was so glad we hadn't booked one near Harrogate in the end, as the roads were so clear and easy on Saturday night that we ended driving much farther than we had intended.

We found a quiet corner to tuck ourselves away and had a good night at Tamworth services.  There was not too much traffic in and out over night, so we were able to get a good night's sleep, and the curtains in the van are good enough to make it dark for sleeping.  There were shower facilities available as well as toilets and wash hand basins at this services, so we were well set up.  It cost £8 to park overnight – cheaper than most campsites.  I think we will always do this on a long journey in future as it means we do not have to decide how far we will travel in a day or an evening in advance.  Not all services are as good as this one, but if you do not like the place you can just drive on to the next one.  Campsites are generally nicer than motorway service car parks, but motorway services do provide a convenient stop-over on a long journey