This weekend we should have been away in Hylda. As it stands we have only managed 3 nights away since we picked her up on the 1st February. We haven’t even been able to visit her in storage as non essential journeys are still not permitted.
We had a night at Loch Lomond close to home to try things out and then 2 nights at Hymerchill in the Lake District.
We missed out on a week away at Easter when we had planned to visit Sands Holiday Park. This weekend however, we planned to visit the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Ravenglass in the Lake District. This is a site we have visited many times before and hopefully will visit again soon.
Following on from last week’s post, it’s been quite a productive weekend. DRW Electronics turned around the exchange display very quickly and the rear view camera system is now complete and fully operational.
I don’t know how to remove Sikaflex easily and I reckoned I’d end up damaging the rear panel so I installed the camera bracket above the old bracket.
The exchanged display looks the part on the dashboard and it’s wired to be powered whenever the ignition is on.
The new radio is also installed now, so it’s good to have our iPhones connected via Bluetooth.
The last job for the weekend was to install our new 12V TV.
After switching on the TV, it reports some apps are incompatible with the TV operating system, so Wendy has been updating the apps to current revisions. Everything isn’t working yet, but most are.
So, I think that’s us now ready for Hymerchill. This is our first one, so we are looking forward to meeting everyone.
We started some small upgrades on Hylda this weekend. We want to upgrade the radio so we can connect our iPhones via bluetooth and we want to fit a rear view camera.
This weekend, we removed the old radio, installed the new one and fitted the DAB aerial. We’ve also run the camera cable the length of the motorhome to the dashboard. We bought the same system from DRW Electronics that we had previously purchased and installed in our Sprinter campervan conversion, but unfortunately the A class mirror is too large to mount the display.
After a quick call to DRW Electronics, we agreed to return the display and exchange it for a 7″ dashboard mounted display. So if the new display arrives in time, we plan to complete the camera installation next weekend. This will be in time for our trip to Hymerchill the weekend after – fingers crossed…
This weekend we spent our first night away in Hylda.
Since collecting Hylda two weeks ago, she has spent her time in storage. We have spent that time emptying the hut and gathering together all our camping equipment that has lain dormant for the last eighteen months. We even managed to visit the Scottish Caravan Show and pick up a few bit and pieces that we had let go when we sold the caravan. Ian also purchased a reversing camera for the van. We visited the same stand and ended up buying the same one we installed in the Sprinter.
So this weekend, despite the best efforts of Storm Dennis, we brought Hylda home from storage, packer her up and headed off to Lomond Wood campsite in Balloch. The rain was relentless and the wind made for an interesting journey but we made it. The campsite is only 40 minutes from home and the last time we visited was 26 years ago when we went to try out our first caravan.
Whist filling up the water we decided that the gauge was not working. It rose to 1/4 full then stayed there for ages. As we were only there for a night we thought we’d have plenty of water. How wrong we were. Very early in the evening we ran out of water. As it was so wet and windy we decided not to drive back round to the motorhome point. We filled the kettle from the nearby tap and in the morning made use of the excellent on site facilities.
We were really pleased with the van. Everything we tried worked as it should. The only thing we didn’t get to try was the shower, see above for the reason. We had purchased a new trigger head for the shower but that will just need to wait til the next time.
In the evening we put up the silver screens and settled for the night. We had a stream right behind the van so we were able to relax to the sound of running water. The drop down bed was very comfortable and we all slept very well. This included the dogs who did not waken until 6.25. This is almost an hour later than they usually get up at home.
In the morning we showered on site. The facilities were very clean, warm with plenty of hot water. One of the many things on the list of forgotten items was the frying pan. Breakfast was made in a pot but was fine.
We knew the wind was due to pick up from lunchtime so we packed up early and left the site at 10a.m. You have to vacate your pitch by 12. There were plenty of gusts on the way but we made it back to the storage compound safe and sound. All in all it was a great first trip. We are much more familiar with the workings of Hylda and can’t wait until the next opportunity to get away.
On Saturday 2nd February we travelled from our home near Glasgow to Horkstow to collect our 2001 Hymer Starline 640 Auto from Chris at Ikonic Kampers. We were taking the train and left our house at 6.10 to start the journey.
All went well with the first train and we arrived in Glasgow Central station ready to catch the 7.10 Trans Pennine Express. Unfortunately a broken down train at Castairs junction caused this train to be cancelled as well as all other trains heading south from Glasgow. Ticket acceptance was in place so the best option seemed to be heading to Edinburgh to catch the Kings Cross train to York and another train from there to Hull. We only had a 10 minute turn around time at Edinburgh and as we approached Edinburgh it became clear that this was not going to be enough time. With each station we stopped at we fell further and further behind schedule.
At Edinburgh it looked as though things were looking up. The 8.10 Trans Pennine service from Edinburgh had been delayed and was just about to leave from the adjacent platform. We quickly jumped aboard. All being well we would arrive in Manchester Piccadilly at 11.25 jump across to the 11.35 train to Hull and arrive at 13.30 just an hour behind schedule.
This however was not the case. Due to the earlier disruption and cancellations, service was very slow at each station and the schedule fell further and further behind. We finally arrived in Manchester at 11.47. We caught the 12.35 to Hull and arrived in at 14.30. Two hours behind schedule.
Chris picked us up and took us to his place in Horkstow. He took us through a comprehensive checklist and demonstrated how everything in the van operated. We are not newbies to this but some of the things were bespoke to Hymer so it was great to have his insight. Chris took us for a quick drive and then we were ready to go.
We left Chris just after 4 in the afternoon and we were looking forward to a nice leisurely drive home as Ian got used to the width of the van and the left hand drive. Bad weather put paid to that. High winds restricted the speed on the Humber Bridge and on parts of the motorway. We had planned to travel up the A1M and across the A66. Just before we were due to join the A1M the motorway signs were reporting that the A66 was closed westbound after Scotch Corner. So we stayed on the M62/M61 and headed towards the M6. The speed was restricted to 40mph due to the winds for much of the journey across.
Once we made it on to the M6 the winds died down and we were able to travel a bit easier. We stopped off to refuel and to have some dinner.
The M6 to M74 then M8 were all very quiet and we finally arrived home just before 11. It had been a long and frustrating day but we were delighted to have Hylda home safe and sound.
Welcome to our blog. In this blog we will document life with our new (to us) Hymer B640 Starline Automatic Motorhome that we’ve affectionately named Hylda. We hope you enjoy sharing in our adventures.
McNaughts On Tour 