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.

Let the adventures begin.