Collecting the Motorhome.

2 September 2017.

Today, I am going to collect the Motorhome from Crewe. I say I because Rosie has disappeared on holiday to Spain. Collecting the van may not sound like a big deal except that I've never driven one before.

I've enlisted the help of two excellent friends from work, Dave and Jane. They have experience of owning and travelling in a motorhome so I feel like I am in good hands.

We agreed to meet at Stockport Railway Station. For me, that entailed journeying on three trains, starting in Marsden and changing at Stalybridge and Piccadilly.

The sun shone as we travelled down in Dave's car. Barry and Pam were again hospitable and Barry showed Dave and I around the van again. Dave seemed suitably impressed so our feeling of buying the right vehicle was reinforced.

Time to set off and I could swear that there were tears in Barry's and Pam's eyes as we took away their pride and joy.

Sitting in the driver's seat for the first time was definitely an experience. I felt like I was travelling on the top deck of a bus. Jane bravely sat alongside me while Dave followed behind. Twice, we had to stop as one of the doors fell open. However, my resounding memory is of the look on Jane's face, and the silence that followed, when I told her that I hadn't even had a test drive in a van before.

We parted company at Sainsbury's car park in Denton. That left me a 15 mile journey home over the Pennines. The only scare arose when I reached a "T" junction and the van was at an angle. I quickly learned that you can't see anything over your shoulder. Fortunately, nothing was behind me and I was able to reverse and adjust the approach.

Our drive is on a slope. I decided to reverse onto it. I stopped as soon as I smelt the clutch begin to burn!