Bank Holiday Weekend May 2008

Some time ago I decided that whilst my 11yo daughter was at her Father's I would try to see more of this country and that the best way to do this on a very tight budget was with a tent and a bike. the first bank holiday of the year saw my first venture out - a trip to Oxford. I had previously joined the caravan and camping club which means that I can be assured of a well maintained site, can book online, and the backpacker rates are very cheap.
(http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/)
Site fees for 2 nights was £10.80 and the train fare (with network card) was £15 so not bad for a weekend away (we'll just draw a veil over the £178 spent at wildday.com on new tent, sleeping bag, sleep mat and various other bits and bobs)
The journey was fine but the back of the bike was so heavy that I had some difficulty getting it on the train - I have tended to go for comfort rather than ultralightness with the equipment.
arrived at Oxford station at 12.30 am and went off in hunt for a tourist information for a map. I then followed National Route 5 out of the city and into the campsite. Having pitched the tent and unpacked I headed back into town via the Go Outdoors shop which is at the front of site and is well worth a visit if you're in the area and into camping gadgets.
Had a lovely lunch in town while listening to the football on dab radio. Last day of the lower leagues and my brother's team was relegated. I called him to commiserate but couldn't keep it up - yes the Gillingham/Brentford family derby is on again.
stocked up on food and headed back to the site on the more direct Abingdon Road. By the time I had finished cooking and eating dinner it was getting quite dark. I was just starting to wind down for my first night in a tent on my tod when my 18yo daughter called to see if I was lonely and/or scared and had I thought of the potential dangers which she then proceeded to list - everything from terminal boredom to being eaten by wild animals. Well I hadn't really .... not until then. i don't really do lonely actually and am easily entertained so long as I have my radio and a book to read. it just felt lovely to get away from the housework for a bit and just be.
By 10pm I was tucked up in bed and on my third voddie and coke and feeling very relaxed. The site had been advertised as a bit noisier than the normal. A bit! there is a bloody great factory depot thing across the little stream from where the tents are which was open all night with lights blazing. I had to put my mp3 player on to drown out the noise.
woke several times in the night as I was too hot! every other camping trip I have been on has been dominated by cold nights in inadequate sleeping bags so I had invested in a 3-4 season bag which is comparatively heavy and bulky but I'd rather be too hot than too cold.
woke up late on Sunday and after a shower and porridge a la Trangia headed into town along the Thames path.
My guide book had a couple of walks in it so i followed a couple of these and pretty much covered the town. Unfortunately there were a lot of graduations going on and many of the colleges were closed but i did spend a lot of time at the Ashmolean. headed back to the site and the noise and the lights but slept much better. Was woken by the rain just after 7 and decided that as it didn't look like stopping I would get an early start. As I was setting up the Trangia another solo camper came along with a pan of hot water and offered me a coffee. we got chatting and it turned out that he was from Switzerland and had spent the previous 5 weeks working and camping in Scotland and was heading home.
I packed up and started the journey home in the tipping rain. i arrived at the station an hour and a half early for my train and asked the ticket man if it mattered much if I got on an earlier train. He said that it did but I went through the barrier anyway. He then spent the next hour and a half running out onto the platform every time a train came in to make sure I wasn't getting on it - Jobsworth! I waved cheerfully at him every time he came out. when my train came in the guard insisted I put the bike in the guards van at the front of the carriage and then run along the train to a normal carriage. I spent the whole 26 minutes between Oxford and Reading stressing about doing the whole thing in reverse and having visions of my bike carrying onto Paddington without me. I was right to worry as having dashed from the carriage to the guards van the guard came to shut the door before I was out. On the Waterloo train I noticed that i was getting odd looks - I still had my waterproofs on and it was about 26 degrees outside with not a cloud to be seen. When I got in my eldest daughter said it had been a gorgeous weekend. A quick phone round of my friends revealed that whether they had stayed at home or gone away they had had lovely weather so I can only conclude that my own personal rain cloud had followed me ... not for the first time