Carping is good, except for the pitching and packing.
Luckily, this time around, we had help with getting it up (ooh err) which made it a lot less stressful.
Now, after six nights away, the time had come to squeeze it all into the back of the car.
We started fairly early by transferring all that was inside the tent to the back of the car.
This left, just the tent itself. Now, in the past, we have had no end of trouble folding all that canvas into a minuscule bag.
Today, however, there were four of us to attempt this seemingly impossible task.
We tried a new tack, today. Instead of repeatedly folding it into thirds (with all the flappy bits inside, we went for quarters. After each fold, we would all pile on, lying down to expel the air. After three or four folds, it was offered up to the bag and amazingly, in it went. The straps were quickly tightened in case it decided to jump back out – and it was done.
With the tent stashed in the car and a last inspection carried out to ensure we’d forgotten nothing, we had time for a cup of coffee before our farewells.
It’s been many years since we’ve been away with friends (probably back in our caravan days) and we’d had an excellent time.
Our friends, who have been coming to this area for years, having us tagging along allowed them to explore places with the eyes of a newcomer and we benefited from their local knowledge.
Sue, having her partner in crime, could peruse the various craft / garden shops without having to drag us guys along.
Also, with three drivers amongst us, enable everyone to have a drink at some point.
I believe that Sue and Linda are already plotting another get away.
With coffees drunk and farewells exchanged it was into the motor and off towards the A30. We were on the road by a quarter past ten.
The roads were fairly clear and apart from a stop at Cullompton we covered the two hundred and seventy miles in just a tad over five hours.