Ferry Meadows March 2024
Tuesday 19th March. The first trip of 2024, encouraged by a
free night site voucher courtesy of the CMC - not just us but all
members. It had to be booked and used by a certain date. So, we thought
Ferry Meadows at Nene Park in Peterborough would be a good option as not
too far from home. When we got to the site it seemed many others had the
same idea as the warden said they were full tonight!
Living less than 50 miles away there was no point in rushing as we did
not want to arrive before the 1.00pm witching hour! So, we left home
around 11.30 am and meandered our way across country rather than the
more direct route via Bedford and the A1. The route using the A45 and
A605 is OK with the possible exception of Olney which is in desperate
need for a bypass but seems to be at the bottom of the list in terms of
getting it built. Olney, pronounced by some of the more upper crust
residents as O_ney is a delightful town, famous for its pancake race,
which has a French feel about it. Despite its wide high street parking
is nose in on both sides which narrows the two traffic lanes, especially
for larger vehicles.
Once through the town the rest of the journey was quite straight forward
and we made a stop at Peterborough Services which I think I have
mentioned before has a new section with good caravan/motorhome parking,
assuming of course the parking places have not been taken up with other
vehicles! Whilst we were there a couple of guys were pinning notices up
saying what sort of vehicles can park but they are being ignored by many
commercial vehicles. However, I do have a bit of sympathy with the
commercial drivers as where they are meant to park has no easy access to
the services, requiring a long walk round.
After our coffee stop, we made the short journey to the site. Found a
pitch not too far from a service point and settled in for the next three
nights.
Wednesday 20th March. We thought it was going to be a wet day
but after a bit of rain early on it remained dry for a few hours. This
allowed us have a wander along to Nene Park to get some fresh air.
Unfortunately, the days of circumnavigating the lake is perhaps behind
us but we still managed a reasonable walk. As a reward we had a coffee
and cookie in the Park Café which was very nice. At just over £12 this
treat is getting expensive, especially if you do it every day! We did
miss a trick as I think you can get a 10% discount by showing your
membership card.
Over the years we have had a whole series of low wattage electric
kettles. We have tried normal kettles of about 2Kw which are fine on 16
amp sites but can trip the electrics when you only have 10 amps. So, the
current kettle has been awful as it leaves a plastic taste and smell. We
have had to resort to using a little camping kettle that we can use on
the gas hob.
Thursday 21st March. Another dry day with the sun trying to
break through although the cloud seems to have won! We walked the other
way today, down to the Notcutts Garden Centre. One thing about the Ferry
meadows site is that if you are here for a weekend or even slightly
longer there is enough to do without taking a vehicle off site. En route
to the Garden Centre we stopped at Overton Station on the Nene Valley
Railway, just to have a look round the station. When services are
running you can take the train to Peterborough in one directions and
Wansford in the other. We carried on to the Garden Centre which had some
nice plants but it would mean carrying them all the way back to the van
which we were not really equipped to do. As a Garden Centre it is quite
modest compared the massive ones you find elsewhere. We had a coffee and
scone in the café.
Friday 22nd March. Time to return to MK.
Made use of the new motorhome waste point, a massive improvement on the
previous option. Decided to use the A1 on the way home, it’s a longer
journey but all motorway or dual carriageway. I also wanted to see what
was happening at the famous Black Cat Roundabout on the A1. They are
building a new stretch of dual carriageway from here over towards
Cambridge. When it is completed, we will have dual carriageway from MK
to Norwich or Felixstowe. Filled up with fuel just before getting home,
first time since October last year!!!