How do you go about planning a road trip to a UK destination?

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How do you go about planning a road trip to a UK destination?

It initially sounds such a daft question doesn’t it. Surely, it’s obvious how you do it.

Or is it?

We have so far only done two outings in Bryony. Our first was locally to Dartmouth for a weekend. The ‘find the snags and work out how your new motorhome functions’ trip (see our blog post at https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/11/our-first-ever-overnight-in-bryony-at.html ).  Then we did our first road trip, a 10-day trip, along the south Devon and Dorset coasts, where we really got to grips with finding out how to live effectively and enjoyably in our new motorhome before it got curtailed by the second lock down (see our South Coast Chronicles posts e.g. https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-south-coast-chronicles-day-1-out.html ).

Now we are planning some longer four- or five-week trips away around the UK for 2021 and we find ourselves, as newbies to motorhoming, reflecting on our planning process. So we hope this post will prove useful to any of you who are in a similar position to us and it might generate some interesting discussion and further tips from experienced motorhomers in the comments box at the end of the post.

Of course, as we write this, many of the areas we want to tour are either in tier three or tier four lock down with no indications as yet of when these restrictions might be lifted.

 

Everyone will have their own particular way of planning an extended trip but if you are new to this and up until now your normal holiday has been perhaps a maximum of two weeks, then planning a four- or five-week tour of an area can appear both exciting but also slightly intimidating!

Exactly what steps do you take?  What order do you do things in?

How do you map it all out and keep track of it all?

How much do you fit in…or not fit in?  What pitfalls do you look out for?

Soooo many questions!

 

So, let’s share how we are going about planning a proposed tour of Norfolk sometime during 2021, COVID willing.

 

When we had our caravan, Florrie, we visited a number of different parts of the UK, going to one or two sites at the most within a region and then using the car (Zebedee) and E bikes to do day trips out into the region. Think of it like a bike wheel – the hub was our campsite and the spokes the various day trips we did within that area. 

Now with Bryony, we have different options. The journey to the destination is becoming as important as the destination itself and we are having to get our heads around what that means and looks like. Similarly, the time spent in a destination locality can become more flexible because we can now move on more easily. 

We have always enjoyed getting under the skin of an area for a few days before moving on somewhere new. We like taking our time and having the flexibility to stay a little longer in an area should we want to do so. Before Bryony, with Florrie, it was about completing the journey to the destination area as quickly and as painlessly as possible so that we could maximise the time in that destination area. Now of course, we are changing our perceptions about how we manage the journey itself.  And, as a result, our planning process is changing too.

 

step one: knowing yourselves and how you like to travel around

1.   How do you like to tour – do you like driving to a destination region as quickly as you can and then stay at a few destinations in that region for a few days at a time (the ‘hub/spokes of a bike wheel’ model)? Or, do you like to take things slowly and enjoy the road journey to the actual destination region – stopping off at a few places on the way along that journey for a night or two, to see specific things (the ‘meandering river’ model)? Are you the type of people who just get in a motorhome and decide where to go for the first night and then take it from there with no fixed journey plans whatsoever and just see where you end up (the ‘drifting dandelion seed head’ model)?

 

2.   What kind of places do you like to visit and what kind of activities do you like doing most?

 

a.    Coastal (sun, sea and sand, water-sports)

b.   Mountains (big walks, lakes, big views, skiing, climbing, mountain biking etc)

c.    Cities (museums, cultural attractions, nightlife and shopping, markets)

d.   Big country (wide open spaces, big vistas, peace, solitude, landscape types, away from everything)

e.    What are your favourite past-times and activities and which can you do best in which environments? (Between us we love cycling, coastal walking, photography, sailing, trying various water-sports, wildlife spotting and ecology, museums, anything historical, theatre, music concerts and gigs - completely different tastes by the way).

 

3.   What kind of motorhome sites are you happy to use on whichever journey model you follow? At our current stage we definitely like to have some sites ‘booked in advance’, particularly the first few nights at a new destination. We like to stay on sites with facilities and EHU’s, preferring the smaller certificated sites. We like having a plan in our heads and a good idea of where we are going and when. We try to avoid very big sites and we haven’t yet worked ourselves into the ‘just turn up and wild camp somewhere’ mode or the ‘just ring on the day and try and find somewhere for that night’ group either (although longer term as confidence grows, that is where we want to be). We don’t think we are the 5* luxury site type either. After thirty five years in education, we sometimes wonder whether we might be ‘adult-only’ site types though ….. or maybe not.

 

After asking yourself lots of questions and refining what kind of motorhomer you are now and what you might want to be like in the future, its onto………

 

Step two: some basic planning parameters

1.   Where would you like to tour and for how long?

2.   What are your restraints? Fixed start and finish dates? Budget limitations? Work commitments?

3.   Are their times to avoid touring that area? (E.g., national holidays?)

4.   Do you have particular FIXED dates when you are travelling? (E.g., times when you definitely have to be at a fixed location at a fixed time e.g., ferry slots, concert night date, NT property booking slot etc).

 

For us, this next step is crucial. Once we know the area we want to visit, it’s all hands to the deck on big picture planning.

 

Step Three: The area BIG picture

In this step we start the research phase for our chosen destination.

·        What are the must-see attractions and obscure interesting curios?

·        What is there to do around our interests – particularly cycling, walking, wildlife, photography, culture and history? Is there anything that might start off a new interest?  

·        When are the best times to visit such places – do any need booking? How long would visiting particular attractions/places take?

·        What are the interesting pubs and cafes in the region?

 

To get this information we tend to go to various websites, apps and forums:

·        Pinterest – often has boards about tourist places and tours in various locations

·        Trip adviser – the list of attractions, ‘things to do and see’ recommendations along with their reviews

·        Tourism office websites

·        Other people’s blogs

·        Regional guide books

·        Motorhome magazine archives

·        Various organisations like Caravan and Motorhome club or the Camping and Caravan Club etc

·        A search of newspaper travel guide supplement archives

·        FaceBook forums e.g.

o   Autosleepers Owners forum

o   Wandering Bird Motorhome and Road Trippers group

o   The Autosleepers Motorhomes group

o   The UK Pub stopovers for motorhomes and campervans forum

o   The Motorhome pub stopovers and campsites group

·        Apps such as

o   Search for sites

o   Park4night

 

Now call us old fashioned but one of us then processes this information the old way. After all he is a geographer. So, a road map of the destination region is printed off and stuck onto an A2 sheet of paper and then he writes (read…. scribbles illegibly) notes about everything. And he just keeps adding to it as he goes. After this initial intensive research phase, everything then gets a colour code based on what type of attraction or activity or campsite it is. 

However, do not despair, for this same person, has recently re-discovered the joys of placing pins on google maps and so we are now in an interim transfer stage where the old coloured annotated maps of old will be phased out, to be replaced by digital google maps with clusters of pins and ‘notes’ boards. The march of progress and information technology eh?  (Our initial research for Norfolk, from just one day’s consulting of the hive minds on the various FaceBook forums we belong to, can be found at the end of this post).

 

Step four: refining the BIG picture – chunking it down and getting the details

·        After we have exhausted all the BIG picture research avenues we can think of, we start the ‘refining’ process by firstly identifying the ‘Priorities’. These are the things we absolutely, definitely, want to do or visit in the region during the time we are there. We spend time discussing how long a time would need to be spent at each place or on each activity to make it worthwhile. Notes get added to the google map information pins.

·        After this, we explore what else is around each of these ‘Priority’ things and so we begin to build up clusters of activities. We discuss how many days we might need to spend in an area to do these activity clusters. Some priorities are isolated ones with nothing else around them. We don’t abandon these, putting them aside to become part of a possible longer day tour itinerary covering a greater distance than we normally would do or to become part of a day’s travel journey to another activity cluster campsite hub that we might be stopping at.

 

Step five: thinking about the journey to and from our destination region

Now is the time we use AA route planner, our big Camping and Caravan Club road atlas and google maps to explore the various route options we have to and from our intended destination region. And now, it is here, that we discuss whether to do the ‘just go for it in one day’ dash along the motorways or stop off along the way along the A and B roads with an overnight stop or two at different points along the route. It depends on what attractions and purposeful diversions lie along the various routes and how long a visit to them would take.

 

Step six: the ‘cold dose of reality’ thinking

·        How many days will we need to do everything we want to do, both on the journey and at the various activity cluster areas in our destination region?

·        We don’t want to rush, so how many ‘rest days’ do we need to add in? (Rest days – the days where we could catch up with admin, blog writing, laundry, reading a book, doing maintenance on Bryony or just lazing around doing nothing; or for spending an extra day in an area because we have so enjoyed exploring it and want to do so a little more).

·        Finally, back to our restraints. They can’t be avoided. We need to talk budget, fixed start and end dates, any fixed dates where we definitely need to be for a particular reason. And now, bravely, we ‘cut our cloth’ accordingly.

 

At this point we pretty much have a plan but with just one thing missing – the campsites or stopovers. Drawing up a simple calendar chart  - days, places to visit/activities/things to see, time needed etc – we leave a blank box titled ‘overnight stopover’ to be filled in at a later date.

 

Step seven: where will we be staying during our visit?

We don’t know why we do this last, but we tend to. Here we make decisions about whether we are just going to book a site for the first few days and then be very flexible and book others as we go along; or whether we book certain sites at certain activity cluster areas in advance and so keep to a more planned schedule. We tend to lean towards the ‘have places booked in advance’ mode of journeying although as we gain more experience, we suspect that might change.

We trawl the various apps, ask for Facebook group recommendations and search the net for possible campsites. We try to get three or four in each area and then put them in priority order so that if we can’t get one, we have others. We also build up a list of other sites scattered along our journey around the destination region, which we could use, if we decide to ‘free-wheel’ a little whilst on tour. Finally, we also list several ‘wild camping’ spots across the region which we could opt for if we start feeling adventurous!

 

It all sounds complex, but in reality, it isn’t. Our method takes a little time but it is good fun. We get to build up a detailed picture of what a region has to offer. We have a detailed google map itinerary with pins and notes along with a simple A4 calendar plan sheet suggesting itinerary locations and timescales.

We try to ensure some flexibility so that we can move to another part of the region if the weather is bad. We try to get a relaxed pace so that we don’t feel permanently on ‘a route march’ tour.

 

Below this post you will find some of our first research from the Facebook forums about touring Norfolk and Suffolk. If we can get technically minded enough, we will try and post a link to a google map with further details on it at a later date.

All of you will have different ways of going about your planning for your tours. Share some tips with us newbies in the comment box below. Please help us refine how we do things to make it more effective.

 

In the meantime, if you are out and about in your motorhome, why not send us a postcard (a picture and caption from your current tour – a landscape, you doing an activity, your motorhome on site – whatever suits you) which we will share on our dedicated ‘Postcard from….. page’.

 

And remember, have fun, stay safe out there and enjoy your motorhoming.

Steve and Maggie

 

From the various Facebook forums, came the following tips for Norfolk and Suffolk. Thanks to all who gave advice. In no particular order………..

Cycling:

·        Marriots Way – Norwich to Aylsham

·        Bure Valley path

·        Kings Lynn to Hunstanton

·        Hoveton circuit 23 miles at Broads

·        Breck Discovery Route 23 miles

·        15 cycle routes around the Broads

·        Snape to Adleburgh

Walking:

·        Weavers Way – Stalham to Bengate and North Walsham to Aylsham; cromer to Great Yarmouth

Historical:

·        Castle Acre

·        Oxburgh Hall at Kings Lynn

·        Grimes Graves prehistoric flint mine near Thetford

·        SeaHenge prehistoric monument

·        Blicking estate National Trust

·        Felbrigg Hall National Trust

·        Holkham Hall

·        Sandringham estate and museums

·        Sutton Hoo

·        Pin Mill Woolverstone

Good campsites or overnight stops:

·        Little Ranch Leisure in Elm village

·        Oliver Cromwell’s house at Ely

·        Sandringham camping and caravan club site

·        Deersmead

·        Southerly caravan site, Roughton

·        Highland Creek Campsite near Blakeney

·        Keith’s Farm at Sea Palling

·        Manor Farm Cromer

·        White Horse Inn, Sibton

·        Eels Foot Inn at Eastbridge

·        Lay Farm campsite at Woodbridge

·        Shotley Rose Pub, Shotley

·        Oyster Inn at Butely

·        Vulcan Arms at Sizewell

·        White Horse Inn, Tattingstone, near Alton Water

Nature:

·        Cley marshes at Cley-Next-the-Sea

·        Blakeney – seal trips

·        Horsey Gap – seals on beach

·        Holkham Hall National Nature Reserve

·        Holme Dunes NWT

·        RSPB Minsmear

·        Orfordness National Nature Reserve

Cultural:

·        Dad’s Army museum at Thetford

·        Steam train Holt to Sheringham

·        Holt market town

·        Bure Valley narrow gauge railway

·        Maltings at Snape

·        Norwich City – museums, The Lanes, Cathedral etc

·        Wroxham

Landscapes:

·        The Broads – sailing, canoeing and boat tours

·        Happisburg and Overstrand

·        Old Hunstanton beach area

·        Stour and Orwell estuaries