The Start – Saturday 21 July

Birmingham to Penzance (by car)

I had borrowed a Renault van for a fortnight and picked it up on Friday evening. On Saturday morning everything began to happen almost at first light.

At six o’clock Liz got our two sons off to scout camp for a week, after which they were to be collected by Liz’s parents and driven up to join us at Edinburgh where we planned a rest day.

I drove round to Mick’s house and collected him and his bike, then drove back home and started packing the van. Liz’s father came round to help and eventually we got away at about a quarter to nine. We had Mick’s and my bike, Simon’s bike for when he and his younger brother joined us in Edinburgh, a family frame tent and all the paraphanalia needed for camping.

Half an hour later on the M42 south of Birmingham the van last power, so we pulled onto the hard shoulder and called the AA. An AA man found us at about eleven o’clock and towed us off the motorway and had a rummage under the bonnet. He found the carburretor float had broken, so we gave him £20 and off he went to find a spare. A while later he returned having found one in Droitwich and fitted it, telling us of heavy traffic on the M5 around Bristol.

We used minor roads all the way to Bridgwater where we rejoined the M5 and had a clear run to the campsite just west of Penzance, reaching it at about seven o’clock. We pitched camp and went into Penzance and found supper in a fish and chip restaurant overlooking the sea.

The van gave us no further problems for the entire trip.