THURSDAY 13-6-19

Late yesterday I suggested to The Chef that despite the hassle we should use the motorhome as transport this morning because the bus we would need to catch to reach the vineyard for our tour would mean we arrive there ninety minutes early, and given that it’s only a couple of miles or so away seems a waste of time. So that was our Plan B.

Predictably it rained heavily all night. I’m so glad we’re not pitched out on the grass area.

Although we scrubbed up we gave breakfast a miss as we didn’t want to spoil our lunch which formed part of the tour.

Having unhooked from the electricity supply I pegged down our ‘Reserved’ sign on the pitch, the first time I’d ever used it.

We then drove down to Lovells Vineyard www.lovellsvineyard.co.uk  (GPS: N52.059162˚ W2.296577˚).

We were the first to arrive which was good as it gave us the opportunity to park the motorhome in a corner and as much out of the way as it could be.

We had a small group for our tour, and we were taken down to the vineyards for an interesting and informative tour of the vines. A few of the group arrived a little late due to the problems they’d had with local flooding.

Cathie the co-owner explained why in the UK the vines are encouraged to grow higher than on the continent, it’s all to do with the amount of rain we get here, and the need to keep the grapes off the ground, with the added bonus that picking the grapes is easier on the back. She went in to great detail about the management of the grapevines and the damage that frosts can do.

At the bottom of a slope in one of the fields, stood a large round piece of agricultural equipment. Its job, once the temperature reached near freezing, was to suck up the coldest air sitting on the ground and exhausting it upwards. This allows comparatively warmer air to move in and take its place. Clever stuff.

After this we made our way back up to the reception/dining area for a nice lunch which included the opportunity to taste the wines the vineyard produced. At the end we purchased a few bottles before climbing in the motorhome and making our way back to the campsite.

That was a very pleasant way to pass some of the day and it was good to see that British vineyards are getting established and giving the French a run for their money in many blind tasting competitions.

It wasn’t long before we were getting ready to go back out again. This time for an evening meal with my brother Richard and his wife Sue. They’re over this way for the Malvern Show which is being staged at the Three Counties Showground just a couple of miles away. Fortunately they were picking us up on the way through which saved us getting a taxi or standing out in the rain waiting for a bus, which don’t run too often.

Our evening was spent at the White Swan Inn, www.thehanleyswaninn.com/ Hanley Swan, (GPS: N52.084614˚ W2.274396˚) the village a couple of miles down the road. I have to say the meal was very nice, and the pub really quite busy, though I suspect much of the custom was due to folk attending the showground.

On our arrival back ‘home’ feeling really stuffed we turned in having set the alarm clock for 06:45 as we have to be at The Morgan Motor Company Ltd in Malvern Link, for their 09:00 tour of the factory.