Campervan Therapy

Essentials:

Our bikes are on the back. The Michelin 1:250,000 scale book maps of France and Italy, and AA Ireland are on board, to prevent the dulcet tones of the lady-in-the-SatNav sending us down goat tracks, which has occurred much too often on our tours. One final essential: much to Seán’s despair, a department store’s worth of summer dresses taking up the whole wardrobe.   

Greywell and The Fox and Goose Pub

We arrive at Hampshire’s Greywell and The Fox and Goose. It sits on a bucolic lane –  a perfect postcard of a place, complete with thatched houses and redbrick, wisteria covered cottages.

The pub allows campers to stay in their field, the only charge? Come and have a drink. Such generosity demands we have a meal. We feast on pub grub – halloumi salad for me and for my publican-reared partner – well, it’s got to be gammon, egg and chips, hasn’t it?

The field is surrounded by trees, with a children’s playground and outside access to a loo. The quiet lane means a peaceful night. Morning comes with sun shining, a summer breeze soft in the trees.

The Basingstoke Canal

The canal’s footpath starts at Greywell Tunnel, a stone’s throw away. The bargemen used to have to ‘foot’ the boats for six hours through the tunnel, while horses were taken over the top. The tunnel yawns dark and eerie before us, but the chalk springs which rise in the middle of this cave-like habitat make it Europe’s second largest hibernation site for Natterer’s bat.

The canal is left to nature, apart from a few paddle boarders drifting along and one or two calm kayakers. Kites flute mournfully from the sky, a thrush, a worm hanging from its beak, hops across the footpath. Purple loosestrife, vetch, meadow sweet, hemp agrimony, hairy willow-herb sway by the canal, waterlilies and waterweed wave in the clear water. Two swans guard their six cygnets, moorhens and ducks swimming serenely by.

Odiham Castle

Just beside the canal, 13^th Century Odiham castle’s ruined battlement stands tall against the blue sky. From Edward 1 to King John, the castle was, in turn, royal hunting lodge and fortified stronghold. King John rode out from here to sign the Magna Carta in Runnymede, forced by the nobles to introduce the liberties we all value to Britain. As I stand in its centre the sudden whoosh of pigeon wings sound as if history’s ghosts fly through the melancholy ruins.

Run-in with the Bullocks

We follow a walking path to Odiham, to hunt out the site of the Roman Bath house , through what is still a royal deer park. But a field of bullocks have other ideas, obstinately blocking the path. Himself, cool as the proverbial cucumber, suggests batting them away and strutting on through, but I beat a retreat double-quick when a soon-to-be-a-bull-sized-creature sizes me up.  Luckily Seán decides he’s not kitted out in his matador costume and hotfoots it to safety behind me – yet another change of plan for this pair of hapless wanderers.