Research time i thought and so i bought the mag "motorhome motorcaravan monthly" and started having days out to some of the local dealers that are nearby. Around this time Brownhills of Newark had just opened their branch at Cannock and after weeks of contemplation, Andrew at Brownhills called me with a deal to reduce the cost of a vehicle i had just been looking at by £3,000.  Deal done and we took delivery of an Elddis Autostratus EK, a 5 berth coachbuilt based on a Peugeot Boxer.

Time for the first trip, The traveling team was to be my wife- Irene, her sister- Sandra, her husband-John and myself (steve). We had always wanted to see Scotland in the Autumn so it was decided and a route mapped out. Now this was to be a trial run for us and the van and so we set off on the cautious side with 2 nights planned to sleep in the Motorhome and another 2 nights in "travel lodge's". It sounds strange to pay thousands for a motorhome and then use motels but it was logical to us. We had some gift vouchers to be used up and these were accepted in 2 areas that we were visiting in Scotland, so we planned first and last night in the van and the other 2 in a motel.

As a complete novice i just did not know what to expect when pulling into a campsite here in the UK and if bookings were required, so i thought i had better book at least a first night somewhere. Using the "Web" i found www.caravansitefinder.co.uk and located a site near to lake Ullswater in the lake district that looked pretty good. A phone call was made and we were booked at least for the first night.  The day arrived for the trip and as we left Walsall on the M6 heading north it was lashing down with rain. The rain was now stopping as we made our first stop just south of Preston on the motorway service area and parked around by the coach bays and that was when the first of many tea stops were about to start... NO MORE £1.50 FOR A CUP Mr GRANADA !!!!

The rain now stopped as we headed for Windermere and spend a few hours checking out the village before heading for Lake Ullswater and our booked campsite. We arrived at the site  just as it was getting dark, the rain was coming down again and we had our first taste of what it's like in a Motorhome. The pitch was grass or should i say "MUD" and we nearly got stuck just getting backed onto it. All the other pitches were the same so there was no point in trying to change to another one. When we booked in we found that the bar was closed and the village pub was either 15 minutes by taking the road or 3 minutes across the field, which was also now just a field of mud.. So the first evening was pretty dismal, even the new TV i had bought struggled to get a signal to keep us entertained. The fresh water ran out as we were making tea, although i was sure it was full before we left, so i was out in the rain and mud filling the tank from a collapsible water carrier i had bought earlier just because "it was cheap" and had a torch stuck in my mouth...

The van made a sliding dash to reach the hardcore service road next morning, the front wheels just made enough grip to get us off the pitch. The rain had stopped (just) and we were Scotland bound, weather had now improved a bit and we headed north on the M6 then the M74 into Glasgow. We skirted Glasgow and made our way out the other side and headed for our destination of Fort William. There we arrived late afternoon and spent the night in a "travel lodge" to use up our free vouchers. The motorhome was parked in the carpark which must have looked strange !!

Day 3 saw us leave Fort william and we skirted several loch's including Loch Ness on our way to Inverness, from there we had a mad idea to go to John "O" Groats just to say we had been there. We were not expecting much at the top of Scotland and kept joking about thing like roadsigns saying "STOP - END OF COUNTRY" or a roundabout so you could only go around it and come back.. To be honest that's what it was, a small car park and a roundabout. At least we have been there and done that. Tea break at o' groats and back to Inverness. Great scenery but needs to be done again with lots more time. Overnight in a pre-booked motel with a nice pub meal, smashing...

Off again and heading down via Perth and Avimore and across country to join the A74 (M74) for a final stop over in Gretna Green. Remember that this is now only our second time of using the motorhome overnight, The rain had all gone and we arrived mid afternoon to pitch up at a site almost in the centre of Gretna. This gave us a better impression of the motorhome life, the hotel nearby served a great evening meal and we took in a walk around Gretna the next morning.
Haggis was bought from the local butcher and it was away back to the Midlands for the end of our first trip.

The van did little else for a few months until next spring where after only 2 night in the motorhome in the UK we packed up and went head first into our first spanish trip !!