Alvina’s early travel memories
	Owain’s early travel memories
	Travelling together

Alvina’s early travel memories

Alvina’s holiday memories date back to the 1950’s, when her mum and dad bought their first car – a “Sit up and Beg” Ford Popular. Days out, which often included a family convoy of cars and motorbike/sidecar combination, were spent visiting seaside towns on the North Wales coast, or travelling to visit relatives in Yorkshire.

A trip to Tintagel during the summer of 1956 – in the so called “Factory Fortnight” – ended in disappointment as all local Bed and Breakfast hotels were fully booked. In fact, all 5 occupants in the Ford Pop ended up sleeping in the car on a wet and windswept headland, before travelling back home to North Wales the next day!

The next year, Alvina’s parents bought their first tent – a square, heavy, dark green canvas affair which slept 5 at a pinch. One year they camped in the beautiful but midge shrouded Trossachs in Scotland, and later moved on to a campsite on the Isle of Skye. Here the campsite owner, knee deep in mud, welcomed them to the “driest spot on the island”.

In 1962, and before foreign package holidays were the norm, the family ventured abroad for the first time, driving all the way from North Wales to Spain. As an impatient 11 year old, Alvina remembers the long journey to Dover -“Are we nearly there yet?”- don’t forget no motorways in those days, and the route involved driving through many towns too! This was followed by the exciting ferry crossing in the middle of the night.

France was a whole new world, with long straight roads through open countryside and flanked by avenues of trees. Away from the towns and villages the roads were in good condition, but deteriorated rapidly on entering a built up area, with their multiple ruts, potholes and cobbled streets to negotiate. Were these the first traffic calming measures? The infamous “priorité à droite” caused one or two near misses, as farmers driving their 2CVs legally launched their vehicles onto the main road from their adjoining fields!

The journey to Spain took two full days of hard driving, and on arrival at the campsite near Sitges the whole family were too tired to erect their tent, opting to sleep in the car instead. The journey from Barcelona had been along a tortuous winding route cut into the steep cliffs. Later on that week, retracing their steps towards Barcelona, they saw the many breaks in the flimsy railings that edged the road, and the numerous vehicles at the bottom of the ravine that had not completed this perilous journey.

Over the next few years the family’s camping trips included stays in Zaragoza and San Sebastian in Spain, and Alassio, Pisa and Lido di Jesolo in Italy. After changing their tent for a new Welton touring caravan, they travelled to Portschach am Worthersee in Austria during 1966.

After joining the Cheshire and North Wales branch of the Caravan Club, Alvina and her family spent many happy weekends away within their local area, and attended the first ever rally of the newly formed North Wales Caravan Club in September 1969.

In the late 1960’s foreign travel by aeroplane became far more usual and affordable, and the family took several holidays in Mallorca, one in Tunisia and a fly cruise to the Greek Islands on the REGINA PRIMA. This cruise took in ports such as Venice, Dubrovnik, Piraeus, Crete, Patmos, Kos and Santorini.

Owain’s early travel memories

Owain’s parents were quite happy to take all of their holidays in the UK. In the 1940’s and 1950’s their family cars were all pre war models, and were either Morris 8 or Vauxhall J types. This saw the family visiting seaside towns as often as possible, and included all of the North Wales coastal area, including the Isle of Angelsey. Trips were also made down to the west coast of Wales, from Harlech in the north to Tenby in the south.

One memorable trip, taken in the early 1960’s, probably the last family holiday, was taken in a 1956 Standard Vanguard, with a factory fitted diesel engine, the same one as fitted in the Ferguson tractor! The journey took three weeks to complete, and took us all down southwards through Shropshire and Herefordshire, to the former ferry at Beachley in Gloucestershire. Here we boarded the small ferry boat in order to cross the River Severn, in somewhat of a perilous manner.

First we had to drive down a slippery concrete slipway until our front wheels were wet in the water, then turn sharp left up a wooden gangway on to the boat – one false move and we would all land up in the drink! Immediately on board the car was on a turntable affair, which allowed the boat loaders to turn your car towards its allotted deck space in radial fashion. Next task was to secure all cars on board with long wide straps over each car roof, to prevent escapees – what a comforting thought. The exit at Aust involved crossing an area of marshland, over which stood a rickety wood plank track, again not built with either safety or comfort in mind! What a relief when we finally hit a solid road and continued our trip.

Our route took us along the north coast of Somerset and Devon, and I remember visiting places such as Bridgewater and Ilfracombe, and the charm and steepness of Clovelly. Our route included the challenge of driving up Porlock Hill, whose steep hills and bends tested both car and driver. At the top of the hill was a water tap, mainly to replenish radiators which had boiled their water away, and also for drivers too.

We continued over Dartmoor and reached the south coast where we meandered at leisure back eastwards, stopping at Bed and Breakfast stops each night, eventually reaching our hometown in North Wales.

Much of the holiday trip is now forgotten, but, as the main driver of the car, I remember that this faithful and noisy Standard diesel took all five of us in comfort, and returned over 42 miles to the gallon overall!

Travelling together

Towed with a variety of cars, our caravan has been pitched at the following caravan holiday rallies, and locations:-

Butlins

• Pwllheli
• Barry Island
• Skegness
• Ayr
• Minehead

And as we always love being on water, we have travelled on the following river and ocean cruises:-

• Norwegian Coastal Express Cruise on the HARALD JARL
• Rhine Cruise, Cologne to Basle, on the DIANA
• Maldives Islands cruise on the dive boat ATOLL EXPLORER
• Seine Cruise from Paris on the RENOIR
• World Cruise West to East on VAN GOGH 2007
• World Cruise East to West on VAN GOGH 2007
• World Cruise West to East on VAN GOGH 2008
• Adriatic Cruise on BLACK PRINCE

Aeolian Islands, Albania, Antigua, Aruba, Ascension Island, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bali, Barbados, Belgium, Bonaire, Bora Bora, Comino, Croatia, Curacao, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Gozo, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hawaii Big Island, Herm, Hiva Oa, Holland, India, Ireland, Isle of Wight, Italy, Jersey, Kauai, La Reunion, Los Angeles, Madeira, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Maui, Mauritius, Menorca, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Nuku Hiva, Oahu, Oman, Panama, Porto Santo, Portugal, Raiatea, Rangiroa, Sao Tiago, Sao Vicente, Sardinia, Sark, Scotland, Sicily, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Spanish Morocco, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Lucia, Switzerland, Tahiti, Tasmania, Tenerife, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, Wales, Yemen

Many of our pictures taken on cruises are shown in the CRUISE PICTURES section of this website

Cruise Reports
To read the Cruise Reports of the places we have visited click below

World Cruise, West to East, VAN GOGH 2007

• 01' Hello from Ponta Delgada
• 02' Post Script to yesterday
• 03' Atlantic Ocean
• 04' Caribbean Islands - Owain
• 05' Caribbean Islands - Alvina
• 06' Panama Canal
• 07' Manta, Ecuador
• 08' South Sea Islands
• 09' New Zealand
• 10' Sydney
• 11' Tasmania
• 12' Fremantle, Perth, and cyclones
• 13' Mauritius and La Reunion
• 14' Durban
• 15' Cape Town
• 16' St Helena
• 17' Ascension Island
• 18' Cape Verde
• 19' Madeira

• 01' The Azores
• 02' Antigua
• 03' Guadeloupe
• 04' Bonaire
• 05' Paradise Island
• 06' Panama Canal
• 07' Manta
• 08' Nuku Hiva
• 09' Rangiroa
• 10' Tahiti
• 11' Raiatea
• 12' Bora Bora
• 13' Fiji Revisited
• 14' Auckland
• 15' Bay Of Islands
• 16' Sydney
• 17' Tasmania
• 18' Fremantle
• 19' Mauritius
• 20' La Reunion
• 21' Durban
• 22' Cape Town
• 23' Ascension
• 24' ST Helena
• 25' Mindelo, Cape Verde
• 26' Funchal
• 27' The Van Gogh Computer Club

• 01' Greenock
• 02' Ceuta, Cagliari
• 03' Aeolian Islands, Durres Albania, and Split, Croatia
• 04' Venice, Italy and Ravenna Italy
• 05' Dubrovnik,Croatia, La Goulette, Tunisia
• 06' Motril, Spain, Oporto, Portugal

• 01' The First Few Days
• 002' Madeira
• 03' Tenerife, Computers, Classic Cars...and Noel
• 04' Saint Maarten
• 05' Tortola
• 06' Classic Car Snapshots, and Road SignsAdvertsand a few questions!
• 07' Basseterre, St Kitts
• 08' Castries, St Lucia
• 09' Bridgetown, Barbados

We are both still travelling and will regularly update this page!