Monthly Archives: August 2025

North to Norwich

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Arriving in UK, we went straight to Denise’s brother’s house for another wonderful visit. Our timing was great as there was a family reunion for his wife’s birthday.

Three generations! (And DOGS)

We then headed north to visit a friend from Bangui who is now retired in Norwich. We had never been to Norwich and it was interesting to visit a new part of the country. Charles was a mining engineer when we knew him in the Central African Republic. Now retired, he manages the village church, which, conveniently, is right next door.

We had never heard of “round tower” churches but it was interesting and quite a change of scale from our usual cathedrals. (https://www.roundtowerchurches.net/norfolk/norfolk-s-y/swainsthorpe-2/)

A perfect postcard.
The original tower is round but the extension. where the bells are located, is octagonal.
The Nave
One of the many carved angels in the ceiling.
It is a long, vertiginous climb to get above the bells.
Wiew from the top of the tower.

We went into Norwich proper for a day of sightseeing and shopping. Partly due to the original construction of a Motte and Bailey fortress and a dry moat, parts of the city are on very different levels. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich)

Guildhall
Is there an upper goat?
Leaning into your neighbor.

And, of course, we visited the cathedral. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Cathedral) There are many things special about Norwich cathedral, but perhaps nothing is more unique than the baptismal font, made from copper vessels from the Rowntree chocolate factory.

No, not an orphan, but rather a private road, not “adopted” by the city.
Steep street
Old prison door.
Tour group forming up in the nave.
Following the maze outline in the cloister.
The chocolate font
Choir organ
Misericord choir stalls.
Grafitti. It is said that there are actually staves of music carved into the walls somewhere.
Prior to the Reformation, the interior, like that of most cathedrals, was painted and decorated. Now only scattered fragments remain.
Lest you forget …
Cloister
Chapel with old battle flags, a reminder that this is the Church of England.

Norwich castle was closed for repairs, but we gave it a wave before leaving town. Like many English castles, it is a relic of the Norman Conquest. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Castle)

From Norwich, we turned north for a family visit and a spa day at Atkinson Vos.

We like stopping off at campsites we have previously visited. Here at Lurcher Farm Cottage we watched all of the dogs going through agility and other training. Woof!

Back at Atkinson Vos we replaced the rubber bushings that mount the cab and installed the new drag link. The drag link was pure unobtanium – out of stock in UK, France, Germany, Belguim, Spain, etc. Thanks to our friends on the German LN2 forum, we got a lead on a factory in Slovenia that makes custom parts. (https://www.ln2-forum.de) The language was a challenge, but we got a fractured German message, “You send money, we send part!” Fingers crossed, we did, and the shiny new part was promptly delivered. And, unlike the Mercedes Benz original, both tie rods ends can be replaced! Beautiful!

And the blue paint just makes it even spiffier!

And the air leaks? We thought that we might have to do some massive replumbing. Turns out that none of the Mercedes Benz air lines were leaking. The only leaks were on the new lines put in to run the fire pump and other things. When the pump was removed, these were simply tied off. So we removed them all and hopefully, the problem is solved!

Things we don’t need.

All of this accomplished, we returned the truck to Bristol for storage and went out for a wonderful dinner with Motorhome Matt and his lovely wife. (https://www.motorhomematt.co.uk) He is our hero as he always finds space for us to store the truck.

The next morning our taxi showed up for the run to Heathrow – the same Albanian driver who picked us up in the Spring. He greeted us like old friends. We really have been doing this too long!