Cannock Chase Caravan and Camping Club Site - Days 71 - 77 of our Autumn/Winter Tour

Cannock Chase Caravan and Camping Club Site - Days 71 - 77 of our Autumn/Winter Tour

Well, it really has been a funny old week! As you possibly know, I'd usually write our blog as a daily diary, however, the wifi here at Cannock is intermittent to say the least, so that's made blogging extremely frustrating!  Therefore, I'm going to jot a short version of this weeks story down all in one go and just keep my fingers crossed it'll save and publish by the time I get to the end!  

I'll start with the weather which has been a real mixed bag, 🌞🌞 lots of lovely Autumn sunshine🌞🌞 to start the week, then the strong rough winds of storm Arwen, and finally a big dumping of ⛄snow⛄which resulted in us being more or less trapped on the campsite!  The roads just outside the gate were completely clear but the uphill drive to get out was just sheet ice, and because the site isn't usually open this late in the year they didn't have any salt to help clear it.  Having said that the stewards made every effort with shovels and hard work which allowed one or two motorhomes to escape late on this afternoon (Sunday), but when a caravan tried  there was an awful lot of wheel spinning before he finally got up the hill.  Then I think everybody must have been watching because once one or two had reached the road  there was a mass exodus, but not us because we're booked in until tomorrow anyway.  And even that might be debatable because at the time of writing it's just starting to snow again 😮

So, for a quick run through the week; on Monday we went for a brisk Autumnal walk from the site to a place called Castle Ring which was an area dedicated to coal mining in times gone by, and also a spot  from where your supposed to be able to see as far away as the Peak District -  but I think you'd have to have very powerful binoculars for that!  

I was a bit worried in case the branch snapped and landed on my head😂😂😂

On Tuesday and Wednesday we didn't stray far from the site because our main mission was to get our rather large and heavy awning down and packed away for the rest of the winter while it was dry, and that meant giving it a bit of a clean as well!  And the timing  became quite crucial because it was nearly always quite damp in the mornings, so we had quite a narrow window in the early afternoon for cleaning and packing and thus it resulted in the task becoming a 2 stage job - the 5 panels on Monday and the main body on Tuesday! 

Wednesday saw us venture out to the shores of Chase Water resevoir near Burntwood which can trace it's history back to 1797 when it was created as a feeder to supply the Birmingham Canal Network.  However, later as canals became less important, the reservoir diversified and became more of a leisure facility for sailing, water skiing and walking!  We circumnavigated the shores and briefly picnicked but it was a bit chilly to hang about for too long.  

On Thursday we parked up in the Devil's Punch-bowl and took a walk along the Trent and Mersey Canal where we had the pleasure of catching sight of an iridescent Kingfisher taking a rest on the opposite bank. 

And the ducks didn't want to be left out because they just lined up to have 
their pic taken

From there we proceeded back into the grounds of Shugborough Hall which J.R.R Tolkien imaginatively  referred to as 'The House of a Hundred Chimneys' in one of his novels. 

But to get there we had to paddle across a stream.  We were a bit worried 
that the stones might have been slippy but neither of us fell in😂

Then Friday and Saturday were non event days mainly due to Storm Arwen!  We'd watched the weather man predict very strong winds and snow overnight on Friday, and John was a bit worried about what the result would be!  But not me, I'd said to him  'don't worry, I'm sure it wont be much' only to open my blind on Saturday morning after a fairly sleepless night (due to the howling wind) to find a thick layer of about 6 inches of snow covering the ground and making the tree boughs bend alarmingly!  The wind had also brought tree branches down both in the woods behind us and on site, and as the temperature never really got above zero through the day the whole site soon started to resemble an ice rink with people skidding and flailing when they ventured out. 

And Sunday morning was no better!  We went out for a short walk along the tracks behind the site but it was so treacherous underfoot (and I'm always like Bambi in snow) that we soon gave it up and returned to the warm confines of our snug little home. 

Tomorrow our plan was to move onto Filey but the snow is still falling thick and fast so if the conditions remain grim we may well stay put for another day and them move on Tuesday when (if the weather predictions are correct) the snow should be more or less gone.  We'll decide in the morning but the very kind stewards have already said we can stay if necessary!

Click here to see our present camping spot.