We left Montreil–Sur–Mer and headed back to the Chunnel. We checked in and cleared passport control, followed our assigned lane and went to the parking area. The board advised us that there “had been an incident and trains were delayed”. Had a quick mooch round the terminal which had a Burger King, shops and Duty Free. The “incident” was quickly resolved and we were called to embark and departed on time. The journey back under the Channel seemed quicker than ever. Soon we were back on home ground.
We had decided to break our journey (extend our holiday) with a trip to Duxford Imperial War Museum. We arrived at lunchtime and parked easily (didn’t see any allocated motorhome spaces but as the car park was not too busy we took 2 spaces).
This museum is definitely worth a visit and has something for everyone. It is a former RAF station. The historic buildings on the site have been preserved and new modern buildings added to house this extensive collection.
The first building you enter is vast and has a huge collection of aircraft including a Lancaster, Spitfire and Vulcan Bomber – many cleverly suspended from the ceiling. It also has an interactive gallery which the kids love. Concorde is here and you can go inside this and other aircraft throughout the museum. There is also an Airborne Assault exhibition in this building.
We then went outside. We were lucky it was another sunny day. (If visiting on a rainy day, pack your poncho as the buildings have quite a walk in between). We were able to watch as airplanes took off and landed on this runway. You can also take pleasure flights in vintage aircraft. There are also more aeroplanes outside that you can go into and have a look at the cockpit and interiors.
We enjoyed looking around the other 6 buildings which housed aircraft and exhibitions featuring Air & Sea, Battle of Britain, Land Warfare & American Air Museum. In the Land Warfare museum we saw the original Montys!
These were the “Montgomery Caravans” used by Field Marshal Montgomery, 3 vehicles which were used for his office, map room and bedroom. His bedroom vehicle even had a little bath! There was also a tank called Monty.
Ideally you would spend a whole day here as there is so much to see. Having had a wonderful afternoon we made our purchases from the extensive gift shop and headed off towards Grafham Water Caravan Club Site.
A little while into the journey the sky darkened and as we arrived at the site the rain was torrential! We made a dash for the site office and booked in. It is a pretty little site with a separate tent field. It also has an outside heated swimming pool! By now we were very hungry and sadly the mobile fish and chip van wasn’t due until the following evening. We had passed an Indian restaurant on the way to the site and as the thunderstorm had now passed we decided to set off on foot. It was about a 3/4 mile walk to the Cinnamon restaurant - Website - which was in the nearby village (it looked as if it used be the village pub). The staff were really welcoming and we had arrived on “Special Banquet Night”. This is every Thursday - 1 Starter, 1 Main Dish, 1 Side Dish, Any Rice or Any Nan all for £12.50 per person. The food was fabulous and really good sized portions. Totally stuffed we walked back to the site and despite the odd rumble of distant thunder, the rain held off and we settled down for the night.
It had been a wonderful holiday and despite stretching it with an extra night down south, it had now come to an end.
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