Just our luck. Our long-term Bailey Adamo 75-4I was weeks away from being returned when we had a minor incident in a narrow lane, with a gentle nudge to both rear corners knocking off the GRP fairings.
It wasn’t me, but I volunteered to get the damage repaired, because I thought it would be a great opportunity to squeeze in one more weekend with the ’van before it went back.
Settling on a tour to Derbyshire
The week before I picked up the vehicle had been quite hectic, so I didn’t really fancy a long drive to get to where we were going. The Ford-based Adamo 75-4I is a pleasure to drive, especially with its automatic gearbox, as I discovered after many trips with it last year, as did my colleague Jo, who had previously found the thought of driving a 7.5m-long motorhome daunting before heading to Wales in the Adamo. But you do want to spend some part of the day not in the driving seat. Somewhere local would suffice for the weekend.
Despite having lived in the north of England for a quarter of a century, there are many interesting places that I’ve never been to in the area. One is Chatsworth, and I decided a visit there, combined with a trip to nearby Hardwick Hall, seemed like a good plan.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Chatsworth Park site was fully booked, but nearby Waleswood Caravan & Camping Park, featured in our Top 100 Sites Guide where the best motorhome sites are revealed, had space for a couple of nights.
Then of course, fate had to lend a hand. Just as I was busy stocking up on groceries to pack in the ’van, my phone pinged. It was a message from the campsite, saying that unfortunately there had been an “unexpected interruption to our gas supply”, so there would be no hot water. Hearing the news, the friend who had planned to join me backed out of the trip, but having got so far, I decided to press on.
I was surprised, given the lack of hot water, that when I turned up at the site, it was almost full. But then, the best motorhomes nowadays come with such plentiful hot water and superb showers that it hardly matters if the place you are staying in temporarily runs out of such things.
The Adamo is certainly one of those modern motorhomes. Thanks to its Truma Combi 6E heating system and 100-litre water tank, I could enjoy an excellent shower, before reheating the meal I had cooked in advance at home and settling back in the swivelled cab seat with a book and a beer.
My friend and I had decided that we would try to visit the two houses on another occasion, so next morning, while I was enjoying a cappuccino and teacake at the caravan park’s pleasant café, I wondered what to do with the day.
The site is next to the Rother Valley Country Park, but a walk there had very little appeal this particular morning, because a powerboat trial on the lake was drowning out any sounds of nature.
Fortunately, alternative inspiration was close to hand. Among the many leaflets on display at the campsite reception, I came across one for the Harley Foundation. It was a 20-minute drive away, and as I was driving the motorhome down the country lanes, I again found the Adamo handled them superbly.
And it was a real find. The Foundation was set up in 1978 by Ivy, Duchess of Portland, as a charity to “encourage creativity in all of us”. It has turned a number of old buildings on the Welbeck Estate into studios, but the original intention is still evident when you visit the gallery that opened here in 1994.
It houses a selection of artefacts from the Portland family’s collection, including a jade tea set, a Neapolitan writing desk that I would never have written a thing on because I would have been far too distracted by the beautiful decoration, and, perhaps most exciting of all, the earring Charles I wore on the day he was beheaded. (Don’t ask how it was recovered.)
Watching local artists at work
But while you have all this to explore, there are also plenty of places in the gallery where you are encouraged to make your own art. On the day I visited, they were trialling a new initiative, where local artists were at work.
One was making papier mâché horses, while a folk singer was putting together a song about the above-mentioned earring. I really can’t think of anywhere else I have been where you got such a powerful sense of people’s creativity. And there’s a great (if pricey) gift shop to browse around while you’re there, too.
If that doesn’t float your boat, Creswell Crags, a small gorge that excavation has shown was inhabited in the stone age, is only a half-mile flat walk away.
The Foundation site also includes a branch of Notcutts Garden Centre, but even this more commercial venture has been sensitively done, making use of the estate’s former greenhouses. There is a nice café there, too.
I went back to the campsite contented after a fascinating day spent exploring, cooked the steak I had bought from the Welbeck Estate farm shop, and then luxuriated in the site’s now warm showers.
The next morning, the weather had changed for the worse and the wind was picking up. Still, that was a minor irritant as I packed up and drove the Bailey home, ready for its appointment at Peter Roberts for the repair of its trim the following day.
If you’re on the hunt for a new ‘van, take a look at our tips on how to choose the right size of motorhome to ensure you get the one that best suits your needs.
Technical spec
- Price: £75,499
- Berths: 4
- Belts: 4
- Base vehicle: Ford Transit
- Engine: 2.0-litre, 160bhp
- Length: 7.49m
- Width: 2.38m
- Height: 2.85m
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- Payload: 358kg
- Expenses: £167 (£65 for two nights at Waleswood, plus £102 on fuel)
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