5 April 2022

Adventures withOUT Harvey… for now

Good morning from Warwick and a slightly warmer 11deg as we speak.  The Woodies are well and happy and most certainly enjoying our adventures, alas they remain sans Harvey L

Firstly an update on the old chap.  The good news is that Jason was able to visit yesterday afternoon and, after a couple of hours with his head under the bonnet, has come up with a diagnosis.  I’ll put an addendum below with a little more technical information for those interested but for now let’s just say that one of 2 parts are definitely faulty and in need of repair/replacement.  There is a local company able to assess them so we’ll get that process underway this week and see what’s wrong and whether new parts are needed.

So the short answer is that Harvey can be fixed, we pretty much know what’s wrong with him, and in due course our mate will be part of the adventure again but it’s unlikely to be within the next couple of weeks.

However the more interesting part of this blog is, we hope, the actual adventures so if you don’t already have one, grab a cuppa and I’ll fill you in…

The last update had us heading to South Wales to catch up with Terre and Dil, some friends of Anita’s from waaaaaay back in the day.  The journey down there took in a couple of highlights, being Worcester Cathedral and Raglan Castle.

The remains of most of England’s royalty for the last 1000 or so years can be found at Westminster Abbey but not King John who resides at Worcester.  He, along with Prince Arthur (the older sibling of King Henry VIII and also first husband of Catherine of Aragon), both reside at Worcester Cathedral.  At the time of their deaths there were two very venerated saints interred there and both royals felt their souls were more likely to end up on the right side of the ledger should they lie nearby.  Which in the case of King John was quite necessary as he was one nasty piece of work!

The town of Worcester is rather lovely with just the one bridge traversing the River Severn.  Following our visit to the cathedral we strolled through town and also stopped by the spire which is all that remains of St Andrew’s church.

Next stop was Raglan Castle with big ups to Lonely Planet for knowing all the good spots!  Built in the 15^th century, it was unusual in that the castle was built more as an opulent place of residence than a defensive fortification.  Although there was a moat with drawbridge and other features you would expect, they were built primarily for reasons of ostentation rather than necessity.  A decent amount of the castle still remains and we were able to climb ramparts and descend into dungeons – what fun!

Our weekend with Terre and Dil will be one to remember for sure, we’ve had the most wonderful authentic Welsh experience!  Their cottage dates from the 18^th century and is up the valleys in a very remote rural area about 20 minutes’ drive from the town of Brecon.  Their 7 acres of land is covered in ancient trees and bracken and is grazed by the neighbour’s sheep (and very new spring lambs) and Terre is an excellent mother to the residents of her chicken coop J.

Up the hill behind their house is the remains of an iron-age fort that dates to around 3000BC so a stroll up there was absolutely part of the plan.  The day was unusually clear and in the distance we were able to admire the Brecon Beacons, a well-known local landmark. Sunday lunch with Dil's folks was also a treat.

So with a detour via Redditch to repack bags and meet Jason, we find ourselves at the wonderful Fergie’s Cottage overlooking the canal here in Warwick, the next couple of days will be spent exploring locally including the castle of course.  Some other friends have very kindly offered us the use of their apartment in London so at this point we’ll be heading for the capital on Friday.  A visit to London was always part of the plan so, again, the lack of a Harvey isn’t causing a great deal of angst, it just means we’re doing things in a different order.  Which in fact is part of the beauty of an extended trip away – we’re flexible!

Thanks again for keeping us company team, we love the likes and comments so keep them coming!

 

Further technical information on Harvey

Jason’s diagnostic equipment was able to narrow the issue down to either a faulty ECU (the main brain driving the engine) or the throttle actuator which thankfully seems more likely to be the problem.  Both of these items will be removed from Harvey in the next day or 2 and sent away for testing.  With any luck the fault can be diagnosed and repaired or if not, a new part ordered.  Some parts are available here in the UK otherwise it’s the US.

What caused the problem? Almost certainly the battery installation.  The system in Harvey is 12v and there are 2 x 12v leisure batteries that were supposed to be connected in parallel.  Jason suspects that they were initially connected in series, that the lads realised and corrected their mistake, but by then the damage was done.