The rain was heavy and the wind howled, but that was good because our neighbours thoughtlessly had their TV on so loud that nature’s sounds almost drowned this intrusion out. One great advantage of a motorhome is that you can always move away from the rare inconsiderate neighbour.

The next day was fairer weather, but with one thing and another we didn’t actually make tracks until later in the afternoon. The original plan had been to drive 25 minutes to a reliable spot we’d stayed in exactly a year ago. However, after having not moved in nearly 24 hours we thought we’d get a decent drive in.

Inspired by talking to a colleague on the phone that afternoon I thought I’d head North towards the Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. So we more or less winged it, popping in on the occasional Park4night en route, although there weren’t many.

The late afternoon sun came out and so did the camera as the scenery on the drive came to vivid life. Later in the journey the sky to the West and North was looking particularly menacing, and clearly dumping vast amounts of rain. We managed to avoid most of this although there was a time when we were getting some sleet as we’d begin rising marginally in altitude, but that didn’t last.

My last chance Park4nights were around the small town of Sahechores de Rueda. We’d decided against the couple on offer as we’re very fussy and the “no view, no stop” rule is rarely contravened. Fortunately, Sophie had noticed a large solid parking area down near the lake, with views of the snow-capped Picos some 50km North, an information board, picnic benches, and picnic area size bins. To us this was a clear invitation for legitimate motorhome parking and so another new Park4night was born.