Odds 'n Ends

When doing business travel, it is often important to get online to avoid getting behind with urgent e-mails, etc. In my old job we were issued with Blackberries which I did not particularly like. I think they were issued by my American employer as an attempt to get us to work in our private time. Also for many things - like checking spreadsheets and presentations the screen format was too small to be useful. They were good though for answering simple questions or doing e-mail approvals. If I had time at an airport I preferred to open my laptop and pay for local wifi access by credit card.

In my old job we were expected to work when flying despite the fact that I could only open my laptop properly in economy class if the seat next to me was emplty and I could sit obliquely. When I started doing market research for being self-employed, I purchased a Samsung NC10 netbook which seemed to combine good battery life, a reasonable keyboard and a very small size which is an advantage travelling. It is small enough to be unfolded on a plane or train. I was pleasantly surprised back in February to find that on the train from Inverness to Kings Cross there was a wifi service which while slow was very useful.

I am now using the same netbook on the Pendelino from Glasgow to London and thought I should compare internet access this year during train travel.

National Express Inter City 125

I used this again going from London to Pitlochry on the ECML in May. The service is free of charge even in standard class but you are asked to be considerate to other users and avoid large downloads. It was not particularly fast but certainly quite usable for e-mail or basic web browsing. Very occasionally, I got disconnected and had to reconnect but the journey was fairly long.

Virgin Pendelino

A few days later I took the WCML with a Virgin Pendelino from Lancaster to Birmingham. This time I found out that the wifi was a commercial service supplied by T-Mobile. I ended up paying £4.90 for 1 hour (24 h would have been £9.79). The service seemed reliable - though I was only connected for the hour - and seemed to be a similar speed to that from National Express. However in both cases the number of people online would have been a major factor with speed.

Vodafone 3G/GPRS Dongle

A month ago I decided that I wanted to avoid wifi charges (in airports, hotels and trains) and took the plunge with a Vodafone dongle. More rural areas are not covered by 3G, but it reverts to GPRS (2.5G) if necessary. I am using this service today as I write. Compared with the wifi on the train the speed is comparable but varies with location. The disadvantage is that you get occasionally cut off and have to reconnect (usually fairly quick). While this has not hindered me greatly it is more frequent than with wifi. Worst areas were just north of London, near the Lake District and just north of Carlisle.

For me as an infrequent train traveller I think using Vodafone has been the best choice. I suppose a regular traveller with Virgin inter city services would find the T-Mobile monthly pricing a possible alternative (though more than I pay for Vodafone). Happiest of all would be a regular traveller with National Express.

Mrs O and I have often travelled down to Cornwall rushing through Devon either on the A30, the A38 or by train. This year we decided that we should stop this and see a bit of Dartmoor. Strangely heading west from Exeter to Launceston you see very little of Dartmoor from the A30 as the views are obscured by nearby small hills and hedges. We decided to stay a few nights at Woodland Springs that is located a short distance from the A30, East of Okehampton.

The following is our quick review:

Situation and Layout

The campsite is about 100 metres from the A382 in the tiny hamlet of Venton. As such it is easily accessible from the A30, you are aware of some traffic noise but nothing disturbing. There are about 60 pitches laid out around 3 roadways generally separated by trees or hedges.

The site is well located for getting onto the moor and for walks in the Okehampton and Chagford areas.

Facilities

There is a reception/shop which sells basics and some local produce. There is a centrally located toilet/washing block that was build in November 2008 and is immaculately clean. Showers have a good pressure but work off push buttons about 10 s at a time. The campsite is obviously trying to mimimise its envirnonmental impact by having no night lighting and by clear separation of recyclable rubbish from the rest.

There were plenty of taps around the site.

There was a wireless internet service that cost about £8 for two days. The signal was very good indeed and much appreciated when there was limited mobile phone coverage; O2 worked well, but neither Orange nor 3 had a signal.

Pitches

There are a variety of pitches with grass only, half grass and gravel. We had a tent and used a grass pitch which was fairly waterlogged. In fairness July 2009 has had torrential rain and other people have said this is typical for Dartmoor. There was no evidence of waterlogging with the pitches for caravans with gravel.

Tarifs

Full informaiton is given here.

We paid £19/night for a "standard pitch" with electricity and found this OK.

Overall

We were happy with our visity despite the wet ground underfoot. It is a good location for doing Dartmoor walks. An environmentally friendly place.

One point I have not mentioned is that it is "adults only". With our first holiday without kids this was not an issue. However many visitors had 2-4 dogs! You miss the sound of kids playing but must be prepared for barking dogs. However overall it was a quiet site apart from the "dog moments".