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Post by Sorento 08 on Apr 22, 2024 20:22:08 GMT
Rectory Farm CC CL Water Stratford Hill Tingewick Buckinghamshire MK18 4PD Date visited – April 2024 Unit - Car/Caravan/Awning/EHU Price per night - £22.00 incl (cash is the preferred method of payment) Earliest arrival - after 12.00 Open: All Year No Dogs accepted here, due to livestock. This site is well off the road, up a single concreted track, with no light pollution. To get to the site you pass the farm house through the farm yard into the ¾ acre field to your right, the site offers good views. All 5 pitches are grass, but the option on pitch no:1 can be hardstanding or grass. All have access to 16amp EHU. Pitches are slightly sloping. Each pitch is approx. 18mtres apart. Chemical empty point is behind the wooden building and the recycling bins and fresh water tap is located on the end wall of a barn, next to pitch 1. No facilities for motor home discharge but grey water is either drained into the hedges or emptied in the drain next to the Chemical empty point. As this is a working farm we were woken up quite early, and while we were there it did go on until about 7pm including Sunday, so not much peace, We did comment to ourselves, that we have stayed on many working farm CL’s and this really was the most noisy one, plus in the out-buildings at the side of the site are used by trades, we were intrigued by the guy who uses the stone building, but never found out what he did. We had the site mainly to ourselves for the 4 nights we stayed, 2 motor homes arrived on the Saturday night, but stayed on the gravel roadway as the site does have a slope and can be difficult to level up a MH. Public footpaths are around the site but looks like some of the signs have moved over time, like the one directing you to the Boycott Farm Shop near to Stowe gardens, we ended up at the school up a very long drive, we did wonder where we were going, we turned round at the security gate, asking for directions, when we finally got to the farm shop we advised the staff, who just laughed and said yes the sign turns in the wind, but you found us eventually, not what I considered helpful, we never had anything to eat at the Hayloft restaurant & tearooms or buy anything as not much there, and saw the sign saying closed, we assumed it was for the café, as we saw no one. Disappointing experience. We ended up having lunch at the Queens Head in Chackmore, excellent small pub, food excellent and polite staff, served food until 12 to 3pm only. Parking is limited on the road. Stowe Gardens NT is approx. 4 miles away and well worth a visit, you can access most of the outside park area for free without being NT members, but the house and inside gardens are charged or free to NT members (except the house which everyone pays admission fee) The car park is free too for everyone. Bletchley Park is about 30 mins away by car. And Silverstone is about 5 miles away, you can sometimes hear that, if the wind is blowing right. We were pleased again to see Red Kites above. We would definitely not write this site off completely. View of site from the drive View we had from pitch 3 Site view from pitch 1, Fresh water tap & recycle bins Fresh water and recycle bins Chemical empty point Aerial view of site Stowe House Stowe Gardens NT The Chinese House (in Stowe Gardens NT)
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Post by Sorento 08 on Apr 22, 2024 19:50:33 GMT
Rakes Corner CC CL Rake lane Milford Godalming Surrey GU8 5AB Date visited – April 2024 Unit - Car/Caravan/Awning/EHU*/ Price per night - £20.00 incl (*with £1.50 worth of Electricity, per night, then 0.34p per KWHr ) Earliest arrival - after 12.00 Open: All Year This site does not provide EV charging, nearest is Sainsbury’s in Godalming. This site is easy access, but if you have a unit larger than 7mtrs, you will stick out, as you get to the gate (Code required to open the gate, so have it to hand) and the road does have a bend close to the entrance. The site is close to the train station and the trains can be heard on some occasions along with road noise. The site had sheep in the field directly opposite who gave you an early morning call while lambing. Lovely to watch them jumping about during the day. The first 3 pitches next to the hedge get less sun; unfortunately the other pitches in the open were taken so we had no choice but to pitch on No1 next to the Chemical empty point. All pitches 7 in total (5 only used at one time while we were there) have hard standing strips with grass cars are parked in front of the caravan, so restricting the view. Grass cuttings are not collected. Grey waste water is to be discharged into the hedge. The fresh water tap is located in the centre of the site, the chemical empty point is by pitch No 1 near to the site gate and the recycling bins are next to the main entrance gate (Access is by key code, the number is given when booking. It can get very busy as the owners allow other trades (burger van, tree surgeon, and a small van storage facility) to park behind the house so they might disturb you if you are pitched on 1, 2 or 3. On arrival the owner provides an in-line electric meter plug, he takes a photo of the reading before he hands it over to you, (I also took one just in case, so I could keep a check on usage) Included in the price is £1.50 worth of electricity, then anything over that usage is charged at 0.34p per KWHr. I inserted the meter directly into the van socket but some just plugged it into the EHU site outlet, me not trusting, decided to fit it the other way, then I know I am the only one using the meter. There is a very good fish & chip shop called Sinclair’s, on the main road into Milford, worth a visit and can be walked from the site. Fresh eggs are available at £1.50 per ½ dozen. RHS Wisley, Winkford Arboretum NT are close by. View of site from pitch 1 Chemical empty point next to pitch 1 EHU In-Line meter provided by owner on arrival Aerial view of site RHS Wisley lake Winkworth Arboretum NT
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Post by Sorento 08 on Apr 22, 2024 19:26:31 GMT
Dodford Lodge Farm CC CL Dodford, Weedon, Northamptonshire NN7 4SX Date visited – April 2024 Unit - Car/Caravan/Awning/EHU/Own water & Grey Waste Price per night - £22.00 incl Earliest arrival - after 12.00 Open: 1st April 24 to 31st October 24 This site is well off the main road, (aprox ½ mile) up a single track rough in some places, but worth it when you arrive on site to the views, the site gate access is on the left, all grass pitches fully serviced with 16amp EHU, in 0.5 acres, but feels much larger. Some pitches are slightly sloping. The owner (Adrian) is quite relaxed on how you pitch. We stayed on pitch 5 (first in the gate and the largest one). We visited here during one of the storms but the ground dealt with it quite well. Chemical empty point and recycle bins are at the other end of the site. There is a “gated lane” that goes through the farm between the house and the site, but was not a problem while we stayed there. Due to being off the beaten track light pollution does not exist. This is a working farm (mainly arable) so expect some farm machinery noise. There is no drive over waste for motor homes, but as the site has individual grey water drains, simply discharge into that. We were pleased to see Red Kites above. There is a pub in the village of Norton about 1 hr and 20 mins walk down the gated lane, but we did not try it out as it was closed on the day we walked there (Monday) so cannot comment. There are also many walks direct from the site, but again due to the storms, and flooding around the area, we could not complete any circular walks. We would definitely visit this site again. CL Entrance from drive Pitch 5 nearest the entrance gate, Recycle bins and Chemical empty point can be seen in the far distance. Chemical empty Point view back to site
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Post by Sorento 08 on Apr 22, 2024 17:30:05 GMT
Hi Mike Could you please add our first outing of the year.
3 nights at Dodford Lodge Farm CC CL at £22.00 pn towed 78 miles 9 nights at Rakes Corner CC CL at £23.03*pn (*inc EHU at cost) towed 103 miles 4 nights at Rectory Farm CC CL at £22.00 pn towed 100 miles Drive back home/storage 92 miles
Site reports to follow.
Thanks Paul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Mar 7, 2024 15:56:13 GMT
Van has been looked at by Wandahome (Knottingley) today, They are gobsmacked, they have repaired as per Coachman's instructions, they have checked the awning rail and can not see any evidence of a failed seal, but have over-sealed the section of rail to tide me over, just in case they are wrong, they did want it in next week but after checking their and our diaries it can not be done until 1st Oct, so it is booked in then, I do have a service booked with my usual guy before then, they said go ahead so they will see if the results are better than they took today (in the red scale approx 60%) they did offer to service it at the same time, but at over £100 more than my trusted guy, said no thanks. They have put aside a section of wall boarding and an awning rail so they have the parts. The chap at the dealers think it could be the trapped water behind the panels that have not dried out properly as the damp patches are in exactly the same places but have spread into one of the adjacent overhead locker, but the replaced roof panels are dry. I did say October was a very long way off, so what happens if the boarding does suffer more damage? He said they will correct it. TBH I do think they are being upfront. We did look again at their stock of new vans and can honestly say there was nothing to make us want to change. Plus they are having issues with Elddis.
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Post by Sorento 08 on Mar 2, 2024 17:56:38 GMT
That’s bad, do you think it was that the dealer just tried to cover up the problem or could it be something else? Les I don't think so, as I had it serviced in September by my regular Mobile and the damp report showed less than 15% throughout. I had been to the van (in storage) only 3 weeks before to collect some items left in and all was well. I am thinking it could have been due to the excessive rain, followed by the very low temps we have had, that might have popped the awning rail sealant, but will know more on the 7th March, when I take it back for the dealer to check it out.
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Post by Sorento 08 on Feb 26, 2024 18:47:41 GMT
Not a happy Bunny today, after what I thought had been a very good repair to the recent damp, I went to the van in storage today to check on it and put some items back in, only to find the dreaded damp has returned to the exact places that were repaired. To say I am gutted is an under statement. Phone call to the dealer and sent photos, today, now waiting for them to get back to me, to get it booked in for assessment. Washroom Ceiling stained Wardrobe wall covering pealing and stained Overhead Locker Wall Covering pealing and stained
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Post by Sorento 08 on Jan 8, 2024 20:16:16 GMT
Nice Blue Skies and dry
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Post by Sorento 08 on Dec 26, 2023 19:54:32 GMT
We would like to wish everyone a - Very Merry Christmasand a Happy and Prosperous 2024
Mike & HazelAnd the same to you and Hazel. Thank you for running the forum this year and to the others who work in the background. And look forward to 2024 season. Paul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Dec 8, 2023 9:09:46 GMT
Hi, I would like to suggest anyone wanting to add photos to their site reports or the website and not clog up the memory of this site could register for free with the link below. And then add the thumbnail to their post. imgbb.com/Hope it helps Paul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Oct 1, 2023 20:55:56 GMT
4th service carried out 29th Sept, by my usual mobile AWS guy. Damp checked and max reading is 15%, at that was around the repaired area, so I am pleased so far. After a few months of having the brake shoes replaced with non genuine, the squeal returned on the drum that has the scoring, so I requested this to be replaced this time, along with another set of shoes. Charged £165 for the drum and £50.00 for the shoes. As I have used the same AWS guy for the past 11 years he gave me a £25 discount, bargain .
Nice to have a clean bill of health for the year.
Not going away until next year now, as our daughter and her husband are coming over from Australia so we will let them have the house and we will stay in the van. just hope the squeal is now sorted.
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Post by Sorento 08 on Sept 23, 2023 15:26:14 GMT
Hi Mike, hope you are enjoying your new bus and it is as reliable as your previous one.
Could you please put me down for 16 nights at £18.00 per night total tow was 240. at White House Adults Only CC CL (Site report added to reviews) Thanks Paul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Sept 23, 2023 15:18:15 GMT
White House CC CL (Adults Only) Holt Road Wood Norton Dareham NR20 5AY Date visited – September 2023 Unit - Car/Caravan/ EHU/Awning Price per night - £18.00 (Awning £1.00) Payment can be cash or BACS Earliest arrival - after 12.00 Open: All year This is an adult only CC site with both Hardstanding (2) and grass pitches (5) set in 1 acre, some have 16amp, but there are some that are rated at 10amp, so check the bollard when you hook up. Access is down a gravel driveway passing the owners outbuildings. The 2 hard standing pitches are located just before the main grassed site area where a fresh water tap can be found, the other fresh water tap is located just behind the fence at the rear of the greenhouse and vegetable garden. The chemical toilet empty point and the recycle bins are in a fenced enclosure. Grey water waste can be piped into the trees/hedges. A motor home drive-over grey empty point is located in the gravel drive. The owner is quite relaxed on how you site, within your allotted marked pitches. The site is surrounded by mature trees and hedging. A dog walk is on site that runs by the side of pitch 5, but not very big. There is a Thai restaurant close by, that serves very good food at reasonable prices, and takeaways are also available, but only open on certain days, so if you want to go, call and book as it gets very busy, due to popularity. There are two NT properties within driving distance namely: Blickling Estate and Felbrig Hall. As the site is next to the B1110 Holt road, there is some road noise, this does quieten down during the night, but can be invasive. We would definitely visit this site again. Please click on the the photos below to enlarge, this will open in a new tab, so please close that tab before moving onto the next. Thanks for looking Driveway to CL with the 2 hard standings to the right Chemical Empty Point Recycle Bins are in the same enclosure as the Chemical Empty Point One of the two Fresh Water Taps Dog Walk (next to pitch 5) View of Site from the house View of Site from pitches 3 & 4 to the house
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Post by Sorento 08 on Sept 23, 2023 14:51:20 GMT
I was wondering where you were taking us for a minute Your new bus is nice. Are you pleased with it?
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Post by Sorento 08 on Aug 11, 2023 20:56:23 GMT
Port Arthur Farm CC CL (Adults Only) Market Flat Lane Scotton Lingerfield Knaresborough North Yorkshire HG5 9JA Date visited – August 2023 Unit - Car/Caravan/Awning/EHU Price per night - £23.00 incl Earliest arrival - after 13.00 Open: All year This is an adult only site with both Hardstanding and grass pitches some have 16amp but there are some that are rated at 10amp, so check the bollard when you hook up. Fresh water tap and grey water waste are located near to the first gate in the all hardstanding area. The site is approx 1.5 acres. Fountains Abbey/Studley Royal are a must to visit (NT property) there are 3 hard standing pitches on the main site, pitches 1 & 2 will accommodate an awning but pitch 3 is not suitable. The other 2 pitches (4 & 5) are on the grass, hook up for these are on the upper hardstanding area behind the hedge. During the heavy continuous rain most of the site was under water it seemed only pitch 3 got away with being water logged. The recycle bins are located opposite the shower/toilet facilities. As are the fresh water and grey water empty point. Some road noise can be heard but it was not invasive. There is also a holiday cottages available to let. There is a small commercial 3 van site adjacent to this site owned by the CL owner. The owner is quite relaxed on how you site, but was insistent on telling those who arrived after the heavy rain to stay off the grass. There is a pub close by, but we did not like the look of the choice of food, so cannot comment how good or bad this was. This CL was given 2nd place in the 2016 CL of the year award. We would definitely visit this site again. Please click on the photos below to enlarge, (this will open them in another tab, please close this after viewing to return back to this post). Thanks for looking
Site Entrance from Private road off main road Main Site with 3 hard standings (Note pitch 3 is behind the hedge at the bottom left hand side View of main site from pitch 3 Fresh water and grey water point Shower and WC facilities incl Chemical toilet point Chemical empty point Recycle point Aerial view of site
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Post by Sorento 08 on Aug 7, 2023 19:58:01 GMT
Hi Mike, Hope you and your good lady are well and managed to find a replacement Bus. Could you please add 7 Nights at Port Arthur Farm CL (Adults Only) CC £23 Per night. Total towed 220 miles. Site report to follow now added Nice restful break despite the continuous rain we had. Thanks Paul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Jun 29, 2023 21:30:26 GMT
Hill Farm CC CL Dinnington, Hinton St George, Somerset, TA17 8TG Open: 1st March 23 to 30th Sept 23 (subject to weather conditions) £20pn Incl Awning, EHU. Or £17pn without EHU. Arrival 12.00 We stayed here for 7 nights in June, easy access, site is down its own tarmac drive which is single lane with a couple of passing places. The owners keep the site in perfect condition the pitches are all grass and well spaced out with their own recycle bin and general waste bin, recycling is collected daily. Views and sunsets are stunning from 4 of the pitches (pitch 5 is against the hedge opposite the site entrance. Fresh water and chemical toilet point are next to the orchard (next to pitch 4) in a rustic enclosure, the chemical toilet rinse has a spray gun which can be a bit of a problem when the trigger is released. The fresh water is from the owners own well and is treated by UV light system, so the water can be quite hot if no one has drawn any off for a while, the water pressure is good. The site has no light pollution so stars are abundant. Pitches are on a slope so levelling blocks are usually needed; the owner can supply these if needed. There are no facilities for Motorhome waste water discharge. You may be lucky enough to see a Red Kite in the sky above too. Many footpaths are direct from site but some are not clearly marked and have rotten and unstable stiles, so extra care is needed. The owners can provide laminated walks if requested. NT properties, Barrington Hall, Montacute and Tintinhull are close by. As is the private gardens of Forde Abbey. This is a working farm, so do expect farm vehicles and the odd movement of cows, to be passing along the road behind the site, but this did not cause any problems. We will certainly be returning here. To enlarge the photos below, please click, thanks for looking.. Ariel View of Site Entrance gate to site Site view from gate View from pitch View from pitch 3 Fresh water and chemical empty point Sunset at Hill Farm Red Kite
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Post by Sorento 08 on Jun 29, 2023 21:16:55 GMT
Trelew Farm St Buryan, Penzance, Cornwall, TR19 6ED Open all year £20pn Incl Awning, EHU, Each pitch has own fresh water tap. Free Wi-Fi. Deposit of 1/3rd due at the time of booking by BACS. Arrival 12.00 Visited here for 2 weeks in June we arrived in very strong winds and rain, managed to get the awning up after 2 days. When you enter the long drive (approx. ¾ mile) be careful as it is very uneven 4mph usually gets you to and from site safely, once you get to the farm yard you need to do a complete circle to enter the site entrance, which is on your left. There are 8 pitches along the hedge all have hook up and own fresh water taps grey water is put in the hedge. And all 8 pitches were in use during our stay, which was OK as there was plenty of space, but would violate the CC 5 van max licence. You can pitch anyway you want pitches are fairly large. Nice view towards St Buryan. Chemical and refuse bins are located at the top end of the field next to pitch 1. All rubbish needs to be bagged; only glass is recycled for some strange reason. There are some grass left over after cutting, this is a working dairy farm with horses in the fields directly in front of the caravans. We were very lucky to see a newly born Foal in the field behind the site, the owners are considering calling the Foal Trelew Star as it is their first foal born on site. There are plenty of footpaths around the site, but the owners have blocked off the access point from the site so this has to be picked up at the top end gate near the chemical waste bin point nice walk to St Buryan but some of the stiles can be a struggle shop/post office are available throughout the day along with a pub but this opens at 4pm and serves food at 5.30pm we have not tried this though. There is also a book swap in front of the toilets/shop. NT properties are close by and worth a visit, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrison’s are in Penzance on the main A30 about 8 miles from site, all have fuel. There is also a good Pastie shop behind Tesco’s fuel station, worth a visit. You might get a visit from the farm owner’s dog, along with a cow that keeps escaping her field. It was fun getting her back into the farm yard, as the farmer was elsewhere. To enlarge the photos below, please click, thanks for looking.. View of site from entrance drive View to St Buryan Chemical and rubbish point Sunset at Trelew Farm CC CL 2 day foul
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Post by Sorento 08 on Jun 29, 2023 21:04:48 GMT
Uplands Adults Only CC CL Chittlehamholt, Umberleigh, Devon, EX37 9NS Open 1st April 23 to 31st Oct 23 Arrival not before 2pm due to very narrow roads £19 pn incl EHU, (even though the CC website states metered usage, which clearly is wrong, as the hook ups have no meters installed in the bollards) Awning, Showers and toilet, Enhanced pitches, Free Wi-Fi and nice views We stayed here for 7 nights The owner sends out an email prior to visit to show various routes into the site, but we still missed the turn and ended up doing about 20 mile detour to get to the next advised route in with the caravan. Roads are very narrow and would certainly put us off from visiting again, and we have done many years down narrow roads. The pitches are set on very well compressed materials, making it a very good challenge to getting the rock pegs into the ground, I have now 15 extremely bent pegs that will need replacing. The owner said on our arrival we can pitch how we like within our allocated space, But chose the standard way as the views were great and the sun was maximised, the best pitches were 1 & 2 as there are no trees behind to spoil the afternoon sun. Toilet and shower facilities were immaculate and cleaned every day by the owners. Waste grey water is to be collected by the van but is to be emptied at the edge of the grass in front of the pitches. Within the old stable the owners have created a very nice exceptionally clean washroom with free showers. If you have extra supplies for the fridge, there is a freezer and fridge to use, along with free use of books and DVD’s. The use of green chemical fluid is essential here, so if you run out or have none there are supplies in the foyer to purchase at cost. Recycling bins are located at the side of the Stable. The chemical empty point is in the middle of the lawn behind the site. Just 5 mins walk to the left of the entrance as you go out and you have a community shop selling the basics, also to the right out of the site is the local pub serves food and ales we did not try it as the need to book a table was advised due to its popularity, and looking at the menu, it did not suit our taste. There are plenty of public footpaths nearby so walking dogs or wondering off is perfect. The locals were very friendly. On site dog field to exercise dogs, the owner has created a wildlife haven with the walkway cut into the field. On our last day when we returned back to our van, the new neighbours must have wanted our pitch due to how they parked, certainly violates the distance ruling, needless to say I never turned the TV or radio down. Please click on the photos to enlarge. Thanks for looking.. Aerial View of Site Site Entrance from road View from pitch 2 From pitch 1 Shower/toilet facilities DVD, Book swap, Info and Toilet chemical sales Community Shop (2 mins walk from site) How not to set up on a site
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Post by Sorento 08 on Jun 29, 2023 20:39:37 GMT
Emblem Villa Adults Only CC CL Quay Lane, Earls Croome, Worcestershire, WR8 9DB Arrival from 11.00 Open all year Visited May Bank Holiday week-end for 7 nights £25 pn incl Awning, EHU 16amps and own fresh water tap to each pitch. Waste grey water emptied into the hedge. Site is about 1 acre and in an “L” shape. One hard standing pitch is available but does not have a EHU point close by and will need extension cables and also has no dedicated water tap. It is located next to the Chemical toilet point (which is a full size toilet) Recycling bins are also located in the same area. The owners are in the process of transforming their site into “nature” areas so at the time looked like they were neglected but that is not the case. There are no Motorhome drive-over facilities. The other grass pitches are set at the other side of the field this is cut low and grass is collected, so not much mess in the van. The site owners are free and easy and state they are dog friendly, which means they allow their dog to roam freely and so do the other dog owners seem to think, they can too, so you need to watch where you walk when nipping over to empty the loo and rubbish. The noise from the M5 is very much in your face and we found this to be intrusive. We normally hear our cool box in the awning at night, but didn’t during our stay here, which is sad as the Site is very good otherwise. Walking can be done direct from site The Jockey Inn is within 15 mins walk via the footpath which goes down the side of the owners house, we did not go in for any food or drinks so cannot comment on how good or bad it is. Upton on Seven is within an easy drive, which has plenty of pubs and a marina which also has food. To enlarge the photos please click on them. Thanks for looking.. Aerial View of Site Site Entrance from road View from site to entrance gate One of the pitches Chemical and recycle point
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