So, here we are in November. Since my last post, we have had several trips away in the new caravan.
Linda tried her hand at towing, and she has taken to it like a duck to water, even backing it onto the pitch.
As we are members of the Caravan Club, we tried some of the sites in Sussex, we loved the site near battle, great pitches, nice and clean amenities, and very helpful wardens. We have visited several of the National Trust properties in the area and we relaxedwith plenty of BBQ's and glasses of wine on returning to the 'van.

We have also replaced our trusty old Honda CR-V tow car with a newer model, still a CR-V as I think this is a great tug. Great mpg, very comfortable, plus this one has all the bells & whistles, such as ATC, VSC, and ACC which is the adaptive cruise control, so it slows the unit down if some numptie pulls into the gap in front.

We are in the throws of planning our first European trip, it makes sense to have looking to get to France during June next year. We want to visit Honfleur, and along the Normandy coast before heading South to Limoges, via Le Mans and Troyes, tasting the wines of the Loire.


I have found a great website for tips and I'll post it on my next blog.

Well, here we are in August.

After a long haul up the M40 & M6 with our old Abbey County 'van, we finally collected our new Lunar Cosmos 464 from Campbells in Preston.

Wow what a difference in todays specification, control panel that knows when it's connected to mains or battery, ATC & stabiliser, blown hot air heating, even in the shower!! huge roof lights, tv aerial fitted, gas take off for the BBQ, plenty of storage and a microwave as well.

After the tour, showing us all the bells & whistles, we were off for two days at Royal Umpire Caravan Site to enjoy the new van, and get the porch awning sorted.
All setup in an hour or so, and so much more space, so a good move on our part. 
Although recent reviews of this site are pretty negative, we found it to be fine, pitches of a decent size and the showers clean.

The difference in towing the Lunar compared to the Abbey is noticable, with the braking a bit disconcerting to start with.

Great couple of days, and an uneventfull trip back south on the M6 toll road.

Welcome to our blog

Well, I finally have a blog.
Resigned to the fact that I need to share my musings with someone other than the dog that we are fostering for our son!
This blog will document our travels with our new caravan, expected delivery is late March.

The Beginnings

Prologue - the slippery-slope towards caravan-ownership, August  2011

We were under canvas in the New Forrest, the grandkids having a great time riding their bikes, and running amok, when the wind began blowing across the campsite that had started life as a WW2 airfield. It turned into a full-on gale, rain lashing down and the tent billowing. We were running around making sure the pegs were still in the ground, that the BBQ and the chairs were inside the tent, and all the time the grandkids, not to mention the wife, looking a tad worried, well I say all the grandkids, but Cooper was running around woo hooing everywhere, hoping against hope that the tent was going to take off, with him hanging on to the guy ropes!!  We gave it a fair go, but the better half said, “B****r this, let’s go home”  So we did, and on the journey, the hitherto-hideous possibility of a caravan raised its head again - "we can buy a caravan, pay the site fees, and still enjoy the freedom, but we will be quid’s-in plus we’d be warm and cosy, and the kids won't be quite as much of a problem in a 'van." (See how easily that slips in - " 'van " - like a natural already...).

When we arrived home, dried out the tent,  I fired up the laptop and checked out EBay, and lo & behold, there was the answer. A nice looking 2 berth Abbey County ‘van, located not too far away either.  As it was the August bank holiday and at something of a loose end on the holiday Sunday, we meandered over to Farnham for a look see. We had agreed on a “safe” word so if it was flakey, we could get away. As it turned out this wasn’t necessary as the ‘van was a gem, no sign of damp or bodged repairs, good tyres and all the electrics worked. It also had the benefit of a brand new awning, all the water & waste gizmo’s plus, the deal clincher, a motor mover.

We talked with the owner and a deal struck, money exchanged hands and the deed was done, we were now members of that plague upon the motorways of Britain, caravanners...