Category Archives: Trips

Aww shucks, we never made it…!

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Blog updates, Camping & Caravan Show, Christmas Markets, General, Projects, Travelling in the UK, Trips

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For all that were waiting for our blogs and tweets from Cheltenham Christmas Markets last week, well we never made it. Unfortunately some work we were having done at Caravan Chronicles Towers over ran and the day we were due to set off, they were just erecting scaffolding on two sides of the house!

I emailed Scott & Jo Sanderson from Briarfields to let them know we would not be able to make it, offered my apologies and hoped to see them next year (Cheltenham is one of our favourite places to visit and shop). So we missed out on the Christmas Market for this year… Ho Humbug. On the up side, we do have some bottles of mulled wine that need testing!

Anyway, what it did mean was I could spend some time planning for next year. I have a two or three projects planned for the DIY enthusiasts amongst you and maybe a couple of new things too. I’m also hoping to be able to do a bit more of an in-depth review of the Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show at Event City in January as well.

I also managed to finish a little piece about ISO 11446 after Roger contacted me via email with a question. Roger had his vehicle fitted with 13 pin electrics at the main dealer and after a fridge defrosting towing session found out that the fridge connection was missing from the factory fitted 13 Pin towing electrics. This is not uncommon, especially on cars of German manufacture. The OEM wiring kits from the factory don’t always include leisure battery and/or fridge circuits, these have to be added by the main dealer in the UK.

So if you are having a new tow bar and electrics fitted from a main dealer or specialist tow bar company, always check that the electrical installation is to ISO 11446 to make sure you get all the right connections made, and if you want to know what it is, here is my simple guide: ISO 11446 – 13 Pin Trailer Connections 

S

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Not long now…

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Blog updates, Christmas Markets, Events, General, Projects, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Uncategorized, Weekend Break

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Well not long till we set off for Cheltenham Christmas Market ! We looked for a campsite close to Cheltenham and found one just 2.5 miles from the centre. Briarfield Touring Campsite  (@BriarfieldsUK on twitter) is open all year and offers 72 hard standing pitches with all the usual facilities and free WiFi. There is a regular (every 10 minutes) bus service into Cheltenham so it means we don’t have the hassle of driving in and parking. So with the free WiFi hopefully we will be blogging and tweeting from Cheltenham in a few days time!

There is still time…

If you want to have a quick getaway and visit one of the many Christmas markets in the UK check out www.christmasmarkets.com to find out where they are and the dates. It not too late to gat a quick couple of days away in your caravan or motorhome and there is nothing like wandering round a Christmas Market drinking some mulled wine to get you in the festive spirit!

Replacing the road lights on your caravan with LED bulbs

I was hoping to have this article published by now as a number of people have emailed and asked me about it…. what are the benefits?… Is it legal?… Any problems?… Would it solve one manufacturers brake light problem? I did intend to get it on-line so that the ‘all season’ caravanners (like ourselves) could take advantage for the dark mornings and evenings.

Well unfortunately the company that was going to supply me with a selection of bulbs to use on long-term test and so I could photograph the ‘before and after’ of replacing the bulbs has pulled out. I was trying to do a deal with them so that you could order a full set of LED replacement bulbs for your caravan at a big discounted price from a UK supplier rather than chance you luck on one of the well-known auction sites and have the bulbs of varying standards coming from the far east.

So for the moment its on hold until I can find another UK supplier.

S

Blackpool Bound…

28 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by in General, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Trip number 30 was becoming our annual jaunt to Blackpool to cycle the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations. Last year we stayed at Eastham Hall, but this year while staying at The Old Oaks, Tara had given us a book, “Tranquil Touring Parks Guide“, which listed 30 top adults only touring parks. The newest member was Manor House Caravan Park (http://www.manorhousecaravanpark.co.uk/) just outside Blackpool at Marton Moss. For us it was conveniently located about three miles from Squires Gate – the start of the illuminations – so we could cycle straight from the site to Squires Gate, along the prom all the way to Bispham and back again. A total of about 20 miles. Continue reading →

Glastonbury and an Anniversary…

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in General, Travelling in the UK, Trips

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Last year while in France we had problems with the Freelander. This was put down to the amount of bio-ethanol the French mix into their fuel and there are now lots of postings on various forums about this. Not only Landrover but BMW and other manufacturers have been affected as well. After returning to the UK and after the first tank full of fuel bought here, the injector rattle all but disappeared. However it was still there and over the next 4000 miles in the UK it got increasingly worse. I’d gone through the process of using injector cleaner without any improvement. I’d also checked the injector wiring harness (there is an issue with contamination on some vehicles) and a few other things so it was time to bite the bullet and book the Freelander in to our local Land Rover dealer for a full checkup. So two weeks ago it was booked into Guy Salmon Land Rover in Stockport. Continue reading →

Heading east to see friends…

13 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by in General, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Although we were going away with the caravan, this trip was more about seeing friends than a holiday break. If you have read any of my previous posts, you may recall we have some friends, Pete and Julie, who were the catalyst for us starting this caravan malarky. We had gone to stay with them for a couple of days where they live in the wilds of the Yorkshire Moors and they had not long since returned from a three-month winter trip to Spain & Portugal…. the tales of their caravanning escapades got us interested and the rest as they say is history.

We had met up a couple of times on various sites – Barnard Castle, Oxford etc. and had been due to meet at Brathwaite Fold but this got cancelled (long story) and were planning to try and meet up again soon. However events overtook us. Julie was diagnosed with Myeloma and was currently in The Castle Hill Hospital.  As the trip from their home to the hospital would have been a couple of hours each way, Pete was staying at a site near the Hospital. We promised to go over to see them ASAP.  We were booking at very short notice but after a brief search came across Burton Constable Holiday Park and Arboretum which is set in the grounds of Burton Constable Hall, and had space for us. Continue reading →

Glastonbury and Warwick – Part Three

05 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Click Here for Part 2

Friday 28th June

The rain of the previous evening had abated and the clouds were slowly starting to clear. It didn’t take us long to pack everything away and break camp. We pulled out of The Old Oaks at 9:50 and headed back through the outskirts of Glastonbury heading for the A39 to take us back to the M5. The Sat Nav told us we had 143 miles to travel to the Caravan Club’s Warwick Racecourse site, and no holdups. By the time we were passing through Bristol, the clouds had completely cleared and the sun was shining. We pulled into Michael Wood Services, northbound this time, around 11:15 for a 20 minute break and to grab a coffee (or tea in Sue’s case) and a bite to eat. Continue reading →

Glastonbury and Warwick – Part Two

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Click Here for Part 1

We wandered down the main drive to the camp site, past the dog exercise field and turned right on to Wick Lane. Following the lane to the south we heard a couple of jets in the distance. Since arriving on site we had heard quite a few helicopters making their way in and out of the festival site, I guess taking artists in for their sound-checks and providing some of the aerial shots seen on the news. They weren’t obtrusive and it wasn’t constant and even after hanging up my flying gloves I still turn to look up at them. We wandered further down the lane stopping at the entrance gates to each field to look at the view, each field giving a slightly different vista. We could hear a jet doing a high energy turn somewhere in the distance.

A different view through every gate... the Festival site is in the distance

A different view through every gate… the Festival site is in the distance

Continue reading →

Glastonbury and Warwick – Part One

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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Our next little ‘adventure’ happened quite by accident. A Twitter follower of Caravan Chronicles ‘tweeted’ about an article that I’d written a while ago that appeared on Caravan Talk about towing, which I subsequently expanded into two articles and posted on Caravan Chronicles (Understanding the Dynamics of Towing), and I ‘tweeted’ back a quick thanks for promoting it. Out of curiosity I had a look at their website – The Old Oaks

They were the 2012 runner-up to Caravan Talk’s Campsite of the Year award and from the website, it looked like a place to include on the list of “must visit”. Within an hour I’d booked us in for four nights and so we wouldn’t have two long tows I also booked us in at the Caravan Club’s Warwick Racecourse site for a couple of nights on the way home. Continue reading →

Hills in the Mist…

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in General, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

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After a week of ‘iffy’ weather in the north-west, Friday 17th was forecast to be at least dry and a promise of the sun making an appearance from time to time. We loaded up the Freelander and set off to pick up the caravan. By 9.30 we were hitched up and pulling out of the storage compound. Sue, while winding up the corner steadies with the Makita, had managed to get a mouthful of Makita battery when the torque twisted the drill out of her hand, which apparently was my fault. She was definitely not a happy camper. With hindsight, she was extremely lucky that she did not end up with broken teeth and a fractured nose.  I think there is a lesson to be learned here.  If you use any sort of drill to wind your steadies, you need to be certain of the setting before you start. Continue reading →