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Caravan Chronicles

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Caravan Chronicles

Tag Archives: Oxford

More Mulled Wine and Markets…

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, Events, General, Mini Break, Motor Home, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Uncategorized, Weekend Break

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andy Harris, Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Christmas, Christmas Market, Jamie Oliver, Oxford, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailers, Waddesdon

Part Two of our Cheltenham and Oxford festive outing…

Wednesday 10th December

Thankfully the wild weather that was affecting northern England and Scotland didn’t extend as far south as Gloucestershire and after a bit of a late start we were packed up and ready to say goodbye to Briarfields and set off for Oxford. We called in reception to drop off our electronic tag that operated the security barriers and waved goodbye to our neighbour who was leaving in his campervan after an overnight stay. The Sat-Nav gave a distance of about 37 miles and a time of one hour twenty minutes to complete the journey. We pulled off the site just before eleven o’clock and headed out into the late morning traffic enroute for Oxford Camping & Caravan Club site.

We hadn’t being travelling long when Sue produced a ten pound note out of her pocket… “That’s the deposit for the electronic tag.”

“Hmm I don’t remember paying a deposit”

When Scott booked us in I think he forgot to take a deposit, and Jo assumed he would have and gave Sue ten pounds back. So apologies Scott and Jo, we seem to be ten pounds up on the deal, just means that we have an excuse to return next year to give you the money! Mind you, I don’t think we need an excuse as there is still so much to see and a visit to Gloucester in the summer is definitely planned.

The trip took us through the beautiful rolling hills of the Cotswolds, the sun was shining and it was a pleasant drive to Oxford. We had stayed at the Oxford C & CC site a number of times before as it is convenient for exploring Oxford. It does have a downside though. It can be noisy as the main Oxford to London railway line runs only a couple of hundred meters away and through the night there is plenty of railway freight run on that line. Additionally there is a large factory that sometimes can be noisy. All that said, the advantages tend to outweigh the disadvantages.

We arrived at the site about 12:20 and checked in. During the winter months the site has to run on a reduced number of pitches due to the ground conditions and motorhomes are parked on the tarmac road areas. We were shown to our pitch which was on the northern side of the site. The grass wasn’t too soft but had obviously been wet for a number of days.

SPB_5D_098184  That evening the clear skies of the day gave way to a drop in temperature as the sun set. Behind us was a Hymermobile Motorhome, which had three satellite dishes on the roof. Now it was either an outpost of Mission Control or Andy Harris of the Motorhome Channel had upgraded to a Hymer…. but we could not smell any fresh toast being prepared, so discounted that idea.

Had Andy Harris upgraded to a Hymer?

Had Andy Harris upgraded to a Hymer?

A quick trip to Aldi to stock up on Gluevine and a few other essentials and a quick wander round Go Outdoors finished off our day.

Thursday 11th December

The weather forecast for the day was generally windy and rain but Friday looked like it would be clear again so we decided to put off our visit into Oxford for the Christmas market until then. Sue had always wanted to go Blenheim Palace and thought it would be a good destination for the day. Checking on-line they had Christmas events and it was looking promising. I checked the ticket price and was floored at the cost. For the two of us for the Christmas attractions it would be just over £45 to get in. As we were mulling that over I clicked on Trip Advisor and read some of the reviews for the Christmas event…. there weren’t many but most complained about the cost and there wasn’t actually that much to see. However one lady that had posted a review (Margaret151151 ), her last line was “…Now our visit to Waddesdon at Christmas WAS well worth the money!”

Neither of us had heard of Waddesdon!

A quick ‘google’ soon found the website and it did look interesting and the ticket price a more reasonable £36 for the two of us. Decision made, I bought the tickets on line which gave us timed entry into the house and Sat-Nav programmed we set off for Waddesdon. Located on the A41 between Bicester and Aylesbury it didn’t take very long to get there.

SPB_5D_098221

The house is the former home of the Rothschild family… (or some section of it… I’ve not read up on it yet) and is set in wonderful landscaped gardens. While most of the house was closed for its annual winter deep clean, one wing was still open and had been decorated for Christmas… with dozens of Christmas trees grown on the estate specifically for certain rooms in the house, so the height and width of the tree had been monitored to ensure an exact fit… here is just a few:

SPB_5D_098190 SPB_5D_098192 SPB_5D_098198 SPB_5D_098203 SPB_5D_098205 SPB_5D_098208 SPB_5D_098212

The trees and decorations were all themed for the rooms and they really were spectacular. Not often I stand in front of a Christmas tree(s) speechless! The timed entry into the house really worked well and there wasn’t a mass of people who could make enjoying the spectacle a disappointing experience.

The corridor from the Manor shop to the restaurant

The corridor from the Manor shop to the restaurant

From the house we headed down to the stable block, a short walk from the main house to the cafe and shops. If we had been there a couple of days earlier we would have also had chance to visit the Christmas market that is also held there.

The impressive and lavish stable block now houses shops and a cafe

The impressive and lavish stable block now houses shops and a cafe

A late lunch in the cafe followed by a walk round the Bruce Munro light installations in the grounds in a vain attempt to walk off the calories.

Waddesdon is somewhere we are planning to return to so we can see the rest of the house. We both would recommend it as a definite ‘to do’ on anyones list of Christmas places to visit.

All too soon we were back on the road towards Oxford again… it was fast approaching mulled wine time.

Friday 12th December

Bus GuideThe weather wasn’t quite as promised but it was clearing slowly. We walked across to the Park & Ride stop opposite Go Outdoors to catch the number 300 service into the centre of Oxford.

Just as we arrived, it started to rain again so we headed in the direction of the indoor market for a mooch round in the dry. By the time we had come out the rain had stopped and we set off towards the Christmas market. Sue had an Italian version of mulled wine (well it is nearly Christmas!) while we wandered around the many stalls. As always is was rapidly approaching ‘lunch o’clock” again and we kept an eye out for a suitable place. Last time we were in Oxford it was with our friends Pete and Julie (Julie sadly passed away last year) and we had tried to get into “Jamie’s” – Jamie Oliver’s restaurant but it was full. This time we managed to beat the crowd.

We decided on a light lunch and opted for…..

JAMIE’S ULTIMATE SHARING PLANK

£10.50 PER PERSON

For two or more to share.
Artisan fennel salami, mortadella, spiced chicken-liver pâté, truffled salami & fennel pork scratchings with grissini & music bread, Cauliflower fritti,mozzarella & aged pecorino, tomato mostarda & crispy shallot rings, Olives & pickles, grilled marinated peppers, & crunchy kale slaw

… and a carafe of house white.

Now I’m not sure what I was expecting. It was nice with a good selection but maybe I was expecting more of a ‘wow’ than I got. Service initially was a bit slow off the mark but there was a Christmas party of around 20 people starting to arrive that seemed to delay things a little. The service did improve after the party group got sat down. The lunch was enjoyable and the atmosphere in the restaurant vibrant. However… I was missing the ‘wow’ that I thought I’d get… not sure what the ‘wow’ should be but there you go.Bus Guide_0001

We headed out again to cover a few more shops and to do another turn round the Christmas market – just in case we had missed anything. The light was starting to fade and all the Christmas lights decorating the streets came on. Deciding it was time to head back we retraced our footsteps back to the bus top to catch the 300 back to Redbridge Park & Ride opposite the caravan site.

Saturday 13th December

The temperature on the digital thermomiterbob said minus 2.6 degrees outside and it felt like it as it was only 10 degrees inside the caravan (OK who turned the heating on to the lowest setting then… that would be me!)

It was a bit of a lazy start packing up – Sue attended to all the inside ‘pink’ jobs while I looked after the outside ‘blue’ jobs. Thankfully the water in the Aquarol and the wastehog hadn’t frozen. I drained the loo flush tank back into an empty container and just before 11 we were ready to hitch up.

Now this is the first time that this has happened to us. The pitches at Oxford are lower than the tarmac road and on hitching up I discovered that due to the Freelander still having the front wheels on the road, the tow ball was so low I could not rotate and raise the jockey wheel so we had to unhitch again. We struggled and swung the caravan round so we were at an angle to the road and hitched up again… same problem. So we had to unhitch and swing the caravan enough so that the front wheels of the Freelander were off the road, hence lower so hitching up for a third time finally gave us the clearance to swing the jockey wheel round under the A frame and raise it.

It’s my fault as one our very first trip to Oxford with the caravan we had hired I watched someone have exactly the same problem… I should have remembered. By 11:30 we were pulling out of the site heading for home.

Surprisingly the roads were quiet. The A34 onto the M40 was very quiet and we made good time. On the M40 a National Express coach driver after taking about 40 seconds to actually overtake us (we were doing about 55 mph) decided that he didn’t actually need to know if he was clear and just pulled in without indicating with about ten inches clearance between the back of his coach and the front of the Freelander. I wish we had one of those CCTV camera recording do-hickeys.

A brief stop at Norton Caines services on the M6 Toll road and using the Caravan Club membership card to get our discount at the toll plaza we hit the M6, which even though there are road works at the M6 / M6 Toll junction was free-flowing and no delays. The rest of the M6 north was quiet too… we had never seen it run so freely even on a Saturday. By 3:30 the caravan was parked up in its storage bay and we were off home… time to go and give ‘the boys’ (our three Siamese cats) a good ‘polish’

Summing up…

Six days, three cities, two christmas markets… done!. Visiting Christmas markets is a great way of getting in the festive spirit. We used christmasmarkets.com to find out when and where the Christmas markets are. If you can’t get out in your caravan this year to a Christmas market…. start planning for next year or we might beat you to it!

The sites… 

Briarfields is ideally located for exploring Cheltenham and Gloucester at any time of the year. With the additional on site motel, it’s great if you want to explore the area with family or friends that don’t have a caravan or motorhome. The site is well maintained and the facilities are spotless and it offers free WiFi. It could do with another Grey Water Disposal point though.

It is however about 1 mile (1500 metres) from the threshold of runway 27 at Gloucester airport so there will be aircraft passing overhead at around 300 to 400 feet but don’t let that put you off. They are mainly small single engine aircraft with the odd executive jet and the noise is not obtrusive. The airport operates restricted hours so the aircraft won’t be passing overhead all night. If you are an aircraft spotter it’s ideal!

Time it right and you can do Gloucester Victorian Christmas Market and Cheltenham Christmas Market in the same visit. I would suggest you book early though as it will fill up quickly, especially at Cheltenham Gold Cup time.

Would we return to Briarfileds? – Yes. Would we recommend it? – Yes.

Oxford C & CC site is ideal for exploring Oxford as it’s so easy to get into the centre by bus or walking beside the river. Oxford is a great place to visit any time of the year and is one of those cities you want to go back to time and time again. The Oxford C & CC site is a little tired, but well-kept. As the site is actually owned by Go Outdoors the C & CC club do have limitations on what they can do there to improve things. There is the known noise problem from the railway line, but in fairness it’s not constant like a road.

Would we return to Oxford C & CC? – Yes. Would we recommend it? – Yes.

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Mulled Wine And Markets…

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, Events, General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, Cheltenham and Gloucester, Gloucester, Oxford, Touring

One of the great things about owning a caravan or motorhome is that you can go everywhere like a local, you don’t have to be a day trip visitor. In the past we have visited Christmas markets at Lincoln, Erddig and Chirk. This time we wanted to see if we could fit two Christmas Markets in one break.

Using www.christmasmarkets.com to browse the options we settled on Cheltenham and Oxford, two markets that we wouldn’t ordinarily do in a day trip. Choosing two sites near by would allow us to visit them like a local and not have to worry about driving and parking.

Situated between Gloucester and Cheltenham (near GCHQ) is Briarfields Motel and Touring Park run by Scott and Jo Sanderson. Briarfields has around 75 pitches and can accommodate motorhomes up to 40 feet in length. For Oxford the obvious choice would be the Camping & Caravan Club site.

Travelling in December always needs a bit of additional thinking about. Roads tend to be busier and the vagaries of UK weather can make even a normal journey an adventure. With that in mind, a flask of coffee and supply of sammiches for the journey seemed prudent… just in case.

Sunday 7th December

With the Sat-Nav programmed with a POI for Briarfields we picked up the caravan from the storage facility and at exactly 10:35 we pulled out heading for the M60. The Sat-Nav indicated 133 miles to destination. The traffic was unusually light, even for a Sunday and the run down took just three hours, no delays and fine weather all the way.

SPB_5D_098148

We pulled in and stopped at reception. Checking in was quick and simple and we were given a useful information sheet that had lots of information, everything from the bus routes into Cheltenham and Gloucester, site layout and a password for the free WiFi (other sites please note… WiFi should be free!) Passing through the security barrier we followed the perimeter road round to our pitch and were surprised just how full the site was.

All pitched in the late December sun....

All pitched in the late December sun….

The weather had been clear all day. While storms and gales had been forecast for northern England and Scotland it was calm and clear skies. However, the temperature did start to drop in the evening.

Power Problem 1.

Our friends F & R who had hired a motorhome as a ‘test’ to see if they liked it (read Time with Friends… ) had given us a lovely small Christmas tree complete with battery operated lights for the caravan when we went down to stay with them on the Isle of Wight in September. When we were all set up we got the little Christmas tree out and put it on the table… turned the lights on and… nothing. The batteries were flat. Despite plunging into the depths of my camera bag… and tool bag… and side pockets in the Freelander I didn’t have two double A size batteries. Ho Hum, we would have to get some in Cheltenham tomorrow. However, by the time I was finishing my second glass of mulled wine I suddenly realised I hadn’t checked my “Man Cupboard” in the caravan. Ah-ha… a recently acquired LED torch (a torch is what we call a flashlight for the growing number American readers out there) I had forgotten about had two of the required AA size batteries. With tree now looking resplendent with it’s LED lights shining brightly we celebrated and had another glass of mulled wine…. or two (I swear those litre bottles of Gluewein from Aldi have a hole somewhere that allows the contents to evaporate)

Monday 8th December

Monday morning was quite busy on site. The lady in the fifth wheel unit next to us was packing up as was the caravan on the other side of us and for the first hour or so there were a steady flow of caravans and motorhomes departing after the weekend. We had decided to head into Cheltenham for the day. Just outside the campsite on Cheltenham Rd you can catch the number 94 Stagecoach Gold bus that takes you into the centre of Cheltenham. From the site it only takes about ten minutes and the bus conveniently terminates on the Promenade right in the heart of the shopping area.

We did a bit of window shopping and in the Lakeland shop Sue discovered some nifty storage containers that sealed but had a vent you could open in the lid for microwaving the contents… ideal for pre-paired lunches. It was advertised as “Porridge-To-Go” but we recon it can be used for anything. By now it was lunchtime and as it was Sue’s birthday we kept an eye open for a suitable establishment. Now I’m not a big sea food aficionado and Sue is, but a few times while in the Trafford Centre in Manchester we had passed “Yo Sushi” where there always seemed to be a long queue and I’d said I wouldn’t mind giving it a try sometime. Now we just happened to be passing Yo Sushi…. and with my nose pressed to the window I said “Do you fancy giving it a go” There wasn’t a queue and we opted to sit at the ‘bar’ where we could watch all the dishes pass right in front of us. As we were Yo Sushi virgins the basics were explained and we were told it was “Blue Monday” so nearly all the dishes were priced at the lower ‘blue’ rate… handy.

Now what was intended as a small lunch ended up being over two hour’s of trying between us nearly every type of dish that passed in front of us on the little conveyor system… as well as ordering one or two specials.

As we left Yo Sushi the clear sky was changing colour into the faded blue as the sun was preparing to depart for the day. The shop window lights were now brighter than the day was and creating their own shadows as you walked past. There was a distinct chill as we headed towards the wooden huts that made up the stalls of the Christmas Market. With it being Monday it wasn’t too busy thankfully and as we approached the aroma of mulled wine, bratwurst and roasting nuts mixed with the sweet smell of aromatic candles filled the air…

SPB_5D_098151 SPB_5D_098152 SPB_5D_098153 SPB_5D_098154 SPB_5D_098155 SPB_5D_098159

People were now starting to spill onto the streets heading home or doing some shopping. We walked down past the last few stalls and headed towards the bus stop. As the service is every ten minutes we didn’t have long to wait for a bus and joined the other people heading home for the evening. We made a slight mistake in where we got off the bus. Not thinking to check where the bus stop was for the return trip, we knew it had to pass GCHQ then round the roundabout before heading down Cheltenham Rd. but where was the stop?. Playing it safe we got off just before the roundabout and followed the underpass to the other side. We needn’t have though, as the bus stop is right outside the front door of the motel section of the campsite. Well at least we walked off a bit more of our extended lunch!

Power Problem 2

We got back to the caravan and we had left the heating on it’s lowest setting and it felt quite chilly. On our first winter outing we discovered the quickest way to get the temperature inside up to comfort level was to turn both electric and gas on to the highest setting on the Truma heater. I turned the electric on to 2000 and went to light the gas… nothing. The familiar ‘click click click’ of the igniter wasn’t there. Bugger. Quick check of the gas… yep plenty and the gas hob lit OK. Right it must be a power problem. Checked the fuse in the 12 volt panel – it was OK and if I removed it the igniter on the hob stopped working. While the hob was on might as well put the mulled wine on to warm up!. At least the Christmas tree lit OK.

Right… where to start. I don’t do gas… so if it was a gas problem it would have to wait till we got home. Thankfully a while ago I put all the caravan documents on Sue’s kindle, so while warming up drinking a glass of mulled wine I perused the Truma handbook. ….. blah blah blah…. change the battery annually… What battery?. Reading further I discovered that right down at the bottom of the unit behind the front panel is a battery that runs the igniter. So, heater off, screwdriver out I removed the front panel and I found the little sliding door that concealed a single AA battery. The Christmas tree lights had to be sacrificed and a battery borrowed… so with a new AA battery installed the gas ignited. Refitting the front is a slightly more challenging task than it’s removal by the way!

They say things come in threes…

That evening we were sat watching something on TV and the mains powered lights went out… can we have any more power problems. “Bloody bollard’s tripped” I announced to Sue…I thought the bollard may have tripped as it’s only a 10 amp supply and by the time I had got my feet on the floor the lights came on again. “Ooh that’s novel” and we both peered out of the window in the general direction of the bollard who’s light was shining brightly. However it was very dark past our bollard. All down past us caravan doors were opening and people were appearing. The lights went off again and came back on almost immediately but past us everything was still in darkness. About five minutes later one of the motorhomes opposite us came and plugged into our bollard with I guess his short EHU lead extending his normal length EHU lead. I said to Sue that as only part of the site was in darkness it’s odds on that they have dropped a phase on the supply.

As the temperature inside our caravan had now reached the melting point for lead… yep forgot to turn the gas heating off… I went outside for a cigar and to cool off a bit. Scott the owner of the site had just finished talking to one of the motorhome owners opposite us and came over for a chat. It would seem that the local electricity supply company had indeed dropped a phase somewhere between the substation and campsite…. it was going to be a long night for someone trying to find the fault in the cable.

Tuesday 9th December

Overnight the temperature had dropped to zero and there was a light frost on everything.

SPB_5D_098164It was one of those grey damp winter days that you just know isn’t going to improve much. We had pencilled in a day in Gloucester. Despite flying into Gloucester Airport on many occasions neither of us had ever been to Gloucester before.

Catching the same number 94 bus, this time in the opposite direction took us past Gloucester Airport and a couple of caravan dealers and 30 minutes later we were right in the centre of Gloucester.

Even for a grey Tuesday morning there were a number of shoppers braving the winter dampness and following a little map of the town centre we had we completed a tour of the shops and shopping mall ending up back near where the bus dropped us off.

SPB_5D_098183

As it was now lunch time and we were almost next to a J D Wetherspoon’s, it seemed like an omen. The J D Wetherspoon’s in Gloucester is a converted cinema and at one end a large proportion of wall that would have been the original screen’s position has been replaced by glass, so we sat next to this glazed expanse and chose something warm and filling from the menu.

Gloucester has had long maritime history especially in trade and after lunch we walked down to the old docks that over the last few years has seen a substantial investment and now boasts apartments, offices and retail units built in the old shipping warehouses. On a damp Tuesday afternoon in December is was almost deserted, but in summer we guessed that it would be heaving with people.

SPB_5D_098169 SPB_5D_098171 SPB_5D_098175 SPB_5D_098176 SPB_5D_098178 SPB_5D_098180 SPB_5D_098181 SPB_5D_098182 After wandering round the outlet mall we headed back into the centre towards our bus stop for the trip back to the caravan site. The following day we were due to move on to Oxford for more mulled wine and another Christmas Market.

P.S. I managed to get a pack of AA batteries from W H Smiths and that evening our little Christmas tree’s lights shone brightly again… as did my LED torch!

Next: More Mulled Wine and Markets…

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Getting into the festive spirit…

06 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Simon Barlow in Christmas Markets, General, Mini Break, Travelling In Europe, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Camping & Caravanning Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Cheltenham, Christmas, Christmas Market, Christmas markets, Oxford, Touring, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

What!… It’s only August! 

One of the great things you can do in the run up to Christmas to get you into the swing of things is stay a couple of nights at a site that’s within striking distance of one of the many Christmas Markets held all over the country (and Europe for that matter) Staying local also allows you to sample some of the mulled wine and cider that’s on offer.

Last year we had booked to visit Cheltenham’s famous Christmas Market, but unfortunately due to the builders not removing scaffolding from around the house in time we had to cancel. However to make up for it we decided to do two markets this year! We have booked into Briarfields an independent site just outside Cheltenham with a good bus service right into the centre of the town. From Briarfields we then head back north to Oxford to the Camping & Caravan Club’s site for a few days so we can ‘do’ Oxford’s Christmas Market too!

christmas-marketsIf you fancy the idea of visiting one of the UK’s many Christmas Markets we use this handy website that lists all the dates and opening times… http://www.christmasmarkets.com/UK.html and currently they list over 150 markets in the UK and over 250 markets all over Europe.

If you have never caravanned  ‘out of season’ don’t worry. Caravan’s are great in winter… when it’s nice and toasty inside with some mulled wine… who cares what the weather is doing!

So it may only be August, but find yourselves a Christmas Market, find a site and get booked in and even better invite some caravan or motor home friends to join you.

A very early Merry Christmas.

Simon & Sue

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Oxford – Southampton – Oxford

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Trips

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Camping & Caravanning Club, Oxford, Southampton, Sunnydale Farm

I had a shoot to do in Southampton in September, and as Sue could get a few days away from the hospital we decided to go down for a few days. It would also allow us to catch up with some very good friends of ours that live on the Isle of Wight. The shoot was planned for the 24th September, so we thought rather than tow all the way down to Southampton in one go, we would break the journey with an overnight stop at Oxford C & CC’s site, then continue down to Southampton on Friday.

Sue catching up on a bit of light reading...

I searched the C & CC’s website for suitable places to stay…. we were not yet up-to-speed on CL’s & CS’s so wanted to stay somewhere a little larger. Having found a couple of sites, I checked them out on Google Earth and looked at the distance between them and my planned photo shoot. There was nothing close, in the end I Googled “caravan sites, Southampton” and a list of commercial sites appeared on a map… there was one that was perfect. Sunnydale Farm in Netley Abbey. I rang up to check availability… yes they had pitches free…. but as it was the end of Southampton Boat Show, the prices were higher. It still seemed a reasonable deal, £100 for 5 days, so I booked us in. Next, back on to the C & CC website and book us back in at Oxford for one night for the return trip north.

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Hello world! – Pt 3

11 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by Simon Barlow in General

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Canterbury, Caravan Club, Glossop Caravans, Go Outdoors, Google Maps, Kelvedon Hatch, North Western Caravans Ltd, Oxford, Street View

Our first attempt at packing the caravan up went rather well… we were up early, I’d cooked breakfast again and we had washed up and stowed everything away. During the course of breakfast we had reflected on the first two nights… and what had been a firm decision on the type of caravan we wanted had to be revisited. We definitely wanted a full rear washroom and we definitely wanted a fixed bed! There was a turn about, after looking at fixed beds back at Glossop Caravans a few weeks ago and deciding they were not for us… we had decided a fixed bed was the way forward. We had also revised our list of things we thought we wanted… but this was very flexible at the moment.

It only took us 20 minutes to pack everything away and hitch up… which was surprising, I’d read stories of people spending all morning packing up and hitching up. I had the feeling we were not getting this right somehow. We finally drove round the access road to Kelvedon Hatch at just before 10:30 in the morning and set off for Canterbury.

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