• Home
  • Help Guides
    • Storage Sites
    • Equipment Reviews
  • Links
  • Document Library
    • Electrical Drawings
  • Photo Gallery
  • Trip Map
    • Caravan Log
    • MPG
  • Shop
  • About
    • Contact

Caravan Chronicles

~ not just another caravan blog

Caravan Chronicles

Tag Archives: Touring

Choosing A New Tow Vehicle Pt3…

28 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, tow vehicle, Towing, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Amarok, Caravan, Touring, Towing

If you haven’t already done so, it might be worth reading Pt1 and Pt2 first.

635931307096487040.jpgWe hadn’t originally set off to visit Manchester Van Centre VW originally, but had gone to Costco to pick up some supplies. However we were early, the queues to check out non-existent and we found ourselves back in the Freelander quicker than expected. It’s not so often that both our time off coincides so neatly so it was a bit of an opportunity to go and have a look at an Amarok. We parked up and walked towards the showroom entrance, Sue said “I like that colour” as we walked past a new Amarok Atacama parked outside. Sue, by now was a dab hand at spotting Amaroks from a wide range of distances!

The choice of vehicle colour is a funny thing, we have had black vehicles for years and I wanted a change. The original Amarok I had seen was all white, with chrome, and I’d got it in the back of my mind as down to either white or silver. But Sue was right, it was a rather nice blue, a colour I’d never even considered. In fact I don’t think we have ever owned a blue vehicle.

Once inside the receptionist introduced us to Jessica, the sales person. Now at this point I have to admit… I am the customer from hell. I know I am. I don’t like sales people in general. You just have this feeling that one half of their brain is working out if they have or will make their sales target and the other half is calculating their commission if they sell you something. What’s left is dealing with you. I asked Jessica a few basic questions and went with both barrels into towing electrics.. and rather than looking like a startled rabbit caught in the headlights, calmly said “I don’t know I’ll go and ask someone” not the usual sales technique of waffling round the subject… a bit like a politician does.

I think I mentioned it in a previous post that a number of people had said that they are unsure about commercial dealers, mainly because they don’t have any experience of them I guess, but my experience in all the dealings we have had with Manchester Van Centre is that they are really friendly and they do know their product range. If you are in the market for a VW Camper, they happen to have a really neat white van set up in the showroom and these things are in big demand. Apparently a couple of the staff also have them and are active campervanners.

Although they didn’t have an Amarok demonstrator available – it was already out and booked up for quite a while, Jessica arranged a test drive in one of the managers cars, so we went off for a drive round in a blue Atacama… big mistake…. I had originally worked everything out on a Trendline, not the special edition Atacama. I now wanted the Atacama, damn, I fell for the classic sales trick!

The test drive was successful, so figures were exchanged…. several times and a couple of days later we placed our order for a shiny blue – the blue Sue said she liked, Amarok Atacama BiTurbo Blue Motion.

The Tow Bar Tango

 The next thing was to sort out the tow bar. I wanted a fixed bar… no problem as VW do one, ad 13 pin electrics. Again no problem VW can do this but the fridge and leisure battery charging circuits are not included and VW don’t have a kit for doing this. Ok, not a problem as Jessica said she could arrange for this to be done before we pick up the vehicle. A day or so later in a chance phone conversation with Jessica I asked what type of relay would be fitted, knowing that it needed to be linked into the vehicle electrics and fully integrated with the auto stop start and energy recovery system on the alternator and not a voltage sensitive type. Jessica suggested that I talk directly to the company that would be doing the final bit of the wiring.

After two hours of trying to get through to speak to the right person on the phone I eventually spoke to someone who was supposed to be the contact given to me. The conversation did not inspire me with confidence. I asked about the relay and was told it was a voltage sensitive type. When I asked about integrating with the stop start and energy recovery, the person didn’t have a clue and said they had been fitting these for years without problems. I also asked about the size of the cable and was told the always use 2.5mm. Long story short… I emailed Jessica and said don’t let this company anywhere near the vehicle. Fit the VW side of it and I’d arrange for the remaining two services to be completed after I’d taken delivery.

This got me thinking, there must be a OEM kit for the vehicle. A quick email to my contact in Germany soon elicited a result. Westfaillia do an approved kit. A quick search on the Westfailia website for my nearest supplier came back with North West Towbar Centre in Stockport. Now there was a name I had heard of. They had been given a big thumbs up by a few of the Caravan Chronicle subscribers and I’d also recommended them to a couple of people who had experienced issues and they reported back had their problems resolved successfully. A quick phone call to them confirmed they did have the correct Westfallia kit and they could do the job and it was a switching relay, not voltage sensing.

As it was now late, I fired an email back to Jessica to tell her to cancel the VW tow bar and electrics, I’d get the North West Towbar Centre to do the job after I’d taken delivery. The following morning Jessica rang me. She had been in touch with the guys at North West Towbar Centre and arranged for Manchester Van Centre VW to take our  vehicle down on Monday to get it all fitted out ready for us to collect it on Thursday and If I paid them directly, it would be cheaper. Now how’s that for a bit of top dealer service.

The Insurance Waltz

I’d just finished a twelve hour night stint at the airport and arrived home about eight on the Monday morning. Time to arrange the insurance. I’d already arranged to cancel the Mini Cooper insurance arranged through the Caravan Club the previous week and received a shock as I’d expected to just transfer it over to the Amarok. Unfortunately the Caravan Club insurance doesn’t insure pick-up’s. For the life of me I can’t understand why…. or couldn’t at the time.

I started with the well know comparison web sites and immediately got re-directed to their commercial vehicle sections… Pick-up’s are designated as commercial, even if they are privately owned. I filled in the various sections and eventually got some quotes back.

Now you might want to brew up and get yourself comfortable.

As our vehicle was having one of our old registrations transferred on to it, it hadn’t rattled through the DVLA system at this point, so I could not enter the registration, but had to find the exact vehicle description, which I did on all the sites. To actually arrange the insurance I had to ring the various companies. So I started with a quote that seemed reasonable, it had no claims protection, legal cover, a minimum excess, all the usual bits and seemed like good value. I rang the company giving the quote reference number on the screen.

The person on the other end of the phone ran through the details of the information with me. Everything was OK and they could use the registration number I gave them even though it was not on the DVLA system yet. So far, so good. He then asked would I be using the vehicle to commute to a fixed place of work… well yes. Ahh, you only have social and domestic cover ticked, not Social, domestic and commuting. I didn’t see a box to tick for that I said, just social and domestic and I assumed that as it was private use only… a box which I had ticked, would include cover for travelling to work. No, that’s not covered. OK, I need that, so how much does that add… £100. I nearly fell off my chair. So that covers me and my wife for travelling to work then? No… just you. I snorted coffee (which I needed having been awake by now for over 24 hours) over my keyboard. What! If you want your wife adding we can do that…. it will be another £50. This was getting expensive very quickly.

Right, so I’m covered for social, domestic and travelling to a fixed place of work for both myself and my wife then and towing our caravan. Err…. not towing a caravan… that will be extra and we only do third-party fire and theft on that… for another £120. What use is TPF&T on a caravan when I’m towing it… I want fully comprehensive. We don’t do it. I thanked the person and hung up. I was imagining what else would be an extra… Ahh you didn’t mention you wanted to breath in the vehicle… that will be another £50. It’s a bit like the scenes from Carry on Camping… everything was £10 extra.

Right, I’ll ring someone else… and the conversation went in a similar vein. However this person suggested I try ticking the “Carry Own Goods” box instead of “Private Use” box as it might come back with better quotes. I went back to the comparison websites and edited my original information. On checking the “Carry Own Goods” box it then started asking for a trading name… I entered Caravan Chronicles…. although this could lead me into a whole new dark place.. never mind, I continued. ‘Please state the radius of delivery for your own goods’…. well Caravan Chronicles is read in Australia so I guess 20,000 miles would cover it…. it didn’t like that and suggested I try again. I tried  various distances and…. well it was crap to say the least. I had now been awake for about 26 hours.

I tried ringing a third company…. this time they person understood my plight and said they would have a word with the underwriters and see if there was anything they could do. They would call me back.

While I was ingesting the last of the caffeine I hadn’t snorted all over the place, I  started to flick through a copy of Land Rover Owner magazine that I’d received a few days earlier through the post and as luck would have it I flicked on to a full-page advert for Adrian Flux…. now there was a name that I knew. They specialise in covering all sorts of 4 x 4 and specialist and modified vehicles. Kettle on, fresh coffee in my mug, I sat down for the long haul and gave them a call. I spoke to a very nice gentleman in Norfolk and he understood my situation, took some details and within 15 minutes we were fully insured, with all the bits I wanted and by the time I had finished on the telephone to him, my email inbox had dinged and there were my policy documents and insurance certificate.

The insurance company that said they would call me back….. well I’m still waiting.

So after 4 hours of being on the phone, I now had a sweaty ear from the telephoneium  and had been on the go for 28 hours. All I had to do now was hi-tail it over to see Jessica to sign the paperwork and let her have a copy of my driving licence.

'The Wolf' at North West Towbar Centre all ready to go in for its tabor and electrics tone fitted.

‘The Wolf’ at North West Towbar Centre waiting to go in for its towbar and electrics to be fitted.

On the way back, I decided to drop into the North West Towbar Centre in Stockport. The Amarok had been taken over to them that morning to have the tow bar fitted. It was the first time I had been there and it was great to actually see a shop – quite a big one too – stuffed full of actual products that you can touch, pickup and feel the heft of their construction rather than one of these dinky show shops full of nothing and posters.

I introduced myself and spent half an hour or so chatting to one of the guys there. They do know their stuff when it comes to electrics and we talked about some of the problems with modern vehicles and fitting aftermarket equipment to them.

Time to head home…. I had one last task to do, and that was to order the Roll N Lock rear cover, but that’s going to be for another day.

Next time: Picking up the Amarok and starting to fit some kit.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Choosing A New Tow Vehicle Pt 2…

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, General, Projects, tow vehicle, Towing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Project Wolf, Touring, tow vehicle, Towing

If you haven’t read “Choosing A New Tow Vehicle Pt 1…” you might want to start there first.

So what happened to scupper all my spreadsheet deliberations in the early hours of the morning while driving to work?

I was on the M60 heading towards the airport thinking about what aircraft were due out… as you do, when a large pickup passed me. Not with one of these truck tops on the rear but a hard cover over the pickup bed and 4 bikes mounted on a rack above the bed. I hadn’t a clue as to what make it was as I wasn’t into pickup’s really but it did look really neat and by the time my brain got into gear to see if I could identify the make, it was gone.

All that morning I was thinking about pickup’s…. maybe I was missing a trick here and a SUV type vehicle wasn’t the way forward, but a pickup was. They seem to be one of the vehicles of choice in the USA for people towing travel trailers, but that’s a whole different market. There are a lot of caravaners in the UK using them too. What was I missing?

A couple of days later I saw what I thought was the same vehicle again on the M60, this time with no bikes on the back. It had a VW badge on the tailgate. I thought VW didn’t make pickup’s. But this got me thinking again, was a pickup the way to go… lots of people use 4 x 4 pickups to tow with, they seem to have plenty of room, be practical, have seating for five and are generally built tough as they are usually designed for commercial use.

A chance conversation about caravans at work with someone who had recently changed his Discovery for a pickup… a VW pickup.

A few days later I started searching on the internet for information about pickups… there is more out there than I thought. My original spreadsheet got a bit of a re-write over the course of a weekend.

A day or so later we were staying down at Plough Lane Caravan Site and we saw another Amarok on the road which was the first time Sue had seen one and it renewed our interest again, and as luck would have it we were near to a VW Commercial Dealership (have a read here https://caravanchronicles.com/2015/09/20/wiltshire-wanderings/) so we dropped in. It was ticking all the boxes, but more research was still required about 4 x 4 pickup’s. My spreadsheet grew.

Now, I’m not going to give you a long list of the ones we looked at and the reasons for dismissing them in our particular case, some people might have chosen them and for them, they tick all the boxes which is great. The others didn’t tick enough of our (well my) boxes and the Amarok did. So “Project Wolf” was born.

“Project Wolf”

I did not know what to call this series of blog posts when I was making my notes, I read that an amarok, or amaroq, is a gigantic gray wolf in Inuit mythology, said to stalk and devour any person foolish enough to hunt alone at night. Unlike real wolves who hunt in packs, amaroks hunt alone. This kind of stuck in my brain and I started scribbling “Project Wolf” at the top of the pages I had in my note-book where I’d written about stuff for the Amarok.

After my first conversation with the dealer in Swindon, I needed lots of questions answering and fired off an email to VW UK. And got a quick reply telling me nothing of what I really wanted to know. So I tried again, this time to VW in Germany. Not telling me much more… but in lots of detail of course. Thankfully the Australians came to the rescue, although the specs are a little different, it helped fill in the blanks.

Screen Grab

The start of my growing spread sheet about pick-up’s-v-SUV’s

Searching on the internet it seems that the Amarok is going down a storm down under in Australia and there are lots of videos and information on Australian 4 x 4 forums about the Amarok… as well as quite a bit of stuff from southern Africa and south America. I spent the next couple of months gathering information and adding even more columns to my spread sheet, then going back visiting other manufacturers web sites filling in blank bits for their particular 4 x 4 pickup’s to keep things on a level playing field.

overview-amarok

Image (c) VW GMBH

OK… So why choose a pickup?

Glad you asked. Well these are OUR reasons and thoughts. They may not coincide with your particular circumstances, but here’s why… for us.

rearThe loading and storage capacity are huge when compared to most SUV 4 x 4’s. The weight capacity is around 1000 Kg’s and most can take a standard Euro-pallet footprint. That’s a lot of caravanning extras. A lot of pickups can be fitted with a van style top that will allow wet dogs, bikes and other stuff that you wouldn’t put inside a vehicle. Although we don’t particularly want a cab style top but would prefer a flat lid with a bike rack on top. And we don’t have a wet dog. We may have a wet awning though. The tailgate can apparently support 250 Kgs… handy for tailgate BBQ’s! It also makes it easy for me to throw in a big snap-on tool chest and use it as a work bench when tinkering with aircraft electrics.

A lot of pickups are still built on a ladder chassis (like the old Land Rovers) for strength and generally have a longer wheelbase which for towing increases stability. The hitch nose weight limit is generally higher – 150 Kg upwards and generally they are heavier so a lower towing weight ratio can be achieved.

Comparing our Freelander to the Amarok I got:-

Freelander Mass In Service=1723 Kgs, Caravan MTPLM=1490 Kgs, giving a towing ratio of 86.5%

Amarok Mass In Service=2093 Kgs, Caravan MTPLM=1490 Kgs, giving a towing ratio of 71.1%

The Amarok 85% figure is a caravan with a MTPLM of 1779 Kgs and 90% comes in at 1884 Kg’s. The maximum rated towing capacity for a braked trailer is 3200 Kgs.

The other factor for me is the build. Most pick-up’s are built for commercial use and things tend to be a bit beefier. The seats are a bit tougher, the springs, brakes, switches…. everything is designed and made with heavy use in mind. OK this can make them a bit more utilitarian in their design and look inside, but I wanted something that would still look good after 100,000 miles.

The mechanics too tend to be a bit more industrial. The vehicles are not built to a minimum weight just to get good MPG or performance. They are designed for a working life with minimal down time and servicing costs. With all this In mind and much more we (well I) settled on the VW Amarok as the main contender.

OK… so what’s hot about the Amarok?

Here’s a few things I like… mainly taken from the VW literature and I guess is similar to other offerings.

ABS and EBD – Anti-lock Brakes and Electronic Brake Distribution. ABS is pretty standard now but the Amarok ABS also has Off Road ABS as well and is linked to  something called EBD which essentially helps prevent lockup of the rear wheels when under less load (i.e. lightly loaded in the back) or when the vehicle’s weight is transferred to the front wheels when braking. Handy for those wet grass campsites.

Hill Hold Assist – handy for hill starts when towing and Hill Descent Control – Available on a lot of 4 x 4’s but the big one for me was unlike the Land Rover version (which is great by the way!) it operates in off-road mode at any speed below 18 MPH when the vehicles ABS is being used. It controls the braking automatically to prevent unintentional acceleration going down hill even in slippery conditions.

Brake Assist – senses how fast you apply the brakes and if it senses you are doing an emergency stop automatically applies the maximum braking effort available.

The 2.0 Litre BiTDI Engine produces 180 PS (132Kw) or 180 Hp in old money which is similar to some larger engines in other makes. The two turbos help the engine give a huge 420 Nm of torque when mated to the 8 speed automatic gearbox, which has first gear optimised for off-road and pulling away when towing heavy trailers. 8th gear is designed as an overdrive to reduce revs and maximise fuel efficiency.

Here’s one from the F1 world…. regenerative braking. When you brake the energy recuperation system uses momentum to turn the alternator and charge the battery, making the most of the energy when you brake.

Permanent “4 motion” four-wheel drive. All wheel drive is permanent on the automatic no matter if you are in on or off-road mode. The Torsen differential splits the power 40:60 between front and rear wheels, but when off-road the system automatically distributes power to the wheels with most grip… and works with hill start and hill descent control.

There were a few other things that I liked… for example you can put a 32Gb SD card in the radio with all your music from your iPod on and the hands free system seemed quite easy to use too. There were more 12 volt power points than you could shake a stick at, including one in the pickup bed, handy for your cool box!

It has all the usual stuff too, leather interior, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, cup holders  everywhere, storage draws under the front seats, inbuilt sat-nav.

It’s not small – 5254 mm long (excluding tow bar) and 2228 wide at the mirrors. With our caravan hitched it will be a total length of around 12.54 metres or about 41′ 2″ in real money.

The MPG figures were OK too…. but that with VW has to be seen in perspective of course.

So with all my geeky and techie boxes ticked…. all we had to do was go and prod one in real life and take it for a wiz round the block!

Now I think VW have missed a trick here, VW Car Dealerships don’t sell Amarok’s, you have to go to a VW Commercial Dealer, and after talking to a few people, this seems to be a bit daunting as a lot have people have never stepped into a commercial dealership before. Our nearest VW Commercial Dealership is Manchester Van Centre VW in Trafford Park where we met the lovely Jessica… but more about that in Part 3.

Here is a sneaky preview of an Amarok from Down Under….

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Glastonbury 2016…

23 Saturday Jul 2016

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

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Glastonbury, Somerset, The Old Oaks, Touring

A bit late but here’s a round up of our last trip down to Glastonbury…

Monday 20th June

As we’d been able to pre-load the caravan we had chance to get an early start on the 215 mile run south down to The Old Oaks just outside Glastonbury. Generally we have been lucky with the traffic on all our trips and this today was no exception. The M6 was smooth flowing and after leaving the caravan storage facility at 7:45 we pulled into Stafford Services around 9:30 to collect a couple of take-out coffee’s from Costa and have a leg stretch. By 10:00 we were back on the M6 and the easy traffic meant we could fairly breeze along at 55 all the way down to Birmingham, only slowing down for the four lane high level sectioned roadworks just after the start of the M5. It had been on and off light rain all the way until we passed over the high level bridge at Avonmouth when blue cracks started to appear in the overcast. Having been down to Glastonbury when the festival was on several times before we noticed that the signs for festival traffic had changed slightly and there were more of them. Winding our way around the outskirts of Glastonbury, which was now in bright sunlight was almost second nature… to the point Sue was commenting on things that had grown in peoples gardens since we were last here. I finally pulled the handbrake on out side reception at 13:20…. a total time of just over 5 hours if you take off the 30 minutes stop at Stafford  Services.

The usual post setup photo

The usual post setup photo

Tuesday 21st June

Tuesday started out cloudy but bright and we decided to walk into Glastonbury. From the site there are a few paths you can choose. A good idea is to pick up an OS Explorer Map (Number 141) as it shows not only the paths into Glastonbury, but if you want to walk the 1.6Km across to the festival you can do so using public footpaths across the fields.

OS Explorer Map No 141 (c)Ordnance Survey

OS Explorer Map No 141 (c)Ordnance Survey

IMG_0593Leaving the site via the footpath that runs up to the two old oaks, at the gate turn left and follow the path to Stone Down Lane, At the next gate turn right up Stone Down lane for the steep pull up Stone Down Hill heading directly towards the Tor.

Once you reach the top, and have regained the strength to carry on, bare right at the junction and continue to follow Stone Down Lane past the base of the Tor (photo). Follow this road for a few hundred metres and at the next junction bare right following this as it climbs up slightly for a couple of hundred metres. At the next junction you are at the top of Bove Town where it joins Paradise Lane (you can follow Paradise Lane back to the campsite). Turn left and head down hill, down Bove Town and it brings you out on Wells Road, just at the top of the High Street. I think it took us around 50 minutes to do the walk. All the walking meant it must be time for some form of snack… brunch maybe…. and we wandered down the High Street towards our favoured Heapy’s Cafe. Sitting outside enjoying brunch we could keep an eye on the local market and all the comings and goings of the very popular (and cheap) veg stall….. and a few of the craft stalls too!

IMG_0595 IMG_0596IMG_0598After doing our usual saunter round the shops and sights we decided to head back following the Main Road and up Wicks Lane. This is not a route I’d recommend if you are nervous about walking along the side of a busy narrow road. It is however a much flatter route if a bit longer.

Wednesday 22nd June

As it was arrivals day for the festival, it’s always prudent to either stay local or go somewhere miles away. We opted for the stay local and headed off to the Clarkes Outlet Village in Street. Setting off early…. just in case!

Turning right out of the site into Wick Lane didn’t hint at the chaos unfolding on the roads. However at the end of Wick Lane…. it was stationary traffic heading towards Pilton on the A361. Thankfully we were heading in the opposite direction and it was clear. We continued to pass standing traffic… that by now had festival revellers wandering about… in one camper van they were cooking bacon… I could smell it as we drove slowly past and in another it looked like the bar was open and a group were all sitting down in the road between the vehicles. The traffic was still stationary as we went round the roundabout on Magdalene Street and still standing traffic. By the time we reached the roundabout at the A361 – A39 junction it was just a mahoosive car park. Following the A39 past “Burn’s The Bread’ bakery and over the river it was still stationary and looked like it had been for a while. As we got to the big roundabout where the bit of dual carriageway is… still a car park and at that point we turned into a very quiet Clarkes Outlet Village.

Arriving early the shops weren’t open yet…. but the local Frankie’s & Bennies was and they were serving breakfast.. it would be rude not to wouldn’t it!

Several hours (and shopping bags) later it was time to head back… the A39 car park  from earlier was still a car park. Ok… plan of action. Having the OS Explorer map in the car was handy and after a bit of finger tracing…. Cue the music…. we set off like we were in The Italian Job navigating round Milan. 25 minutes later we were back at The Old Oaks having crossed standing traffic on the A39/A361 three times. Navigating like a local….. DONE!

Thursday 23rd

Having never been to Cheddar Gorge… well Sue had when she was about 12 or 13…. it was time to correct that. Thursday started out well…

IMG_0608

Lets say we had 110% humidity and 10% of that was falling… it never rains on holidays. The local weather report following the morning news was upbeat and the rain was expected to clear, which it did almost as soon as the forecaster said it, it stopped.

Firing up the Freelander we punched the destination into the Sat-Nave and trundled off hoping the previous days traffic had now cleared, which it had.

Arriving in the village we parked at the first car park at the bottom of the gorge, donating a large slice of my wallet to do so to the young woman in the small office. Never having been here and to be honest not doing any research beforehand we did not know what to expect. Following the signs we wandered in the general upwards direction towards the entrance. On arriving we were a bit stunned to see the admission price… OK we wanted to visit but hell I didn’t want to invest enough for a 10% equity stake in the place. Deciding we needed more info before committing…. and caffeine to overcome the financial news forecast on the state of my wallet, we wandered in search of coffee. Passing the cheese factory shop and always on the hunt for nice cheeses we hopped in and out again. Now that was just taking the… £6.50 for something that was more wrapping than content. (Note… go to Wells market on a Saturday and you can get huge blocks of local hand-made cheese for half the price). We spied a tea shop – The Wishing Well Tea Rooms, that had a raised vantage point and a free table….

IMG_0612

… and ordered coffee and scrambled eggs on toast while we contemplated our next move… which it turned out was a leisurely round-about drive back heading up the gorge and going cross country.

IMG_0613

Our route back took us past a couple of the entrances to the Festival, which by now were full of very soggy revellers….

IMG_0614

That evening it was Cadac time…. unfortunately One Harry Caravanner forgot his apron of disguise… so I had to step up to the plate and came up with a Tex-Mex…

IMG_0617

So… Cadac all set up….IMG_0621

Yes… it’s all under control dear…. yes I have stirred it…. no its not burning….

IMG_0620

… doing nicely…..

IMG_0622

… add the sauce and more spices….

IMG_0623

… and serve on a wrap….

IMG_0624

…`waddya mean… where’s the salad?

Friday 24th June

IMG_0630

Clouds on the horizon greeted us when we got up, but sun was forecast for most of the day with a shower or two later. Deciding we needed some exercise we decided to do a circular walk round the site and so headed off along one of the many footpaths that are around the site, heading off first to visit “the girls” (the chickens) and to see how the pond work had being going over the closed season.

IMG_0633

A lot of effort had gone into tidying up and clearing weeds from the pond… not that it really needed tidying up in the first place mind you…

IMG_0632

IMG_0635

We set off past the two old oaks and along the track that looked down on to the site, which is actually quite hidden from the surrounding areas…

IMG_0637

… and you do get a view across the valley of the festival site… yep it’s just over there…

IMG_0638

Turning back onto Wick Lane the sky started to darken and we picked up the pace as we could see the rain slowly moving towards us from the hills to the east. By the time we turned into the site spots were falling and we just made it as far as the little hut with the elsan point… unfortunately this picture doesn’t show the torrential downpour that had us trapped there for about 10 minutes…

IMG_0641

 

IMG_0642

The rest of the evening was damp to say the least!

Saturday 25th June

Saturday is Wells market, and definetly worth a visit. There are some excellent little craft stalls and some really good local food stalls with everything from fresh local veg to French and Italian olives, locally cured meats, a rather delicious smelling bread stall and one of those stalls that when you want one you can never find one…. a great stall selling every type of shoe and boot lace you could possibly imagine. Enjoying the scrambled egg on toast a couple of days earlier, we found a suitable place to sit overlooking the market and ordered the same again, complete with two large coffees. We just about managed to finish or brunch and coffee when the rain came down again briefly.

IMG_0646

As we were due to head home in the morning, the afternoon was spent tidying up, generally pottering about and watching this guy…

IMG_0645It’s always a welcome break coming down to The Old Oaks and it always seems no sooner than we arrive than we are packing to leave. Better start planning the next trip then, which might have a few changes in the setup… lets call it “Project Wolf”. Stay tuned for more!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Southport bound…

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK, Trips

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caravan Club, Caravanning, Caravans, Southport, Touring

Managing to get three days off recently, and not wanting to spend too long getting there, we headed off for a short break at the seaside…

Monday 23rd May

As it was going to be a quick break, we hadn’t pre-loaded the caravan as usual. So Monday morning saw us packing up the Freelander with everything ready for our mini break. We have wanted to visit Southport for a while. It was one of those destinations that although being so close to home (Manchester), for some reason we had only ever been for the flower show, and that was a fair few years ago. The only other time I’ve been to Southport was for my spin and stall training many years ago when I was learning to fly, and to be honest I wasn’t taking much notice from 3000 feet back then.

The Caravan Club Southport reception

The Caravan Club Southport reception

Every time we kept looking on the Caravan Club web site it was fully booked for the dates we wanted. However the site has expanded with a new section and facilities block and a quick check showed they had the three days we wanted on a super pitch.  We hitched up around 11:15 and headed out for the 53 mile 1 hour 30 min drive. The traffic Gods were being kind and all the motorways were flowing freely… well at least in our direction.

Checking in was the usual Caravan Club efficient process and we were given the usual site plan with our pitch marked up.

IMG_0522We had decided to take the bikes with us and after setting up, I off loaded the two bikes from the back of the Freelander and we geared up. One of the great things about the site is the easy fairly traffic free access to the seafront, handy if you have younger members of the family and you want to go cycling. In the information centre there are also a number of leaflets with themed cycle routes that are all suitable for beginners and range from a 3 mile to a 7 mile ride. The Caravan Club also on it’s website has an easy route that you can download.

IMG_0508We joined the seafront near the site and cycled north along the beach. The cycle way is separate from the path used by pedestrians, unlike Blackpool where you always seem to be avoiding the small dog on the extendable lead thirty feet away from it’s owner.

IMG_0510

Cycle lanes on the left, pedestrians on the right

 We rode north, past the amusement park… which was closed, and on under the pier. We reached the Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve and rather than turning inland we headed back south looking for somewhere to have a late lunch.

IMG_0540

As we got back to the pier we spotted this place “The Guelder Rose” which had tables outside so we could wheel the bikes up to the table and lean them on the wall. They did have a bike shelter in the car park but it didn’t look too secure. While I sat outside Sue went in and got a couple of menus.

IMG_0511The view from the table was OK, and the antics of drivers on the roundabout kept us entertained. Unusually it was warm enough to be out cycling in short sleeves but sat on the corner outside, the wind still had that late spring chill about it. Suitably refreshed Sue went in and paid the bill and we walked the bikes over the road and continued south under the pier and back towards the site.

IMG_0519When you reach the shoal of fish, you know you are nearly back. We crossed over the road and headed towards Southport Eco Centre (which never seemed to have the wind turbine operating) which is on the quiet road that leads back to the site.

Tuesday 24th May

Lord Street in Southport is famous for it’s shopping and the last time I can remember being there was as a child in the late 60’s being dragged up and down by my parents. I suspect a lot has changed since then. It’s about a 6 or 7 minute walk from the site past Morrisons. Lord Street is about a mile long, with a roundabout marking each end. It was mainly built in the 19th Century and a lot of the shops still retain the glazed canopies that protected the early shoppers from the vagaries of the weather.

IMG_0527Walking north along Lord Street one of the first buildings you pass is Southport Lord Street Railway Station which opened in 1884 and served the Southport and Cheshire Lines. The station closed in 1952 and is now a hotel. On the opposite side to the shops Lord Street has a mixture of residential and business property and the street is flanked by lines of trees. In 1846 the future Napoleon III lived in lodgings just off Lord Street and it’s said that the covered walkways and tree lined street was the model for the boulevards of Paris when he ordered the reconstruction of the French capital in the late 1850’s through to the mid 1870’s. However… it was morning coffee time.

IMG_0529

Sat outside one of the numerous establishments that served morning coffee, it was hard to imagine you’re sat in a tree lined boulevard in Paris… despite the blue skies and sun. Sue’s phone was dinging away with text messages from the hospital. Whenever she’s away it always seems like there is some pending meltdown and the department is going to grind to a halt. Suitably stocked up on caffeine we set off again window shopping and exploring some of the little side malls.

IMG_0531

IMG_0533One mall caught my attention. It is the grade II listed building now known as Wayfarers Arcade.

The Arcade first opened in 1898 and the design of the building is typically Victorian, with a domed glass roof, supported by decorative iron work, with some stained glass windows and mahogany shop fronts that have been virtually unaltered since the day the arcade opened. The 13m span, barrel vaulted glazed roof is one of the largest in the UK.

IMG_0532Having ‘done’ Lord Street and the 60’s architecture influenced parallel Chapel Street we walked back towards the seafront thorough King’s Gardens and towards the Pier.

IMG_0534

IMG_0536

IMG_0537

Kings gardens was constructed on land reclaimed along the former sea front as the sea receded almost three miles over the course of several decades and is now popular for all sorts of activities, including sailing. As Sue had never been along the pier we continued throughout the gardens.

IMG_0539

The pier is a grade II listed building and at 1112 meters is the second longest pier in the UK (The longest is Southend). In June 2015, the Southport Pier tram service was scrapped due to rising maintenance costs and council cost-cutting measures, but you can still see the old tram lines. It has since been replaced by one of those small land trains that you can see running round the streets of various resorts.

At the end of the pier is the new pavilion opened in 2002 which houses a collection of old penny arcade machines and a cafe… that serves beer. Result!

Sue watching the tide come in... well we think it was coming in it was so far away!

Sue watching the tide come in… well we think it was coming in, it was so far away!

IMG_0545

Looking from the end of the pier towards  the Ribble Estuary and my former workplace BAE Warton.

IMG_0544

…and just to prove we did walk the 1112 metres to the end, oh yes… the tide was coming in!

It was time to head off to find somewhere for a late lunch again and eventually wander back to the caravan. It had been a great two days beside the sea in Southport. The weather was better than we hoped for and we managed to get some cycling in too.

The Caravan Club Site

It’s a busy site… busy in terms of getting a booking as it’s so popular and we can see why. Its hidden away even though its not far from the centre. We could not hear any road noise and sitting outside in the evening was really peaceful. If you want to book the site for some of Southport’s big events like the flower show, air show or jazz festival, (there is lots more, check out what’s on and when here) I guess you have to be quick off the mark at the start of the season. The new section of the site felt open and a little less claustrophobic that the original site and the new facilities block was easily up to standard. The staff were friendly and welcoming. Would we visit again… we only touched the surface of things to do and see in and around Southport, so yes, as soon as we can find a free couple of days when they have spare pitches we will be back.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Once In A While…

22 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Simon Barlow in Accessories, General, Product Review, Reviews, Travelling In Europe, Travelling in the UK

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bundle Bed, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Touring

Once in a while something comes along and makes you think…. ‘what a good idea’. I was contacted by James Clark and asked If I’d like to take a sneak peek at something he and his friend, Lucy Bartlett have been working on.

bed Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Wiltshire Wanderings…

20 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in General, Mini Break, Travelling in the UK, Trips, Weekend Break

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Bath, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Chippenham, Great Western Railway, Plough Lane, Swindon, Swindon Designer Outlet, Touring, Towing, Wiltshire

Sunday 6th September

Despite the weather the previous week being a bit ‘iffy’ Sunday started out bright. We had loaded up the caravan the previous day and within 20 minutes of arriving at the caravan storage compound we were hitched up and ready to set off by 9:35 for the 170 mile journey south to Plough Lane Caravan Park ( a member of the growing number of Tranquil Touring Parks sites) near Chippenham in Wiltshire.

Virtually all trips south for us involve the M6 and even for a Sunday it was busy, but the traffic was flowing and we didn’t get held up. On the northern outskirts of Birmingham it slowed to 30 to 40 MPH and there was a bit of a queue to get on to the M5. Once that hurdle was passed, again it was a nice easy drive with the traffic thinning out the further south we got. We were planning to have a coffee break and leg stretch at Michael Woods services ( a brief look at the map and I’d planned in my head M5 to Bristol and then M4), but the Sat-Nav had other ideas and brought us off the M5 early and we did a pleasant bit of cross-country. On this trip I had a new gadget to play with, a TyrePal tyre monitoring system (a full review can be found here) and was fascinated by how the tyres responded to different types of road – motorway and A roads. We arrived at Plough Lane around 13:15 and as we pulled in we were 3rd in the arrivals queue.

We pulled up to the automated barrier and pushed the button… a friendly voice told us to drive through the barrier and pull into the parking lay-by… when the next parking lay-by was empty pull forward into that one.

SPB_5D_098457

Waiting in line.

We drove through the barrier and pulled in. We could see the next caravan ahead of us. While we were waiting I dug my camera out and took a few photos.

SPB_5D_098458

The TyrePal unit on test showing the near side caravan tyre at 69PSI and 23 Deg. C.

The caravan in the bay ahead of us pulled forward to reception and we moved up another bay and a motorhome pulled in where we had just been. In all it only took seven or eight minutes before it was our turn to pull forward to reception.

SPB_5D_098461

At reception we were greeted by Helen Wilding, who with her husband Rodger created  the site nearly 20 years ago. After a brief introduction and run through of the facilities we paid our £10 deposit (refundable) for a token for the electronic barrier and given a mahoosive site guide… probably one of the most comprehensive site guides we have ever seen!. We were given directions to pitch 39 (the site has around 50 pitches) and we returned back to the Freelander to follow the road round to our pitch.

We had booked on to a fully serviced pitch which had plenty of space and it didn’t take long to set up and plumb everything in.

SPB_5D_098464

SPB_5D_098465

It was time to relax and enjoy the clear blue skies and warm September sunshine… and have a read through the mahoosive visitors guide!.

Monday 7th September – Chippenham

Chippenham (tourist guide) is in western Wiltshire, at a prominent crossing of the River Avon, between the Marlborough Downs to the east, the Cotswolds to the north and west and Salisbury Plain to the southeast. Plough Lane is only 4 miles outside Chippenham and in the site visitor guide it said there were maps in reception for a nice short walk around Chippenham along the river. Never ones to turn down a river walk, or a bit of shopping, we drove into the centre and parked in the central car park near Brunel’s railway viaduct constructed as part of the Great Western Railway connecting London to Bath.

IMG_0516BeingIMG_0517 Monday, Chippenham was fairly quiet and we soon found somewhere to have a coffee and do a spot of people watching. We decided to head into to Waterstones where I bought “The Girl In The Spiders Web” the fourth book continuing Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo” trilogy, and do some window shopping. As well as the main street, there is a small shopping arcade complete with a Tesco’s if needed and on the opposite side of the street a modern open air shopping mall with a Wetherspoons, which we returned to later for a late lunch.

SPB_5D_098475

The main shopping street in Chippenham – come here on a Friday or Saturday and it’s full of market stalls.

SPB_5D_098478

At the top end of the high street is a small square with the “Buttercross” stone structure erected in 1570 and used for the sale of meat and dairy products .

Once we had completed the rounds of the shops and picked up a few essentials we set off back down the high street towards Town Bridge to follow the map we collected from the site reception. It was an easy walk of about one and half miles and mostly level that first crossed over the river on a foot bridge and passed through a park….

SPB_5D_098481 … and then turned to skirt round part of the golf course with a rather grand building overlooking it…

SPB_5D_098483

Continuing to follow the path brought us right by the side of the river and you could glimpse through the trees some of the houses that backed on to the river Avon.

SPB_5D_098484

SPB_5D_098488

We continued to follow the river Avon and you eventually come across a foot bridge that takes you back into Chippenham… or you can carry on to the next bridge to cross back over… we continued to the second bridge.

SPB_5D_098489

Crossing over the bridge we stopped a while and just stood looking up and down the river… a great place to play “Pooh Sticks”

SPB_5D_098490

The path continues and leads you back into Chippenham past some really interesting old buildings that looked like they were rather grand houses when they were built. It was time to head back to the centre and call in Wetherspoons for a late lunch then back to the caravan and consult the mahoosive site guide… to plan tomorrows adventures.

Tuesday 8th September – Swindon

IMG_0001For a number of years I worked for one of the train operating companies, and that involved me travelling down to Swindon to First Great Western offices frequently. Some trips I’d take “The Welsh Rattler” as we knew it, from Manchester to Newport and then get on the London train stopping in Swindon. Other times I’d take the cross-country to Reading via Oxford and  catch the Bristol train to Swindon. I used to prefer the Welsh Rattler route and each time entering Swindon station you pass the long line of buildings that made up the Great Western Railway  Engineering Works that covered some 320 acres and at its height employed over 14,000 people. When I was travelling to Swindon over 12 years ago, a lot of these buildings were just shells some with no roofs. Now however some have been converted into a new shopping mall and a couple of others are now “Steam” – Museum of The Great Western Railway. Still having an interest in steam and the railway in general, it seemed like a visit to both was on the time-table for a first class day out.

IMG_0002

Follow the road signs for either the Designer Outlet or the Museum and they will take you to one of the main car parks. It’s a ‘take a ticket’ on entering and you pay for your ticket just before you leave. However.. here’s a top tip: Do the shopping mall first, then the museum. When you buy your ticket for the museum ask for the car parking validation ticket. When you are ready to leave take this back to the information desk in the shopping mall along with your car park ticket and you will get free parking!

The mall… or “Swindon Designer Outlet” is packed full of the usual shops, however they have managed to retain lots of features of the original engineering works – some sections still have the travel crane’s and you can see where the old line shafts that ran through the workshops once were held on massive bearings. Even if you are not into shopping, its worth a walk round just for the architectural interest. Keep an eye out for the brass plates on the walls that tell you which part of the original works you are in. There are also a few of the old machines once used in the engineering works dotted about. There is a great bandsaw that I wouldn’t mind in my workshop!.

We picked up coffees ‘to go’ not knowing how long it would take us to walk to the museum and headed outside following the signs… the foam on my latte hadn’t even cooled and we arrived outside the entrance. Thankfully there’s a couple of benches and we sat and finished our coffee before going in.

The Museum is well worth a visit. The exhibits are first class and unlike a lot of museums you can get up close and walk on, through, under and even pick some things up. The story of the Great Weston Railway engineering works is fascinating and it’s well worth buying the modestly priced guide (front cover shown above) A number of the displays are interactive and while Sue watched on I managed to set all the signals and points in the box correctly to allow the Royal Train to pass through… OK so it was meant for children, I’m just a big kid really. Sue even commented on how much she enjoyed it and rated it on one of the best railway museums we had visited. It’s just a pity that they can’t run a heritage railway from there operated by steam engines.

Lunch in Wagamama

Lunch in Wagamamma

After leaving the museum we headed back to the mall and called in to Wagamamma for a late lunch. While we were eating talk turned to replacing the Freelander., which we bought new, but was now nine years old. Originally I’d had in mind to go for another Land Rover, specifically the new Discovery Sport, but Land Rover are now just pricing themselves out of the sensible market not only with the initial purchase price but also the dealer servicing. Not keen on the 4 x 4 offerings from Toyota and Mitsubishi, or anyone else for that matter, by chance a week earlier on the way to work I was stationary next to a white VW Amarok. It was the first time I’d seen one and by coincidence, days later I was talking to someone who had bought one a few months earlier to tow their caravan. I was relating all this to Sue who said she had never seen one, so a quick Google on the phone looking for photos I discovered we were only a mile away from the Volkswagen commercial vehicle distributer in Swindon. So a quick detour on the way back to the caravan was planned.

vw_amarok_overview_01We spoke to Craig one of their sales people and had a good poke round one in the showroom. It was ticking all the boxes ….. 4 x 4, low emissions, two litre twin turbo direct injection diesel producing 180PS (BHP in old money), eight speed auto gearbox, ladder chassis and could tow 2300Kg’s. It was big, apparently it didn’t need towing mirrors at 1.954 M wide and 5.254 M long and weighed in at 2093 unladen, 3170 Kg gross and a gross train weight of 5950Kg. (The mirrors thing has yet to be tested). Sitting in it was comfy and there seemed plenty of room in the rear seats. There were a few questions the salesman couldn’t answer… was the 13 pin electric fully ISO compliant (I.e. the leisure battery and fridge circuits installed), did the ECU need programming for trailers, what was the hitch nose weight limit, any known issues with LED trailer lights), so I’m going to ping off an email to VW with these and a few other questions. With that new vehicle smell still in our nostrils we headed back to Plough Lane with a few brochures tucked under our arms. Watch this space.

Wednesday 9th September – Devises

Wednesday started out rather misty and was forecast to be a bit of a grey day. Consulting the mahoosive visitors guide, a trip into Devizes seemed to be the way forward. We loaded up the Freelander with warmer gear, just in case, and set off. Parking was easy to find and about a minutes walk from the main shopping area. Compared to other towns around the area, Devizes, although having some tourist type shops, is mainly a working town for the locals. Pulling out a handy map (copies are in Plough Lane reception) we navigated our way around the shops, and of course stopped off for a coffee part way round. Sue wanted to visit Caen Hill Locks which is about a five or six minute walk out of the town centre.

SPB_5D_098491

The famous Caen Hill Locks are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal. The 29 locks have a rise of about 230 feet in 2 miles and come in three groups. The lower seven locks, Foxhangers Wharf Lock to Foxhangers Bridge Lock, the next sixteen locks form a steep flight in a straight line up the hillside. A final six locks take the canal into Devizes. The locks were designed by engineer John Rennie and provided a solution to climbing the very steep hill. Apparently the locks take 5–6 hours to traverse in a boat and lock 41 is the narrowest on the canal or so we were told. 

SPB_5D_098493

As the locks are so close together there is a danger of running out of water… or over  spilling the next lock, so there are elongated ‘pounds’ (I think that is what they are called) that project sideways away from the canal between locks to take the volume of water from the upper lock and store it for the next lock down the flight. We walked down the tow path about half way down the flight, overtaking a few barges descending the flight in the process. Part way down, if you are in need of a spot of refreshment there is a small cafe in the old lock keepers house – or a couple of locks away a nice looking pub with a beer garden on the canal side… well it looked nice Sue reckoned because they had a cat. We turned and headed back up the flight… passing some of the barges we had overtaken while walking down and some of the barges that were still climbing the flight. Walking back into Devises we passed the Wadworth Brewery… handy place to do a tour if the weather is inclement, and decided to seek out a modest lunch in a cafe we had passed earlier in the day. Doing another circuit of the shops we strolled back to the car park and headed back to Plough Lane. That evening I finished the book I’d bought on Monday and started drafting the review for the TyrePal TPMS unit loaned to us.

Thursday 10th September – Bath

IMGToday was our 32nd Wedding Anniversary… how time flies! So something special for lunch in way of a celebration we thought. Consulting the mahoosive visitor guide once again Bath seemed a good option and we could easily get there via bus and train. The visitor guide said timetables for buses were available in reception. The number 91 stops right outside the site… well about fifty feet from the end of the drive… and goes into Chippenham calling at Chippenham Station. A quick check of train times and the train from Chippenham into Bath Spa only takes 12 minutes… it could take that long to find a car parking space in Bath apparently!

We caught the 09:45 train arriving in Bath 12 minutes later after passing through Brunel’s famous Box Tunnel. The weather had been kind to us so far and today was no exception… warm sunshine and clear blue skies. We headed for somewhere to get a cup of coffee, sit down and consult the map (copy available in the site reception) for a plan of action. One of the best ways we think to get a feel for a new place is to take one of the open top bus  tours available in many cities. We used the City Sightseeing ‘hop on hop off’ tour costing £14 each (£8.50 for children). There is an added bonus as there are two routes – the city centre and the skyline route all included in the price. We trundled round the city centre route and in the process learnt a little more about Bath’s history. Hopping off the bus we headed for a stroll round the shops, stopping off at some of the sight-seeing spots. A quick stop in the Apple shop to buy a new mouse for my Mac Pro and a new lead for Sue’s iPhone and it was time for a late lunch. An old school friend, Sue Adams had recommended the Pump Station for a suitable anniversary lunch, but the queue for a table was a bit long so a quick check with google gave us directions to Yo Sushi. Always a good standby for us. Time to walk off our lunch and capture some of the classic tourist spots of the city.

SPB_5D_098495

SPB_5D_098496

SPB_5D_098501

Hmm…. could Bath be connected with rugby in any way?

SPB_5D_098500

SPB_5D_098505

Crossing over the bridge (above) we descended some steps and walked along the river for a while, passing the rugby ground and the big flood gate sharing the path with dog walkers, cyclist and joggers all enjoying the September sunshine.

SPB_5D_098508

SPB_5D_098511

We planned on catching the 16:43 train back to Chippenham so it was time to turn around and head back to the station. The train was packed but we managed to find two seats. not long after we were sitting outside Chippenham railway station waiting for the number 91 bus and reflecting on how much we enjoyed Bath and making a point to come back and visit again soon.

Friday 11th September

Friday was going to be an easy day before setting off for home the following day. We decided to visit the market in Chippenham to pick up some fresh bread to make sandwiches for the trip back and a few other bits and pieces. I’d finished my book the day before and wanted something else to read so we called in Waterstones again. I didn’t spot it, but Sue’s eagle eye spotted “After The Flood” about what the Dambusters did next by John Nichol (John is an ex RAF pilot who was shot down in his Tornado during the first gulf war in 1991 and I have a signed copy of his book “Tornado Down” about the shooting down, his and John Peters subsequent capture and torture). So that was my reading sorted out. In the afternoon I settled down to write my review of the TyrePal tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system that had kindly been lent to us by TyrePal. You can read my  review is here.

SPB_5D_098514

Writing in possibly the best office you can have!

I was so impressed by the product, it’s on my list of things to buy… as soon as we have sorted out if we are going to replace the Freelander with a VW Amarok. Of course like any good writer I have my editor…..

SPB_5D_098515

“… well that’s a grammatical disaster for a start…..”

SPB_5D_098518

… and that doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Saturday 12th September

IMG_0521Saturday started wet. It had been raining quite hard over night and was still raining when we got up. One cup of coffee later and the rain had stopped and the clouds were slowly breaking revealing patches of blue. We started the well rehearsed routine of packing up. By quarter to ten we were done. All that remained to do was to drop off our barrier token and return the by now well-thumbed mahoosive visitor guide. While Sue walked round to reception, I hooked up the caravan and did my usual pre departure walk round. It wasn’t long before we were pulling on to Plough Lane heading back towards home. Interestingly, this time our Sat-Nav decided to take us directly to the M4 and west towards Bristol before turning northwards along the M5. The trip home was much longer… this time it was down to a couple of accidents on the M6 in Staffordshire which delayed us by about an hour. We eventually arrived back at the caravan storage site a little after three o’clock. Another adventure done.. but not the last of our Wiltshire Wanderings I’m sure of that.


Other Places to visit:-
Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection - http://www.cotswoldmotoringmuseum.co.uk
Avon Valley Railway - http://www.avonvalleyrailway.org
Atwell Wilson Motor Museum - http://www.atwellwilson.org.uk
Swindon & Cricklade Railway - http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Milestone…

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, General

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Audit Bureau of Circulations , Caravan, Caravan Blog, Caravanning, Caravans, Touring, Travel Trailer

Today Caravan Chronicles passed 1/2 million views!

Caravan Chronicles started back in January 2012 and in that first month had a grand total of 695 views and managed to get 36,831 total page views for the for the first year. Last year (2014) we had 336,734 total views. Today at the start of our 4th year we average around 1100 views each day and exceed 30,000 views per month.

To put these figures into perspective, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) caravan and motohome magazines had the following monthly circulation (the latest figures available are from 2013)….

  • Practical Caravan – 25,845 copies
  • Practical Motorhome – 12,399 copies
  • Caravan Magazine – 13,009 copies
  • Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly – 31,475 copies
  • Which Motorhome – 5977 copies

Sue and I would just like to thank everyone for reading, following, commenting and giving us ideas for new articles. Without you, we probably would not of kept going.

Thanks

Simon & Sue

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

2015 Caravan and Motorhome Show Review…

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Camping & Caravan Show, General, Motor Home, Reviews

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2015 Caravan & Motorhome Show, Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, Event City, Touring, Towing, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers

THE CARAVAN & MOTORHOME SHOW, MANCHESTER
15th – 18th January 2015
EventCity, Phoenix Way, Barton Dock Rd, Manchester M41

Show Opening Times:
Thursday: 10 – 6pm
Friday: 10 – 8pm (free for visitors from 5pm onwards)
Saturday: 9.30 – 6pm
Sunday: 9.30 – 5.30pm

2015 Caravan & Motorhome Show CoverThe 2015 Caravan and Motorhome show was held once again at Event City near the Trafford Centre shopping mall. Although in its 17th year, this is the fourth year its been held at Event City and 2014 saw a record-breaking attendance of over 27,900 visitors, up by 13% on 2012.  if the success continues at the current rate it won’t be long before it might have to go from a 4 day event to a 5 day event.

Although the weather was forecast to be a bit wild and windy, the sun was shining and the M60 motorway was surprisingly quiet as we left home this morning and it only took about 20 minutes to get there. Car parking is not a problem and this year they have introduced a temporary traffic light crossing on Barton Dock road to make it easier crossing from the car park to Event City.

The quiet before the storm... before the show opened!

The quiet before the storm… before the show opened!

Thankfully we had a chance to gain access before the show opened to the public which gave us chance to check out some of the stands before they got too busy.

One of the new exhibitors to the Manchester show this year was Airstream and they had one of their iconic Airstream travel trailers along with TAB and the largest gathering of Eriba caravans we had seen.

SPB_5D_098225

SPB_5D_098228

Although you do see a lot of Eriba caravans on sites, it’s not often you can get to look round and for such a tiny caravan on the outside, really there is a bit of a space time thing going on as I’m sure they are bigger on the inside!

I think the award for most caravans on a stand has to go to Glossop Caravans for their mahoosive stand…

SPB_5D_098240

… it needs a map all of its own!

Glossop Caravans are one of the biggest caravan and motorhome retailers in the country and this show is almost in their back yard and they make the effort to make sure that they cover as many of the models as possible.

SPB_5D_098233 SPB_5D_098237 SPB_5D_098238

SPB_5D_098236

Sue’s favourite caravan of the show… I thought I was going to have to go and do a deal with Brian Lang before she would come out!

Between Glossop’s stand and Swift’s stand I think every option for Swift Group products was covered.

The other major caravan dealers in the north-west Lowdhams, Campbells and Kimberly covered the other manufacturers. It was noticeable though the tiny number of Bailey caravans on show although Lowdhams had a great selection of Bailey motor-homes on their stand.SPB_5D_098246 The Show Opens

The show opened it’s doors promptly at 10:00 and the massed gathering outside in the entrance foyer flooded in. You could tell it was going to be busy.

SPB_5D_098242

10:00am and the doors open…

By now it was coffee and bacon and egg muffin time….. DISASTER! Non of the food retailers we checked out had a traditional show breakfast offering of the humble bacon and egg… or sausage and egg muffin. The nearest we came to it was the main food outlet that was doing Bratwurst rolls (I hope they weren’t a result of poor bratwurst sales at a Christmas market!) so two bratwurst rolls, one tea and one coffee (and £15 lighter in the wallet) had to do. I know the food outlets at shows normally charge a premium.. but seriously guys… £15.

Something new…

One of the most innovative ideas at the show was something from a company called MOGO Freedom.

SPB_5D_098248Matjaz Korosec and Ross Design from Germany followed the adage of less is more – the luxury lies in its simplicity. In its simplest form it’s a bed in a box… that you can tow. Now it’s not going to replace a caravan, but, and here is the clever bit, for avid campers that want something a bit more than a bit of canvas over their head at night but don’t want to give up the simple freedom of camping this might just be the thing that they are looking for. It is of course a bit more than a bed in a box. The bed rises up electrically to reveal a large storage area and both sides of the box open up to form a roof. The great thing about it is it will store in a normal size garage and it’s a maximum of 750 Kg’s so no towing restrictions for younger drivers.

Camp+fire+in+Mogo

Photo (c) MOGO Freedom Ltd

I think it’s a great idea as the all season alternative to a tent… go and have a look at the website… http://www.mogofreedom.com/

Other stuff…

Doing the rounds of some of the smaller exhibitors stands we chatted to the guys from Equipmart Ltd about their new KIAM inverter generators which really are pushing the price point for 1000 watt and 2000 watt inverter generators. Hopefully I’ll be able to include KIAM in a Caravan Chronicles generator shoot out and review later this year.  (http://kiamproducts.co.uk/generator/petrol-inverter.html )

Make sure you don’t forget your wallet (or purse!) as Towsure once again are hosting the Towsure Accessory Superstore which has some great show deals. It always amazes me just how much stuff they can pack into their stand.

We did mooch round some motorhomes and as caravanners we can appreciate the different requirements that motorhomers and caravanners have for their particular chosen mode of accommodation. However we did come across Moto-Trek’s Euro-Trekka range and one in particular, the tag axle Euro-Trekka II did have us thinking… Hmmm. It has two slide out’s, a big 700 Kg payload and a 1600Kg towing limit. Only question is as Andy Harris asks… can you make toast in it?

SPB_5D_098247

So what did we think?…

Well if the crowds that we saw are anything to go by, I think it’s going to be another record-breaking show. It was great to see some new exhibitors to the show, especially Airstream and I hope that they and the others continue. All the stalwarts were there – Towsure, Isabella etc. Event City is an ideal location although I wonder how the show can grow apart from extending the number of days it’s open for. I did think that this year there were less leisure homes and lodges on show than previous years and maybe that one option would be to have these in a separate show all of their own so both could expand.

Definitely worth a visit, especially if you don’t want to travel down to the NEC next month.

The show is open Friday: 10 – 8pm, Saturday: 9.30 – 6pm and Sunday: 9.30 – 5.30pm and plenty of free parking.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Something To Keep An Eye On In 2015…

02 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Simon Barlow in Blog updates, General, Reviews, Travelling In Europe, Travelling in the UK, Web sites

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caravan, Caravanning, Caravans, RVillage, Touring, travel, Travel Trailer, Websites

It’s not often something comes along that is different and maybe the next big thing in caravanning and camping… but I think this website might just be worth keeping an eye on. I was alerted to it by Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard. (Technomads). It started last year in America by a group of like-minded RV’ers that wanted a way to keep in touch… and more besides. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts
Newer posts →
Buy Me A Coffee

Caravan Chronicle Stats

  • 44,380,621 Views
Follow Caravan Chronicles on WordPress.com

Follow Caravan Chronicles and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Adapting Our Bike Rack for e-Bikes
  • Has Bailey Built Our Perfect Caravan?…
  • Just a quick one…
  • A Few Mods and Updates…
  • A Bit of a Milestone…
  • Finishing Off A Few Jobs…
  • “Put your lights on mate…..”
  • Well that took some cleaning…
  • How have you all been doing?
  • Copying Content… Again!
  • Here’s Something I Think You Want To Take a Look At…
  • Ticking All The Boxes…
  • Vehicle Wiring Projects… Some Thoughts.
  • A Bit of Unashamed Promotion…
  • Season’s Greetings…
  • The problem with information from the internet…
  • I can’t think of a snappy title…
  • Euro 6 Engines, Smart Alternators and Your Leisure Battery…
  • For Anyone Restoring A Vintage Caravan…
  • What Time Is The Shop Open?

Archives

Categories

RSS Links

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

CaravanChronicles.com Tag’s…

13 Pin Plug Accessories AL-KO Avtex Bear Extender Bike Rack Blackpool Blackpool Illuminations blogging Cadac Camping & Caravanning Club Canterbury Caravan Caravan Blog Caravan Club Caravan Electrical Caravan Electrics Caravanning Caravans Caravan Show Caravan Talk Caravan Tyres Cheltenham Chirk Christmas Market Christmas markets Cleaning design Event City Factory Visit Fiamma France Freelander Glastonbury Glossop Caravans Humor Insync Jonic Bedding Lady Heyes La Tournerie Ferme Leisure Battery Leisure Battery Charging LPG Refilling Maintenance Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Modifications NEC North Western Caravans Ltd OLPRO One Hairy Caravanner Oswestry Oxford Product Review Project Safefill Sat Nav Sterling Caravans Sterling Power Wildside Swift Factory Swift Group Swift Talk Technical The Old Oaks Touring Towing tow vehicle TPMS Trafford Centre travel Travel Trailer Travel Trailers vacation VW Amarok Warwick Racecourse WiFI

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

  • Follow Following
    • Caravan Chronicles
    • Join 678 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Caravan Chronicles
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: