Caravan Adventures - Getting Started

Getting started - buying and planning (not another list!)

All those little things you need to buy when you get a caravan,
the list is a long one. We found places like Wilkinsons and
Tescos provided low cost kitchen bits and pieces, like a
cordless kettle for £5.00! Some of the small sized things like a
washing up bowl need to be bought from a camping or
caravanning shop though.

Ordering some of the security equipment online worked quite
well and we saved on things like a hitch-lock and wheel clamp.
Of course we’ve had to stock up on good books and wine, both
essentials for any evening when on holiday. We decided
against getting a TV, it’s destroyed the art of conversation and
the programmes on currently are dire to say the least. We are
replacing it with a pack of cards and some games like travel
Trivial Pursuit. I can’t wait to beat Kenny at Scrabble again!

Christine has had some work done to her brakes to get her in
tip-top condition and ready for safe towing. Dorothy is currently
under cover in the front garden and regularly visited by Kenny
to add a new gadget or two! All the neighbours have visited to
have a nose round and we’ve had many cups of tea with
Dorothy already.

We joined the Caravan Club and just got their Rally
Programme for 2009. This looks like it could be the best thing
so far, there are so many events locally which sound like good
fun – vicars and tarts sounds just like Kenny’s thing, he always
wanted to wear stilettos!

Our first trip will be an overnight stay at
where Kenny has done some work for the owners and has
seen what a lovely site it is. We are only staying Saturday night
just to get the feel of how everything works and to make sure
nothing has been forgotten. It’s near enough to home in case
we have any problems. I’ve produced a huge list of things to
take so we’ll see if it’s as how comprehensive as it looks.

Next we plan to visit a site just outside Lyme Regis to get a bit
of towing experience in (although Kenny has towed a caravan
in the past it was a few years ago now) and visit one of our
favourite places. It will be lovely to be able to walk into the town
and down to the beaches, do a little bit of fossil hunting and
take some photos if the weather is good.

After that a longer journey to Suffolk may be on the cards. I
want to do some more family tree research and Suffolk is
where my ancient roots are. This would be a longer stay but
probably only Sunday to Thursday to avoid any traffic
problems (M3, M25 etc.).

Long weekends are mostly what we plan to undertake, for this
year anyway. Once we both retire (or at least cut down our
working hours) we will be able to go for longer stays. The Lake
District is a definite as we’ve visited before but always stayed in
a hotel. Being in a caravan will be much different, quite an
adventure! Kenny would like to take the canoe as well as the
bikes but it may be too much for Christine, we’ll have to see.

Julie
26th January 2009

Wareham Forest