Touring

Our cheeky weekend site is now becoming very familiar, namely Durham Grange CAMC. With the rig being so large now, we’re not opting for the smaller CL sites, so this site will see us as regulars. We had a pleasant journey down to the site, noting that the Silverlink A19/Coast road junction was now open and on time, should make negotiating the junction there a lot quicker now without the A19 flow of traffic. With good weather we arrived at the site just at opening time!

We chose the same pitch as last time, as it’s a good size and was vacant, probably due to the fact that you’ve got to reverse into it from the site road, especially with a twin axle. We began set-up routines and I also put the awning up again, a little straighter this time, now knowing how it fits. We were soon enjoying the day, although we still hunted for items in their new places, time will sort this! We did a little more sorting and organizing, we’re gradually getting there, although I still reckon on another 3 or 4 trips to get familiar with everything.

Sunday, church in the morning and then back to camp. A relaxing day, noting a few items we would need to complete our requirements. Everything still working fine, the awning is ideal now, simple to put up and take down – and provides the space we wanted for coats, bin, shoes etc. With good summer weather, it will still be fine, as we can open the canopy at the front and use it as an awning rather than just storage. We find it far more practical than the bigger awnings, especially as we do so many weekend getaways.

Monday arrived and we headed home. All was well apart from the front locker, lock. One had decided to jam. I managed to free it a couple of days later and lube it up well. Just another one of those new ‘van snags that have to be dealt with.

• Date: 6th April 2019
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 36
• GPS: 54.795747, -1.530499

Saturday:
Our maiden voyage with the new rig and it was snowing! With numb fingers we put the towing cover on, new mirrors and hitched up. Pleased to say everything went to plan, and we eventually left the storage yard with the heated seats on. Next spanner in the works was that access to the Tyne Tunnel was closed from the A19, so a wee diversion was in order to get back on track. Following this we had a good journey down to our first pit stop. The wind was rather strong and gave us a good buffering on occasion, but I’m please to say the car pulled the ‘van like a train, she didn’t bat an eyelid. The towing cover decided to drop a little en-route, probably due to it being heavy with the rain, plus we didn’t fit it properly as the weather was so adverse at the yard. A couple of stops along the way kept it in-place however, and then we arrived at the campsite.

We quickly booked in and found our pitch. Access was a bit tight for reversing, so we resorted to the mover. Now this was a bit different again, a twin axle does not manoeuvre as well as a single, so a few attempts were required to get it just so, another learning curve! We then began setting up, again not as quick as usual as we were still finding places for ‘things’. We settled in for the night and enjoyed the luxury of the ‘van with its fixed bed yet once again.

Sunday:
Nothing planned for today other than to finish off setting up and finding homes for everything. I put the new awning up, which went up very easily and provides just the space we require, namely for shoes, bin and a dry access into the ‘van. The satellite also went up, as TV signal is not the best on the site. This again went well, the stand is much better and simpler to install. With the EasyFind LNB I also found the Astra birds without any hassle at all. Food, wine and TV later, Sunday came and went.

Monday:
Weather not so great, so a simple relax day inside the ‘van – nothing wrong with that!

Tuesday:
A trip to Chesterfield was in order today. We first went to Ravenside Retail Park, to pick up a few bits ‘n’ bobs. From here we headed to the town centre, to view St Mary’s Church with its infamous crooked spire. There are numerous markets here on various days, we had just missed one being late afternoon. We returned back to the site to have a wander about as the weather was fairly pleasant.

Wednesday:
Glorious weather and a trip to the nature park was in order. This is a well kept area complete with children’s playgound, cafe and plenty of benches to sit and rest on. The walk around the lake is a modest one, so should be suitable for most people. We completed our little trek and then returned back to the ‘van and sat outside, fist time this year! Spent some time reprogramming the Avtex TV to have a meaningful satellite channel list, much better now.

Thursday:
Another relaxing day with just a short trip out to the local Morrison’s, in order to fuel up ready for our return trip on Saturday.

Friday:
Feeling a little under the weather, we stayed on site all day and relaxed, after all it is our final day!

Saturday:
Awning down and everything packed away. We had a good journey home, with just an accident on the A1 to contend with. However I must say, crawling traffic is a lot easier with an automatic!

Site Report:
– 86 Pitches
– 16A EHU
– Hardstanding pitches, some fully serviced
– Washblock usual high standard
– Piped music in the washblock
– Information hut
– Plenty of service points
– Easy access from M1

• Date: 16th March 2019
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 5
• GPS: 53.257928, -1.352245

So with our new caravan, being a twin axle over 8m long and with an MPTLM of 1800kg – our current Santa Fe was going to be at the limits of its towing capacity. Time to replace the tug!

The usual culprits that we thought of were: Santa Fe, Sorento, Dicovery and a Rexton.

The new Santa Fe we duly test drove and didn’t like, I felt it was trying to become a fashionable SUV rather than a modest 4×4 workhorse. We weren’t going to gain much by the newer version, other than some more horsies under the hood, so we discounted it.

The Sorento, to be honest I felt it much the same as the Santa Fe, we weren’t gaining much and I just didn’t get to love it – a personal thing I know.

A Discovery, well at the prices they command we didn’t venture much further. Plus the latest model is a design we don’t like, so we discounted this pretty much straight away.

The Rexton, well that was interesting to pursue. It would gain us more kerbweight, more horsies and more noseweight. It wasn’t too dissimilar to our current Santa Fe in terms of looks, apart from being a bit bulkier with a more commercial feel to it, be I could live with that. Pricing seemed acceptable, as Ssangyong are trying to break further into the UK market, so pricing is similar to the bargains had by Hyundai and Kia purchases of years gone by. We test drove one, albeit a manual ELX model and quite liked it.

So following all of this, which took 4 months from last Christmas, we decided to plumb for a Ssangyong Rexton ELX 5 seater auto. We duly ordered one and then were told that there were no 5 seater ELX’s available, only 7. Not wanting to lug around 7 seats and the extra space that they would demand, we upgraded the order to an Ultimate, which only comes with 5 seats and auto box. A bit more cash was required, but at the end of the day, this is what we work for!

So today I picked up the ‘tug’. All I can say is wow – this car is simply stunning. It has more features than you can shake a stick at, and it will tow any caravan you can throw on the back of – quite simply impressed. If you’re looking for a new tug, a beefy one – the Rexton should be on your shortlist.

After just picking up our new caravan yesterday, we decided a weekend away was a must to try it out, just a local one as I have to work on Sunday, plus the car is on the limits for towing the new ‘van, so nothing too challenging!

We’ve been to Durham Grange many times before, it’s a great site for a quick local getaway for us. We duly signed in and then were given the choice of 2 pitches, due to some tree work being done, which closed a few pitches off, so this one or that one. The one we chose was in the cul-de-sac section of the site, we’ve been here before. With all other pitches in here being taken, the only way in is backwards really, so a reverse from the main track down to the pitch was in order, but I have to say, a twin axle is very comfortable to manoeuvre.

Now we’d normally be set-up within 30 minutes, but this trip was going to take longer, a lot longer, as most caravanner’s know: when changing caravans – there’s a ‘lot of stuff to move and find new homes for’. We eventually got there a few hours later, most things had found their new home, but some were still a work in progress. The essentials had been taken care of, so we relaxed for the rest of the weekend, knowing that our week away in a fortnight would sort the rest out. It’s quite funny seeing how a change of caravan throws so many little routines that you’re used to out of the window! Our main one was where to store the tea/coffee jars, keys and phones – as our little table between the dinette and sofa was now gone!

Pleased to report that the ‘van seems fine, so hopefully our 6 week service won’t be required, for any niggles found. The extra width of the ‘van is superb. The stability of a double axle, both when travelling and on site is noticeably better than a single. Okay, here we go – the bed is brilliant, it changed the morning and night routine immensely to a positive. We’re happy with our new choice, we’ve enjoyed our first weekend away, although it was more work than relax!

Monday, despite some high winds, we made it back to storage – the tug has done it’s last job though for us, it will retire tomorrow…

• Date: 2nd March 2019
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 36
• GPS: 54.795747, -1.530499

We said we’d never buy a fixed bed caravan, what a waste of space – but our thoughts slowly changed as we perused some new 8 feet wide twin axles. Our current Clubman ES is the perfect layout for us, we chose very well back 9 years ago! But, it would be even more perfect if we had a bed as well, to ease ‘that routine’ you face without one. Some new layouts came to our attention which fitted the bill, so we headed for the NEC last October to further pursue this idea. After much trailing around, we finally stumbled upon our perfect caravan, a dealer special based on the Compass Casita 840. This had it all: big lounge, side dinette, rear bedroom and a decor which we thought was just us. The dealer special, namely the Kensington 840 also had numerous other upgrades to the standard model, which made it an easy action to sign on the dotted line. There, the deal was done. We had upgraded our perfect caravan to one which was the same, but with a bed!

Today it was time to pick up the next touring stage of our lives. We had a great handover from the staff at Kimberley’s and were soon heading home with our new baby, albeit a much bigger and heavier one!

A deviation from our traditional run up to the ‘Railway Inn’ this year, as said campsite wasn’t opening until Easter this year for some reason? I’m sure we’ll find out in due course when we return there later in the year.

So for the first weekend of 2019 and Cath’s birthday, we returned to ‘White Water Park’ CAMC Site. We first came here back in 2011, so 8 years later we’re back again! It’s a straight forward sight to reach from the A19 and has plenty of hardstanding pitches, some of which are fully serviced. We booked in and selected our pitch, and duly began setting up. Weather was cold, but dry, so perfectly fine for some Winter Caravanning! Once camp was set, we headed out for a brief walk along by the Tees Barrage and the railway bridge. You could carry on a little further from here and do some shopping at the Teesside Retail Park, but shopping wasn’t on the agenda this weekend. Returning to the ‘van, we had tea and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, still a cold dry day. Following breakfast, we headed to Kimberley’s Caravans, now that’s the kind of shopping we like! We eyed up the ‘van we had bought and took some measurements for the awning and bedding etc. We’re getting quite excited for the new ‘van and car this year. Back at base we went to the Beefeater for some Sunday lunch, this is just at the entrance of the campsite, so it’s an easy walk. Sunday came and went and then Monday morning, time to pack up and return back to storage.

Site Report:
– 97 Pitches
– 16A EHU
– Hardstanding pitches, some fully serviced
– Washblock usual high standard
– Information hut
– Games room
– Children’s playground
– Plenty of service points
– Good non vehicular access to Beefeater and retail park
– Friendly wardens
– Easy access from A19

• Date: 19th January 2019
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 23
• GPS: 54.568506, -1.286260

As this was the last trip with the Lunar Clubman ES, total number of holidays were:

• 115

Saturday:
Good journey down to the site. The A1 is pretty much complete now and is a joy to travel on. We stopped as usual at Wetherby for breakfast and then ploughed on to the site. We arrived in good time and booked in. We then had a quick nose around and decided on pitch 74. The site is arranged in ovals based on a one way system, so navigation is fairly straightforward. There are a lot of trees around, so satellite might be challenging in the Summer on certain pitches. As it turns out, our pitch picks up Freeview just fine, which was a surprise. Each oval section has its own service point, so you’re never too far from one, these also have a CDP. Access is via barrier, which is controlled via a remote card. Plenty of rabbits and squirrels about, which can be quite entertaining.

Sunday:
A trip to the Nene Valley Railway was in order. This is a very picturesque line of track which runs from Yarwell to Peterborough. We enjoyed the ride in the railcar, no steam now until the Santa Train! We had a little time in Peterborough, enjoyed a coffee and a little bit of shipping and then headed back. On the journey back we headed to the supermarket to pick up a couple of things. It’s worth noting that there is a station on the NVR line right beside the campsite, so you can walk there without using a car.

Monday:
A do nothing day! Just as well, the weather is a little variable today.

Tuesday:
25 years of marriage! Silver anniversary celebrations to follow! We had lunch at the local ‘Beefeater’ just down the road and then returned to the ‘van in the dark to relax for the rest of the day. There are some nice footpath lights on the road back to the site, much better than lampposts, I did bring the headtorch just in-case though!

Wednesday:
A trip to Peterborough was on the cards. We took the car and parked by the river. We had a stroll around the shopping centre, had a coffee and also visited the cathedral. There is so much history here it’s quite surprising. The cathedral and visitor centre are well worth visiting and soaking up this history. Following this we returned back to base via a fuel station, to fill up ready for our return journey on Saturday.

Thursday:
Went for a walk around the site and also up to Ferry Meadows Lake. All very pleasant, and the lake along with its cafe and shop and walks in abundance are a great asset to visitors, particularly in the warmer months. Weather still not great, but you can’t complain, it is nearly Winter! Still plenty of activity on the site, winter ‘vanning is still popular it seems.

Friday:
Relaxing day, went to visit the local station on the NVR (Overton) and then stayed in for the rest of the day.

Saturday:
Usual oack-up routine, dropped the barrier key into the box by the barrier and then headed home. Good trip, as usual via Wetherby services, and then onwards to storage. Not a bad day weather wise, it did get brighter as we headed North, unusual!

Site Report:
– Quite a large site, good arrangement of oval pitches
– 16A EHU
– Hardstanding pitches, although some grass on East side
– TV point on bollards
– Washblock usual high standard
– Information hut
– Plenty of service points
– Plenty of rabbits and squirrels
– Good non vehicular access to park, lake and railway
– Peterborough at a walkable distance
– Friendly wardens
– Easy access from A1

• Date: 17th November 2018
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 74
• GPS: 52.560550, -0.306699

Our weekend getaway was back to South Shields this time, with the daughter in tow as well. It’s literally a 20 minute drive away, we picked up the ‘van and arrived (a little early!). Set-up was swift and we were soon enjoying a late brunch. Following this we ate out at the ‘New Sundial’, a very nice pub on the seafront. We noted that the outdoor cinema was on again, showing ‘Elf’. It seems very popular as it was fully booked. Back at the ‘van, film, drinks and snacks filled the rest of the evening.

Sunday, a pure chill day following church and choir. The daughter has returned back home ready for work on Monday. Weather has been very good, quite mild and nice and bright. Should be good for the fireworks scheduled tonight on the seafront.

The site report:
– Very well maintained
– Good hardstanding pitches with gravel space for awnings.
– Fully serviced pitches with fresh water, grey water drainage & 16A EHU
– Toilet block good
– Access is good
– TV reception poor from this pitch, had to use satellite
– World record for highest CDP!
– Easy walkable access to the seafront
– Friendly staff

• Date: 3rd November 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 14
• GPS: 54.997688, -1.416795

Saturday:
Picking up the ‘van from the new site, in the dark! Everything went smoothly, there is a floodlight at the site, but the head-torch is still required. We hitched up and pulled the ‘van out of the bay, much better than having to manhandle or motor mover it out and then hitch, so another bonus. We were soon out of the site and on the road.

We did the usual stop of Wetherby on the A1, then M18 and M1 and then on-towards Oxford. We missed a designated stop at Donington, due to massive road redevelopment going on, but managed a quick stop a bit further South at Leicester Forest. We soon found ourselves at the site following this, in glorious sunshine! We pitched up and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Sunday:
Rain, rain … rain. We stayed in as a result, only managing a quick visit to the local supermarket and garage to fill up. The sat-nav route took us along Hen N Chick Lane, this was a small lane which took us through the small village of Shilton. This is a most beautiful place, very narrow, very twisty but very attractive. I’m thinking of going back to actually visit, rather than pass through. It was like something out of a movie set for some remote picturesque village.

Monday:
Rain, rain … more rain. Despite this, we headed for Oxford to explore. We made use of the park and ride (Pear Tree). This was easily accessed off the A40 and with reasonable parking and bus fares totalling approx £7. We did our best trudging around the city, it’s bigger than I expected but full of culture and interesting buildings to view. When we felt we were a little too wet, we headed back, picked up the 300 bus and picked up the car. Back on site, there were some more new arrivals, seems a popular site, had fun watching the squirrels again.

Tuesday:
Drizzle, drizzle … well it’s getting there. I had planned to visit a couple of the local towns today, but the weather dictates that we stay indoors today. We did pass through Shilton again though, doing the supermarket run, still impressed!

Wednesday:
The big trip to the NEC for the caravan show. It’s approximately 1.5 hours drive from the site, so we set off at 9am and had a good run, apart from the accident on the M42, which held us up for an hour. We spent all day there, only leaving at closing time (6pm) – but the good news is that we’ve purchased a new ‘van! 8 years ago we purchased our Lunar Clubman ES, which started a touring passion for us and many superb holidays. This time we’ve gone for a dealer special on the Compass Casita 840, namely the Compass Kensington 840. It’s a twin axle and has a fixed bed, quite different from our current ‘van. Delivery time will be around March again, so we look forward to that whilst we enjoy the final trips in our current ‘van.

Thursday:
A nice sunny day, at last. We made a small trip to the village of Burford, very pretty but not much there. although the church is quite impressive for such a small village.

Friday:
Back to the NEC! We wanted to visit again in order to check out some of the accessory stalls, which we didn’t have time to do on Wednesday. We picked up a new kettle, sorted Phantom Tracking out and concluded a trip to Kimberly’s was in order, to look at bedding options and some new plates, maybe! Glorious weather today. The roads in this area and Birmingham are … busy, we have to conclude. Fish and chips tonight from the visiting catering van.

Saturday:
Time to go home. A relaxed start and pleasant journey pursued. We stopped at Leicester Forest again on the return, as to avoid Donington. Then Wetherby and then back at storage. All was going well until we reached Chester-le-Street, where an accident had the road closed for a while. Still, time to reflect on the new ‘van!

Site Report:
Very nice site, easy access, pleasant wardens and a nice mix of pitches well laid out. Toilet block is fine as you’d expect. Plenty of service points. An oval of fully serviced pitches as well. Small shop at reception. Barrier access, with swipe card, no deposit required. Trees about with plenty of wildlife. Takeaway vans appear a couple of times a week. Useful site for Oxford, the Cotswolds and of course – the NEC!

• Date: 13th October 2018
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 115
• GPS: 51.777100, -1.649023

This weekend, it was the turn of Old Hartley again, just up the road, but a world away! Just for the record, the daughter was with us once again, she’s really liking a return to caravanning again!

We picked the ‘van up and made the short journey to the site. The site was full, so we only had a choice of 3 pitches, we took one on the seafront, pitch 59, which needs a bit of work to get level, but worth it for the views! It’s the first time we’ve been on the ‘front’, as normally we are on the row behind, but we scored this time. After the levelling duties were done we were soon set, had a snack and then headed for Whitley Bay.

Whitley Bay has undergone a bit of a transformation of late, with the promenade and the infamous white domed ‘Spanish City’ all being reworked. It’s the first time I’ve been down since the work has been done, and I’m pleased to see they’ve done a good job. It really does make the place a lot more attractive. We now have a plush restaurant, tea room, pancake house, Beefeater, Premier Inn, ice cream stalls, cafe’s, fish and chips in abundance and some gorgeous stretches of beaches, all the way along to Tynemouth. At the other end you have St Mary’s Lighthouse, with superb cliff top walks, along with a pitch and put, cafe, skate park and more promenade walks. If you want to see the North East, Old Hartley is a superb stop.

The site itself is well kept, no awnings are allowed due to the exposure from the coast. Toilet block is what you would expect on a CAMC site, it’s getting a little dated, but perfectly fine. Water is a bit of a negative, there’s only one service point, which is located at the top end of the site by reception. So if you’re down the bottom by the seafront, it’s a bit of a climb to do the water duties. Most if not all of the pitches will require some levelling. The pitches have a small amount of gravel, which is not big enough for most modern ‘vans, so you end up on the grass. The usual peg rule applies.

We’ll be back again, it’s a nice site which we can access at the drop of a hat, although with it being so popular, we’d better book well in advance!

Well, as it turns out – we found a new storage site and moved the ‘van there straight away. Unbelievably, it’s a little closer to home and has vast amounts of room to manoeuvre, unlike the last storage site. Key fob access, CCTV, floodlights, it’s about as perfect as you can imagine. Must ask if they can provide a washing bay, luxury!

• Date: 29th September 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 59
• GPS: 55.075922, -1.464375