AvailablePitch.com Camping Blog

The Ile de Ré

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:22:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" EXPLORES L'ISLE DE RE BY CYCLE:

No wild camping is allowed on Ile de Re – probably the only place in France. A bye-law was passed in the early ‘90s to stop motorhomes wild camping. This is probably because the island is small with lots of campsites including at least 3 Aires de Camping Car that we saw. One of the Aires and the Municipal site are on the right after you have crossed the bridge and enter Rivedoux-Plage. But keep driving there are better sites to be had.

The cycle routes on Ile de Re are very well signposted and the surface wxcellent, mainly traffic free although sometimes on quiet roads. The island is very flat, so ideal for the rider who does not want to be too energetic (like Mr Snail!).

There were not very many English people there, although I think this may change with recent articles in the Caravan Club magazine and Daily Mail singing the praises of this island.

Having cycled around this end of the island we travelled 14 miles and moved further west to Cormoran campsite, Route de Radia, Ars en Re. As with all the other sites, the lady on reception spoke good English. The site had a swimming pool, bar and snack area (from which fresh bread was sold in the morning), a gym, unisex toilets and showers. The weather forecast pinned up in reception was for sun every day. We did have some rain one morning, but the man at the bar said wait until 11:00hrs and the sun will come out. Sure enough it did, Ile de Re seems to have its own micro climate. We had several more days of cycling exploring the rest of the island, there was just one little area we didn’t cover. Still that gives us a reason to return ……

Image above: St Martins de Re

Copyright AvailablePitch.com 2009

Ile de Ré to Broglie – starting the journey home

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:33:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" STARTS THE JOURNEY BACK TO BLIGHTY:

Ile de Ré to Brogolie - 273 miles

Sadly the departure day from Ile de Ré came all too soon. The sun was shining bright and we did not want to leave. However, leave we must, and we did the usual supermarket and fuel stop at the start of our onward journey.

Our trusty Vicarious book listed an Aire de Camping car in Broglie, a village just off the motorway so we headed for this - our first night homeward bound.

An interesting situation arose as we entered one town. Mr Snail was driving slowly due to road works. Being unsure of the speed limit, he slowed to 30 mph. Unimpressed, the car driver behind overtook us in an impatient French way. Silly man. As he pulled in front of us there was a group of people on the pavement clad in dark blue clothing. (French Police are not as obliging as our’s and don’t wear high visibility jackets.) Our first French Police and yes! they had a speed camera and yes! Mr Impatient got pulled over! That taught him. So Mr Snail acting like his nickname saved us a fine. (Just for the record, he always rode his motorbike at the back of the group and the rest of us had to wait for him, hence the nickname Snail – so now you know).

The sat nav was programmed for the Aire at Broglie and we arrived in the village all right. At a T junction with a large church in front, Mr Snail followed the sat nav directions and went straight across. It looked too narrow for our 'van to me. A man dashed out of his house, waving his arms and shouting in unintelligible French. Clearly it was not suitable for us, and we weren’t the first motorhome to attempt it. An articulate French lady explained we had to turn around and take the 2nd left. We followed instructions, found the Aire and for our first ever Aire it was perfect……

Above image: Bridge to Ile de Ré

Cheverney to Ile de Ré

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:20:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" HEADS FOR THE ILE DE RE:

So, on the sixth morning, we departed Camping Les Saules and headed west for Ile de Ré in extreme wind and heavy rain. A journey of approx 200 miles

As we crossed the beautiful bridge over the Atlantic from La Rochelle we could see golden sand on both sides of the island and a welcome brightening of the sky.

Travelling down through France, the peages which had previously accepted our pre-loaded Travelex Cash Passport (a pre-paid MasterCard) stopped accepting it. Thank goodness, therefore that we’d had the foresight to also carry a Visa card, which was accepted. So it is a good idea to have a least 2 different credit cards with you just in case.

We had nothing booked on the Ile de Re. Mr Snail had picked the campsite - La Grainetiere, Route de Saint-Martin, F- 17630, La Flotte from our ASCI book (see earlier blog for details) as our first base. This made our pitch cheaper, so the saving we made using this card over the full pitch price covered our joining the scheme. It was chosen because it was near the town of La Flotte and had lots of level cycle paths nearby.

Another delightful lady manned Reception and her English was considerably better than my French. We wanted flexibility – maybe 4 or 5 nights. “No problem, just come and pay the day before you want to leave”. Most campsite receptions, like most of France, are shut for lunch between midday and 15:00 hrs. Arriving before noon was not a problem (unlike many campsites in the UK).

The site’s warm swimming pool was used by the Snails every day. The site had a café, bar, wi-fi in reception at a reasonable charge, and freshly baked bread and croissants.

The unisex toilet/shower facilities were extremely clean and warm because there was a door! Hurray. There were the usual sinks for pot and food prep and interestingly one specifically for washing fish and seafood. How unusual. However, the Ile de R é has an abundance of fresh seafood so this facility was well used, with queues on occasions!

The site had huge trees to provide shade, for which we were very glad; the pitches were not very clearly marked. But once a lady who was to become our neighbour showed us the little concrete domes in the ground we could see where we had to be.

NB: Bridge toll was 9 Euros for a motorhome, increasing to 16 Euros in June 09 for the summer season.

Image above: La Grainetiere Campsite, Ile de Ré

The Snails in France - Epernay to Chevernay

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:23:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" DOES AN INTERNATIONAL RALLY AND VISITS SOME CHATEAUX:

Epernay to Chevenay: 192 miles

On arrival at Camping Les Saules, Route de Contres, Cheverney, we were greeted by a delightful young lady who spoke excellent English. We were booked onto the Camping and Caravan Club International Rally. We were pointed in the direction of the Stewards, Pat and Muttley (yes – really!) They made us feel very welcome and Muttley helped us choose a pleasant pitch on the edge of the camping area with an open field to one side and a lake behind. We were here for five nights, so plenty of time to relax.

The site had a swimming pool, games room with free wi-fi, a bar and snack area. Bread requirements could be ordered on a sheet left in the games room daily and bread was collected at reception the next morning. The toilet facilities were cleaned at least 3 times a day. The only problem was that the building wasn’t warm as there was no external door on the block. So showering was a tad chilly.

Despite being on a rally, we had full access to all the site facilities including electric hook up. The only problem was that the electric hook up wasn’t much cop as the fridge spent most of its time on gas. Mr Snail worried whether our gas would last - Calor Propane is not available in France. This made him uncharacteristically stingy with the temperature I was allowed to set the motorhome’s heating at and I had to put another layer on.

The site was great for easy cycling to nearby chateaux, using maps provided by reception. After a couple of lovely days, heavy rain arrived. To prevent cabin fever, we took the motorhome to Blois and parking was no problem. Following directions in the Vicarious Book, we arrived at the Blois Aire at the edge of the river and parked there. It was perfectly safe.

Next day, more rain. We drove to the chateau at Chambord and followed the motorhome/coach parking signs into a huge car park. To park a 3m high van in France is no problem. This was our last night, tomorrow we were heading for Ile de Re, on the Atlantic west coast ……………………….

Above image: Camping Les Saules.

The Snails in France - Dunkirk to Epernay

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:53:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" GETS STUCK BEHIND SOMETHING EVEN SLOWER:

Dunkirk to Epernay - 193 miles

Getting out of the dock area was easy - we just followed the signs for the motorway – remembering to drive on the RIGHT.

Mr Snail was at the helm; I was equipped with map, sat nav and an idea of where we were aiming for (always a good idea). The sat nav was handy because it tells you the number or name of the road you are travelling on. In France you do not get many route confirmation signs to confirm you are on the right road. We had decided that we would use the motorways and pay the tolls as we were on limited time and had places to be. The motorways were all of good surface, lacking in Police, road works, accidents, other traffic and hold ups of any kind. Worth the money as we were able to travel at 80mph ish.

Along the motorway network, the Aires de Service are brilliant for motorhomes. The Michelin map shows them as a green tree symbol, with a petrol sign used for full services as we know them in England. The aires all had good parking. The toilets were clean, although some were the strange stand up type for us ladies. There was usually a picnic table and with your own kettle and food on board you are sorted.

One precaution we took when stopping there was that one of us would get out and turn the gas on. The other from inside would lock the cab doors then go and open the habitation door. Doing that, we felt safe that no uninvited guests would come on board. We often saw security men at these stops as we are told criminals do cruise up and down the motorways. So do not spend the night there.

We arrived in Epernay “The Capital of Champagne” and easily found the municipal site. We did not have a booking, but were warmly welcomed and soon settled in. Madam at Reception spoke beautiful English and marked on a map how we could walk into the town.

The site had hook up and clean toilet and showers. The pitch was bordered by a hedge on 3 sides ensuring privacy. After setting up, off we walked to Epernay. Because this was a Significant Birthday tour, we needed some fizzy supplies and to gain an insight into how the fizz is made, (that is my excuse, it’s my birthday and I am sticking to it).

We had a pleasant 20 minutes walk into Epernay town along the river and easily found the Avenue de Champagne. On arrival at Moet & Chandon we discovered that they had a tour leaving in a few minutes, excellent. We had the tour around, and then had our first sample of champagne. Our holiday had begun! The first day had gone as planned and even the sun was shining – couldn’t have been better. I was starting to relax. (Could have been the champagne of course).

Next morning, as the non-English speaking man at Reception had gesticulated, a little van came “peep peep peepy” around the camp site to announce the sale of fresh bread and croissants. And NO-ONE does fresh bread and croissants like the French.

Our tank of English diesel got us to Epernay but a refill was we needed if we were to make it to Blois. En-route to the motorway, which was some miles away, we called into a town to fill up at the supermarket. All along the road side are signs for supermarkets telling you what direction to find them and how far or how long it will take to get there. Some petrol stations are marked on the Michelin map. This gives you confidence that you are not going to run out of fuel.

A few years ago, whilst motorcycling in France, there was no petrol to be found on a Sunday morning. The petrol stations were shut or the automatic ones would not accept English credit cards. The situation got desperate, so with that in mind we always filled the ‘van before pitching or on setting off. However, always have a full tank Saturday night. Don’t leave Sunday’s to chance. Even nowadays.

Calling at the petrol station turned out to be a good and bad thing. Good because in addition to diesel, we got food for the fridge, wine for the “cellar”. Bad because as we rejoined the road which eventually lead to the motorway, we found ourselves behind a “convoi exceptionnel” – an extremely large vehicle going very, very slowly. There was no way we could get passed. It was so wide that wide that on-coming traffic had to go into the ditches to allow it by. At every roundabout we willed it to go the opposite direction, but for 2 hours it was not to be. Eventually, it went right and we went left. Hurray. However, we lost time because of it, but as we’d pre-booked our next night’s stay, it wasn’t a problem.

The Snails are ready for the off! Derbyshire to Dover

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:45:00 +0000

IN WHICH GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" FINALLY DEPARTS FOR FRANCE AFTER MUCH FAFFING ABOUT:

Well that was all the planning done. Or was it?? There is always that nagging voice in my head that says “you have forgotten something!” and the worry is that it will be something important. Too late - we were packed and ready to go.

But at the last minute, Mr Snail threw a spanner into the works. Instead of coming home from work, having a few hours kip, then leaving home about midnight for a 5am Dover arrival, he decided that we’d leave immediately and sleep somewhere in the Dover area. BUT WHERE?

It was late to book anything, so I trawled the internet to get ideas where others had “wild camped”. I discovered that Canterbury Council have a Park and Ride car park where motorhomes can spend the night, however, if you arrive after 22:00 hrs, the height barrier is in place. So, no good for us.

But we set off anyway without a plan. Yup that’s right - no plan. Never been known for us Snail’s. Scary. I was whittling all the way down about where we would stop for the night.

After a pleasant meal at a Little Chef, I had an inspiration – I’d check the Supermarket Finder book for one with a 24 hour petrol station in the Dover area. I was sure I’d heard that Tesco allows motorhomers to spend the night in their car park as long as they purchased something. Well it was worth a try. Hopefully problem solved.

On arrival at Tesco near Dover, we filled up with diesel (hence becoming a customer) and spotted 2 foreign caravans in the car park with their steadies down. Interesting. As I paid I asked “Is it alright if we spend a few hours in your car park please?” The cashier confirmed it would be ok so we drove in and selected a spot, closely followed by another motorhome. After a chat with the driver he said “safety in numbers” and parked alongside. It was very noisy and not the best pitch we have ever had, but it fulfilled a need.

Getting to the docks was quick and easy. I had our booking documents ready, but they weren’t needed. We were identified by number plate recognition. Clever. All we had to show were our passports. We collected our VIP label for the Executive lounge and were first in the queue. We had upgraded with the Caravan Club to access the lounge on board ship for half price each.

We soon had company on the dock and were very quickly loaded. On board we parked exactly where the deckhand told us. The gas and fridge were switched off; the fridge would be cold enough for an hour and a half to keep the food chilled. We noted the details of the staircase that we ascended, as we wanted to easily return to our ‘van once on the French side, and went to find some breakfast.

The food was OK, the Executive Lounge was comfortable. Neither of us are good sailors and the slight swell made us uncomfortable. The lounge was cool and quiet, with free soft drinks and comfortable chairs, for me to sit and watch the other boats go by and Mr. Snail to snooze in.

Once docked and down to the ‘van, we had a quick check around tyres etc. All in order, just in case we were flagged down by anyone, then we would know that it was a trick which we wouldn’t fall for. We were now ready to hit France…………………

Preparing the motorhome for France

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" CONTINUES HER STORY: With the planning done, we now needed to get the motorhome ready. Through a motorhome magazine we found a local motorhome-friendly garage (quite difficult these days) and although our 'van was not ready for a service either on time or miles, she went in and had one anyway just to be sure. One less thing to worry about.

We purchased 2 reflective jackets, as they are required by law in France to be readily available and worn if you are out of the 'van on the road with a broken down vehicle or at the scene of an accident. We obviously hoped not to need them, but by having them would avoid a fine. We kept them "ready for action" over the back of the driver and passenger seats. Luckily, we never had to use them.

Headlamp deflectors we bought and attached, despite not intending to drive during the hours of darkness. (Once in France, we did not see any other UK vehicles with these attached, but having them is one less thing for any mardy French policeman to have a go at). All the warning triangles we own were stashed in the van, hopefully not to come out again.

On a previous trip out I was once driving alone in the 'van and came to a low bridge. Oops. How high was I? Annoyingly, I had to stop and ring Mr. Snail to be sure, because it would have been slightly careless of me to have proceeded and taken the roof off. This resulted in Mr Snail preparing a card which was placed on the dashboard with the vans "vital statistics" - width, height and length etc. We read somewhere that in France this is a legal requirement so, we were ahead on that one.

We checked our E111 - now called European Health Insurance Cards - they were out of date but easily renewed online. Passport also checked for expiry date - all was fine. All the driving documents were photocopied, and the originals were hidden the van.

The one thing I must ashamedly admit to is not preparing the holiday money properly. I intended to take credit and debit cards but Mr Snail said they would cost too much in fees. I checked www.moneysavingexpert.com. which recommended a card, but I had not allowed enough time to obtain it. So we went for the second best. A Travelex Cash Passport which is basically a Mastercard pre loaded with Euros. This is used without charge as a credit card or to withdraw cash with a 2 Euro fee. It is available from Thomas Cook and Co-Op Bank. MoneySavingExpert.com also recommended a Nationwide account because this does not incur charges within the Euro zone. Again I was too late - the cards arrived but not the PIN. Agghh! We DID purchase some Euros, and I did inform our bank and credit card company that we would be using the cards in France, just in case the unusual useage caused the cards to be stopped. Mobile phones were activated onto roaming. We looked at the internet but decided it was too expensive to use abroad. We'd rely on finding wi-fi hotspots.

We purchased a French map upgrade for our satnav and a 2009 large scale Michelin map of France. We are map lovers and disparaging of satnav’s but we thought the two would compliment each other and help us.- how right we were!

A further worry on my list of hundreds, was about electric hook-up and reverse polarity. Mr Snail already had a device on board to plug into a socket to check if the polarity was reversed once hooked up, so he made us a short hook-up lead which was reversed in polarity and labelled as such. So that was another problem taken care of. The worries were decreasing.

Before we went to France, Mr Snail concentrated on using up our lightest gas bottle, then bought 2 brand new ones, checking the weight, because we'd heard of someone buying a new one that was actually empty. He toyed with the idea of buying a different regulator in case we ran out of gas and had to purchase some other stuff, but he is too tight and didn’t, on the basis that we were not away long enough, and would have sufficient to last. That is of course if it wasn’t cold!

So that was about it. Van was packed and off we went into the unknown, on our Big Adventure…………………………………………………………………………………

France in a Motorhome - the Planning Continues

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:02:00 +0000

THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES BY GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" ABOUT HER FIRST TIME IN FRANCE

THE PLANNING CONTINUES: A vital part of our planning was a visit to the Boat & Caravan Show at the NEC in February, where we purchased a book entitled All The French Aires (well - all the ones they know about that is) from Vicarious Books. Aires are a network of stopping places specifically designed for motorhomes or camping cars (aka motorhomes to us Brits) They are usually run by the local town council or ‘Mairie’. Aires for camping cars are all over France in towns, villages, supermarket car parks and we knew we were going to try at least one. (These Aires are different from the rest Aires on the motorways. Do not overnight on the motorway)

We visited the ASCI Stand and paid £10 for an ASCI camping card. This came with a book giving details of all the participating camp sites. With an ASCI card off season, your pitch is set price which is a reduction on the normal fee. Also at the show were Tourist Information stands from many areas of France. We acquired a guide for Charente-Maritime, the region where the Ile de Re is situated, to from a delightful French lady (Mr. Snail was instantly in love I think). A read of this made us realise just how many campsites there are on the Ile de Re and we decided it was not necessary to book anything in advance there.

Another purchase was the Camping and Caravanning Club site book equivalent to the Caravan Club one. A huge pile of books and ideas came home with us from the show, together with impatience that we had to wait a few months before it would all come to fruition and we would be there.

A must-read for us are all the motorhome magazines and for some time I have saved all the campsite reviews including articles on France in a folder. I learned that France has thousands of Municipal sites and basically most towns have one however I did not find a publication or website that features them all. One motorhomes magazine had a readers article on a site in Epernay. This looked exactly right for us: in the town, clean facilities and hook-up. Mr. Snail used http://www.mappy.co.uk/ for working out distances and decided that Dunkirk to Epernay was achievable for the first leg of our journey, still leaving enough time in the afternoon to explore the town and drink the local wine. That was our first night sorted.

Now, where to go from there? On perusing the Camping and Caravanning Club site book I found a site in the Loire region boasting access to 180 miles of cycle paths to use to visit the many Chateaux in the region. Co-incidentally, this was also the location for a club rally being held on our first weekend in France. Why not book on the rally? So we did. This saved us money on the site fees, because the price included all the facilities of the site and hook-up. As newbies abroad, attending a rally seemed a good way of finding people who’s brains we could pick for tips or advice. A comfort thing for a worrier such as I.

So, all the booking and site planning we felt necessary to do was now done. Next, we needed to prepare the motorhome for her Big Adventure ...............................

The Snails do France in a Motorhome

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:22:00 +0000

THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF ENTERTAINING ARTICLES BY GUEST BLOGGER "MRS SNAIL" ON HER "FIRST TIME" IN FRANCE IN A MOTORHOME

FRANCE IS EASY!! There! I have said it, because it was. We wanted to go to France but, I was worried about all the sleeping motorhomer’s who have been gassed and robbed. I was worried about all the motorhomer’s who had been stopped by bogus officials and robbed. I was worried about all the other nasty things that I had heard of happening to motorhomer’s. I was scared that any of these bad things might happen to us, in a foreign land far away from home. But I needn’t have been.

We have just returned from 2½ brilliant weeks in the most motorhome friendly country in Europe. As well all the worrying, I did a lot of Planning and Preparation which, as I often tell Mrs. AvailablePitch, Prevents Poor Performance. So I will share my planning with you and hopefully if your motorhome wheels have not as yet touched foreign soil, you will have the confidence to go. As go you must.

We knew we wanted to go the first two weeks in June as it was a significant birthday. We knew we wanted to go to Epernay (for some Champagne-tasting), and the Ile de Re off the west coast, via the Loire region. France is a big country with huge distances to cover, so firstly, you need to establish where you want to go. If you do not have to go during school holidays, avoid the period end of June to end of August, as this is when all of France goes on holiday and it will be busy in the popular areas.

We checked out the ferry costs and found that booking with the Caravan Club was best for us. We booked Dover/Dunkirk with Norfolk Line and upgraded for half price to the Executive Lounge. Early booking is recommended to get the best deals. Our sailing out was at 0600 hrs Thursday, returning mid-day on a Friday. With that booking we received the Clubs’ book of recommended sites, from which we booked one near to Dunkirk for the night before our return sailing. We also booked our Recovery Insurance with the Club, just in case. Camping Cheques are also available; you pay a set price in £’s which covers your site fees, inc 2 adults, and can use them at listed sites off-peak. Details are in a book supplied by the Club. We didn’t use these so I can’t comment on them.

So the plan was starting to come together………….

Bank Holiday Camping at Breck Farm, Holt, Norfolk

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Breck Farm, near Holt, Norfolk, is the antidote to Club sites, which is the reason we chose it for a recent Bank Holiday break. This is a traditional, rural and rustic farm site of around 10 acres located between Holt and Sherringham in the beautiful North Norfolk countryside.

Camping at Breck Farm is like going back 30 years - camping like it used to be - eeeh - I remember those days!! A most unusual and welcome feature is that, in certain areas, open campfires are allowed and large metal circles are provided to contain them. As dusk fell, the faint smell of woodsmoke and the twinkling of distant fires made this a magical place to camp. Logs are available from the farmyard for a reasonable price or you can take your own if you are suitably organised and don't mind splinters and spiders in your vehicle.

According to the owner, Maureen, this site is rarely completely full, as they just open another field. This therefore makes Breck Farm an ideal last minute campsite. On the hot and sunny Bank Holiday we were there, the site was about up to capacity - there must have been 200 - 300 units all happily co-existing together. The majority were tents, but a fair proportion were caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents. There are around 100 hook-ups in the main area close to the facilities block, however, the majority of tents preferred to pitch near the wooded areas on the edges of the fields.

Despite the numbers of people of site, everyone rubbed along together very happily and the site had the jolly, carefree atmosphere of a very large rally. Designated a quiet site, the resident warden regularly patrolled the site, and if it was felt a radio, TV or group were too loud, they were politely asked to turn it down, and this was done without hesitation.

A huge newly built toilet, shower and washing-up area was useable but still in the process of being completed and on a couple of occasions did not quite cope with the huge demand placed on it at peak times. When completed it will be a fantastic enhancement to the site and hopefully cut down on the queuing times for showers and washing up facilities.

This is a fantastic site for kids, with many spontaneous and good natured games of cricket, rounders and football breaking out, with everyone welcome. Breck Farm is a site where Mum and Dad can quite happily let the youngsters run round, building dens in the woods and let off steam in a way which is sadly rare in today's society.

An added bonus is that a 15 minute walk from the site along a designated footpath (although annoyingly through the middle of a very dense and tall rape seed field on the farm) is Weybourne Station, from where steam trains on the North Norfolk Railway line run to the coastal resort of Sherringham and the opposite way to the simply lovely market town of Holt, with it's irregular streets, historic buildings and variety of independent shops and cafes, bistro's and restaurants (but avoid the Albert Fish and Chip Shop, where service is indifferent to the point of rudeness and food quality is only adequate).

Breck Farm is the sort of site where you can just sit back in your chair and watch what other campers get up to - there's always something interesting going on. Then, when you get fed up of that, there are Cromer, Blakeney, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Cley-(no longer)-Next-The-Sea (pronounced "Cly") and many, many more lovely places of interest all within a few miles. A car would be useful to visit some of these places, however, most are accessible via (steam) train connecting to the coastal hopper bus, with a bit of advance planning.

So if you are looking for traditional family camping in a safe and peaceful environment, where enjoyment is more important than strict rules, then Breck Farm could be just the site for you.

Image above: Breck Farm, Holt, Norfolk

Rvtex - top notch for motorhome care and repair in Nottinghamshire

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Annual motorhome habitation and damp checks are a bit of a faff - annoying but essential to keep you safe and protect your valuable big white asset. Our Benimar used to go to RDH Motorhomes of Beeston, Notts, until they folded, and since then it goes to Rvtex based in Newstead, North Nottinghamshire.

Run by Ian and Pete - in their words "We are two guys both from an engineering background who from no fault of our own found ourselves in the motorhome business. We have between us over 28 years in the motorhome trade in varying capacities. Ian is the real motorhome tech who has worked for Brownhills and RDH in the UK and for an RV dealership in Canada. Gas qualified and experience going back to 1991. Pete is the alarm specialist, Van Bitz trained and approved, but also a general motorhome tech".

Our Benimar's just had it's 2009 check today and we are TOTALLY delighted with the service provided by the guys at Rvtex And here's why:

In addition to the habitation check, we had some other things which needed doing - a broken locker catch, a worrying crack in the washroom floor and damage to the kitchen work surface and table, where SOMEONE had opened overhead lockers and something had fallen out and taken chunks out of the surfaces.

I'd asked for a price for replacing the table top and work surface (expecting to pay big bucks) however, instead, they carefully melted the damaged area, smoothed it back together then stained it and now you can't tell it was ever damaged. HOW did they do it?

The total cost for habitation (which included gas and damp check) and all the other work, unbelievably, came in at under £135!!

Rvtex's service is fantastic for any make of motorhome (and did someone say they also do horse-boxes?), their prices are excellent, their talents seem limitless but most importantly we trust them completely to look after our beloved motorhome.

Keep up the good work guys - and see you again this time next year - unless we decide to have cruise control fitted, or a rear-view camera, or maybe a reversing sensor .....................

Rvtex, Unit 3 Alexander Court, Hazelford way, Newstead, Nottinghamshire, NG15 ODQ. www.rvtex.co.uk. Tel: 01623 722477, info@rvtex.co.uk

Handyman makes own caravan

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:16:00 +0000

The following article was spotted in the local free paper recently. Amazing what some people get up to in their spare time:

King of the road: A handyman who was made redundant three months ago has used his skills to build himself a caravan. Chris Hart, 52, decided to use his free time productively and made a one-man holiday home from an old trailer.

Mr Hart, of West Hallam, said he would now be able to treat himself to a cheap break. He said: " I taught myself what I needed as I went along."

The caravan is made from aluminium, polystyrene and plywood and features a bed, fully-plumbed sink and a flat-screen TV.

Mr Hart plans to use it to enjoy the summer on a trip down to Cornwall.

To see a picture of the 'van, click on the link below:

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Undefined-Headline/article-1137025-detail/article.html

Happy Jake's - A Certificated Location with a difference

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:43:00 +0000

When a Certificated Location intriguingly called Happy Jake’s registered recently with AvailablePitch.com we just HAD to find out exactly what was behind the unusual name.

A quick phone call to Mark Edwards revealed the story: Happy Jakes is a new Caravan Club Certificated Location which has just opened in Flemingston, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is situated on a 10 acre smallholding currently to pasture with occasional sheep being grazed and a small number of free-range chickens. Run by Mark and Amanda for approximately 6 years the caravan site is situated in a secluded corner section next to their home, with a delightfully sunny south facing aspect.

In Amanda's own words "Happy Jake's was born through a desire to ensure the future of our young son, Jake. Being older parents, it is essential to us that we put in place an income stream for his future. This is especially important as Jake was born with Trisomy 21 which presents him with a greater challenge to meet and achieve learning goals. It is our hope that Jake will be able to take over the running of the site when he is older - that may be with assistance or independently but only time will tell!

So far, Jake, at the age of six, has developed what can only be called a wicked sense of humour and a level of determination that has to be wondered at. He never ceases to amaze us! He already assists with jobs on the site like helping Dad by opening and closing gates for mowing, weeding around the drive and hosing the driveway. He also collects the eggs and cleans the coops, and to say he does this with relish would be an understatement".

The CL is situated in its own fenced off area and includes 5 electric hook-ups with timed light to assist for late arrivals and waste disposal point close by. There are two structures, one that houses two sinks with drainers (cold water only) and water fill point and the includes a hand wash basin, and another water fill point, with recycling facilities available soon. Mark and Amanda have future plans for the site which includes hard standings, showers with disabled access, and toilets. Unfortunately this entails planning permission which is proving somewhat difficult at present.

I'll leave the last word to Amanda: "Should you visit us, you will understand what we are saying and be welcomed with what can only be said is the ‘Happiest’ smile around for Jake is, as our name suggests, pretty much always ‘Happy Jake’."

Image above: Jake and the chickens - Happy Jake's Caravan Club Certificated Location,

Flemingston,

Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.

Last Minute Camping

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Are you looking for a campsite or caravan park with vacant touring pitches for the summer? Want to find a last minute pitch? Need to find a campsite with vacancies??? 2009 is an incredibly busy year for campsites, but there are still camping sites and caravan sites on AvailablePitch.com with pitches available now! Click Here to search for a campsite with vacancies for the summer holiday.

Please note that campsite owners are responsible for updating their own availability calenders. Pitches are booking up very quickly right now, so please check direct with the site that they still have pitches available.

AvailablePitch Rally Continued

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:01:00 +0000

We'd got the one acre Certificated Site at New House Farm, Hurley, near Atherstone, Warwickshire, all to ourselves for our special birthday weekend, and I have to say that hiring out a whole campsite for your own exclusive use is extremely decadent and highly recommended for any sort of social get-together!

New House Farm is a relatively new Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Site enthusiastically run by David Pearson and family, who live in the farm house next to the site. The camping field is tucked away at the back of the farm, with far-reaching views over the beautiful rolling Warwickshire countryside and because the site is a long way from a main road, it is extremely peaceful.

For our rally, units started rolling in from lunchtime on Friday, and David had advised we could stay as late as we wanted on the Sunday - the site was ours for two and a half days. The location of the hook-ups dictated where we pitched - which was all together in one corner, forming a large sociable circle - no orderly Club rows here! We closed the gates and let the dogs chase around to their hearts content.

The great British weather delivered us quite strong winds over the early May weekend, and just a smidgeon of rain, however, despite a variety of awnings and annexes, we conducted all our festivities outside. Because of the location, had we made any unsociable noise, (which we didn't!), we wouldn't have disturbed the neighbours.

David has recently installed a brand new HEATED shower and toilet, located in the farm yard a very short walk back from the site, and there are 5 new hook-ups. The ground is pretty firm and well draining, and the site is open all year round. What a great place to spend Christmas - now there's a thought!

There are lots of walks direct from the site, and a few of us staggered out to explore the immediate area on Saturday afternoon. On the morning of departure, of course, the sun shone hot, the wind dropped and no-one wanted to leave. Everyone agreed what a thoroughly enjoyable weekend we'd had, and voted to do it again next year.

Now - must remember to get it booked well in advance with David!

AvailablePitch Rally at New House Farm, Atherstone

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:41:00 +0000

Two of our group were celebrating "significant" birthdays and wanted to do something special. But what should we do? Various suggestions were bandied around, until the clever one amongst us suggested our own private rally weekend at a small campsite, where we would book out the whole site. Brilliant idea!! Now, where should we go?

We had a pow-wow and drew up the criteria: It couldn't be too far away so as to be accessible for everyone to travel to. The essentials were: it must have some hook-ups, it must have basic loo and shower facilities, it must have firm enough ground to support motorhomes in the event of wet weather and be remote enough so that we didn't disturb neighbours in the extremely unlikely event that we perhaps made a slight noise. Oh - and dogs must be welcome.

A quick search using AvailablePitch’s rally field search brought up many options, and after much lively discussion, the choice was made: New House Farm, Hurley, Atherstone, Warwickshire. A check of the availability calendar for the weekend we wanted showed us there was availability, we just needed to check whether the whole site was free.

A quick call to David at New House Farm confirmed he could fit us in, and we booked the site for the exclusive use of our group from Friday midday to Sunday afternoon at a really excellent price when divided between us. As a Camping and Caravanning Club Certificated Site, we were required to be members, but that wasn't a problem, as we were all long standing members. All we needed now was good weather........

Ingleborough Caves and Ingleton Waterfall Trail

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:58:00 +0000

A quick phone calls to Ingleborough Cave and nearby White Scar Caves determined that dogs WERE allowed At Ingleborough Caves (free), so they got our money x 4 adults and not nearby White Scar caves, which do not allow dogs. Bad move White Scar Caves owners!

The following information is courtesy of Ingleborough Cave website: "To reach the cave from the car park follow the signed route on foot past the church and an impressive view of a waterfall, to reach the old sawmill building and the entrance to the Ingleborough Cave Estate Nature Trail. A small charge is made for the trail, and leaflets are available at the start to help you to interpret the many features to be seen along the route.This is a popular 2 km walk for people of all ages, passing the lake, and up through the wooded valley to the open dale and the imposing entrance to the cave. You should allow a minimum of half an hour for the walk.

Until 1837 the secrets of Ingleborough Cave were hidden behind large natural calcite dams behind which water had ponded, submerging much of the passage beyond. These were broken down following a flood, to reveal a wonderland of sculpted passages and beautiful cave formations which have been delighting our visitors ever since. The Cave was once the outflow for the streams that flow through the world-famous 17 km Gaping Gill cave system, but it has long been abandoned by the main stream, allowing it to be explored safely by visitors.

A well-laid concrete path allows you to traverse comfortably for over half a kilometre into the mountain, and discrete lighting displays the calcite flows, the stalactites and stalagmites at their best. This really is one of the country's natural wonders. An expert guide will help you to interpret the features, enhancing your experience. At the end of the path, the cave will be seen disappearing into the distance. Even after all this time, explorations in the far extremities of the system continue to unravel the secrets of this hidden world"

Ingleborough's Waterfall trail is quite demanding, with many steps both up and down, but it is beautiful and really is well worth the effort. It took us about 4 hours to complete, taking it at a steady pace. You have to pay a fee of 60p each just to walk up the trail to the paybooth, and then it is £4.00 per adult for the trail itself. The following information is courtesy of http://www.skiptonweb.co.uk/:

"Ingleton Waterfalls Walk: Famous for it's spectacular scenery, the Ingleton Waterfalls Walk takes a circular route from the Dales village of Ingleton up alongside the River Doe, past several small falls to the main falls, Thornton Force, then across over the tops and back down another valley alongside the River Greta. Great scenery, a well tended path and ice cream along the way.

Take the A65 from Skipton, west towards Kirkby Lonsdale. Turn right off the A65 into the village and follow the signs for the Waterfall walk, which take you to the village centre. Over the bridge and turn right into the car park. Opening Times:The trail is open seven days a week, all year round, 9.00am until dusk. If you require further information on opening times please ring the pay kiosk at the entrance to the trail on 015242 41930".

On the subject of dogs, we found the village of Kirkby Longdale, a few miles away, to be extremely dog friendly, including in a couple of the delightful cafes. Again, these enlightened businesses got our money!

Easter at Stackstead Farm CL, Ingleton, North Yorkshire

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:39:00 +0000

After snow at Easter in 2008 and hasty last-minute rearrangements, a key priority for the Easter 2009 break was a site with hardstanding and electric hook-up. We are huge fans of the Caravan Club's Certificated Locations and the Camping and Caravanning Club's Certificated Sites, especially at Bank Holidays, because crowding just does not happen. Membership of the relevant Club is required to stay on one, however, this gives you access to thousands of small "5 van" sites across the UK, and affords far more flexible choices than the larger Club sites, which are often fully booked months in advance of peak periods.

Stackstead Farm is located about a mile out of the rugged Yorkshire Dales village of Ingleton, famous for the Three Peaks Challenge, Ingleborough Caves and a huge variety of walking opportunities. Wendy and Steve have owned the site for 10 years, which comprises a commercial caravan site (now all seasonal pitches), a bunkbarn sleeping up to 22 people in 4 bunk bed rooms, a small bunkbarn (The Stables) providing basic walkers' accommodation and a Caravan Club Certificated Location.

Caravans and motorhomes pitch in a circle (to keep the Indians out) around a central grassy area, with 5 fairly small hardstandings, but pitching is also allowed on the circular track. The site has spectacular views of Ingleborough mountain and is quiet and peaceful, being a fair distance from the road, however, the downside of the far-reaching view are that it is exposed to the cold northerly winds. There are free-range cockerals and hens pecking around the site, which whilst adding a nice rustic feel, mean that an early-morning lie-in is not possible, and they will stick nosey beaks into awnings and help themselves to any food which is lying around, given half a chance.

The weather was not very kind to us and the wind was gusting up to 30 mph - so strong that we had to take our awning down for safety's sake after the second night. The CL has a basic shower and loo block (shower 50p), which is stated to be heated, but unfortunately wasn't, making ablutions somewhat chilly in early April. The facilities are shared with the nearby seasonal site, but there was never a problem with queues or over-crowding - probably because it was so cold that people used their on-board facilities.

The small village of Ingleborough is about a 15 minute flat walk away and has a mix of traditional shops - butcher, newsagent, small supermarket, gift shop and the amazingly delightful Curlew Crafts and Tea Rooms, which outdoor seating for those of us with dogs - thank you! The food is traditional and homemade, cooked to order, with daily specials and the portions and extremely generous. Their Lemon Meringue Pie is just to die for. It was so good we nearly ordered another portion each. But that would have been plain greedy, wouldn't it?

Wikipedia says the following about Ingleborough: Ingleborough is the second highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent. Ingleborough is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks Challenge, which is a 24 mile (38 km) circular challenge walk starting and finishing in Horton in Ribblesdale.

There is so much to see in this area, and the famous Ingleborough Caves are a must-do activity, as is the Waterfall Trail. However, enough for now - more about these in the next blog .......

The Doctor with a Wandering Mind

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Spotted in last week's Sunday Times - Richard Hammond explains the origins of caravanning:

A long time ago, before Boeing invented the 747 jumbo jet, goods had to be transported on the backs of donkeys. And when you have people moving cargo around you have people called robbers who like pinching stuff. Very annoying when you've walked for several hundred miles across a desert with heavy bags of spaces strapped to your donkey and some bloke with a sword and an Errol Flynn moustache nicks it off you.

Eventually people got fed up with being robbed and some bright merchant came up with the idea that if traders travelled in groups it might put robbers off. Brilliant. Much of the trade when through Persia (now Iran) where the name "karwan" was given to the groups of travelling traders. And that's where the word "caravan" comes from.

The first caravans seen in Britain arrived in the 19th century and were lived in by Romany or gypsy people. Today Romanies and gypsies use more modern caravans often towed by Transit vans. The traditional Romany is not to be confused with the blokes "who have a bit of tarmac left over from another job" and offer to resurface your drive for six hundred quid.

An old Victorian gent by the name of Dr William Gordon Stables is the most important person in caravanning history because, in 1885, he built the first proper caravan. The doc called the finished vehicle "the Wanderer". Inside, the Wanderer had accommodation for the doctor, his coachman, John, his valet Foley and his dog Hurricane Bob. Oh, and a perch for his cockatoo. Foley was given the task of riding ahead on a tricycle to make sure the way was clear.

It is not known where the dog's name came from, but hopefully he was named Hurricane for his energy rather than for an ability to generate gusts of wind. As any caravan veteran knows, flatulence is the enemy of a happy caravan holiday".

Extracted from A Short History of Caravans by Richard Hammond, published by Orion at £12.99.

Above image courtesy of Orionbooks.co.uk

Motorhoming Lessons Episode Two

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:38:00 +0000

Guest blogger Mrs Snail continues her story:

....... so having arrived at Bowkerstead Farm, we discovered the area we should have been camping on was out of bounds, however, we were welcome to stay where we were - parked among the farm machines, was that OK? No thanks, it wasn’t. We were out of there like snails on gravel.

We drove until we got a phone signal and consulted the site directories we keep on board. A few phone calls later, a site was found the other side of Lake Windermere. We gingerly retraced our steps along the narrow road then found ourselves on an even narrower and steeper one down to the Lake Windermere ferry. Now in fairness, there had been warning signs about length and weight of vehicles allowed on the ferry however we were within these so we thought we would be OK. As we approached the ferry, the road dipped down steeply to the loading ramp and, worryingly, there were lots of gouges on the road surface. Husband did an emergency stop as the man waved us on. “We’re going to ground the van” husband yelled. “They usually do!” replied the man cheerily. Husband inched forward whilst I watched the rear. “Stop” I bellowed as our rear overhang was about to acquaint itself with tarmac.

Have you guessed where this is leading yet? Yep, that’s right, we had to turn around again, unable to get to the intended site.

Wearily, we once more negotiated the steep narrow lane far enough to get a phone signal. Out came the site directories again – was there a site this side of Lake Windermere? Couldn’t see anything. Fortunately, a Tourist Information booklet hurridly grabbed the day before from Ambleside TIC came up trumps. On the first page was Skelwith Fold Caravan Park. “Any chance of a touring pitch tonight for two knackered motorhomers?” “No problem” were sweet words indeed.

Skelwith Fold Caravan Park was a little marvel. Mainly a static site, with a recently developed touring area. We liked it so much that we stayed more than the one emergency night. Husband particularly liked the grey water disposal area (isn’t it strange what blokes get excited about??) For a long time he’s said that that a long thin grate running side to side that the van could be driven over would be the best for motorhomes and this is exactly what they have there, a metal grate you drive over, open your release valve and bingo! That was him well happy.

So – lessons learned?

LESSON 1 – never believe what you read in the magazines. Always check when you make your booking exactly what facilities are available and what access is like.

LESSON 2 – if you have a motorhome with an overhang DO NOT attempt the Lake Windermere ferry.

LESSON 3 – always obtain as much information as possible in advance about anywhere, especially local information.

LESSON 4 – if you’ve longed for a dream grey water disposal area – go to Skelwith Fold!

The moral of this story? No matter how many times you do something there are always new things to be learnt.

Mrs Snail

Motorhoming Lessons - Episode One

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:36:00 +0000

The following article has been written by guest blogger - "Mrs Snail":

Last year, having decided on a week’s holiday in our motorhome in the Lake District, we consulted our saved library of magazine articles. An Out and About magazine article on cycling in the Grizedale Forest took our fancy. The recommended site was Bowkerstead Farm, located on the south of the Forest, with hard standing, showers and toilets and the location was good enough for us to forego hook-up for a couple of nights.

Having stayed at Low Wood Caravan Club Site, near Kendal, and done the walking part of the holiday in depressing rain, we set out in anticipation and high hopes for the cycling part. Surely the weather HAD to improve?

My husband is a HGV driver so a little (!) motorhome presents no problem to him. He decided (bless him) to take me along the scenic country roads to show me Esthwaite Water. I really don’t know how my nerves stood the narrow roads and oncoming traffic, but we survived. However, worse, much worse, was still to come.

Firstly, we missed the right turn to Grizedale Forest. Well, that’s not strictly true. As the navigator, I had dismissed it as far too narrow for a motorhome. But after stopping and consulting the map, yep, there was no doubt, that was where we had to go. Fortunately, that made it an easier left turn than a right would have been. Then it got very steep, very narrow and for me very VERY scary. Eventually, we came upon the the Grizedale ForestVisitors Centre, and after an embarrassing trauma that I won’t go into (if you go there, park in the coach bays), we collected our cycling map in readiness for the next day’s activities. Carrying on driving, we located Bowkerstead Farm easily enough thanks to a large Forestry Commission sign announcing the location – so far so good.

The entrance was over an extremely narrow bridge which wasn’t so good. Husband decided that our ‘van would not fit over that bridge and we must turn around and find some where else to stay. Wimp. I negotiated with him to continue and see if there was another entrance to the farm. There was, however it was along a very bumpy unmade road. We persevered and eventually got there with the sides of our ‘van still intact. Phew.

On arrival, there were no humans to be seen, just lots of cats, so now we had to find the hardstanding – where was it? All we could see was a tent area accessed through a narrow gap in a wall. Eventually we located a human being who told us that motorhomes usually went on the bottom field. Unfortunately, that was currently too wet for motorhomes therefore there were no hardstanding pitches available.

Have you guessed where this is leading yet....................? To be continued in the next blog.

Canterbury, Chatham Docks ... and home

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:51:00 +0000

On the final day at the Canterbury site we set ourselves a real challenge - to get to Chatham Docks by public/sustainable transport – bus, walk, train, walk, bus, walk. Now, with hindsight, we could have taken the motorhome, because we discovered there is a HUGE car park at Chatham Docks and no height barriers, and indeed there were several large motorhomes already parked up - but we didn’t know that at the time. Anyway, the way we did it was an adventure as we don’t often use buses or trains.

The 09:00 hours bus was already running 10 minutes late when it arrived, and was almost full, so things were already getting stressful regarding catching the train on time. However, we were allowed on the bus, and after alighting (don’t you love that word?) at Canterbury Bus Station, we had a brisk 10 minute walk to Canterbury East Railway Station, via the road bridge, where a return ticket to Chatham was £9.00 each. A short walk round the corner from Chatham Railway Station took us to the bus stop where an Arriva bus took us to Chatham Docks on the outwards journey, the Dockside Shuttle was used on the return journey. Door to door, the journey took a total of two hours each way.

Getting into Chatham Docks cost us nothing - we used our Tesco Deals Vouchers to pay the entrance fee of £13.50 each for adults. However, this buys an annual ticket allowing unlimited visits during the year (not much use if you live in Derbyshire and not the South East.)

This is a large, spread out site and some walking is required between the various parts. It was hauntingly quiet when we were there midweek, so we were able to see and do what we wanted without delay. Now regarding dogs, we’d already checked on their website that dogs were allowed on site, however, different parts of the site had different policies. In some places she was allowed with us, and made a fuss over, in others she had to wait outside. Or we had to take it in turns. The whole issue of dogs in public places is a real gripe with me, and will be the subject of a future blog. There are two café/restaurants with plenty of outside seating (for dog owners and smokers), the prices were reasonable, quality of food was good and staff were friendly and helpful.

The Ropery Tour is absolutely fascinating, in fact, the highlight of the day, and is conducted by staff in period costume, and we got roped in (!) as volunteers for the rope-making demonstration. All I can say is that it must have been a HORRENDOUS place to work all those years ago. Many phrases which are common in every day use come from the rope-making trade including “Not enough room to swing a cat”, “Give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself” and “Let the cat out of the bag”. And did you know that it is 31 miles between Canterbury and Chatham and that’s how many miles of rope was used on an old-fashioned sailing ship??

Canterbury was our last stop on our grand 2008 tour, and the next day, it was up early to head for home in Derbyshire. The end of another fabulous tour.

Now – where shall we go next year?

Exploring Canterbury ... and beyond

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:59:00 +0000

Most car parks in Canterbury don’t have height barriers and midweek in September, there were always plenty of spaces including room for larger motorhomes, however, the buses were so convenient and cheap that was better to leave the ‘van parked up at the Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club site and use public transport into the City.

Our exploration of Canterbury started with walking the wall – always one of the best ways to orientate yourself and see a city from an elevated position. A booklet detailing the walk is available from the Tourist Information Centre - £2.00 and a leisurely stroll takes about 1.5 hours.

Now regarding the Cathedral, you can only get up close and personal by paying £7.50 and going through the gatehouse into the grounds. As with so many English attractions, dogs are not allowed even in the grounds (do they realise how much money they are losing?) so one of us (him) had to stay with the dog. Therefore, a quick gallop round was in order to stop the male one getting bored. Allow at least two hours, 3 or more if you want to do it full justice. The atmosphere is truly amazing as hundreds of years of history is there to be explored.

The "Canterbury Experience" visitor attraction a short walkk away was next on the “to do” list – a similar type of experience to the Jorvik Museum in York (but on a much simpler scale), except I didn’t really enjoy it. It’s self-guided with an audio guide, triggered automatically as you walk round, but it just tells stories from the Canterbury Tales. Call me a heathen, but I found it boring, I’m afraid. A word of warning, it is not suitable for young children – one poor child’s screams could be heard ahead for several minutes before the parents had to reluctantly call it a day – and no refunds.

Wanting to explore further afield, we’d researched public transport options online and decided on a “Kent and Sussex Explorer Ticket” for £6.50 per adult, which departed from Canterbury Bus Station. The faithful No 13 bus took us into the bus station, from there it was straight onto the bus which took a triangular route to Herne Bay, Whitstable and back to Canterbury. Herne is approximately 40 minutes journey, but somewhat tortuous through various housing estates. But it got us there …… eventually. The sun came out, the sky was deep blue and people started smiling again.

Herne Bay is a small traditional resort, not as grand as Eastbourne but gracious, quiet and an interesting little place to potter around for a while.

Whitstable was a real find – a trendy, quirky town with an excellent mixture of shops and boutiques, clapperboard houses and the atmospheric harbour with its fresh fish market. Moules Mariniere were on the menu at the sea-facing and fashionable Pearsons Arms – and as we stood outside looking longingly at the menu and noticing that there was no outdoor seating, the outstandingly friendly staff waved us into the bar, and allowed us to bring the dog in so we could all have lunch. The service, the welcome and food was outstanding and after a few glasses of wine, it was a struggle to get going again to catch the bus back to Canterbury.

Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club Site - Tour 2008

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:53:00 +0000

True to its “friendly club” strapline, we were indeed given a very warm welcome at the Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club. The possible reason for this quickly became became apparent – according to a notice on reception, they were hoping to win one of the “best campsite” awards currently up for grabs.

Prior to arriving we’d checked online availability earlier in the week, and spoken to the Wardens to confirm there were pitches available. We didn’t actually book, however, because the Camping and Caravanning Club require a minimum £25.00 deposit, or the cost of one night, whichever is the cheaper, upon booking (unlike the Caravan Club, which currently requires no deposit at all) and we wanted to keep our plans flexible on this tour.

After a short queue at the entrance barrier, we were “processed” very efficiently and requested, and were allocated, a very quiet pitch well into the site, tucked away in a corner, backing onto a wood, with a nature/dog walk very close by. The Assistant Warden went to great lengths to suggest a pitch which suited us and cycled down ahead of us to guide us there. This is a very pretty site, divided into several very different areas all with their own “feel”. There is a brilliant dog walk which is in fact a small nature reserve, which was peaceful to walk through at night with just a head torch, and a pleasant way to unwind. Reception sells a variety of essentials together with local produce, and nothing was too much trouble for the Wardens, they really were outstanding.

The pitches are located in several meadows, each with a very different feel to it. Some areas have hardstand and are more suited to motorhomes, whilst others are very much a meadow, ideal for “proper camping” in tents and trailer tents. There was a variety of wildlife came to visit us including rabbits, squirrels, owls and bats.

We liked this site so much, that a planned two night stay became three, then four, and eventually five. What made us stay so long? Well, in addition to the site being so delightful, it’s so easy to get around the area on public transport – Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Chatham were all visited. The No. 13 or 14 bus stops outside the site, and is only a 10 minute journey down into the City centre. The alternative is to walk, allegedly 15 minutes, but because the bus was so convenient, we never walked it, but think it would be more like 30 minutes down. One word of warning – the buses are very popular with Seniors using their free bus passes. On one occasion a mid morning bus was so full it only let 2 people on, (not us, unfortunately). This meant we had to change our plans to visit Chatham Docks that day, as we would have missed the connecting train. Luckily the site had provided us with a bus information sheet and following advice, we walked a short distance to catch the shuttle bus which runs round the nearby housing area before heading town into town.

Canterbury is a truly fascinating city, at the heart of which is the world famous Canterbury Cathedral. More in the next blog ................

Tour 2008 - Eastbourne to Canterbury via Hastings and Rye

noreply@blogger.com (AvailablePitch.com) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Our next destination was Canterbury in Kent and our route followed the coast round through Bexhill and Hastings. A stop at Hastings was planned - we’d read mixed reports about the town and wanted to make up our own minds.

As we drove through Hastings, we noticed there was no parking at all on the seafront, unlike many English seaside resports. Furthermore, all the car parks passed had height barriers, with the exception of the last one which, unfortunately, we didn’t spot in time, and not finding a handy petrol station to do a hasty u-turn had to leave Hastings, for now, unexplored. It looked pleasant enough, what we saw whilst looking for a car park, similar in feel to Eastbourne, and there were plenty of holidaymakers knocking about looking like they were enjoying themselves in the overcast weather. We noticed that the pier, in the middle of the seafront, was closed down, which unfortunately gave a slightly derelict air to that part of town.

Continuing east, we approached the town of Rye, which, whilst not initially on our radar, looked very enticing as we cruised through and an impromptu stop was hastily negotiated with the driver. By following the blue “P” signs for coaches and lorries, we effortlessly ended up in the extremely large Station Car Park, with no height barriers. We spotted a German motorhome parked in one of the many vacant coach bays, and no sign of a ticket, so we figured it would be OK – and it was.

Rye is a lively, compact town and we spent two fascinating hours pottering around the range of independent and specialist shops – including some lovely antique shops. Reluctantly, we headed off for our evening destination - Canterbury Camping and Caravanning Club site.