1st weekend caravanning

[Lynnybobs]

Well we finally collected our new van on Friday and spend the weekend staying in it getting used to what to do and checking everything was working OK.

Made a couple of 'rookie' errors but hey ho its all about learning as we go along and its all part of the fun !

Met lots of lovely folks who were only too happy to have a chat and help us 'newbies' out and give us lots of advice and tips which was marvellous and very generous.

The worst/scariest part of the weekend was getting our van home and parked up in the bay at the storage site - not very much room between vans and we are novices at manoeuvring so was a very scary few minutes gently inching it into place !

So all in all a great weekend and I can't wait for our next adventure !

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi , glad you had a good first time out , it will only get better next time and easier after that , and you'll get quicker when you get on site , you'll start to get into a routine of what to do , like me and the kids will get the outside set up whilst my wife sets up the inside .
How did the cooking bit go , did you take your slow cooker !! ?

 

[Lynnybobs]

Hi Craigyoung,
will deffo get easier as we get used to it and get into a routine of who does what but me and hubby work well as a team
Getting ready to leave yesterday was quite quick - getting the towing mirrors on and in the right place probably took the longest.
Didn't take the slow cooker this time as wanted to try out the cooker in the van but it was great.
Had a quick tea of pizza on Friday night which cooked really well in the oven. Made porridge and toast for breakfasts and also did a pasta and goulash dish and treated ourselves to a pub lunch and a pint when we went out for a walk to explore.

 

[Craigyoung]

You see , getting the hang off it already !!! Get yourselves away as much as possible , go to CL sites , cheaper and just as good , we regularly use the same cl in Yorkshire , £12 per night with facilities , great views and walks and a pub 5 minutes walk away .

 

[Raywood]

Glad all went well and you liked the holiday. If the storage site is flat it might be possible to just push the caravan back in. Even after over 30 years of towing I find that can be a problem so you are not alone, you just need to trust whoever is with you.

 

[Mel]

Glad you had a good time. The more you caravan the easier it gets. Motormovers really come into their own on tight manouvres.
Mel

 

[Martin24]

Glad all went well.

 

[Parksy]

Congratulations on completing your maiden voyage, things will get easier as you become more used to going away.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Yes, well done.

 

[RayS]

Thanks for posting this, I really enjoyed reading it.
Back came all the memories of my first weeked away in my first van Sprite Alpine 12ft with Cortina GT. Fairly local to us at the Time we went up into Dovedale in less than wonderful weather, but it didn't matter at all June 1967.

Hope your caravanning career is as long and happy as mine !

 

[Keefanmaxx]

Another Newbie!! Glad you had a good weekend. Mrs Keith and I were in the same boat not that long ago and we're still learning but more importantly enjoying the experience.
Luckily, we don't have to contend with a storage site, just the not-much-bigger-than-the-van gap between house and fence, but we have movers to help with that tricky manoeuvre! :cheer:

Roll on the next weekend away!!

 

[Lynnybobs]

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments.
We are certainly considering a motor mover as having seen some others on the site using them they look great and would certainly help us with parking up at the storage site as the bay we have is on a bit of an incline so not very easy to move the van manually but we did it.
We are lucky to live close to the Peak District so lots of sites to try out not too far from home with great scenery, walks and pubs to explore to get us started and more comfortable with towing and setting up before we venture too far afield.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi again ,
try Castleton caravan club site we were there last year at Kids half term for week but make sure you when you get there you get a pitch to wards the inside or at the back . We were late afternoon arrival and pitched beside the road and you can hear a lot of noise from the cars going past on the road behind .
Like you say there's lots of lovely walks around that area and a lovely village and plenty of places to eat
Hope you enjoy and get quicker setting up ha ha

Craig .

 

[LizziePope]

Hi Lynnybobs and thanks for posting. Great to hear you enjoyed yourself. I am sure your post will inspire others who are new to the hobby to get out there!

 

[Hutch]

Lizzie, Hobby, to a lot of us Caravanning is a way of life, Lynnebobs, glad you had a good first time ou, carry on enjoying .

 

[Lynnybobs]

Thanks Lizzie and Hutch, hoping to get away for another weekend very soon ! Got the bug now so any free weekends will be caravan weekends