End of an Era

[Scorpy]

Well after 40+ years of touring, time has come & we have decided with age, arthritis, Covid & Brexit our caravanning days are over now. After spending the last 10 winters in Spain and having some wonderful holidays, this years was more an endurance than a holiday! 3 months seemed like a lifetime whilst in the past 6 months have flown- From the Hottest September on record to the coldest November on record, plus a month long plague of mosquitos!
Needless to say glad to be home, sold the caravan and most of the accessories and will sit and wait now for things to improve before booking any more holidays.
Sad in some ways, glad in others.
I hope things improve in near future but feel it may be a while before they do-I would not recommend the Snowbird locations at the moment.
Have fun everyone and stay safe.
PS if anyone wants a Spanish Lighweight gas bottle & English to Spanish pipe & connector, give me a shout-I have one going cheap!
Mike & Jackie

 

[otherclive]

Well after 30+ years of touring, time has come & we have decided with age, arthritis, Covid & Brexit our caravanning days are over now. After spending the last 10 winters in Spain and having some wonderful holidays, this years was more an endurance than a holiday! 3 months seemed like a lifetime whilst in the past 6 months have flown- From the Hottest September on record to the coldest November on record, plus a month long plague of mosquitos!
Needless to say glad to be home, sold the caravan and most of the accessories and will sit and wait now for things to improve before booking any more holidays.
Sad in some ways, glad in others.
I hope things improve in near future but feel it may be a while before they do-I would not recommend the Snowbird locations at the moment.
Have fun everyone and stay safe.
PS if anyone wants a Spanish Lighweight gas bottle & English to Spanish pipe & connector, give me a shout-I have one going cheap!
Mike & Jackie

Sorry your last holiday didn’t work out for you. As you say difficult times with the weather, exacerbated by Covid/Brexit. We talked long and hard about selling our caravan and it was quite emotional seeing it being towed away by its new family. But we have had good holidays going solo and look forward to planning some in the future. But nothing overseas yet.
Good luck with your future plans.

 

[Buckman]

Well after 30+ years of touring, time has come & we have decided with age, arthritis, Covid & Brexit our caravanning days are over now.

We are also getting on a bit plus arthritis, but will persevere for awhile longer as we do still enjoy getting out and about. We will now only erect the porch awning if away for 5 or more nights. We have an air windbreak which is easy to erect and keeps the dogs in. Basically we are going back to the style when we took weekend breaks when working and not bothering with awning and windbreaks for weekends. Arrive on site legs down, connect up and sit back and relax.

 

[Raywood]

Sorry to hear of the problems and I am afraid the time to give up will come to all of us.
You have sold the caravan at the point when its value was at its highest though and assuming prices drop as some of us expect, if you do decide to buy another, you might make a small profit so your timing was good..

 

[Jaydug]

So sorry to read about your decision to give up caravanning. Like you, I’ve enjoyed spending winters in Spain. In my case, I usually left the UK in November and returned home in early March. That I’ve done for the past twenty-five years, although in the early years my stays were considerably shorter.

I managed to get home from Spain in early March of 2020 on one of the last ferries before they suspended service because of Covid. It was during that last visit that my daughters were able to join me to help celebrate my 90th birthday. Because of the pandemic, I’ve considered it unsafe to travel abroad – even when restrictions have allowed it. So it’s beginning to look as though I won’t be able to go again.

But I’ll look on the bright side. During last summer I was able to wind down my steadies in Cornwall, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire and Staffordshire and am already planning tours for later this year. Just as soon as the weather begins to warm up a bit.

 

[Gafferbill]

Hi John...... well you've definitely had a good innings with plenty of memories.
It won't be the same if your not on that pitch by the gate at the Pines.
I wouldn't be surprised if I turn up next year and see you there!
We booked Newhaven /Dieppe on spec to travel down next week but have decided to move the booking to August/September for a stay in France instead.
France opens their border to us tonight but there is still far to much hassle with testing etc. at the moment.
Glad you intend to carry on with the Avondale and are planning some UK trips.

 

[Jaydug]

Hello Bill. Yes! I thought your departure was scheduled for about now. Maybe a wise move to delay it for a while. Although the Covid situation seems not to be putting some people off travelling. My two Irish friends have been at El Pino for two months now and they tell me that many of the usual German & Dutch visitors are there. I would dearly love to be with them. I often think of mornings sitting in the awning soaking up the warmth of the Spanish sunshine, then after lunch, taking a bike ride along the coast road. Happy days!
Meanwhile, I have a couple of caravanning trips planned for the UK – just as soon as the weather improves, and already a firm booking for a week away in May with my two girls to a rented cottage. Give my best wishes to Belinda.