Sad day!

[Buckman]

Today we said good bye to the end of an era as caravan is now sold. It was taken as a bare bones unit so we have all the stuff for the caravan like aquarolls, hitchlock, gas bottles etc. Next will probably be the Jeep as we now have a 2021 NX300 and will be downgrading to being a one car family.

Amazing the amount of stuff that you collect over 21 years. You also realise that you were carrying too much "just in case" stuff. Now the hard part is selling a lot of the stuff as individual items over the next few months.

 

[Steve1962]

All those happy memories..... good luck in the future.
No doubt you won't have a problem selling all the bits and pieces too.

Steve

 

[otherclive]

It is a hard decision but the time comes when you know it’s the right one for you both. CMHC classifieds are a good site to sell stuff, along with the normal ones. I let my van go with all its kit, less hassle.

 

[JTQ]

Oh dear, sorry for you. It must at the same time be both a difficult, but then realistic decision to make. One many of us can face particularly when age and that's related health issues loom, for ourselves or soulmates.
Hopefully you can find other recreational options that you both find rewarding.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

A sad day we'll all face at some point. I always think when life forces change on us that a new challenge or opportunity will come along. You've helped a lot of people on here and I hope you will continue to do so 😀. Good luck with whatever you do next.

 

[RogerL]

My heart goes out to you - it really is the end of an era as I remember your posts on Caravan Talk before we both got banned!

 

[Hutch]

Sad time, but when the time comes along you have to make that decision.
We have been thinking over the last couple of years, about Stagnating our travels. Health and unfortunately the costs are getting too much for us.

Keep on the Forum, always good to have banter.

 

[Mel]

A sad day indeed but the decision is made. Now you can look forward to planning different holidays and building new memories
Mel

 

[Gagakev]

Good luck for the future Buckman, sad day but we all have to face it at some time.
We are thinking about a different direction but I will start another thread in a few days when the decision is made.
Dont want to hijack yours.
At least one of your last outings was in our delightful Devon.
Have you any thing in mind, cottages, Air B&B etc etc ??

 

[Buckman]

A sad day indeed but the decision is made. Now you can look forward to planning different holidays and building new memories
Mel

Due to health issues unfortunately we cannot book anything in advance this year. Unfortunately NHS waiting times for a ops at our local hospital are up to 9 months!

The next sadness will be selling the Jeep as it is the most comfortable car we have ever had the pleasure of driving, but the new to us NX300 is very comfortable.

 

[Dustydog]

Following in the footsteps of Beachball😁
Hopefully you will continuing posting your pearls of wisdom on here please👍
I guess cessation of caravanning is something we will all have to face sometime😢

 

[Buckman]

Actually looking forward to being able to book dog friendly cottages and quite keen to try Norfolk coast area as done Cornwall, Devon and Dorset to death plus where ever you go they want to charge you silly prices for parking!

 

[RogerL]

Due to health issues unfortunately we cannot book anything in advance this year. Unfortunately NHS waiting times for a ops at our local hospital are up to 9 months!

The next sadness will be selling the Jeep as it is the most comfortable car we have ever had the pleasure of driving, but the new to us NX300 is very comfortable.

My wife is waiting for another eye operation but even with our health issues, we've booked a full year's caravan holidays only using sites that don't require non-refundable deposits or full payment in advance - and ferry fares which are fully refundable up to 24 hours before sailing.

We know we're going to lose one of the holidays for the operation but we don't know which one !

 

[Buckman]

My wife is waiting for another eye operation but even with our health issues, we've booked a full year's caravan holidays only using sites that don't require non-refundable deposits or full payment in advance - and ferry fares which are fully refundable up to 24 hours before sailing.

We know we're going to lose one of the holidays for the operation but we don't know which one !

Yep that is our concern as last year we lost £400 due to issues and having to cancel a few days before arrival. We do not blame the sites and accept the loss. However if renting a cottage, the loss will be greater.

Trying to get UK insurance cover at a reasonable cost is very difficult. At present the only overseas destination where we would probably not need travel insurance is South Africa!

 

[RogerL]

Yep that is our concern as last year we lost £400 due to issues and having to cancel a few days before arrival. We do not blame the sites and accept the loss. However if renting a cottage, the loss will be greater.

Trying to get UK insurance cover at a reasonable cost is very difficult. At present the only overseas destination where we would probably not need travel insurance is South Africa!

I gave up trying to get insurance years ago because of the high cost - it seems to me that caravanning is more flexible than self-catering or hotels.

 

[Beachball]

A very sad day indeed you be looking at cottages and lodges and building new memories we also loss one break this month it was our anniversary and valentine because we both had Flu .
I also let nearly all the bits for our caravan go, but the rest went on Gumtree & preloved .

 

[otherclive]

I gave up trying to get insurance years ago because of the high cost - it seems to me that caravanning is more flexible than self-catering or hotels.

Spot on although annual travel policies can cover booked UK holidays. Last March I had an operation and the histology results showed cancer and in May I’d not had the recommendations from the consultant so we cancelled a holiday in Scotland as the final refund date was approaching. We received the £1200 refund and fortunately I did not require any treatment, so we rebooked a week in Wales at short notice. Unusually that was pay on arrival in cash. Our recent week in a cabin in Forest of Dean was paid in full in late December. Our next two breaks in the Lakes and Belgium/Germany have both featured very late cancellation options, but they do cost more.

 

[otherclive]

Due to health issues unfortunately we cannot book anything in advance this year. Unfortunately NHS waiting times for a ops at our local hospital are up to 9 months!

The next sadness will be selling the Jeep as it is the most comfortable car we have ever had the pleasure of driving, but the new to us NX300 is very comfortable.

You will like the NX300, it has the same powertrain as our RAV4. Still not used to an engine not cracking into life when you press the start button. All you get is a quiet murmur and a READY light on the dash.

 

[Buckman]

You will like the NX300, it has the same powertrain as our RAV4. Still not used to an engine not cracking into life when you press the start button. All you get is a quiet murmur and a READY light on the dash.

Yep it is a bit weird. It is a very comfortable car which is what really attracted us to it. The RAV4 was okay but not as comfortable. The NX300 does not have the acceleration of the Jeep, but is adequate for us as we are not boy racers. LOL!

 

[Sam Vimes]

As one door closes another one opens, so good luck with what you find inside.

just think - no more worries about damp, cracked panels, towing weight, reversing, narrow roads, and many other issues.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

Yep that is our concern as last year we lost £400 due to issues and having to cancel a few days before arrival. We do not blame the sites and accept the loss. However if renting a cottage, the loss will be greater.

Trying to get UK insurance cover at a reasonable cost is very difficult. At present the only overseas destination where we would probably not need travel insurance is South Africa!

We ran a holiday let in Norfolk until we moved last year. We used Sykes Cottages. I know they offered guests insurance but I don't know the cost, hopefully not too much.

 

[Buckman]

As one door closes another one opens, so good luck with what you find inside.

just think - no more worries about damp, cracked panels, towing weight, reversing, narrow roads, and many other issues.

Yep, but my hair will still stay grey!

 

[ProfJohnL]

I sorry you feel it has been necessary to give up caravanning, as it was clearly something you enjoyed. I went through a similar crisis a few years ago with my wife, and it was quite a wrench disposing of the unneeded equipment. Im having to do a more difficult house part clearance following the passing of my wife 9 months ago.

Here's a question, what piece of caravanning equipment allowed to keep caravanning over recent years? I'll bet it was the caravan mover!

 

[Buckman]

Here's a question, what piece of caravanning equipment allowed to keep caravanning over recent years? I'll bet it was the caravan mover!

The two of us!

 

[otherclive]

We ran a holiday let in Norfolk until we moved last year. We used Sykes Cottages. I know they offered guests insurance but I don't know the cost, hopefully not too much.

We looked at Guest insurance and it didn't cover car problems, and had the normal loading, or let outs for medical conditions, or forthcoming tests, consultations and treatments., relatives who may cause you to cancel etc. Reinforced my view that insurers do not like risk.