We liked the Chertsey campsite so much that we decided to go back there but this time with the kids. We thought they would enjoy the onsite playground, clubhouse and riverside location and we were right. The first thing they did when we arrived was rush to the playground while we were setting everything up. We needed to learn how to fit our newly ordered bits and pieces from Comfortz Leisure onto the van so were grateful for the peace and quiet.
The first new item was a Cali topper - this goes over the top of the pop-up roof to provide an extra layer of protection from the wind and rain plus it helps to keep the heat in. Being 5'2" I was not able to offer much help with this as you need open the roof about 30 cm and sort of throw it over the top and then arrange it so that all the corners are nicely lined up before opening the roof fully. We found that opening the driver and passenger doors and sort of balancing on the steps made it a bit easier but it was still a bit of a mission. It is worth the extra hassle though as it makes a huge difference, especially with protection from the rain.
The second new item was a thermal windscreen which fits around the windscreen and front windows and is held in place by the driver and passenger doors. We felt that this would also be a big help when it came to keeping the heat in as well as keeping the light out in the morning. We didn't find it hard to fit this on but we did learn that you can't do it before you swivel the front seats otherwise you have to take the whole thing off and start again.
The final item to fit was the awning side panels. These zip onto the existing awning frame and have two windows and a door to let some light in and allow for easy access. We were surprised at how easy they were to fit but we were a bit confused as to the correct way to peg it all down as there seemed to be various options. We decided to peg it outwards so that the rainwater would flow off the sides nicely.
In less than an hour we were fully set up, ready for the weekend and really happy with our new purchases.
This time, not only were we brave enough to cook dinner on the Cadac but we decided to try out the pizza stone. We had bought four Pizza Express pizzas from the supermarket and decided that we were going to have pizza night at the campsite. It was amazing, the pizzas turned out really well and we all very much enjoyed eating them! I'm not sure that you could effectively cook a thick crust pizza using this though.
Even though the weather wasn't that great for this visit and it rained quite a lot we still managed to wake up to this beautiful sunrise on our first morning:
See what I mean about the campsite being right on the river?
We hadn't tried the pub just across the bridge on our previous visit so we thought that this time was the perfect time to try it out as it is not far to walk when the weather is rubbish. The pub was called The Kingfisher and we spent a lovely few hours there enjoying the beautiful food, sampling the beer and wine (and the nicest sparking apple juice ever according to the kids), hiding from the rain and enjoying life.
On the way back we stopped off in the Spar at the petrol station, purchased some sweets and treats and headed back to the camper van to play Monopoly.
When it came to packing up we found the Cali topper, thermal windscreen and awning side panels really easy to take off and fold away and we were fully packed up and ready to go in less than an hour.
All-in-all we had a lovely weekend and felt really comfortable and at ease with the camper van. We are definitely getting used to it and our new additions really did help to keep the heat in and the rain out.
We hadn't tried the pub just across the bridge on our previous visit so we thought that this time was the perfect time to try it out as it is not far to walk when the weather is rubbish. The pub was called The Kingfisher and we spent a lovely few hours there enjoying the beautiful food, sampling the beer and wine (and the nicest sparking apple juice ever according to the kids), hiding from the rain and enjoying life.
On the way back we stopped off in the Spar at the petrol station, purchased some sweets and treats and headed back to the camper van to play Monopoly.
When it came to packing up we found the Cali topper, thermal windscreen and awning side panels really easy to take off and fold away and we were fully packed up and ready to go in less than an hour.
All-in-all we had a lovely weekend and felt really comfortable and at ease with the camper van. We are definitely getting used to it and our new additions really did help to keep the heat in and the rain out.
No comments:
Post a Comment