Summer Holiday Seaside Adventure - Part 2

As luck would have it the weather brightened up beautifully for day 3 of our holiday so we went out and ate the most beautiful fish and chips for lunch at The Coastguard Cafe.  

This is supposed to be the best fish and chips on the island and they were delicious.  There is something special about eating fish and chips by the sea.

It would have been rude not have an ice cream for dessert so we went off in search of some new flavours: Gin and Pink Grapefruit sorbet for me, Banoffee Pie for my husband and the kids devoured a Kinder Bueno flavour and some kind of Chocolate/Marshmallow concoction.

Feeling like we'd gained about half a stone in just a few hours we decided to try out a bit of crabbing in the creek that afternoon.  We purchased the equipment we needed from the shop next to the ice cream parlour and waited for the tide to come in.  I don't know the first thing about crabbing so I just sat with the dogs and observed.  

My husband is a pretty good fisherman but it turns out that this doesn't equate to being good at crabbing so nobody caught anything but they all had fun trying.  

It was a very pleasant way to pass the afternoon and the dogs even dipped their paws into the water

Summer Holiday Seaside Adventure - Part 1

We had a week's holiday with the kids and dogs scheduled for the first week of summer holidays and we couldn't decide whether to go back to one of the sites we had been to and liked before (see my previous post on being creatures of habit) or to find somewhere new and exciting to explore.

After much deliberation and campsite research (OK, a LOT of research) we settled on Hayling Island.  We found a campsite which we thought would suit us all called Fishery Creek.  It seemed to be close enough to all the seaside action but quiet enough to get away from it all and have a good night's sleep. 

As luck would have it we arrived on a very hot Saturday afternoon to a very pretty campsite and a lovely pitch overlooking the creek.  We had booked to stay for 5 nights and so we needed to set up a bit of a base camp.  While we were doing that, the kids found and unpacked Twister to keep them amused for a while.

When we were all settled in we decided to go for an explore to see how far away everything was.  It turned out that pretty much everything was on our doorstep thanks to a footpath running along the side of the creek which acted as a shortcut.  It took no longer than 5 mins to walk to the nearest shops, take-aways etc and a further 3 mins to walk to the actual seafront.  There is a lovely ice cream parlour which we stopped off at on the way to the seafront called Pepperelli's.  They must have had about 50 flavours of ice cream and sorbet there so we were spoilt for choice.  I opted for Champagne and Strawberry, my husband opted for Millionaire Shortbread and the kids went for Cookies and Cream and Chocolate Ripple.  Yum yum.

We walked all the way to Funland (approx 25 mins walk from the seafront area nearest our campsite) to see what it was like. The kids had been there before a few times but my husband and I had never actually been there or indeed anywhere on Hayling Island.  We were quite impressed with the variety of rides on offer and decided to come back and explore it properly later on in the week.

On the way back we found a lovely pub called The Olive Leaf which was approximately 15 mins walk from the campsite where we could all have a cold refreshing drink (including the dogs).  They had a lovely bar/restaurant area inside but we opted to sit outside in the shade in their small garden area.  The place had a lovely friendly feel to it and we had a feeling we would be coming back.

The weather was too hot to be out exploring though so we headed back to base to relax and have a BBQ.  We played games, ate far too much food and laughed all afternoon.

The kids went to bed quite early after a busy day but we stayed up watching the sunset and chatting away.  It's beautiful evenings like this that make you truly fall in love with the camping life.

In true British fashion, the weather didn't quite hold up the next day so we decided to re-visit that lovely pub The Olive Leaf for lunch.  We were all pretty jealous of my step-son's burger:

Having said that all the food was delicious and we all finished our plates.  The lovely thing about this place is that they do pretty much everything on the menu in a smaller portion for the kids as opposed to having an actual kids menu where sometimes we find the portion sizes can be a bit small for a 7 and 9 year old.  Also they are very dog friendly with their own pub dog - a lovely Boxer.

As the weather was pretty chilly and windy we were hoping that Funland would be quite quiet (and we needed to walk off our lunch) so after going back to the campsite to change into some warmer clothes and jackets, we headed off along the promenade to enjoy ourselves for the evening.

It was really quiet, there were no queues for anything and the kids loved it. If you arrive after 5pm you can purchase a wristband which costs £7 per person and you can go an as many rides as you like, as many times as you like until 8pm.  You can also bring the dogs along too - although beware of them eating enough fish and chips off the floor to keep them going for a week!

The kids had a great time but we were all getting a bit tired so we called it a day at around 7pm and walked back to the campsite to relax and have an early night.

Creatures of Habit

We have become a little guilty of re-visiting campsites - we've been to the Chertsey Camping and Caravanning Club Site three times, the Chichester Camping and Caravanning Club Site twice and now we have been to the Morn Hill Caravan Club site three times.

Morn Hill seems to be our default place to go for a one night stay in the Cali.  There are several reasons for this I think:

• In our experience so far the Caravan Club sites don't seem to have the two-night minimum stay rule at the weekend (unlike the Camping and Caravanning Club sites)
• It's not too far from home, this is especially important in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic
• It's relatively inexpensive in comparison to some other places in the area
• The site is open and airy with lots of lovely grass

When we arrived the site was full - this was the first time I've seen that sign outside (thank goodness we booked) and so instead of being able to choose a pitch we were shown which pitch was ours and this time it was in the lower section of the site.  We hadn't actually stayed in that part before so it was like a new adventure (sort of) ! 

The fish and chip van was parked up there as well and I remember seeing the sign for it during our last visit but had totally forgotten and it would have been perfect for our dinner that night (and avoided a detour to the supermarket) but we decided to be a bit healthier and eat the food we had brought with us.

As it was nice and warm we also managed to sit outside for a while and say hello to a few other people around us. The dogs enjoyed a bit of fresh air too.

I love how quickly we can be parked up and ready for the night especially in these summer months.  If there's no rain forecast we don't bother with the Cali topper and we also find nowadays that we don't need to roll the awning out for a one night stay, unless by some miracle the sun is beating down on us and we need to shelter from it (a rarity in the UK!) 

We did make a pact though that we need to explore new campsites and places to stop for the night - there is too much to explore for us to continue being creatures of habit like this!

The Italian Adventure - Part 2: Switzerland

On the way to Switzerland the roads were fairly clear, the sky was blue and the temperature reached a sizzling 36 degrees celsius.  

Going through the border was extremely uneventful, we purchased our Swiss Vignette sticker for 40 Euros, nobody checked our passports and after a few hours we arrived at Lake Lucerne.

We found a campsite called TCS Camping Luzern - Horw which had access to the Lake and they also gave you free passes to a swimming area in the lake which I regret to say we didn't use, despite the heat!  

The campsite itself was nice and clean with good facilities, the toilet and shower block had music playing 24/7 and we had electric hook-up included.

It wasn't as spacious as the one in France and was nearly double the price but that is something we learned about Switzerland - it is expensive!  There is a sort of shopping centre which has a Coop supermarket approximately 10 minutes walk from the campsite and you can get the bus into Lucerne from just outside the campsite if you fancy it.

We picked up some supplies for dinner from the Lidl but we didn't need much (we also restrained ourselves due to the astronomical Swiss prices) and then afterwards we decided to try out some of the German beers available at the campsite bar. The nice thing about campsites outside the UK is that they all seem to have a bar and serve food.  

We enjoyed sitting outside the Cali and eating dinner while taking in the beautiful backdrop of the mountains and after dinner we went for an evening stroll alongside the lake.

We woke early and went for a run the following morning which we found quite challenging due to the altitude but it's all good exercise and preparation for another day of driving.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful location to stay in and we wished we could have spent a few more days here taking in the beautiful views and exploring the area.  However, our bank accounts probably thanked us for not staying longer!

It was time for us to drive on to Lake Como for the wedding and two nights staying in a hotel (what's a hotel when you have a Cali?) but we did get treated to some beautiful views on the way:

Cheeky Stopover On Our Way Home

Having spent six and a half lovely days in Weymouth we weren't quite ready to go home so we stopped off at the Caravan Club site in Morn Hill on the way back just for one night.  We had been there before for one night without the kids but we wanted to see how the kids enjoyed it as this site has no playground and not much to do but the large open grassy areas and the peacefulness of the site has a certain appeal (we think).

The facilities are excellent and kept very clean and we found out that a fish and chip van comes every Friday (just a shame our visit this time fell on a Thursday!)

We were given a choice of three or four pitches as we were the first of the "one-nighters" to arrive and so we chose one right outside the reception/shop and made sure we were facing the right way to try and catch any sunshine that we could and fortunately it did come out for a little while!

We had a lovely BBQ for late lunch while the dogs did some sunbathing.

For dessert we treated the kids to some yummy New Forest ice creams that they sell in the shop onsite.

It wasn't an action packed stay at this sight but we find all the pitches to be nice and spacious and despite being near to a main road it is not as noisy as you would expect.

The kids enjoyed playing some games both inside the Cali and outside and the ice creams went down well.  When asked if they would like to go back to this site there was a resounding yes and I'm sure it won't be long before we are back.

May Half Term Fun - Part 1

For May half term we packed up the Cali with us, the kids, the dogs, plenty of food and drink, clothes and games and set off to East Fleet Farm for 6 nights.  I cannot recommend this place highly enough, it is (so far) the best campsite we have been to with the best facilities and every photo on the website is actually how it looks in real life.

It was the Saturday of the bank holiday weekend when we arrived and the place was extremely busy but somehow it seems to function so well that we didn't really notice.  There are an abundance of showers and toilets (with an extra block that opens up during busy times) and plenty of washing up facilities, a laundry area and family shower rooms.  Everything was kept very clean.

We had a hardstanding pitch with a large grass area next to it where we could play swingball...

...or be an observer while escaping from the sunshine under the parasol with the dogs...

As this was our longest stay so far in the Cali we resurrected some of our old camping gear that we had decided to hold on to and set up a sort of 'base camp':

We found our Outwell kitchen unit to be particularly handy and it was great to have the extra outside space in the awning for food preparation and storage.

Even though we were very close to the fantastic playground, there is a games room near to the reception with all sorts of games and various exercise equipment which the kids very much wanted to explore.  The walkie-talkies that my husband had bought for them turned out to be essential for this sort of thing as it is a fair walk to that area depending on where you are staying in the site.

There is an on-site shop selling all sorts of camping equipment, games and essentials so we purchased a flag pole and windsock - this acted as a great identifier to the kids of where our pitch was so they could always find us (and we managed to find a VW one!) :

We spent the first couple of days getting to know the campsite, playing games and enjoying the start of our holiday.  It was perfect.

Caravan Club and a New Gadget

With this new camper van addiction of ours slowly taking over, we decided to join the Caravan Club to give us more options of places to stay.  Our first Caravan Club site experience was at Morn Hill and it did not disappoint.  This is a lovely campsite - it's by and large quite peaceful but some of the pitches are adjacent to a main road so I can imagine it getting rather noisy during peak times.  

There is a lovely shop on site selling all the essentials and (more importantly) ice cream. Also, you get to choose your own pitch - even if you are staying for one night!  OK, so during busy times they do reserve the right to allocate a pitch to you for a one night stopover but it wasn't busy on this occasion so we drove around the campsite and chose our pitch.

It was perfect for us and the sun came out to play so we had a lovely day BBQ-ing in the sunshine and enjoying life.



We also tried out our new gadget - an EE Osprey 2 Mini-Mobile Hotspot.  This beauty gives us 50GB of data to use every month for just £30 per month (it was a half price when we signed the contract - usually £60 per month!) The 4G speeds are quick and it allows us to watch TV on our computer without eating into our personal data plans on our mobile phones.  This will come in handy when the football is on!

Castles and Cider

Bank holiday weekend with no kids...it's off to Corfe Castle we go.  This was to be our longest stay in the campervan since we bought it - three whole nights and we were so excited about it.  We booked the Corfe Castle Camping and Caravanning Club site.  It looked pretty in the pictures and it was somewhere we had never been before.  When we arrived we were totally overwhelmed by the beauty of the place.

The site itself was quite small and hilly, our nicely secluded hard standing pitch was about half way up the hill but had been levelled out well and the weather was promising to be quite good so no need for the awning sides either.  We just rolled out the awning, put the Cali topper and thermal windscreen on and we were ready to start our holiday.

The facilities were very clean and all contained in one block which was at the bottom of the hill so they were a bit of a walk from our pitch but as the campsite was quite small it wasn't too bad. Imagine our delight when the fish and chip van arrived at 6pm - it was just what we needed after the long drive and it was delicious.

We didn't get much of a lie in the next morning as the sun was shining and it seemed like too good an opportunity to go for a run and explore the area.  The hills were quite challenging (it was a bit like running on the spot in some places) but the views made it worthwhile and hey, it's all good exercise!

We took the dogs for a walk up Bucknowle Hill which overlooked the campsite and the town of Corfe (and most of the surrounding areas) - we could see the sea from up there and it felt like we were on top of the world.  Looking down at Corfe Castle was pretty spectacular as well and we noticed that there was a special Viking event happening there for the weekend.  Great fun. 

It took about 15 minutes to walk along the footpath into the town of Corfe from the campsite. 



It is a lovely and very picturesque town and it was buzzing with lots of bank holiday activity including a beer and cider festival at The Greyhound Inn with live music.  There were some lovely unique shops which we enjoyed browsing and a convenience store where you can purchase the essentials.  Needless to say we parked ourselves at the beer festival for a few hours enjoying the atmosphere (and lunch!) and sampling the local ciders.  When we went back the next day it was extremely busy so we tried a different pub and we weren't disappointed - it was called The Castle Inn and is well worth a visit.  If you're feeling brave have a pint of Old Rosie cider in the lovely beer garden.



As usual we learned a bit more about our Cali and how best to enjoy it:

- You can strap the interior table to the headrest of the bench seat and turn it into an extra work-top, like this:



- We don't need to set up a 'base camp' when the weather is nice - it's perfectly acceptable to simply roll the awning out as and when you need it and not bother with the awning sides.

- It's nice to have the fridge stocked with lots of food and drink but it's also nice to appreciate the local food and drink and take advantage of the yummy fish and chip van (where available) and the pizza van (although we managed to restrain ourselves from that one!) 

We really took our time, relaxed and enjoyed the camper van - we also met two other Cali owners at this site so it was nice to hear about their adventures.  It was the perfect relaxing weekend we were hoping for and we would love to go back to this campsite and explore the surrounding area further. 

Back to Chertsey

We hadn't been away with the kids in the Cali since Henley so we decided to keep it simple and re-visit Chertsey Camping and Caravanning Club Site.  Not too far to drive, everyone is familiar with it and if we're lucky we'll have some nice weather and get a few good walks in.

On our way to the site we stopped off at the nearby Sainsburys and purchased our food for the weekend.  It was great to have the kids with us when doing this as they can pick out the food they want to eat rather than us guessing what they might like.  Also, this is where the size of the Cali comes in quite handy - you can still get into most supermarket car parks and park quite comfortably.

When we arrived at the site there was a fish and chip / breakfast van serving food on Friday and Saturdays - this wasn't there before so must be something new for the summer season.  The kids went off to play pool or air hockey or whatever they fancied in the clubhouse while we did our usual setting up chores.  The only thing we were missing on this trip was our thermal windscreen - we had noticed a tear in it the week before and so we had to send it back to be either repaired or replaced.

The weather wasn't great on arrival and we were all pretty tired but we got our act together and marched off to The Kingfisher over the bridge for drinks and dinner.  This is probably the third time we have eaten in this pub now and the food never disappoints.  The dogs are always well behaved in there too!

We woke up at the crack of dawn due to the amount of light flooding into the van.  This was because we didn't have the thermal windscreen with us and we were instead using the internal "curtains" that come with the van.  Sometimes when you don't have something, you realise how much you rely on it.

It had rained quite a bit through the night and into the morning so we were not too sure about going on our planned walk along the towpath to Shepperton and eating sandwiches by the river but we haven't let the weather stop us yet.  We all donned our waterproof gear and set off.  The weather by some miracle cleared up during the walk and it was dry enough for us all to sit on a nice bench by the river eating our sandwiches for lunch.  Well, it was nice until a goose decided to come and investigate what we were eating.  Time to get up and move on.

We went to that nice pub we had visited on one of our previous visits called The Thames Court for a couple of pints for us and a soft drink or two for the kids.  My husband bought the kids some chips as a treat and we all enjoyed laughing and chatting for a little while.  When we spied the sun shining through the window we packed our waterproofs into my bag and walked back to the campsite in some lovely weather.

We all headed over to the clubhouse to play some pool and air hockey as a bjt of family fun. The evening turned out to be wonderful and so we got the Cadac out and started making some food for dinner.



The kids had hot dogs and then settled down to watch some TV while we started making our dinner.  



On Sunday morning we discovered the kids favourite not-so-good-for-them camping breakfast.  Pot noodles.  I'm fairly sure that they would choose them over bacon rolls.  We all laughed about it and let them enjoy them as a treat.  Thinking about it though, why didn't we have things like pot noodles in our storage cupboard in the van all the time?  They're great for when you want to go away at late notice and don't want to worry about bringing food or cooking on site.

As the weather was so much better we made the most of it and walked along the towpath to the Three Horseshoes in Laleham for a bite to eat.  This is in the opposite direction from Shepperton and also a lovely walk.  Lunch was fantastic, we brought the dogs with us and sat in the garden.  

On the way back we stopped off at Laleham Park so the kids could have a run around and then strolled off back to the campsite.

We were thinking that maybe next time we come to Chertsey, we should stay from Friday night until Monday morning so that we get to enjoy the whole of Sunday there.  Maybe next time.

Riverside Walks and Cooking Fails

Who says that you have to travel a long way to find a good campsite?  We decided to try the Camping and Caravanning Club Site in Chertsey as it was not too far from home, the reviews were good and the site was situated right on the River Thames.  The thought of some nice long walks by the river with a selection of nice pubs to try out along the way was too tempting to resist.  

We faced our fears and wound out the awning for the first time since purchasing the camper van.  It was very straight forward but we found that it flapped around in the wind quite a lot.  After a bit of research on the VW California Club forum we discovered that if you wind the awning back in a bit then it tightens it and stops the flapping around.  We laid a groundsheet down underneath to catch the mud from our shoes and the dogs' paws (can't believe we hadn't thought to do that sooner) and quite liked the look of our set up with the roof up and the awning out.

Feeling very satisfied with ourselves for finally winding out the awning we also thought it would be a perfect time for us to try out our new Cadac Safari Chef Deluxe and do some cooking under the awning. We are still not brave enough to cook inside the van and also don't fancy the idea of sleeping in our kitchen.  I guess that when the time is right we will use it but until then we are happy to cook in the great outdoors.

We pre-made a chilli con carne at home and brought it with us to heat up on our first night at the campsite.  Nice and easy!  However, showing our usual signs of cowardice, we totally wimped out of using the Cadac and instead took out the old reliable Outwell Appetizer Single Burner cooker.  Well, this turned out to be an epic fail as it was quite chilly outside and there was a particularly chilly breeze coming from the river so after about 25 minutes on the cooker our chilli was lukewarm at best.  We tried to ignore our rumbling stomachs and keep it cooking for another 10 mins but in the end hunger got the better of us and we ate our slightly chilly chilli.  Lesson learned.  

Since our last camping adventure my husband had the rear windows limo-tinted so this was another new thing to get used to.  I am personally not entirely keen on this as I find it makes the interior too dark.  At night time it is lovely but during the day I miss being able to appreciate the blue sky and sunshine from inside the van.  It is great for privacy and I'm assured that during the summer months it will prevent the inside of the van from heating up too much when the sun is shining on it but for now I remain not overly enthusiastic about this.

Despite the chilly riverside air, the weather was nice and dry so we managed to get and about with the dogs and enjoyed some lovely long walks along the Thames.  

You can walk along the towpath to Shepperton in one direction or towards Laleham in the other direction.  We decided to walk towards Shepperton and found a lovely pub to go for a bite to eat and a couple of pints called The Thames Court. 

The pub was around a 25-30 minute walk from the campsite and you can either walk along the road before picking up the towpath later on or walk alongside the river the whole way.  Needless to say if you walk along the river you are probably adding another 15 minutes onto the journey but we found it to be very enjoyable and it certainly wore the dogs out!

This campsite had a very homely feel to it. The facilities were excellent with a heated toilet and shower block, which was kept very clean and the washing up facilities were good too with plenty of hot water.  There is a BP petrol station over the road from the site with a Spar shop - perfect for the essentials, topping up with a few treats or buying a morning newspaper. 

We are looking forward to coming back to Chertsey.  Maybe next time we will be a bit braver with our cooking?

Revisiting the New Forest

Last year we visited the New Forest twice in our tent.  The first time was to Ashurst and it rained a lot and the second time was to Hill Cottage Farm nr Fordingbridge and it was very cold at night.  I was feeling rather anxious about my first visit to the New Forest in the campervan for Valentine's weekend.  What would the weather have in store for us this time?

Well, there was rain and it was a bit chilly but the camper van is so wonderfully warm (thanks to the magical aux heater) that it didn't seem to cause us too much bother.  It was an added bonus that we found a lovely campsite in Marchwood (near Southampton) called Tanglewood.  It is a small site with only 6 hardstanding gravel pitches all complete with electric hook-up and picnic benches and it felt very open and airy.  

We hadn't booked electric hook-up as we thought we would give it a go without and see how the batteries hold up. We soon gave in when we realised that we wouldn't be able to use our mains plug.  Why on earth did it not cross our minds that the mains plug would only work if we were plugged into the mains?  Feeling like a pair of idiots we approached the campsite owner who was very helpful and quickly sorted us out with an electricity card, showed us how to work the meter and after a very reasonable £3.00 later we were up and running.  Now, you may think that we were being silly and should have just got on with it but when you are trying to keep your new campervan all new and shiny and have two wet dogs to worry about, the benefits of being able to plug in a hairdryer and dry them off far outweigh anything else.

The facilities at the campsite were lovely and clean and even had their own cleaning products inside with a friendly notice to request the campers to leave them as they found them.  There were two unisex toilets, each of which had two showers which I thought was a good idea especially if you are camping together as a family.

There is a pub within a short walk in one direction (with a fun looking kids playground) and another pub a little bit further afield in the other direction.  We really enjoyed walking around the country lanes and had a lovely pub lunch at The Pilgrim Inn (the slightly further away pub) with the dogs.

We started to relax a bit more during this visit and felt like we were learning more about how everything worked and what worked best for us but we still had a long way to go.

We had purchased a roof bungee which basically ties around the roof and ensures that it goes up and down without the worry of parts of the canvas getting stuck in the mechanism.  We found that this takes the 'what if' anxiety out of the equation, especially if the weather is windy.  We were still not brave enough to wind out the awning as we were worried about how it would hold up in the rainy/windy weather.  

The weekend went far too quickly as they always do and, typically, the weather was lovely just as we were packing up to leave.



Things we learned from this adventure:

1. We still need to pack less stuff.

2. A hi-vis jacket/vest wouldn't go amiss for walking around country lanes.

3. The New Forest is a lovely place to visit to enjoy the peaceful and beautiful surroundings.



4. We need to stop taking buffet/picnic food with us and start cooking.

5. We need to be a bit braver with using and trying things in the van (like the awning.)