New Forest - Camping Unplugged

We were invited to the New Forest to join some of our friends (who are tent campers) for a weekend at White Meadow Camping which is a Camping Unplugged site near to a place called Lepe on the south coast.  There were 12 adults and 8 kids in total. We had never been to a Camping Unplugged site before and so we were not sure what to expect.  

We arrived in the Cali at an open field where there were lots of tents pitched up in groups around the various edges of the field.  We checked at reception to find out where our group was located (most of them had arrived already) and drove over in their direction.  There is no electric hook-up at these sites (hence the "unplugged" aspect) but for a weekend electric hook-up is not essential whether you are in a camper van or a tent.  Music is not really allowed unless it is a live acoustic instrument but you are allowed to have  a camp fire which is a nice touch.

Our group had organised themselves in a sort of semi-circle with the camp fire in the middle and we used the Cali to complete the circle and got to setting up while the kids played in the woods collecting sticks for toasting marshmallows on later, making new friends and playing with old friends.

We put our new flagpole up (with our new smiley face flag as well as the VW windsock) as a marker for our area and also as the toilets were quite a walk away at the opposite end of the field we thought it would help to guide the kids (and us) back in the right direction.

The weather wasn't quite as chilly as I was expecting for the New Forest.  Some of my previous posts mention my concern about how cold it can be but I think as we were so close to the south coast it helped.  It also very much helped to have the camp fire to keep us all warm.

I must confess I was a bit of a lightweight on the first night and went to bed early after a long day at work and lots of driving (it took us over 2 hours to get there in Friday afternoon traffic) but we were up and cooking bacon rolls for breakfast the next morning while the kids were all running around and playing.

We had a surprise birthday celebration for one of our friends and then we all bundled into our cars and headed off to Lepe Country Park to see the sea.  We caught a lift as we didn't fancy packing up the Cali for such a short drive - it's less than 10 minutes to drive but can be quite a long walk especially for the little ones.

Unfortunately dogs are not allowed on the beach so after a brief stroll around the country park (which seemed nice) and after the kids had a bit of a run-around in the very large playground there we headed back to the campsite.

We had a lovely afternoon BBQ-ing lots of food, eating, drinking and playing games.  Later that evening we all settled around the camp fire to toast some marshmallows and relax.

There was lots of rain forecast for the next morning so we decided to start packing up in the evening much to our friends' amusements as we probably had the smallest set up there!

When we woke up in the morning the rain was pouring down as expected so we set off for home early in our pyjamas.

I'm not sure that this particularly style of camping was for us.  The toilets and showers were portacabins / portaloos and there was a fairly decent washing up area but I wouldn't say it was the cleanest site I've been to.  The lights and hot water were all switched off at night at 9pm and turned back on at 8am which I found slightly annoying as I had to remember to take a torch to the bathroom but these were just minor niggles in the general scheme of things.

The important part was that it was a lot of fun for the kids and we managed to relax and enjoy ourselves too.

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.

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.

Singing in the Showers

After much searching and discussion of which campsite we should try next, we found this nice place in Henley-on-Thames called Swiss Farm.  We wanted to go somewhere with good facilities, good dog walking and a nearby pub. As soon as we arrived we knew we were in for a treat, the campsite was clean and seemed well-organised with an onsite bar and restaurant. Also, Henley town centre was only a short walk away.  The price included wi-fi which was of a decent speed with good signal quality and a TV connection was also included for those with TVs in their units.  We noticed straight away that there were a lot of large units at this site including some spectacular RVs. 

As soon as we arrived, the kids raced off to play in the playground which had a good range of equipment for all ages and certainly kept them well entertained.  The pitches were all spaced out nicely and we were in a little section containing around 8 units. It didn't take us long to get set up and the weather was quite nice but we were all pretty tired so it was early to bed for us that night.  

In the morning, we had a wander around the campsite looking at all the different units and pitches.  There are two pretty large fields that looked nice for the tent campers during the warmer months.  The shower and toilet block was immaculate and nicely heated.  As an added extra they play music inside the block 24 hours a day.  I found this to be a nice touch and the music wasn't loud enough to hear outside so it wasn't a disturbance.  My step-daughter loved singing along in the shower (not sure how everyone else felt about that though) and we all agreed that it put a smile on our faces.  It also made those late night trips to the toilet when it's pitch black outside a bit less scary.  The washing up area was also labelled as a veg prep area (nice idea) and it was kept very clean and tidy.

My husband took the kids to the onsite restaurant for breakfast as a treat and then we all went for a lovely long walk through Henley town centre and then along the River Thames before deciding on a place to go for lunch.  



There were so many lovely looking pubs but having the dogs with us does limit our choices somewhat.  We decided to go to a pub called The Little Angel which was situated near to the river.  This turned out to be a great choice with delicious food for us and a great kids menu (the selection of wine wasn't bad either!)  The portions were enormous and the quality of food was very good. 

The weather was getting warmer and warmer so we walked back to the campsite and enjoyed a few drinks in the sunshine at the onsite bar while the kids enjoyed themselves in the playground.  We even managed to watch a bit of the Rugby!

There were some fields overlooking the campsite where we discovered we could walk the dogs and so the kids and the dogs had a good run-around there before bed.  There were also some pigs kept there and you could get pretty close to them so we all enjoyed saying hello (even the dogs!)  We thought this was a lovely feature and took the dogs there for another run-around the next morning even though the weather was pretty miserable and markedly different from the day before.



Packing up took no time at all and we were soon on our way home.  The camping experience this time felt really relaxed and enjoyable and we didn't feel like such complete amateurs. 

It was lovely to have an onsite bar and restaurant but we found ourselves not doing so much (if any) cooking so we returned home with a whole load of leftover food that we had brought with us and few less notes in our wallets!  

We will definitely be back to this site but can see it being very busy here during peak times.

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?

Fitting Everyone In

Now that we have purchased the camper van, survived our first weekend away in it and started learning how it all works and what everything does, the next thing for us to worry about was fitting the kids in there with us and the dogs.  

After much debate and anxiety on my part, we decided (OK, I decided) that my husband would go away with the kids for their first night in the camper van and I would stay at home with the dogs.  Call it a gentle introduction of sorts.

I needn't have worried as I am assured that the kids were extremely well behaved, treated everything with a lot of respect and a good time was had by all (or at least that's the story they are all sticking to).  They went to a place called The Traveller's Rest near Fareham.  It wasn't too far to travel and they enjoyed a delicious pub lunch there too.  It looked pretty tasty:

The only criticism I heard was that it was a bit muddy at this time of year.  The facilities were good and clean and the kids are anxious to visit again in the summer time due to what seemed to be "the bestest ever" kids playground in the pub garden.  

Having spent one night away with the kids in the mud, my husband decided that it would be a good idea for us to purchase the Inka waterproof seat covers as well as the Comfortz parcel shelf waterproof cover before going away in the camper van again.  We went for the grey colour as this fitted in better with our existing "decor" and we could feel more relaxed about the possibility of mud getting everywhere (although I'm convinced this was a reactive purchase to my spilling of red wine.)  They didn't take long for my husband to fit and they look pretty good too.

Hmmm...what else can we purchase for the camper van?

New Year...New Adventures

We have entered into a new era of our camping adventures.  In January this year we purchased a VW California camper van.  When we went to see it in the garage we fell in love with it straight away.

We conducted a fair amount of research before purchasing and we found the VW California Club to be a fantastic and extremely useful source of good quality information and its members all seem to have a wealth of knowledge and experience of all things 'California.'  

What an amazing investment this has been so far and I can honestly say that I am amazed by how versatile and functional this vehicle is as well as being a lot of fun.

The day we picked it up we honestly considered sleeping in it on our driveway but managed to restrain ourselves until we took it away for our first adventure that weekend.  Instead we busied ourselves filling the abundance of storage space and adding a few personal touches to the interior.

We spent a lot of time pushing buttons and opening and closing things to find out how everything works and we had a few nervous moments putting the roof up and down as we had heard so many horror stories of the fabric getting caught in the roof mechanism but we plucked up the courage and were relieved at how easy it was to do.

Our first weekend away couldn't arrive fast enough and we definitely made the right choice booking a lovely small campsite just outside of Chichester called The Osiers where we had a hardstanding pitch and the place to ourselves!  There were some lovely country lanes for walking and a nice selection of near(ish) pubs (at least 15 mins walk.) We particularly enjoyed our lunch at the The White Swan in Bosham - very tasty food and well worth a visit.  It was a shame that we didn't have beautiful clear skies for the whole weekend but at least we were able to enjoy it for a few hours.

Things we learned on our first weekend away in the California:

1. Trying to fill up the water tank without a hose is pretty much an impossible task.

2. Spilling a large glass of red wine all over the interior is not the best way to start a weekend - the van is now called 'Rioja' (thank goodness we decided to have the van GuardX treated!)

3. The pop up roof can withstand some serious gusts of wind and heavy rain.

4. Two wet dogs (one of which is a not-quite-house-trained puppy) adds a lot of mud and fair amount of anxiety to the mix.

5. The diesel aux heater is amazing!

6. Getting lost on our morning walk and walking an extra 3 miles (in the pouring rain) to get back to base and then having to spend an hour washing and drying the dogs because you don't want them to get the new van dirty is exhausting/not fun.

7. Being able to plug in a hairdryer makes the task of drying the dogs much easier.

8. We don't need to pack the kitchen sink - we already have one ;-)

9. The fridge is surprisingly spacious and efficient.

10. The roof bed is very comfortable and sleeping up there is not as cold as we thought it was going to be.

This is only the beginning, there is so much more to learn and we are going to have a lot of fun (and maybe a few disagreements) along the way.

Fishing, Awning, Mud

We managed to fit in one last camping adventure of the season last year but we needed to be fairly close to home so we returned to Horsley Camping and Caravanning Club site http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/surrey/easthorsley/horsley  for some fun and fishing.

This was our second visit to Horsley so we were quite familiar with it and the kids were very much looking forward a fun weekend there.  They are especially fond of the playground and the indoor games room.  I was looking forward to it for two reasons: 

1. It was my birthday;

2. My husband had bought me the Outwell awning specifically designed for our tent as a birthday present.

My husband, the kids and the dog were already at the camp site with the tent and awning pitched up by the time I arrived after work.  The pitch was quite muddy though and so everyone was getting quite mucky and as I had the majority of the food and drink in my car everyone was pretty hungry and thirsty too!  We wanted to have an electric hook-up and with the last minute addition of our awning we had to camp in a slightly muddier part of the site than we had originally booked.  However, I quickly unloaded the contents of my car and got stuck into the unpacking.  

The tent was now enormous with the new awning and the extra space inside was fantastic.

After an early night we all awoke feeling much better and decided to do some fishing at the on-site lake.  We caught loads of fish, made some new friends and generally had a great fun day.

It was getting chillier throughout the day so after having hot showers and a nice warming dinner we all cuddled up under blankets in front of the electric heater and watched some television.

All in all a fun weekend but maybe a little too cold and muddy for us to enjoy it as much as did our last visit.  I have no doubt that we will be back though!

Gorgeous Pink Sunsets

After much deliberation we decided to go to the Cotswolds for the August Bank Holiday weekend.  We wanted to do something special as it may have been our last weekend of camping for the year and we didn't have the children with us so it was only going to be for the two of us and our dog. 

We found a beautiful camp site called Ashspring Caravan & Camping http://ashspringcaravancamping.co.uk/ which is located in Great Rissington close to Bourton-on-the-Water.  Ashspring used to only accept caravans and motorhomes but with their new toilet and shower facilities and expanded site they can now accept tents.  When we arrived on Friday afternoon we had a good selection of pitches to choose from but we were faced with two challenges: the undulating,  uneven ground which made it hard to find a suitable area large enough to accommodate our tent and the distance to the electric hook-up when we eventually decided on our pitch.  However, with a few adjustments we soon overcame these challenges and focused on settling in.

After exploring the camp site and a bit of the local area while walking the dog, we cooked a nice curry, poured a few glasses of wine and enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen. We felt like we were in paradise.

The toilets were perfectly clean, the showers were coin operated but not expensive and the washing up sinks were cold water only.  This may seem basic to some but we found it to be perfectly adequate.

The next morning started off quite cold but soon warmed up and so we set off with the dog for a walk to Bourton-on-the-Water.  It took us about 50 minutes to walk there but we do a lot of walking and this didn't seem like a long way for us.  We completely fell in love with the town and spent a very enjoyable morning there.  

There was a lovely sewing shop called The Bourton Basket which had a surprising variety of stock and I managed to get some needle and thread specifically for tents so that I could fix one of the hooks which had fallen victim to my step-daughter’s slightly clumsy touch!

We returned back to our tent in time for some lunch and then wandered over to the local pub for a few pints of the local ale.  The local pub was called The Lamb Inn, it was approximately 10 minutes walk from the camp site and it did not disappoint.  When we returned to the tent, it was time to relax outside and enjoy another wonderful sunset in this beautiful place.

The air started to become slightly chilly as the night drew in and so we were happy to call it a night, retreat into the tent, put a few blankets over us and cosy up in front of our electric heater while playing cards and listening to the radio.

On Sunday morning the rain came and we knew that apart from our planned Sunday lunch at The Lamb Inn (I had phoned the week before to reserve a table) we were going to be largely confined to the tent.  Two very wet adults and one very wet dog arrived at the pub for lunch but dried off in front of the fire and settled down for a luxury meal.  It was probably the best roast dinner we had ever had and the perfect way to round off the weekend.

I will always remember our weekend in the Cotswolds for all the happy memories, the wonderful camp site and for not forgetting anything!

Spectacular Hilltop Views

One of my fondest memories of last year’s camping expeditions was our weekend spent in Watlington at White Mark Farm http://www.whitemarkfarm.co.uk/.  This was our third camp site visited in one week (after Hill Cottage Farm and Sandford Holiday Park) so we were rapidly running out of energy and desperately needed some rest and relaxation.

We set off with the addition of our dog (who had been on a holiday of his own!)  We didn't have an electric hook-up at this site, which wasn't a problem. We made sure to pack extra batteries for the radio and take along our portable battery charger for our gadgets.  We were also careful to make sure that the cooler was plugged into the car to keep our refrigerated items cold for as long as possible before we had to revert to is more traditional use as a cool box.

We were applauding ourselves on our careful planning and organisational skills, despite our exhaustion, and nothing was going to stand in our way of a lovely weekend.  About 45 minutes into the journey (when we were nearly there) and after trying to shake off the feeling that I had forgotten something, I realised to my horror that I had left a few important bags at home.  I could actually see them in my mind’s eye waiting for me just inside the front door.  After the 90 minute round trip back home to collect said forgotten items I eventually arrived at the camp site. It was just as I had expected it to be, if not better! The tent was already up  when I arrived (my husband still thinks that I forget things on purpose to avoid putting the tent up) and after some swift unpacking we were settled in.

The weather was absolutely glorious with a very hot weekend forecast so we decided to go exploring.  The camp site itself was wonderful with lovely clean facilities.  The washing up area had complimentary washing up liquid and scourers which I thought was a lovely touch.  Watlington itself is a lovely town with a nice pub down the road from the camp site and an abundance of restaurants and shops all within easy walking distance.  We couldn't have asked for anything better.

We awoke the following morning to the birds chirping, the sun shining and feeling wonderfully refreshed.  There are plenty of red kites flying around that are easily visible from the camp site and a curious white mark up on the hill overlooking the camp site.  We enjoyed some breakfast while taking in our lovely surroundings.  I remember my husband running back to the tent,  after what seemed like only a few minutes away walking the dog, with an excited look on his face.  He told us all to put our hiking clothes on as he had just found a great place for us to explore.  We hurriedly got dressed and set off on our adventure.  

We climbed the hill towards the white mark and beyond until we felt like we were on top of the world.  The views were incredible and we were all amazed at how far we could see. 

When we eventually returned to the camp site it was time to prepare for the arrival of our guests – Nana and Papa.  We started to prepare a feast for lunch.  Unfortunately our cool box had not held up so well in the 30 degree heat and we had to pop out to the local shop to replace a few things but it wasn't much of an inconvenience and certainly didn't make the day any less enjoyable.  The sunshine did become very strong so in the absence of a parasol we had to make use of our spare awning and create a bit of shelter.

 

We all talked and laughed into the afternoon and strolled over to the local pub for a bit of exercise and a nice pint (or two) before waving goodbye to our guests.

We were so sad to be packing up the next morning and wished we could spend more time at White Mark Farm.  Not only was our lovely weekend coming to an end but also our week of adventures had come to an end.  Our spirits were low as we packed everything up, the only plus side was that we had managed to do it all before the rain came along.

Congratulating ourselves once again on our good planning and organisation we set off towards home.  It was all going so well until I looked over at my step-daughter and realised that she wasn't wearing her glasses.  A quick phone call to my husband confirmed that my step-son was also missing his glasses.  Uh-oh, we were going to have to pitch the tent up in the garden at home in the rain to find the glasses that I had obviously left inside and hope that they weren't broken.  

In one final stroke of luck, the rain stopped for just long enough to allow us to quickly lay the tent out on the grass, climb in and retrieve the glasses (all perfectly fine inside their cases) …phew!

Holiday Park Fun

Now that I have overcome my "camping season is over" blues I am going to be looking back at some of our other adventures in 2015...

We stayed for four nights at Sandford Holiday Park http://www.parkdeanholidays.co.uk/dorset-holidays/sandford/sandford-holiday-park.htm straight after our weekend in the New Forest in August 2015.  We were looking forward to the range of activities and entertainment on offer to keep both us and the kids amused.

On arrival, we found the tent pitches to be very small and, in some cases, the ground was so uneven we couldn’t understand how a tent could be pitched over it. Our original pitch (number 293) would have just about accommodated the tent and maybe one of the cars but we didn’t want to feel squeezed in.  I went back to reception to ask for a larger pitch and they moved us to pitch number 221, which was much bigger so we got to grips with pitching the tent up. 

This was the first time that the kids had experienced the pitching up of the tent and they found it great fun getting inside and the pushing the sides up while daddy pumped the air into it.  We then asked the kids to look through all the paperwork we had received on arrival and read out what was on during our stay while we unpacked. 

We were quite overwhelmed with the range of activities and entertainment on offer so we decided to go exploring.  The main plaza area consisted of an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor swimming pool, two playground areas, a convenience shop, a bar/restaurant area, an arcade and a showtime entertainment club with its own bar and an upstairs bar area which also contained a children’s soft play. We sat down, had a drink and took it all in but being totally exhausted we retreated back to the tent for dinner and some relaxing time.

The camping facilities on offer at this resort were average at best and not very clean.  Some of the toilets in the ladies were missing toilet seats, toilet paper was not always guaranteed, the showers looked like they hadn’t been cleaned for weeks and hand soap was a rarity.  My husband also made similar comments about the state of the gents toilets.  The washing up area had plenty of sinks but no plugs, if you wanted a plug you had to go and ask for one at reception and pay a £5 deposit for it.  However, we put that to one side as this adventure was all about the kids and fun.

Being a very lively and busy resort there were no quiet times, so evenings could be noisy and early mornings tended to be even noisier with quite a few small children running around playing on their bikes and scooters from as early as 6am.  There are three levels of kids clubs at the resort, Tot Stars for the under 4s, Star Landers for 4-10 year olds and Freestyle for 10-15 year olds.  Tot Stars was always on first at around 9am, followed by Star Landers at 11:00am and then the Freestyle activities would be later in the afternoon.  The kids absolutely loved the Star Landers club and as our tent pitch was an odd number they fell into the ‘Lizard’ category.  This was a running theme throughout our stay as the two main characters for all of the kids clubs and entertainment was Lizzie the Lizard and Sid the Seagull.  

The evening entertainment was great fun with Bingo on every night for the adults and there was always something for the kids to participate in and enjoy, including a very special “Wow Factor” event featuring performances from children of all ages with a variety of skills and talents to showcase.  Needless to say this was one of the highlights!

My highlight was having our first electric hook-up.  What a difference it made to be able to plug in our cooler (a Waeco G35 Thermoelectric) and not worry about melting ice and food going off.  The cooler definitely came into its own during this trip and I can highly recommend it as it keeps everything nicely chilled and you can also switch settings so that it keeps your food warm if required - just remember to check that it is on the right setting before plugging it in ;-)

The kids still say that this was one of their best holidays because of all the fun activities on offer but I’m not sure we will be hurrying back…

Happy days...cold nights

Last weekend's camping adventure was to Hill Cottage Farm in Fordingbridge. The drive down was a long one but, as I had collected the kids, my husband had arrived before us and, once again, he had pitched the tent up and unpacked pretty much everything in time for our arrival.  How lucky are we? 

Just before this trip we were worried about the possibility of rain and very aware that we don't really have much in the way of outside shelter from the rain.  So we decided to purchase an easy camp awning which fits perfectly onto the front of our tent and serves as a great shelter.

Our inspiration came from this website, which is full of great tips and ideas http://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/camping/camping-tips/how-to-keep-the-rain-off-using-a-camping-tarp-kit/

On arrival the campsite seemed well organised with clear directions to reception and the pitches are numbered so it was easy to find ours. Our friends had arrived earlier too so after a few finishing touches from all it was time to start enjoying ourselves.

There was a playground for the kids, clean toilets, clean showers (behind reception) and a washing up area. All of the facilities were well maintained and there was electric hook up options for those who wanted it.  The night times are lovely and quiet and the view of the surrounding fields and woodland is very peaceful.

We decided to go to the local pub in Alderholt http://www.churchillpub.co.uk for dinner and a few drinks. It was an entertaining 10 minute walk through the woods and we were not disappointed when we arrived. There were games for the kids to enjoy and plenty of delicious food options for kids and adults alike. When we arrived back at the camp site we tried to stay outside for as long as possible but it was absolutely freezing and we were very tired so decided to have an early night. 

The next morning we awoke to lovely warm sunshine and in no time we were cooking breakfast and the kids were playing in the playground. We took a stroll through the woods again, this time to pick up a few essentials from the Co-Op in Alderholt and then we stopped in at the pub for a cheeky lunchtime pint and then headed back to the campsite to settle in for the rest of the day.

We were dying to try out our other recent addition, the Outwell Roast Gas BBQ with side table so dinner time couldn't come around quickly enough for us:

This BBQ was another last minute purchase and proved to be very useful. The side plates are great for extra surface space but they can also be folded in and used as cooking plates.  Another plus point was that the kids didn't have to wait too long for their food to be ready.

We all had a lovely time playing games, chatting and dancing into the evening until once again it became too cold to stay outside. One thing I have learned about camping in the New Forest is that the nights are freezing!

Once again the RAVPower portable charger proved to be extremely handy as we didn't have electric hook up and the BBQ proved to be our most useful recent purchase but we do need to purchase one of those electric mosquito bats and a heater would be very useful for those cold nights!

We are getting better at packing up now though and while we were sad to leave, we were looking forward to the next stop...Sandford.