April VW Cali Club Meet-up

When we bought our Cali and joined the VW California Club in January, one of the first things we did was buy our ticket for their first Cali Club meet up of the year in April.  We had been looking forward to this for months and as it had been three weeks since our last adventure in the van we were really excited about this weekend.

We arrived at Lower Lode Inn near Tewkesbury at around 4pm on the Friday and there were already some other Calis there getting settled in.  The campsite was in the grounds of a pub on the banks of the River Severn

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It was peaceful and quite pretty but the facilities were very basic.  The toilets ran out of toilet paper regularly and there were reports of the showers being cold but possibly the most inconvenient was the lack of washing-up facilities.  Not a major problem, just an inconvenience.  Nothing to stop us from enjoying the weekend though :-) 

The weather wasn't the finest (it had been raining all day) and as we were all on grass fields there was a little bit of slipping and sliding going on as we manoeuvred our vans into place.  It was also a little bit cramped as there seemed to have been some sort of mis-communication from the venue regarding how many vehicles they could accommodate on site but we all got on with it and everyone seemed happy enough.  We started getting to know our neighbours as we were setting up and it was fun to see all the other Calis arriving.   



Once we were set up we grabbed the dogs and headed into the pub for a pint (or two). We soon started chatting to another couple who were pitched quite close by to us and it was fun to exchange stories about our adventures so far.  We could have stayed there for the evening but we had food ready to eat in the van so we wandered back and settled in for the night. 

After a fairly wet and windy night (thank goodness for the Cali topper) we woke up to a beautiful morning.  We weren't disturbed too much by the weather in the night as we had decided to sleep downstairs with the roof up.  We got up and enjoyed an early walk around the campsite and surrounding country lanes.  It was fun to check out all the other Calis and to see how everyone had personalised them.



It was lunchtime before we knew it and we wanted to see the Comfortz Leisure people (who were selling products at the meet-up) so we set off to find them.  We wanted to get the waterproof mattress cover for the upstairs bed to match the covers that we have on the seats and we also wanted to find out about mattress topper options for the downstairs bed as it was not the most comfortable bed to sleep in and both of our backs will vouch for that.  We had heard good things about the ZoneSleep but unfortunately there were none in stock and the cheaper option available seemed to be quite big and bulky when folded up so we agreed to go away and think about it.

We had pre-booked a table for lunch at the pub and found the food (and beer) to be excellent. 



It set us up nicely for a walk into Tewkesbury.  We loved the walk into town by the river and found the town itself to be lovely.  



On the way back we found a nice pub garden to enjoy a cold pint and some more sunshine.

When we arrived back at the campsite everyone had their tables and chairs out and some were firing up their BBQs so we decided that now would be a good time to try out our table and chairs too.  We tethered the dogs so they could be outside with us and we all enjoyed our first taste of summer camping.  This really was the life!



We started chatting to one of our neighbours who was showing us the shelves and covers he makes for the Cali tables and interior surfaces.  We decided to buy a shelf which now sits above our cooker and is so handy for storing little things that would normally get lost in the cupboard.  It's also a very handy kitchen roll holder!

The smell of burgers and sausages on the surrounding BBQs made us decide that we would much rather have that than any of the food we had brought with us so we decided to pop over to the pub for a quick burger and a dog walk before the evening entertainment started.  We spent about 10 minutes trying to get the chairs back into their storage area in the boot.  We felt like a couple of amateurs - we actually had to ask somebody in the end as were scared that we might break them!  

The event organisers had booked a live band for the evening and there was a bar, a dancefloor and plenty of tables and chairs if you fancied a break from the dancing ;-) We started chatting to the people who were in the Cali next to us and had a lovely, fun evening.  
Going home on Sunday was the usual feeling of morose that the fun was over but we met some great people, swapped lots of stories and learnt lots of little tips and tricks from everybody.  

Bye bye Lower Lode - we'll see you at the next one...

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.

Keeping Warm and Cooking Pizzas

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.

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.)

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.