Review Litton Lakes.Litton Cheney. Dorchester

 We were still searching for a site not too far from home.

 A place to paddleboard would be handy.

A nice pub which did food within walking distance.

Fairly flat camping field with good clean shower and toilet facilities.

Not too far from the sea ( a bonus)

Nice walking country.

Good access.

Not much of a wish list....

I think we picked the site up on Pitch Up. No electric, but we thought Pebble should be able to do her stuff for two nights.

The journey was "challenging", shall we say, down some tiny country tracks. Pebbles super duper satnag, not a patch on Garmin. A few minor renovations needed here. Bring back Garmin. Den coped well, though slightly stressed by the time we arrived. Not only were the tracks narrow with over hanging bushes but very steep in places.

The site was very busy with loads of campers and lots of kids enjoying their boards on the lake.

We were soon set up, cosied up in the corner of the field, by the road. At least it was flat and grassy.

The lake was a major disappointment. Being more pond than lake size. Very well suited to primary aged kids on paddleboards, not so good for grownups. There was a small café by the lake open from 10am to 3pm. It was very busy, we didn't try the food.

The lake was also very popular with local families and apparently OK to swim in. A bit too shallow for us though but lovely for little ones. Arm bands had to be worn for identification by campers, as access to the water was restricted when it was busy.

The café, nice on a hot day and overlooking the lake. The Purple Turtle. Tables must be vacated after two hours.

The saving grace for us was the pub up the road. There was a lovely path that went up along the river to the village pub The White Horse Inn. Very friendly local pub that did nice food at reasonable prices. Needed to book though, as very popular with "happy campers". Lots of tables outside so plenty of room on a summers evening.

Our first night passed pretty quickly. Some road noise but not too bad. 

The toilet block was for us the downfall of the place. A rustic brand new building. Unisex loos, washing up sinks and showers. However.... very poorly cleaned. The site was almost full with tent campers but there was very little hot water so having a shower was traumatic. Mentioned the lack of hot water to the warden who shrugged and said it was busy and the tanks only held limited hot water! Wait for 30 minutes or so, tricky if you are covered in soap under the shower.

The washing up area was OK but filthy, again lack of hot water didn't help.

We ate out both nights at The White Horse so no real washing up needed. If it hadn't hav been for the pub we wouldn't have stayed. The second night we were woken up at around 5am by very loud music. Luckily it didn't go on for long so we did get some sleep.

Would we go back? Ummm NO. A good place for camping with young children, as long as they didn't need a shower!! A nice friendly pub up the road, a small pond for swimming in.

To end on a high note. We unburied our Garmin and plugged it in. A nice easy main road drive home. Where did we go so wrong!! Sorry TomTom you're fired.

Review: Devizes Camping & Caravanning Club Site. Wiltshire

Quite a few years since we have been here, so time for a re visit. A handy stop for us as Den's brother and his wife live in Devizes. A good excuse for another meal out!

Only the third "shake down" trip for Pebble so we were on a roll. Everything neatly packed away, we were getting the hang of living in the new baby.

Devizes is not too far from us and is a Camping & Caravanning site, so we knew what to expect. £97 for two nights. A tad on the expensive side then, we booked onto a hardstanding with grass and electric. The site is on the edge of the Kennet and Avon Canal near Devizes. A convenient bus stop outside the site takes you into Devizes or on to Bath. A short walk to the left along the tow path, goes to Devizes via Caen Hill, an impressive array of locks. Great for an afternoon stroll, watching the bargees, navigate the locks.

Pubs in both directions so on our first afternoon we headed for The Barge Inn along the canal. A beautifully sunny day, so we spoiled ourselves with lunch and a drink of two.

The pub has a nice atmosphere, with lots of indoor and outdoor space. The wasps drove us indoors but the food was lovely and we could watch the world sail by outside.

Quite a few boats on the canal, moored or gliding along. Getting ready for the set of locks at Caen.

The next day we headed in the opposite direction. Through the tunnel and up the canal.

We didn't walk up as far as the whole set of locks at Caen, 

so no iconic lock picture this time. We will have to save that for a return visit.

So, another day , another pub. This time the Two Magpies", practically on the camp site. In fact they do have a small campsite of their own, well a pub carpark with facilities. Takeaways are also sold from the pub on certain days, which could be handy. After another great meal, with Tony Den's brother and his wife Lorraine we wandered back to Pebble to watch the sun go down.

A short break but on a very peaceful and quiet campsite with good facilities. Toilet block ,a little dated but very clean. Lots to do and see in the local area, very convenient for public transport, easy access.

Definitely one to return to for a longer stay, perhaps an Autumn break!!

 

Review Cofton Country Park, Devon.

A new site for us and just the place to give Pebble her third "try out".

Pebble has been packed and repacked AGAIN!! We have a new bit of kit to explore and an Isabella two sided wind screen. Courtesy of Davan Caravans, a reduced price ex demo in perfect condition and a sun screen to attach to the wind out awning. 

Cofton Country Park had long been on our radar for a visit at Dawlish Warren , a comfortable two hour drive on the motorway. Dawlish Warren was a place I remember as a child, staying in "camping coaches" on the railway lines. Time for a bit of reminiscing.

Cofton was easy to find and we got a warm welcome. We had a pick of pitches and went for the scenic view from the top of the site. We were given a choice of pitches. Our pitch was large, on grass in a well kept field. We were soon set up.

The main items to try out were the sun awning and the wind screen. We were lucky with endless sun this weekend so perfect weather.

The Isabella sun awning was perfect. I love it and when set up it feels like a proper room. So easy to set up and it takes up so little space when stored. We didn't bother with a ground sheet here, as we are only staying for 3 nights.

The wind breakers also are easy to put up and down and perfect to cook behind. Sorry no pictures taken of this...next time.

Cofton is a beautifully maintained park with clean facilities and very well run. Not too crowded mid week, but this was before the school holidays. It is really a "resort" with all the facilities you would want and good for kids. The two swimming pools looked really nice. We did eat one night in the camp restaurant it was a pleasant enough meal, much as expected. There is also a pub on the resort, tables can be booked at all venues using their app, we gave that a miss. The site is however, very hilly although well terraced so good exercise. A bit of a climb back from the showers and sinks must be good exercise!!

Dawlish Warren beach is a good thirty minute walk away, through the woods. A typical holiday beach, with bars , shops and restaurant. For me a trip down memory lane. We peeked in at the camping coaches where I had stayed as a child, still there, but now morphed into luxury accommodation, with toilets and showers. When I was a child conditions were much more primitive.

Much as I remember really, though not as tidy!

Outside the camping coach at Dawlish Warren circa around 1962. I'm the biggest one in the silly hat!! 

After having a good look around and trying to remember, I decided the old adage of never looking backwards, was probably a good one. Everything was so much smaller and scruffier than I remember.  Still ever onwards.

We walked along the sea front to Dawlish on a deliciously warm day. The beach was very tempting but the sea looked rather chilly. Not busy though, a few brave souls in the water.

The old Langston Cliffs were as red as ever. Dawlish is a good 3 miles flat stroll but I must admit we were shattered as it was so hot!!! We played with Uber,  (which didn't work well in these parts,)  then gave up and caught the bus back to the campsite. A much better option and great value using our bus passes. The bus stops right outside the campsite and is very efficient for a rural area. In fact, we actually used the bus twice which worked very well.

Dawlish is lovely for a day out, we found a great little pub which did excellent food. Lots of tourists and coach parties, so choose your times wisely and avoid lunchtime.

The opposite direction from Dawlish Warren and you arrive at the scruffy little village of Starcross. Home to the Exmouth Ferry ( £8 return) Probably worth a day out, but nothing much to do in Starcross itself. The pub on the edge of the village The Anchor at Cocklemouth looked quite nice, but we can't try them all.

The ferry at Starcross. Cross the platform to board the ferry.

All too soon, three nights faded away. We enjoyed our stay but these large resorts are not really for us. Still searching.

NEC October 2024. Research Begins and Ends With An Order....but not at the show.

 We have had our lovely Vantage Neo called Krystal for 5 years now. Are we beginning to start a search for a new van? Absolutely nothing wrong with Krystal and she is good for many more years. However, we have begun to hanker after something slightly smaller and from a more local dealer. The annual pilgrimage journey to Leeds for a habitation check up is becoming slightly more onerous. We have had brilliant service from Vantage but perhaps a change is due!

We decided to do a "recce" visit and with the NEC show coming up a perfect opportunity for a trip. As we now live in Somerset, there and back in a day is a bit of a stretch so we booked  a two night stopover at the Camping and Caravanning Site, Kingsbury Waterpark. Right by the motorway, so slightly noisy, but only 7.5 miles from the NEC.

We had booked tickets for a Wednesday and as it turned out this was perfect and the halls were not too busy. Being rather sad people we had shortlisted loads of van ( 29 in all) which we wanted to look at, with hall numbers in order. This actually worked very well, just make sure you enter at the right hall.

It took 30 minutes to drive from Kingsley, beware the horrendous road works on the M42!! We arrived just before opening and parked in the North car park a five minute walk from the halls.

A few hours later we emerged from the halls. I guess we had looked at dozens of vans, but only PVC's. Our favourites were:

The Kaktus Nomad.

A Vanworx custom built van.

Sadly our favourite before the show, the new Eriba Camper didn't really pass muster for us on the day! A little too old fashioned we thought and not quite what we wanted. Therein, lies the dilemma😕😕😕

Do we go custom built at an eye watering cost and not QUITE what we want, or mass produced and nearer to what we really want, as well as more reasonably priced??

 Food for thought. 

We spent a long evening after the show back at Kingsbury Water Park and over a very nice meal at The Dog & Doublet again thinking about vans. We were becoming regulars.

Over the next week or so we pondered over brochures and looked at loads of videos and thought about our two number ones, Kaktus and Vanworx. Kaktus finally ruled itself out, too fussy ( not mad keen on all the soft furnishings ) Also a deal breaker was the bike rack being so high up ( we could have got round this) and lack of storage inside the van. Vanworx was becoming the favourite.

Fate always intervenes. 

There was a Vanworx open day at the Bridgwater factory. Off we went armed with our questions. To be fair to  Vanworx all our questions were answered and they were very helpful, we were still on the cusp of a decision!! One sticking point was the fact that they did not do part exchange, so we would have to sell privately. They did in fact put us in touch with a dealer but the price he offered was well off beam. We were still hesitating over, inside lack of storage in lockers and the deal breaker was how the toilet cassette was emptied which was from inside the van, meaning loads of stuff at the back, would have to be moved first. We did like the fact that it was all electric with a very nice induction hob and good standard of workmanship overall.

Once again, fate was waiting with open hands. 

We decided to see what the mass produced market had to offer. From brochures we had collected from the show we looked at local dealers and decided to see what they could offer. Our favourites came out as the Rapido Dreamer, we liked the huge internal space and loads of storage and the Knaus Boxlife MQ with the front diner and moveable bed. Both on a Fiat Ducato auto 6m chassis. We also looked long and hard at the Globebus Traveller. We looked at all of those vans again and talked to the dealers at length.

And the winner is....THE KNAUS BOXLIFE MQ!! 

6m Auto Fiat with a rising rear bed, front dinette, so four belted seats and loads of storage in lockers and under the bed. We travel light, but there is a reasonable payload. Bikes will go on the towbar with a Thule Velo Swing. We have configurated the van with all we need and will have a few extras fitted by the dealer.

Ordered from Davan Caravans in Weston Super Mare, just up the road.

Loads of options are available from Knaus. We did a test drive first, as Den thought he needed a 180bhp engine but settled on the 140bhp, which was lovely to drive and performed really well in very heavy traffic and up hills. We will keep the gas for some cooking. There is a two burner hob but heating will be on diesel. We have ordered two lithium batteries and a solar panel will be retro fitted. No oven, so we will have to find a new home for the tea towels.

The dealers seem really good and it's a family firm which for us is always a bonus. We have been offered a fair part exchange deal which means we get to keep our van until the new one arrives which should be around May 2025. This fits in well with our plans, as we will have a farewell trip to Spain in April with Krystal and if there is a delay it won't matter too much. So, exciting times ahead. We can now relax as we have made a decision and look forward to our new family addition.

Now what shall we call it????

10 day Road Trip. Leeds Habitation, Kingsbury Water Park, Cheshire, Review Port Merion & Hereford.

 Time for the annual pilgrimage to Leeds for the habitation check at the Vantage factory and a little road trip.

Each year around July we trundle up to Leeds for Krystal's annual check up. I guess we could find somewhere nearer but the Vantage factory is excellent at keeping everything up together and great at repairing anything that needs it! We usually have one night in a Premier Inn and do a little road trip combined with a visit to rellies in the Cheshire  village of Tarporley. Not too much of an arduous journey overall and makes a pleasant mid summer break.

This year we decided to stop enroute to Leeds and break the journey just outside Birmingham at the Camping & Caravanning site Kingsbury Water Park. An easy quiet motorway journey and we made good time. The site is just off the M6 and easy to find. A usual club standard site, clean and tidy. The shower block could do with a little update, not my favourite showers but overall well looked after   and surprisingly not too busy.  A little noisy as it is very near the motorway, but a good stopover nevertheless with a handy pub a short walk away.

It was a lovely afternoon so we set off for The Dog and Doublet just up the road. A nice walk through the park to the river.

The pub is right by the lock so on a nice afternoon a quiet place to sit.

 Food served here all day but we decided to cook. The following morning just enough time for a quick sashay around the lake for bit of feathered friend spotting. A good spot for fishing too.

Next port of call later that day, Leeds, to drop Krystal off. A couple of hours later and we had arrived. Dropping the van at the factory, we made our to a local Premier Inn at Whitehall Road opposite the railway station, for £89 a night we thought it was reasonable and in the town centre as an added bonus. Just a 35 minute stroll back to the factory the next morning.

Krystal flew through all her checks and after picking her up the following morning we were off the Moor Lodge at Bardsley.

Always a good stop over. Beautifully kept site. The owner told us the only tourers he was accepting now were clients from Vantage and Consort. The site was primarily for holiday lodges. We wandered off down the lanes to the Bingley Arms  and had a lovely meal. It gets very busy so you do need to book if you want food. Another very pleasant night spent in Krystal.

Our next stop was Shays Farm near Tarporley in Cheshire. A lovely friendly site with a short walk to the Shrewsbury Arms, anothr great English pub. There is also a campsite there, but we love Shays Farm, quiet and very clean and tidy.

Fabulous glamping pods complete with hot tubs also on site. We wandered up for a look.

Certainly very inviting. We spent a great two days here and met up with Paul and Ann-Maria for a trip to Chester. Very busy and full of tourists. We went into the Cathedral where a very tuneless organ recital was underway. Ann-Maria and I clocked in to listen....very avant-garde!! Um...not really a quiet meditative experience! Den and Paul went off to explore the shops, Ann-Maria and I drew the short straw. Still, it was an experience.

The grounds and gardens were certainly more tranquil.

Soon time to say goodbye and move on! We were on our way to Port Merion in North Wales. The Italianate village where the 70's cult series The Prisoner was filmed we were looking forward to a return visit, the last time we went was in the eighties.

A very promising start and a warm welcome at Port Merion. Check in time wasn't until 2.00pm, we joined the queue. We were given a welcome pack and everything was explained. All the facilities were open to us as we were residents. We could eat at the hotel but we would need to book. All the other places that served food and there were quite a few, closed at 4pm. On checkout day we would have to leave our pitch by 10am but we could park up in the free carpark and enjoy the facilities for the rest of the day. We had booked two nights.

The campsite was all hard standing with water TV point and electric. We thought the pitches were a fair size we had opted for a medium pitch. £130 for two nights!! Toilet and shower facilities were OK, pretty standard, sadly only three showers and three loos in the ladies. Open wash basins with no privacy cubicles. Washing up sinks were limited to two but the water was hot!

We had a good look around the village finding it mildly disappointing. Everything was a lot shabbier than we remembered. We were also unable to get a table in the restaurant on the following evening so had to settle for a table that night. We had a pleasant lunch on the terrace outside one of the numerous cafes.

The village was pretty busy, but not as exciting as we remembered. A Few shops and more cafes selling mediocre food. Lots of nice walks though difficult to get away from the crowds.

Dinner was at The Port Merion Hotel, overlooking the estuary. Not a fabulous experience, fine dining and well over priced. The steak was nice though, the "heritage carrot" was a joke. the bill  was £203 for two. Not one to go back for. The view of the estuary was stunning, shall we say it was an experience!

The following day showed the site in all it's glory and it was raining. We were woken up early to the gentle sounds of smashing glass as the bottle bank next to our pitch was emptied. Unfortunately the position of the motorhome park is next to housekeeping. We were also serenaded by the gentle peeping of back up delivery lorries. The showers were disgusting, running in water and not too clean, I gave it a miss. We tried more food in a very grubby café, where the ladies loo was blocked, Port Merion really needs to get a grip on it's facilities. Needless to say we will not be back. Port Merion is well and truly out of our system. The moral or the story, never look back!!

Last stop and suddenly the sun came out. Back to Luckshall near Hereford. A lovely meal in the riverside restaurant, a peaceful night on a beautifully kept site. Sadly no paddle board with us as we could have gone up the river. Always next time.

Have 9 nights really flown by? Another lovely trip. Next stop France.

Motorhome Escorted Tours. Fun or Folly?

  We have just returned from a lovely two month stay in Portugal. A month at Touristcampo in Lagos and a month at Camping Ria Formosa near Tavira. If you want a review of both these sites look back at previous blog posts 2022 and 2023. On one of the stops travelling up through France at Only camp Tours, we bumped into a lovely couple who had the same marque van as our Krystal. Of course we had to stop for a chat, this was only the second "Vantage " we had met on this trip.

Only Camp Tours incidentally is very handy stopping place on the way North or South. Easy access and open all year and they accept ACSI Only Camp Tours . Great facilities and lovely local pizza place a five minute walk away.

The couple we chatted to in the Vantage  Neo van just happened to be on an Escorted Tour of the Loire. Whilst having a chat with them, we realised we were surrounded by other Brit vans, I counted at least 10. The memories of our experiences with escorted tours came flooding back! In this blog I thought a very personal review of "Escorted Tours" may be useful to some. 

There are loads of companies now offering Escorted Tours for motor homers and caravan owners. The prices vary greatly depending on what's on offer. Some offer meals, tours, ferry crossings and more. All of them come with the services of "tour guides" usually well experienced people either through organisations like ACSI or privately run companies. The length of the tours also seem to depend on where they are going. Prices vary from per unit to per person. It's a good idea to carefully check what is actually covered and to factor in additional personal costs i.e. getting to the start of the tour, fuel costs, visas, insurance, getting home, all these costs soon add up.

We did two escorted tours both in 2018 with the Camping & Caravanning Club. One to Russia via the Baltics and one to Greece. Both these trips were written up in this blog, scroll back to the appropriate year. I do not intend to specifically re write these blogs just a few things you may wish to consider if you plan an escorted tour. Other experiences we have of escorted tours are those we have met on our independent travels and our experience of touring Africa not "Escorted" but following in the footsteps of a tour again organised by the Camping and Caravanning Club.

In late 2017 I happened to spot an article in  the Camping & Caravanning Club magazine advertising an information event by the club on escorted tours, at the Haynes Motor Museum. At £5 per person including lunch and entry to the museum, it was an offer not to be refused. We spent a very enjoyable day listening to all the presentations about the various tours and signed up for Russia and Greece both for the following year. So, 5 years later I can offer a few insights on escorted tours.

The reasons people go are varied,

• To meet like minded travellers who share a common hobby
• People who want to develop confidence for future tours
• An easy way to see a lot of "sights" with little personal organisation
• First time motor homers
• Motor homers who for various reasons prefer to be with others who could help them if needed.
• Single people who prefer to be with a group.

We wanted to go on a well organised trip to places we would not necessarily go on our own.

 

We did make it to St Petersburg. 

Later that year we did Greece.

Our first encounter with escorted tours was our trip to Africa. We decided we did not want to travel in a motorhome with a large group so we opted instead for a 4 X 4 with roof tent. We organised the holiday with Bobo Campers in South Africa through the Camping & Caravanning Club in 2017 using the same route and camp sites as the escorted group although we were on our own and just over a week behind them. This worked very well for us.

We felt our 4X4 with roof tent worked better on the terrain of dust roads in Africa than a motorhome.

We were more than happy to manage ourselves!

The escorted tour used motorhomes but also had accompanying mechanics as well as tour guides. 

To sum up this is our personal list of pros and cons. Every one will have their own views, this is just what we think.

CONS:

Although you do not travel in convoy, vans will inevitably arrive and leave sites at around the same time each day.

Remember to factor in additional costs and time. Sometimes tours start far away. The Russia trip began in Poland and the Greek trip started in San Marino.

A large number of vans arriving on sometimes small sites, put pressure on the facilities. There will always be some competition for the best pitches. Electric hook ups sometimes have to be shared.

Social events are supposed to be optional, We did not want to join in with everything. 20 or so  people travelling together have a large number of birthdays, anniversaries etc to celebrate. Be prepared for ultra socialisation.

Meals out mean large tables and often pre selected food. Seating 20 people presents challenges and tables for two not usually available. Joint mealtimes could be stressful for some. Veggies and people with special diets take note! 

However social you are, you are basically living in close proximity with fellow travellers. Be prepared for a lot of give and take

A lot of the tours are to places that are high on the tourist agenda. Be prepared for crowds at popular tourist venues.

Conducted tours can be really enjoyable but you are always with a large group.

Early starts especially on tour days, some people find this trying and you always have to wait for someone.

We hated the group meetings but some people found they were the highlight of the day!

The trip was very dependant on the expertise and people skills of the group leaders.

No control over the campsites to be stayed at and the facilities.

Free time on tours mean you will still unavoidably be with the same crowd. We often found it impossible to find a small restaurant or cafe which hadn't already been discovered by our fellow travellers.

Can be very expensive, Do all the sums!

PROS

A good way of seeing places you may not be confident enough to do on your own.

Usually well organised.

Sites and tours paid for in advance.

Maps and routes usually well provided.

People around to help out in an emergency. 

Good for socialising if you are so inclined.

All in all, not for us but it did help us to organise ourselves, we have been back to Greece on our own since. the last time we were there we met up with a touring French group. As they met up for their regular briefing we went to the swimming pool and breathed a sigh of relief, we were on our own!!

We really are not anti social and quite friendly in small groups. Always ready for a chat.😎😎😎😎

Would we do another escorted tour...NO!