Do you want to be in my gang?

The prolonged winter delayed the start to our 2013 season – spending Easter in the motorcaravan in the snow was not a tempting proposition.  However, we learned that there is an IH Owners’ Group, who meet occasionally in different parts of the country and that there was a planned gathering at Rutland Caravan and Camping Site (affiliated to the Caravan Club) from 12^th April, which is conveniently only an hour or so up the road.

The site is very flat and spacious with excellent facilities, but expensive at peak times.  It is situated about six miles from Rutland Water, so we took our bikes and stopped off on the way for a leisurely ride around part of the reservoir.

The majority of “the gang” were pitched in the rally field and it was a sight to behold as a convoy of IH motorcaravans arrived on site.  The organisers, Judy and Ray, were very welcoming and provided some useful information about the area.  A fancy gazebo had been erected in the middle of the field, where people could get together if they wished.  Unfortunately the weather was rather mixed, so this facility was under-utilised.  But there were lots of comings and goings between the vans, and for those of us new to motorcaravanning, it was a great opportunity to pick the brains of the more knowledgeable and experienced owners, some of whom seemed to be inveterate fettlers and improvers of their ‘vans!

Due to the indifferent weather, our cameras stayed in their bags, but the picture above is courtesy of the Caravan Club.

We were very envious of most of the group as they planned cycle rides, walks and meals for the rest of their stay, while we had to leave to go back to work.  When did we say we were going to retire???

An eventful nine months

Taking the plunge

It was a foregone conclusion, really, what would happen when we “called in” at IH Motorhomes last May.  They had a ‘van for sale, which seemed to fit most of the criteria we had listed after months of research.  However, Mrs IH, aka Nicola, persuaded us that a better ‘van would be available in the autumn.  The owners of an IH Tio R were trading in their current ‘van for their third new one and they had proved themselves to be “very careful owners”.  So we expressed our interest and sat back to wait.

We went to view the ‘van in September, decided to go ahead with the purchase and collected it at the beginning of October.  On the way home, we tried her out for one night at Lurcher Farm Cottage, near Newark.  Our only hiccups were self-induced; we had purchased a bottle of butane gas, when IH fit propane connectors as standard, and had failed to buy a hose to fill the water tank!

The Learning Curve

We were determined to have at least one weekend away before the winter, and decided to head to the Birmingham area, incorporating an outing to the Camping and Caravanning Show with a visit to Chris and Marie.  Unfortunately our booking at the CCC site at Clent Hills was cancelled due to heavy rain which had made the grass pitches inaccessible, but after several unsuccessful phone calls, we eventually found an alternative pitch at Lickhill Manor Caravan Park in Stourport, which turned out to be a very pleasant location.  On the Saturday morning we enjoyed an autumnal walk from the site along the river into the town, with its canal basin and colourful boats.

  

As we don’t have enough space to park the van at home for long periods, we keep her at a storage facility.  During the winter we made sure we gave her (now christened Theodora) a run every few weeks.  This was often just a trip home so that we could do minor works, but on one occasion we took her out on a day trip to Wimpole Hall (National Trust) and used her as a base of operations.  There seemed to be a bewildering amount to learn about the ‘van herself and motorcaravanning in general!

We did have one problem during those winter months.  One brake light was faulty, intermittently at first, and then continuously, which resulted in a series of trips between our local Fiat dealer, the company who fitted a towbar for us and IH.  All very annoying at the time, but eventually resolved. 

Peak Practice

John and I had been mulling over the idea of having a motorcaravan for some time and having made the journey from tents, through trailer tents to caravan (and don’t forget the boat!) we knew we could do the “living in confined space” bit.  But we decided it would be prudent to “try before we buy”.

So in May 2012 we hired a ‘van from Wildax Motorhomes.  First impressions inside the van were good – all mod cons and plenty of stowage.  We took our time to load up our belongings until we couldn’t put off driving the beast any longer; I was more than happy to let John be the first behind the wheel, but took my turn later in the week.  It turned out to be relatively easy to drive and there were no problems parking at a supermarket to stock up on provisions.

Not wanting to overload the brain during this week, we had pre-booked our sites, a mixture of Camping and Caravan Club sites with full facilities, a hideaway site with very few, and a commercial site, to try out all possibilities. 

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time travelling around Derbyshire, via Crowden, Ashbourne and Leek.  We were amazed how quickly we got ourselves organised to leave each site; so much easier than a tent or caravan, and we didn’t have to go back to the same place!  In the course of the week we walked round Torside Reservoir, directly accessible from the CCC Site at Crowden,

 and along part of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway,

 cycled along the Manifold Trail, stopping to clamber up to Thor’s Cave,

 and visited Lyme Park (National Trust).

Up to this point, the weather had been quite good, but on our final full day we sheltered from the rain in a delightful café in Hartington, which also served as the local post office and seemed to be the meeting place for many of the locals.

At the end of the week we were wondering why we hadn’t visited Derbyshire more often and decided we would return.  And what were our first impressions of motorcaravanning?  We felt very positive, liking the idea of moving on from place to place and didn’t feel too confined in the ‘van.  In fact, we liked it so much, we decided to call in at IH Motorhomes at Ferrybridge on the way home ….