You should try going away in winter, we go all year round, nothing beats a walk on a cold crisp winters day and back to a warm van.
Admittedly, with the forecast for next few days, I wouldn't be keen, but if the forecast was settled and you can get away at short notice then give it a go, you may be surprised.
Fair play but now getting old I'd rather not tow in the winter. Not a problem with heating in the van but Im not keen on winter roads. I would hate going away then the weather suddenly turns to frost, snow or what ever.
Our caravan is currently in for its annual service so fingers crossed there are no problems and we get it back on Tuesday. After that, I will be excitedly counting down the days until Easter which is our first booked trip of the year, however, we might get away before that if we get a nice weekend or two in March. We usually go away at February half term but this year it clashes with the youth club residential that I am committed to helping out at, so we won’t get away then. I hate the long dark days of January and February so can’t wait for spring.
I've serious heart probs so waiting for heart surgery but as soon that's over with we will be away to great Cressing ham for a week. Bought a new awning late year and we need to try it out.
We are strictly fair weather campers. It is probably an age thing, as there are many things that we would have done years ago that we wouldn't do today. For us, cold winter weather is a time for staying indoors in the warm as much as possible. We would find no pleasure whatsoever in being stuck in a caravan in the warm, or going out exploring in the freezing cold and wet. Then there is the possibility of icy roads. Our home is warm and comfortable and we have all our "stuff" around us. We have the TV, which we never take on holiday, we have hundreds of books to read, and lots of jobs to be done at home. We also have a whole house to wander round, not just a small box on wheels. Caravanning for us is about being outside exploring different areas in lovely warm weather, or simply sitting outside in the sun.
We are also somewhat restricted financially so we limit our outings to times when we are most likely to enjoy ourselves, and that means when it is warm.
I tend not to go out in my van in January and February due to the weather not being very nice - I might as well stay at home rather than paying to stay at a campsite if the weather is too bad to go out and about, as both the dog and I dislike rain!
In addition, there is the risk of the weather and/or road conditions being too bad to drive, and I could be stuck somewhere in my van.
Recently, one of my clients agreed to move the on-site meeting in January to March, as one of my colleagues was unable to travel from Blackpool to Maidenhead due to bad weather and road conditions when we had that really cold spell in January 2025.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
We would get no pleasure from camping in the 'van in the darker colder days. We don't have TV in the van, nor are we 'sitting in the pub' types so couldn't pass pleasant evenings there. We have lots of home based activities that we enjoy in the winter evenings, and go out during the days, me to a lot of voluntary work, OH playing sport.
I usually give January a miss, mainly due to the thought of high winds. The worst problem I've had is water stand pipes being frozen. My old van doesn't have an internal tank so for running water I rely on the aquaroll. The insulated jacket works well and I use an insulation tube to cover the pipe from the aquaroll to the caravan. I always have a jerry can of drinking water in case of freeze ups. Looking forward for better weather its a bit too windy for towing today but hoping to be out in February.
My first trip for 2025 is a 3-night stay in March 2025 in Bristol, one night is free courtesy of CAMC.
That site is due to be closed for development later in the year, however, we have all heard that one before!
Last January 2024, I was asked to delivery some training in Cambridge, and was planning to take the van and stay at the CAMC Cherry Hinton club site which I had stayed and liked.
However, when I tried to get the van ready, I discovered the water tank had frozen as I did not drain it, and had to stay at a hotel instead as I could not defrost it in time to assess if there was any damage to the tank and pipework. Luckily there was no damage.
I drained the tank after returning from the New Year weekend just gone to avoid incurring any damages.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Roll on
via mobile 23/1/2025 at 4:29pm
