Just realised that we bought our first caravan just after Easter 1994, after being frozen in our tent. Cost £200 from our neighbour. Many caravans later we are still here, on a CL right now at the age of 76. Various tents for years before that.
We bought our first caravan (after using OH's trusted Force 10 tent, which he'd had since a student) in 1988. It was a 4 berth Monza, can't remember how much we paid, but got it from a small local dealer. First trip out to Settle we found the car wasn't up to pulling it. Got there ok, albeit not very fast, and we got back doing less than 40mph on the motorway! Went back to the dealer, explained the situation, found a smaller van there, a continental 2 berth Monza, he gave us back what we'd paid, worked out the difference and it was a much better van.
I don't think in those days there was much info available anywhere about weights etc, we certainly didn't have much of a clue, but it was a steep learning curve!
We got our first caravan in 1982 having sold our small canal cruiser when the boys came along. A first we towed it with a 1300 Vauxhall Viva, completely useless tow car! Our first site was Ferry Meadows in Peterborough which we have been back to several times since. Had several caravans before changing to a motorhome 10 years ago.
As Ina suggests in those days you relied on the Club magazine amongst others for information. How on earth did we manage without the internet? Although having said that life seemed fat less complicated?
I had been camping with the Scouts when I was a boy, but my parents weren't really into it apart from hiring a static, which was not quite the same. I got married in 1968 and our first holiday together was in 1969 in a Bedford Dormobile camper borrowed from a friend. We couldn't afford one of our own so we bought a tent. We had some holidays with that but when our first child came along we realised that having a small baby in a tent could be a bit of a problem so we started looking at caravans. I soon found a Sprite Alpine which we had for a few years, but when our second daughter started to grow too big for a tiny cot we decided to change to a bigger caravan. That was a Sprite Musketeer. Our Mk2 Cortina seemed to handle that fine although we knew nothing about weights. When our son came along we needed something bigger for day to day use so we bought a home-converted VW camper van which could take the two girls and a carry-cot in the back. Still not knowing anything about weights we hitched up the Musketeer to that and set off for a holiday. It was hopeless, wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding and it kept breaking down. Soon we bought a boat and started having holidays on the river, but when the kids had grown and left home we decided that holidays on the river were too restricting and we wanted to return to caravanning so we bought an Elddis Tornado for £500 and had 4 years with that before buying the Elddis Wisp that we have now. So here we are, one tent, four caravans, and three boats later.
First went camping in a tent with my parents in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus, age 3, late 50s. Then camping all over Canada & USA in the early 60s, tent and roof box, military planning. VW Devon conversion campervan mid 60s to follow my Dad’s work in Argyll at the weekends. Dormobile in Exeter early 70s. Once I’d left home, I had ever larger tents from the late 70s until we got an elderly Autosleeper Clubman in 2005, part X’d in 2018 for the current A-S Nuevo. So I can safely say that I’ve been camping in one way or another for 65 years. Ouch….
You beat me Fiona, 60 years here. Went to relations, then to a self catering cottage, camping started when I was 16. August Bank Holiday near Capel Y Finn in the Black Mountains. We had a borrowed tent which was just a square of fabric. Dad had us make beds out of bracken. I have never been so cold. After that they bought a "proper" tent. Green and white striped big ridge tent.
New Sprite Alpine 1972 just over
on the road £500,so 51 years later on number 11 full circle on a Dealer Special Alpine 55 times the price. Few more weeks and we will of hit 52 years of caravans.
I started when our Dad bought a 1955 Paladin. It was semi-circular from the outside and made of hardboard. It had gas lighting and was very similar looking to this picture.
He towed it with an old Cortina 1300cc. The chap he bought it from said it towed like a dream and so it did behind the 6 litre Bentley he delivered it with. Not quite so good behind the old man's cortina though.
Our first caravan on a site in Bletchingdon Oxfordshire. The little girl standing by the door is my oldest daughter who is now a 48 year old grandmother.
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: 40 years a caravanner
via mobile 26/4/2024 at 4:35pm
