I agree with many of the above posts. There are some fantastic small sites out there and if you can survive without EHU then you should be able to get away for less than £10a night no problem at all, but for even £1-£2 more you will get EHU with ease. Even the CC have some good sites at fair prices if you don't mind the membership and don't need site facilities. For example the "Round Plantation" site in Suffolk is only £11 a night including EHU and kids! Ok they don't have a toilet block but if you have a decent shower in the van this shouldn't be a problem and as this price applies all year round you could even get away for 2 weeks in the summer holiday period for £154! Now thats really good value if you consider that would be for a family and I think compares really well with other options. The CC like the C&CC does have its popular and expensive sites and I will be honest and say we do use these as well but also have no issues with going for a more basic site and using the van facilities. We always plan our food when we go away and try and take as much with us as we can that is healthy and simple to cook. Our most common dinner is to keep a big bowel of salad in the fridge, some of those ready baked roll's in the cupboard and then grill some meat, chicken, sausages, etc on the BBQ. Any left overs we keep for the next day and chop up and use for lunch either in sandwiches or a mixd salad. We also limit ourselves to one meal out a week when away and also take sandwiches and roll's when going out for the day as this saves a lot of money. If you are a member of the CC take a look at their sites for £11.......worth considering.
You could even have a few nights in the van on your own drive!
We keep ours in storage but on the odd occasion it's at home I love sleeping in it, you could get a takeaway, bottle of wine, board games etc and just enjoy each others company.
You could even have a few nights in the van on your own drive!
We keep ours in storage but on the odd occasion it's at home I love sleeping in it, you could get a takeaway, bottle of wine, board games etc and just enjoy each others company.
Draw the blinds and you could be anywhere.
We do this, it's just nice being in it
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
We store our caravan at the Plassey near Wrexham loverly site every possible ammenity in fact I think it's been awarded campsite of the year. Anyway a couple of years ago we went on easter rally for £23.50 I priced up the Plassey for the same time and basis a couple of dogs and an awning £168.
I really like the idea of putting away in a box a couple of non-perishables each week from the shopping, and will def be looking at the CL's....
And you are right, it may not be new, but it is all ours, (and paid for!) and even just a few miles up the road is a great change and a change is as good as a rest, which is exactly what we need right now!!!!
I have ours on the drive and would have no qualms about spending a night in it. To be honest, if money was really tight, I reckon it would be cheaper to heat the caravan than heat the house... Worth thinking about if things get really tight.
I heard of a family that put a pin in a map and a piece of string to it in a 50 mile radius of home as they had a big wagon, could not afford to either sell it at a loss or use it for too long a distance. So it was surprising just many little sites, hideaways they found. Keeping off of the EHU as they are more expensive to have daily payments now up again. But as long as they were away from where they lived into the countryside it can be relaxing, as you make it.
Check out the adverts in some of the mags as they can tell you' all in' prices inc.EHU.
But own sanitation etc makes cheaper prices.
The less on site the cheaper it becomes. Make your own etertainment as we all used to do before all the gadgets.Cheap rucksack, flask, sarnie gets you walking. Seaside gets you swimmming or just relax.Games,cards.Sit outside and chat to everyone, be surprised how many are doing the same us your are.If you have not got a boulles set make them up.6 balls of 2 of 3 colours and a smaller white or whatever, jack. Play together for fun.Whoever wins does not have to put the kettle on for a cuppa next time or even wash up.
With the advent of LED bulbs, with a little bit of common sense and conservatism, you can quite easily manage a week without EHU, even if you want to watch an hour or so of TV of an evening. With a small investment of a solar panel, you can increase this period indefinately.
For under £60, Maplin have a 13 watt solar panel with regulator on offer at the moment. If you shop around, I got a 50 watt panel and a regulator on ebay, all brand new for £88 plus a length of wire and some sikaflex that I had in the shed. I can go throughout the summer with no need for EHU or a battery recharge.
I do realise that these cost money to install, but others may want to take this route and consider it an insurance so that if their circumstances change they can use sites without EHU, or even consider it an investment and head off the beaten track straight away. The other advantage with not having to have EHU is that you never have to worry about finding somewhere to pitch, the CLs with no EHU always have spaces.
I agree with Esther above (My wife is Esther also) I could not afford much for holidays when my children 7 of them were young. I took down my back garden fence and made a gate out of it. Put my old caravan in the back garden and put a tv in it. On sunny days at weekends we sat in it with the children playing in the garden coming in and out of the caravan. Some of the children camped out in it. We had our main 2 weeks holiday in Scotland, just over the border, about 60 miles from home. We could tell friends we were going to Scotland for our holidays. We always had a good time. Best of luck for emloyment.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Budget (read: SHOESTRING!) tips :-(
