From canvas to caravan...

3 years on the trot our summer camping week with the kids has been a washout!  Dispite the glorious weather the week before or the week after, we always choose the worst week in the world to go camping.  In fact, since we had bought the Mojave 5 tent just over 12 months ago, it has been up 7 times, and it had to be put up in the garden to dry 6 times due to crap british weather.  The tent is clearly cursed; this was the approach Anna took that finally won me over into buying a caravan.  That and the fact I had owned one previously, and Anna's family all have caravans.

After some searching on the web, some sundays visiting caravan retailers, we found the one we loved.  so whats the first thing you do when you find the thing you have spent hours and hours looking for?  Yes, you look some more to tryu and get it cheaper.  And we did.  And it was a year newer.  And we got loads of free stuff thrown in.

Here she is (are caravans 'she's' like boats and cars?  who knows!)  the Swift Charisma 560.

'She' has an end washroom with huge shower(!), a side convertable single for alex, which also can be bunk beds, and a double convertable at the front for us.  The 'kitchen' even has a microwave!  the small porch awning is simple to put up and can be secured enough that the Dogs can sleep in it in good weather (and in the bathroom when its colder).

We picked her up from Glossop and towed her with ease to the 'lock-up' (must be said in an east-end accent everytime).  We also joined the Camping and Caravanning club, so decided to use one of their 'club sites' for our first trip the following weekend to the bakewell club site!  it is unbelievable how much space and storage there is in a caravan!  its brilliant.

Gone are the days of packing everything into tiny bags, moving stuff away from the sides, trudging down to toilet blocks to go to the toilet or brush your teeth, or airbeds that go down in the night.  we need to get a little better at erecting the awning and skirt though!

Bakewell was great, and we are booked for a weekend in Ross on wye and a weekend in Yorkshire in October - who cares if it rains - we have hot and cold running water and a double shower!

North Wales adventures

Not updated in a while!  things got chaotic - including moving house, a monsoon in Wales, climbing Snowdon with 3 kids and 2 dogs, buying a caravan and all sorts of other stuff!

Speaking of Wales - that was the destination for our weeks camping this year.  A weekend in Bala, followed by 6 days on the Llyn pennisula.  sounds idyllic? far from it!

Bala was awesome - On the Saturday we took ourselves and our Dogs off to walk around Alwen reservoir which was a 7 mile glorious path around the reservoir.  It reminded me of Canada so much, but more to the point it reminded me of why I miss living in Wales.

On the Sunday, it was less serene.  Our Sisters and partners, as well as us, had hired a white water raft at the national white water center in Bala for a 3 hour delve into the world of river rafting. I can not describe how awesome it was!  we were all wet suited and booted, Mum n johnny had camera's at the ready and we were in/on the water for about 3 hours in all.  Photos' were brilliant, but video is better for this...

http://vimeo.com/27456105

After the hectic weekend  we packed up the tent, and the kids, and the dogs and headed west, to our second campsite near Cricceth.  As we drove through snowdonia we discussed that we might take the kids for a walk up Snowdon, and would they like that? 'yey' came the replies.  After a day at the beach and the best sandcastle building known to man, we packed a pack lunch for everyone and head off to Pen-y-pass to 'climb Snowdon' with the kids and dogs.  we didn't think for a minute we would get any where near the top so Anna and I didn't even pack our walking boots. 

Oh, how little did we underestimate the mountain climbing prowess of 3 kids in wellies and a pack-a-mac!  they were knocking blocks off the people with hundreds of pounds worth of gear, and strode to the top in just under 4 hours on the miners track.  The dogs did brilliantly too!  When we did get to the top the view wasn't great - well actually it was non existent as we were above the cloud line, but we still managed to bag the highest Geocache in all of England and Wales.  After a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate) we started our way back down as the sun came out!  the kids were amazing, and have now got the mountain climbing bug!

it was a bit chilly at the Summit point - but we made it!

By the time we had got back to the car, we were all starving!  so straight to the pizza parlour in Beddgelert for a super size ham and a supersize pepperoni!

the rest of the Camping trip was a disaster!  the next day we went to llechwydd slate mines in the driving rain.  we had a fun day out but by the time we have 2 damp dogs, 3 wet kids and 2 soaked adults in the tent the wind had picked up and we were fearing for the tents safety!  after noticing a few others packing away their tents and bailing out before it go too rough, we decided to do the same.  a mercy call to my mum saved the day and we threw everything in the car, left the tent and few incidentals and ran!  the weather was that bad, the rivers burst their banks all along the journey to mums making the driving along welsh country roads an adventure as well!

we rescued the tent the next day but went back to Mums considering the amount of water in it!  much discussion was then had about the benefits of a caravan...