1066 And All That

This weekend just gone we took the Navara on its maiden towing voyage.   We've camped in the Pegasus a few times over autumn/winter (with no blog updates, sadly), but the Navara was only purchased two weeks ago and this was our first opportunity to get it out and tow the van.

Navara as a Towing Vehicle

First things first, the towing experience.  One word:  Superb.  Our Navara is automatic which helps with smooth pull-aways.  We really noticed this, as the California, which was a manual, did tend to kangaroo a bit in lower gears (obviously nothing to do with my driving, no).  The Navara has shed loads of power which means it can accelerate up to required speeds with a 1.5 tonne van on the back with no issues.  And the visibility was great down the sides of the van.  

On site we chucked the Navara into 4WD mode and easily whipped the caravan around the grassy field.  To be fair it was a dry July weekend, so I doubt it was needed, but hey, we have 4WD so might as well use it!  It's one of the main reasons we picked a pickup over another Transporter as a towing vehicle.

Pondarosa Campsite

Site:             Pondarosa Caravan Park
Type:           CL
Score:          8 / 10
Facilities:    Water, chemical disposal, electrical hook up
Comments: Spacious site, well maintained; had more than 5 units on it.

Our main destination this weekend was Battle Abbey, in East Sussex.  And we were on the lookout for a cheap campsite, so a Certified Location (CL), was just the ticket.  For those who don't know, CLs are low facility sites, typically with nothing more than water, chemical disposal and usually an electrical hook up point.  They usually have no showers, toilets or other facilities.  They are usually just a field.  But they are a lot cheaper.  And because right now the shared facilities of campsites are shut anyway, and as we have all the facilities we need onboard the van, a CL seemed a good choice.  So Mrs Blakey located the Pondarosa Caravan Park about 15 minutes drive from Battle Abbey.

First Impressions...

...were excellent.  The site is really well maintained, with mown grass across the board.  There are about three hard standings and space for 4 further grass pitches.  We were the last rig to turn up so had no choice on where to park, but I think we had the best spot if I'm honest!  

Pitches

Our pitch had the evening sun till really late and had lovely views across the fields of the farm we were on.   The field next door had a bunch of horses and a very excitable donkey in it that were all very friendly.  The owners gave us permission to feed the horses some carrots which the kids loved doing and they were always coming up to us for a stroke.

The observant among you will note that there were 7 pitches on this CL.  I'm reliably informed that there is a maximum of 5 pitches supposed to be allowed on a CL, so I am not quite sure that happened there.  But the place is so spacious, it really didn't matter at all from an enjoyment and relaxation angle.

The site is on quite a bit of a slope, so we would have been on a big angle, but the ever-friendly Caravan and Motorhome Clubers around us rushed in to help, offering chocks and plastic ramps to get our rig levelled and in no time we were sat in the sun enjoying a beer.   We've added "chocks" to our shopping list for the van.

Attractions

Battle Abbey

On Saturday we went to the aforementioned Battle Abbey which was really amazing.  I can't believe I've lived in the south east of England for nearly 50 years and somehow have failed to ever go there before.  The site comprises a huge gatehouse and walls dated from the 14th century which is where you enter.  

Behind there you can see the new Battle Abbey School which is a really posh private school.  A really well organized walk takes you around the field where the Battle of Hastings was fought, and a pod cast, which is downloadable to your phone for free) talks you through about a score of information points which explains how the battle panned out.  These are punctuated with wooden statues showing the different types of soldiers involved in the battle.

The tour climaxes back at the site of the Abbey where you are shown the exact location that King Harold is supposed to have copped it with an arrow through his eye.  

This is where William the Conqueror apparently built an abbey to atone for his sins, for killing thousands of men that day.  The original abbey, which was built 4 years after the Battle and took over 20 years to complete, is now gone but the layout is marked out and the remains of the 14th century abbey - some of which is now being used by Battle Abbey School - is still very impressive.

All in all, an incredible day out, highly recommended.

Rye

On the Sunday we headed off to the picturesque town of Rye and took a wander around the cobbled streets.  Most shops were shut, being a Sunday, but we were able to get an ice cream and coffee in one of the many cafes which were doing a brisk trade.  

We then headed off to Rye Harbour where we took a seat in the beer garden of the homely William the Conqueror pub which did a lovely chicken burger and chips.  We didn't try the beer as we had a long journey home towing the caravan before us, so I can't comment on that.

A really great first outing in the caravan in the Summer of 2020.  Our next outing will be when we take the van on holiday for two weeks.  Should be interesting!

Campervan becomes Caravan

It's summer 2020 and a lot has changed in the world in the last few months.  But our decision to change our "van" was made back in autumn 2019.

In October 2019, after a lot of soul searching, research and discussion we decided to trade in our VW T5 California Beach for a Caravan.  Why?  Well, mostly it was due to the changing circumstances of our family.  With two young kids the campervan was proving to be hard work to use for extended trips, even with a drive away awning.  And we also wanted to extend our camping season out into the autumn and winter.

So we went to the excellent Chichester Caravans in Uckfield and spent a long time looking over the different options they had.  We finalized on a huge 6-berth, double axle, 8' wide van, even though there are only four of us in the family.  We bought the giant Bailey Pegasus Grande Palermo which is a fantastic piece of kit.

People said we were mad to tow an 8' van with no towing experience.  Mad.  But we did it anyway.  We swapped our old campervan for a powerful Nissan Navara pickup which has no problems dragging the van around the countryside.  And, precisely because we have no experience towing, we don't find the 8' wide van suddenly wider or harder to two than "before" as there never was a before for us!   

Of course so far we've not met another caravan or big truck coming the other way on a tiny country road.  I know it will happen sooner or later, and then maybe we'll wish we had something smaller.  But for now, the huge van pays off in spades when we are camped up and have a lovely spacious caravan to relax in.

With Lockdown ending in the UK and campsite opening up again, we are beginning our travels once more.  I'm going to endeavour to restart the blog, this time discussing our travels in the new "van", and probably writing it more from a family perspective.   We'll be discussing the campsites we've stayed in and the pros and cons of the locations, plus the activities we've done whilst staying at these new places.

If nothing else this will serve as a reminder to us about the different campsites we've stayed in and help us being able to find the good ones to return to!