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!

Summer 2018

It's been a while.  But what with the kids now growing up a bit (aged 6 and 3 now) and with 2018 having been absolutely scorchio, me and Mrs Blakey have been using the van.  For camping.  Who'd have thought it?

For the last few years we've been sleeping in a lovely big Vango Edoras 500XL airbeam tent, which was great, but we've always wanted to get back to the van and using it for camping.  We're still in the 2014 model Beach, which has been our family car for the last 4 years - and which has been a great car.  This summer we've happily started to use it as a campervan again.  We've picked up the Vango Cruz II airbeam driveaway awning which is superb and gives us the outdoor space we need with very little effort to pitch.

I've enjoyed it so much that I've even decided to dust off the blog.



Southdown Way Campsite

This summer we've camped quite a bit.  We've stayed at Blacklands Farm campsite with its amazing kids' playground; at Southdown Way campsite which is clean and well kept; and at the quiet Kitts Camp which is spacious and off the grid (no EHU).




Kitts Camping

This weekend we spent three nights in the van at the crazy Eweleaze Farm, which is more like a festival than a campsite.  It's a huge site with four or five fields.  No electrical hook ups.  Showers which are a mixture of solar panel and gas driven.  Toilets which are literally a hole in the ground (nice).  The site has a lovely central area where you can buy food and beer, plus loads of camping essentials and all at reasonable prices.  There are loads of farm animals you can feed and play with and they have lots of activities on too.   There is also a privtae pebble beach which is a simple walk down to.   It's a good four hour drive from us, and the facilities are very basic, but for a fun time and a really good vibe with loads to do it was excellent. I'd rate Eweleaze as about 8/10.  Definitely one we'll come back to - probably to stay longer next time.

Next weekend - back off to Blacklands farm for a weekend visit...

Sportline Beach

The Sportline modifications have been completed by SMG Cowfold.  I'm really happy with them. 

 

We had:

• Sportline front spoiler
• Sportline rear spoiler
• Sportline chrome side rails
• Sportline 18" alloys (old school style)
• Sportline 30mm lowering springs
• Limo tinted glass throughout.

Very happy with the new look to the van.

 Importantly the van now drives really well.  It feels firmer and stiffer, the handling is better and it drives even more like a car than a van now.  This is as a result of the lowering springs and thinner tyres.

All in all, really pleased with the mods.

Inka Waterproof Seat Covers

As soon as we had the van we ordered some Inka Waterproof covers for it.  They arrived today - super speedy delievery.  We had them specially tailored to allow the ISOFIX system to still work in the back.

Rear 3-seat bench

As you can see they are not a very tight fit - they probably could be made better if you were prepared to spend hours straightening them out, but as soon as you sit on them they shift anyway.

From the picture you can see that we have fitted an ISOFIX base (near) and a seatbelt fitted base (far) into the seats perfectly happily with no issues.  Hopefully the seat covers will protect the seats from the inevitable child incidents.

Front cab seats

The front seat covers are even less of a clean fit.  They are slotted down the side to enable the air bag to function.  Other than that they seem to fit pretty well though.  I did find that the head rest covers do not fit properly.   I need to see if this is the case for all their Cali sets or an issue with mine.

Anyway, these covers should help protect the seat covers from mud and water when we use the van for biking trips or camping.  Well worth the money.

It's Here

Yesterday we picked up the Beach from the dealer and brought it home.  We stopped off on the way home to drop off the spare two middle seats in storage as we won't need them most of the time.  So now we have a 5 seater van with the option to add two extra seats in when needed.

Pics of what it looks like today:

Front

As you can see it is pretty plain at the moment - the default California in Reflex Silver.  We have a plan to change that later this week with a visit to SMG Cowfold to bling it up a bit, but I'll save that for a fresh post at the weekend.

Front Side

First impressions on getting it home:  Pretty cool.  I'm loving the electrical side door, it's dead handy to be able to open it by remote control when carrying a heavy car seat in the rain for example.  I think it will be a great addition until it breaks....

We took the removeable 12v cool box out of the back and stored that away for when we need it.  Not something we would have ordered but as it came with the van anyway, it's an added bonus.

Rear side

This van came with Premium Bluetooth.  Again, not something we would have ordered if we bought from new but as it's in there we may as well use it.  Hooked my phone up to it and have tested making calls and playing music through it.  All works a treat.

Side

As you can see from the pictures we have removed the side awning.  Personal choice but we found we hardly ever used the one on the SE, it was windy and rattled as we drove along and can only have added to the fuel consumption too.  Plus it was an ugly lump on the side of the van.   I'm very happy with the improved looks on the Beach without it.   There is still the side rail on both sides so you can still hook up a drive away awning directly to the van - which is important.

One thing which is really annoying is the rear 3-seater bench.  In our old SE it was really simple to shift the bench foreward and back.  You simply pulled a lever on the front of the bench and slid it.  With the Beach it seems this is no longer the case.  From the manual (which is not very clear) it appears you need to fold the back of the bench down first.   This is clearly impossible with 2 child seats fitted so as yet I've not managed to shift the bench.   I've posted a question on the ever excellent California Forum to see if that actually is the way to shift it and will see what answers I get from the clever people there.

UPDATE:  Yes, it seems that you do need to fold the back seat down before you can shift the rear bench.  Not a great design from a user point of view, but I tried it and it is easy to move the bench singlehanded once the rear seat drops down.  Just can't do it with the kid seats in.

Life's a Beach

Some 18 months after selling the California SE, we have bought another van. This one is the new California Beach model.

The original Beach

It's basically the same van as the SE but with all the camping equipment removed.  So no cooker, no fridge, no cupboards.  No wardrobe, no overhead lockers.  No kitchen sink.  This is actually a bonus for us over the SE as it means there is loads more room inside the van, including a 3-seater rear bench where the SE has a 2-seater.  It also means we are not driving around with a bunch of kit in the van we don't use day to day.  Sure we will have to rethink how we use the van for camping but this Cali was bought more as a big family car than as a camper, with the added bonus that we can camp in it if we want to.

The Beach does still have many of the features we loved about the Cali SE.  It has the pop top roof.  This one is manual, but is otherwise completely the same as the old model, including that lovely, comfortable bed.  It has the superbly flexible rail system down the middle of the van, allowing the rear bench inside to be slid forward or back at will.  We have 2 extra seats which can slot into the middle section of the van, thus making it a 7-seater if wanted.  They can also be removed to give more space.

It has a 240v electrical hook up with a single socket in the van.  This is perfect for getting power when camping.  The front two seats swivel, allowing the van to be turned into sociable living room - and in fact the missing kitchen units mean that the passenger side seat swivels much more easily than in an SE.

The Full Specification of the van is as follows:

VW California Beach 2.0 TDI 140PS BlueMotion Technology

• Reflex Silver
• 3 Seat Rear Bench
• 2 Additional Seats
• “Milan” Fabric Seat Coverings
• Electric Side Door
• Power Latching for Tailgate
• Leather Steering Wheel, Gear Knob and Gaiter
• Bluetooth Premium
• Laminated Glass
• Cool/Warm Box
• Tyre Pressure Warning Light
• Front and Rear Parking Sensors
• Removable 13-Pin Towbar
• Supagard Paint and  Upholstery Protection

We pick the van up on 1st December.  Looking forward to it loads!