Sprite Alpine circa 1969(not our actual van)
I thought in this post I would write about some of the caravans we have owned.
Many years ago we started off with a 10ft sprite 400, we thought it was wonderful as it was our first van, our son was only a baby and off we would go along with our Cocker Spaniel 'Shane' (not named by us I will add he was a rescue dog). Thinking about it now it seemed quite a small area to sleep cook wash etc but we loved it.
This van had the old gas lamps as did others we had later, a Sprite Alpine and a Thompson. Our
daughter was always a bit frightened of these lamps and hated the smell of them when lit, she was a lot happier when we finally went 'modern' and got a van with electric which was the ABI Monza.Right: Thompson circa 1975
(not our actual van)
There was, of course the old foot pump too for water, many times I would come home from a holiday with leg ache from stamping for ages on this rubber pump on the floor to get a tiny amount of water in the kettle to wash up, it was often much easier to just pour it from a container. Later on we could flick a switch which was battery operated, though as I remember this wasn't a lot quicker. Ah the good old days......no thank you, though I do have some really good memories, give me my modern van any day.
A caravan we
bought around 1994 was a 1985 Ace Quartz, this was our first 'modern' caravan, being 16ft it was the roomiest so far it even had proper taps(no more leg work). It cost us quite a bit of money at the time and turned out to be the dampest van we have ever purchased. When we got it home there was a bit of damp in the front locker, but on further inspection some of the wood had become rotten but we replaced this. With hindsight maybe we ought to have taken it back as soon as it was noticed but we liked the layout and inside everything was pristine. Contrary to what people say that you can smell if a caravan is damp.....not in this case.
Brian the budgie was a regular traveller with us along with the our two dogs at that time Amber and Holly, It served us well, until we sold it in 2003.
We then pushed the boat out and bought the 1999 Abbey GTS Vogue, which we got very excited, about, never having had one this new before. It had proper blown heating, an end bathroom with flushing toilet and was the first van which had a shower (what luxury!) This is when we started caravanning all year round on a regular basis, the children had flown the nest and we replaced our free time by going on our travels.
The vogue had an L shaped lounge which gave a nice feel of space this was a really lovely van and we were sad to part with it but we had set our minds on a fixed bed and there was no turning back.
Below: A short stop for lunch at Clumber Park
So in May 2007 we fell in love with and bought our Bailey Pageant Burgundy. Never having a new van before we wondered if we were doing the right thing but three and years on know it was the right move. The luxury of the fixed bed with a sprung mattress means no more shuffling around with cushions and a good nights sleep, a lay in with a cuppa in the morning while hubby walks the dog
( as you can see I've got it worked out well). The under bed space is useful storage for all manner of items, Chairs, Windbreaks etc. and because there is access from outside, doubles up as Al's beer cellar whilst on site.
This caravan is 18.2 ft inside 23.7ft total length, so it is quite roomy, it has lots of storage space, a toilet and shower cubical, plus a heating system which is very efficient and enables us to go away in all weathers. there is also a full size cooker with four ring hob and up above built in microwave. All in all we are really pleased with it and are not looking to replace it for a long time.
'What joy waking up to snow'
