A holiday in the caravan - one grandparent, one grandchild and two dogs.

A trip away in the caravan with Isabel, and the dogs Jezzie and Bobbi.   We left Jeff, the lizard, in the capable hands of Walter.   Not quite Walter's hands, Jeff was safely in his vivarium.   Walter just needed to keep up the supply of locusts.   

We stayed at the Riverside Village Holiday Park, Creeksea, alongside the River Crouch, in east Essex.     A quiet holiday park, in a picturesque setting, surrounded by tidal canals, interspersed with fields of grain.    

The area also came with a mixed aroma of creosote from the factory close by, which made wooden crates, and manure, which was spread on the farmland.     Rural mixed with industrial.   An interesting combination.

We could see that it was going to be very quiet, as the camping ground was about a third full.  Perfect for the dogs' first caravan trip.

I nervously stopped the car at the allocated site.  I could see other caravaners watching me, so I made a decision that this was not an opportunity to practise my caravan reversing skills.   Rather I would wow them with my expert ability at moving the caravan using the remote control.   In fact this turned out to be a very long process, but I was not to know this when I unhitched the car.

I really should have driven onto the site, via the empty sites!   Oh well.  

A friendly man came and offered to help me unhitch, and I let him wind the jockey wheel down, just to make him feel needed, but it turned out he was just being nosy, as he wanted to find out about the towing performance of the Skoda.   I had plenty to say about the excellent Skoda, even down to the heated leather seats.

I spent more than a considerable amount of time manoeuvring the caravan around, using the remote and caravan mover.   It was once I had it in a perfect position and level that I was told that the front wheel had to rest on a small square of concrete.   No doubt this is to ensure that all caravans are facing the correct way, with the correct spacing in between each one.   Does this apply to European caravan too?   Their doors are on the other side.   But a rule is a rule, so they say, and I was not going to fight this one.   So I spent another ten minutes or so with the remote in hand, ensuring that the caravan was in the correct position.  Then I had to level it, using the ramps.  What a pain.

 Isabel was relieved to see the job done, as she had been walking the dogs around the camping ground during the whole process.   'Why did it take so long?' she asked.   I totally agreed with her. 

The weather was gloriously sunny. 

We put the short and long leads together and then tied them to the door handles of the car.   We also put the leads on the dogs!   They could not escape..    During the three days, we spent a fair amount of time untangling the leads, as the dogs ran around each other, under the caravan, and around the car.

Jezzie looking out at the world.

Bobbi enjoying the sunshine on her face.   She is such a sun loving dog.

There were was not much around the area, a couple of houses, two factories, plenty of agri farming, and a derelict pub, as seen in the photograph below.   The last owners must have walked out of the pub one day, and just never came back.  There were plastic flowers on the window sills, a pool table in the bar. with balls all ready for the next game, and tables and chairs in all the rooms.  A very spooky place, to be sure.

The tidal Crouch river, at sunset.   The river is more an estuary at this point.    A very high flood prevention bank separated the holiday park from the water.

The back of the park was full of static holiday homes, mostly lined up like soldiers.  No individual gardens.   I wonder why most static caravan sites in England  are uniform and unimaginative.

Canals surrounded the park, and they were certainly a highlight.   It was a joy to take the dogs for a walk in the morning and evenings.

Most of the static caravans alongside the caravan had beautifully landscaped sites, and blended well into the scenery.  I guess they were the ones on show.

The reflections on a still evening were remarkable.   I did not let the dogs off their leads on their walks, just in case they decided to jump into the water, in their endeavours to catch ducks.

The view back towards the camping ground.

  The toilet/shower/laundry and washing up facilities block was very small and situated in front of the office, some distance away.  A concession to the urgent needs of people was made with the placement of three portaloos by the playground. But I guess most people used their caravans for washing dishes and showers.  

There were no clubrooms on this site, thank goodness, so the atmosphere was definitely only for those people who liked peace and quiet, and perhaps a spot of fishing.

The dogs were very good, and enjoyed the attention they received from other campers, plus being outside with plenty of new smells and activities.   It took them a few hours to realise that it is best to stay on the couches, out of the way of our feet, and there was not enough room in the toilet for them and for me, so following me there was not a good idea.    

We all had a wonderful time and it was lovely to spend the time with Isabel, even though she continually beat me at Uno and the Pick Up Sticks game.  

At the end of our stay I expertly hitched the caravan to the car.  First attempt too.  And no problems with the jockey wheel either.  A great achievement.

But we won't mention the squashed steps, which I forgot to remove before I moved the caravan around.   Just a small detail.