Our First Year in Review
This story happened on: 02/01/2014
Dear Caravan Club,
We are so pleased to have found your club. Last year we decided to take the plunge and get a wee cheap tourer to start us of after going out with my dad who is an experienced caravanner to take us out to show us how to set up and make sure everything was working ok. Our wee caravan is a Lunar Clubman 390/2 we think late 80's early 90's. We decided to get a wee cheap one to help get us started and to see if we were going to like it. So glad we done it as we both now love going away in it.
Although it is a wee caravan in 2013 it has certainly done us proud and although with age it has some issues it was nothing we couldn't manage to do ourselves. When looking at the site we felt that the caravan club was more suited to myself and my husband and my dad agreed with this. We are both in our early 30's no kids and not very big drinkers and like a quiet lifestyle.
Our first trip away we decided we didn't want to go too far away but still be close enough to home just in case we needed help. Our first trip away was to Balbirnie in Glenrothes and what a lovely welcome we received. After explaining to the warden this was our first trip away and was a little worried about setting up, we were told not to worry to just go pick a spot and the wardens husband would come and help us. He helped to get the caravan into the spot and showed where everything was and if we needed any more help to just go find him. As it was our first time away and the weather was lovely we decided we try putting the awning up that came with the caravan. My dad explained to us the one thing about caravanning that will cause couples to fight is the awning. We laid all the poles out in the order in which they were to go and we worked as a team ie me pushing the awaning and my husband pulling it round the rail. Quickly in no time the awning was all set up and started to put our chairs in to relax in the nice weather. What a great long weekend this was getting used to everything and enjoying it. My dad came to visit us to see us (really to check we had done everything right) and he was surprised even more so when we told him we didn't fight once putting it up. We spoke to a lovely couple here who told us 'it was great to see young people getting into caravanning' the same lady on our last day came to speak to us and say goodbye and wished us well our journey.
After our first weekend away we decided to check to see what sites were closer to home for us to get after work. Here we discovered Craigie Gardens in Ayr. I would have to say from mid April 2013 to the end of Oct 2013 we have probably spent every two weekends at this site. I absolutely love this site it's right in the centre of Ayr but when in the site you can feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. It was this site when we arrived during the Easter holidays that as we were getting ready to set up this older lady came running up to just to say 'wow when I seen you coming in with this van I had to come find you, my husband and I had this kind of van when we first started out and had great times with it, also explained this was one of the best vans for seat space'. She walked away very happy and it made us feel good and the reception was amazing, even over the period of the summer the wardens began to know who we were and when we arrived and checked out they couldn't have been any-more nicer in fact looking forward to seeing them again in 2014. In this site we have been in quite a few of the spots and couldn't fault anything within the site. It has been here that we have brought people down to come and see the caravan all set up. It was in Ayr on our first time down here when trying to get the caravan into the space a gentleman in his motorhome was watching and came out to help my hubby and gave him some tips, from then my husband hasn't looked back can now park the van brilliantly.
During the first part of the summer we decided for our 10th wedding anniversary we would go away for 2 weeks and as we have spent our 1st and 5th anniversaries in Scotland decided this would be perfect and after me looking and searching I found this site which shall remain nameless and decided that's where we would go. My husband then said he didn't think he could go here for 2 weeks incase he got fed up so we came onto the caravan club site and decided to see what was available we found Brora and after working out the costs if we cancelled our first week to go to Brora not only would we save money but it was working out considerably cheaper so we decided to go here for the first week. The drive up to Brora was something else especially coming up through the cairngorms then when you came out past Inverness it was stunning we actually stopped a few times to take pictures. When arriving at Brora coming down the path we seen the hill and my husband didn't think he would make it so I said I would get out and walk behind just to make sure and he done it no bother. Again after another lovely welcoming reception we made our way round to a lovely spot. We set up and again no problems. During our first week up here we met some lovely people and shared stories with them and everyone said it was lovely to see a young couple enjoying the joys of caravanning. We both agree that this site for the Caravan Club is a hidden wee gem and we were blown away with it, not only was the site beautiful but if you went for a walk across the golf club and you seen this amazing golden coloured sand for the first time it was breathtaking. We spent a few days coming down here and going for long walks on the beach. This site was also conveniently located for everything you could need for when you are away plenty to see and do and plenty of shops for groceries. We even made it up to John O'Groats and pleased to say I have now done it. One evening we heard that there was to be a bit of wind so decided to get the tie down on the awning and we weren't the only ones, just as the last peg got put in the winds came so we closed the blinds and put a movie on and just relaxed. The next morning we heard that there was 2 caravans from Holland visiting and one of them nearly lost their awning as the winds were so strong that it pulled their pegs out. We met so many lovely people here including the wardens that too many to tell but it was lovely to go to the dish washing area and just start talking same when you went to laundry or were just out and about on the site. One of our most memorable days from this week was the trip to Ullapool the drive over was lovely and scenery stunning and as were approaching the weather changed to typical west coast wet and windy but I have never approached anywhere as stunning as this wee town the setting of it is just out of this world and luckily my husband got some brilliant pictures.
For our second week we were to head down to the other side of Inverness to a site near the Loch Ness as we pulled into the site I could have just burst into tears it didn't help it was very wet and windy but it just seemed so miserable and dull and the facilities were very poor considering their rating. As the first few days went on our moods just seemed to get darker and I burst into tears as I felt to blame for picking this site. We decided that whilst we were there we would get out as much as possible so didn't have to be there. After the second day and talking to our families on the phone and they could hear how low we were, my husband decided to take out his tablet and connect to internet through his phone to check out the site to see what sites were closest and the 2 closest were Culloden and Grantown on Spey but Culloden was the only with the dates available that we needed so my husband said the next day we were going to go look at it. As FFiona Wrigley the warden looked up from her desk to see two low people walk in to ask if we could look around the site and explained why and she listened to us made no comment just told us about the site and area and told us to take as long as needed to look around and then go back to speak to her. Well first point of call was the toilets and had no complaint at the other sites we were at but the toilets here looked as if had just been renovated and were amazing. I think I had made my mind up before coming put of the toilets and when saw hubby he felt the same so we took a walk round the site liked what we seen and then went back to see the warden. We told her what dates we were looking for and advised they were available and we said we would take them so she booked us in and said will see you tomorrow and you can pay then but we paid there and then as we didn't want to miss out and we told her would arrive for the earliest arrival time. We headed back to where our van was and packed up what we could so that in the morning it was get up and go.
When we arrived back at the site she checked us in and we told her what pitch we wanted so gave us all the info and said if we needed anything to go find her. Well as soon as the caravan was all set up and awning erected the first thing we done was grab our towels and headed for the showers and this was the best showers we had as by the time we arrived here we badly needed them. We settled into make the last few days of our holiday special as it was our 10th wedding anniversary. This was also a hidden gem of a site and for different reasons as the view this time was more inland over the hills and Inverness wasn't too far either. We even found an older couple who the wife was married to my husbands uncle down the line but didn't know it at the time.
We can honestly say about both the club and its members they all treated us as equals and welcomed us into the club and wished us many very happy years caravanning which we have decided will be achieved by using your club. No matter where we have been in 2013 people have told us all different kinds of stories about the joys of caravanning and most say a caravan over a motorhome any day. We love that you can be as sociable as little or as much as you want and its great to share stories. We have also decided to make the most of our visits by seeing some of the sites the areas have to offer and have joined with Historic Scotland and looking to join the National Trust also.
Thank you Caravan club for your amazing sites and affiliated sites and we are both looking forward to our trips away this year.
Our
favourite local sites are also Craigie Gardens and Edinburgh. Have a great 2014 touring and we might see you on site somewhere
NatashaM