A very windy first night

My Wife and myself decided that we would like to take up caravanning again so we could enjoy the freedom to holiday as and when we wanted and to be able to take our pets on holiday with us. So we began looking for our ideal van just before Christmas and after much deliberation we plumped for the new Swift Alpine 2.

We purchased it from Stowmarket Caravans and as part of the deal they provide a free nights stay at a site called Henrys Lake  at Rattlesden in Suffolk, as the name suggests it is a site beside a lake out in the countryside surrounded by fields.

We chose February 14^th (valentines day) to collect the van and have our free nights stay at Henrys Lake and after being shown how everything works we were escorted to the site. We opted for a slightly sheltered position with hard standing as the ground was waterlogged and it was a good job we did as what a night!!!.

It was the night of the storms, gale force winds were howling around the van, rocking us and the nearby trees were bowing at 45 degree angles. We ate our valentines meal looking at each other wondering whether we had done the right thing. We spent the evening staring out of the window watching and hoping we would be okay as we were all alone as nobody else was on site.

About midnight we made up the bed and tried to get some sleep but were kept awake by the constant rocking and racket coming from outside. An aluminium greenhouse about 10ft aware from our van was slowly getting ripped apart and the sound of smashing from a distance suggested a roof was losing a few tiles.

We eventually fell asleep and woke a few hours later to find the wind had dropped slightly but was still fairly gusty. The news on the radio was reporting damages caused by the storms including an overturned caravan and we were relieved to have got through the night unscathed. The winds eventually dropped about lunchtime so we hitched up and headed home.

In a way we are glad we went through that night as it has given us the confidence to go away with our van whatever the weather, although if gale force winds are forecast we may just think twice. The van is excellent, well built, nice and warm and comfortable, and easy to tow. We are very pleased with our purchase and are looking forward to many happy holidays ahead.