Now back home after 2 weeks away. The trip ended as a bit if a damp squib as it was training heavily in Essex this morning. The only thing left really at that point was to drive home and start sorting everything, putting washing on, etc.
There are plenty of positives from the trip and very few negatives. I've proved that two weeks away is manageable (just) and almost everything performed as expected. Being able to move sites easily was a major gain and confirmed that a campervan works for me. Something slightly bigger would be nice, but that's something to be considered in a couple of years' time.
Only two things caused problems. The car radio is still playing up, I'm fairly certain it's the radio itself - the existing one was cheap from Halfords and is, inevitably, just out of warranty. I'll start searching for something better (at least I'm an expert at taking the dash assist these days). The USB charger socket I put in by where the bed makes up was just too vulnerable and was broken early in the holiday. I need to decide what to do about that as it was useful for charging the phone or tablet overnight. I'll also need to work out a way of hiding the hole if/when I remove the socket.
The electric coolbox coped must of the time but struggled a bit in the really hot weather. Two things would help I think. One is that I should have left it running more when parked rather than relying on only when driving or on site when I could plug it into the mains, to facilitate this it would be useful to have a level meter for the leisure battery. The other issue is that there's not a lot of ventilation into the cupboard that houses the coolbox, a vent will be installed in the door before long.
If I can find something suitable I'd like to add one or two roof vents to try and reduce the inside temperature when parked. That's some more searching required on the the 'net. I know there are some marine types that might work but I need to be sure they'll stand up to 70mph wind and not let water in when driving.
Something that only really came to mind towards the end of the trip was that I really should make more use of the site facilities such as the washing up area. With the previous folding camper having a decent sink and a hot water heater I didn't worry too much but there's no real point in boiling a kettle of water on expensive bottled gas when I can use site water for free. I'll either get a folding basket or one of the silicone folding washing up bowls to make it easier to carry the stuff.
Talking of silicone it is wonderful stuff, I've used the folding kettle, folding bowl and folding colander on this trip, and I've got a silicone drainer for when I do wash up in house. There would be ways round all of these but something else would have to go to make the space.
I've got an odd night away in a couple if weeks then two weekends away later in the year. One of these is at a town folk festival. So far I've only used the window covers for the front windows and relied on the curtains at the back. Unfortunately the curtains don't really keep the light out that well, which has been a bit of a problem with the long summer days. I've got the covers for the other windows so I'll take those on the next few trips and see how I get on. It's a bit more to carry but when I'm away they tend to live in the front passenger footwell so it should be OK.
I was quite happy with all 4 Caravan Club sites, by and large you know they will be to a reasonable standard. I've got no complaints about anything, the wardens were all friendly and helpful and the locations worked for where I wanted to visit. There was only one of the attractions that disappointed, that was Thursford which is now less about the steam museum and more about the performances on the fairground and Wurlitzer organs.
Planning is already afoot for next year, it does depend on a couple of other things but I'm thinking of a week in Northumberland and a week in Devon. There are advantages to two separate weeks in maximising time away while minimising annual leave days. I'll need to decide before the site bookings open for next year.
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