/tags/base-camp/ Recent content in Base Camp on scarbrough.co.uk Hugo en-us Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-barmouth/ Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-barmouth/ On the rare occasion that I venture north of Brecon, I’m surprised at how vastly different it is to South Wales, being clean and uncongested in comparison, and almost pleasant when the sun is out. Robby and I had been staying at the Hendre Mynach caravan site, which is on the edge of a relatively obscure little town called ‘Barmouth’, on the coast of North Wales. Since the A470 runs pretty much 90% of the way there, Robby thought it would be quite a straightforward journey, and it was, until we entered North Wales, and the A470 became a single-lane road that took us up a couple of the taller mountains. /post/travel/base-camp-bristol/ Tue, 05 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-bristol/ It’s only recently I’ve had time to write about our trip in the Base Camp the other week. We weren’t going to do another one until March, but Robby had quite a bit of annual leave, and he was enthusiastic about showing me the Concorde being stored at an aviation museum. Apparently the Concorde made its last stop there, twenty years ago, and a hangar was built around it. So, we arranged, at the last minute to book a pitch on the Baltic Wharf CMC site for a few days. /post/travel/base-camp-malvern/ Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-malvern/ Surprisingly, the Malvern Hills CMC site had become one of Robby’s favourites after just three days there, and I quite like it myself. We have our return pencilled in for next March, as the coastal places are best left until the summer months. A few people mentioned Malvern Hills to us over the past couple of years. It looked pleasant as a countryside retreat on the maps: Situated amongst some large fields that looked like farmlands, and a few small villages, it’s far enough from the city. /post/travel/base-camp-new-forest/ Tue, 20 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-new-forest/ The route to the Black Knowl CMC site from Cardiff is straightforward, but it still took four and a half hours to get there, on account of the traffic conditions. While the roads around Brokenhurst aren’t single lane, they are awkwardly narrow, even without a caravan attached. We didn’t follow the directions given to us by the site’s owners, as that would have taken us through the small village. Despite it being a very warm afternoon, and the air being stiflingly humid, Robby and I got to work setting up the water and waste systems, and the electrical supply. /post/travel/base-camp-cornwall-2023/ Sat, 27 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-cornwall-2023/ This was the trip Robby and I were really looking forward to, because Cornwall is still our favourite region to visit. There are so many places we have yet to explore. Making our way along the wide, uncongested roads, surrounded by so much greenery as far as the eye can see, I commented to Robby on how much cleaner everything is around Cornwall. All the main roads have the national speed limit, and with hardly any traffic, and there are only a couple of points near Truro where one encounters congestion. /post/travel/base-camp-bracelands-2023/ Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-bracelands-2023/ It has been almost exactly a year since I made a short visit to Bracelands, in the Forest of Dean. Robby and I returned there for our first trip of the year. We didn’t want to travel too far, as Bertha had been sitting at the depot since October. We’re having a problem again with Bertha’s drainage valve, which I managed to close with some difficulty. If the valve is left closed during winter, the undrained water is liable to freeze and cause ~£1,000 of damage. /post/travel/base-camp-hunters-moon/ Sat, 29 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-hunters-moon/ What a drama our journey to Hunter’s Moon CMC site was! We collected Bertha from the depot an hour later than usual, got caught in a tailback on the M48 for a couple of hours - in very bad weather - and discovered it wasn’t such a good idea to follow the M5 through Taunton because that took an hour longer than going through the A-roads. We were knackered by the time we arrived, four and a half hours after leaving the depot, but we got there just before the reception closed, and had Bertha set up within 20 minutes. /post/travel/base-camp-minehead/ Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-minehead/ Minehead Caravan and Motorhome Club site is one of the smallest we have encountered on our travels, maybe just slightly larger than Meadow Farm. And it’s one of the most basic, being an acre or so of land just off the main road. From there, it’s just a two minute walk to a couple of takeaways and a Co-Op. The pitches are on two levels, surrounded by dense trees that shielded us from the colder autumn wind. /post/travel/base-camp-longleat/ Sat, 20 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-longleat/ For the last 18 months, Carnon Downs, in central Cornwall, had been my favourite caravan site. I think it now comes second to Longleat, which is unique among the sites we’d stayed at. ‘I’ll definitely come here to Longleat again. Definitely.’ Robby told me, as we were driving back from a takeaway in Wiltshire. Again, we were lucky with the weather, arriving just in time to make the most of three sunny and very warm days. /post/travel/base-camp-tenby-2022/ Fri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-tenby-2022/ Tenby is Robby’s favourite destination, and he’s determined to spend a few days there at least once a year. Of course, we booked a pitch at Meadow Farm again. As far as we know, it’s the only site within a short walk of the town, and it overlooks the coast. Like pretty much all the coastal sites we visited, it’s on high ground and exposed to the worst of bad weather. /post/travel/base-camp-north-devon/ Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-north-devon/ Being on the high ground on the north Devon coast, the Damage Barton caravan site was exposed to the cold blustery wind when we arrived there. It would be the ideal place to stay in July or August, I’d imagine. Damage Barton is actually the name of the nearby farm and surrounding fields. The region is called Mortehoe. And what a job it was getting there, with Mortehoe Station Road being so narrow, and with vehicles coming and going from the other holiday parks being situated along it! /post/travel/base-camp-bracelands/ Mon, 28 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-bracelands/ It seemed like only yesterday that we left the Base Camp in the depot after the final trip of 2020. Robby brought it out again for a visit to Bracelands Campsite, which is located in a giant clearing in the Forest of Dean. Unfortunately I could only join him for two nights, since it was Mothers’ Day weekend, but it was worth the journey. It was only an hour’s drive along the M4 then an A road, so we could potentially return there for a day out. /post/travel/base-camp-brighton/ Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-brighton/ This was probably our final trip with Base Camp Bertha until next year. Robby and I have just returned from Brighton, and I think it was the best trip we’ve had in the last couple of months. Things didn’t go smoothly to begin with. Cutting a long story short, I learned that it’s possible to jump start a Ford Cougar using Missy, my precious Renault Clio. Hypothetically it’s possible to do the same with the battery in the Base Camp, as it has a higher rating than the typical car battery. /post/travel/base-camp-saundersfoot/ Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-saundersfoot/ Originally we intended to return to Meadows Farm, as we fancied another stay at Tenby, but the pitches were fully booked. Instead we reserved a place at Trevayne Farm. I’m not sure which site I prefer: Meadows Farm has a very nice view of the coast, and it’s the only site within a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Tenby. Trevayne Farm has pretty much its own beach that would be very quiet in the summer, being accessible only through the Coastal Path or the farm, and the facilities are slightly better. /post/travel/base-camp-aberaeron/ Fri, 17 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-aberaeron/ We learned of Bargoed Farm when we met the owners in Dorset a few months ago. Being just a few miles from Aberaeron and a few other locations of interests along the coast of west Wales, we thought it’s worth spending a few days here. Andy and Tony joined us for this one, and were staying in their Tab on the neighbouring pitch. As the name suggests, Bargoed Farm is an actual functioning farm, with barns and fields and a few animals here and there - our pitch was visited a few times by two cats and a group of chickens. /post/travel/base-camp-brighton-2022/ Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-brighton-2022/ Our stay in Brighton just happened to coincide with a heatwave that, it was reported in the Corporate Media, would bring record-breaking temperatures in the region. When I was much younger, this kind of weather was typical throughout July and August, and it seems a rarity in comparison these days. I didn’t expect the temperature to be a lot more than 30 degrees centigrade in Brighton, but we came prepared anyway, bringing plenty of water and the Chillmax Air unit we bought at Asda last year for about £30. /post/travel/base-camp-dorset/ Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-dorset/ Though we rarely visit all the places of interest I have marked on the GPS when we’re off somewhere, we do get around. We used Wilksworth Caravan Park as our base, and it was as good as any: It’s within walking distance of Wimborne town centre, the staff are very friendly, the facilities are well maintained and there is a handy shop at the reception. I couldn’t see any pitches that were actually full-serviced, but none of them were more than a few metres from a water and drainage point. /post/travel/love2stay/ Thu, 24 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/love2stay/ A site called ’ Love2Stay ’ is just outside the town of Shrewsbury. Robby had mentioned a number of times its reputation for having the most comprehensive range of facilities of all the caravan sites in Britain, and 90% of the reviews were very positive when we were deciding whether to book a place there. The journey took around three hours from the depot from Cardiff. We took the wrong exit somewhere near Ross-on-wye and were consequently directed by the satnav onto the motorway through Birmingham. /post/travel/base-camp-cornwall/ Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-cornwall/ After a very long drive (~5 hours) from the Cardiff depot, we set up Bertha at the Carnon Downs site, in the centre of Cornwall, about three miles south of Truro. It is the ideal place from which to explore the region, and there are numerous things to see. Our area was fully-serviced, each station having a water supply, electricity and a waste water drain. Everything at Carnon Downs is meticulously-kept, from the grounds to the shower facilities. /post/travel/base-camp-tenby/ Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 /post/travel/base-camp-tenby/ Since we aren’t going abroad anytime soon, Robby and I have taken to visiting places around Britain in the Swift Base Camp, affectionately named ‘Bertha’. We have been a couple of places closer to home already, but there wasn’t much to see. Tenby is Robby’s favourite location in Britain, and it’s certainly the best place we have stayed so far. We managed to get a place on Meadows Farm, which seems the only site within walking distance of Tenby.