Our Coachman caravan was possibly not one of our better purchases. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but it had little of the charm of our Bailey and after a very cold, windy Easter spent in it near Sidmouth we only used it sporadically.
I'm sure that part of the problem was that its boat shaped roof had the most peculiar profile. That and the fact that the 'van sat quite low meant that getting an awning to fit properly was an absolute nightmare.
The aforesaid Easter trip was one where we continually had to push off water which collected on our awning roof and ultimately bent the poles. It was so cold that the dog slept in the van with us and since there was no blown air heating......just a gas convector heater, only one part of the van stayed warm at night. And you can guess which end the dog gravitated to!
By the end of that week, I was sleeping with the dog at the cold end, while Lauren and Kim were snug down the warm front end........oh, and the cassette loo got broken. Lovely!
The car I towed it with was a Peugeot 405 estate with a 1.6 petrol engine and it always struggled with it. Even on the motorway, it was unusual if it exceeded 50mph!
However we did have some nice trips in it, even if it did take a while to get anywhere!
Before long we decided we wanted a new caravan, and since I had a decent towcar by this time and since we had seen a lovely brand spanking new Elddis on the forecourt of our local dealer at a very attractive price........well we bought our first new caravan.
Here I am looking very proud on our first trip out with the 'van in November of 2000, when we towed it up to London and used the Caravan Club Crystal Palace site.
Since then, we've travelled many, many miles on our trips around the country and we've gone at all times of the year. Such is the equipment in modern'vans that with the central heating, double glazing, fully equipped kitchens and washrooms, its criminal not to use them throughout the year. So we've been battered by gales and snow as well as shimmering heat and we've been to some lovely sites, as well as the odd dubious one or two.
