Back to Golden Cross to try out a porch awning

Our new awning - Panama Weekender by Towsure 

So as you have probably guessed from the photo, our indecision about the best porch awning has been resolved and this is the one with which we ended up. We bought from Riversway Leisure and chose their 260 model but I am very glad that we chose to buy through +eBay because getting them to send a complete awning turned into a bit of a nightmare. I'm not planning to ever buy from them again! In the end, we have got a Panama Weekender 260 made by +Towsure 

We went back to Golden Cross, to the site of our first caravan stay, this time to stay for three nights making a long weekend of it. The Old Mill site was much busier this time with all eight touring pitches occupied but it was still peaceful. We saw a few planes on their way to Airborne and took advantage of the proximity to have a lovely roast lamb lunch at the Golden Cross Inn. 

Back to the awning! Initially a disappointing purchase due to poor customer service - advertised 24 hour delivery took three days, then incomplete item sent so further delivery required - so we were somewhat apprehensive about putting up the awning wondering what else would go wrong. However, it was pretty straightforward and we managed to get everything done in about half an hour which we were pleased with for a first attempt. The printed instructions are not good - for example 4 guy ropes are mentioned when the awning has 6 - so we applied our knowledge of putting up tents instead. One of the bendy poles 'bit' Dave requiring a swift first aid break, otherwise all good. In order to have easy clearance to open the door, one awning pole stands just behind the red light towards the front of Bailey and the other is half-way across the 'bedroom' window. This does mean that two windows cannot be opened while the awning is up, although they still admit plenty of light, but there are another three windows, two skylights and the door so we didn't miss any ventilation! 

The awning is easily big enough for two sun loungers and we also cooked out there with a camping stove on a table. Both the front panels and both side doors open up to give a gazebo effect, or any can be closed to provide wind breaks. There are four windows with blinds for shade or privacy and both the doors can be just fly screens. Negatives are that we're not yet sure about the pale top because this might not provide shade in sunnier climes and the stays on the guy ropes are weak. One already snapped during the first night so we swapped it with its unused neighbour and I'll probably replace all the ropes with the sturdier ones from our old tent in time. Overall though, the awning does what we wanted it too, it feels larger inside than we expected and we're very pleased with it.

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First night nerves unfounded and I even towed it

Dave catches some rays by our new caravan

A lot has happened since We're on our way but we're not going far! Firstly, we collected our beautiful new-to-us Bailey Orion 430-4 from John's Cross. Knowing we are novices, they kindly spent over an hour showing us around absolutely every button, dial, tube and cranky bit so we were a lot more confident when we left than when we arrived. Dave even got to try out about twenty yards of reversing. John's Cross also presented me with a lovely bouquet of flowers and some wine for Dave as a thank you for buying from them! Then a short nerve-wracking but happily uneventful drive to Horam later and our caravan was settled in at its new home, Woodland View Touring Park.


And that was that ... until yesterday ...

We spent the morning packing up the few bits we would need for a single night away, and then added lots more things that we think we might want on a longer trip. The idea was to check we could remember how to do everything we'd been taught and also to begin working out the best storage solutions for such essentials as a slow cooker and the toaster. We got to Horam and, under the watchful eye of site owner Sam, managed to extract our Bailey from a scarily tight space. ("Just pull straight forwards, you've got loads of room there!") Hitched up properly and fairly efficiently, the open road beckoned and Dave bravely set out on the long journey to Golden Cross. All seven miles of it! We could have done it in five, but chose the bigger roads.

Setting up Bailey is so much easier than pitching a tent! In the past, we could go from parking up to tent pitched & tea poured in about an hour and a half. In Bailey, an hour and a half included having found homes for all the random tat I'd brought along, fridge working and water running, tin gecko blu-tacked up, tea poured AND a choc chip cookie (bought on way, not baked on site!) All without raising a sweat - far more civilised than struggling with a bedroom pod and a groundsheet. One 'slight hiccup' could have been far worse than it actually was. As we tried to level Bailey front to back, the caravan suddenly pitched forwards and hit the ground. We learnt that it is vitally important to make sure that the clampy bit around the jockey wheel tube is tight. Very tight!

Sticky carpet was another problem. John's Cross (presumably although it could have been the original dealer) had put plastic over the two carpet pieces to protect them. However, because the plastic had been on for too long a time, when we removed it a sticky residue was left which we stuck to with every step. One carpet piece was bad, but the other was fine. Googling when we got home led me to CaravanTalk which suggested the gentle application of white spirit. An hour of this has removed most of the stickiness so a second application and a shampoo should get shot of the rest. I've now joined CaravanTalk - this is me.

Other hiccups were minor:
Reversing is probably never going to be fun.
The heater works better if the power to it is actually turned on.
The pump needs to be well under the water level in the aqua roll.

Old Mill campsite is quiet without much road noise late at night so I slept like a log. The bed is very comfortable and we were both glad we'd gone for the fixed bed option instead of making up a jumble of cushions. A little light comes in under the blind in the morning, but not enough to wake me up, only Dave, so that's OK.

And today I drove back to Horam. Me! And I don't know what I was worrying about. There was one moment where it all went a bit lurchy, but more power smoothed the ride. Dave squeaked on the first corner out of the campsite (bit close to a post!) but the rest went by fine. Braking obviously takes longer and I need to remember to allow several car lengths of space because gunning away from a standstill isn't an option. With practice I'll probably go faster - apologies to the people stuck behind when I was doing 40 through the s-bends on the Horam road but overall, a very positive experience.

We're both very pleased with ourselves and Bailey. I believe we're going to have wonderful times!
Woo hoo!

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We're on our way but we're not going far

Old Mill Holiday Park, Golden Cross, Sussex

Stupidly overexcited today and all because I posted a letter at Sainsburys this morning. (I'm easily pleased!) It wasn't as simple as expected because their post box has moved - it's no longer by the front door but now hiding round by the checkouts. I hope the postpeople know because this particular envelope is vitally important. Containing a short letter, hand-scrawled on a page torn from a notepad, and accompanying our deposit cheque, it's now on its way to a little campsite ridiculously close to where we live and where we are going to spend our first night in our new caravan! We've not even collected the 'van yet. Premature? Me?

Old Mill Holiday Park at Golden Cross only has eight caravan pitches so with a bit of luck there won't be too many other people there to watch us painstakingly referring back to the manual for the simplest of tasks! It looks pretty and rustic and I've nicked one of their photos to illustrate this post so you can see. I hope they don't mind. We've only got one night so couldn't travel too far from home although we had planned to go a bit further, but this was one of the nicest we found online. They answered my enquiry email really quickly too which is always encouraging. Should everything go horribly wrong, our house is only 15 minutes away, but I'm sure it will all be fine. Thousands of people caravan - how hard can it be? Plus I already know the food at the Golden Cross Inn is excellent so dinner's sorted!

By then we will already know how to get the bright yellow wheel clamp on and off, and we should be happy negotiating the red hitch lock too. I love how so much caravanning stuff is bold primary colours! Eurotow fitted a shiny new tow bar - which I am desperately hoping I won't be the first to bash my shins on - and we'll have attached and detached at least once by ourselves before. Not sure if we'll have used the remote control parking gadget though? Watching us park might be what passes for entertainment!

Now we've just got to wait until we can get our caravan from Robertsbridge to its new home in Horam, wait again for what will seem like AGES, then tow from Horam to Golden Cross for our Big Night Out. Can't wait!

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