Changed to the dark side
Comments
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Public transport (if it was even available) would have been a logistical nightmare. This would have reduced our scope massively, would have involved hours of standing at bus stops and would have been very expensive.
That is just part of the forward planning. There are loads of sites with good public transport links and if you are of a certain age travel, in England, will be free. Google Earth will show bus stops near to your intended campsite and a
further search will bring up the timetables. Just over a week ago we were at the Club's Hillhead site. We had access to buses going to Brixham, Kingswear/Dartmouth, Paignton from right outside the site entrance. Had we been there longer many other excursions
would have been possible. We didn't have to worry about finding anywhere to part nor pay for it.David
I am of 'a certain age' David.......but they moved the certain age up to 66
I take your points, but we find that the felxibility is just not there with buses. You go somewhere in the car and decide there isn't as much to do or see there as you thought, so you move on to somewhere else. Maybe call at a NT property on the way back.
We went to some out of the way places in Devon, where I'm sure no bus has ever been.
With buses, you are pretty much stuck to where and when the bus goes. We prefer to 'do our own thing' and not be dictated to by a bus company.
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Ian, never say never, we once said that we would not want a M/H , but circumstances change and now we have one
As far as the "packing up" to go out ,it only takes us a couple of minutes,it all depends on how tidy you are , we wash up as soon as we have used it and every thing has its place
if ever we meet on site you would be welcomed to have a look inside .........and a cup of tea
I'd be delighted, Husky!
(But don't try giving me one of those bonios!)
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As far as the "packing up" to go out ,it only takes us a couple of minutes,it all depends on how tidy you are , we wash up as soon as we have used it and every thing has its place
if ever we meet on site you would be welcomed to have a look inside .........and a cup of tea
I'd echo husky dog's comments and extend the offer to any CT or club member to view and a cuppa, we rarely have wine but you could bring your own
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IanH I'm so with you on the certain age!
We do have bikes we can put on the back, haven't done for last year or two, couldn't when we had sons dog and haven't put them back. We've not used our mh much this year and said of staying at Lytham great place for bikes, flat and traffic free for miles. We do use buses OH has his pass but not very often. Its amazing how much you can walk to with a bit of planning site wise, we think nothing of five plus miles. In fact we walked from our site in lytham to visit - took longer than expected as turned out to be 5.5 miles and we stopped for picnic lunch on Lytham Green overlooking the sea . We hadn't packed a torch, not good planning! Last bit if walk would have been on unlit roads we aren't familiar with and it would be past dusk as we approached this part, also not suitably dressed as we were in dark colours. Solved by taxi £12.60. So there are alternatives and solutions without planning
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we always have wine, but you can bring your own tea...
no real 'packing up' involved, as long as one is tidy...
clothes are kept in wardrobes, books/magazines/ipads in lockers, all cutlery/pots/pans in large drawers...
i guess the kettle is the only thing that is not normally put away throughout the stay...
all drawers, cupboards, lockers have their own secure locks...
so, ehu unplugged, swivel the seats and away we go....
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I am of a certain age. Had a bus pass for nearly 4 years. Not much use to me though, We live in Wales. If I go into Chester on a bus it is the best part of 45 mins if not at the bus stop 7 mins before the bus may have left. Park and ride 20 mins including drive.
When Touring only about 5-10% of our time is likely to be within Wales and often in areas with limited services. This year so far. 40 nights in Scotland, 6 nights in Wales, 61 in England with another 15 nights in England planned.
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We've thought about towing a car with us but it's just not worth it for what we want. If we are lucky enough to get away for a week or longer in the motorhome we hire a car when we get there. Doing this has worked out well for us over the years.
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Buses take you places you would not normally see. I changed to a M/H a year ago and am happy to pay for buses in England and Wales ( Scottish bus pass). Buses cost less than fuel in car or M/H for one. The dog sits on my knee and is a good icebreaker for
talking to fellow travellers.0 -
Buses take you places you would not normally see. I changed to a M/H a year ago and am happy to pay for buses in England and Wales ( Scottish bus pass). Buses cost less than fuel in car or M/H for one. The dog sits on my knee and is a good icebreaker for
talking to fellow travellers.Buses for two are a tad dearer and don't often go where I want to be in one hit.
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One of the reasons we switched to a motorhome was to make it easier to navigate some of the country roads in France and Italy and to pitch on sites with limited space. Our experience has been very positive so far. Anybody tried to stop at a boulangerie on
a main road in France towing a 7.5 meter caravan? Well, I have to say that with a 6.3 m motorhome it is usually possible to pull over and park up for 5 minutes.Also, in the UK, you get joke lay-bys that only seem big enough for two Fiat 500 cars but you can usually squeeze a compact motorhome in so that you can stop for lunch.
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I smiled when I saw the title as I was curious as to which change it was referring to.We have two close sets of friends, with whom we holiday, who have motorhomes and we have a caravan and each of us will from time to time refer to the other as being 'on the dark side'.We all have a good laugh with the mickey taking but in the end it's just personal choice and we are all happy.There are many reasons why we will stick with the caravan but we did consider, and look at, motorhomes about 7 years ago when the purchase would not have been an issue financially.At the time our youngest daughter was expecting her first child and it was whilst sitting in a Rapido motorhome that, looking around, I asked out loud "where will we put the travel cot"?So that was it,all thoughts of a motorhome over!Having just been to the NEC, with our friends from t'other side, we were amazed at the prices that motorhomes are now and that even paying almost £90k did not, in our view, get you the comfort that we get in our van-so we have
ordered a new one!
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Alan and Jean
I got the same amount of comfort in my motorhome compared to my last caravan for half the figure you mention above. Having recently visited a caravan dealer to use their accessory shop and having seen the prices of new caravans I am not sure I could afford
to go back to a caravan with a suitable towcar as it would likely cost more than my motorhome!!!David
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After 16 years caravaning (7.4M)switched to a Motorhome (6M) in April this year. Just completed 6000 miles already. Done 2 trips to France one for 6 weeks the other 3 weeks. Really enjoying the greater flexability just need to plan sites a bit more carefully
to walk or use public transport. Considering feasibility of bikes but we haven't cycled for years.0 -
After 16 years caravaning (7.4M)switched to a Motorhome (6M) in April this year. Just completed 6000 miles already. Done 2 trips to France one for 6 weeks the other 3 weeks. Really enjoying the greater flexability just need to plan sites a bit more carefully to walk or use public transport. Considering feasibility of bikes but we haven't cycled for years.
With your 6m Flash, i would have thought part of the decision to have such a manoevrable van was to be able to park it up in towns...?....thus avoiding having to rely on busses etc.....
however, you will (surely?) have noticed that every French town/village you visited had a local aire where MH could park, these cant be booked and you can just arrive at these with mo real planning(except in tourist hotspots in peak season)....something to check put next time you visit?
of course, in the UK, this sort of impromptu touring is not as easy, but you have a useful advantage in that your van can be parked easily on the street in most towns....
good luck...
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Hi DK, The £90k was for the Rapido we had sat in at the show. Our friends have a Autotrail Scout which would cost £6000 more than my Lunar Clubman SR and Audi Q5 but, as I said, we decided against a motorhome for other reasons than price. If The Lottery
makes me a rich man then a motorhome would be on my wish list but as an addition to, and not a replacement for, for the caravan.0
