Bubbles first trip

Winter at the NEC. We're there to look at camper vans. There was a tiny cream caravan, shaped like an old fashioned sidecar on a motorbike, and seeming hardly much bigger. People round her like honey bees around a new flower. Met Cathy Mike and Ben and heard she was proudly British all through.
Inside, rounded edges, smart trims, cool colour's of lime green, blue's and cream, vintage fabrics and so much unexpected space. Someone described her as a tardis, so much bigger inside than she seems outside, but for me she's more of a hobbit house, one of those tiny hidden round dwellings that open up to a unique, cosy and so cleverly designed round home.
We went home and got a tow bar fitted-apparently essential for pulling a caravan ( no, we didn't even know that much). We joined the caravan club. We booked to stay on a campsite in the Cotswolds, just a few miles from where our van is being made. Then we waited, and watched the development of the second Barefoot caravan, via photo's kindly sent to us from the makers. Collected our Barefoot 2 on 9th May. We've never owned or hired a caravan so Ben's patience in taking us through the practicalities was very helpful. There seemed so much to learn, but we've been given a handy book, with step by step instructions.
We drove the few miles from the workshop to the campsite on the edge of our seat, felt strange to have this blue presence so close in our rear mirror, but she followed us meekly and seemed very attached to us straight away!
Getting her onto the pitch was easy, as so many people came to see the van, 2 men grabbed the grab handles and simply pulled her into the spot. She attracts so much attention! People ask if they can take photo's, talk about aero dynamics and all want to see her inside's. Come on guys, it's her first day!  


Our next big hurdle is to get her home, 4 and a half hours down to Kent, if the M25 isn't having a bad day. Dreading that journey. Then we have to wiggle her into a small parking space behind our house, no room to reverse in even if we felt able to.

We love her. She's shaped like a small blue bubble, so we've named her Bubbles.
The bed is wide across, with a quilt underneath and another on top we slept fine. Having the loo in the tiny room at the end is so much better that getting shoes, jacket and torch and running over to the loo block in the middle of the night. Being able to lie in bed and have a cuppa made for me in the morning is great, the fridge and cooker being entirely accessible when the bed's in place.
Best of all is coming back to the campsite, seeing this beautiful blue bubble through the trees, can't miss her colour size and shape amongst all the other white boxy vans.
We've so loved our few days in the Cotswolds in the pouring rain, how much will we love it when it's dry, and maybe, one day, even sunny!

Footnote.

She looks just like the Caravan club logo!!

We made it home, and pulled her into her resting place.


Sent from my iPad