First ever caravan trip...and we loved it!

We bought our first caravan three weeks ago from Kimberley Caravans (Burtree, Darlington) and I have to say they were absolutely first class. However the caravan had to sit on the drive for a few weeks due to other commitments, so when the day rolled around for our first trip to Leaplish Waterside Park in Kielder, Northumberland, we couldn't wait to get going.

We packed the car up with enough to keep us going for the 3 night trip and set off with my wife and two young daughters. The drive there was a good test of my towing skills, dual carriageway on the A69 followed by the ups and downs of the old Roman road, before navigating the twisty country roads into Kielder.

It seemed to take us a long time to get set up. Consulting the manual of our Sprite S-Line 6 several hundred times we eventually moved on to the orning, which took another stressful hour or so. In the end we were all set though, got the kids to bed and relaxed. I grabbed my book and looked in the fridge for a cold, hard earned beer, but there were none to be found! My sheepish wife admitted she'd forgotten to pack them along with the bottle of red wine I'd bought for the occasion. She made amends though by asking me to "scout" the area and reward myself with a couple of pints if I found a pub; which I did and I did.

Leaplish was brilliant for the kids (and us!) as we didn't have to use the car all weekend. We went on a boat trip across the beautiful lake, visited a bird of prey sanctuary (brilliant and very interactive for the kids) and had great pub meal on our last night. My wife ordered fish and chips and was subsequently served whale and chips (food envy ensued!)

In between we got used to living in our new caravan and fell in love with it. The kids were happy all weekend and slept like logs every night, giving mum and dad some peace and quiet. And with no wireless connection or even phone signal, I haven't had as much book reading time in ages!

We can't wait for the next trip.