A once in a lifetime experience

About 12 years ago my wife and I took up motorhoming after a gap of about 25
years. We joined the Caravan Club and were pleased with the facilities it
offered. We also joined Friends Reunited to see if any old schoolchums could
be contacted and then if things went well, we could visit them.
I contacted an old girlfriend and we were invited to visit her and her
husband near Manchester. Unfortunately there was not a Club Site close so we
booked in to a private campsite only a few miles from our friends. It was a
cold Friday in October and the first time I had towed our Smart Car behind
our Motorhome. The Journey was easy going but worrying as we crossed the
Pennines as snow fell and settled on the side of the road.
We arrived at the, "Campsite", and booked in. We were told to select any
part of the camping field as there were no marked out pitches but electric
points every 50 yards along the hedges. We were also asked to keep the gate
closed once we had passed through it. This was a different experience for us but we were looking forward to our newly found school friends. ( All four of us attended the same school. )
As we set up we realised we had made a mistake but decided to make the most
of it. As we were putting the awning out we were joined by a flock of
chickens, a couple of sheep, and a Llama, which seemed to be attracted to my
wife. She retreated in to the Motorhome leaving me to finish setting up. I
took a walk to the facilities and found the, "bathroom", was also used as a
a storage room for boots, cleaning equipment, and spare gas bottles. On
returning to the Motorhome I informed my wife we would use our own onboard
facilities.
As we weren't meeting our friends until after lunch on Saturday we settled
in for the night. The wind got up and being on the top of the Pennines we
were well exposed. The awning, although well fastened down rattled and
flapped to the point I took it down again. I then remembered that the site
was called, "Windy Ridge", and now knew why. The temperature kept falling
and the gas fire was having little effect. It was then I realised that buthane gas does not work in cold weather. We piled on the blankets and
managed to get to sleep. About 3 in the morning as ice was forming on the
windows we awoke and decided to have a cup of tea to warm us up, we never
managed to sleep after that.
In the morning as we crossed the field to get to where the Smart Car was
parked, the Llama spotted my wife and made advances, followed by the sheep
and the chickens. We managed to escape but we both slipped in the gateway and
covered in mud, scrambled to the other side and shut the gate. Sat in the Smart car, when I asked my wife where she wanted to go, she said anywhere far enough to get the heater working and the car warm. We
visited Buxton and warmed ourselves in the shopping centre. I spotted a fan
heater for sale and immediately decided to buy it. While sorting our
purchase, the fire alarm went off and the building started to evacuate. I
stayed to complete my purchase as if there was a fire at least we would be
warm. We returned to the campsite and using me as a decoy, my wife avoided
the Llama and reached the Motorhome in safety. After Lunch in our now warm
Motorhome we left to meet our friends whose first words were. " Do you know
that last night was the coldest of the year".
The point of this story, which is all completely true, is. The Caravan club has a standard which can be found at all it's sites. Private sites can vary so much.We know there are other good caravan parks but we never want to take the risk. Last year while staying at the Bransgore site in the New Forest, we walked to the rival site along the road and after looking around, confirmed that the Caravan Club Site has the standard we want.