Fantasy Tour

Yes, unmistakable. 👍🏻

You do live JV, at least you can compare different tiles in the different Club Site bogs! I heartily commend your patriotic love of all things Club though!😁

Here’s another short Yorkshire video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hcrmfJEG8r0

Take her for one of the special dinner nights on North York Moors Railway! 👍

Social separation is tricky in Pompey. It's the most densely populated place in the UK. 

We hope this fantasy, we have renamed "what if"......is within the sprit of what this discussion is about.......

My wife and I presently reside in Sennelager, northern Germany and for all you like minded service veterans sorry i'm not in the Army. However, I did serve 27 years in the RAF, during which time the family and I were fortunate enough to have spent a considerable number of years stationed in central Europe in which 80% of that time we owned 3 touring caravans; allowing us to travel and holiday in such destinations as the Southern Italian mainland side of Venice (very many times), Eastern inland Prague, Poland and northwards Legoland, Denmark.

My wife, now as then is employed within the Civil Service, often laughed and joked with our, 2 now much grown up daughters and partners, when showing the holiday photos of yester- year often would say….. "what if….....what if the opportunity were to ever arise again, allowing us to work and live back in Germany – what if……would we really take it and return?" –

Since leaving the RAF we have returned many times to Europe both in visiting long-time friends, old places and taking holidays sunny relaxing beach holidays – but they didn't really feel quite the same as when ‘actually’ living out there - can't explain why.  

So, often after many a glass or a bottle or three - we would say to each other - would we?? would we really, really return and live there????

Then in early September of last year our dream "what if…… crossroads" scenario became a very real serious prospect. My wife had been offered the opportunity of returning to Germany, having secured a position working alongside the Army for a minimum of 3 years, with a very real exciting prospect of extending that to 5 years – ‘wow!!’

To cut a long story short, in the 8 following weeks - I handed my notice in, we sold the family home - with both our daughters having flown the nest a number of years before, we had found ourselves in probably the same position as number of fellow caravaner’s reading this reply – to many bedrooms, too much garden to maintain in the summer, much in need of scaling down, but not really wishing to take the bull by the horns! - and besides where do you start?  

So for us it was quite simple, we dusted off our old style military hats, re-adopted our old frame of mind in doing things, the fact I had since left the RAF some 18 years ago, there was a lot of dust to dust off – but we sold the house, purchased a ‘new’ much smaller property (still has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms), managed to rent it out, packed hundreds of boxes, said goodbye to family and love ones alike, caught the overnight ferry from Hull to Rotterdam and arrived back in Germany on my wife's birthday - 22nd October. In between all this had the caravan serviced and ordered our new low vehicle.

In just 2 months we had gone from dream time….what if….. what if…. to standing on our newly appointed married quarter home for the next 5 years awaiting the arrival of our UK removal lorries.

Our 2 daughter's in part, when told of our plains, the selling of the family home thought we had totally lost the plot and was on the verge of having some form of middle age crisis rebound!! – But on balance, once the dust had settled both agreed you only live once, go for it this is what dreams are made of..... 

And now the penny has fully dropped – having free accommodation holidays, anytime of the year, almost guaranteed snow in the winter, sun in the summer for almost as long as they wish, or work dictates, perhaps us going back to Germany isn't such a bad thing after all. – Besides in real cases of emergency the UK is less than a day’s drive or 2 hours if flying.

So in part our dream what if's…… have been answered – and now we, ‘hopefully’ find ourselves with 5 years in which to see many parts of central and northern Europe we have never fully explored previously or places we wish to return to. Given that such locations if  travelling from UK would encounter additional travelling time and not to mention considerable additional expense - ferries, fuel to name two - we feel we are so lucky.

So now ‘we’ find ourselves with 2 new and more challenging dreams or as we call them, what if’s …….and just to further complete matters – both what if's .....are located at either ends of Europe.

The first and closest to us - visiting the Arctic Circle, for us simply is a real must and would suggest probably many of you reading this to - ‘To witness the great northern lights and touch the magic golden bowl showing you have arrived at the most northerly point in Europe with a caravan must be a dream. – From where we live? – 2,048 miles or 39 plus travelling hours – and just 2 countries distance away, Denmark and Sweden. And where best to stay? - Nordkapp Caravan & Camping, 9763 Skarsvåg, Norge. www.nordkappcaravancamp. This site appears to be a good as place as any – unless 'you' fellow traveller’s know better – please feel free ‘all’ suggestions most appreciated and gratefully received. 

And of the other ‘what if’…………. - the opposite end of Europe (well just outside) - Morocco – We have looked at Camping Takat, 87274 Sidi Bibi, Souss-Massa-Daraâ.  And from where we live? - 2,175 miles or 40 plus hours travelling with an additional 170 miles, south West’esh of Marrakesh, (would appear everybody goes to Marraksh). But must say, sorry France we will be travelling via Spain - French toils are simply way too way expensive these days!  And Incidentally, we’ve have noticed this particular site appears to be pretty popular with other Europeans – as to why??

 So there we are – our first…dream, what if…. has been answered, we’ve returned to Germany – we now just have the other two what if’s……to vent in. Both road trips rather long in terms of distance but equally both very different in almost every other aspect. We must also mention we have a massive list consisting of very many other places we either wish to re-visit or visit for the first time.

However; for the most of obvious reasons both road trips require the undertaking of completely different times of the year, both require completely different lines of approach, both require meticulous careful planning BUT most of all - neither can be even contemplated until we, Europe, the world is completely clear of this horrendous virus and again ‘us’, Europe, the world has returned to some form of normality – whenever and whatever that normality may be and look like.

And to our exploring ‘unit’ - a new BMW X3, M40d (boys and their toys), automatic and new when we purchased it 3 years ago, our Hobby Excellent 560 CFe – and yes it is the 250 wide version.

Food for thought? - At last year’s Dusseldorf  Caravan Salon show we spoke with a German company, who for many years has and does offer a host of  ‘world tours’ https://www.seabridge-tours.de/ –

Here we go again………..dreams??..........what if's…….world tours??………

But sadly we have to finish on a sad note, due to the circumstances we now find ourselves in we have elected to leave the Caravan Club, sadly to say the club has been unable to offer us year-long European Caravan insurance cover and simply the cost of a monthly magazine didn’t really out-way the necessary yearly subscription required.

So fellow traveller’s – keep well, stay safe and when happy caravanning returns and it WILL - you just never know – as we quite often say….what if....and it’s a funny old small world – we just might just meet up one day’

TTFN and you never know your dream.... what if……….may just come true one day like ours.

Oh, yes, we have and on to Shetland. Both island groups are beautiful but they're different. I think Shetland was my favourite. 

The Western Isles are also fabulous and I can’t choose a favourite island.

Perhaps a fantasy tour could take in the Northern and Western Isles with a guarantee of calm ferry crossings. 😄