Farewell
I have today hung up my tow hook and given up caravanning.
Sadly I shall miss the campsite friendliness whether on club site or CL.
Decrepitude has got me in the end (but don't ask which end!), I now find myself making more and more silly mistakes and for that reason must give up before I make a fatal one.
So thank you all and goodbye, I have some 60 years of camping memories to look back on, which I certainly shall do.
Comments
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As Metheven says it is a decision we will all have to make in time. Better that you have been able to make the decision for yourself. Hope you enjoy what you decide to do in the future.
David
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Good wishes from us as well, hope you find an alternative to enjoy👍
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Best wishes to you for however you decide to use your leisure time in the future. As already said, we'll all face that decision time eventually and I hope, like you, I can recognise it for myself rather than be a danger to others.
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All the very best with your retirement from camping, redface. Hope you find another leisure activity to keep you occupied in your twilight years.
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There's always an element of sadness when a chapter closes. I felt the same when I sold the yacht. Hopefully I have a few more miles to go yet with the motorhome. All the best.
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That's a tough decision to have had to make. May all go well with you.
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Hi Redface. Apologies for my late response.... we've been out and about and internet access has not generally been good. Sorry to read of your decision to give up - all the very best. You know you are still welcome to keep in touch on Club Together.... there are a few ex-caravanners who continue to post on here... do let us know how you are doing.
David
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After more than 35 years of caravanning, and now in our mid-80’s, we have decided to call it a day. The main problem is the erecting and taking down the awning, plus being slowed down by medical troubles that significantly limit our mobility. Two considerations governing our decision were that (a) we are not prepared to risk finding ourselves in a position where most of our time would mean sitting outside the caravan and, (b) we would not be happy to be without the awning, as this gives good outdoor relaxation even during inclement weather. I will miss my VW Caravelle but, with no reason to tow or carry camping equipment, it follows that a more economical vehicle is the sensible option. I do not like very small cars, so I have decided on getting a Toyota C-hr hybrid.
Some of our most memorable holidays have been in France, and we are hoping to find rented holiday accommodation to continue taking vacations in that country. When taking account of caravan servicing, insurance, cost of expensive replacements (tyres, battery, etc.), plus the recent steep rise in campsite fees and higher fuel consumption when towing, I do not see the cost of renting as being something to worry about.
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Best of luck to you LeTouriste.
We manage a few rentals per year so I think we'll transition well when the time comes. We did seriously consider our options a few months ago following a rather debilitating Stroke but still feel the urge and the will to carry on so will give it a go but I can well understand your thought process.
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Good Luck with whatever you decide to do next.
We haven't been away yet in the van, in fact we have not been away since last October. Too many things seem to be getting in the way. It looks as if late April will be the earliest, if not mid May. Like you I have some mobility issues regarding walking any distance so not sure how long we will continue, although hopefully at least a year or two?
David
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After more than 30 years of caravanning, the “rot” started with COVID, and the caravan has stood idle since October 2019. Now in our late 80’s, and finding ourselves drawn mainly to France, we have assessed the value of caravanning in the light of how things have changed.
This has brought us to a decision to give up towing and go for renting country cottages, or gites when we visit France. With the steep rise in the costs of caravanning (and in addition taking into account the costs of running a caravan and a sufficiently large and powerful car to tow the ‘van and carry the supporting accessories), we feel that the change will not be have any financial significance.
So, I have already traded in my 2017 VW Caravelle (bit sad to see that go) and bought a 2021 Toyota CH-R hybrid. For first time in my life, I got substantial change on the deal! Next job is to give the van a good clean and put it up for sale, and start planning our future holidays.
I don’t think we’ll miss caravanning, since the pastime has lost much of the halcyon times of the past, and the freedom to roam has diminished with the need to book well ahead to gain a pitch for a couple of weeks in a stretch.
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good luck for the future .we have found even in this country you can find cottages that are cheaper to stay in than on the so called club sites when you add up how much extra fuel you put in your tank for a weeks holiday
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Good luck to all who have "hung up their tow hook and given up caravanning", not quite got that far, but this year have given up the idea of going into Europe, normally at this time of year we would be travelling down to Spain, but ferry costs, diesel, site fees, not getting any younger, etc continue to rise, so just planning a couple of weeks with Spanish Daughter, although i detest airports.
Came back from Spain in January and van not moved since then, but we do use it as a guest bedroom when we have lots of people staying. Planning a trip mid May to Cornwall, 10 days, but we are going to leave behind awning and all the stuff that goes with an awning, and going to try the Minimalistic approach, to hopefully make caravanning easier, but have to say, i do like the idea of rocking up at a nice cottage just dumping your bags and not having to worry about all that goes with setting up a caravan. We still have our usual site in Devon booked for 1 month in September, but will see how the Minimalistic approach stacks up.
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Rufs (and others), I can assure you that, having given up caravanning just before the pandemic struck, and now mainly using cottages for week long breaks, we are probably getting away as much, if not more, than ever.
We reckoned that storage, insurance and servicing the van came to the best part of £1000 then, probably more these days. That's 2 weeks in cottages to start with. Now with site fees averaging, let's be generous and say £30 a night so 30 nights away (which was all we were using the van for in the end) - that's £900, another couple of weeks! Add on the costs of fuel etc etc ... you can see where this is going! 👍
And since we only really used sites as a base to explore areas from the added convenience and comfort of a (dog friendly!) cottage certainly makes sense for us.
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Good luck to you as well Le T. It’s a hard decision for anyone who loves the lifestyle to make, and I hope others pondering are able to continue for a bit longer. Sometimes a little bit of compromise can really help, but not always.
Best of luck to all.👍
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Totally agree M, we have mixed cottages with touring for quite a while now, and while our touring costs are minimal compared with a lot of folks, it’s still all adds up.
We have a different issue at the moment, no problems in terms of managing our outfit, but we cannot get away for long periods because I am stuck caring for my Mum. However the MH is ready to roll at a couple of hours notice, so we will take our chances as they come about. I might start commuting again if I can, to CLs not too distant. You just have to work something out, make the best of things.
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Not trying to convince you at all, David. We loved our 40+ years of tenting (including "over there"!
) and caravanning. We will still be adding overseas breaks (on hold just now as one of the dogs has got a bit crochety in her old age!) to our UK stays in our static, in cottages and in hotels. Still aiming for 120+ days away this year! 👍0 -
Many thanks for the kind wishes for the future. The decision has been a hard one but, having seen and even helped struggling elderly campers to get set up, I had already vowed that we would give up before we reached a point where striking camp saw us visibly shattered.
When COVID struck, we had already booked and paid up for our 6+ weeks stay in France in 2020. Luckily we recovered every penny, so didn’t lose out on that score. I think COVID restrictions had an adverse effect on our physical abilities, and the delay in using the ‘van developed into a permanent ceasing of our caravanning activities.
Our intended pursuit of rented accommodation is probably a stubbornness to ensure that we can still enjoy holiday breaks, rather than being pushed into some kind of hibernation from the world around us.
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I sympathise with your view of the impact on COVID even if you didn't actually catch the virus. It put an artificial break in our lives and returning to normal seemed quite difficult to achieve. For various reasons we have not been away for the last six months and I am finding it difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to get planning where as in previous years I would have had the whole year planned and probably most of it booked. Losing the whole cost of a stay on one campsite last year (because we both got COVID) and the introduction by the CMC of deposits has sort of put us off planning too far ahead. We are thinking of going away in the next couple of weeks and perhaps once we have had a trip things will spur us on?
David
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Looks like the camping bug got a good hold on you. Congrats for that and also well done for making the decision to retire gracefully yourself.
