It was a lovely sunny evening and 7.30pm saw me leaving home on a mad dash to the village of Holme on Spalding Moor in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where I was joining the UKCS weekend meet at Major Bridge Park site. I couldn't leave home any earlier as I didn't finish work till 7pm, but the van had been packed up the day before so all I had to do when I got home from work was collect the dogs, lock up the house and set off. RAC Routeplanner had given me a journey time of an hour and a half so with any luck I should arrive about 9pm and just about have enough time to put the tent up before darkness fell.
There wasn't much traffic on the M62 so the drive over to Yorkshire was much easier than I expected and very pleasant in the evening sunshine; I made good time and it was only a few minutes after 9pm when I arrived at the site. As I drove onto the camping field the warden came out of her caravan to greet me and book me in, and as there were no actual designated pitches she showed me the best place to park for a hook-up point. With the van finally in the right place, and leaving the dogs in the back, I set about putting up the tent - I worked quickly but the daylight was fading fast so I had to use my lantern; by the time the tent was pegged down it had gone completely dark, though once I'd got my cable connected I was able to plug my lamp in so I could sort out the inside of the tent. A couple of UKCS members came over to introduce themselves and asked if I needed any help, which I didn't, and the guy in the campervan 'next door' asked if I wanted a brew, which I did, so he very kindly made me a coffee and also went to fill up my water container for me.
With the inside of the tent sorted out, the coffee mug returned to John next door, and my bed made up the next thing was to feed the dogs and take them for a walk. I didn't want to walk round the site as I hadn't yet got my bearings and I didn't want to disturb other campers, although quite a few of them were sitting chatting round a camp fire over the other side of the field, so I went just as far as the site entrance and back. It wasn't particularly late but by then I was feeling tired and more than ready for sleep, so I locked up the van, settled Sophie and Sugar on their beds in their side of the tent and got into my own on the other side. It had been a very busy evening and I was just glad to finally relax - I didn't know what delights the following day would bring but whatever I did I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy this weekend.
About Me
- Tigermouse
- Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it
