The Awning

1st July

The Awning.

Today, we had a delivery. An awning. I'd not planned to have an awning for our small camper, especially as we've only done wild camping in the past and had intended to continue to do so for the foreseeable  future. In my mind we didn't have any use for one.

But that, like many things, was before Covid 19, before borders were shut, before we were unable to travel any distance at all.
We would have been away in Cornwall  for the whole of May and most of June, camping in hidden places, finding off the beaten track spots where few people would come.
That was the plan.
Campsites will  open on 4th July

Now, being  reluctant to go wild camping with policing being more vigilant,  we've booked some time away in Cornwall at a campsite. At a campsite!
Hence the awning.
It looks like this:

We've spent ten weeks travelling through France and Spain, another ten touring Ireland and I could probably count on my fingers the number of
 times, due to wanting a shower and clean clothes, we had a night in a campsite. We rarely spent two together.

Funnily enough , I am positively warming to the idea of the awning, seeing  that it could bring many worthwhile  benefits.

It's a drive away tent, which means we can still take off and explore the countryside and have a base to come back to . So convenient. When we're wild camping we often spend quite a bit of time searching for somewhere to park for the night. 

Another bonus is the extra space it'll give us making  our daily living arrangements so much more comfortable.

To be fair, rather than going for comfort in the past, we've gone for the open road and touring. It's been great finding unusual places to park up for the night, not putting the top up so that we look like a big car. Incognito.

So, this will be a very different trip for us, a   more relaxing experience. Staying in one place has its advantages. We won't have to pack up every day. We can still explore our surroundings by walking which means we'll get to know the area well.

Hopefully, I'll get  to write about our adventures on my  blog in a travel writerly sort of way. Well, it'll be my version of Travel Writing anyway. And I'll have time for more reading which I have difficulty fitting in when we're on the road and I have to navigate.
Yes, it'll be more leisurely all round.

We also treated ourselves to some new camping chairs, similar to the previous two, which, after three years,  had become  rather tatty. And although we went for the cheapest again,  the new ones are so much kinder to the body.

Of course, we had to try the awning out straight away. Can't turn up at the campsite and look like idiots. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room in the back garden, so we put it together on the front drive, after parking the camper in the road. Having had years of experience putting up tents of all shapes and sizes,we had it sussed in no time. Actually, about ten minutes, which we thought was pretty good. Packing it away was the most difficult part, getting it small enough to go back in the carry bag took two attempts. But we know this for next time.

 

I'm so looking forward to heading off. Let's just hope the weather is good to us. But even if it isn't we've got a new "holiday home" to get used to and will enjoy the extra space.

Have you an experience to share about camping??