A long weekend at the Caravan & Motorhome Club National Event Part 1

We finally managed to set off on our adventures for a long weekend in a Bailey Autograph 68-2.  Originally, we had planned to head south towards Devon, but the lure of an invite to The National in May was too tempting to miss out on.

The motorhome, provided by Bailey of Bristol, was very kindly driven up by the Prima Leisure team, so all we had to do was travel up in our own car and make the most of the facilities and entertainment on offer. I must say though, I would have liked a chance to drive the motorhome just for the experience.

Prima Leisure, our UK distributor for the Colapz products into the caravan, motorhome and camping market, had the huge task of setting up and managing the club shop, which they executed brilliantly.

With the sun still shining and the shop display looking good, it was time to get ourselves set-up in the motorhome. Getting familiar with the basics, such as the electrics, was straight forward. It was just a case of plug and go, and testing the switches to see what did what.  However, when it came to the plumbing this was a completely different story.  Having spoken to other people who owned a motorhome, we knew there was an on-board tank, but we just couldn’t find it.  After talking to another motorhome owner, we finally located it under the carpet.  When you think about it, it makes perfect sense given its 100L capacity and maximising space on these units.

Once the essentials were worked out, it was time to eat, and given it was our first night, we decided to treat ourselves to some steak!  The cooking, dining and washing up experience was all as we expected. Compared to camping in our usual 6-man tent, it was a pleasure to be indoors where it was warm, comfortable and everything was to hand. We ended the evening with the team from Prima Leisure, discussing our 1^st day at The National and planning day 2.

And welcome the rain!  We had a very comfortable sleep, and it was great to be able to have the black-out blinds allowing us to sleep in complete darkness.  Our usual trips in a tent are never a good thing on bright early mornings.

With a good night’s sleep it was time for a quick shower before heading out, and I must say, we were very impressed.  A quick boost of the water heater and the shower was warmed up and ready to go. It was super-hot and the pressure was great too.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to have a wonder around the main arena before the club shop was open for its first full day of trading.

With lots of activities to keep all the family entertained, and plenty of businesses selling and demonstrating their products, we were hopeful for a busy day.

Whether you were interested in crafts, competitions, caravan and motorhome accessories or just eating and drinking, there was plenty of choice for everyone. Walking around the show, I stumbled across the Historic Caravan Club.  It was amazing to see how much things had changed over the years, from the access of essential utility supplies to the facilities and materials used. Modern caravans and motorhomes have just made it so much easier and more comfortable, allowing you to get away all year round, whatever the weather. It’s virtually a home-from-home experience, and you can see why it is growing in popularity in recent years.

As the visitors started to arrive, the club shop started to get busy with many looking to buy the essential food supplies for the days ahead.  The rain continued, but that didn’t seem to dampen the spirits. The weather forecast for the rest of the bank holiday was much more positive, so one wet day wasn’t going to get in the way.

Still settling into the motorhome and it appeared we were running low on water. We were quickly realising that the water doesn’t last forever.It was time for a top up of the on-board water tank.

First up was the 3in1.  Great for quick 8L top ups, made easy with the watering can attachments.  But we started to think that we would need something with a bigger capacity. Next up was the 35L Utility Bag, which was great for carrying about 20-25L of water at a time.  One to two trips to the water source and we had enough water to see us through to the next day. The flexible nature of the material allowed me to create a spout shape, making it easy to pour into the water tank. To make the task even easier, the portable rechargeable shower unit without the shower or trigger head attached, was also utilised to syphon the water. This worked so well, and would be very useful for less able people.

With the water in the motorhome topped up, we were ready to continue our weekend into day 3.

Keep an eye on the blog for part two of David’s weekend at the National Event…