Newbies after some advice

First couple of trips should be very close to home, preferably. This will give you easy access to all those items you have  A) forgotten to bring  B)  Forgotten to buy  and C ) remembered to buy + pack and which should have been consigned to the garage / skip / daydreams !!

Having been campers you will be well aware that 85.3765 % of stuff advertised for caravan/motorhome users should stay just that --> adverts !!

Please let us know how you get on and how a 9 year old responds to being saddled with a couple of first timers  

Welcome, MHKH. 

You could do worse than try the club's Henley Four Oaks site for a first outing where you should find wardens and fellow members willing to give help and advice if needed - within the scope of social distancing, of course.

Back in the 80's when our children were young we had caravans and the children loved it.They were never short of advice when the towing got tough but were also very useful for fetching and carrying when on site.

I can't mention any sites specifically, because like you I am new to the club (again) but I would have thought that a short trip west down the A3 or A30 will bring many campsites into the frame for you.

Good luck with your exploits.

Morn Hill, Winchester or Rookesbury Park near Fareham are well within your driving parameters, both with interesting stuff within easy reach. Goodness only knows when you'll be able to sample such places.

 Welcome to the forum and the world of caravanning MHKH. 

We are at the opposite end of the great adventure having sold our caravan at the end of last year. 

2 hours from Guildford may be pushing it a bit but how about the club site at Longleat? Ideal with a 9 year old I'd have thought and you'll get plenty of support and advice from fellow members on site. 

Good luck! 

After all this lockdown why not head to the seaside and Brighton. Not far from you. If not Brighton then maybe the site at Littlehampton. I've been to the first but not the second, although I did once have a girlfriend from Littlehampton ( hence not been back).

Advice? Make a list of all the things you need to have with you. Like electric cable, water barrel, waste pipes, gas etc. etc. We've forgotten so many things over the years and still do even after 30+years. Don't panic if the reversing doesn't go to plan first time, or second time, or .... Use the motor mover instead.

It's going to be a bit difficult at first as normally I've found members quite happy to show you what to do but in this climate they may be more reticent. Ask anyway and they can always shout the instructions.

Above all else don't forget the corkscrew. Hope you enjoy it when you can start.

"Above all else don't forget the corkscrew."

Apart from Ros's Prosecco, I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of wine with a cork in it!!

We still have a few different reds that need one but you are right insofar that there a lot more screw top wines these days. It used to be low quality wine that had a screw top but that stigma doesn't apply anymore, thank goodness.

There were just two things on our first ever trip that could have gone better:-

We went to a nearby caravan club site and I could not get mains power into the caravan, it had been all working OK at home, I tried different different hook up posts before going to see if could borrow a cable from the site warden. "Have you rotated the plug to turn the power on?" No I b****y hadn't!. In all my industrial career I had never before come across a Blue (yellow) plug that needed rotating to connect. I would also remark that not one of the gawking neighbours offered any assistance so I realised from that point I was on my own.

We had a new awning and I did not realise that it would come with all the tube fittings and screws in bags, check your new awning and pre- assemble all the tubes at home.

Apart from that and the puncture on the way home it all went well, it really is amazing that we are still caravaning seven years later.

 We are still relatively new to caravanning, this is our second year. The best piece of advice I can give is to make up an idiot's guide (in my case a complete idiot's guide). We have it in a file and includes, in order, hitching up, arriving, leaving and shutting down the van. We go through everything on the list each time and double check. It's very easy to become complacent and forget to do something!