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Our Travels!
Chapter 4
2008
Quite an eventful year for a couple that are supposed to be
semi-retired. Semi-retired is not quite right really, as we still have
to work, being so young an all. The change of lifestyle makes it feel
like semi-retirement as we look at our friends who are still at the
Gordon Brown grindstone.
Time has certainly not slowed down, speeded up in fact, but that may be an age thing.
It has been a successful work year at The Old Oaks near Glastonbury, (www.theoldoaks.co.uk)
. The site, owners and other staff were as good as the first
impressions, and because the site offers a very relaxing atmosphere,
the customers were all very good.
We started the season before the site opened, to have some
training and learn the ropes. The White family have lived on the property for
three generations, starting as Wick farm. It is still partly run as a farm,
producing gorgeous beef, Dan the son, does that side, the campsite is
controlled by Jim and Sally with son James and daughter-in-law, Tara. We were
part of a team of three couples, employed as wardens. A lot of staff you may
think for a 100 pitch campsite. It is a 24/7 industry, and keeping the site in
pristine condition takes a lot of man ( and woman ) hours.
We started off with the intention of living in the Burstner
motorhome with a lightweight awning attached, which was fine at first, but it
soon became obvious that it was not really comfortable enough for long time
living, great for touring, but not actually good for relaxing and lazing about
in.
One of the other couples, Kieth and Debby arrived with a
nice caravan with full awning, and it was definitely a better choice for living
in. The other couple we were working with, Tony and Debby, had worked on site
in 2007, and lived in their motorhome, and said they were going to buy a
caravan and awning so they could be more comfortable.
I wasn’t sure about buying a caravan, it was a big
commitment and could be a big chunk from
our savings. We decided to look on ebay and saw one that was not too expensive,
but was large enough for us to live in, plus it came with an awning, so we
gambled.
So the Elddis Typoon arrived, not as nice as the pictures on
ebay, but Elaine worked hard on the inside, while i cleaned it outside and did
a couple of minor repairs. It was dry, warm, and in not bad condition for a 10
year old caravan, and once the awning was up we were a lot more comfortable.
There are many footpaths around the campsite and we took it
upon ourselves to walk as many as possible, the main ones anyway, the major
attraction near Glastonbury, is the Tor. A large hill, with a 15th
century, church tower at the summit. Just about all visitors to Glastonbury go
to the top of the Tor, and take in the 360 degree views over Somerset and
further.
 
The Tor is a popular place at sunrise and sunset and the main
place to go for summer and winter solstice.
The Tor is only a 25 minute walk from the site.
The working shift pattern on the campsite allowed us two and
a half days off a week, finishing 8pm on a Wednesday and starting back at 3pm
on Saturday. This meant we were able to get back to Yorkshire to see family,
and also over to Haverfordwest, Wales to see son Colin and family. We also made
a couple of visits to friends Jim and Denise Bowie in Weymouth and Graham and
Pat in Sherbourne. Along with visits to the site from our friends/customers from Australia, Barry
and Beryl, and Chris and Graham from Gloucester, and Kieth and Gill who we had
last seen in Portugal at xmas, we were having a busy season.
In July, Jim and Sally, the owners, asked all three couples
if they would like to return for the 2009 season. Elaine and i, had already
spoken about the possibility and had agreed that if we were asked, we would say
yes to another season. So we decided to look for a better caravan.
We looked around for one with a fixed bed and nice lounge
area, and found one at the local dealers.
A deal was done and we made a profit on the ebay caravan,
and because we do not have a tow car, the dealer would deliver it and take the
old one away. So arrived the Lunar Delta.
 
This caravan is about 6 foot longer than the other one, the
awning we bought with it, is 2 foot wider than normal, and gave us, what seemed
like acres of living space.
Once it was all set up, Elaines mum, Rita came to visit, and
stay with us for two weeks. The weather was terrible during her stay, it rained
at some point, everyday, and we were sleeping in the awning, so by the time
Rita went home, we were knackered.
All we needed now is a long hot summer. Oh well, you can’t
have everything.
The Glastonbury music festival did not affect us. The
festival is actually about 6 miles from Glastonbury, nearer to Shepton Mallet
in fact. Being part of the Tranquil Parks Group, we have to provide peace and
quiet, and the use of vehicles is not allowed between 23.15 and 07.30. We
informed potential customers of this prior to the festival dates, so most of
them chose to be nearer the festival, and we only ended up with half a dozen or
so customers that travelled to the festival. They respected the site, and
parked their vehicles outside the site on their return at night.
We could not even hear the music, due to the special music
stages that are erected, we could see all the lights and tents in the distance,
but no music.
Glastonbury’s fine ale houses were visited by the wardens
occasionally, out of duty of course. You can’t recommend somewhere if you
haven’t been, can you!.
The motorhome was stored and SORN’d at another campsite in
town for the rest of the season. Our end of season date was 31st
October. So the first fine days in the middle of October we started to pack
away the caravan and awning, and prepare to move back into the motorhome for
the last two weeks. We were able, over a couple of weeks, to properly clean,
polish and pack away everything, so the caravan could be stored in the storage
yard on site. Jim and Sally, allowing the caravan to be stored all winter, and
be there ready for our return in March 2009.
Then, it was all over, our season had come to an end. A very
enjoyable season, we had plenty of walks with Tony and Debbie, Kieth did a lot
of fishing, providing us with some beautiful trout, we met some very nice
customers and saw some wonderful sites in Glastonbury. I had two close up views
of a sparrow hawk, swooping down and taking a sparrow, we had greater spotted
woodpeckers on the bird feeders on the pitch, and at one point, a squirrel and
woodpecker on the same feeder at the same time.
Next season we will not have to waste our days off looking
for caravans, we will be set up from day one. I will probably keep the
motorhome taxed, so then we can visit Exmoor and Dartmoor and stay overnight.
The next journey before heading north, was over to
Haverfordwest to son Colin’s, he had a major knee operation, and needed help
walking the dogs, as Amy his wife was trying to do everything. We helped out
there for 2 weeks, and then headed north back to Fishlake, Doncaster.
Elaine booked a week’s holiday in Spain with her mum, sister
and aunty for the end of November, so i took the opportunity to have a bit of
work done on the motorhome, and visit the local motorhome dealers for bits and
bobs.
The tunnel crossing is booked for the 10th
December, and we head back down to Vila Nova de Milfontes, on the Portuguese
west coast for Christmas.
Another year in our new lifestyle completed. Both fit and
healthy, enjoying it, and no regrets. Certainly no regrets about selling the
house 3 years ago, especially in the current financial climate. And, in the current
financial climate, unlike some, we have not got anything to lose, it is a good
time to have nothing.
Elaine & Mike
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1
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2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
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