Inaugural Christmas trip Scotland - Devon

[hannah]

We picked up our silver, 6 month old, ex rental, 180dsg, last Friday, still feels like umpteen christmases and birthdays rolled into one.
It was snowing when we picked the van up (haven't given him/her a name yet - should we?!), so, we decided to test it out and the 2 of us and 2 kids slept out in the van, on the drive, with the snow falling all around. so super snug, thanks to advice on the forum, we didn't need to go any higher than level 2 on the heater, was so pleasantly surprised how little battery it used up.

All is great, so lovely to drive. so looking forward to our annual pilgrimage to devon for christmas, will be fun this year, being able to take our time instead of charging on and staying in premier inns. Trying to work out where to stay en route to break up the journey - so many places are closed for the winter
Was hoping for tebay service campsite but that's shut too.

Does anyone have any good, open places to stay M6, not too far from the motorway? we are stopping to see friends in chester but would like somewhere between aberdeen and chester to break up the 1st part of the journey as have kids and 6 month old puppy.

Any campsite ideas M6/M5 winter stops would be fantastic. The devon journey will be something that I'll make at least twice a year.

Thank you all, this forum has been invaluable and slightly addictive so far.

 

[WelshGas]

Welcome.
Here is a link, Google is your friend, of campsites open all year round.
https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/-/open-all-year/

 

[hannah]

thanks, just had a look through it, great you can filter the search and it shows what's open now. need to dig out my map to plot it all.

 

[T6 CFO]

Lol. I bet the kids loved it. Yep got to give him/her a name.

Link below gives details of a site in Bristol. Loads to see if you want more than just a stop.

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/carava...n-sites-and-parks/SiteDetails.aspx?csid=21820


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hannah]

love bristol, will add it to the list for summer trips. don't think the children would forgive me if we stopped just an hour and a bit short of grandma's so near to christmas eve.

nameless, my 9 year old suggested 'Roger' for the van as 2015 born nephew and puppy are both 'R''s...... hmmm, not convinced.

do members usually join c&c club as well as caravan club?? all so confusing, with kids and dog we will need to join 1 or the other as don't want to do wild scottish camping each time.

 

[GrannyJen]

Get Britstops http://www.britstops.com/britstops-joinno.php

Perfect for what you want.

A lovely one in Cumbria, nice pub, good food, half way stop, a mile from the M6

 

[hannah]

never heard of britstops - ooh, its so exciting, so much to learn, so much to do, thank you.

our youngest daughter has a wheelchair so we do need a few facilities. as you can imagine, fitting in a wheelchair in the van doesn't leave buckets of room. from v quick reading, seems like many britstops don't have facilities? any stop with a nice pub, good food, gets my vote though.

 

[GrannyJen]

never heard of britstops - ooh, its so exciting, so much to learn, so much to do, thank you.

our youngest daughter has a wheelchair so we do need a few facilities. as you can imagine, fitting in a wheelchair in the van doesn't leave buckets of room. from v quick reading, seems like many britstops don't have facilities? any stop with a nice pub, good food, gets my vote though.

You have children and many Britstops are no more than pub car parks where the pub owner permits overnight stops in exchange possibly for a bit of business so many may not be suitable.

Having said that I have stayed in some delightful places, one with a mini zoo for children (Rabbits, hens, etc) and many are really very dog friendly for the puppy. There are also some nice farm shops etc with proprietors who would be very helpful with wheelchair access. Some also, and I am thinking of one in particular on the most westernmost part of Scotland, also offer overnight facilities of a loo, and in that one particular case, showers as well!

Just another tool in the armoury of finding that ideal spot

 

[Hotel California]

Happy days ahead...!
Can imagine you must be selective on what to load up leaving room for a wheelchair . Quite a challenge...
We had to take a wheelchair allong when my wife had broken her foot in three places . Not easy ...
On the other hand the Cali is a pretty good solution for traveling with a person in need of extra help
Once in the back seat and driving the journey begins....
Enjoy!

 

[SimonB]

love bristol, will add it to the list for summer trips. don't think the children would forgive me if we stopped just an hour and a bit short of grandma's so near to christmas eve.

nameless, my 9 year old suggested 'Roger' for the van as 2015 born nephew and puppy are both 'R''s...... hmmm, not convinced.

do members usually join c&c club as well as caravan club?? all so confusing, with kids and dog we will need to join 1 or the other as don't want to do wild scottish camping each time.

Welcome to the Forum, and a new lifestyle. I hope you will update us with pictures of your travels.
There are a few threads on the benefits of each of the clubs. http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/joining-the-caravan-club-caravan-and-camping-club.870/ is just one of them.
The C&CC has a site guide for the whole of the UK which lists sites by individual OS map. So you can pick an area, look on that page and find a site that has as many, or as few facilities as you like.
We usually chose as few facilities as possible as site shop, bar, restaurant can lead to pester power and noisy evenings if you site yourself too near the facilities.
Both clubs also offer deals on insurance, the CC offers a deal on the M6 Toll and so on.
Our children enjoyed the chance to meet other children very easily as tent camping tends to be more in the open possibly than caravan camping. Forestry camp sites are fun too. http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/ and there are a few of those in Scotland. Superb facilities and pitches set amongst the trees.
We live in Bristol and my wife has never been to Scotland. We aim to remedy that next year, if possible.
Best wishes
Simon

 

[Skylark2.0]

The caravan club site at Meatrop fell is great. Caravan club sites are very high standard, well kept sites. Many of them have impressive disabled facilities too. Check them out and have fun!

 

[Borris]

We are new at Cali life as well. We joined the Caravan Club but will probably also join Britstops and the Camping and Caravan Club next year when we get out more.
So far we have found all the CC sites that we have tried, to be well run and very well organised with excellent facilities. All of the staff that we have met have been very friendly and helpful. We have found the toilets, showers, washing up and clothes washing areas on the main sites to be very clean, well appointed and warm, often with plumbed in music.
I don't know about the christmas holidays but I would be surprised if some sites aren't open all year round.
Congratulations and good luck with your new toy. Have a great Christmas in it/she/he.

 

[SimonB]

This might also be a bit of fun for the children if the weather is nice.
I've been hunting for the thread with the car parks you can use in N Devon overnight.
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/wild-camping-in-north-devon.6629/#post-84924
Martin from the Club lives there and recommended some public car parks you can stay in for a few £ a night. Council toilets near by and lovely fish & chip shops too. He recommended one in Appledore where you can look out over the bay from the car park. There are some nice surfaced walks along the Tarka Trail which is very near.

 

[RedCali]

Caravan club and camping and caravanning club always have good toilets and showers etc. Most (all?)
also have a wheelchair friendly washroom too. You can request a disabled pitch at caravan club sites and they always have easy access to the toilet block. For your journey south you could try Strathclyde CC site, next to the motorway so quite noisy but fab for children and dogs as loads of space - Moffat ccc site is good for a stopover as is Troutbeck ccc site , and Meathrop cc site as recommended by Skylark.

 

[Dottie]

My stop when heading south is always Little Blencowe Farm which is close to M6. I tend to hit the pet shop, supermarket and outdoor shop in Penrith in the morning before setting off further.
The CL is on a farm with very basic facilities....I love it! Sadly the local pub shut for good the week of my first ever visit.
Upfront Gallery is a great lunch stop too.

 

[Dottie]

Oohs...I see mention of children and wheelchairs....maybe not Little Blencowe Frarm?!

 

[hannah]

t

This might also be a bit of fun for the children if the weather is nice.
I've been hunting for the thread with the car parks you can use in N Devon overnight.
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/wild-camping-in-north-devon.6629/#post-84924
Martin from the Club lives there and recommended some public car parks you can stay in for a few £ a night. Council toilets near by and lovely fish & chip shops too. He recommended one in Appledore where you can look out over the bay from the car park. There are some nice surfaced walks along the Tarka Trail which is very near.

thanks for this, Appledore is where my grandparents used to live and has so many lovely memories. I'm so new to all this, need to read rules about staying in car parks. So many up here in Scotland have the height restriction, suppose the ones that don't are ok to stay in?!

 

[hannah]

Caravan club and camping and caravanning club always have good toilets and showers etc. Most (all?)
also have a wheelchair friendly washroom too. You can request a disabled pitch at caravan club sites and they always have easy access to the toilet block. For your journey south you could try Strathclyde CC site, next to the motorway so quite noisy but fab for children and dogs as loads of space - Moffat ccc site is good for a stopover as is Troutbeck ccc site , and Meathrop cc site as recommended by Skylark.

this is all great info, thank you. wasn't aware that you could request a disabled pitch, our youngest can walk short distances so it'd be great to ask for one and not have to get the wheelchair out in the middle of the night. thanks for the top tips.

 

[hannah]

this is all great info, thank you. wasn't aware that you could request a disabled pitch, our youngest can walk short distances so it'd be great to ask for one and not have to get the wheelchair out in the middle of the night. thanks for the top tips.

and..... moffat is open!! result.

 

[hannah]

Oohs...I see mention of children and wheelchairs....maybe not Little Blencowe Frarm?!

being a devon girl, I love a good farm, all sounds lovely but can't seem to find anything on it, think the campsite may be shut, bit like the pub

 

[SimonB]

t


thanks for this, Appledore is where my grandparents used to live and has so many lovely memories. I'm so new to all this, need to read rules about staying in car parks. So many up here in Scotland have the height restriction, suppose the ones that don't are ok to stay in?!

The local Council here is positively encouraging people to stay in certain car parks. The details and a link to the Council website are all on the link. Obviously you make your mind up when you go. A central location car park on a Friday or Saturday night might not be very suitable. But a small village could be ideal. If you look on Google street view you can see the Appledore car park.
Hope you have a good trip down to Devon. Simon