Ferry Meadows Caravan Club Site, Peterborough

We'd heard many excellent reports about Ferry Meadows Caravan Club site from several of our friends, but had never been tempted.  Peterborough, nice as it is, just didn't appeal.  How wrong we were.

The Caravan Club seem to have the knack of placing Club Sites in places you probably wouldn't otherwise visit, which means you explore places not normally on your radar.  Ferry Meadows, for us,  is one such site.

To start with, it's a huge site - nearly three hundred pitches over two different sites, East and West. It is cut in two by the road into Ferry Meadows Country Park. Having driven round the West side, which is mainly hard standing, we eventually ended up in the East side, which is more meadow, less regimented and felt more spacious. 

I say eventually, because we sat ages at the barrier into the East side, wondering whether the wardens back at Reception a few hundred metres back, would spot us on CCTV, or whether we had to go back to Reception and ask for an access card.  After a few barked instructions to me from Mr AP, along the lines of "sort it please", the barrier went up, allowing Mr AP to drive smartly through, with me playing catch up behind on foot.  

Now we were there at May Day Bank holiday weekend, and for the first time in months, or maybe years, the sun was shining and it was warm and sunny the whole extended weekend. 

That meant the site was extremely busy for the whole weekend.  More about this in the next blog . . . . . .

Above photo: Ferry Meadows Caravan Club Site, East side view.  May 2013

Copyright AvailablePitch 2013

Sofa brings the campsite indoors

How many of you are missing camping at this time of year?  Us too -  it's just a little cold for us at the moment.  However, you can now recreate that campsite ambience quite easily at home with this camping-inspired sofa bed from Austria designer Stephanie Hornig


“My latest project Camp was — probably like every graduation project — very personal. In the last year I travelled a lot, and I missed the feeling of home when I arrived in these empty rooms. I began to compare the life of a modern nomad with camping; it’s the feeling of simplicity and independence when we’re outside in nature that inspired me. The pieces are reminiscent of the outdoor world and retain their functional character, but are frozen in their movement: a sleeping bag on legs, a torch in a power strip made of stone, and an umbrella stand with a large tabletop. Each of the three objects show a different aspect of camping and are collages of material, function, and form — the elements are translated directly to visualize their autonomy and lightness clearly".

Image courtsey of StephanieHornig.com

Staying in A Camping Pod - in which we experience podlife





Arriving at Eskdale Campsite to stay in a Camping Pod, we received an extremely warm welcome from owner Martyn and warden Lisa.  The M6 had not been kind and our driver was frazzled but huge cups of tea delivered with a smile made things right again. After a brief but comprehensive description of site facilities we were shown to our Pod, given a introduction (how to lock it, how to use the portable gas-fired heater etc) then left to settle in.  

A slight grumble is that you cannot park your car very close to the Pod, so several journeys were necessary to transfer our essentials down a narrow twisty path to the pod, repeated two days later when we left.  In the pouring rain.  Both times.

So what can you expect to find inside a camping pod?  Well, the inside of the pod is basic.  Cushioned waterproof flooring, a couple of hooks, and that's it.  No shelves and no frames for airbeds or sleeping mats.  This means everything is stored on the floor.  So you have to be incredibly organised.  During the day, we piled all the bedding on top of each other and had the chairs inside.  That was because it rained almost non-stop the whole time we were there.

Whilst hook-up is not provided, there are a couple of pods where it could be accessed for podders with babies or medical requirements.  We took a jump starter/booster to run a 12v lamp which provided good lighting and we also used it to charge our mobile phones.  The low wattage ceiling light only provides a ghostly glow, so torches or battery lanterns are a must.  You'll need a torch for night time ablution visits in any case.   

Martyn assured us that the pods were accessible for disabled users, however, we feel that some modifications would be needed (which Martyn would facilitate as necessary), as there is a 6 inch step up onto the decking and a high cill to get into the pod. It is about a minute's walk back to the shower block on a twisting gravel/bark path, which may be heavy going for a wheelchair.



We had no intentions of cooking, but this would be done under the overhang, not inside the Pod (for safety reasons).  Actually there is no need to cook if you don't want to. . . . .




. . . . because there is a fantastic Breakfast area in the Shop where you help yourself to croissants, hot toast and butter, muffins, cornflakes and hot drinks, all at extremely reasonable prices.

Talking about the Shop - this is a fantastic place - stocking all those essentials you've forgotten to bring, together with items you never knew you needed.

A short drive or a 5 minute walk away is The Brook House Inn which welcomes walkers and dogs and serves excellent food.  There is also free wifi, a lifesaver, as there is no signal at all, ever, on the campsite.

Because we had almost wall-to-wall heavy rain during our stay, sadly, we did not see as much of the area as we would have liked (yes, I know, wimps).  A couple of short walks was all we managed. Indeed, the beautiful fell views were shrouded in mist/low cloud most of the whole time we were there.  But as Martyn said (more than once) - "that's the Lake District for you"!

We got the distinct impression that nothing was too much trouble for Martyn and his staff and you only had to ask if you needed any help - for example, we could not find an electric socket anywhere, however Martyn was happy to let us use one in the staff area if necessary.

So a huge thanks to Martyn and Sarah at Eskdale for inviting us to stay - it was certainly a memorable experience, and one we would not have missed for the world.  I do have to say, hand on heart, that, for now, we won't be swapping motorhome-life for pod-life any time soon.  We are, however, extremely pleased that we gave it a go.   

Above images : All copyright AvailablePitch.com, August 2012

In which we start to discover what Pod Life is really like

Well, we wanted to know what it was like to stay in a Camping Pod. And we certainly discovered this at Eskdale Campsite in June 2012.  We were prised out of our motorhome and introduced to the wonderful world of Podding as guests of Martyn and Sarah Merckel, franchisees of Eskdale Camping and Caravan Club Site. 

There are three ways to end up in a Camping Pod:

1.  As a complete newby, with no expectations
2.  Graduating from a tent
3.  Downsizing from a caravan or motorhome (like us)

Of these, No. 3 is probably the most interesting.  Pod Life is back-to-basics camping.  As Martyn puts it "just think of a pod as a wooden tent".  And that is exactly what it is. A wooden tent. 

So, just as if you were in a tent, water is obtained from the tap a minute's walk away.  Light comes from torches or lanterns (unless you take a starter/charger like we did and plug a 12v lamp in) and heat, if needed, comes from a portable gas fire loaned free of charge (with 2 full gas cannisters).  You need to take a gas hob to cook on (or at the very least, boil a kettle in a morning).  And needing the loo in the middle of the night means a minute's walk to the toilet block in your jim jams, fleece and shell.

The Eskdale Pods are "Generation One"  Roughly translated, that means they are basic.  Extremely cute and loveable, make you go "ahhh" when you first see them, but basic.  A charismatic, cosy and curved wooden structure, well insulated, with padded matting on the floor, small lockable double "French doors", a small window at the back for ventilation, and an overhang under which to cook and watch Podders and other wildlife, and that's it.

You need to take airbeds/camping mats, sleeping bags, cutlery and crockery, a kettle, torches, water carrier, washing up bowl, chairs, table and perhaps a barbeque.  This is approximately half of what we took: 

... and yes, dogs are allowed in the Eskdale Pods.

In the next blog, we describe living in a Pod, in a wooden Pod, in the best (actually worst) of the British weather. . . . . .

Above images copyright AvailablePitch.com July 2012

Important message about our photos on Blogger

We've been using Blogger since 2007, posted over 140 posts and uploaded hundreds of photos. It now seems all those images have somehow been lost or deleted by Blogger and replaced by a black square with an exclamation mark in the middle.

It appears, at the moment, that our only option is to painstakingly re-upload all the photos again.   One by one.  Individually.  Luckily we have them all saved on our server. 

So until and unless someone can tell us how we restore our photos, all we can do is work through each blog posting and re-upload the photos.  This will take time, lots and lots of time, time we can't really spare, so please bear with us and meanwhile if ANYONE can help with restoring our photos, please do get in touch.  We've contacted Google but . . . . .

Thanks

Catherine

Camping Pod Life at Eskdale Campsite, Cumbria

It all started with a simple tweet from @AvailablePitch: "Anyone stayed in a pod or wigwam? What's it like"?  Straight back came a reply from Eskdale Campsite "Come and stay with us - our guest - first campsite in UK to have pods."  A quick phone call later and we were booked in for late June - you know - when the weather is at it's very best . . . . . .!?

Formerly Hollins Farm Campsite, Eskdale Campsite is now a Camping and Caravanning Club franchise site run by enthusiastic and hard working husband and wife owners Martyn and Sarah Merckel and a team of friendly assistant wardens.

Campsites like this are getting fewer with the onslaught of hard-standings, electric hook-ups, free wifi and TV cables.  There's none of that at Eskdale Campsite.  Purists, Martyn and Sarah believe in basic camping at it's best, but with the important essentials like 5* shower block, loads of hot water, a well stocked shop (with all those items you have forgotten), a drying room and most of all a warm welcome to people of all ages from 9 weeks to 96 years, whether they are in a tent, a campervan or hiring a camping pod. 

Oh, they also have a wonderfully cosy Camping Barn  with a wood burning stove (logs provided) which sleeps up to 8 people. 

Talking of camping pods (as in the title) - more in the next blog . . . . .

Above images copyright AvailablePitch July 2012

Camp de Lite - a flamin' brilliant new campfire : AvailablePitch Product Review

As it says on the  Camp de Lite  website: "Flamin’ brilliant ! A portable folding campfire just for fire logs. No mess, no fuss, no marks. Just safe, cosy and warm nights around the campfire – perfect !

And having tested the campfire, we have to whole heartedly agree with this description.

It arrives in a flat box, complete with a complimentary firelog, is assembled in under 2 minutes and you don't even need any instructions, as it is really intuitive.

The Camp de Lite burns only firelogs, which are widely available, starting from 99p.  We bought our supply from the local B and M Stores. 

 

To light, lay the fire log seam-side up in the Camp de Lite basket and light along it's length in several places.  We found the logs light best in still or a very light breeze, as strong winds will make the log difficult to get ablaze.  

Within a few minutes the log is fully alight and ready to sit around and enjoy the ambiance with some food and a few glasses of wine.

The log burns for around two and a half hours and burns down into a fine ash, which is collected in the ashcan.  A second log can easily be added to continue enjoying the live flames, if desired  The ground underneath the fire is not damaged at all and the fire creates no more flames than a charcoal barbeque, so is safe to use, sensibly and with caution, on a campsite or caravan park.  Of course, children and pets must be kept within a safe distance of the open flames, as with a BBQ. 

The next morning, the cold ashes can be safely tipped into a carrier bag or dustbin for disposal.  The fire framework needs cleaning before packing away - we used some kitchen wipes - and rubber gloves are recommended to protect hands from the soot.  Once clean, the fire can be put in it's original packaging or fits nicely into a large sturdy supermarket carrier bag, ready for use the next time.

Our verdict?  A lightweight, affordable, easy to use portable campfire which is easily transported, and which provides a real focal point and creates a true campsite ambiance.  A real "de-lite" to use.

The Camp De Lite campfire costs £27.99 (as at July 2012) and is available here 

Above images copyright AvailablePitch.com July 2012