A New Beginning 2nd May 2016

For a long long time I have talked to people about acquiring a caravan or similar, in pleasant country surroundings, that I could relax and spend quality time in. I even did the maths when I first divorced to prove that it was financially viable, the big problem was finding this elusive place despite conversations with my friends.

People who had them both as a permanent home and those who used them as holiday homes, explained some of the issues to consider, one of the most important being the difference between permanent residential sites and holiday sites,but also between static caravans and lodges. Another important issue was the annual service charges and restrictions on how long the can be used for, many it seems close down for some months in the winter. Most important seemed to be to find somewhere that was not to isolated and ideally near to bus and other transport links.

All of the above made it hard to find this elusive place that ticked all the boxes, so in the end I decided to do some travelling instead,  as you will of read from my previous blogs and spent some of that money that I would of allocated elsewhere.

In the meantime I had a series of health issues that restricted my exercise tolerance, made my arthritis worse and I aquired heart problems as well as issues with my breathing, so seeking this elusive place was forgotten for a number of years.

A couple of years ago I had spoken to an acquaintance who had a holiday caravan somewhere in Cumbria, it sounded a pleasant setting and reasonable cost to run. I had considered asking him at various times if I could visit his caravan to gain some idea of what was available and what sort of cost, but did not wish to impose on him.

A few weeks ago a group of us were in Cumbria including him, so I asked was it this area that his caravan was located. He confirmed this and asked if I and others in the group would like to see it, five of us said yes so off we drove to the site. We turned off the main road and travelled down a series of smaller narrow lanes passing a number of other sites.

When we got there he led us to his caravan, it was not a conventional park with rows and rows of uniform looking units, rather small clusters dotted about the site with bushes trees and vegetation keeping them looking in a more natural setting. His caravan was in a group of three  in a small cul de sac, as wee went down the side he had steps onto a broad decking area, there was a set of table and chairs that looked quite in fitting with the scenary, better still to one side was a small pond and trees, it was bliss, then along came a peacock ( later found out was a pheasant   )hopping up the steps oblivious to us all. My first reaction was to say please can I have your caravan now.  The rest of the group went inside to look round inside the caravan, whereas my friend asked if I would like a tour of the site, which I happily agreed to.

It seemed there were 140 units about the site and it is owned by a family, they had been very thoughtfully set out in the landscape with plenty of trees and bushes to break up and disguise the units. Some had breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, I said I was really interested in buying a caravan, so he took me to the office.
It seemed there were four units up for sale, ranging from quite reasonable to quite expensive ( these were equivalent to 3 bed bungalows) of the ones in my price range, one was second hand 5 years old and one brand new, one of the issues is that the site only allows caravans on up to the age of 15 years, then they have to be removed,  which made it more complicated, plus its a holiday park so youhave to prove you have a permanent alternative address, even though the site quite unusually is open 12 months of the year if you choose to stay there.

We went away and I had a think about it all overnight, ( we were staying locally) then I decided to go back for a further look the following day. It still seemed very attractive and the second hand one looked immaculate almost as though it had never been used, but the people were still using it at times whilst waiting for their replacement unit to be installed on the new position on the site, I asked for more information I could take away, also if there was any chance that one of the large companies may buy them out. It seems that was not going to happen, plus the site would not be attractive to some people as it had no bar, clubroom or swimming pool and most of the people liked the setting peace and quiet in a natural setting more.

I returned home and spoke to family and friends about it all trying to weigh up the options. The following morning I woke up and looked out of my bedroom window at the brick walls of the flats opposite, then later the view and disruption to the rear where there is a primary school and decided, that going for one of the caravans was the way forward to a happier stress free life.

The next thing was how to fund the purchase, them to continue to pay for the running costs on top of those for my existing home. I realised that I could afford the next couple of years without struggling whichever caravan I went for. So then went with friends that weekend to have another look round and to make a decision on which to go for. It was a good chance to see the site when it is busy as it was the bank holiday weekend.

So off I went with friends to look at both, the older seemed better laid out with better quality fittings, although there were one or two points that affected the choice, in the end I spoke to the staff and made my decision to go ahead with the older one and paid my deposit on the understanding if there were problems I would cancel. It was explained that the caravan would not be available until the end of April as the people who had owned it were being allowed to use it until theirs was ready, which I accepted.

I was still agonising over it all and it was only when my friend Jane, said why not think of it as a years holiday and review it after that, in a worst case scenario,  if I changed my mind all was not lost, although it would of bren an expensive experience,  I could always sell it on, admittedly at a loss,  but at least I would never have the regret of what might of been.  On the other hand if I enjoyed it I could then explore how to continue to stay there at that time.

This was one of the quickest and most expensive decisions I had ever made in my life, but it felt the right thing to do, partly because the money had been sitting in the bank and now I could benefit from it whilst able to. At the same time improving my health and wellbeing,  maybe that Mindfulness course I had attended had been more influential than I had thought at the time.

Until fairly recently for the last forty years at least, I had always been involved in some sort of voluntary work that often filled my time,  but was very stressful, whereas now hopefully I would be able to spend quality time in pleasant surroundings,  hopefully exercising more and improving my physical and emotional health. One of the decisions to do with this was to get out in the fresh air, to read more, watch less TV and to try to stay off the Internet so often, we will have to wait and see.

Well the magic day came a week early, when i had the e mail to confirm my date take over the caravan, all I had to do was to send the balance and I could have it a week earlier tham I expected. It was such sn odd experience seeing the money leaving my account knowing it was never going to be replaced. But there again the excitement of having a special place to enjoy for the foreseeable future.

I then chatted for the umpteenth time to Jane about what now needed to be done, I feel the need at this point to say she supported me through out the process without telling me what to do whilst patiently listening to my various thoughts on it all trying to help me explore my options.

We had made a list of essentials that I needed to buy for the caravan rather than just use all of my existing belongings for home, because some would not right for the new place. She had also paid for a number of items herself as early birthday presents such as a vacuum cleaner. We went off to Ikea first and she helped me choose suitable items without running up to much cost, we also visited various other less expensive shops for other items needed.

It now felt as though it was really going to happen, on the day before we loaded up my car only to then find I had misplaced my keys, so back to my flat for the spare set. On the day we finished loading mine then Janes ready for the trip there. We set off separately,  but arrived about the same time. I was givem the keys and Tom one of the staff took us through the various rules to do with the caravan and site,  but also how things worked.

Then it was start unloading everything inside and sorting out where things went, whilst doing this I finally found my missing keys. Soon we were settled and could actually start to enjoy our time here. We had no Tv or intermet but were happy to listen to the radio and read for a change.