Having ‘won’ an awning on eBay, a trip to collect it from Hailsham was the perfect excuse for what will probably be our last caravan trip this year. We decided to make a long weekend of it, catching up on friends and revisiting old haunts. This was to be out first venture out of East Anglia, and a chance to find out how the old girl copes with towing up and down hills. We gave ourselves plenty of travel time, setting off mid morning on Thursday for the drive down to Barn Caravan Park in Lancing.
The journey went well, although crossing the Dartford Bridge was a bit scary, with lorries overtaking on both sides. We got a bit worried when a van overtook us, pipping it’s hooter, but they were just wanting to give us the thumbs up, not warn us that something had dropped off!
We arrived at the site at about 3.30, pitched up under the watchful eye of a local swan, and had a cuppa before setting off to collect the awning. Unfortunately we hadn’t realised it was going to be a two hour round trip, so by the time we got back to the caravan it was cold and dark and we were not in the best spirits. Thankfully we had brought some ready-made chilli with us so dinner didn’t take long to prepare, the heater soon warmed up the van and after a stroll down to the seafront we settled down for a cosy night in.
The next morning we decided to get the coastal bus into Brighton to give the Herald a day off after all the miles covered the day before. We spent several hours wandering round the vintage shops in the North Laines, with Paul bagging himself a bargain jacket for the next time we have to dress to suit the era of the car. After the obligatory stroll and ice-cream on the pier, we returned to the caravan for dinner and an early night.
Saturday dawned bright and almost sunny so after a bacon and egg breakfast we drove to Devil’s Dyke for a walk. It was a busy place with lots of walkers and cyclists, and a lovely view across the South Downs.
We spent a lovely evening with Karen and Dave in Hove, catching up and retelling stories of the days when Christina and Karen taught together, then back for our final night in the van.
An early start on Sunday morning saw us climbing the long, drawn-out Handcross Hill, which was done in a slow but steady manner with no complaints from the old girl.
So, now we have coped with the M25, the Dartford Crossing and hills, where shall we go next?….