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Quote: Originally posted by 1975 on 10/7/2011

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my worst was in norfolk we went away with friends when i was about 20 years old when we got to the site it was a empty bumpy bleek place we pitched our tents had a few drinks went to bed about 1 am the rain started  and the wind picked up it was awful our tents leaked and we couldnt sleep and we could hear a lot of noise outside  engines running and people shouting wen day break came we emerged from our tents wet tired and surounded by travellers

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We once went up to the Blue Dolphin site one Easter many years ago when it first opened, before the Haven company was even invented, and although it had been cool, it had been very sunny and dry the day we arrived so we pitched our then 'the norm' lol ridge tents side by side and OH slept in one with our youngest daughter, and I slept in the other with the other two. we settled down well for the night but by morning the wind had got up and the tents were taking a bit of a battering to say the least, so we snuggled down in our sleeping bags until it broke full daylight, which seemed to take ages. When we did venture out we discovered the darkness was due to the tent being a few inches deep in snow, ours had survived the weight of this but Ohs had part lost its fly sheet and they were still asleep covered by only the inner which was now dripping with icicles hanging from it guy ropes. luckily we had all been in 4seasons type sleeping bags, so we had managed to stay warm, but it was clear we couldnt carry on with our trip with weather conditions as they were.

We decided to pack up, but needed several water containers of hot water from the toilet block to thaw out the ice on the tents before we could get the pegs out and pack away, by this time we were all freezing cold, and i still remeber to this day the bad 'hot aches' i had in my hands as i put the cars heating on full blast and headed down into Bridlington to find a cafe for some much needed hot drinks and food before we started the long drive home south through the icy roads and onto the better cleared and gritted M1 motorway.

This was the first time OH had been camping since he was in the boyscouts many years before, but luckily it didnt put him off, and a couple of years later we bought our first caravan together, an Avondale Adonis, and we have been camping and caravanning on a regular basis ever since, with a variety of set ups and units as our family needs changed and grew, although its me whos the real camper at heart, i owned my own Caravan before I met OH, and i still love the adventure and uncertanty that the hobby brings each time we hitch up and set off on another journey today.

Julia