motorhomesuk – 2gocaravanning

After 6 years of only working a summer season this year we decided to also work 2 months of the winter season. Instead of finishing work at the end of October we carried on our 12 days off/on contract and finished at the beginning of January. It was means to an end and meant we could get the final renovation jobs completed in the cottage without having to save up all year to do so.

Winter working brought with it a whole new feel to the site, days got shorter, darker, wetter, colder, there were tonnes of leaves to be raked, wet and muddy floors to mop and taps to unfreeze. No-one sitting out in deckchairs sipping drinks in the evenings, no sausages sizzling on bbq’s, everyone scurrying to and from the shower blocks eager to get back to the warmth of their unit. The site was still full most of the time as people travelled up, down and across the country for pre Christmas visits to friends and family, or stopping over after visiting the spectacular Christmas Winter Wonderland events at Warwick Castle. There were even a few arrivals on Christmas Day and New Years Day. The year ended on a final flourish with a race event on New Years Eve. The whole front area of the site was taken over by the Jockey Club to host a day of racing and revelry. Food vendors, drinks bars, coffee shacks, prosecco waggons and marquees for live music set up where the previous day were caravans and motorhomes, it certainly was a different look for the site. Twenty pitches on the gravel area were still open and occupied by members, most of who regularly book 12 months in advance every year to secure their spot for such a dazzling occasion. The day isn’t without its anxieties for us as the site managers but all passed off well and judging by the shouts and cheers as the horses crossed the finishing line it seems that many went home with more pennies in their pockets than they arrived with!

Autumn arrived and the leaves were falling

After this event the site was winding down, with only 3 days to go until closure the arrivals were fewer and it was starting to look empty. Following the final departure on the 4th Jan the gates were closed, windows boarded, taps removed, pitch markers and signs brought in cleaned and stacked, office paperwork archived, systems closed down and a final facility block clean done. The keys were handed over and we pulled out 2 days later heading back to home to start the work that we had just earned the money to pay for!

We had already lined up our trusted tradesman to make a head start before we arrived home so things were well under way with renewing the staircase and replacing the log burner and fireplace. It did cross our minds that who on earth would choose to have a log burner taken out and have to wait 2 weeks for a new one to be installed in the month of January? Well that would be us – and when we had snow for 3 days and the builder couldn’t get back to us we questioned our sanity even more. After what seemed a very long two weeks we finally had the cottage back to ourselves and could relax in our lovely new (and warm) surroundings. That hopefully should be the last of our major renovations completed, everything I envisioned when we bought the place 3 years ago is now in place, that is unless I think of some extra little upgrades that would be ‘just right’. Can you hear the groan from Steve there?

Ooohhhh – If we worked next winter maybe we could then have………?

Here’s the next instalment of the catch up blog to bring you up to date with our journey through our 2 lives;

2024 – New Year was spent on a cruise around the Med. Several ports of call in Spain Portugal and Gibraltar with lots of sightseeing, food and relaxing times. The day after we returned our son got married so it was a miracle we actually fitted into our wedding attire. The wedding was a beautiful occasion, a perfect day for a perfect couple, we were so very proud of them both.

After all the exhilaration of the previous 2 weeks it was a bit of a shock to arrive back home to an empty shell of a room where the kitchen used to be. Between Christmas and New Year we had gutted the old kitchen ready for the builders to start while we were away on the cruise. Their first week had been spent ripping out, plastering, plumbing and electrics and their second was now just at the fitting new stage. It was a tough comedown but I had the vision that I had been planning for the last 8 months in my head and knew it would turn out just as I had envisaged. Steve took some convincing but kept the faith that it would! A week later it was finished, both of us overjoyed with every bit of it.

Not ones to sit on our laurels the next stage of renovation was already planned which was to landscape the exterior of the cottage. Weather delayed the start by a couple of weeks so it was now due to coincide with us leaving for our new role managing our own site. Remember when I said things change on the network over the winter months? well they certainly did for us and we got offered a job share contract at Warwick Racecourse instead, coincidentally still a racecourse but a longer season and working 12 days on and 12 days off. This sounded like a perfect work/life balance and we jumped at the opportunity.

We left home on the 23rd February heading for Warwick. Bill the Bailey was collected from storage and Vinny the Van was packed with our onsite set up gear. Packing up wasn’t as labour intensive as it had been in previous years, this time around we could just pack a winter wardrobe and then swop over to a summer one on one of our trips back home which would be every 12 days now. We didn’t have to carry our whole lives with us anymore as were only an hour and a half from home if anything was needed.

Unpacking and setting up is now a well oiled operation. Well mostly, once we have remembered how all the awning poles fit together and which box the kettle is in. It still takes about 3 days to get everything in its place and ensure the awning is battened down and wind and rain proof, then time to food shop and sightsee before the official start work day. We managed a couple of days exploring our new location and its tourist spots before we began preparing the site for opening up to members. There was only us there and it was both a daunting and exciting feeling being our own bosses in effect and having all the responsibility on our shoulders. We soon found our feet and before we knew it our colleagues who we were job sharing with had arrived. We finished the site set up and after handing over to them we found ourselves on the road back to Shropshire again. This work/life balance was like a dream come true.

Back home and the landscaping was finished outside the cottage. It looked amazing. New external doors had been fitted aswell and the effect was stunning. But after 12 days of ‘homelife’ back we went again to Warwick and ‘worklife’

Having our rota set out for the season meant we could plan our time off this year to include some holiday times. Not used to being able to have holidays during the summer it was quite a novelty planning where and when we could go. Several ideas were put forward and we decided on a trip to Normandy in May. I have done a separate blog about our road trip as it deserves its own showcase.

As the season progressed time on site was a whirlwind of grass cutting, hedge trimming, cleaning and checking in. Although Warwick is a third of the size of other sites we have worked there is only Steve and I at any one time so everything is down to us. The vibe of the site is very transient, not many units book on site for longer than a couple of nights as it is not really a holiday destination site but more of a stopover or weekend site. This makes it a very high turnover of arrivals and departures which all take a lot of managing with the site nearly always being full. As Warwick is on a very convenient network of motorways and A roads it is ideal as a stopover to break the journey. Also once members realise just how much there is to do in the area they more often extend their stay or book again for on their way back. The horse racing season at Warwick Racecourse is from September through to May, so whilst we are open there are quite a number of race days and other events scheduled at the course. Race day is always popular with the site full and members able to watch from our side of the fence. The atmosphere is very tense at the finishing line which is right opposite the main stand and our site, especially if you have money bet on the winner!

Following our trip to Normandy in Vinny our Transit Custom camper, our minds got thinking that having enjoyed it so much and with our new working rota, having summer trips away would be something we could now do. Trouble was that for us Vinny was a little too small and uncomfortable for longer than a couple of nights so we tentatively started looking at the option of a motorhome. Ideally a 6m long campervan was our compromise but unfortunately after trying the sleeping arrangements in a few models it appeared that Steve was too long for the beds. Also as it wasn’t just for holidays it was for living and working out of every 12 days aswell it needed to have fixed beds and an adequate lounge area. And so a motorhome was decided on and we picked it up at the end of July. It was also a very sad day as we gave up Bill the Bailey and Vinny the Van in part exchange.

We had already planned a few days away at the end of July to Norfolk Broads CAMC site before we knew we were swopping to a motorhome, so we arranged to collect Mo (the motorhome) the day before, come back to Warwick for a night then head over to Norfolk from there. It was rather a whirlwind operation decanting everything from Bill and Vinny and repacking into Mo so everything was loaded into a pop up tent in our compound until we could decide between what was actually still needed and what was unnecessary clutter we had just accumulated in the last 4 years of caravan life. We had a great time in Norfolk, the weather was perfect and we really enjoyed getting used to being in Mo, the transition from caravan to motorhome was proving to be a positive one.

We had another trip booked for a couple of days in August to Baltic Wharf CAMC. The weather was sunny and warm and we got out and about along the waterfront and to see the street art.

Our time on site was nearing its season end although the arrivals were still as busy as ever. Once the school holidays are over its then the turn of couples who are road tripping up, down and across the country to come and stay.

End of October arrived and our first season as Site Managers was under our belt. It had been a learning curve but we embraced the challenge (hopefully did a good job) and enjoyed the site so much that we are going back next year. Mo has been put into storage near to the cottage and we have two trips planned in the UK over the winter months. Meanwhile the log burner is lit, the Christmas decorations will be coming out soon and we plan a peaceful perfect time off.

So there you are, a catch up of our 2024 so far. There will be more news and blogs to come from our winter road trips as they happen, but in the meantime keep watching for the Normandy blog posting soon.

Tag: motorhomesuk

Winter Working

Catch Up no;2 – 2024