Last camping trip of 2010 - Orchard Camping Suffolk

Another great weekend camping with Sarah Beard et al.

Despite having taken the day off we don't leave home til' 4pm. The journey takes 4hrs instead of 2, at times we are averaging 9mph. M25 on a friday was a bad idea. We arrive in the dark and a friendly chap with a torch shows us a nice spot at the bottom of the hill next to a pond and some trees. Thankfully this is when the campervan comes into its own and we're now pretty good at setting up in the dark - a quick nappy change and then Lydia feeds Olive while I make the beds. 25 mins later O's asleep & we have a fire burning. The campsite sells wood by the wheelbarrow.

Sarah, Charlie and Jon arrive along with some light drizzle and we start dinner, thankfully a fish curry that just needs heating up. Well fed, the rain stops and we get back to the fire and vino tinto as Sarah calls it. Later on 2 bottles of Port disappear very quickly.

A great nights sleep and then we awake to a cloudless Saturday morning and our first proper view of the campsite. We have a cute little spot under some silver birches next to 2 restored Gypsy caravans. The rest of the site is occupied by big groups with many kids who seems to be taking Halloween very seriously - tonight there is a pumkin carving competition !

As we eat our eggy bread breakfast Sarah plans our walk. Its almost shorts weather when we set off. A great day walking thru' the fields, playing Pooh sticks and climbing on haystacks. As usual Olive enjoys facing forwards in the sling - so much to see, enjoying seeing the countryside, mummy and friends and then finally falling asleep for an hour.

We get back to the site just as it starts to get dark, Lydia puts Olive to bed as Sarah starts another fire and we begin carving pumpkins. Charlie puts the bake potatoes in the fire and we get the chilli going. We have another lovely evening, our pumpkin carving ability surprises us all and they all come alive with a couple of tea lights ! Lydia's new tactic of bringing food pre-cooked proves a big success, particularly taking October weather into consideration. We need more Tupperware. Big Tupperware !

After another great nights sleep we look out of the van to a little more light morning drizzle and I start to worry about how we are going to get the campervan back up the muddy slope to the exit. We light another fire with the leftover logs and Lyd's goes about cooking her final dish - kippers en bap !

We all packup and Sarah shoots up the hill in her Civic. Getting up a decent amount of speed appears to be the trick. Lydia and I decide that Olive is probably best kept out of the van for my attempt at exit. I decide to set off across the field to get up speed and attempt a more gradual slope but immediately bog down as soon as I turn uphill. I then turn around floor it and attempt the main muddy track but up the edge, next to an apple tree. I get half way up but then get stuck again. People are beginning to come out of their tents and caravans to have a look. Some are taking pictures. I reverse back down and have another go at getting up speed. My main worry was hitting some poor child blundering out of a tent dressed as Yoda or something but now I realise that there are apple trees everywhere aswell. Well it is called 'Orchard Camping'. My third attempt fails half way up again but by now the owner has arrived with a tractor. A helpful chap arrives with a towing hook for a VW but we cannot work out where to attach it. "Its okay" says the tractor driver, "we'll tow it out backwards". This doesn't really appeal to me but I don't seem to have much sway in the matter. By now the whole site is out watching, trying to work out how to turn on the video function on their cameras. I notice a nice smile from Olive in Lydia's arms as I get back in the van. Tractorman gives me intructions and then attempts the same less steep route on the other side of the field. We fail half way up. He turns around and we do a fast run at the main muddy track again and get no further than the tree I got stuck at before. Franky I was a lot happier doing this in a 2 ton van going forwards. Tractor man turns again and I am off for 5 minutes being dragged backwards all over the field, trying to steer in reverse to keep close behind him whilst occasionally realising I just missed something. On attempt 4 half way up five guys appear from nowhere and begin to push me, we suddenly break free from the mud and are off again at some speed. I veer away from the apple tree, fly past Lydia, Olive and the paparazzi and narrowly miss the playground until I am depositted on the gravel 2 inches from the gatepost. I finally exhale, then get out and shout "Thankyou" to the five helpful chaps. What fun ! I believe Sarah has a video of this.

After a walk on the beach we head home. A lovely weekend.