CMC Beechwood Grange

We are at present sited on CMC Beechwood Grange near York as our first outing of the year.

We usually make this as our initial trip as it is not far from home plus should something not work or break there is Ebor Caravans just down the road.

It is an excellent site which is a credit to the wardens who keep it so.

It has not been a trip without incident.

Over the winter I had checked all the caravan services,water,electrics,wheels and tyres etc,one thing I didn't check was the breakaway cable attachment on the car.

About three months ago the rear bumper on the car was replaced after some damage.

When trying to attach the breakaway cable I discovered that the carabiner that I have attached to the the attachment point was firmly jammed behind some plastic trim so neither the carabiner or the attachment point was available for use.

I tried to free the carabiner with my fingers and some pliers but it wasn't going to shift.

After a selection of expletives I opted to loop the cable over the towball for the short trip,not ideal but needs must.

When we arrived in York I decided to ring Mayday/Green Flag to come to our aid as I have the option where they will come out to sort problems on site.

Credit to Green Flag,a recovery chap was there within three quarters of an hour and,yes you've guessed it,managed to free the offending carabiner within two minutes.

Oh well,job done,


As the day progressed the wind got stronger and stronger.

We had brought just the Isabella door canopy as it wasn't going to be particularly warm for sitting out.

By the time we were in bed the wind was howling along with torrential rain.

I have never been in the van in such wind,not predicted of course just simply 'windy' according to the forecast but this was something else,the van was rocking and not for a good reason.

Having reassured SWMBO that the door canopy was perfectly safe there was an almighty bang and the thing was flapping in the wind with the metal frame banging against the van after the peg securing one side had pulled out.

SWMBO managed to hang out of the window and grab the canvas whilst I heroically went outside and managed to remove the canopy and frame and stuff it under the van for later retreival.

My it was wild out there,

We also had a wind screen up but that seemed OK.

The following morning with the storm being the talk of the site,I retrieved the canopy from under the van to discover there were two areas of stitching which needed attention and two of the poles were damaged beyond repair so it is back to Isabella next week to be sorted out.

When I went to the car I discovered that miraculously the peg must have shot over the van and speared the car point first into the gap between the roof and the tailgate like a dart,what are the chances of that,I should have taken a pic but I was so amazed I forgot.

It was out with the touch up paint and the offending big chip is now sorted.


Anyway things have quietened down since,it was my birthday yesterday [13th] so SWMBO treated me to a slap up feed at the local Toby Carvery,and very nice it was.

Our next trip is to CMC Knaresborough,I hope it is slightly more incident free than this one.

Ian

FOR SALE

For sale ,a set of ten Colapz pegs to support the grey waste water pipe when on a serviced pitch.

This arrangement gives the pipe a bit of fall so enabling better drainage.

Only suitable for soft or grass pitches,not hardstandings.

Comes with a grey nylon drawstring bag.

£10 inc.postage.

Payment by PayPal preferred.

Ian