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* (AFF) This post contains affiliate links, I may receive a commission for my recommendation. Please see my disclaimer page for more information. This post is not intended to constitute professional advice, please see my disclaimer page for more information. As the camping season starts to stir, and people turn their attention towards the summer, the Spring becomes a popular time to purchase a new or second hand caravan. Usually, it's cheaper and better value to buy at the end of the summer, when people may decide to give up or upgrade. In the spring, there is also some movement as people decide to upgrade their existing caravan for a newer or different model. New vans are released in September/October, although manufacturing has been hampered by COVID. Buying from a dealer vs. private sale When deciding how to purchase a caravan, the options are sometimes driven by budget. Dealers tend to have a better stock of higher budget caravans. If buying a caravan on a smaller budget, its worth exploring whether any local campsites have a notice board of caravans for sale before trying the popular selling sites. When buying privately, it's 'sold as seen' with little buyer protection against hidden defects or outright scams... buyer beware. Checking for stolen van It's really important to make sure that the caravan isn't stolen & it is a legitimate sale. CRIS is a good resource to check whether the van is registered to the person who is selling it. Even in today's climate of demand outstripping supply, don't be tempted to pay a deposit for a caravan unless its to a dealer as there is a possibility that you may not see the money again. If you do unwittingly purchase a stolen van, it could be seized. Check thoroughly for damp Make sure she's structurally sound, which means no damp. View it twice if possible, once when dry and once when rainy. Take note of a smell when you first walk inside, be mindful that it may have been 'well-aired out' or if there is a heavy scent in the air it could be to cover for damp. Ask for a recent damp report from a reputable source. Check inside cupboards and under seats for mould, have a look inside the front locker at the exposed wood for signs of water ingress & look underneath for signs of water ingress on the underside of the floor. It's a good idea to check all areas of wall board that you can get to for discolouration. If you do see any areas of discolouration, it doesn't mean that the problem hasn't been fixed, a conversation with the seller should tell you quickly if the problem is known and historical & they should be able to show you the remedial works. You can buy a damp meter from Amazon to help. Other necessary checks New sealant around the caravan edges, check all window rubbers for perish, hinges and catches should be working. When was the caravan last serviced? Was the gas checked? Have a look around the stabilisers for stress damage, they are for stabilising, not levelling. Have a look around the awning rail for any damage and if possible use the camera function on your phone to get a look at the roof condition through the skylight. Floor delamination The floor of a caravan is effectively a sandwich - ply, insulation, ply. Sometimes the insulation can wear away, sometimes due to water ingress, which leaves the floor feeling either soft, spongy or bouncy. Checking for dips or bouncy spots in the floor can head off this issue in your new caravan. Checklist - Outside Check underneath for rust, water damage, stress around the stabilisers, pipes and vents should be in tact and in good condition. Are the tyres and treads in good condition? Look for cracks and rubber perish. If the tyres are over 5 years old, they should be replaced. The code on the wall of the tyre will tell you the year of manufacture. Look at the hitch and handbrake, is the breakaway cable in good condition? Do they look clean and well maintained? The hitch head may have a little movement but if it moves quite a bit, that could be troublesome. Push the hitch towards the back of the van to test for resistance in the damper, there should be some, if there isn't, it may need to be replaced. The sealing around the awning rails should be intact with no gaps. Have a look at the windows to make sure there are no cracks or gaps. The door should be well fitting when closed. Checklist - Inside All important damp test, check everywhere, follow your nose: behind curtains, under beds and sofas, inside cupboards, around the toilet, everywhere the wall board is exposed & the seams where the walls meet the roof. Check the floor for soft spots. Hinges, locks and catches on all windows and cupboards. Now is a good time to talk about paperwork, CRIS registration, service history and previous works undertaken. Good Luck!

* (AFF) This post contains affiliate links, I may receive a commission for my recommendation. Please see my disclaimer page for more information. Since we began caravanning in 2015, we've found many ways of making our time at the caravan easier for ourselves. We have picked up tips and tricks from many other caravanners & in the fullness of time, I plan to share them all with you on this website. Please head over to the 'Shop our Caravan' page. I will keep adding the tried and tested finds. I have shared items we have in our kitchen, items we use for entertainment and items we use for our children to keep them entertained. I hope that you find it useful!

What3words: ///hack.tugging.shears Rhinefield Road runs from the Ford in Brockenhurst until it turns into Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, in turn this runs to the A35. Along Rhinefield Road, is a beautiful shady spot with exposed roots and a meandering stream. In Summer, it's a perfect picnic spot with many a day spent sitting on the banks whilst the children and dogs play on the homemade rope swings. You can sit and relax under the trees, or, you can walk from Puttles Bridge Car Park along the river up to Ober Water & Aldridge Hill Campsite. You might need to cut through to the left to join a better path, but there are plenty of existing paths to do so, the walk takes about 30 minutes & Ober Water is another beautiful spot.

Setthorns campsite sits within the Setthorns enclosure and is largely unchanged from how it looked decades ago, meaning, if you came here as a child you will be pleased to know that the paths you walked along are still in existence. The pitches are nestled in between the trees, underneath the pines, most pitches have a respectable distance from neighbouring pitches. Probably the most important thing to know about Setthorns is that it has no toilet or wash facilities, you must use your own. It has plenty of water and chemical waste points at convenient distances throughout meaning you are never too far away. I like to be further from the bins and disposal points because in the summer, they can smell a bit. Bin collection is loud and happens early morning. There are no shared facilities. Pitch types offered are: Hardstanding with electric, Hardstanding no electric, Select with electric (also hardstanding), XL pitches & Grass pitches. Setthorns is has its pitches in zones: Pine Tops, Oaken Bottom, High Tops and The Brow. Standard hardstanding pitches with and without electric can be found in Pine Tops, Oaken Bottom and The Brow. Select pitches which are a bit larger are located in High Tops (and the looped paths are perfect for little kids on bikes). Grass & tent pitches are in Oaken Bottom. There are about 5 XL pitches & these are all located in Pine Tops. The disused railway line runs through the middle of the site which makes it really convenient for walkers and cyclists. You can access the path from Oaken Bottom. From the rear of Setthorns, through High Tops or through Oaken Bottom, the open forest is a gate away. There is a large river not far away which is great for dogs to splash in. Through Pine Tops, there is a footpath to the village of Sway, signposted from the campsite, it took us a little while to find the right path, you have to turn right at the first cross road, then left at the next one. Given the setting, it's not uncommon to see ponies and roe deer in amongst the caravans and tents, they sometimes come close. You aren't short of a few squirrels either. Feeding the animals is not allowed so that they don't become dependent on humans for food but when it's hot we put a bowl of water out for the animals. Over the road from the entrance of Setthorns, Longslade Bottom offers some great walks. Setthorns is as close to nature as you can be when camping.

What3words: ///engaging.preparing.broom Disclaimer: The content of this post is independent and has not been compensated in any way. Opinions are my own. The village is famous for its free roaming ponies and cattle, witchcraft, tales of smuggling and dragons. Burley is the only place in the New Forest that I have seen pigs roaming with the horses and ponies. There is plenty of parking for both cars and coaches, and also a modern and very well kept public toilet block in the car park behind the Queens Head pub. You can find the ‘Burley Wagon Rides’ in the same car park behind the Queens Head. Burley was once home to Sybil Leek, a self-confessed white witch, who lived in the village in the 1950s, widely deemed as being responsible for the villages tourism celebrating witchcraft. She claimed to be a descendent of Molly Leigh who was accused of being a witch in the 18th century, and added that she could trace her family back to 12th century Irish witches. Sybil was often seen walking around the village with her pet Jackdaw on her shoulder. The Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951, and although many were nervous of speaking up, Sybil Leek was one of the few. She became a subject of media focus and attracted a lot of tourists to the village of Burley. She also started one of the first covens in the New Forest - the ’HORSA‘ coven, which exists today. Sybil eventually moved to the the US after falling in love with the country after travelling to promote one of her books, but not before she named one of the shops ‘A Coven of Witches’. ‘A Covern of Witches’ is pretty well dedicated to selling witch related wares, such as crystals, spells and spell candles, herbs, pagan parchment scrolls and jewellery. The Skellmuir Hill Circle Ley Line lays less than 5 miles from the village, a Ley line is “a straight line connecting three or more prehistoric or ancient sites, sometimes regarded as the line of a former track and associated by some with lines of energy and other paranormal phenomena”. Dragons are mentioned in local folklore, a dragon had his den at Burley Beacon, about 3 miles about east of Bisterne, at Burley. There are several versions of the tale, with a knight defeating the dragon, the a popular version of the tale says that the fight raged throughout the forest, with the dragon finally dying outside the village of Lyndhurst, his corpse turning into a hill which is known as Boltons Bench. According to legend, though the knight had defeated the dragon he had been mentally broken by the battle, and after thirty days and thirty nights he went back to Boltons Bench to die alone atop it, his yew-wood bow falling on the ground beside his body and eventually sprouting into the yew tree which can still be seen today. Caraccios - ‘The Burley Sweet Shop’ - is a favourite with the children, with rows and rows of old fashioned sweets in jars, you can make your own pick‘n’mix. They also stock New Forest Ice Cream cones and lollies as well as Giggis Italian gelato and sorbet which are handmade locally by the man himself. Inside the shop, you will find New Forest souvenirs & handmade sweet cones. In keeping with the village’s witchy reputation, there are several shops who are a must visit if this makes you happy, ‘Away with the Fairies’ is a fabulous little shop with a great collection of jewellery and other china and fairy related gifts. Visit the website here. ‘Cobwebs and Crystals’, ‘Witchcraft’ are also well worth a visit & both have other witchy related treats in stock for varying budgets. ‘Burley Fudge Shop’ is another well visited establishment in Burley Mall which is also a tourist magnet, Burley is well known for its fudge due to Burley Fudge. A family business, they have been making fudge since 1998 and I can confirm, it is amazing. Visit the website here. Also in the Burley Mall is ‘The Burley Stores Tea House’, which serves hot and cold drinks, pastries, cakes, New Forest ice cream and other refreshments. It looked a little different the last few summers due to covid, pre-2020 it was a lovely little cafe with tables and chairs both inside & outside in the Mall. ‘Burley Coach House’ has been a staple in the village since it opened in 1968 selling Country Wines which have become famous. There is a large selection of confectionary, Jams, marmalades, chutneys and ciders sold. ‘The Old Shed’ is a small, family run business selling hippy, festival, boho and fairtrade clothing, you can see their website here. ‘The Cider Pantry New Forest Cider’ is also in the village, a wonderful traditionally brewed cider can be bought in person or on their website - website and online shop can be found here. ‘Shappen Stores’ occupies a building where a similar type of shop has been since 1908, under different names, there is more to their history on their own website. Within the store, you’ll find local produce, meats, deli and drinks as well as the village post office. Their website can be found here. I love the concept of ‘Noohn Wild’, for a pre-bookable picnic or cafe with a focus on sustainability in the centre of Burley. For a special occasion, a New Forest picnic really is a fantastic idea. They also stock gifts in the form of art prints, candles, honey and jewellery. For more information, their website can be found here. We keep our bikes inside our caravan, but for the day trippers or those who leave their bikes at home and fancy a ride for a day, the ‘New Forest Cycling’ is the place to go for cycle hire, conveniently placed for exploring the wider Burley area & the open forest which is a short ride from the shop. website can be found here. Pubs are the Queens Head & The Burley Inn, both in the centre of the village. Burley Manor is historic, first recorded with the Lord of the Manor in 1212, the current manor building was constructed in 1852 and became a hotel in 1933. It now offers an adult only weekend breaks, weddings, occasions and wellbeing. Having never stayed there, I can’t hand on heart recommend but it looks beautiful and the reviews are great. Burley is a magical place, rich in history & is one of my favourite places in the New Forest. We hope you love it as much as we do.

What3words: ///pursue.contrived.baked Tall trees walk is a relatively flat circular walk which takes you alongside one side of the road for half, and then back alongside the other side of the road for the second half of the walk. Starting in the Blackwater car park, which has ample parking although can be busy, there is an alternative car park further down the road (What3words: ///sharpness.inert.migrate) which puts your start point at the ‘cross the road’ point around half way. Surrounded by Douglas fir trees and redwoods that were planted during the reign of Queen Victoria in the late 1850s to create the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, this is one of many picturesque walks in the forest and one of our favourites, we visit several times a year and this location is often our twilight walks of choice, it smells spectacular after its been raining and we quite often see Roe Deer. One of the highlights of the walk are the largest trees in the New Forest, a pair of trees called Wellingtonia. The giant sequoia tree can grow to be the largest living thing on earth. In the Blackwater car park, there is a toilet block and quite often an ice cream van. They lock the gates at dusk. Along a short pathway directly off the Blackwater car park, the Blackwater Arboretum is located, here you will find a variety of beautiful trees from around the world and a sculpture trail.

As you may have read here, we bought a lemon. It was devastating. I'll be the first to admit that we were too trusting and naive when purchasing the lemon. Our loss (kind of) but your gain I guess! It was all ok in the end, but some valuable lessons were learned. We decided to upgrade our first caravan in 2018, we purchased our first caravan in 2016 but it wasn't one we felt comfortable towing so decided that in order to get to the New Forest, which is where we wanted to go, we would need a better set of wheels. We went big too, with a 6 berth Bailey Senator Carolina. The main reason for this caravan was the fixed bunks & the large end washroom. We had a 3 and 9 year old at the time so the thought of not needing to make up beds or squash into a cupboard shower to clean a tired, dirty, muddy, child was so attractive. The lemon looked fine, we didn't recognise any damp smell when viewing. The person selling it was busy pointing out all of the stuff they were kindly including in the deal which made it difficult to really inspect the important stuff. We parted with several thousand pounds via bank transfer - which was another error - and excitedly left with the lemon the same day. We parked the mammoth 8m beast on our front garden, it's on a slight incline so the caravan was parked slightly nose down which caused the rain to run off the front. We quickly started to notice the problems but the full extent wasn't clear until our first outing. The first thing to go horribly wrong was the front windows, the curtains were wet & on the ledge it was puddling with water, it was running in but we couldn’t tell from where. I removed the curtains & noticed the wall board was soaking wet and spongy all the way across, it had clearly been leaking badly for some time. We were annoyed with ourselves for missing this obvious problem, it was pretty dry when we bought it and the curtains covered a multitude of sins. The first time we towed the caravan to the New Forest, the blinds fell off the front window, on account of the wet wall, the fixing was lost & the screws rusty. We stuck a Pringles can between the blind and the pelmet on each side secured with duct tape to stop the blind casing snapping in half. We used a gro-blind & a window covering on the outside to block the light. The front 3 windows were now, as we would term in aviation, INOP or U/S. I am an engineer’s daughter so my semi-permanent fix for this issue, much to my husband’s dismay, was to throw 3 cans of clear all-weather sealant at the windows and header rail. This sealed them shut and stopped the leak. The damage gradually dried out over the course of the summer. We are now aware of a problem with Bailey Senator in 2004 which meant that the screws securing the window mounting rail to the caravan caused cracks to the chassis & in turn water ingress from above the windows. We were unsure about whether the windows were delaminated or not so the window cover also stopped them from breaking whilst towing. Our next hurdle, the water system, had several leaks which were caused by not draining down the system over winter. The first time my poor husband plugged in the water barrels and tried to prime the system, the water flooded from underneath the bunks. To fix this, we needed to find a replacement part only available online, so it wasn’t a quick fix. On our next trip, having fixed the leak underneath the bunk beds, it moved the leak to the next weak point underneath the kitchen sink - some kind soul had duct taped the water filter back together & obviously this didn’t hold under any pressure. Once again, our trip was ruined by the lemon. The electrical system was also a bit special. It didn’t seem to work properly which meant that there was a constant dipping of lights. We replaced the leisure battery but by day 2 of being plugged in on site, the lighting would flash when on the mains as if it had a surge. We operated the lights from the battery rather than the mains and 9 times out of 10, this solved it. We found a nasty crack in the shower tray which had been patched, when we looked there was stuff piled up on top so it wasn’t visible. There went my idea of having a good shower for my 3 year old free spirit. Obviously we never used the gas. We had quite a frank conversation about the lemon & decided that we would use our glorified tent and make the best of it. We sealed the windows to stop the leak, the wooden structure was still sound & we fixed the water system eventually, after a few tries. We booked only sites with facilities and never used the gas. We unplugged at night from the hook-up & used torches. The trailer, tyres and brakes were road-safe and we upgraded the break away cable. We kept the lemon from April 2018 to April 2021 when we upgraded to our current caravan. In 3 years, we used the lemon as we would normally use a caravan, averaging 5 or 6 trips per year, so it didn’t affect our ability to get away. The Covid-19 pandemic, raised the popularity of caravanning to a level where buyers were willing to purchase a caravan with known issues like ours just for the summer. With borders closed worldwide, the UK had never been so popular & so in April 2021, I advertised the lemon, warts and all on Facebook Marketplace for half of what we had paid for it. She came with a 2 page disclaimer. As a 6 berth, we had our hand bitten off multiple times & off she went to a family who probably used her for one summer only. We recovered just under half of the money we had paid and had used the lemon for 3 seasons, so all was not lost.

What3words: ///spin.skips.fists Website: https://newforestfairyfestival.com Disclaimer: The content of this post is independent and has not been compensated in any way. Opinions are my own. Burley is known as the ’witches village’, read more about that in this post. Based on the long history of fairies and witches, where better place to hold the annual ‘New Forest Fairy Festival’? 2022 was my first year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It sounded fun, so when I was told about it I planned my weekend away & bought my tickets using the online ticket facility (the website is linked at the top of this post. Arriving at the site, the parking was well planned and the fairies giving directions were happy and friendly, it was a super heatwave so they would be forgiven for being not so happy - it wasn’t the case. There were so many stalls: face painting, hair braiding, fairy doors, crystals, carvings, fairy miniatures, headbands, fairy costumes, skirts, hula hoops, artwork & sculptures, jewellery - so much cool stuff! Live music played from the stage & performers everywhere. For 2023, the website says that the current line up is Tanglewood Tales Theatre Show, Professor Octavia’s Magical Menagerie, Fairytale Walk Round & Jutterbug Circus (which my children loved). It was held during one of the heatwaves of 2022, so the refreshment tents were much appreciated, as were the ice cream vans. There isn‘t much shade on the field, so if its hot - an umbrella is useful! Most stalls take cards, ice cream vans were cash only. They operated a ’lost kid programme’ in 2022, which is helpful to parents. This is a great day out for the family, a great opportunity for everyone to dress up - anything goes. Early Bird Tickets are on sale now, the weekend of the 12th and 13th August 2023 at Burley Park, Burley, Hampshire, BH24 4AA.

* (AFF) This post contains affiliate links, I may receive a commission for my recommendation. Please see my disclaimer page for more information. Keeping dogs clean without a coat is tough, we have a medium sized mongrel with short hair and a small sized mongrel with long hair. It’s the small one who picks up all of the mud, he’s covered and his belly drags through all of the mud whilst the medium sized one is only ankle deep. This thing has been a blessing, as I only have warm water dog wash facilities upstairs. They intensely dislike the cold hose & I completely understand. This thing is filled with warm water before we leave for our dog walk, or in many cases, the dog field. Both get hosed down and washed off prior to getting in the car, and they are towelled down & the drying robes go on. By the time we’re back in the caravan or our house, they’re usually dry enough to let loose. Muddy dog problem solved!

What3words: ///outsmart.seats.magnum Website: http://www.pubsnewforest.co.uk Disclaimer: The content of this post is independent and has not been compensated in any way. Opinions are my own. Hare and Hounds is one of our favourite pubs in the New Forest, we have visited often and each time the staff have been friendly & welcoming. It would be really handy to have an online booking tool, but actually, each time I've called to book a table, they have tried hard to accommodate us. You can fill in a form online to secure a table booking outside of 24hrs but its not quite as convenient as online booking. The Hare and Hounds has Ringwood Best Bitter, Fursty Ferret, Badger & Grockles on tap. The Rhubarb Gin is gorgeous, I can’t remember the brand but I did try to buy a bottle to keep in my caravan & they said no! The cider is also a personal favourite. The food has always been great, the menu is a good example of a pub menu with traditional favourites like Ham, Egg and Chips, Sausage and Mash or Lasagne. A nice touch for the Sausage and Mash is that the sausages are sourced from Sway Butchers, which are beautiful and amazing quality. There is a nice selection of fish based dishes in the ’From the Sea‘ with Scampi, Homemade Admirals Pie and Traditional Fish and Chips. Also in abundance are the vegetarian options with 5 meat-free options in the ‘From the Field‘ section. The burgers are pretty good too, with 5 different options to choose from. The children’s menu has a varied offering of Fish & Chips, Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti Bolognese, Sausage & Chips & Curry with rice. We’ve even managed to find something for our picky eaters & on the one occasion that someone didn’t like their kids meal, it was no problem to replace it. They have two great and well maintained age appropriate playgrounds, next to the car park in the garden. Kids will need to be watched as the view isn’t clear from all areas of the garden & a determined Houdini could escape with very little effort. The thing that I enjoy most about this pub, is their ‘dog friendly’ provision for tables in the bar area. They have little beds, dog toys, treats & water bowls. In the New Forest, this kind of special touch is lovely & to make our little four legged friends welcome is much appreciated.

For most of my adult life I’ve worked in the aviation industry, which has meant that i’ve had fortunate access to global travel. In 2015, when our family was completed with our youngest daughter, our circumstances changed and it was no longer simple or cost effective to jump on a plane for a break and some family time. We’re happiest outdoors & we started to explore the idea of camping. Leisure time is important to us as a family so I started looking at cheap, old, caravans - around £1000 budget. I’m not going to lie, I hadn’t really thought it through, my house at the time was mid-terrace with no driveway and on-road parking and we had a car incapable of towing anything. My parents thought I had lost the plot. We were not equipped & it was a harebrained scheme. We knew someone who had decided to stop caravanning, they were selling their 1994 Coachman for £2500 complete with everything we could need, including a storage spot in a barn on a campsite 5 minutes from home. It was meant to be, we snapped their hand off and our caravanning journey began with a 7 year old and a 1 year old. The campsite that we stored on towed the old caravan out to whichever pitch we had booked & it was often waiting for us on a Friday evening when we’d all finished work. We spent many a summer evening watching our eldest daughter make friends easily with new children each time. She grew in confidence from a child who was scared of the dark to a child with a glow stick around each wrist so that we could identify our one in the dark. Our baby also enjoyed being filthy and running around the campsite. We camped from April to October half term saying a reluctant goodbye at Halloween until the next year. In 2018 we decided to upgrade, we wanted some more room & the luxury of not having to make beds up. We had never towed the Coachman because we were warned that it was probably not roadworthy, the floor had delaminated in the middle. I advertised it ’warts-n-all’ on Facebook Marketplace & sold for £600 to someone who fixed trailers for a living. We kept most of the equipment for our next caravan, including the awning. My husband was desperate to get back to the New Forest where he had spent many caravanning years as a child. We awkwardly purchased our second caravan from someone we knew, unfortunately, we were too trusting and it was extremely faulty. We call this one the Lemon Van. It was a Bailey Senator Carolina 2004. We were devastated, and rightly so. I‘ll dedicate an entire post to the lemon. In 2020, coronavirus took over everybody’s lives and suddenly something changed within the caravanning world, it became popular again due to the self contained nature of these little pods & as the UK borders remained closed, demand took off. I listed the lemon for sale in 2021, again, with a very honest list of everything that was wrong with it. The buyer didn’t care, they just wanted a home for the summer to spend their holidays & we recouped half of our money. We purchased our newest caravan, the current one, from a dealer. It cost us more than we were looking to spend but we are thrilled with our 2013 Swift Challenger 565. This one also caused us problems and it had to be returned immediately under warranty but we have been very happy with her since then. So, here we are 7 years later, we love caravanning and have learned a lot along the way, so have decided to share in the hope that it’s of interest to others. Thanks for reading!