The Ups and Downs of Seasonal Pitches

Pardon the preamble but I assure you once we get to the end it will all make sense, like when something happens in a film and all the pieces of the jigsaw just pop into place. Anyway, from growing up in sunny old Stoke on Trent living in a house with my Mum, my oldest sibling Kenny, and the middle child Gemma. We have always been a close family, we used to go to my Dad’s every weekend but for a vast majority of the time we all spent it together, trying not to kill each other fo most of it. We were close though, my Mum worked long hours trying to raise 3 kids and keeping a roof over our heads so it was us ‘kids’ for most of it. So we are a close family, we do most things together, and it is thanks to my sister and my Brother in Law ‘Simmo’ that I fell in love again with camping again as an adult.

“It sparked my love of history and caravanning”

I spent a lot of time camping with my Dad when I was younger and I believe I have referenced somewhere about my favourite holiday of all time being spent in a Caravan for 3 weeks driving around Northern France and looking at the WW2 stuff, landing beaches, graves and the Bayeux tapestry to name a few. It is, still to this day, the best holiday I have ever been on and it sparked my love of history and caravanning.

“That place is amazing by the way. If you ever get chance to go, you must, it is phenomenal”

Gemma and Simmo bought an old Kon Tiki camper and started going away in it, me constantly suffering from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) I bought myself a little £29.99 tent and started going with them, had a weekend or 2 in Sandbach, a couple in Northwich and the main one was a week stay in Devon at Cofton Holidays. That place is amazing by the way. If you ever get chance to go, you must, it is phenomenal. It went rubbish over Covid and it felt like they were trying to scrimp at every turn but I have been well informed that they have absolutely returned Cofton to the glory days of pre 2020.

“I could go away whenever I wanted to now and that sense of freedom is over whelming”

My brother had previously bought a Horizon Air 6 tent and it was huge, so he, as he does with many things, get bored and I bought it off him. I was the proudest man alive, it was amazing. It was huge and totally over the top but I loved it. I bought his whole kit from him, his sofa’s, his kettle, the works. It was a full Ford Focus worth of kit. I was made up, I could go away whenever I wanted to now and that sense of freedom is over whelming. That is what camping/ caravanning/ motor homing is all about, and that by its very design it what drives millions of people to leave their permanent dwelling to go and spend anything from 1 – 14 nights in essentially what is a thick carrier bag. When you put it like that the concept seems absolutely mad. That was me hooked again, it was all I could think about, camping, camping accessories. There was one problem, it took an eternity to set up and even longer to take down, probably 2 hours up, and 3 down. I am a bit lazy so this was a problem for me. Also, as Gem and Dave had a camper they were going away all year round. I was still jealous, that hole that had been filled by my tent was waning.

“It was love at first sight”

Married at the time my then wife had mentioned trailer tents to me but in my mind they were only little things like my Nan and Grandad used to have and I wanted something substantial. I had a ford focus so I couldn’t have a caravan unless I was prepared to get a new car as well and that was just too much investment for me at the time. In Camperlands I saw a Conway Cruiser ’08 and It was love at first sight, it had a grill, gas hob, fridge, a 6 berth (however this would have been very very tight). I borrowed the money to buy and then that was me, able to camp 365 days a year, could tow it anywhere. It was everything I had dreamed of, I loved that trailer tent so much. I still love them today. Everything about them, they will always hold a very special place in my heart.

“I thought that was me, I had reached a level I was happy with in terms of camping ability, I was done”

I bought it for £5k, and you should see the price of them today. That’s the world we live and I am almost sick of hearing about the cost of caravanning, I have written several blogs about it and several vlogs. So I have had my input. I thought that was me, I had reached a level I was happy with in terms of camping ability, I was done. I was so torn between caravan, campervan and trailer tent. I literally changed day by day as to which option I wanted to focus as they all had there pro’s and cons. The trailer tent was probably the closest to hitting them all based on my circumstances at that time.

“I’d had enough”

After a while, and after an incident on the M5 I sharply fell out of love with the Trailer Tent and putting it up and taking it down became a pain. It wasn’t just that, it was being anxious about having to tow it and constantly checking the weather reports about a week before I was due to leave so I could make sure the trailer tent got put away dry. I’d had enough. I then met my now partner Lisa who did enjoy the trailer but we had reached the top of a waiting list for a Seasonal pitch so we decided now was the time. Which with a baby on the way now seems like a bright idea, a really bright idea, considering we have Rory on the way due on 18th October.

“It is like having a holiday home without the stress of not being able to get onto the campsite of choice during the big weekends”

So from January 15th 2022 we placed our Swift on our Seasonal Pitch. I love it, it is brilliant, we spend as much time here as we can and it is amazing just being able to turn up and leave with everything set up. Apart from when we came back to a flooded awning. That is a story for another day. So far this year we have truly loved it, watching the seasons change, watching 3 named storms in one week. That was the preamble I mentioned and now into the name of the blog. The pros of a seasonal pitch like I mentioned above. I also love the fact that you get to know people on the site, watch the site completely fill up on a Friday and then then almost apocalyptic evacuation on a Sunday morning. It is like having a holiday home without the stress of not being able to get onto the campsite of choice during the big weekends.

“Then I started thinking about the perfect site”

As we have drifted through now into summer and nearly into July I can honestly say that I have missed touring. The excitement of the drive, the joy once your camp is set up. As friends and Family go to other sites and missing out has been tough over these last few weekends. Please don’t misunderstand me, there is no way I would swap my seasonal pitch for all the money in the world. Although it has been tough these last few weeks as we went for the day to Pillaton Hall Farm Campsite in Stafford which is one I have been to a lot in the past and it was really nice to be there again. You find it difficult to not compare your site compared to others. You start looking at things other sites have which ours doesn’t, fishing, paddle boarding amongst other things. Then I started thinking about what our site has that there’s doesn’t, location is brilliant here. You are never more than 1 hour from anything here and the facilities are much closer here. Then I started thinking about the perfect site and does the perfect site exist, which it probably doesn’t. Everyone is different though, now I have experienced a seasonal pitch I know that I always need to have one, the challenge will be how I can find a way to incorporate touring into our schedule next year with a 7/8 month baby!! It can be done, I am sure.

“Conclusion”

I love my seasonal pitch and I love being able to escape whenever without having to tow or pay for sites etc. Having everything here is great, and I love that. I love the site, I love the facilities and the location. However, I think by nature I am a tourer and I will be finding a way to make sure I am in a position to tour next year. Ideally giving my car in as part exchange and getting a camper as the family vehicle. Whether that is a Mazda Bongo or whether that is a VW, but something along those lines to give us that freedom whilst having the seasonal pitch.