We knew Swanage fairly well and had test driven a campervan nearby to Ulwell, so looked the details up on the web and booked one night's stay.
The weather was dry, but cold. We arrived on site and found the pitch was quite small and located beneath trees, which gave it far too much shade in the cold sunshine. Across the pathway, were two tiny tents and I suddenly became aware of the hierarchy of camping. It goes thus:
The small tent owner is in awe of the big tent owner who in turn, is in awe of the 8 man tent with awning, who is in awe of the retro VW camper, who is in awe of the T5 Campervan who is in awe of the Motorhome who is in awe of the caravan in is in finally in awe of the Winnebago. So the Winnebago rules. In the UK these vehicles are rare, but they are something to behold.
Anyway, back to us. In the VW T5 Campervan called Jean Claude. We weren't even sure how we should park in the pitch - vertical or horizontal? To the left or the right? Crikey....so many choices. And we hadn't even unpacked yet.
We chose the horizontal way of parking and started to unpack. We immediately realised that we needed a small table as we could only eat inside the van. Ah well.... another item for the shopping list. We had our fishing chairs and located them in the corner of the pitch that still had sunshine. But goodness, it was cold. But we knew we would be cosy that night....
We had brought along lots of cheese and rolls as well as bacon - but realised that we didn't really want to cook inside the campervan for fear of fat spits and the smell that may stay in the woolen lining, so we stuck to soup and lots of bread. We didn't feel hungry at any time, but we know we have much to learn about varying our menu whilst away camping.
We went for a walk along the Purbecks with Foggy and enjoyed the last of the autumn sunshine before getting back to see how the evening was going to turn out.
Dusk soon fell and as the sun set below the horizon, the cold evening could be felt. We sat inside Jean Claude and listened to the radio. Perhaps a DVD player could be added to our shopping list? Just for those cold or rainy evenings perhaps.
8pm. Still early, but we were bored and wanting some warmth and comfort. Nothing for it, but to get the bed out (yay!). We placed a duvet on top of the bed and had another duvet over us. It was quite warm, but it still felt cold and slightly damp. Perhaps a cabin heater could be added to our shopping list...
The bed was firm - in fact, a little too firm for me and I kept waking up throughout the night. But there was plenty of room - much more room than I thought there would be.
We woke early to find that every window was covered in condensation, so nothing else for it, but to open the windows and door and get some air in. The morning was beautiful. The sun was rising and the campers were already taking their dogs for a walk and making their way to the facilities.
And whilst on the subject - wow! They were kept immaculately clean and were modern and tasteful. I couldn't be more happy to use them.
We had got quite cold so decided to pack up and make our way home. Despite bringing along everything that we thought we needed, we still needed more items to make our camping visits more comfortable.
Overall, we had really enjoyed our stay at Ulwell. It was a good first start. But we have a long way to go.
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