houndzrus Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 How times change. I've just found this picture taken at least twelve years ago from a camping trip with a couple of friends. The dog in the chair was Schubert, the terrier was Sheba. Both mine. The GSD was Saffy and the Xbreed was Jack. I was thinking about how small the tent looked, just the basics, yet we had a great time. These days I need a tent tall enough to stand up in and electric hook up. Wi Fi is the norm on many campsites!. The one constant though is that we still take our dogs with us. That will never change. anyone else got any memories to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Lovely picture of gorgeous dogs And your tent looks well nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks Billy, it was a good tent. Last one from me, here's Sheba with Bob the collie. This was a tiny old caravan we bought and as you can see they made the most of it! This one must be at least fifteen years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 No pics, but one of my most abiding memories of family holidays was our touring caravan at Appledurcombe Caravan site near Ventor on the Isle of Wight. There was a terrific thunderstorm echoing around all the hills, am adolescent K9Fran woke up, looked out of bunk, said 'what about the dogs then' (a Corgi and a cocker spaniel - they were sleeping in the car) - my Dad had to don swimming trunks, plastic mac and wellies and go and 'rescue' them!! I was never allowed to forget that the first thing on my mind in this tropical down pour was the dogs......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufus the wonderdog Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 I can remember our very first family holiday - it was a trip to a caravan park on the Isle of Wight. I was 9 years old and we had never been away before, summer holidays had been day coach trips previously. We stayed in this tiny caravan on the site, no toilets, mains water or electric. Cooking and hot water was by calor gas. My mum and dad had the double bedroom and my brother and I had pull out beds in the lounge. Toilets and showers were in a block some distance away - morning and night involved a trip in nighties and wellies The showers were about one degree above freezing The strangest thing was that the lights in the caravan were gas mantle lights I can remember my dad really struggling to get these things lit. Now caravans have bedrooms, can hook up to mains electric and water, access the internet, have full bathroom facilities and fully fitted kitchens and ............................proper lights How things change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted July 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thanks for sharing. there were gas mantles in our first caravan but we were never brave enough to light them, they hissed too much. Anyway we had the "luxury" of battery powered light which was about as bright as stringing a few candles togwther! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemstone Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks Billy, it was a good tent. Last one from me, here's Sheba with Bob the collie. This was a tiny old caravan we bought and as you can see they made the most of it! This one must be at least fifteen years ago. Awww Bob He does look like Jacko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Before we had the touring 'van, we had a static van which was sited first at Hunstanton, then moved to Heacham (I still love Hunstanton for family holidays). There were no toilets on board, just a sink which emptied into a slop bucket under the van - had to emptied every day (or more) or it over flowed, and that was NASTY! There was a toilet block which was inhabited by a particularly large toad. And showers which were either scalding hot or freezing cold, with a wooded board thing on the floor to keep you out of the puddles of water I seem to remember the kitchen was across the back end of the van, there was a room divider formed by my parents drop down double bed. A coal burning 'rayburn' style stove and no telly! My sister and I slept on banquettes either side of the front end of the van, divided from the parents by a wooden folding door ( I can still heard the squeak and clunk as it opened and closed). Lighting was also gas mantles, replacements came in little cardboard boxes and you had to be really careful with them, as if they got damaged they didn't work properly. All supplies were kept in the seats under the banquettes or in little cupboards above head height. Then we progressed to the freedom of the touring van - a 12' Cavalier, which was built on a chassis designed for Europe - which meant if we parked up in a lay bye, you had to enter and exit the van on the same side as the traffic!!! But this was luxury - had a toilet compartment (only allowed to use in in the night though, as Dad had to empty it) Still had gas lighting though, to start with at least. But then Dad rigged up a 12V flourescent tube AND we had a teeny tiny portable black and white tv, all powered through a 12 V hook up to the car - couldn't use it for too long though, or it ran the car battery flat! LOL Dad used to go and get fresh rolls from the camp shop every morning (along with his newspaper and tobacco for his pipe) and we could also tell when he was coming back because we could hear 'Dad's cough!'. I am still nostalgic for the sound of the awning zipper being undone, and I love sitting in the conservatory at home when it's raining, because it reminds me of sitting in the awning or van when it was raining......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Tis so funny I was talking only this evening about the sound of rain on the roof of our caravan when I was a youngster and saying how much I loved it and remembered it and about to go camping in a tent for the first time ever in my life makes me only more excited reading wonderful memories of doing the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly1712 Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Love the pic of Schubert Does anyone remember toilet tents or was it just me that was unfortunate enough to have to use one? As a child our family used to camp in really remote places, usually a farmers field with no facilities at all. The kids (i.e. us) used to have to dig a hole and put a little seat thingy over it and then pitch the toilet tent over that. That would serve as our toilet for the whole week with a little spade to cover up whatever we'd done. I have horrid memories of sitting there holding my breath for as long as possible - it was not nice!! Please tell me it wasn't just me who used one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Oh Tilly - toilet tents were a luxury when I first started camping with Guides - all we got was a piece of saking wrapped around 4 poles - all open to the elements too! I seem to remember having to dig 'lats' as well, and a 'grease pit' topped with branches and greenery through which to strain the washing up water. At the end of the camp the leaves and branches were burnt on the camp fire.......... But goodness, we had some fun - I learnt how to milk a cow at Guide camp near aylesbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted July 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 we had a teeny tiny portable black and white tv, all powered through a 12 V hook up to the car - couldn't use it for too long though, or it ran the car battery flat! LOL I'd forgotten about getting a teeny tv rigged up!! Ours had a really "snowy" picture which wavered if we walked by we thought it was great. We were forever flattening our battery too. about to go camping in a tent for the first time ever in my life makes me only more excited reading wonderful memories of doing the same You'll have a great time Does anyone remember toilet tents or was it just me that was unfortunate enough to have to use one? I never had one, just had many moonlit walks to the toilet blocks, tripping over guyropes all the way! But goodness, we had some fun - I learnt how to milk a cow at Guide camp near aylesbury We had fun too, although when things went wrong they were awful. One time it rained so much that the ground turned to very squelchy, thick mud. Not very good when your Collie dog jumps out of the car and ends up with mud up to his armpits unable to move. To say nothing of the terrier who followed suit two seconds later Everything got covered, the dogs, us, the car, caravan and all the furniture. We were glad to go home after that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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