Cutting your cloth:Forced economy

[5129frederick]

I booked one of these "Super Sensational, Soaraway Sun holidays but the maths didn't add up.  Even though there are only three of you, you have to pay for four.  Most charge extra for facilities you don't use anyway - evening entertainment at rip-off bar prices which only suits some people.  A camp shop that charges about 60% more for basic food items than does the local supermarket, but the biggest singlw killer of all - the petrol.  We worked it out that the most basic holiday without the touristy places further a fieldwould set you back somewhere around £100.00 without any meals out.  By giving it a rethink and plonking for Hastings, being just down the road, it wouldn't cost a third of that, and we'd be there in less than two hours.  I'd advise others to look closer to home.  Fred "Victor Meldrew"

[dark_castle1]

Frederick, just over three years ago we had a little windfall, and with me being out on the road through work I spotted a place that sold decent secondhand statics at a very reasonably price. We bought one and they transported to a friends farm in the North East of Scotland. We have no fees to pay nor electricity and only need to buy the odd bottle of gas.

We go there at least three weeks of the year sometimes four depending on weather, so taking into account the cost and transport of the caravan we have recouped the money easily we spent and a few times the farmer has let it out to people working in that area that are looking for digs so we share that money so we are in pocket. We like going there just to get away from the hustle and bustle of town life and the totally different pace of life.

So like you and many others yes we have cut our cloth to suit our finances because without that caravan we could not afford holidays.

[5129frederick]

We too had a couple of static caravans.  One was on an undeveloped site at South Heighton, near Newhaven.  Although unspoilt with a couple of lakes, it was ruined by the site manager's EXTREMELY long arms.  If you wanted him to hand the key to your next tenant, just to book him in and hand him your key was the equivalent of £25.00.  half the site had electricity, half didn't.  If you wanted yourbattery charged up you tool it to his van, and he very obligingly took it in where he had a bank of chargers - another £5.00 equivelent.  How much does it cost to put a car battery on charge?  All this bunce went straight into his pocket of course!  The reason we never converted was the cost of running two straight ring circuits would have set you back a couple of thousand pounds for something that wouldn't take much more than an hour.  But the biggest legal con was each new owner had to pay for the concrete base, even though it had been there for more than thirty years!  We lost money hand over fist on that venture.  Technically you can break even and make a little bit of money, but against the costs it's virtually impossible. 

[dark_castle1]

We could never afford to put a static on a site even now. It would need to be rented out constantly to pay the fees and we would never be able to use it so better an old static on a friends farm that gives us a little bolthole. Not everyones cup of tea holidaying on a farm but does for us.