Hobbies and Interests We thought we would devote a web page to hobbies and interests which people in the village enjoy. Who knows, you may like the sound of some of these pastimes, and have a go at them yourself. We do hope so. If you have a hobby or pastime you would like to tell people about, then give us the details and we will include it here. We will start the ball rolling. We are Harry and Maureen Hart, and we lived in The Street, Kingston for about 9 years. We have now moved but still keep an interest in Kingston. Besides running a web site design business, we have a wide variety of interests. One of these is Motor Caravanning. At the bottom of the page you will see some links for touring parks web sites that we have stayed at. Also there is a link to a Kent Caravan and Motorhome service business in Whitstable that does repairs and servicing on caravans and motorhomes, they are the Explorer Group Authorised Service Centre for this area. It is very difficult to find a reliable company for repairs and service in Kent, but we have now found one, visit their web site for details and address.

"Lady" in the sunset at Highfield Farm Touring Park, Cambridge. (This was our first motor home)

Now if you still think of "camping" as a distant memory of your boy scout or girl guide days, when the first job to do on arriving at your camping site was to dig the latrines, you had better think again. True to say you can still stay at a small farm site, where you will have almost an entire field to yourself if you wish. At the other end of the scale there are sites offering every possible facility. Swimming pool, jacuzzi, bars and entertainment, to name but a few. Somewhere between you will probably find the type of site which is ideal for you. We tend to prefer quiet sites with lovely views, and have modern facilities like electric hook-up to the motorhome, and luxury shower and toilet facilities.

Our old motorhome was based on a Volkswagon Transporter T4 Van, and was converted by Auto Sleepers. It is powered by a turbo diesel engine, and gives an average of 35 mpg (and up to 40 mpg on a run). She is completely "self sufficient" having fresh and waste water tanks, hot air blown heating, cooker and grill, microwave oven, sink, flourescent lighting, etc, etc. She is most comfortable even in the worst of weather, and when it is nice, she is heaven!! This type of conversion is known as a "high top" (HT for short) as she has a permanently high roof giving standing room inside. We called her "Lady" (most of the time!!!) and she is metallic silver in colour. You may have seen her around the village.

One of the advantages of this type of camper is that they are small enough to use as everyday transport, so you do not have the expense of a second vehicle. They can also be parked in a standard sized car parking space. Among the disadvantages are lack of space (so you need to get on well with your partner!!), and the need to look out for height barriers in some car parks.

Another type of camper van is the "elevating roof" or "pop up" type. Basically they are a standard panel van conversion as above, with the exception of the roof, which can be raised when on site to give head room, and lowered when travelling. They do overcome some of the disadvantages of HTs, however, you lose the roof storage space which is available in the high top. Also some elevating roofs are made of canvas, and are therefore not so weatherproof.

An older style VW Elevating Roof Camper

A typical modern coachbuilt

The third type of camper is the "coachbuilt" These are not panel van conversions. The habitable part is purpose built, then added to a standard van type cab/chasis. The main advantage of a coachbuilt is the larger amount of living space. We now own a coachbuilt and we still use it as our car and take it on the weekly shopping trip to the supermarket. Usually they only have two forward facing seats, and a large rear window, but you can get ones (like ours) that can carry 2 extra belted passengers. Coachbuilts have small caravan type doors, which limits the carrying of bulky items. Most van conversions have a large side sliding door, enabling you to carry bulky loads (DIY items for instance). If you just want a van for camping then the coachbuilt is for you.

So as you can see, the choice of type of camper van is, like everthing else in life, a bit of a compromise. You need to look carefully at your requirements and needs, both now and in the future, before you make a decission. From 2006 or 2007 if you take passengers they will have to be belted in, so you need to work out if you will be taking say grandchildren away with you. If the answer is yes, then you will need 4 seats with belts. The only downside we have found is not having a large rear window.

Having decided on the type of camper to buy, next comes the really difficult part. I suppose the downside to motor caravanning is really in its cost. The first hard lesson to be realised is that motor caravans are far more expensive than cars. The very cheapest available secondhand is from about £3,000 pound for about a 15 to 20 year old model (or even older) The good news is that motor caravans do not depreciate so rapidly in price as cars do (although new ones do show an initial fairly high drop in value) There are many fine examples of old VW camper vans around, and some are probably worth more now than they cost new. Camper vans usually have far lower average mileages on the clock than a car. An average of about 4,000 miles per year is more the norm for camper vans. So camper van prices and values are completely different from what you may be used to in respect of cars.

A good starter type camper van would be something say about 10 years old, converted by a well known company, which has covered about 40,000 miles. Expect to pay something in the order of £10,000 for a camper van of this description in first class condition. Do not be tempted to buy a "home made" van conversion. Although these will invariably be cheaper initially, you will find they are difficult to insure, and you will get a much lower price when you come to trade it in. In the end it probably works out no more expensive to buy a well known brand such as Auto-sleeper, Devon, Swift, Explore Group (Elddis and Compass) to name but a few.

If you are new to motor caravanning, there is only one place to buy from, and that is an authorised camper van dealer. Camper vans contain a potentially leathal mix of gas cylinders, electrical cabling etc., and it is absolutely vital that whatever you buy has been fully checked and serviced as only a dealer can do (pressure testing of gas appliances and testing RCDs function correctly in the electrical circuits). If you do decide to buy privately or from a garage, then do make sure you have the gas and electrical systems checked by a motor caravan service centre before you use it.

People often ask what it is we enjoy about motor caravanning. I suppose for us it is a mixture of things. We like meeting and talking to fellow campers. They tend to be a very friendly lot, and sharing a common interest makes it easy to "break the ice" You often hear very funny stories from them, and some have undertaken amazing journeys. For instance when we were in Cornwall last year, we met a couple who had sold up their guest house, bought a camper van, and had covered every state in the USA over a period of about 4 years. They were planning to write a book about their exploits. We enjoy the freedom of being able to go where we like, when we like. If we visit a town, city, or touring park which does not come up to expectations, we simply move on. We love beautiful scenery. What could be better than camping on the shores of a lake, watching the sun go down on a warm summer's evening, sipping a cold glass of wine straight from your fridge. The birds singing, the distant sound of children laughing. Oh roll on next summer!!!!!!!

If you live in Kent and would like your caravan or motorhome serviced or repaired then visit the web site of Premier Caravan Services, Whitstable, Kent, for details and address. We take our motorhome there so we know how helpful and friendly they are.
Premier Caravan Services For repairs and service on caravans and motor caravans.

Certificated Sites (5 van sites) You have to be a Camping and Caravanning Club member to use.
Uk Certificated Sites

Some top grade touring parks:-
Highfield Farm Touring Park, Cambridgeshire
Brookhouse Inn and Touring Park, Somerset
Lickpenny Caravan Park, Derbyshire
Red Lion Inn & Caravan and Camping Park, Gloucestershire
White Rose Touring Park, Sussex

Model Engineering