Spring’s nearly here though it has seemed to take an age to drag ourselves out of winter!
We’ve been quite lucky weatherwise in Lincolnshire, with just a few minor wintry flurries to marvel at, but I know that in some areas of Britain high winds and heavy rain have been replaced with two or three inches, or more, of snow in the past few weeks.
As a dog of eight winters, I know it always seems much more like spring when the clocks go forward at the end of March. This year, that timely leap falls over the Easter weekend so, although we all lose an hour’s sleep, we can enjoy those lighter evenings that seem to herald pottering in the garden and, more importantly, longer walkies!
Kizzy and I were kindly invited by the maid and chauffeur to accompany them on their caravan hunting trip recently. They have a nice ‘van ( I spent a week in it last summer while we moved house) but I think the chauffeur craves a little more space to relax in after our walks on the proms of England.
As you can see from the photo, there were lots to choose from but at the moment our little Milly, the Avondale Dart 380/2, is awaiting her first trip out of 2016. So where will we go? Well, we have a weekend trip in May to West Yorkshire to look forward to, and this year I think we’ll be spending more weekends away, with being relatively close to the seaside hotspot of Skegness!
You may think I’m joking, but there’s a great promenade there, and more than one cafe when dogs (they often specify ‘small’ but that does apply to Kizzy and me!) can pop inside with their owners, as long as we are good and keep our paws firmly on the floor.
I must say I was surprised when, on our caravan investigation trip, we were allowed into the maid’s favourite coffee chain, Caffe Nero, to savour the atmosphere and smell the delicious aromas. It’s often a problem when you go away, when it’s raining, and you can’t just duck into a shop or cafe as dogs are not allowed. So I’d like to give a pat on the back to this company for being dogfriendly and I’m hoping for more trips to Caffe Nero outlets across the country this year! The maid says their hot chocolate drinks are the best she’s had, especially topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles. I love cream, but I’m not allowed to have chocolate…
On that subject, with Easter on the horizon and chocolate eggs on the shelves, camping and caravanning venues will be waking from their winter slumbers and
Club Sites will be welcoming two-legged and four-legged guests with renewed vigour. As we all know, the end of March can veer between gloriously warm and sunny, or bitterly cold and icy, sometimes changing from day to day! But as long as you’ve got a warm ’van and lots of warm clothes, you can’t go wrong.
So my tips for top Club Sites this year (and I am sticking my hairy neck out here and guessing the south will have better weather than the north!) are on the southernmost counties of our splendid country.
This looks favourite to me
Umberleigh Club Site in Devon, which opens on March 24, just in time for Easter. It’s a great site for dogs and for families, so youngsters enjoying their Easter break from school will enjoy it too. But book early thereare 60 pitches and no doubt lots of people will be hoping to dust off their vans and get away for the first ‘holiday’ of the year. Why not have a good look at the
Club’s tips for where to go at Easter and start to plan your summer breaks, too? I can’t wait to get in the car and go!
Next time, I’ll be looking at places of historic interest where dogs can join in the fun.