July 2020 – Caravan Ramblings

Rookesbury Park Caravan and Motorhome site is located near Wickham (Portsmouth) and is a favourite stopover site before departing or after arriving from the Portsmouth cross channel ferries.

We were looking for a site, last minute, somewhere between Devon and South West London where we could meet our friends Chris and Alison to celebrate birthdays. We would arrive on Sunday July 12th and depart on Thursday 16th July so a very swift visit.

As it turned out, Rookesbury Park was one of the very few Caravan Club sites with any vacancies for this period.

The journey was around 3 hours and uneventful – for us at least. Not so for the poor owners of this caravan at the side of the A35. Dual carriageway section and nice and flat.

Despite having only just opened after lockdown, the site was packed with most people following correct protocol and maintaining social distancing.

The only change we noticed was the distribution of personal wristbands to display on one of three pegs outside the toilet block. If there’s an empty peg then it’s ok to go on in, if not then wait your turn. Quite why the toilets are good for 3 people and not 2 or 4 is anyone’s guess.

In any case, we had already decided that we wouldn’t be using the communal facilities which is fine as we have all we need in the caravan.

We set up with the sun canopy awning and enjoyed the afternoon BBQing and partaking in a beer or three.

Now, it’s been a long time since I visited the pub. Since we were in Spain for the first 3 months of 2020, it’s possible I haven’t visited an English pub at all this year. This would be rectified on Monday as Chris and I set out on the 1 hour walk from the caravan site into the village of Wickham. The first pub we came across (The Kings Head I believe) hadn’t re-opened since lockdown but the second pub (there are only two pubs in Wickham) looked more promising. The sign was lit up and the lights were on…

The rest of the afternoon was succinctly summarised in a glowing review I left on Tripadvisor.

Begin quote

Stunning Customer Service from the delightful landlady at the Square Cow. Due to Covid-19 they are (short term) closed on Monday’s which was a huge disappointment for my buddy Chris and I after our 1 hour walk from the campsite.

Undeterred we purchased some drinks from the nearby Co-Op and sat in their new Beer Garden at the bottom of the square, attempting to enjoy our first pub visit for months…

The landlady appeared and engaged with us, explaining the situation AND bringing us snacks on the house and an ice bucket to keep our beer cold!

If this is how she treats her customers when they are closed, just think how good the service must be. We can’t wait to head back…

Date of visit: July 2020

End Quote

Chris enjoying his Bud at the Square Cow

Part of the walk is along a disused railway line – note to oneself – must cycle this sometime in the future.

Some business to attend to on the Tuesday, on Wednesday a guided tour of Hayling Island to take a look at Chris and Alison’s new house purchase and then home on Thursday.

Wish we could have stayed longer.

Discovered during her last service in January, a large 150mm crack in the ABS back panel. The crack originated from under the seal between the roof and the back panel around a third of the way across the panel.

The fault looked significant and given only minor water staining on the bathroom ceiling board, we concluded that we had caught the problem early on. In fact it must have split during our Christmas and New Year visit to Hillhead CMC site.

The mobile tech was not expecting the van to be in warranty and was already preparing a quote in excess of 3k to rectify and replace the back panel.

The van is a 2015 Sterling Eccles Ruby, purchased from Swindon caravans at new but since we have now moved to East Devon, this isn’t the closest dealer to us any more. A quick call around the nearer dealers indicated no appetite whatsoever for undertaking the warranty work although Highbridge caravans were helpful in reviewing pictures and agreeing with the mobile tech that I should accept nothing less than a new panel.

The panel had other cracking at both corners – probably beyond the scope of repair with the Swift “corner caps”. The corners appearing to be something of a weak spot on these ABS panels.

Swindon caravans have always provided us with excellent service and a quick call and photo share and their service manager agreed to place a claim for a new back panel, awning rails (back section) and decals.

These arrived at Swindon Caravans from Swift within 10 working days – impressive. Of course, we were about to set sail for Spain as an added complication although the workshop was also fully booked until the 5th June.

We patched up the cracks with a clear sticky tape, long lengths of white gaffa tape and copious amounts of sealant and would check frequently within the intervening months for any signs of water ingress or failure of the temporary repair.

Everything held good and having returned from Spain during the lockdown we waited patiently until Swindon Caravan Group re-opened. Shortly before the official re-opening, our 5th June slot was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A week later we received a new slot, still within the month of June.

The journey to Swindon caravans was easy as we were still under lockdown and the motorways were clear. The repair took just three days and initial impressions are fantastic. The bathroom ceiling has gained a finishing strip along the middle where the stained ceiling board was replaced and we have a brand new, shiny rear panel.

We have been assured that as the replacement is of GRP construction, it is not prone to the same cracking issues.

Caravan Ramblings

Stories From Our Expeditions

Month: July 2020

Rookesbury Park Caravan Club Site, 2020

Ruby Repaired – New back panel