Camping Travel Store Blog

16 Blissful days off - Touring under Canvas Dover to Calais and one and a half hours later we pulled into our first campsite on a working farm a few kilometres from Sluis on the Belgium/Holland Boarder. Fantastic location, and the camping field was great (12 Pitches) and all the toys available, trampolines, ride on tractors, play equipment and a sandpit. As this was a working farm, there were all the animals to be seen as well as heard. The only thing that let this site down was the toilet facilities - very basic! This aside, we were only a short drive from Brugees with all the architectural trapping of the magnificent city that it is and Sluis which was only a short cycle away had the canals, bistro's and bars of a busy small market town. After 4 days exploring this area, we ventured up further north to near Katwijk. We stayed at a more commercial site (Ko ningshof) that hosted an indoor and outdoor pool, bar/restaurant and supermarket. We are only short drive away from the beach

Mablethorpe – 28th August for 4 Days A blustery start to our stay at Mablethorpe CCC site – Thankfully we were in our Karsten. A great little site in the shadows of the nearby wind farm; but only a 15 minute walk from a magnificent beach with all the tourist trappings of a Victorian Seaside. We played on the sand, and the children loved all the amusements and the fish and chips from the shop at the end of the campsite road were fantastic. Having said this, we found it very difficult to find a reasonable restaurant to eat in actually in Mablethorpe. We had a trip out to Lincoln one day as it was only a 40 minute drive away. Stunning medieval streets, possibly the steepest I’ve climbed in the UK to the cathedral at the top. If we ever stay at this site again, I would opt for the tent field without electricity, as I hate being in the middle of caravans with their TV’s on!

Following our trip to the Karsten Factory - we finally managed to get out in the garden and erect one of the new Human Comfort Tents. It a 2 man cotton tent with cotton bedroom 2 exits and 3 poles. Went up in about 5 minutes and I must say it was very toastie! Spent the night in it with our 3 year old daughter, sleeping on the new Human Comfort Self Inflating matresses. Not only are these matresses about 8cm deep, they also come with the option of a foam topper, all held in place by a machine washable cover. The testing station at the Karsten travel store is a bed of rock - I'm not exactly light and I could not feel the rock under me. Probably the best nights sleep on a camping matress that I have ever had.....Our daughter slept all the way through. So far both thumbs up to this new range!!!

Visit to Karsten Factory – 30th July - 3 Days We were invited by Karsten to their factory in Zwaag, Holland as a thank you for starting the Karsten Tent Club. We decided to drive, catching the ferry Dover to Dunkirk and proceeded on the 3 ½ drive to Northern Holland – Arriving in Zwaag at the Hart B&B , close to midnight we were met by Danny Hazewindus from Karsten. The next day, having hired bikes from the B&B to ride the 10 minutes to Hoorn, the neighboring town, we were impressed by how stunning this town was. Beautiful harbour, lots of canals and a busy feel to the modern high street. Having met Danny for lunch, we made our way to the Karsten Travel Store , where we stunned by just how big this camping ‘shop’ was. Having toured the shop and the Karsten Factory – we then were shown the Karsten Tent Display – Simply Fantastic to see them in all their glory – colours, sizes and different combination. In the late afternoon we were introduced to Mr. Karsten himself, who took us

Morton near Weymouth – 26th June for 10 Days The CCC site at Morton in Dorset was to be our camp for a fabulous 10 days of full on sunshine. Having booked to avoid the Summer Holidays, I was amazed' just how busy this site was, but bearing in mind that Swanage and Weymouth are only a short drive away (approx. 20 minutes) it was not surprising that this was a popular site for tourers. The site lived up to the CCC reputation for efficiency and cleanliness, and with the railway station on the doorstep, well, just down from the pub made travelling very easy. Moreton Church is worth a visit just to see the etched glass windows; as too is the grave of Lawrence of Ariba, all nearby the site – and don’t forget to stop by the tea shop – fantastic cakes! Just down from the church is a large ford which was perfect for the children to paddle in trying to catch the minnows with their nets.

We had the pleasure of joining the Oxmow Camping Group at Ferry Meadows, Peterborough over the past weekend (19th June), to endulge in a bit of camping and sailing etc. What a fantastic location , on the edge of a large lake, in the middle of the Nene Valley Park, where the Steam Locomotives could be heard and seen on the other side of the waters edge. There are plenty of bike and walking paths in the area, and it is also very close to the Peterborough Show Ground where the East of England Show was being hosted while we were there. The field we were in only had a water supply, with a toilet block (key supplied) about 100 yards away near the boating marina, which houses the showers. There was also an undercover area, where you could BBQ. Booking for this field is a year in advance.

All was planned for the 1st Karsten Tent Camping Weekend, alas the weather. All week I had been watching the weather channels, surfing the web to find the latest and in the end, those who had booked cancelled as the weather appeared to be horrendous. We got there, setup by 5pm on Friday and enjoyed good weather until Sunday Morning when later the heavens open around 4am. By 9am the Sun was out and the Tent went away dry. Hopefully when I try and get everyone together again, the weather forecast will be kinder to tempt out the Karsten Campers!!!