Taking time to tour is tempting, but flitting the festivals - altogether another delight. This year, Stephanie and I have been festivaling in the motorhome, and this is what we found.
Readers will know that with the departure of the CI Mizar after 20 years, and the arrival of the Autotrail Tracker, our touring has increased exponentially. Gone - the overhead bunk, tight dinettes, and marine toilet, now - a fixed bed, superb lounging and cassette loo. Modern motorhomes are indeed 'home-from-home', proving all of those little extras that make a trip easy and fun.
Britain's choice of festivals is vast. Music, theatre, crafts, sports, racing, nature, retro, cookery, food are just a few. A quick web search opens up a host of activities and interests - each one offering its own community of followers, and potentially, new friends with similar interests.
Stephanie and I are tango dancers - more particularly (because there is a vast difference), Argentine tangueros. Our obsession with tango takes us around the world to dance and conquer the continents, especially South America. But here in the UK we still have opportunities to dance at national and international festivals arranged throughout the year.
So, what of 2016 so far?
We started in May with the annual Edinburgh International Tango Festival, and for it we chose to stay on the Caravan Club site at Marine Drive by the Forth estuary waterfront. Although a 10 minute walk to public transport, the site is restfully located to the north of the city with easy access by bus, and late night return by taxi. Driving in Edinburgh is not for the feint hearted, and caravanners may choose to leave their cars for once, after all, this is a trip and you are on holiday.
The benefit of the motorhome soon became apparent when it came to managing a festival. Suitcases are one thing, but a motorhome is quite another dimension. Whatever the activity, a quantity of kit is required and subject to weight limits, a camper is the answer. Here you have room for all the clothes, food for the trip, the surf board, the golf clubs and the barbecue.
Our next trip was a tango festival in Cheltenham at the end of June. This was our second visit, so we had no doubt that Cheltenham Racecourse was the place to stay, right on the edge of the park and ride, but set in an astonishing setting surrounded by gorgeous views into Gloucestershire.
Cheltenham is a centre for numerous festivals, including the Literature Festival, Jazz Festival, Science Festival, Music Festival, Food and Drink Festival and, of course, the famous Gold Cup held on site. The town is within walking distance, so there is absolutely no need to drive. If you do visit, remember to take your leveling blocks.
We now await Twinwood, arguably Britain's top retro music and dance festival. The event is held annually at the old aerodrome in Clapham Bedfordshire, famed for being the RAF airfield from which in December 1944 Glenn Miller made his last flight before his plane simply disappeared from the world. These days at Twinwood nobody disappears. Quite the contrary, larger than life, hundreds of visitors dress for the occasion to celebrate the 1940/50's in style, to listen to the bands and to dance.
Perhaps now is the time for you to consider life outside the camp site, and the possibility of new interests, activities and experiences? For us it has been a joy. What is stopping you?
