Waltham Chase Caravan Club

A fabulous location with fantastic views to the south, south west and south east. Those that visited the site a decade or so ago wouldn’t recognise it now with the grass mown to lawn perfection.
The views were beautiful from its 150m elevation when the sun shone, but come the south westerly gale in the early hours of Saturday morning the intrepid rally officer had to set out into the rain and Force 7 gale to secure the event canopy, like a mariner furling the sails on the yard arm of a clipper rounding the Horn!
Intrepid campers that we are we still barbequed on Saturday evening – sans canopy – sitting out, behind wind breaks, as in days past.
A lovely site, but not in gale force winds.

This was a new rally field for our club, and everyone that attended agreed that we should  return for another visit in the future. The rally field was in a secluded location, with plenty of birdsong and deer roaming the field. Although we were to late to go to the pub on Friday evening, the rest of the members enjoyed a visit to the local Pub.

On the Saturday most of the members took the Bus into Brighton to see the sights, by all accounts they were not disappointed!

Monday saw most of the group taking advantage of the local footpaths to take in some of the countryside. This was followed up by a cream tea to replace the calories!

Saturday nights BBQ

Blue Skies

Intrepid walkers on Bank Holiday Monday

Another fine weekend of weather, although the temperatures were about half that of the Easter Rally. We were a little late attending the rally so I do not have much information to share. All members made good use of their BBQ’s over the weekend and there were some nice local walks to be enjoyed in Ringwood Forest which was adjacent to the site.

Evening view of Rally Field

Sunset image taken from Rally Field entrance.

And finally an image of wild flowers(Red Campion) Taken by the roadside a few miles from the site. There was approx. 2 Acres of this spectacle!

Five Units enjoyed one of the finest Easter weekends that I can remember, with wall to wall sunshine.

Our Easter challenge was set by Eve, this involved getting creative with Three balls!

The results of our efforts can be seen below, with Monica claiming top spot.

Here is a view of our Vans on the Rally Field.

And finally for those who could not make it to the rally, here is a reminder of the sights and sounds at Parley Glade!

Eight units attended this rally from 30th Aug to 10th Sept. The weather was very kind to us over the week that we there, with any rain falling overnight.

This is a popular site with the members, with a trip to Brownsea Island organised, and several trips out to the pub for a meal.

Yvonne set us a challenge to decorate a small glass bottle for the coffee morning on Wednesday. The results can be seen in the photos below.

View of Rally Field

Winning Ladies entry by Hazel

All entries for bottle decoration

Winning Men’s entry by Ian

Wednesday Coffee morning. Complete with Ern.

This one is for Mo.
Deer on Rally Field

The next Three photos are taken at Corfe Castle around Sunrise!

Milky Way viewed from Rally field

And finally one of the local residents.

Here is a 360 degree timelapse of the Rally Field (Ignore the date on the video).

If anyone wants to add more content to this blog, please let me know. Mac.

Eight units enjoyed a scorching hot week-end at this site, which was a new venue for us. Probably one of the most peaceful sites that we have visited. There was an abundance of livestock around the site including Sheep, Cows, Horses and Donkeys.

On the Sunday afternoon the number of people on the Rally Field increased as Chris led a walk from the site for his Rambling Club. After their walk they all returned for Tea and Lynda’s home made cakes. After Monica and I had sampled the cakes it was time for us to head home.

Entrance to Rally Field

View from our Pitch

 Cute Donkey

A short week-end for us, so not much to report back. The site owner had moved us onto their site which meant we could use electric hook-ups. Seven vans attended the rally and the weather was dry and fine. A few pictures below, taken from the site.

Invasion of the Giant Geese!

Sunset over the Pond

Saturdays BBQ

Sunset colours over the Pond

A fine weekend where I did not see a cloud for Three days!

The damp weather of the previous weeks meant that we had to pitch our Vans on the hard standing, this was not a problem as with careful planning by the Rally Officers we all managed to fit on.

It was great to be able to cook outside again after a long Winter, good use was made of the Clubs Gazeobo when the temperature dropped in the Evenings.

Monday’s coffee morning saw a new piece of equipment being used, this was Daves hot water boiler, which saved 9 kettles being boiled! And plenty of refills on the coffee.

Only a short time to our next rally at Exbury, which is a new venue for us.

On the 12th November we held our AGM as normal, and all business was taken care of as usual. After our meeting we were then treated to a video presentation by Lynda Bezant. This was to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Waltham Chase Caravan Club. Past members of the club were invited to join us for the occasion, and four of the original members from 40 years ago were able celebrate with us. The presentation was followed by a meal, and a raffle. And a good time was had by all.

Past and present members celebrating 40 yrs of The Waltham Chase Caravan Club

Photos courtesy of Sid