Tewkesbury & Friends

May day bank holiday saw us visit a site just on the outskirts of Tewkesbury. Croft Farm Water Park offers hard standing and grass pitches for touring and camping, seasonal and cabin accommodation all situated around a lake. The site contains a boathouse, that offer a wide array of water activities along with a gym, shop and small café area.

We decided that this site would be a great place to visit with our closest friends and have a long weekend together. We arrived on the Friday and despite some confusion about the one way system, how to get the caravan from one side of the lake to the other and not having a key fob, we managed to site the caravan and get setup in record time. It took Angela & myself just 45 minutes to get the ‘van sorted and the awning up.

So we settled down to watch our friends set up their tents and arrange their accommodation for the weekend ahead.

As you might imagine, this time of the year isn’t exactly warm and being right next to the lake and little else in front of us, we were treated to some fairly strong winds and cold spells. It was great to see that everyone had packed small heaters so they were able to keep the tents warm and cosy.

The first night saw us gather together, telling silly stories and having a good time. Surprisingly none of us drunk too much, we seemed to have worked out the balance, well for the first night anyway.

Saturday morning and we caught the Ferry from the back of the site into Tewkesbury town centre. The ferry is a great way to visit Tewkesbury. The ferry can take 12 people and allows dogs too ! just keep them on a lead and under your immediate control.

The exploration of Tewkesbury wasn’t exactly a roaring success, we visited Poundland and then the pub ! – its pretty difficult to organise 20+ people including 2 teenagers, 5 giggly girls and excitable parents, so the pub was a welcome time to install some calm into the group. The pub staff however was slightly shocked when we piled through the front door, announcing “Blimey, it’s a coach party” Not what you want to hear when all you want is a pint and a pickled egg.

Once we returned back to site it was time to get the evening meals underway then gather together. We decided to cook a piri-piri spatchcock chicken with roasted garlic potatoes. It was stunning. Later, everyone (less children) converged in our awning, where upon we started to sample the fruits of some home infused Vodka & craft Gin. After initially loosing the power of speech then the use of my legs, I can confirm the “Squashies” and vodka infused spirit was a resounding success.

Sunday morning hangover was immense. I hid it well (I think) by claiming I had a sore throat, the gang were heading out on the water during the morning, where they could try some various equipment as a “taster” 2 hour session. The site offers a wide range of water activities including canoeing, paddle boards, banana boat, sailing and windsurfing. The list is quite exhaustive, so if you are interested check them out.

The only issue of choosing today to do any water sports was the wind and the way it literally blew everyone from one side of the lake to the other. I initially thought that everyone had got the technique spot on, only to find that no one could actually paddle their crafts back to this side of the lake. Still, they did eventually get rescued from the reed bed and swan nests and after 2 hours of frantic paddling and questionable techniques they all arrived back safe and completely shattered at the camp.

So, after an afternoon nap from many and a round of tea’s, coffee’s and cake it was time to settle into the last night of our trip away. Where again we gathered and enjoyed each others company.

We really enjoyed our visit, but I must admit I wouldn’t return to the site. The campsite it self is mostly seasonal pitches. The touring and camping section is a minority amongst the site and we just didn’t feel that welcome. It was akin to being the only outsider in a local pub.

I did video the trip away, and admittedly this is slightly more boisterous than our usual vlogs, but then we were with our friends and letting our hair down was the order of the day.

Now all we need to do is create more craft vodka and home infused gin’s ready for the next time.