In the Autumn 2012 Spring 2013, On returning from their Euro adventure the Kindogs set out on some autumn long weekends along the Jurassic coast of Dorset. On our first weekend away we stayed at the Caravan Club site “The Crossways” at Moreton, Dorchester, Dorset. The site is set in woodland and the pitches are mainly grass. The site is unusual in the fact it has dry composting toilets. They take a bit of getting used to if you haven’t used this type of toilet before. We arrived on site early Thursday evening and had booked to stay until the Sunday. We pulled off to the right hand side of one of the site roads into a nice little grassed area of three pitches, one already occupied by a family of four. As our motorhome was new it drew a fair bit of attention, as it was a Bailey. Bailey had only just moved into the motorhome range in 2012, so Bailey caravan owners were quite interested to see the layout. After a few inspections we got settled for the evening. The following morning we woke to an overcast day, misty and damp, but at this time of year you have to expect it, and it soon cleared, the sun came out and so we had a look around the site, which was very well looked after by the wardens with some very good amenities. The Crossways Caravan Park
We visited the local pub for a late afternoon snack and drink, returning early evening to the motorhome. The family that were on the same pitching area were having a barbecue. After an hour or so Mrs K started getting dinner ready and I got talking to the man of the family. I found that he was also interested in birds and had some feed balls set out near his caravan, and as the conversation about birds progressed I showed him some images I had taken. Mrs K asked if we would like a drink, to which offer I replied “Yes please!”. So we both had a drink and continued our conversation about birds, while the evening moved on and became quite dark. The man seemed quite settled in, and Mrs K asked if he would like another drink, which he seemed to think was a very good idea. I was a bit concerned as we had been talking for quite some time and his wife was left alone with their children. I suggested that he might like to ask his wife to join us, but he said it was okay and not to worry. After about another half an hour he had finished his drink and looked a bit worse for wear. He said good night to us and returned to his caravan.
When we got up the next morning, the family were getting ready to pack up and leave. The woman and I made eye contact and I got her message. I think I got the blame for the previous evening as it looked like there had been a domestic and the man was getting quite a hard time from his wife. We kept out of the way and stayed inside our motorhome while they packed up and left. As they only had a short journey home from the camp-site we hoped they had a safe drive home.
As the day move towards lunch time I suggested we had a pub lunch. Mrs K agreed but wanted a walk before going for lunch, so off we went. As we went down the road we saw another caravan site, The Camping and Caravanning Club, so we had a good look around and I was very impressed with the overall presentation. It had all you could need with a selection of grass and of hard standings. Both camp-sites are very near to Moreton train station, and there is a very good pub close to the station the “Frampton Arms”, which we went straight to after the inspection of the camp site. The frampton arms Dorset
After a light meal we left to return to the motorhome. The weather turned and it started to rain and when we got back to the site the grass pitch was quite wet. The rain got harder and we became really concerned,as if it continued to rain overnight the pitch would be very boggy, so we decided to return home that evening. Once everything was packed away I tried to reverse off the levelling blocks, but the blocks had become bedded in the grass and as I moved off of them they almost disappeared into the soil, As soon as the front wheels came into contact with the grass I was in trouble, no grip, just mud sprayed everywhere as the ground was very wet. We were very grateful to the other caravan owners for their help, as within a few moments there was people helping us to get the motorhome out of the mud and onto the road. We left our imprint with two very long wheel tracks at the site, but I think had we stayed the night we would have needed a tow to get us out.
