What better way to bring part of our Orange Campers family together than a summer campout? From Friday 28th June for two days we had great food and great company for a long weekend.
Here’s what happened last weekend – and why you shouldn’t miss our next one!
For this year’s campout, we headed up north to the outskirts of the Peak District to Bank House Farm. It’s a site that we’ve had our eye on for a while and we were delighted to have the entire upper events field with plenty of room for all 17 of our campervans.
The views were amazing from up there, and we had a bit more room to spread out, with plenty of privacy.
As we arrived the sunshine came out, just in time for us to head off to the pub for a really nice meal at the Manifold Inn. It was a lovely chilled vibe and we felt really grateful our clients and friends were able to come together.
Some campers had boys of similar age to ours to play with – they all like football so they fast became friends!
It was the perfect weather for all the kids to have a kick around and the adults to have a bit of a catch-up, and a walk round and introduce themselves – or some campers were happily reunited from past events!
Then we gave out the Orange Campers’ camp out bags, as shown above, with key rings inside for all attendees! They seemed to go down well. 😊
In the morning, after breakfast, some of our campers went off on a bike ride. While a few others went off on a nice walk from the campsite into Hartington, destined for the famous cheese shop, where a few of us bought some of their cheeses.
We personally went off to say hi to the farmer where we had our wedding. That’s right – we got married right here in Hartington! Which is one of the reasons we choose here for the campout. It was really nice to see her after nearly eight years.
We bought a pasty in the village shop, the kids had a Cornetto and we headed back to save Charlie's little legs any further!
When we got back Phil helped us put up a tarpaulin cover in case of rain. Although luckily we did a lot of rain dodging all weekend and we didn't need it!
Later on we all kicked off our barbecues and we put out a vast array of food and some very kind campers added some lovely cakes that they'd baked to the feast too.
Richard lit the obligatory campfire - with toasted marshmallows of course! - and the eating got underway. All in all it was a really nice night.
It became clear that we all had a really strong bond in common – travel and adventure!
Everybody was busy chatting about how they use their vans and what they do in them. It was really lovely to hear how people's lives had really been enhanced by having their campervans – even when they didn’t really expect to use them so much.
We’d brought along our new Trouvaille Classique MWB campervan and it was very popular. Even when we were getting the kids to bed there'd be somebody having a look at it! A few campers even mentioned they are considering swapping their existing vans for one.
Everyone used their ‘vans for many different things too, which was so cool to hear about. Such as a base for their running or for trips even as far as Denmark. One couple had to go and clear out their flat in Denmark due to work reasons and they'd taken it out on a nice trip.
We’re planning our first trips to France and Spain, so it was really useful to hear from other Orange Campers who have made the same journeys and to share their advice!
Everyone also shared tips on gadgets that they've bought for their ‘vans too. They all really liked our solo stove that we had. We actually got that tip from the last camp out from Philippa, who unfortunately couldn't attend this time.
We ended up staying up until midnight that night, sat by the campfire just chatting and having a beer or two!
On Sunday, we cooked a fry-up before heading on our way. But we didn't rush off; we went on a family walk on the Manifold Way before leaving. A few of our campers cycled or ran on the Manifold Way during the campout—it’s such a beautiful spot!
Overall, we all had a fantastic time, and we were very lucky with the weather. We loved the venue so much that we’ll be booking it again for next year!
Hopefully, we’ll see you there with us – keep your eyes peeled for 2025.
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