These pages document our caravanning experiences, from choosing a caravan to enjoying (or otherwise) the campsite.

After a year of planning and dozens of Caravan monthly magazines, we ventured to the Caravan & Outdoor Leisure Show at Earls Court, London in December 2001. Our task, to decide which caravan we would like to buy secondhand in a couple of years time!

How often do innocent statements like that go wrong! Well, we didn't actually buy at the Show but chose a single make and model (no mean feat considering a choice of 100 or so caravans). Then we sat on that notion for a few months - no point in hurrying, especially as we weren't buying until next year at the earliest!

Then on 20th April, we decided on a day trip to visit the only dealership where our particular favourite was sold, just to look of course! Wandered around the entire site looking at all the secondhand caravans on a beautiful Spring day, concentrating on 2-berth. Down the home straight, the thought of lunch looming and the last caravans before cheese sandwiches were the Michael Jordan 'specials'. A whole row of them, all brand-new. Well, we'd looked at the two-berth before, at Earls Court, but with so many other caravans seen in between, lets just remind ourselves of what it looks like, and why we liked it. Will we still feel the same? Hmmm, yes, perfect.

Then the suggestion that we look in the 4-berth next to it - just to compare! Well, we have got two kids and if we had a 4-berth, they could come on holiday with us! The words peace, quiet, the-two-of-us, suddenly all seemed to relate to some distant fading dream!

So there we were, setting up bunk and double beds, passers-by wondering (as you do), then it CLICKED! My sanity? My sense of reality? No!

WE WANT THIS CARAVAN AND WE CAN AFFORD IT!

A frantic week of checking this and that followed (car-to-caravan weight ratios etc), during which time we nearly bought a second-hand Bailey, and did buy a different car. Then we ordered our Michael Jordan Expression 520 and had just 5 weeks to sort out towbar, accessories, how-to this, how-to that, where to store it, to name the first hundred things.

To skip this most frantic of times, and after an initial hiccup which could not be fully blamed on the dealership, we finally took delivery in early June.

And that is where the adventure started.

In these pages, we'll give an insight into our beloved caravan, and the sites we have visited. Any hints and tips gained on the way will be of use to newcomers, and undoubtedly give much amusement to old-hands!

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