2021 Spring Galloway Star Camp

[estwing]

Fully understandably Derek...as stated we were lucky to have had the autumn gathering when it was reasonable calm...but this situation is a whole new ball game...stay safe everyone and let's look forward to everyone's company in autumn...Calvin. 

[baggywrinkle]

Just cancelled my booking with an apology to Lesley for doing so.

Stay safe everyone.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

49 minutes ago, baggywrinkle said:

Just cancelled my booking with an apology to Lesley for doing so.

Stay safe everyone.

Sorry, maybe I didn't understand, is the campsite not aware all the bookings need cancelling. Should we all cancell our individual booking at the site?

It's no problem I just assummed as it was an event they would know we all needed to cancel but if not I will let them know.

Steve

[Physopto]

No one needs to cancel their booking for the now cancelled 2021 Spring Star Camp at Drumroamin.

The site is CLOSED until further notice.

Stay safe.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Physopto

[petevasey]

On 19/08/2020 at 08:00, baggywrinkle said:

I bought this 'van before CV19 arrived. Glad I did. The object being I can use it for the star parties as well as for the Field Archery competitions. 2 Berth with a proper galley, loo & shower.

This will be the first one I have been able to attend.

I have also put together a travel pack of astro kit to take with me based on using the iOptron CEM 25P mount onto which can now mount a Williams Optics 50mm Whitecat,  SW 127 Mak and an Altair 70 mmED.

I just got round to checking on this March - what a shame to see that it isn't happening, although I was pretty sure that would be the case.  Anyway, I'm booked for November.  Hope to finally meet you all there.  BUT there may be some confusion.  In March we sold our motorhome in favour of a small caravan - small to go on our drive which has a steep ramp, and of course to be easily towed.  We do a lot of exploring when away, and the big vehicle was seriously scary on some narrow lanes, never mind trying to park in towns.  So to have the convenience of a car with us, we decided to take the plunge on a caravan.  We ordered it around then, expecting delivery this month or even later in February.  But it turned up in November,  and of course has been sitting on our driveway since then.  We have had a 'shakedown' night - very comfortable etc.

Anyway the whole point of this and the mention of confusion is that it is also a Basecamp 2 berth.  Talk about coincidence!  Hopefully by November I'll have had plenty of towing experience and can put up the airtube awning without serious damage to it or myself. 😉

Looking forward to getting my jab some time fairly soon (I'm 77).  Keep safe everyone.

Cheers,

Peter

[Physopto]

Hello Peter,

I am so sorry that I had to cancel the Spring event. Obviously, I no choice in the matter. But it affects so many people in so many ways but very disappointing overall. Still there are far worse things going on at present.

Hopefully the inoculations will bring us all back to some form of normality.

 

So you are the proud owner of a Swift Basecamp. I looked at one when searching around for a new caravan some time ago at the start of the pandemic. They are surprisingly spacious for such a small van. You should have no problems in towing it. In fact I suspect your only problem will be remembering that it is behind you. Even with a large van I have almost forgotten it sometimes. Being a two wheeler and light, it will be so easy to manoeuvre by hand into tight spaces.

I had a large air awning for my previous caravan. They are  easy to erect, but wind may be a problem. Take plenty of heavy duty pegs and extra awning guy ropes. I used battery powered LED guy pegs. Florescent guy ropes also are helpful in a dark sky situation.

Hope you stay well and get the inoculation soon.

 

 

[petevasey]

Hi, Derek, and thanks for the awning tips.

As you may have found out, when the big awning is erected on the Basecamp, the overall length of the outfit is 9 metres.  So it will not fit on some camp sites which have a length limit.  No problem of course, we just won't take the awning to such sites.  As you say the van is remarkably spacious, and we got used to a fairly limited living space with our motorhomes.

But because of our steep ramp and the need to raise the jockey wheel as high as possible and tip the van to clear the ramp, it can't be towed into or out of our driveway.  So we had a motor mover fitted, and all was well when I got it home from the dealers, although despite careful measurements prior to ordering the van, it was nevertheless pretty tight - definitely a heart in  mouth situation!

Yes, it is easy to tow (Skoda Yeti 4x4 diesel), although of course one has to change gear down more frequently on slight gradients.  And being a fairly slim van, although I fitted wing mirror extensions to comply with the law, I found that most of the time I could manage fine with the car mirrors.  Looking forward to using it 'in anger' as and when.  In the meantime it's plugged into the mains, with the heating on low to keep the frost out and a dehumidifier to keep it dry.  Can do no more.

Cheers,

Peter.

[Physopto]

1 hour ago, petevasey said:

Hi, Derek, and thanks for the awning tips.

As you may have found out, when the big awning is erected on the Basecamp, the overall length of the outfit is 9 metres.  So it will not fit on some camp sites which have a length limit.  No problem of course, we just won't take the awning to such sites.  As you say the van is remarkably spacious, and we got used to a fairly limited living space with our motorhomes.

But because of our steep ramp and the need to raise the jockey wheel as high as possible and tip the van to clear the ramp, it can't be towed into or out of our driveway.  So we had a motor mover fitted, and all was well when I got it home from the dealers, although despite careful measurements prior to ordering the van, it was nevertheless pretty tight - definitely a heart in  mouth situation!

Yes, it is easy to tow (Skoda Yeti 4x4 diesel), although of course one has to change gear down more frequently on slight gradients.  And being a fairly slim van, although I fitted wing mirror extensions to comply with the law, I found that most of the time I could manage fine with the car mirrors.  Looking forward to using it 'in anger' as and when.  In the meantime it's plugged into the mains, with the heating on low to keep the frost out and a dehumidifier to keep it dry.  Can do no more.

Cheers,

Peter.

Tight ! Our new van is 2" too long for our path.

We had the choice of three vans from different makers. Chose the one best suited for us (best built and facilities, Swift) and then realised it was just that bit longer. We went ahead anyway as expected to get it back with the old storage place. Then got told no places available. So "Shoe Horn" job at an angle into the path. Almost need a pair of climbing boots now to get past it. 😼

I am doing the same with power at present, just enough to stay in the +ve side of freezing.

 

 

[petevasey]

Hi, Derek.

Neat outside socket - I'm using a cable run under my garage door!  Well done with the shoehorn job.  Assuming you bring that van to Galloway in November I'll look forward to drooling over it 😉  Hopefully the weather at that time of year will be kind - I don't fancy towing a caravan on snow and ice!  Same comment regarding the 2022 dates of course, nevertheless I have now booked them both with Lesley.  Live in hope!  March finishes on 4th, then straight home and up to Kielder for the weekend.  Surely over that whole week I'll get at least one clear night?  A surfeit of whisky and beer is certainly guaranteed 😄

Cheers,

Peter

Edited January 12, 2021 by petevasey

[Physopto]

Hi Peter,

 Yes, I  hope to be there with the van. I have been getting bits ready/changed out so it will be ready for use. Can't do much else at present.

Put in extra 13 amp sockets and altered some heating setups. Found several leaks in the shower as it seems that modern factory workers, for all the wonderful spiel we get, are just as none diligent or poor as many years ago. A shame really as it comes with a 25 year water ingress guarantee. Also the central heating expansion tank was rattling loose on the van wall and they had screwed through the overflow pipe and crushed it shut! It would have been "a very nice surprise"  getting central heating contents all over our clothes in the wardrobe!

I have also found that the gas locker is not sealed properly from the caravan interior. Now that is a serious safety concern. So that will be fixed ASAP.

Swift are not  as good as they make out to be in their adverts.......

Can't get the repairs/fix to the gas locker done until "lock down" is over and it is safe to travel.

Be nice to meet up when all this is over. We have been talking about it for a while now. 😴

Edited January 13, 2021 by Physopto

[baggywrinkle]

On 12/01/2021 at 12:56, petevasey said:

Hi, Derek, and thanks for the awning tips.

As you may have found out, when the big awning is erected on the Basecamp, the overall length of the outfit is 9 metres.  So it will not fit on some camp sites which have a length limit.  No problem of course, we just won't take the awning to such sites.  As you say the van is remarkably spacious, and we got used to a fairly limited living space with our motorhomes.

But because of our steep ramp and the need to raise the jockey wheel as high as possible and tip the van to clear the ramp, it can't be towed into or out of our driveway.  So we had a motor mover fitted, and all was well when I got it home from the dealers, although despite careful measurements prior to ordering the van, it was nevertheless pretty tight - definitely a heart in  mouth situation!

Yes, it is easy to tow (Skoda Yeti 4x4 diesel), although of course one has to change gear down more frequently on slight gradients.  And being a fairly slim van, although I fitted wing mirror extensions to comply with the law, I found that most of the time I could manage fine with the car mirrors.  Looking forward to using it 'in anger' as and when.  In the meantime it's plugged into the mains, with the heating on low to keep the frost out and a dehumidifier to keep it dry.  Can do no more.

Cheers,

Peter.

Totally agree, the as supplied Vango awning is super, but also superheavy. 29Kgs which is a lot o handle if you are on your own. So I went and bought the Westfiled awing Westfield Lynx 200 Swift Basecamp Caravan Awning - New 2021 Stock | eBay

11Kgs and adds about 2.5 m to the back of the Basecamp. Easy to put up too. I used mine up at Kelling last October, well pleased.

[petevasey]

3 hours ago, baggywrinkle said:

Totally agree, the as supplied Vango awning is super, but also superheavy. 29Kgs which is a lot o handle if you are on your own. So I went and bought the Westfiled awing Westfield Lynx 200 Swift Basecamp Caravan Awning - New 2021 Stock | eBay

11Kgs and adds about 2.5 m to the back of the Basecamp. Easy to put up too. I used mine up at Kelling last October, well pleased.

Aagh!  I wish I'd known about that awning when I ordered our van - a substantial saving in both weight and money!  Never mind.  What's done is done.  Once  better weather arrives, even if caravan sites are still closed I'll heave out the awning bag and give it a go in our driveway.  Hopefully straightforward - I haven't been able to find any Youtube videos on attaching it.  Generally if I'm going to use the awning there will be two of us, so help will be at hand.

Sorry to read about your teething troubles, Derek.  Sounds like you got a 'Friday afternoon' job.  Hopefully all is sorted now.  Afaik everything is shipshape on my van - only thing we haven't used is the shower, although I ran some water into the washbasin.  Probably should check that the drain is free running!

Cheers,

Peter

[Physopto]

19 hours ago, petevasey said:

Aagh!  I wish I'd known about that awning when I ordered our van - a substantial saving in both weight and money!  Never mind.  What's done is done.  Once  better weather arrives, even if caravan sites are still closed I'll heave out the awning bag and give it a go in our driveway.  Hopefully straightforward - I haven't been able to find any Youtube videos on attaching it.  Generally if I'm going to use the awning there will be two of us, so help will be at hand.

Sorry to read about your teething troubles, Derek.  Sounds like you got a 'Friday afternoon' job.  Hopefully all is sorted now.  Afaik everything is shipshape on my van - only thing we haven't used is the shower, although I ran some water into the washbasin.  Probably should check that the drain is free running!

Cheers,

Peter

Definitely check out  shower by taking a shower in it before you actually go anywhere in the van. It will be too late when in the middle of a field. We spent a few days living in our van looking for problems in the back garden. It is not the first time we have found problems with a new caravan. Our Fleetwood had leaks at the roof to wall joints and a faulty electrical connector to the central heating. There was also a leaking roof vent.

The Van master had leaking shower tray to the walls. It also had central heating faults, not properly vented for air so air pockets restricting circulation.

All of these including the Swift were brand new caravans. This latest caravan had not had the battery terminals changed for the correct battery fittings I specified, I changed them out at home.

All of these caravans were supplied by different caravan dealers or actual maker (Vanmaster).  I hate sloppy, lazy, incompetent or poor workmanship, so I check everything and each system that I can think of and especially the road lights.

The first caravan we bought had had a tyre blowout. It had not been correctly repaired and had a leak where the wheel arch liner had not been fitted correctly. Not mentioned, possibly known about by the selling dealer!

Edited January 19, 2021 by Physopto

[happy]

Hii everyone

                                Dumfries I think is easy to get in and out of and is very close to the star camp area.🙂😷

                             Impression of Planet Proxima Centauri with New the stars, Centauri a and Centauri B - Information about  Proxima Centauri .

 

[estwing]

Looking better for October people 🙂

[Physopto]

3 hours ago, estwing said:

Looking better for October people 🙂

I just hope so for all our sakes!!

I got my first anti Covid-19 inoculation  nearly 4 weeks ago, so I am a bit more confident now. By that I mean that we should all be fully inoculated and protected hopefully by the end of August/September. It is not just the first inoculation but time for the delay and for the period after the second one for the full effect to take place. So I am working on 4 months minimum from the first inoculation to hopefully full protection, ( 12 weeks plus another 3/4 weeks).

That being said I look forwards to seeing everyone who is allowed to and can attend at the Autumn Star Party. At present I am also hoping that we are not so restricted on numbers.

I also intend to re-establish the Pie and Peas Night if allowed.

So everyone reading this who wants to attend the Galloway Scottish Autumn Star Party, please start posting on the Autumn POST SITE String. Unfortunately this one is now at an end.....

In the mean time please stay safe.

 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

3 hours ago, estwing said:

Looking better for October people 🙂

Fingers crossed for you all, I wish I had managed to get booked in before it was full but hopefully next time will be okay 🙂 

Steve

[Physopto]

1 hour ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Fingers crossed for you all, I wish I had managed to get booked in before it was full but hopefully next time will be okay 🙂 

Steve

Steve, at present we do not know if we will be able to go back to the normal number of people attending the Star Camps. If we can there will be a good few more pitches available. Please see the 2021 Autumn Galloway Star Camp posts for future information.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

2 minutes ago, Physopto said:

Steve, at present we do not know if we will be able to go back to the normal number of people attending the Star Camps. If we can there will be a good few more pitches available. Please see the 2021 Autumn Galloway Star Camp posts for future information.

Oh fingers crossed on both hands then , thanks for the info will keep an eye out 🙂 

Steve