William Coleman
At CaravanTimes we pride ourselves on bringing you news and information not just from the industry but from our first hand experiences of actually getting out there and experiencing what we report. As part of our job we come up with ideas for companies to help test their vans in a practical setting. So how about picking a holiday destination where you can use the local surroundings for your food shopping? Think more local independent dairy farm than Tesco Superstore.
Auto-Trail sponsored our adventure and suggested we take the 2019 Tribute 736G and it’s easy to see why. We will have full review coming but the Tribute 736G is a new coach built Tribute layout which can sleep 6 but still has an amazing kitchen, even in an entry level motorhome. Whilst being big the Tribute is very capable on the little local paths and roads and has that feeling of fun provided by a more affordable motorhome. Highlights for this trip were:
- Huge garage to keep everything from motorbikes, guitars, BBQ and anything and everything you need when exploring an area.
- Reversing camera perfect for maneuvering around these little farms.
- Sun awning as standard it was 30 degrees at times and being able to drop the sun visor and relax in the shape was amazing.
I am sure I have shared my love of food before with you guys, but now CaravanTimes have taken it to an all new level all thanks the Martin Dorey, his wealth of food knowledge and Auto-Trail. We got the cook, the mobile kitchen and the area that can provide all the food we could wish for. This is not the first time that CaravanTimes, Martin and Auto-Trail have teamed up to live off the land. To see our previous adventure Click Here.
I have travelled all over the UK with the CaravanTimes team trying to find destinations that we can review and recommend to you, the readers. But what drives someone to visit a location? The beaches, the fishing lakes, the food, the walking trails or all of the above? Well on our most recent trip it was all about making the most of the surroundings and trying as many locals things we could get our hands on.
After doing some research and brushing up on local knowledge we all decided on picking the CL Caravan & Motorhome Club site in Catley Cross, The Paddock. What made this location so special was the abundance of local producers that we found within in a very small radius of our pitch. This part of Suffolk is like a little treasure chest of delights, and the CL Site is marvelous. This CL is open 365 days a year so it can can cater for summer and winter touring. On our visit the temperature met the mid 30s as this area always seem to have highest of temperatures. Once local called it the “Costa Del Col as it is so close to Coln Valley is always gets the very best weather
The area is known for its farmland and agriculture, as well us an amazing river system with a string of independent pubs serving the best pub grub. We also found that we could source everything we needed to live off during our trip. Fresh milk, cheese, vegetables, meat, wine and beer, you name it we found.
We want to show you how easy it is to avoid the retail giants and almost “live off of the land”. This is the excuse I use to gorge or clotted creams and scons when I visit the South West. But imagine being able to literally buy everything you need without having to reach for your club card. This, for me, really is what touring is all about. Finding local places to visit, eat, drink and then take away some goodies to eat later.
It is all well and good knowing where to shop when you arrive at your chosen holiday spot but what are you going to cook? As I mentioned before we had the privilege of Martin Dorey being with us who thrives on living off the land. As soon as we sat down with a cup of tea and showed him where we would be shopping the cogs soon got turning Martin had a meal in mind almost instantly. All locally produced and purchased, as fresh as it comes and very healthy, yes even the beer.
The Menu
Hand Reared Rib Eye Steak- Sourced from a local farm who usually sells to friends and family. Word of mouth sourced us this prime cut.
Mint and Sheep Milk Yogurt Potato Salad- The sheep milk yogurt was sourced from from Boydells Dairy Farm.
Seaweed Sheep Cheese Salad- The seaweed crusted sheeps cheese was a first for us at CaravanTimes and was also sourced directly from Boydells Farm.
All the vegetables used were purchased from Spencers Farm Shop which is literally right round the corner from out site.
The Drinks
Stour Valley Gold Ale- Purchased from Nethergate Brewery. This Suffolk based producer makes their beer 20 feet from where they sell and serve these local specialities.
Within one day we had a picture perfect site thanks the Caravan & Motorhome Club’s CL site, the most perfect cooked meal thanks to Martin Dorey, the ideal vehicle for touring and cooking thanks to Auto-Trail (the Tracker 736 motorhome) and food grown and sold within a 20 minute drive of our site. The best part of buying local? Less time shopping and more time relaxing.
This is part of a series or articles and videos that CaravanTimes will be bringing you. As part of the CaravanTimes team Martin will be showing you exactly where we went and how he whipped up a storm in the Tribute 736.
There are adventures like this that can be had all across the UK. All it needs is a little bit of research and you’re halfway there. So if this little trip has inspired you to take an adventure let us know, also if you think you have something that would inspire us we’d love to hear from you.
