Karen Wright: Hitching up and enjoying our first trip away

Karen is excited to be preparing for her first trip of the season

Easter is traditionally the time we go down to the storage yard where we keep our caravan to give it a good clean and check everything is in full working order before we hitch up and tow her to the campsite we have chosen.

As an active member and ambassador for the Caravan and Motorhome Club I always enjoy browsing through the site handbook to get some inspiration and decide where we will book for our trips away. Our first trip this year will be quite local, we have changed our car so I want to go somewhere close so we can check out how the car and caravan get on together!

We are heading to Hebden Bridge, which is less than an hour from home, yet it is somewhere I have never been to before. My plan is to investigate the town itself, which I understand is just a stroll from the site but we have invested in a couple of electric bikes so I will be looking for bike friendly roads to try those out too.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club has a new campaign this year, which is called ‘Read, Tour, Explore’ and is encouraging people to develop and expand their love of literature and visit campsites near to locations of book settings. The campsite at Hebden Bridge is perfect for a visit to Howarth, home of the illustrious Brontë sisters, which is another reason I have chosen it as a base.

Of course, for me getting away from home and onto a campsite also involves more cooking, hopefully in the fresh air. This trip I will be taking a copy of my own book Meals on the Move: A Campsite Cooking Journey with me and revisiting some of the recipes in there. There is something fantastic about cooking and dining al fresco, so I am hoping for some fine weather so I can get my cooking station set up and get cracking, Maybe I can fit in a cheeky little BBQ too!

Before we hitch up and away, I have another lovely event to look forward to. We have a family wedding to go to at a gorgeous local venue Bagden Hall. Another opportunity to get some glad rags on and make the most of such a wonderful occasion.