Spring meet April 2024
25 IH Owners vans in total attended the Spring Meet at Harrogate Caravan Park over the 8 day period beginning Friday 19th April. Thanks to Graham and Rosemary for hosting, ably assisted by Dave and Jill. It was good to meet up with other members, both long-standing and a few new faces. The number of IH vans arriving on site were a total surprise to one couple! These IH van owners were enjoying a relaxing break at the site when gradually they saw an invasion of IH vans filling up the pitches!! Luckily for us, the friendly couple joined the club and got to know everyone over the few days they were staying on site. Hopefully we will see them in the future at planned IH gatherings.
This is a very popular site, the fourth visit for club events. Some members had arrived a day earlier so a small group checked out the local pub on Thursday, Friday, Saturday………!! prior to the Tuesday group meal.
Friday’s early evening ‘Welcome Drinks’ get together was a chance for everyone to catch up on each others’ travels.
Over the following days members took advantage of the mainly dry, but cold, weather to catch the bus into Harrogate, walk around the nearby Crimple Park. Some ventured to the nearby market towns of Knaresborough and Wetherby, eating fish and chips from the recommended Wetherby Whaler. Our meet coincided with the start of the Harrogate Flower Show so members could attend the show if they wanted.
A Sunday coffee morning was held giving further chance to chat and catch up and enjoy a range of delicious cakes generously provided by Carole. Many thanks to Carole!
Sunday lunch was enjoyed by some members at the Fodder cafe next door to site or at the pub The Travellers Rest. Both locations served delicious food and were highly recommended. Fodder also has a take out van ‘Fodder on the Hoof’ which serves amazing coffee as well as breakfasts, sandwiches, etc all highly recommended by those who treated themselves.
The group meal at the nearby pub ‘The Travellers Rest’ was on Tuesday evening. Everyone enjoyed a lovely meal and commented on how good the food was and the brilliant staff who went out of their way to make the evening really enjoyable. Luckily the pub is only a few minutes walk from site so very easy access for all. (We can highly recommend the pub as well as Fodder cafe and farm shop next door, if staying at the Harrogate site in future.)
Thanks go to Jill and Dave for the quizzes handed out for entertainment. One quiz involved pictures of everyday products to identify, another was a Who’s Who of well known people. The answers and prizes were given out at the end of the meet Pete and Pauline won the picture quiz, Lyn and Neville the Who’s Who one. The quizzes were well received and got everyone pondering over the answers.
We were all grateful to the helpful and welcoming site staff as well as the pub staff, and the convenient location being near to Fodder Farm Shop and cafe, the pub and Sainsbury's supermarket and petrol station.The location of this site, not too far from I.H. in Knottingley, means that quite a few of the attendees linked this event with visits to I.H. for servicing or for minor repairs.