I was on the phone to Mel’s daughter Louise tonight and was sharing with her the dramas of site showers and she said I should write about them so others could have a laugh at our expense. So here goes.
Mel and I don’t tend to stay on sites for more than 3 or 4 nights as we feel there is a world to see and prefer to move around. Our trip to Anglesey and North Wales has been no different and in total we will have stayed in 6 different places before we get home. The 1st and 6th ones were single overnight stopovers to break the journey up on the way up and way back.
I prefer to stay in fields, but Mel prefers to stay in more established sites where there is at least hot water and, on this trip, Mel has got her way. To be fair, and due to Covid, she found it so difficult to find any sites with vacancies and we had little choice. However, they were all different and so site reviews for all seem appropriate. I’m not going to give site names for fear of ending up on Judge Rinder.
As with any scientific study, there needs to be a system to assess and a standardised procedure (not). These are the things which I will focus on:
- Number of showers/loos
- Size
- Temperature
- Controls
- Wet or dry
- Hooks
- Any other quirky/weird aspect
Verdicts given are personal opinion only and not scientific in any way.
Sites 1 & 6: Caravan and Motorhome Club sites
These are my least favourite sites in the world as no matter where you are in the country, they are identical. And even though I haven’t staying in one of their sites abroad, I am sure I know what they look like already. The shower blocks are pristine, and all use the same décor, the rules are strict (I have written about these in a previous blog) and I am sure the grass is cut to the same specific length. These sites have zero personality and if I am honest, the wardens scare me a bit. I will point out the stupidity of the cleaning times of the showers on site 1 as shutting them to clean between 10.30am and 12pm is ridiculous. When we are on holiday, we haven’t even surfaced by then. In the end, we decided to be smelly poo faces, and not shower until we got to the next site.
Verdict: Clean but boring – ½ a point
Site 2: Marianglas, Anglesey.
This site was a wannabe Caravan and Motorhome site but at least, due to its location, did have character. It was up a big driveway which was a killer when you had been on a long walk as you thought you were home when you saw the sign, but there was still another ¾ mile to go. Mel was excited by the promise of an onsite shop as the website went into raptures about the range it stocked and the times it was open. Even before we had set up, she skipped off to explore further but very quickly returned sad and demoralised. The shop was pathetic and didn’t even have any cake to buy. I tried to explain that it was probably due to the time of year, but she remained unimpressed for some time.
Another first job Mel undertakes is to do a reconnaissance mission of the showers and loos and return to file her report. This stated that there were 6 showers (an excellent number) and plenty of loos. This was a good start.
The following morning, we headed for the showers hoping for a good experience. They weren’t particularly big, but they weren’t as small as the ones we used in Lincolnshire. Those ones, I’m sure were made from pallets, and you had to tuck your elbows in to turn around.
The showers here had a turn on, turn off system which is far better than a push button and they were warm enough. The difficulty came when trying to get dressed as there was a bench of only about 12 inches by 8 inches to put anything on. The angle of the shower head and size of cubicle ensured the whole floor got wet making dressing a nightmare. Fortunately, there were plenty of hooks and I have learned a system of what item of clothing, including pants etc. to hang where and in what order.
However, whilst hooks help with keeping everything off the floor, they do not actually help with putting socks on when the floor is wet. Picture the scene; I’ve just finished showering and need to get fully dressed in a small (wet) space without falling over. I end up hopping madly trying to dry a foot before putting on a sock and then, without putting the foot down, putting one leg in my jeans and then straight into a boot. All the time being careful that the ‘empty’ leg of my jeans doesn’t touch the floor. This is not easy but I’m sure looks hilarious. Mel probably has a much more elegant system, but I am too embarrassed to ask as I don’t want to let on how stupid I look.
An additional point is awarded is for a good quality hairdryer. Normally on sites, the hairdryer is so feeble it is pointless to use it. This is the first time ever that I have been able to use a site dryer.
A quirky fact about this shower block is that very modern music was played at random times of the day. Mel worked out that it was only played if the warden was on duty. If you planned carefully, you could have a poo with music playing loud enough to disguise any potential noise. Off topic slightly but we have a rule that dictates we aren’t allowed to poo in Ethel. It would be disrespectful!
Overall verdict – Good and awarded a bonus point for a decent hair dryer.
Site 3: Llanfwrog
I don’t know how to describe this site. I wanted to say hysterical, but I am not sure it quite captures the insanity of it. Whatever words used to describe it; I am still in shock. It was huge and filled with mainly seasonal caravans and only a few touring pitches (like us). We had sea on both sides of the site, and we were in a lovely area with plenty of walks along stunning beaches. However, even though the site was so big, there was only one shower block, bang in the middle of the site and Ethel was parked the furthest possible distance from it. If you needed a poo quickly, you had to run half a marathon to get there. and then, if you really were in a hurry, you had a problem as you needed a swipe card to get in. Since when did you need to swipe before you use the loo? And they only gave us one card and we are two! This meant we had to plan showers with military precision to ensure it didn’t all go horribly wrong.
There were plenty of showers and loos (good point) and they were big enough (also good) but they had push button controls and the time given for actual water was 4 seconds. Seconds, not minutes. I timed it. Who can get wet in 4 seconds? And normally I wouldn’t complain about showers being large but, in these ones, it made life harder as there was no way to wedge yourself against a wall and keep the button in and wash. I got obsessed with counting to 4 so I could slap the button again but soon found myself pressing it every second ‘just in case’. Mel, being more intelligent than me has since proclaimed that she developed a system where she could use her elbow to hold the button in successfully. I wish she had shared that with me before we left.
Space was good, temperature was good, and number of hooks was good. No music, which is bad.
Verdict – Weird and Horrible. And due to having to swipe before peeing it is awarded Last place.
Site 4 – Llandulas
This site was nice with good access to the beach and amazing cycle paths nearby. It also was where we were when a storm of biblical proportions hit in the middle of the night and due to being on a cliff, not far from the sea, parked on an angle and not level, we woke up to find the rain had been blown in behind the rear window and Mel was sleeping on a wet cushion!
Best showers so far. Although the site has 130 pitches, there are 2 separate shower blocks and the nearest to us wasn’t too far away and was clean and warm. The showers allowed for a dry area to get dressed in and there wasn’t a push button in sight. I don’t really have anything bad to say about them.
Verdict – Highly Commended
Site 5 – Rhuallt
This was a strange site as there didn’t appear to be any rules or guidance. There also wasn’t anyone on site who appeared to work there. As we pulled up, reception was closed, and no-one answered when Mel called the mobile number on the door. She then called the main website number, and she was given the barrier code and told we were on plot 4. That was it. No site map, no instructions, so we just got on with it!
For some unknown to mankind reason, and probably because we were thrown off kilter by the lack of welcome, I did the reconnaissance mission of the showers instead of Mel. And when I returned to Ethel, I was in raptures as they were huge! Spotlessly clean and there were 6. For such a small site, this was a lot. As I was so excited, as soon as we had finished setting up and drunk the compulsory cup of tea, I was off to try the showers out.
I took some time to decide which one of them I was going to use and opted for one in the middle. My reasoning for this was I didn’t know which end of the building the hot water came into first and therefore a middle shower was likely to be hot. We have been in many an end one, only to regret it very quickly as we found ourselves shivering in a lukewarm dribble. Not fun.
I place my clothes strategically on the enormous bench which is a long way from the shower and step in. They had another push button system, but they lasted a lot longer than 4 seconds. It may have been as much as 20. And the pressure was incredible too. I was being blasted and by the end felt thoroughly clean. However, (and there is always a however) the downside of high pressure is that the water hits my head and then bounces off in all directions, making most of the cubicle floor wet. I have left my boots on the floor and my iWatch is on the bench and droplets of H2o are flying all over the place. I wait till the button forces its way out and the water stops before creeping, naked, over to the bench. I have no idea why I was creeping as I was in a locked cubicle but maybe I felt this method was less likely to spread more dangerous water over my valuables. Once I had checked they were ok, I jumped back in the shower to finish my ablutions.
Once squeaky clean, I found the process of getting dressed positively pleasurable, despite the wetter than expected floor and soon I was skipping back to Mel.
Verdict: Excellent and awarded 1st place in the Anglesey/North Wales Best Showers Awards 2021
To finish this rambling blog off, a short conversation is needed about water types. Now I don’t know whether we have hard or soft water at home but what I do know is that I need to use a lot of shampoo/shower gel/washing up liquid or any activity where you need bubbles. And you certainly can’t make 2 cups of tea from 1 tea bag at home – even though I drink very, very weak tea.
But it seems that every other place in the world we visit has the opposite situation and it doesn’t matter how often we use different showers, we don’t learn the lesson. I jump into the shower on site and grab the shower gel and lather up and very quickly remember that I only need a pea size blob of the stuff instead of an apple size. Soon there are bubbles everywhere and the time taken in the shower is multiplied by 3 just to give time to rinse the vast number of bubbles down the drain. It is deemed bad form to leave bubbles in the shower. And forget about trying to fully rinse the shower puff thing I have used!
2LadiesTravelling 