THE OPEN ROAD

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 89, 9 January 1926, Page 20

THE OPEN ROAD

WITH CARAVAN ON THE BROAD HIGHWAY

(By an

Amateur Gipsy.)

Some one, evidently no caravanner, has written — There are folks who sing of the white gull’s wing And the clear call of the sea; There are folks who sigh for the moor

and the sky, And the upland wind in his glee. There are folks who dote on a lug-

sail boat, And the tang of a landward breeze— Who’d be mightv sick if they got

their wish Like the folks who wish for a caravan

dish When the cuisine fails to please!

But desnite the insinuation contained in the las.t three lines, there is little ooubt that the majority of us, particularly at this time of the year, lend a readv ear to the call of ‘‘tent or keel.” Wc mav not all be Borrovians, but there is nevertheless in most of us a latent instinct for wandering. ,*\s a confirmed vagabond I may be pardoned for claiming that caravanning supplies to* the full the most insistent demand for a life in the open. Experience of holidays spent on foot, cycles, and horses, and in motor-cars, nouseboats, vaclits. and under. canvas, has taught me that however jolly all of these methods of holidaying _ are, the house on wheels on the King’s highway takes a deal of beating. At the outset let me state that I •m writing from experience of horsedrawn caravans. The motor trailer or motor van, of course, enables one to cover greater distances more quickly and with less trouble, but, personally, I must confess to a decided liking’ for the “clip clop” of horses’ hoofs on the turnpike and the gipsy atmosphere of travel inseparable from the horse-drawn vehicle. Come then aboard the Land yacht “Wanderer” and share the toys of the road which lie on a gipsv’s doorstep. Now vou have mounted the steps, need I remind vou that as vou dip vour head to enter the doorway under the luckv horse shoe, vou are entering a new world where conventions are more or less forgotten, and where the dailv order of vour going must of necessity be adjusted to fit in tilth a new life untrammelled with the cares of the evervdav. Do not. however, imagine that vou are about to indulge in a spell of 'idleness. A well-known authority on caravanning who, alas, has made the last journey from which no traveller returns, has de.secribed his davs on the road as being of “perfect balance between rest and exertion, labour and reward. and “much of their high contentment is due to their system of rewards and prizes”—and so vou will find caravan life. , , The reward at the long dav s eliding —after the miles of road vou have set vour heart on to cover, have been successfully negotiated; after a suitable camping site for the night has been decided upon; when the horses have been seen to, and cooking preparations made ami completed—is that sense of great satisfaction and contentment with which vou cat and enjov vour evening meal, feeling as vou take vour ease that vou are also cnioving a complete emancipation from the anxieties that oppress mankind, and knowing as vou watch the blue smoke from the caravan chimnev curling upwards and hear the primus snoring, that vour house is here, and vour bed is here, and all these little things, pines and sox and shaving soap, the fish slice and the little banjo, all are here just at vour hand. You remember when vou visited that Morions bit of Tweedsidc on a summer day’s outing, how vou wished you

could linger and watch the subtle play of light on river and hill and dale until the sun went down ? Do you remember how you wished you could hear Tweed’s song at midnight when the heron’s cry comes down wind, and the owls are calling in the deep wood, when the trout are rising to the night flies, and the moon is shedding her pale light on the flanks of the Eildons ? We shall camp in sight and hearing of these things to-morrow night. But perhaps you have another resting place in view? if so, here are the reins! Borderland was ever a nomad’s land!

How would you like some other time to drive along Princes Street and , eat vour breakfast rashers as you go? lhe S.Y. “Wanderer” bas rolled along that thoroughfare on a May morning and tickled the noses of hurrying business men with the heavenly scent of delicately browning “Ayrshire”! Yes, there are wonderful possibilities with a caravan.

In caravanning you will find that there is no monotony of routine. “Here to-day and gone to-morrow.” As it is with your movements, so it is with the little troubles of the road such as they arc, and each dav out from the base will find vou better fitted to deal with them. A broken trace or a heated axle is all iu the day’s journey. And weather need not worry you. One may caravan in any sort of weather. A really wet day may keep you indoors unless you want—and I think you will—to feel the soft rain against your cheek, or to try, it you are so inclined, for a dish of speckled trout for breakfast. And why! If you must remain snug within your four walls of ivory and white with their delicate dry points, then there is always something to exercise your ingenuity. .Most modern vans are fitted so that the minimum of space is turned in the greatest utility, but there is always some personal foible which seeks expression. It may be that your weakness is for shelves, or hooks, or binges. Very well, then. Here is a golden opportunity for you to exploit your ideas for labour-saving devices. A caiavanncr need never be idle.-

The domestic tide of caravan life is one which space prevents me dealing with at present, but trie considciable enjoyment which may be 'get from catering and cooking, aye, and even bed making and washing, must be experienced to be appreciated. The actual journeying through a pleasant countryside when each turn of the road brings a new vista to your windows and your doors, and which your rate of progress gives you ample time to study and enjoy; the “untapped” country which awaits you, and which necessitates a careful planning of routes and inspection of contours beforehand ; the road which lures vou ever onward to your journey’s end; the folks, interesting and otherwise, you meet and talk with ; the monastic feeling of absolute freedom which is yours; the opportunity to peruse nature's cveropen book at will; the variety of camping sites—these are but a few of the joys of caravanning. And when the tour is ended and your beloved “Wanderer” is laid up till next season, there are still the memories of vour wanderings left to yon, and believe me they will be pleasant memories which will urge you to take to the road again and again. For once you arc one of the “gaun folk” the call of the toad is irresistible—the open road, where “the sweet gorse is smellin’ in the sun,” and where a tired gipsy may sleep oh, so soundly!