Christmas Rally, Tudor Caravan Park,
Slimbridge, Gloucestershire - 22nd to 26th Nov 2018

It’s the Christmas Rally everyone and time to enjoy mulled wine and mince pies without the expensive present part Ho Ho.
We were unsure what to expect as this was our first Christmas rally, however after arriving late pm on the Thursday we were greeted by Marilyn and David, the Marshals for the Rally and directed to our pitch. We then quickly set everything up as we needed to be ready to meet our fellow SMOC members at David and Marilyn’s Motorhome, take your own coffee and wrap up warm being the order of the day. David and Marilyn then briefed us all on the site, area and agenda and we all had time to meet and greet each other, new friends and old.
I must say the Motorhomes all looked great with their Christmas lights and decorations, very festive.
The site is right next to the Sharpness canal (great for long walks!) with a nice pub just a step away from the site entrance as well as the Black Hut café over the way. This ex WW2 Ammunition store was good for breakfast, as sampled by lots of our members.
Unfortunately, you do need transport to get out and about or legs to cycle a bike, as the local shops are couple miles away. That said for the more adventurous you can get to Gloucester via the canal!
Friday was a day of catching up with each other, walking the dogs, meeting in the pub or café for sustenance [hic] and looking forward to the Mulled wine and mince pies at Stella-Mary’s in the evening, apparently a tradition at this event.
Lots of Christmas cards were making their rounds whilst everyone chatted over the mulled wine and mince pies, most enjoyable on a very cold evening. A big thanks to Stella-Mary. Afterwards the majority of the members went for fish and chips at the Café and enjoyed a pleasant evening.
Saturday was another day of leisure with some, including David & Marilyn (who took some well-earned time off from their marshalling duties) visiting Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust just a short walk away. The centre has lots to see, with many hides where birds such as kingfisher or rare wading birds can be viewed undisturbed. There are also places to feed the birds as well as the visitors, with a restaurant and shop on site!  Even the weather which was a little damp did not deter those who spent an enjoyable few hours at the Trust.
That evening we all dressed up for our Christmas Meal which was held at the “local” pub in a private room with everyone together on a nicely decorated table. When the wine was flowing the evening got going, we had a lovely festive three course meal with time to catch up with everyone before some member’s headed off home the next day.