Claire's Birthday 2026

Over the years we have had two dates that we keep clear so that we can go away; our wedding anniversary in October, and Claire's Birthday in February. A third is my birthday on December 23rd. We go to the panto at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.

In the past we would go to (usually) Spain and use the timeshare week on either of these occasions. The first time to Spain looks to be way back in 2008 for her birthday. I went back through my Flickr photos to see when the first Spain photos appear.

More recently we have just some trips more locally and since we became "vanlifers" we use the van more and we have stayed at the Brighton Caravan Club site.

This year I was looking at something different. France or maybe across to Belgium and Germany. Then I googled all the ferry and Le Shuttle and gave that idea up. For a week away the cost, including Reggie, would vary between £225 and £435. We have around £160 in Tesco vouchers we could use against the fares.

It will be interesting to see what happens when DFDS are allegedly adding a pet lounge to the Newhaven to Dieppe route in January 2026. They have a special over-60's fare that is supposed to be very cheap depending on when you go, I expect. It's a four hour crossing and I don't really want to leave Reggie in the van all that time on his own. I expect he'll sleep but you never know.

We have the return journey from our Summer trip to Spain to consider and it may well be worth looking at route.

So back to Claire's Birthday. After a couple of years at Brighton I started to look at Norfolk. We have been to Norfolk quite a lot over the years, in the car and in the vans. We did stay at Seacroft Club Campsite a couple of years ago. It's a good site and does have a bar and restaurant on site. We didn't use either last time.

Coincidentally, I had an email today offering two free nights. One in the winter/spring and before 31st March, and another in the autumn. I was glad I didn't book anything earlier in the week! I have booked three nights with one of them that will be free. You had to book a minimum of two nights to get one free. Once we get there we can see when it's open and maybe book for the birthday evening.

So that's another "weekend" away planned.