Caravan owners everywhere are breathing a somewhat smug sigh of relief as they, unlike plane-hopping holiday makers, are not having to frantically check their insurance documents to see if they are covered for disruption caused by ash from a far away volcano.
What a great feeling it was, pulling my caravan home beneath planeless skies not even having to think about whether my insurance covered far-off eruptions. As a breed, it feels like caravan lovers all over the UK have been vindicated. Next time someone comments that caravan pulling cars are slow and getting in the way, remind them that during the Easter 2010 debacle, we could get from almost anywhere in Europe, to almost anywhere else in Europe faster than the average plane.
In addition, those conditions that some refer to as tight and claustrophobic in caravans were positively opulent by comparison to hotel lobbies, airport floors and cramped coaches.
Of course, between those of us who understand the beauty behind caravan holidays this is all irrelevant. We each like doing our own things in our own leisure time, and how boring would the world be if we all liked the same things? However, the reason for this little gloat is that people who, as a rule, don’t do caravans, tend to make fun of those that do, and we rarely, if ever reciprocate.