A Nesting Box for Tengu...

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
13,026
1,640
51
Wiltshire
Im planning on going to Higher Education...The course looks like being History and Heritage in Truro.

I need a place to live, and though the College has a hall of Residence its not really suited to me...I like my privacy.

One thing I have considered is a caravan.

In Cornwall there are lots of farms that do camping; some all year round with semi permenent residents. (Indeed i met some students doing just that.)

Have you any sage advice?
 

tomongoose

Nomad
Oct 11, 2010
321
0
Plymouth
Yep living in a caravan in Cornwall in the winter can be pretty crappy and have you thought about transport from the farm to college?
 
Feb 4, 2012
133
0
Nr St Ives, Cornwall
Like Tommo said, caravanning in Cornwall in the winter could be pretty miserable and lonely. And if you are limited to public transport, while there are fairly regular services between the more populated points on the map, a lot of campsites are a good walk from the nearest bus stop and walking any distance in wintry mizzle soon looses its appeal. Also, bus time tables in Cornwall should only be treated as a rough guide as to when a bus may pass by, if the service hasn't been cancelled (which is something that happens a lot as far as buses between Penzance and St Ives are concerned) and not as a guarantee there will be a service when you need really one.

But having said all that, if you think caravanning is for you, do it. If it doesn't work out, you can always find somewhere else to live.

Good luck.

Colin
 

beamdune

Full Member
Oct 14, 2005
362
0
52
Manchester
<Sighs> Tengu do not live in communities, tengu live on their own...

You'd not be in halls for long - 3 terms will fly by in the blink of an eye - and surely you'd be better placed to access other, non academic services and facilities offered.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,995
29
In the woods if possible.
It will have a wood burner of course.

A campervan would cost too much to run.

+1 to all that.

I've lived in caravans for decades. It's a bit chilly in the morning and some things aren't so, er, convenient but you're a lot closer to nature all the time. I love it.

You need to be practical, and you need to be tidy.
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
13,026
1,640
51
Wiltshire
Im suprised that many of you are not positive about this.

My Dad thinks its a great idea (if done sensibly) and he is not one to desire many alternative living arrangements.
 

Silverhill

Maker
Apr 4, 2010
909
0
42
Derbyshire
Personally speaking Tengu, living in a caravan sounds fine if executed correctly. However, the angle from which I approached it was more along the lines of you disregarding living in halls for the first year. I don't know you personally so I can't fully understand your social stance/outlook, so please excuse my ignorance, but living amongst others with whom you have no previous connection is an enjoyable experience. Sure enough, it has it's highs and lows, but I'm yet to meet anyone who doesn't regard it as a positive experience. Of course, if you're hell-bent on ostracising yourself from your peers, then go ahead.
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
13,026
1,640
51
Wiltshire
Im nearly 40 and have lived on my own since I was 22.

I really do not get on well with other people. I do not socialise well, and I need a lot of personal space.

I had a friend living with me a couple of years ago and it was...challenging...to say the least. (But of course then there was the territorial issue.)

I think its best for everybody Im well out of the way.
 

Silverhill

Maker
Apr 4, 2010
909
0
42
Derbyshire
Fair comment Tengu. If you feel that way then why not live in a caravan. Would you go for a tourer or a static? The latter would make a more adaptable living space, but you'd to ably end up spending your loan money on ground rent and services.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,995
29
In the woods if possible.
When my wife got a contract in Amsterdam in the early 2000s there was practically no accommodation to be had except in places where she wouldn't have felt safe without me being there. So we bought a caravan from a dealer just outside the city and I towed it to a camp site within the city.

The site was for both permanent residents and tourists. The relatively few permanent residents (people like circus performers) tended to stay there in the winter and the relatively large number of tourists didn't. It was approaching winter when we moved there and so there was plenty of space. We soon got to know the people there, they were a great bunch although a bit too fond of substance abuse for my liking.

I was contracting in America some of the time so it meant a lot to my wife that she was amongst people she had got to know. They shared a lot of meals, and generally helped each other when it was minus 15C and all the pipes froze, or the electricity failed.

Keeping warm was a challenge for my wife but she managed a full, harsh winter in a five metre caravan with an electric blanket, a couple of electric heaters and an Optimus Nova.

Even though some nutter did try to murder her when she was out for a walk one evening in a nearby park, the scariest moment she had during her stay was being woken up by a couple of hedgehogs humping just under the window.

When she left Amsterdam about a year later we sold the caravan to the site owner. Lost about 500 Euros on it, but it more than paid for itself at that.
 
Last edited:

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
13,026
1,640
51
Wiltshire
Mmm, that was a good idea and one a lot of people do. (I know of several `touring` sites where the residents seem to spend a long time.)

What is your advise on keeping warm? I was planning on fitting a wood burner.

I have recently laid my hands on a Tilley radiator...no idea if they are very safe though.
 

Silverhill

Maker
Apr 4, 2010
909
0
42
Derbyshire
Oil filled radiators seem to do a good job on heating my old-folks' static. If you could link them up to PV panels or a small turbine, that may help financially, but you may need to ask permission from the site owners. I know several sites that won't allow small wood burners in caravans, so I think you'd need quite an understanding site manager.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,995
29
In the woods if possible.
... What is your advise on keeping warm? I was planning on fitting a wood burner.

Caravans often aren't well insulated and condensation is usually a problem. A wood burner is great for warmth and ventilation but it will consume large amounts of wood which you will need to source, possibly cut, and store somewhere dry. It's quite an undertaking. If a small fire (say 3kW) is in half of the day, think in terms of half a tonne or so over one winter. An awning is good, it makes a big improvement in habitability on a small caravan especially if it's floored in some way and it's somewhere handy for the wood pile.

Safety issues loom larger in caravans than many places. You should seek professional advice on fitting a wood-burner, it it's no longer permitted for a householder to install his own wood burner (unless he's a qualified fitter) but I don't know about caravans. It could be dangerous. It should probably be illegal although I used one for five years or more when I was building a house in Oxfordshire about thirty-five years ago. I set fire to the washing once and the chimney exploded once but apart from that I got away with it. Looking back, it was a death trap. Then of course the local clean air regulations might have a bearing, you might have to get a burner with particular characteristics or it might just not be allowed to burn wood for heating. In my area in Derbyshire it has to be an approved burner.

An electric blanket makes a world of difference but you might not have an electricity supply and the caravan might not be wired for mains electricity.

Hot water bottles are a very cheap and in my opinion much overlooked form of warmth. They need to be replaced fairly frequently, say every couple of years, as they perish and leak. Never use one if you have an electric blanket!

With something like a sleeping 'pod', a Jerven bag or some other similar whole-body insulation and a couple of hot water bottles you can be really cosy just sitting reading a book in any temperature you're likely to experience in SW England.

Hats and long johns are much underrated too.

I have recently laid my hands on a Tilley radiator...no idea if they are very safe though.

I'd be very nervous about using one in a caravan on safety grounds. It's inconvenient, it isn't especially cheap, and every gallon of fuel gives you a gallon of water which adds to the condensation problem. I recommend against it.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,891
2,143
Mercia
....... living amongst others with whom you have no previous connection is an enjoyable experience. Sure enough, it has it's highs and lows, but I'm yet to meet anyone who doesn't regard it as a positive experience.

Evening - my name is Red and the idea of living crammed in with other people is my equivalent of Dantes fifth circle of hell. Living in your own space is not "ostracising yourself from your peers", its simply being comfortable in your own skin and with your own company.

I have no desire to live in a human battery farm

Red
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE