By a Babbling Brook

We could not understand it! Arriving late in the day on this popular Lakeside Camping site we expected all the best, prime sites would already have been taken but there it was: a nice almost level site with commanding views across the lake, and right by a babbling brook. We parked on the plot and looked round mystified, all the other campers had pitched their tents just about everywhere else, under the trees (danger of falling branches!) on the side of the approach road (disturbance of passing cars!) on sloping ground (uncomfortable to sleep on!) and even next to the toilet block (annoying traffic of people!) yet here was this prime site going begging! And at the height of the summer on a weekend this was a busy site!

“We got the barbeque going, uncorked the chilled wine from our cool box and settled down to enjoy the lovely view”

We shrugged and unpacked our tent scarcely believing our luck. We got the barbeque going uncorked the chilled wine from our cool box and settled down to enjoy the lovely view and our tasty dinner. That night it rained heavily but snug under our duvet we were content. Our tent had in the past had everything thrown at it, gale force winds, driving rain, hailstones and even one Easter snow! It had always come through with flying colours and always bone dry.

But suddenly just as we were about to drop off. with the relaxing lullaby of the raindrops on our roof we first heard it! Gurgling water! And it was under our bed! Under our groundsheet! We were camping on a stream! a stream that had not been there before! Alarmed we looked out of our bedroom into the lounge and we could actually see the water bubbling under the ground sheet. We pondered about what to do? Dismantle our tent in the rain and dark and move? NOT a very attractive proposition! In the end we stayed put! OK we had a small stream running through the tent and out of our front door but it were underneath the tent and we were dry!

And over the weekend we got quite used to the pleasant noise of the babbling brook underneath our feet. A bit squishy to walk on but who cares? We had a great weekend (and a nice after dinner anecdote for our friends at home!). So a word of warning to our fellow campers. If a prime empty plot looks too good to be true—— it probably is! Look elsewhere!