SimonB
Staff member
Lifetime VIP Member
Our First Week (and a bit) with The Bristol Belle
Our Cali is a180 DSG and an ex-demonstrator in Pearl Black. We were told about her about 2 weeks after she came onto the fleet at South Hereford Garages and we went up to take a look. Having done a lot of research amongst friends with conversions on T5s we had more or less talked ourselves into buying a Cali. We paid our deposit and we patiently waited about 2½ months for the day when we could collect her. After spending much of the time on the Forum reading discussions we asked for a few extras. Side bars, rubber mats at the front, parking sensors and wind deflectors. They also arranged the Road Fund Licence which greatly simplified things.
October 23rd finally arrived and we got a train up to South Hereford Garages, who had kindly offered to collect us from the station. We arrived up there around 10.30 & did the paperwork first. Then went outside and had the handover. Having downloaded from the Forum the recommended handover checklists, we were able to check everything was there and working. The excellent salesman gave me a hand putting the bellows bungee on. What a fantastic piece of kit & so simple. It makes a real difference. Even the salesman was impressed. Then he took me through how the gear box worked and we went out for ½ an hour test drive getting used to the DSG gearbox.
Then we were on our own in our new van. Driving through Herford in the heavy traffic was probably not an ideal start, but what a lovely vehicle to drive. When we got out on the open road - fantastic.
Helen took a couple of pictures and we decided on her name The Bristol Belle. Even the M5 south on a half term Friday was almost pleasant. No clutch to push - incredible.
Thank you all for your help on the Forum - your positive reviews and advice certainly helped a lot. Everyone is just so friendly and wants to help.
We ordered some of the work top protectors. The supplier lives in Bristol and I asked if we could collect them rather than post. We called in on our first proper drive. Andrew brought them out and asked to have a quick look at the Bristol Belle. Then he very kindly offered to fit them, and they look superb.
The next week was taken up with getting the essentials and seeing if any of our camping equipment could be used. We Ordered the Bugaboo saucepans, with a 15% VIP discount, after a recommendation on here. I had been looking for justifiable excuses for a longer drive to get more used to her, so offered to go up to The Lower Lode Inn on Saturday to meet the Landlady. The Bristol Belle drove like a dream and my daughter, who had come along for the ride, was absolutely amazed at how good the high up view was and what was in the van.
We had decided we liked proper china plates and mugs, so Helen made some felt envelopes to protect them and stop the rattle. One rattle was the table, a read up on the Forum of how to push the table back to lock it – no more rattles.
On Sunday morning we left Bristol in bright sunshine, pausing to photograph Belle in front of another Bristol icon, Brunel’s Suspension Bridge. Driving up the M5 the mist descended. We arrived at the meet in time to see many of the Calis already there lined up looking at where the river should be, now shrouded in mist. The weather didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and it was lovely to meet you all. To be able to put faces to Forum names was great. Best of all was the enthusiasm extended to us pair of Newbies when we asked would they mind if we saw how they had made best use of the space in their vehicles. It was hugely helpful to be able to see the products that we had read about or seen on the internet actually in use. This lead to a trip to Homebase on the way home. We have to thank Martin, Kevin & Nick for bringing some of the heavier essentials as requested, and assisting with fitting the silver screen, etc.
Having had a lovely lunch in the pub with new friends, and later when those who were leaving had left, we settled ourselves in with blinds drawn and heater on (thank you Martin) with a glass of bubbly to celebrate all the adventures ahead of us. We had no difficulty setting things up for our first night in the Cali in warmth and comfort. We even took a leaf out of Martin Dorey’s book and cooked drop scones for breakfast.
Thank you all for making us so welcome and we look forward to meeting you at future meets.
Simon and Helen
Our Cali is a180 DSG and an ex-demonstrator in Pearl Black. We were told about her about 2 weeks after she came onto the fleet at South Hereford Garages and we went up to take a look. Having done a lot of research amongst friends with conversions on T5s we had more or less talked ourselves into buying a Cali. We paid our deposit and we patiently waited about 2½ months for the day when we could collect her. After spending much of the time on the Forum reading discussions we asked for a few extras. Side bars, rubber mats at the front, parking sensors and wind deflectors. They also arranged the Road Fund Licence which greatly simplified things.
October 23rd finally arrived and we got a train up to South Hereford Garages, who had kindly offered to collect us from the station. We arrived up there around 10.30 & did the paperwork first. Then went outside and had the handover. Having downloaded from the Forum the recommended handover checklists, we were able to check everything was there and working. The excellent salesman gave me a hand putting the bellows bungee on. What a fantastic piece of kit & so simple. It makes a real difference. Even the salesman was impressed. Then he took me through how the gear box worked and we went out for ½ an hour test drive getting used to the DSG gearbox.
Then we were on our own in our new van. Driving through Herford in the heavy traffic was probably not an ideal start, but what a lovely vehicle to drive. When we got out on the open road - fantastic.
Helen took a couple of pictures and we decided on her name The Bristol Belle. Even the M5 south on a half term Friday was almost pleasant. No clutch to push - incredible.
Thank you all for your help on the Forum - your positive reviews and advice certainly helped a lot. Everyone is just so friendly and wants to help.
We ordered some of the work top protectors. The supplier lives in Bristol and I asked if we could collect them rather than post. We called in on our first proper drive. Andrew brought them out and asked to have a quick look at the Bristol Belle. Then he very kindly offered to fit them, and they look superb.
The next week was taken up with getting the essentials and seeing if any of our camping equipment could be used. We Ordered the Bugaboo saucepans, with a 15% VIP discount, after a recommendation on here. I had been looking for justifiable excuses for a longer drive to get more used to her, so offered to go up to The Lower Lode Inn on Saturday to meet the Landlady. The Bristol Belle drove like a dream and my daughter, who had come along for the ride, was absolutely amazed at how good the high up view was and what was in the van.
We had decided we liked proper china plates and mugs, so Helen made some felt envelopes to protect them and stop the rattle. One rattle was the table, a read up on the Forum of how to push the table back to lock it – no more rattles.
On Sunday morning we left Bristol in bright sunshine, pausing to photograph Belle in front of another Bristol icon, Brunel’s Suspension Bridge. Driving up the M5 the mist descended. We arrived at the meet in time to see many of the Calis already there lined up looking at where the river should be, now shrouded in mist. The weather didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and it was lovely to meet you all. To be able to put faces to Forum names was great. Best of all was the enthusiasm extended to us pair of Newbies when we asked would they mind if we saw how they had made best use of the space in their vehicles. It was hugely helpful to be able to see the products that we had read about or seen on the internet actually in use. This lead to a trip to Homebase on the way home. We have to thank Martin, Kevin & Nick for bringing some of the heavier essentials as requested, and assisting with fitting the silver screen, etc.
Having had a lovely lunch in the pub with new friends, and later when those who were leaving had left, we settled ourselves in with blinds drawn and heater on (thank you Martin) with a glass of bubbly to celebrate all the adventures ahead of us. We had no difficulty setting things up for our first night in the Cali in warmth and comfort. We even took a leaf out of Martin Dorey’s book and cooked drop scones for breakfast.
Thank you all for making us so welcome and we look forward to meeting you at future meets.
Simon and Helen
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