Owners Carolyn and Dave first welcomed the RCC to Apple Orchard back in 2017, and it’s remained a firm favourite with members ever since. The peaceful setting, great facilities and the on-site restaurant/bar make it a very enjoyable place to stay.
Previously, we’ve usually attracted around 12-16 units, and found ourselves very surprised this year to discover that we had 25 bookings by the end of January and had a reserve/waiting list!
As we counted down the weeks to our first rally of the season, the truly abysmal weather at the start of the year made us feel glad about choosing to start the season a month later this year – though that smugness wouldn’t last for long!
I arrived first on the Thursday afternoon and was greeted by blue skies, bright sunshine and a dry field. Within 24 hours we’d be tottering around in wellies and helping members to push their vehicles through the mud! Not to dampen our spirits, members were just glad to be out on a rally field again catching up with old friends and making plenty of new ones.
Friday was a fairly relaxed affair; some members chose to make the most of the restaurant and enjoyed pizzas cooked in their new pizza oven. There was local cider on offer too.
The next morning, most people went out to explore the area. Some members arranged to go and visit the local heritage railway together, while others visited the local Westbury On Severn gardens. Some ventured further afield to Gloucester and Cheltenham to make the most of the excellent shopping opportunities on offer.
Come Saturday night, the site had kindly arranged a quiz for us in the restaurant. We squeezed everyone in just about, and teamed up in groups of 4-6 people. The middle table, chiefly rounded up by Emmerson and Ann, felt it acceptable to cheat and have nine people on their team, not that it mattered because they came far from first place! The winners were Julie, Mike, Karen, Mike and Sheena who scooped the first prize of a large crate of cider. It was a lovely evening filled with lots of laughs.
Sunday morning saw a return to our traditional “round the flag” coffee morning, which I have to say, the cake contributions were exceptional! A few members sold some of their vintage wares, but as usual, no one ever seems to make any money at these bring and buy sales in the RCC because people seem to just keep swapping and trading things amongst each other! We had a laugh and discussed our options for returning to Apple Orchard at some point… Such a good time was had by all, that eight of us stayed until Monday!
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