When it came to holiday time in 1985, it was decided to head east for a change and Hastings was selscted. The plan was to go camping as usual but next door neighbour offered his caravan free of charge. Malcolm was grateful to accept, having never towed a caravan before. However, there was a problem in that Malcolm's car did not have a towbar, but the neighbour also offerd his car which was a Lancia. He was a dealer in parts for foreign cars, especially Italian.

On 27 July, the day that the holiday was due to start, turned out to have atrocious weather, heavy rain and gale force winds. Nonetheless, they set out as planned. The roads were terrible with deep puddles along the the edges and strong crosswinds. At the start of the M27 motorway, just ten miles from home, they came across a caravan laying on it's side in the middle of the road, having been blown over. This was not a good omen but the family pressed, Malcolm encountering some of the worst driving conditions he had known.

They arrived at their destination and managed to set up for the night. The next day they also managed to erect the side awning which reduced the crowding inside the caravan. The weather moderated a bit but was never brilliant for the entire week spent there.

Early in the holiday, their Dutch friends, Hans and Ynskje, came to visit for a day and they went to the beach despite the weather being dull and cool. Other days, the family spent visiting local places such as Pevensey Castle, Hastings and Battle, Eastbourne and Beachy Head and the Bluebell Railway.

The journey back home the following Saturday was no better than the journey there. There was torrential rain which flooded the roads and high winds. Driving conditions were bad enough without the fact that Malcolm was driving a car to which he was not used and towing a caravan for the firs time. Anyhow, they arrive home safely.