--- title: The campsite departure known as “we will leave at ten” description: Ben Cooper explains why “we will leave at ten” always becomes a late motorhome departure, involving washing up, awnings and one missing shoe. image: https://camperbuyer.com/hubfs/garage_locker_packing.jpg --- Explore our world [![facebookmobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/facebookmobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=facebookmobile%20(Custom).png)](https://www.facebook.com/camperbuyercom/) [![instgrammobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/instgrammobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=instgrammobile%20(Custom).png)](https://www.instagram.com/camperbuyer) [![twittermobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/twittermobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=twittermobile%20(Custom).png)](https://twitter.com/camperbuyer) [![Youtube](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image%20(28).jpg?width=26&height=26&name=image%20(28).jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/@CamperBuyer) Contact us on [0800 975 2931](tel://+440800%20975%202931) ## [![](https://camperbuyer.com/hubfs/logo_top_blue_1%206a97bb_188x188.png) camperbuyer.com The UK’s largest buyer of motorhomes](https://camperbuyer.com) - [How it works](https://camperbuyer.com/how_it_works) - [Reviews](https://camperbuyer.com/testimonials) - [FAQ’s](https://camperbuyer.com/faqs) - [The Lounge](https://camperbuyer.com/blog) - [Woodgreen Charity](https://camperbuyer.com/woodgreen) - [Contact Us](https://camperbuyer.com/contact-us) ## [![](https://camperbuyer.com/hubfs/logo_top_blue_1%206a97bb_188x188.png) camperbuyer.com The UK’s largest buyer of motorhomes](https://camperbuyer.com) Toggle navigation - [Home](https://camperbuyer.com) - [FREE Valuation](https://camperbuyer.com/camper-valuation) - [How it works](https://camperbuyer.com/process) - [Feedback](https://camperbuyer.com/feedback) - [FAQ's](https://camperbuyer.com/faqs) - [The Lounge](https://camperbuyer.com/blog) - [Contact us](https://camperbuyer.com/contact-us) - [Woodgreen Pets Charity](https://camperbuyer.com/charity) [![facebookmobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/facebookmobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=facebookmobile%20(Custom).png)](https://www.facebook.com/camperbuyercom/) [![twittermobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/twittermobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=twittermobile%20(Custom).png)](https://twitter.com/camperbuyer) [![instgrammobile (Custom)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/instgrammobile%20(Custom).png?width=26&height=26&name=instgrammobile%20(Custom).png)](https://www.instagram.com/camperbuyer) [![youtube](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image%20(27).jpg?width=26&height=26&name=image%20(27).jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/@CamperBuyer) ![The easiest way to sell your campervan](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/smallbanner.jpg?width=952&height=181&name=smallbanner.jpg) Sell your campervan quickly and securely [Request a FREE Campervan Valuation ▶︎](https://camperbuyer.com/valuationform) Genuine online or verbal offer to purchase Excellent prices offered and paid No admin fees or hidden charges Friendly professional, no hassle service Instant cash or faster payment bank transfer ![camper](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/motorhomemobile2.png?width=500&height=269&name=motorhomemobile2.png) [VALUE MY MOTORHOME](https://27011453.hs-sites-eu1.com/camper-valuation?hsLang=en) Oct 18, 2026, 1:51:16 PM # The campsite departure known as “we will leave at ten” ![Picture of Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ben_cooper_portrait.png?width=50&name=ben_cooper_portrait.png) [Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/author/ben-cooper) ![Featured Image](https://camperbuyer.com/hubfs/garage_locker_packing.jpg) [Back to blogs](https://camperbuyer.com/blog) Share this post: [mailto:?body=https://camperbuyer.com/blog/the-campsite-departure-known-as-we-will-leave-at-ten](mailto:?body=https://camperbuyer.com/blog/the-campsite-departure-known-as-we-will-leave-at-ten) *Every motorhome owner has said it. Every motorhome owner has been wrong. Here is why a perfectly reasonable 10am departure somehow turns into lunchtime.*   At approximately 8.15am on departure day, somebody will say the words. “We will leave at ten.” They will say it with the calm confidence of a person who has not yet looked in the garage locker, opened the washroom door or remembered that the awning is still attached to the motorhome in a way that suggests permanent planning permission.   It sounds achievable. Breakfast has been eaten. The weather is decent. The route is ready. The motorhome is only the size of a small bungalow with wheels. What could possibly take two hours? This is the point at which everyone should sit down, have another coffee and accept that the campsite departure has its own timetable. ![departure\_time\_motorhome](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/departure_time_motorhome.jpg?width=2304&height=1536&name=departure_time_motorhome.jpg) The phrase that starts the clock   “We will leave at ten” is not a departure time. It is a sort of opening ceremony. It means that at ten, a person will begin looking for the keys while holding them. Someone else will put on their shoes, then realise they need to go back inside for a coat, then take the shoes off again because the floor has just been mopped.   There will also be a final discussion about whether the route really does avoid that narrow lane with the stone bridge. One person will say the sat nav knows best. The other will say the sat nav once sent them through a farmyard. Both are correct, which is why the motorhome is still on the pitch at 10.18am.   The washing up that refuses to end   A motorhome kitchen creates washing up in the same way a small child creates crumbs. It has no obvious beginning and no natural conclusion. You can wash every mug, plate and fork, turn round, and find one spoon lying behind the kettle with the innocent expression of someone who has never met a sponge.   Then comes the important question. Does the washing up bowl travel full of clean things, or does everything need drying and putting away? There is no correct answer, only consequences. A bowl of damp cutlery will produce a noise like a sack of bolts on the first roundabout, while putting everything away creates the new mystery of why there are now four mugs and only three places for mugs. ![final\_washing\_up](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/final_washing_up.jpg?width=2304&height=1536&name=final_washing_up.jpg) The awning has become a personal matter   Nobody mentions the awning at first. This is because everybody is hoping somebody else will mention it and, ideally, deal with it. It was all so simple on arrival. Pull it out, put a chair underneath it and immediately become the kind of person who owns outdoor cushions.   By departure morning it is damp, slightly dirty and behaving as though it has been offended by the whole holiday. The legs need wiping. The straps have hidden themselves in grass. A corner refuses to come free. The motorhome is now technically ready to go apart from the large fabric extension that has decided it would rather stay in Dorset forever.   The locker that has eaten the chairs   The chairs went into the garage locker easily on Friday. This is now a matter of historical record. On Sunday, however, they appear to have expanded. So has the barbecue. The levelling ramps, which are apparently made of low density metal, will no longer fit through an opening that was perfectly adequate 48 hours earlier.   At this point, somebody will suggest putting one chair behind the driver’s seat “just for now”. This is how the motorhome develops a departure pile. By the time the engine starts, the cab contains two chairs, a dog towel, an empty wine bottle, one unexplained flip flop and a bag of food that was supposed to be in the fridge. ![garage\_locker\_packing](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/garage_locker_packing.jpg?width=2304&height=1536&name=garage_locker_packing.jpg) The missing shoe problem   Every campsite departure involves one missing item. It is usually a shoe. Not a pair of shoes, because that would be straightforward. One shoe. The other shoe will be sitting in full view by the door, smugly waiting for its friend to appear from the depths of a hedge, under a passenger seat or inside the washroom for reasons nobody can explain.   The search becomes more urgent when somebody says, “We cannot leave without it.” This is technically true, but not especially helpful. Suddenly everyone is looking under the motorhome, including people who have not worn the missing shoe and do not share its size. The dog watches from the step, carrying a sock, because the dog has no respect for the seriousness of the moment.   The final walk round that is never final   Eventually, a sensible person says, “Right, final walk round.” This is good practice. It should mean checking that the hook up lead is disconnected, lockers are shut, steps are in and nothing is hiding beneath the motorhome. It should take about three minutes.   In reality, it reveals the washing line, the chocks, the water hose, a half open locker and a pair of children’s sandals under the picnic table. You will do a second final walk round, then a third final walk round, followed by one more because somebody suddenly remembers the aerial. The word “final” is working very hard here. ![missing\_shoe\_by\_step](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/missing_shoe_by_step.jpg?width=2304&height=1536&name=missing_shoe_by_step.jpg) Reversing advice from the whole campsite   Once the motorhome is actually moving, the departure becomes a public event. A partner stands outside to guide the first few feet. This is sensible. Within seconds, however, a man walking his dog has paused to watch. A couple in folding chairs have noticed. Somebody from two pitches away is gesturing helpfully at a hedge that is not remotely near your route.   The trick is to listen to one guide. One. More than one guide turns a simple reverse into a mime performance about conflicting emotions. Keep it slow, use the mirrors and stop if you are unsure. The person behind you can wait. They have probably been watching the awning since 9.20am and are already emotionally invested. ![reversing\_from\_pitch](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/reversing_from_pitch.jpg?width=2304&height=1536&name=reversing_from_pitch.jpg) So, when do you really leave?   On paper, you left at ten. In reality, you crossed the barrier at 11.47am after a final check of the fridge, a disagreement with a cupboard catch and the discovery that the missing shoe had been in the dog bed all along. You are tired, slightly damp and somehow carrying a banana you do not remember buying.   That is not failure. It is simply the campsite departure. Next time, tell everyone you are leaving at nine. You will still leave at 11.47am, obviously, but you will feel much more organised while you do it.     *Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest articles delivered straight to your inbo*x [![Subscribe](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/27011453/interactive-363746868424.png)](https://camperbuyer.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLd%2BqTGf5Ps0ch2E0M1o7RzPh3pimeWdfpOvKpKEhDR6fRILf8YOCRZZ%2FPLkDUH3l7znMmNSlbYwUIf2T1CsBkC6wCszArZPISU8ODGD0HURBXYBi7jOBLj0a6DJEyCcvgOn5%2BMdqS2qo%2BnuT37p65H3vpIbgOagPLihOOSjgEhuX9ogmsH%2FFkvvmiyiz3kRbwZdelSnpGy&webInteractiveContentId=363746868424&portalId=27011453) ## Related posts [![](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/02_thoughtful_stare.jpg?height=200&name=02_thoughtful_stare.jpg)](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/how-to-look-like-you-know-what-you-are-doing-when-broken-down-on-the-a14) ## [How to look like you know what you are doing when broken down on the A14](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/how-to-look-like-you-know-what-you-are-doing-when-broken-down-on-the-a14) ![Picture of Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ben_cooper_portrait.png?width=50&name=ben_cooper_portrait.png) [Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/author/ben-cooper) Aug 29, 2026, 11:04:48 AM Right then, let us be honest. It happens to the best of us. You are cruising along the A14,... [Read more](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/how-to-look-like-you-know-what-you-are-doing-when-broken-down-on-the-a14) [![](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shower_final.jpg?height=200&name=shower_final.jpg)](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/the-motorhomers-guide-to-pretending-you-know-what-you-are-doing) [Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/tag/ben-cooper), [Funny](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/tag/funny) ## [The Motorhomer's guide to pretending you know what you are doing!](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/the-motorhomers-guide-to-pretending-you-know-what-you-are-doing) ![Picture of Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ben_cooper_portrait.png?width=50&name=ben_cooper_portrait.png) [Ben Cooper](https://camperbuyer.com/blog/author/ben-cooper) Feb 27, 2026, 5:45:04 PM Right then, let's be honest. You've bought the motorhome, you've got the fancy folding chairs, and... 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