THE caravanning I knew while growing up involved crossing a campsite every time you needed the loo, a black and white TV running off the car battery and lighting by gas mantle.

There were good bits: the dramatic sound of the rain drumming on the roof; the traditions that are built up from visiting the same place repeatedly (like running over a metal bridge to make the loudest sound possible with your trainers) and watching the coastline you knew so well transformed by a storm, brown globules of sea foam blowing up the beach.

However, there were also some drawbacks to confining my parents in a small space at the start of every summer holiday.

Times change though and there are new generations of caravans and families getting close to each other inside them.

The one we stay in this summer at Inverbeg Holiday Park on the shores of Loch Lomond has a shower, ensuite toilet, colour telly and DVD player.

It is also a triumph of compact design. Wedge yourself in the corner of a sofa and think you just need a small ledge for your wine glass and lo-and-behold, the ledge is there. Notch-like shelves in the shower accommodate shampoo bottles and there is more storage space in the bedrooms than are found in some permanent homes.

My three girls are delighted with the caravan and for my husband and I, it offers a base over a long weekend to try water sports which did not even exist in the days I when I fished for crabs off the harbour wall and played with my pretend friend in the sand dunes.

Stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) – when you stand on a board and paddle yourself along with an oar gondola-style – is the latest experience on offer at the Inverbeg site. Ian Cormack from SUP Ecosse, a company which offers SUP tasting and training sessions, brings everything you need for the sport to the holiday park including wet suits and extra large chocolate buttons.

The lesson starts with explanation on the loch banks, but you really need to get onto the water to find out how to row yourself around.

My husband brings the children down to the shoreline to collect little fish in buckets and skim stones while I get to grips with standing up on the surf board, grabbing my paddle and regaining enough composure to wave back at them.

It’s actually easier to do than it is to describe. My biggest difficulty is turning around. When we go exploring along one side of the loch, the rising breeze beats my arm strength and I have a gentle encounter with the rocky bank. Ian is there though and with a few tips I get myself paddling into the wind with enough momentum to rejoin the group again.

They’re a down-to-earth, friendly bunch and I have a brilliant time. If you want to try paddle surfing, I have to say – despite my love of the waves – the flat surface of Loch Lomond is a great place to start.

Afterwards I’m happy to laze away the rest of the day in the holiday park. My husband and I take the children on a nature treasure hunt and finish the evening with the divine cheese and cured sausage we bought on the way, from a stall at Loch Lomond Shores.

You can buy fresh fish and other produce from a van which visits Inverbeg on Fridays, but we missed this on the day we arrived because we stopped for lunch at the Loch Lomond Arms Hotel in Luss. It is becoming a bit of a favourite spot for us given its combination of finer dining for adults and crowd-pleasing dinners for kids. (The girls all had chicken nuggets while it was gin-cured smoked salmon and Barbary duck leg for me, mussels and lamb for my partner.)

We took the children to the little park in Luss afterwards, which they seemed to enjoy although it looks somewhat unloved. I kind of hope it is rising to the top of a list of what to invest in next.

We return to Luss before we leave Loch Lomond on Sunday too, this time because my husband is booked in with Loch Lomond Leisure for a wake-boarding trip (riding a board behind a speed boat).

The organisers are happy for me and the three girls to put on life jackets and ride in the boat while Dan whizzes left and right behind us, attempting tricks and disappearing into the froth. I have to commend their amazing tolerance as my six-year-old, and then one of the four-year-olds, suffer unexpected last-minute panic about going on board a small boat and both start to wail in protest. Establishing we can all be returned to the bank if they genuinely hate every minute, I stuff them on board and we shoot off with daddy being dragged behind us. Of course all three children are soon calling out to him, spotting him when he crashes off the line and laughing as the boat swoops around to pick him up again. They have a great time, even if they are reluctant to admit it.

Never mind, before we head home there is trampolining for them back at Loch Lomond Shores retail spot.

While there, we sample some of the “street food” – crepes for the girls, paella for me and a Mexican burrito for my husband. I’m a fan of Loch Lomond Shores and its imaginative wooden play park, but while the food looks delicious, my husband and I agree our lunches are mean on ingredients and short on taste. I don’t think this is just because we sampled the brilliant street food at Borough Market in London this summer. I’ve had better paella in a packet from a supermarket.

But, no big deal. It’s been an interesting weekend for all of us and one I want to repeat. With any luck I’ll have a chance to get better at paddle surfing and my children can build their own holiday traditions and memories – probably about the things I least expect.

Five things to do around Inverbeg

Loch Lomond Leisure offer a range of boat tour and activity packages including wake boarding, water skiing and other water-based sports from their base in Luss. www.lochlomond-scotland.com

0333 577 0715

SUP Ecosse provides a range of different stand-up paddle boarding experiences in the west of Scotland. It has recently begun delivering lessons from Inverbeg Holiday Park. www.inverbeg.com www.supecosse.com/

Loch Lomond Shores is home to a number of different attractions for children including the Sealife Centre aquarium and, for those aged over-10, a TreeZone climbing experience.

www.visitsealife.com/loch-lomond

A short drive away, visitors can tour Charles Rennie MacIntosh’s celebrated creation The Hill House, which is a National Trust property in Helensburgh. www.nts.org.uk/Property/The-Hill-House

Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens are about a 30-minute drive away on the shores of Loch Fyne and they include a Gruffalo trail for children. www.ardkinglas.com