With overseas summer holidays in doubt, it’s time to buy a campervan
The coronavirus pandemic may have limited our travel, but it hasn’t stopped us dreaming about how we might holiday in 2021.
One answer is the staycation, with camping seeing a resurgence last summer and looking set to be just as popular this year. Sales of motorhomes, caravans and campervans shot up last year and show little sign of letting up in 2021 and even if people don’t want to buy their own, there are plenty of opportunities to rent, with Cool Camping joining the ranks by launching their own range of campervans to hire.
Long before coronavirus, my husband and I decided to invest in a VW campervan. With two dogs to take with us, the flexibility of his shifts as a firefighter and my ability to work anywhere with a mobile signal, it seemed the perfect way for us to holiday.
In the past five years we’ve embraced ‘van life’, escaping for breaks from our home in Warwickshire to everywhere from Wales to Cornwall, the Lake District, Scotland, Norfolk and more. We’ve toured Europe, made our way through the Pyrenees, camped next to lakes in France and Switzerland, road-tripped to Tuscany and spent New Year’s Eve in a car park on the shore of Loch Lomond.
At times it’s idyllic. Hitting the open road without any kind of plan, pitching up in beautiful places without a soul around, and starting a day in one place then ending it in a completely different one, taking everything with you as you go. After years of experience we’ve got everything we need in our little tin can ready to get going at a moment’s notice, as well as tried-and-tested routines that mean we can set up or pack everything away in a matter of 15 minutes or so.
But that’s only half of the story. While campervanning is presented as effortless, it can require a bit of practice and preparation to make it enjoyable. You can wing it, but it can end in tears. I’ve been there. Each and every one of our tricks or routines are the product of something going slightly awry at some point in the past and while small, make a huge difference.
Be organised
Campervans are a fair bit smaller than a motorhome or caravan, providing the delights of squeezing down narrow country roads, fitting into ordinary parking spaces and pitching in small spaces. But that also means inside space is a luxury so you need to make the most of it. I learned quickly that six different pairs of shoes and a whole suitcase of clothing is unnecessary.
We pack in packing cubes inside plastic boxes making it as easy as possible to find what you want when you’re rummaging around for the day’s outfits. The same goes for packing in general. There’s nothing worse than remembering at 11pm when it’s pitch black and raining that you left something in the boot and can only access it by going outside. It’s also not much fun having to unpack everything from the boot to get to the chocks you need to level your van, so put stuff you’ll need first when you arrive at your destination in last, then it’s easy to grab.
Think about where you pitch
Your van is your bedroom, kitchen and lounge as well as your vehicle, so while that lovely view from a pitch on a slight hill might be great for photos, sleeping with your head lower than your legs or watching your pans slide off your hob unless you hang on to them isn’t fun. Ask the risotto I nearly lost to the floor after lovingly making it.
You might also want to be mindful of what you’ll be stepping out onto when you slide open your door. Putting your foot into a small lake that’s appeared due to rain isn’t anyone’s cup of tea. And then there’s the wind. Awnings that wind out from the side of the van are wonderful, but leaving them out in gale-force winds will inevitably result in a rather expensive repair job and a loss of a day of your holiday sitting in a Halfords car park. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Consider what extra facilities you need
It’s also worth thinking about the kind of facilities you might need when you’re choosing where to go. Wild camping in Scotland after a long walk in the wet and mud seemed like a wonderful idea, until we found ourselves sitting surrounded by dirty, wet clothes with nowhere to dry them. For that reason, a campsite with a drying room is high on my list for winter camping.
There is plenty more, from deciding how long you can do without mains electricity and rely on your battery (ladies, your hairdryer is unlikely to work unless you’re plugged into the mains) to stocking up on staples for cooking and having a few recipes that will work with the most basic of kitchens.
Of course, none of it is mandatory and if we’ve learned anything it’s that life in a campervan is all about making it suit you. But a few little tips and tricks just might help you skip some of the gritted-teeth moments we’ve experienced and get straight to all the best bits of van life.
