*waves* I'm busy revising for my summer exams at the moment. But, in the spirit of the bank holiday weekend here in the UK, here's a post I originally wrote for Campfire Chic last year...
Last July we made a purchase that has completely changed our camping world - our very first camper van. She's called Freda (everyone gives their cars names right?) and I thought I would share with you why we love her so much...
Don't get me wrong, I am no fair weather camper. For a start I'm British, which means staying in a tent normally means getting wet or cold. Ever seen the TV footage of Glastonbury festival in the mud? Been there, got the t shirt.
While I love the sound of rain drops on canvas, staying in camper van is warm, it is snug, you have proper seats and a proper bed under a proper roof. You can't quite beat snuggling up for the night safe and cosy, knowing the weather can do what it likes outside and you'll be just fine.
This is so important to us. Under Freda's rear seats we have a couple of those plastic boxes that fit under beds and in those we have all the camping essentials: Stove, kitchenwear, lights, the awning, ground sheets, blankets...
We also keep a couple of campsite guide books (if you are camping in the UK, I recommend Cool Camping and All the Aires if you are going to continental Europe), the Good Beer Guide (the definitive guide to the best pubs in Britain) and a couple of road atlases. Then if we fancy an adventure, all we need to do is chuck some some bedding and the food hamper in the van and we can be good to go in about 10 minutes. Plus when you get to your destination, we just park up and we're almost all set.
It's pretty amazing when you can be sitting at your desk at 4pm and then sitting in the Black Mountains in Wales by 6.30pm. Having a camper van means you can be very spontaneous. You just get in and go.
The best thing about having Freda is the overwhelming sense of freedom that she gives us. Every time I see her parked outside our house I am reminded of chance of adventure. Be it a 1000 mile road trip to the south of France or just an overnight jaunt to the coast, the opportunity is always there. There is always something to see, somewhere to go, places to be explored and I'm happy that my camper van reminds me of that every day.
