Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Campervan

Idon’t know why I didn’t think of it before; I’d hoped to visit Jersey for many a year and automatically thought we would fly there someday. Why I had never thought of taking our ’van I do not know, but, eventually, my mind worked that out and off we went… We arrived on Jersey in the early afternoon after catching the fast ferry from Poole at 9am. The island is approximately nine miles by five miles, so it was a short trip (just under six miles) northeast to our base for the entire two weeks – Rozel Camping Park, in the parish of St Martin. We had a field to ourselves, with a small hedge behind separating us from another field which had maybe five or six other camping units…

OUR PARK IS TRANQUIL WITH LOVELY SCENERY OF THE ESTUARY AND MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE South Wales Touring Park/Llwynifan Farm is an adults-only touring park, situated in Llangennech near Llanelli. The site is one mile from junction 48 of the M4, centrally located to visit any attraction in south and west Wales, from Cardiff and the valleys to the east, all parts of Pembrokeshire to the west, the Brecon Beacons to the north and the Gower Peninsula to the south. All pitches are hardstanding, and all have a view. There are spacious heated shower rooms, toilets, dishwashing and laundry facilities. The site also has 10 fully serviced pitches. Standard and seasonal pitches remain open all year. Owner, Hywel Davies, tells us more about the site. How did you first become…

WRITERS SET OFF ON SAHARA CHALLENGE Two Campervan writers have joined British manufacturer, Bailey of Bristol, on an intercontinental adventure. The Sahara Challenge is a 2,735-mile, 19-day journey, starting at the World’s End in southwest Portugal, heading through Spain and across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco, before heading across the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert, and then returning home. The Sahara Challenge team included our Road Test Editor, Peter Vaughan, and columnist, Tash Gooch. The team has been travelling in one Ford-based Bailey Adamo 75-4T motorhome and two Bailey Phoenix+ 642 caravans, during the challenge, in association with the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Bailey’s Marketing Director, Simon Howard, and Director General of the Caravan and Motorhome Club, Nick Lomas, are also among those taking part. Follow the team’s…

The Caravan and Motorhome Club and European campsite specialists, Alan Rogers, have announced the winners of their annual awards. La Clusure in Belgium and Alannia Costa Blanca, near Alicante, were named overall winners of the awards. With 11 categories – including three new categories this year – the winners are selected by the clubs’ campsite teams, who consider member feedback, comments from site assessors and the consistency of the sites’ popularity among campers. The winners were: • Winner for Alan Rogers Travel Service - La Clusure, Belgium • Winner for Caravan and Motorhome Club - Alannia Costa Blanca, Alicante • The Exceptional Services and Facilities Award (new category) – Le Domaine de Massereau, in Occitanie, France • The Most Attractive Campsite Award (new) – Kiko Park, Valencia in SPain •…

THIS IS NOT AN ULTRA-PETITE KITCHEN AS IT JUTS OUT TO FORM AN L-SHAPE BEHIND THE CAB Here’s a camper which is, perhaps, undersold by its straightforwrd name. Instead of hinting at a lifestyle with a title like Adventurer or a glamorous destination, such as Monte Carlo, it simply adopts a code that explains where it fits within the company portfolio. The first two letters (VF) are simply from the maker’s name, followed by another ‘F’ for fixed seat (‘R’ is used for rail, when a sliding seat system, on rails, is fitted). The number that follows indicates the width of the seat/bed installed, so ‘1’ is a typical 1.12m seat, ‘2’ (as here) is the wider 1.30m bench and ‘3’ indicates a full-width 1.50m seat/bed unit. At least The…

Harrogate is a charming spa town in the heart of Yorkshire and offers an ideal destination for campervanners. With stunning countryside, historic architecture, quirky shops and delicious cuisine, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in this vibrant town. Explore the scenic beauty of Harrogate’s surrounding countryside. Drive through the rolling hills, pastures and woodlands that make up the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Park up and enjoy a picnic or a walk along one of the many trails that criss-cross the landscape. Located in the heart of the town, the famous Turkish Baths offer a unique and relaxing experience, perfect for unwinding after a day of outdoor activities. The baths date back to the Victorian era and feature a range of hot and cold rooms, steam rooms and plunge…

Water put this Derbyshire market town on the map as long ago as the Roman Empire. The Romans marched into Buxton, found the spring water that emerges from the ground at around 28°C, built a bath and threw coins into the spring for luck. In the sixteenth century, visitors took the water and, in the Georgian era, the Duke of Devonshire developed Buxton into a spa resort. A ‘Well Woman’ was appointed to care for the well and assist tourists, a job that continued into the twentieth century. This Peak District town sits around 305m above sea level. The high altitude means that, while it can be a refreshing place on a sweltering day, winters can be chilly. Although Buxton’s rarefied air doesn’t hold lots of moisture, it is surrounded…

HI This year, I’ve been involved in some talks at various shows around solo female travel and living in a ’van. Some excellent questions have been raised from the audiences and, this month, I want to cover a topic that came up regularly; storage space and packing lighter. During my travels, I have learned that I don’t need to pack two pairs of emergency pants for every day of the trip, I don’t need enough cutlery and crockery for four and I definitely don’t need three outfits and a ‘just in case’ one for every day. These examples may sound over the top, but I’m sure we have all done some panic overpacking at some stage. You end up lugging half of your worldly possessions around, only to continuously move…

Both the Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club have launched money-saving offers. The C&MC has launched midweek and family saver offers to help its members choose a holiday to suit their budget. C&MC members and non-members can save up to 50% off the pitch price on a number of its sites across the UK on selected dates, while a new family-saver offer allows family groups to save 15% off. Family stays are also available with the 15% family-saver offer that allows families with at least one adult and one paying child to save on the entire stay when booking two nights or more at 11 Club campsites throughout the UK. Meanwhile, the Camping and Caravanning Club has launched deals including 35% off July and August bookings…

Trouvaille translates from its original French to “something lovely discovered by chance”… well, here it is. Or rather, here they are. Yorkshire-based Orange Campers produces Trouvaille models using Fiat Ducato and Ford Transit Custom base vehicles, the latter adopting the more lifestyle-orientated Active variant, which helps explain the Trouvaille Actif name here. Appropriately, the model on review is in Ford’s Orange Glow, with other metallics available as subtler alternatives – Moondust Silver and Chrome Blue. This is also an early demonstrator. There are some key differences between it and what is now being produced. Base vehicle availability is critical, of course, but Orange expects standard models to have a tailgate and single sliding door, as opposed to the barn doors and second slider. Also, you get a choice of two…

KELTY CALLISTO KIDS' SLEEPING BAG Whether they’re off for a sleepover with pals or joining you on a camper trip in the great outdoors, this rectangular sleeping bag, filled with synthetic insulation, is sure to keep your child comfortable and cosy – even down to minus temperatures. Inspired by Kelty’s popular adults’ version, this kids’ version is suitable for up to 152cm, packs down to a compact 23 by 38cm in a handy stuff sack and weighs just 1.16kg. It’s available in two colours – Midnight Navy or Italian Plum – and can even be completely unzipped to use as a blanket. PRICE £50 W campingworld.co.uk MNCHED TRAVEL CUTLERY We all have a favourite mug – you know, the one where the tea just tastes that little bit better –…

DEER’S MEAD CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK The Street, Erpingham, Norwich, Norfolk NR11 7QD T 01263 768959 W deersmead.co.uk OPEN 1 March – 31 October The perfect site for accessing both the coast and the countryside. Deer’s Mead is found in the north Norfolk countryside, yet it’s only 15 minutes’ drive from the coast. This sheltered site is surrounded by mature trees, with 35 pitches, separated by low hedging. All of the grass or hardstanding pitches are fully serviced with electric supply, drinking water and grey waste drain. The central amenities block has toilets, showers, an accessible shower room, a laundry room and dishwashing area. Dogs are welcome on site and there are quiet roads and footpaths locally for exercising them. A garage with a small shop, a craft centre, café…

← FROM THIS TO THIS → It all started in January 2020. We were on holiday in the south of Spain staying in the Alpujarras, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We were planning our wedding for that summer, I had started a new job as a project manager and my husband, Sean, was fully immersed in his management role for an energy company. On paper we had it all, but something happened during that holiday which kick-started an unforeseen chain of events. Spain was an absolute treat. I had never been to mainland Spain before and the south coast was nothing like I had imagined. We drove through the winding roads of the impressive Sierra Nevada and explored the iconic town of Granada before driving along the coast where…

We’ve been staggered by the number of new names entering the VW campervan market recently – it seems like we discover one that we didn’t previously know almost weekly. That means buyers need to be very aware of the variable quality of the different conversions and investigate carefully the reputation of the converter. Edge Campervans can’t call on a long history, having only started in 2019, but its founder, Russ Hubble, previously built bespoke narrowboats, each involving up to 4,000 man hours. Over a 20-year period, he was involved with over £2.5m-worth of high-end boats and the same dedication is now aimed at even smaller living spaces. The company’s conversions don’t yet have Type Approval but it does use TÜV-tested components and, as the father of a young child, Russ…