Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Campervan

St Ives Bay is a wonderful spot to park your 'van, settle down for a few nights and experience the freedom of a campervan holiday on the picturesque Cornwall coast. The site offers both standard grass and electric grass pitches, so you can choose the pitch type that is best for your holiday. These are located across a range of sheltered areas and some more exposed with sea views. Not only will you find the usual campsite facilities (toilet and shower blocks), but campers also have full access to the other holiday resort amenities, too – including the restaurant and bar, swimming pool, arcade, shop and crazy golf. Not forgetting the beautiful beach right on your doorstep. We spoke to General Manager, Nathan Roots, to find out more. How long…

HI It’s fair to say it’s been a turbulent few months, with Jon’s sudden and shocking illness and diagnosis. Our travel and work plans were subsequently cancelled and our lives changed in an instant. That being said, we do like to look for the positives in situations. The type of leukaemia Jon has is rare, and one that some people have and never know about because it stays dormant. For others, it can take effect at any time and there is no obvious trigger. Ultimately, Jon’s illness could have happened at any time. At first it appeared to be awful timing for him to fall ill while we were miles away from anyone and anywhere that was familiar, but in a way it actually turned out to be the best…

Project Yonder is a young company, set up three years ago by Charlie Hughes and Grace Robertson, that aims to build the best in off-road, off-grid ’vans based on the couple’s own experience of travelling in their self-built campervan. It already seems to have come a long way from converting on Grace’s mum’s drive and, while the factory unit in Hastings is small, the ambition behind this £200k beast is anything but. Initially, the Freedom 4X is available only on the seven-metre Mercedes Sprinter (customer interest dictates that a shorter model will follow), but the emphasis is on access to a water supply (not necessarily drinking water), the intention is that you can be off-grid for as long as you like, Charlie tells us. The Merc van might be familiar,…

OLPRO OLYMPUS XL CAMPING CHAIR This is not really a great chair to review during the average working day, as I instantly wanted to sink into it, grab a cuppa from the coffee machine and dig out my latest read. Until I was firmly yanked back into reality with the boss muttering about the looming print deadline. Most of you lucky people don’t know him, so feel free to take a pew… and what a cosseting pew it is, with a bucket design and luxury padded fabric. A drinks holder hangs from one side although, while it is insulated to keep drinks cool or warm, it’s not wine glass or mug friendly. There’s a carry bag which is ideal for transportation to the beach or just for more organised storage.…

The Peak District was Britain’s first National Park for a reason. It combines gently rolling, verdant hills with scenic, windswept moorlands and loads of amazing geographic features. It mixes drama and beauty in equal measure. Start your visit in Buxton, a famous spa town that’s packed with Georgian and Victorian architecture, and sensational ornamental garden. Poole’s Cavern is a limestone cave with a 100m-long main chamber and incredible natural formations. Higher up, in the Castleton area, is the fantastic Blue John Cavern, named for its stunning blue crystals. This is equally cool (in every sense!). We’d also head to Bakewell. It’s nothing to do with geography and everything to do with delicious Bakewell pudding. Pop one in your pack before heading off for a walk or cycle ride. TRY HEIGHTS…

The numerous ‘freedom camping’ options that New Zealand offers, provide great opportunities for touring the country. We decided to do it a different way, though, by hiring a much smaller campervan than the one we use at home and spending those hire fee savings on campsites, for the facilities we needed to really enjoy our holiday. Vintage ’van lovers would have been impressed by the 1994 Townace, A’m Craft, European Motor Home Mini, which is built on a Toyota chassis, but is unlike anything I have seen before. At only 4.8m long, it was certainly very compact and, although described as self-contained, with only one gas ring for cooking and a tiny toilet/shower compartment, we decided to use the facilities that campsites could offer us. We picked it up near…

ITALY LAKE GARDA Lake Garda sits in northern Italy, northwest of the town of Verona. It’s Italy’s largest lake, stretching over 30 miles in length and reaching a maximum width of 10 miles and a depth of more than 346m. In the north, the lake is encircled by mountains, the southern reach of the Italian Alps; in the south, by hills scoured by receding glaciers. Garda’s waters are exceptionally clear and pleasantly cool, and have attracted holiday seekers from the north and south for many generations. There are a number of camping options around Lake Garda. Many visitors to Lake Garda will take to the water. Constant winds make the lake an attractive sailing venue, with the Pelér blowing reliably from north to south in the morning and the Ora…

It feels to me like 2024 has only just begun, but when you get to my age time travels fast and it turns out we’re somehow more than three-quarters of the way through the year already. Not only does that mean I need to start my Christmas shopping sharpish, but it’s also time to introduce next year’s new campervans from Europe. Over the summer the Campervan team clocked up thousands of air miles attending new-season launches across the continent. As ever, the announcements ranged from barely perceptible design tweaks to truly groundbreaking new models. I’ve scoured all the launches and come up with 10 of my favourite new models for 2025. And if you want to learn more about what will be available next year, keep an eye on our…

BEACON COTTAGE FARM Beacon Drive, St Agnes, Cornwall TR5 0NU T 01872 552347 W beaconcottagefarmholidays.co.uk OPEN 28 March – 30 September Set on the St Agnes Heritage Coast, a short distance from the South West Coast Path, Chapel Porth Beach and the tin mine ruins of Wheal Coates, this is a stunning and convenient place to pitch up – and that’s why it gets a place in our something special sites. You can easily access the coastal path from the site and walk as far as you please, or head down to one of the many nearby sandy beaches. The campsite is set on a working farm with grass pitches in six small landscaped paddocks with electric hook-up available. Some pitches have spectacular coastal views and others are sheltered by…

WELLHOUSE LEISURE INVESTS £100,000 A successful mix of new Ford-based campervans and affordable conversions of used imported vehicles from Japan has seen Wellhouse Leisure’s sales buck the recent downturn in the market and allowed it to invest £100,000 in new machinery. The investment means it can now make all of its own furniture in-house rather than outsourcing it. FORD EXPANDS NUGGET CAMPERVAN RANGE Ford is expanding its next-generation Transit Custom Nugget campervan range with the addition of a new Active model, the launch of a plug-in hybrid and a longer wheelbase option. A new Active model adds more rugged styling and equipment to support outdoor lifestyles, while a longer wheelbase option offers more spacious kitchen and storage areas. The all-new Transit Custom Nugget is also now available to order with…