Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Campervan

New year, new editor – and it’s so nice to meet you! As a lifelong camper, and now a proud campervan owner, I couldn’t be more thrilled to take the helm at this fab magazine and become a fully fledged member of the vanlife community. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of you at our first ever Campout festival in the spring – you can find more details on page 51. In the meantime, please drop me a line and let me know your views on the mag. I’ll tell you more about my own campervan ‘journey’ in future issues, but, in brief, I’ve been camping in tents for more than 30 years. As our kids got older our habits changed, and we decided it was time to buy a…

As is often the way with small, family-run campervan converters, Orange Campers started with a passion for campervanning and a desire to create something unique. Company owner and MD, Richard Tomlin, has been a campervanner for most of his life and has been building them for the last 25 years, establishing Orange Campers just over five years ago. Richard had always been a big fan of VW campervans and the ever-popular side kitchen layout, as these vehicles are small and practical enough to use as your daily vehicle. However, if you have a growing family, like Richard, you may find that you want something a little bigger. That’s where he felt that he’d spotted a gap in the market, which the Trouvaille is designed to fill. Based on the short-wheelbase…

All the talk of the North Coast 500 overflowing with campervans and queues of tourists waiting to get onto the Isle of Skye gives the impression that Scotland is full up for the summer season. But that’s far from the truth. There’s bags of space up here, if you avoid the hotspots. Lots of lesser known places share the same spectacular scenery, wonderful wildlife and fantastic folklore that visitors associate with the iconic Scottish destinations. One such “hidden gem” is the county of Angus (don’t tell everyone, we don’t want it spoiled). It ticks all the boxes, having both mountainous Highland and rolling Lowland landscapes, as well as lovely coastal scenery, picturesque historic sites and several nature reserves. What’s more, because it lies in the east, it has lower rainfall,…

North Norfolk is a dream destination for campervanners, boasting brilliant beaches, beautiful forests and heathland as well as nature reserves, birdwatching, walking and cycling. On top of that is a selection of charming towns and seaside resorts including Holt, Sheringham, Hunstanton, Cromer and Wells-next-the-Sea. Many visitors come to the county for the tranquillity of the Broads, but the north Norfolk coastline is truly a campervanners’ paradise, especially stunning Holkham Beach. The salt marshes which stretch two-thirds of the way along this strip are crisscrossed by a maze of coastal creeks and alternate with bars of shingle strand and pristine fine sand beaches and dunes. The glorious North Norfolk Railway runs between the towns of Holt and Sheringham and has been lovingly recreated and maintained by enthusiastic volunteers over the last…

Height barriers are the bane of many campervanners’ travels. The prospect of finding a delightful country park, a landscape worth a wander, or an attractive town with tantalising shop fronts, only to discover a dreaded bar of metal or wood fixed across the entrance to the parking area that prevents any vehicle more than two metres from pulling in. I own a coachbuilt motorhome (with overcab bed) fit for family adventures, so I know this scenario all too well. Hence, while I can’t pretend that a height barrier is the only reason why I chose to purchase my little Romahome, it was possibly the most important of several deciding factors. At 1.9 metres high, the camper neatly ducks beneath any height barrier. Why size matters For my work as a…

1 When did Love Campers start out? Love Campers was born in 2016 when we realised we could turn our passion for campervan design into a business. We’ve always enjoyed campervan holidays and getting into nature, so it made sense to us to do a job we felt passionate about. Darren has owned campervans all his adult life and at one point even lived in a converted bus. We wanted to create a company that was conscious about its impact and as accessible as possible. That’s why we try to be thoughtful about equal opportunities, sustainability and inclusion in everything we do. 2 How has the campervan market changed since you started? We’ve seen a big interest in eco-campers over the last few years, which is something we’ve consciously moved…

It’s been a long, long wait. VW first teased us with a retro-styled people carrier with hints of Type 2 back in 2001. The Microbus concept never made production, of course, but the idea of mixing modern technology with classic camper looks didn’t go away and, in 2017, we first saw the ID Buzz as another concept, this time an all-electric one. Now you can finally buy a vehicle that looks tantalisingly close to that five-year-old Detroit Motor Show star – and we’ve driven it, in right-hand drive UK spec, on British roads. The first deliveries should also have happened, for those that got their orders in early, before Christmas. There are both panel van (ID Buzz Cargo) and passenger-carrying (ID Buzz) versions of the new model, and each is…

Campervanning and cycling are a perfect combination. We love touring in our ’van, seeing different places and planning interesting stopovers en route. Once settled, we leave the campervan on site and explore our surroundings by bike. Our French Atlantic coastal tour was planned with family cycling in mind. We started with an overnight stop at awe-inspiring Mont Saint Michel in Normandy and moved on down the coast to southern Brittany and the Guérande Peninsula. Then, our final cycling destination on the tour; the Île de Ré, with 110km (68 miles) of dedicated cycle paths. After an efficient Eurotunnel crossing, we headed south on the motorway to Le Havre, over the impressive Pont de Normandie, around Caen, arriving at our first overnight stop at the Aire de Camping Car Beauvoir, Mont…

1 Sands Caravan & Camping, Highland Gairloch, Wester Ross IV21 2DL 01445 712152 sandscaravanandcamping.co.uk 31 March – 30 October For some, the Highlands of Scotland might seem a very long way away. But if you want a beautiful coastal campsite right by vast golden sands then Sands Caravan and Camping is definitely worth the journey. It’s all about location, location, location here! You can even choose where you pitch – pick a sheltered spot among the sand dunes or a raised pitch with views of the Isle of Skye and Outer Hebrides. There are grass and hardstanding pitches with electric hook-up, plus a licensed café/restaurant, toilets and showers, a laundry room, dog walking area and dog wash. To explore the area there are bikes and kayaks for hire, with many…

“If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well”. The time and effort spent organising an animal health certificate for our Norfolk terrier, Bosworth, definitely falls into this category. Come hell or high water, we were taking him to France with us in the ’van. I’d done the research, he’d had the rabies booster and the annual health check, and his flea and tick treatments were up to date. All that was needed before we set off was an appointment with Bethany the Vet. With the light at the end of this tunnel of post-Brexit red tape getting larger by the day, I made an appointment for us to see her to have the certificate issued within the permitted window of 10 days when we’d travel, and before our departure.…

Roasting-Toasting Marshmallow Fun Kit In our day, fireside snacks were limited to bonfires and toffee apples. Campfires just weren’t a thing. And to be honest, many campsites still frown upon this form of evening entertainment. However, decades of American TV means we are now indoctrinated to the good vibes that tasting a marshmallow can bring and now you don’t even need a campfire to indulge. What’s different about this yummy kit from Freedom Mallows is that the marshmallows contained within have no gelatin or animal products, so are vegan-friendly, as well as being suitable for those that suffer from all manner of intolerances or allergies. In addition to the three packs of Vegantic Mallows (pink and white), a reusable burner (which lasts up to 2.5 hours and can be used…

Cofton Holidays, an award-winning site and member of the exclusive Premier Parks group of the best 100 campsites in the UK and Ireland, has invested £200,000 in 11 electric vehicles for its housekeeping and maintenance teams. This is the latest in a series of eco-friendly initiatives made by the Devon holiday park – which caters for touring vehicles and tents, as well as providing lodges, holiday cottages and apartments – and follows the installation of electric vehicle charging points last year, a two-acre rewilding project and the installation of solar panels on the park’s 12 luxury lodges, indoor leisure complex and toilet blocks. Earlier this year, Cofton also invested £17,000 in 16 electric bikes for visitors to hire during their stay. Chris Jeffery, Director at Cofton Holidays, says, “For us,…

Aurochs were a now-extinct breed of European wild ox, from which domestic cattle are probably descended. It’s actually the third name applied to this Land Rover-based motorhome during its two-year gestation in Somerset – other brands objected to choices one and two! We first heard about what was provisionally called the AeRover in August 2021, when the target price was around £200k. We’ve had to wait over a year to finally get our hands on this most individual leisure vehicle, a true one-of-a-kind. The delayed progress is easier to comprehend when you arrive at Duckworth Overland’s modest industrial unit a few miles south of Bristol. There is no team of staff here – just two blokes and a shedload of passion for the project. I stare at what still looks…

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My wife, Lesley, and I became campervanners in a long, drawn-out fashion. We started out in our youth as lightweight tent campers using Triumph Spitfires for transport, which also included taking an old English sheepdog along as well. We learned the art of travelling light early on. After five years of this, we decided to up sticks from Birmingham to Cumbria. This was over 40 years ago. Back then, rented property was very scarce., so we converted a 1969 Mk1 Ford Transit van (an ex-Heathrow airport crew bus) into a campervan; a very basic one by today’s standards! We lived in it for nine months and then a static caravan for another two years until finally getting a rented flat. We went back to sports cars and tents again for…

Sometimes you just have to feel a little bit smug in a campervan, especially when the news is all about airport delays. While others were queuing to check in their luggage, we were trundling placidly up the Yorkshire coast. At Whitby, we turned inland to avoid the long climb from Sandsend to Lythe, and then doubled back to reach our destination: Serenity Camping in the little-known village of Hinderwell. The village takes its name from St Hilda’s Well, which we found in the churchyard. Apparently, one of the legendary achievements of this seventh century saint was to get rid of a plague of snakes by praying for them to lose their heads. As if that wasn’t enough, she was also responsible for the spring that feeds the well. It’s said…

When it comes to sleeping in your campervan, there’s a big choice to be made… do you go for a sleeping bag or a duvet? Making the right choice is vital to ensure a good night’s sleep – and that can be the difference between a brilliant trip and a disaster of a holiday. Sleeping bags come in a variety of weights, pack sizes and warmth, and what you go for will depend on your needs. From luxury doubles for family camping trips to cosy mummy bags for solo adventures, especially in cold temperatures, sleeping bags really do come in all shapes and sizes, plus specifications. There are many factors that will affect how you experience a bag’s performance – your height, weight, shape and how warm or cold you…

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