Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i Campervan

It was 8am and we were already parked outside the entrance to the magical Plitvice Lakes and Waterfalls in northern Croatia. Not renowned for our early morning rising, today we had made an exception in order to enjoy, if only for the first couple of hours, the peace and beauty of one of Croatia’s most iconic national parks. Our plan was to explore the upper lakes on day one and repeat the process for the lower lakes the next day, as a special deal through our campsite allowed two days’ entrance for the price of one. To fully appreciate the beauty of the surroundings and allow time to slowly wander the many walkways that criss-cross around and over the lakes, with views of the waterfalls tumbling down into the clear…

Back of Beyond Touring, Camping & Glamping Park is a 30-acre park nestled in Dorset woodlands, close to the New Forest National Park. A park exclusively for adults, Back of Beyond prides itself on its tranquillity and proximity to nature. Choose from fully serviced pitches, cosy glamping units or wild camping. A dog-friendly park, there’s 18 acres of woodlands for off-lead adventures. Monty’s Bar, built as a lockdown project, has gone from strength to strength and is a popular addition to the park, serving local spirits and ales. The site is owned by husband and wife team, Martin and Victoria Bowrey. How long have you been running your campsite? In 2025 we will celebrate our twelfth season of running Back of Beyond. Tell us a little about your site and…

WATCH THE VIDEO motorhome.ma/sunliving Built in Slovenia alongside their more prestigious sisters from the parent company, Adria Mobil, the Sun Living brand has a history going back more than a decade and a half. It offers a more affordable entry into the world of campervans and motorhomes with vehicles designed to appeal to both newcomers and experienced owners. It says its vehicles are ‘convenient to own, simple to use and enjoy’ while also offering ‘everything you need and nothing you don’t’. Today, it offers an enhanced line-up of campervans built exclusively on the revised Series 10 Fiat Ducato. Throughout the 2025-season lineup there’s a new look, with a darker blue on the exterior graphics, while retaining the bold diagonal design. In the UK, you can currently buy the Sun Living…

Start your campervan adventure at Bradgate Park, a sprawling deer park with stunning views and historic ruins. Leicester itself is a vibrant, multicultural city, and its cathedral features the King Richard III visitor centre, where you can uncover the fascinating story of the recently rediscovered monarch. A short drive away is Belvoir Castle’s majestic architecture and beautiful gardens. And for food lovers, Melton Mowbray, the official home of the famous pork pie and Stilton cheese, is a must-visit. With welcoming campsites and plenty to do, you could have all the ingredients for a brilliant road trip. EXPLORE BRADGATE PARK A stunning 830-acre park with ancient woodlands, rugged landscapes and roaming deer. It’s perfect for hiking and offers views from Old John Tower at the highest point. W bradgatepark.org VISIT LEICESTER…

Off the beaten track? Not really. But poor little Luxembourg is just the sort of country that gets overlooked when you’re planning any kind of campervan trip. Frankly, there’s no reason why. It’s lovely. Packed with history, great roads, good campsites and not up itself in any way. Forget any jibes about Luxembourg being France without the culture, here is a country that’s more than at ease with itself, also boasting plenty that keeps it in competition with its better-known neighbours. Castles and rivers, luscious countryside, Luxembourg wines are pretty good, too (thanks mainly to the Mosel Valley). All topped off with a free public transport network (buses, trains and trams). How does Luxembourg measure up? It’s about 1% of the size of the UK, or just a bit bigger…

I wonder on how many occasions travellers (including ourselves) have passed by the country of Liechtenstein without even giving it a second thought? I have to admit it was only whilst reading an article on rare passport stamps that we noticed Liechtenstein on the list. We were driving our home from the UK to Italy soon and wanted a change from our usual route through France. Being one of the smallest countries in the world at only seven-and-a-half miles by fifteen-and-a-half miles in size, we started looking into its history and what it had to offer tourists. Not only is this tiny state landlocked, but it’s also one of just two doubly landlocked countries in the world. Being surrounded only by landlocked countries, it requires the crossing of at least…

Radio 2 star Sara Cox is to headline the 2025 Campervan Campout festival, it’s been announced. She will bring her “Power Wower” set, packed with danceable festival anthems, to the three-day event taking place at Ardingly on 2-4 May. Festival-goers can also look forward to acts like The Houndogs, Ultra 90s vs 2000s and Levi Roots on the main stage. The family-friendly event not only has a great music line-up, but also a wellness sanctuary for relaxation, a bustling street food area, and the Campout Hub for talks, workshops, and all things camping. Families can enjoy activities ranging from axe throwing and archery to interactive games, while the silent disco is a unique way to dance the night away. This year, the festival gets improved showers and toilets. A pitch…

Tony Payne started out as a mobile caravan technician more than two decades ago. When he moved into his first workshop on a farmyard near Taunton, in the unit next door there was a tiny, one-man band campervan converter company called Autohaus. It had been in business since 1994 but by 2007 it was only building a couple of ’vans a year. Having converted a few horseboxes, Tony was interested… and promptly took up an offer to buy the business for £10,000 (“because I liked the name”). “Everyone said I was mad,” he recalls. “I thought I was mad. And I thought it was even madder when the following year we had the recession, so I thought that I had just wasted my £10,000! “When I took over, they were…

The Yucon V-City 6.0 BD is a more affordable way into the world of Mercedes Sprinter-based campervans. New for this season it’s basically the baby brother to the K-Peak that was launched last year. On the outside, this short-wheelbase Sprinter has a very stealthy look, all in black. There is some orange detailing to match the Yukon branding, but it’s very subtle. Even the wheels (which are steel, not alloy) are black. There’s a toilet cassette hatch and a mains hookup socket on the nearside. It’s also got extended side pods for the bed; you can’t sleep across the width of the vehicle in a Sprinter without these. The one on the nearside is deeper than the one on the offside, where the sliding door has to clear it. Then,…

JOSEPH JOSEPH SPACE-SAVING PANS If you’re serious about your campervan cooking, getting a good sauce or the right browning effect on your food is essential for the perfect flavour profile. And that is all about the pan and the hob. Gas hobs dominate and should provide a good, controllable level of heat – some come with a burner that’s a bit higher powered; better for stir fries and quick sears… However, the pan is important, too – having a decent weight and durable finish. High-quality pans are bulky, though, but now Joseph Joseph has introduced a stacking range. It’s not cheap but solid handles fold or flip down and there are sizes and shapes to suit all. Treat yourself to one pan that you can use for everything or blow…

It’s not every day that you see an evacuation map on approach to a village, especially that looks as complex as the one at the entrance to Barranco do Velho. This village of modest whitewashed dwellings is surrounded by forest, in the high hills of the Serra do Caldeirão in southern Portugal and, I guessed, an emergency exit plan would consist of fleeing in any suitable direction if, heaven forbid, a forest fire consumed the hamlet. That wasn’t going to happen the day I was there, when an unseasonable rainstorm engulfed the Algarve and mist seeped ethereally through the woods and valleys of the serra. Grassland looked like straw ready to burn, depleted of nutrients, against the flame-red rocks and ochre soil. But the eucalyptus leaves drooped, olive trees dripped…

CAMPING SIENA COLLEVERDE Strada di Scacciapensieri 47, 53100 Siena, Italy T 0039 577 334080 W sienacamping.com OPEN 1 March – 5 November Camping Siena Colleverde lies close to the Tuscan city of Palio with the hills of Chianti behind. Pitches have panoramic countryside views and come with electric hook-up. For convenience there is a service point for fresh and waste water, along with toilets and showers, a laundry, shop and dedicated dog exercise area. Other facilities include a shop, restaurant, pizzeria and takeaway. The on-site bar is open from Easter until the end of October, and the outdoor seasonal swimming pool is beautifully surrounded by trees. For exploring the area there is a handy bus service from the site gates and the train station is only a mile away. With…

HI As I write this, I’m away on a solo trip in my little Fabio. That’s something I certainly didn’t think I would be writing about before spring. What with spending the summer in Cornwall following Jon’s leukaemia diagnosis and recovery, we both thought it would be at least six months until we were moving around again and possibly longer before I would go off on my own. But, as it happens, Jon’s recovery has gone incredibly well and he is back at work. I won’t lie, it did feel strange leaving him for the first time to go on a road trip, but once I packed up my camper and headed off, I was settling into it in no time. In fact, it felt incredible to put some music…

SURVEY REVEALS GROWTH IN ENTHUSIASM FOR UK ROAD TRIPS A survey has revealed a growing enthusiasm for road trips, especially among younger adventurers. Over 50% of respondents to the survey by The Caravan and Motorhome Club selected the UK as their top road trip destination, with this preference being strong among 18 to 24-year-olds, 60% of whom expressed a desire to explore the UK’s scenic landscapes. The trend highlights the growing appeal of affordable, flexible travel closer to home. The survey also showed that UK beaches are the most popular attraction for road trippers, with 32% of respondents choosing the seaside as their must-visit venue. National parks and lakes also featured highly on the list, demonstrating the strong connection between road trips and the UK outdoors.…

A campervan is your gateway to freedom and adventure. But wouldn’t it be great if it could generate some income for you, too? Well, apparently it can – and it’s not an insignificant amount, either. Campervan ownership is already proving to be a lucrative side hustle for many people, with London proving to be especially rewarding. In fact, many campervan owners are said to be earning upwards of £10,000 a year by renting out their ’vans and some are enjoying an income of more than £50k a year. That is according to peer-to-peer hire and motorhome-sharing community, Camplify, whose analysts compared search data with website page impressions and fleet saturation in locations across the country. According to the data, campervan owners in London have the strongest chance to capitalise on…

WATCH THE VIDEO motorhome.ma/review321 I’d barely pulled onto the Ferry Meadows Caravan and Motorhome Club site when a fellow camper strolled over to admire the Swift Monza. It’s that sort of campervan – from the Grey Matter colour (one of four no-cost options) to the 19in Lustre Nickel alloy wheels, it looks like the latest thing. Which, of course, it is. Based on the brand-new Tourneo Custom, the Monza was one of the first conversions of the new Ford to hit the market. It represents an investment of over half a million pounds in an effort to create the sort of OEM look found in a Mercedes Marco Polo or Volkswagen California. But with a slightly more affordable cost, its £73,495 list price also including a very comprehensive spec. The…

Judging by the number of new campervans we’ve seen based on 4x4 Sprinters, the UK’s dirt tracks are going to be chock-a-block with off-road campers in 2025. There little doubt that four-wheeldrive ’vans are the big trend for this year. The good news for everyone else is that the main roads should be deserted! Well, maybe not… but if you like the rugged look, with a huge amount of luxury inside, the new CrossOver edition of Hymer’s Grand Canyon S is sure to tickle your fancy. On the outside, this ’van has all the attributes of the sort of robust vehicle you’d take off the beaten track for cross-country adventures – chunky all-terrain tyres, raised suspension, a 44in LED lightbar along the front and an electric off-road step at the…

FEBRUARY issue on sale 16 JANUARY ALSO IN THE FEBRUARY ISSUE MEET THE WINNERS Find out the Campervan of the Year, plus all the other winners in the Out & About Live Campervan Awards 2025 PLUS • Your guide to buying a new ’van • 10 award-winning UK campsites • Full of eastern promise: Norfolk and Essex ALSO NEWS, VIEWS, REVIEWS AND MUCH MORE UNFORGETTABLE CAMPERVAN ADVENTURES! Let us take you to all the best places SUBSCRIBE TO campervan for just £14.99 and enjoy: • Inspiring road trips • Reviews of new campervans • The very best of vanlife AND MUCH MORE! SUBSCRIBE NOW motorhome.ma/cpvnspring25…