campervanliving

I am off to the beach to see what the high tides and recent storms have brought.  But before I head off I thought it might be interesting to brush up on my shipping law, just in case I find anything more interesting than cotton buds (washed down the loo - jetsam?), fishing nets (lost overboard - derelict?), bottles (thrown overboard - flotsam?) and bags of dog poo (one can only assume this is lagan). Anyway, British law is quite clear about wrecks and salvage. Salvage is the act of saving something with the intention of returning it to its legal owner. Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, wreck material remains the property of the original owner and anyone who finds washed up goods must report it to a government official, the "Receiver of the Wreck", within 28 days. Failing to report such items could lead to a £2000 fine. The legal owner then has a year to come forward and prove ownership of the item. Legitimate salvors are entitled to a salvage award in recogniti...

Here I go again, spouting off about the state of the ocean. Well, yes. But this time I want to propose something really positive. A solution. So here it is. Recently I’ve started doing mini beach cleans every time I go to the beach. I call them my #2minutebeachcleans and all I do is spend 2 minutes picking up a few bits of litter and disposing of them. It takes 2 minutes, which is actually longer than it takes me to  me to take a picture and post it to instagram @martindorey and twitter @campervanliving . Considering the scale of the problem this really is a pathetic, meaningless gesture, isn’t it? With every tide comes more plastic that’s been dumped, lost or washed into the sea so my two minutes really makes no difference at all. Or does it?

Let’s talk about socks. Yes, let’s. It’s coming around to that time of the year when our feet need a little extra care and attention. They don’t like being out so much anymore and need to be looked after a little more than they did during the sock-free days of the summer that’s just passed. So I thought I’d share with you my sock philosophy. I like good socks. Good socks make me happy. This is because I have lived with poor socks. I have bought many, discarded many and been thoroughly fed up with many because they got holed or fell apart or just weren’t up to the job of keeping my poor little tootsies out of temperature-related trouble. I have regretted buying cheap socks many times, especially on camping and surfing trips and when I used to work in the film industry and spent days on end standing about on location. Getting cold feet is a very unpleasant experience, and once chilled, the pinkies take ages to warm up again. As I said, I’ve been there.  A few y...

I went for a walk with the dog last week and came across the tent in the picture. I love the audacity of the pitch. It's right there, on the beach, with a pretty good view. They even had their own picnic bench. Looking on, I enjoyed the fact that they had the cheek to pitch up on council property, without permission (I can only assume) and were rewarded with that fabulous view. Slightly jealous, I imagined myself waking in that spot, watching the waves, brushing my teeth, greeting a shiny, brand new day as the sea breeze blew in my hair. It was a nice thought. Then I found myself thinking about who it was who had pitched, whether or not they had permission, who owned the land and whether or not they had pitched late at night to avoid being seen, challenged and thrown off the plot. I pondered the legal situation. I even questioned myself in thinking it was cheeky. Why? Because they were flouting the law? Technically, they needed permission from the landowner, so, if it was n...

Maggie hanging out with the Rothfink crew Hello again. I went to Devon Dub Fest this weekend. I was invited along by the team to give out prizes for the Show and Shine Competition. I gladly did it. They give all their profits to CLIC Sargent, the charity that did so much for us when Maggie was ill with leukaemia. It's a remarkable thing to do and is to be applauded - especially when you consider the work they put in. If you have never heard of CLIC Sargent or don't know what they do or why they have inspired me so much too, then please have a read of the blog I did for them here. Anyway, the dedication of the team at DDF got me thinking. So that's why I am going to donate £5 for every copy of my book, 'The Camper Van Coast', that I sell through my website at www.martindorey.com throughout August. That's it. It's the least I could do. And I'll sign every copy too. Thanks. Enjoy the summer. Click here to buy the book.

Sometimes you need to stop for a moment and take stock. It happened to me on Saturday, during a busy day looking after the campers on the last of this summer's Wild Weekends. I had just finished serving a seafood paella with razor clams, smoked dogfish (that we'd caught on our long line) and barbecued chicken. I had spent all day cooking, washing up and making sure my guests were well looked after and having fun. The fire was burning, the marshmallows were toasting, the sun was going down in the meadow and the temperature was still in the high twenties. I opened a beer (it had been chilling in the river next to the camp site) and sat down in the grass to listen to Nat play guitar and sing. Looking around our campsite, I reminded myself to remember this moment, because later, when I would be washing up again, the gloss would have gone from the camping experience. After all the work I had done setting up the Wild Weekends and all the work still to come to clear up the camp...

This video is one of the pieces of work I am most proud of. It is the long version of the film that got me the gig at the BBC and it was the first time I had been in front of the camera either talking or cooking. I spent a day with Chris Harris in North Cornwall doing what I love doing most - walking on the beach, driving my van and eating nice grub. As it turned out I think the film shows it off pretty well. It's a nice life. Sadly the van has now gone, but its spirit lives on. That jumper is just about dead too. Music by my friends The Adventure Babies. You can download the track here:  http://www.adventurebabies.com/

Now, you may or may not know that my family and I recently moved to Bude in Cornwall. It's a great town with lots going for it, including an amazing tidal swimming pool. We use it a few times a week and I have recently become a sponsor of the Friends of Bude Sea Pool. This is because it has been under threat since the local council withdrew their funding of it. We love the pool and see it as a vital part of Bude and its tourism-based economy. So I am pleased to be able to post a note for some very dedicated swimmers who are doing a big swim to help save it. "Next weekend, Rob and Victoria will take part in the Great North Swim, the largest open water swimming event in the UK.  Robert is tackling two miles of Lake Windermere and Victoria will be swimming one mile, both of them in chilly and challenging conditions. And they’re taking on this substantial swim for an excellent cause – the historic tidal swimming pool at Bude in North Cornwall. Rob and Victoria exp...

Did I say that I had another book out? Of course I did. It’s been bubbling away for about a year now. And it seems that, from those who have taken the time to review it, it’s been really well received. So, forgive me whilst I do a bit of selling. I loved writing The Camper Van Coast and I always felt it was a lovely book, thanks to the work of Saltyard Books . I’m sure you’ll like it too. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the reviewers on Amazon wrote: “Just what you need to take on holiday, Full of useful tips and suggestions.” “Highly recommend this book! Lovely recipes, invaluable tips, destination recommendations etc. Makes you want to instantly get behind the wheel and drive, drive, drive! So much fun to be had out there!” “I liked this so much, we brought the other one too, great recipes and a good read, it makes you want to grab your camper keys and go to Cornwall with your surf board and some food for some fun and great eating.” “A really nice book whi...

I don’t think of myself as accident prone. I really don’t. So why then do things keep happening to me? I keep injuring myself. This last weekend I damaged myself on the nose whilst on a camping trip to check out a brand new site at TheMeadows Pentewan in Cornwall. I was chopping wood to put on the fire. Admittedly it was late and I had enjoyed some cider earlier in the evening so perhaps it was the fault of the alcohol or even my fault for thinking that I was capable of chopping wood late at night. Anyway, the piece of wood I was chopping bounced into the air and hit me square on the nose very hard. It hurt. My teeth felt like they were about to fall out and my septum felt as if it had been crushed by an elephant, but at least the bridge of my larger-than-average hooter (noses run in our family) felt intact. No break, just a loss of dignity and some big LOLs from my twitter followers. It got me thinking. Why is it that I am constantly coming home from camping trips, surf tri...

OK. So you’ve set your heart on getting a camper. That’s brilliant and we look forward to welcoming you to the club. But first you’ll need to work out what kind of camper will suit you and your family. I get asked quite a lot about this kind of thing so I thought I’d scribble down what I know. I hope it helps, but if I’ve missed anything, feel free to comment below… The basic truth is that VW campers (and most other campers made out of standard sized vans) are small. They fit in a normal car parking space and aren’t even that wide. So the fact that they are campers is basically down to clever use of space. Conversion companies do great jobs of fitting it all in. All conversions are different. So when buying a van it’s really important to think very carefully about what will work for you. I know this. Now that I am on to my fourth VW camper I know a little about what works for me.  What was perfect when I was young free and single would not be perfect for me now. There are...

If I had a penny for every time I get asked when 'One Man and his Campervan' is coming out on DVD I'd have about thirty pee by now. I know. It seems that, for some reason, my TV show, which first aired on BBC2 in February 2011, has proved quite popular among campers, dreamers, outdoor lovers and VW fans and drivers. I get lots of tweets and emails from all over the world to say how much they enjoyed it. It's such a nice thing to happen. So thank you everyone. Now I'm not saying it's cult viewing or anything like that, rather that I appreciate the fact that so many people enjoyed it and want to see it again. Lots of people recently discovered it for the first time on Quest too. The only thing about that was that they had to cut a lot out to fit in the adverts, which meant that some classic moments were missed. My friend Justin, who had all the best lines in the first show, lost his moment to the cutting room floor, as did Steve Bell, from Cookin' Camper ...

I have been thinking about perfect weekends. I've been trying to think about what would make up the perfect mini camper van break. My first book 'The Camper Van Cookbook' was set out like a weekend, with recipes and ideas for cooking and camping from Friday to Monday morning. It all seems rather perfect. But anyone who knows camper vans and camping knows that it hardly ever turns out like that. But what if it could? What if you could organise a weekend with wild camping, foraging, surfing, fishing and singing songs around the camp fire as part of the deal? What if you could just turn up and join in the fun? What if you could have all the good stuff without having to go searching or doing loads of research? I've done just that. I know it's not easy to find perfect pitches if you don't know an area well. I know that it's hard to forage if you are unsure of what you're looking for. And I know that it's very difficult to find a wild camping spot ...

My rubber hammer is getting a lot of use this year. It lives in the van, under my seat, and gets used to give the rear brake drums a quick knock if I haven't driven it for a few days. After a little while sitting idly on the drive during damp weather with the handbrake on, the drums can seize up quite easily. Sometimes they will free themselves when I drive off but, from time to time, a little extra help from the hammer is what they need.

No one likes washing up. Or am I alone in thinking that? Maybe I am. But washing up is the dark side to cooking, and unless you eat off disposable plates every night, it's something we all have to go through at some time or other. And never more so than when camping. It's one of those awful realities. Washing up on the campsite is harder than at home, especially if you are wild camping. There are no dishwashers out there in the countryside, only plastic bowls and dishcloths. Kettles must be boiled, bowls filled, tea towels sought, dryer-uppers cajoled. And woe betide anyone who uses all the pans when they cook tea. Especially when it's my  turn to rub a few miserable and begrudging suds into the melamine. Yup. I hate washing up.