campervanliving

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...