campervanliving

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...