Getting away

One week, one campsite, two people, a thousand things to do.

For some, the thought of spending a week in a van is totally ridiculous - there's no bathroom, kitchen, television or room service. But there is so much more! So over the next few blog-posts I thought I'd share some tips on how to get the utmost from living out of a vehicle for a week.

Tip 1: Maximise your holiday time.
To enjoy every possible minute of our holiday we like to leave straight from work on a Friday. This has several advantages; as we both work in Leeds it is pretty much straight onto the motorway network, we can be in Cornwall for first-thing in the morning, and the long motorway slog is split into two manageable chunks.
Leg one is usually Leeds to Taunton Deane services. We take a break a Donington for a bite to eat and stoke up the caffeine levels then with a good iPod playlist the M42 and M5 just fly by. Arriving at Taunton Deane around 9.30pm we pay for the overnight parking (currently a tenner) and camp up for the night.
Sleeping at the services takes a bit of forethought - always check out where most people park as that's where the traffic will be (including late-night idiots) all night. Try and get away from the passing wagons. Don't go too far into a dark corner and possibly out of gaze of the CCTV should anything untoward happen. Lock all your doors, get some rest.
We like to make the bed before leaving so there is the minimum amount of fuss when all you want to do is get your head down - it is usually just a matter of fitting the window blinds, spinning the passenger seat around and diving under the duvet.

The next morning will probably be an early start for Leg two but this is a good thing; less wagons and caravans by the time you hit the A30. At Bodmin we'll refill the van with cheap supermarket diesel (as oppose the tourist-priced fuel further into Cornwall) then refill ourselves with a full-english breakfast, finally arriving at our campsite at around 10am - luckily they always let us check-in early. If not, take a trip to the beach - they are emptier in the mornings, or stock up on provisions - the same can be said for the supermarkets, especially the ones nearer the resorts, always quieter in the mornings.

Finally, don't forget to relax! There will always be caravans on the A30, there will always be that milk tanker trying to overtake another wagon for the next ten miles and there will always be one idiot trying to cut in at the last minute when the dual carriageway turns back to single lane, keep your location in mind and it won't be long before your feet hit the sand.

Look out for some more van-holiday tips soon...