Khyam impressions in the wind...

Having spent the last few days camping right at the edge of the Llyn Peninsula, with a less than favourable forecast, it was hard to avoid the wind. Driving rain and gusts up to 70mph were on the cards and the Khyam dealt with them extremely well.

Where others failed...

...the Khyam stood firm.

Partly down to the design I think; the 'flexible' knee joints of the pole system allow for a little bit of give in the heavier gusts while the feet are firmly pegged down - the only thing I would change would be to add a rope in the middle of the 'drive-away' side to hold the awning firm when the van isn't there.

The only slight annoyance was during the heavier, late-night gusts, with the tunnel section attached to the multi-rail it would billow and pull the van - a similar feeling to someone occasionally, and quite violently, rocking the van whilst we're trying to sleep. This was rectified by simply not attaching the van to the awning for nights two and three!

All I need to do now is to tell myself the Khyam will stand firm and that there's no need to check on it every couple of hours (something that is quite difficult in a howling gale!)

On the level...

I absolutely hate sleeping on a slope; feet down and you're constantly pulling at duvet all night, feet up and you're asking for a monster headache the next day.

One of our first ever investments was a set of chocks to remedy this and make sure we're pretty much level wherever we camp - we now have a set of four due to camping on some pretty steep gradients in Wales.

Until recently our only method of checking we were getting close to level was to either A: check which way the sliding door slid open (only good for front-to-back) or B: make a brew or pour a beer and place the drink on the van floor to check the level.

All of this seems crazy when, for only a couple of quid, we could fit this just inside the sliding door:

Finally, no more arguments about it 'looking' level! Simply place chocks under the appropriate wheels and creep up them until the bubble hits the centre of the indicator - why we've waited so long to get one of these I'll never know?!

Needless to say, I'll still be pouring a beer when we're chocked-up!

Stanford Hall 2011

Stately camping

In total contrast to last month's Bustypes, Stanford Hall couldn't have been more relaxed; no rush to get there mega-early just to bag a camping spot, no wristbands, proper toilet facilities that are cleaned and checked throughout the weekend, plenty of space to camp, a quiet night's sleep (rare at any v-dub show!), a good choice of food stalls that don't look to be run by unhygienic gypsies ready to mug you of £5 for an undercooked slab of burger... in all a 10/10 event - I guess the weather helped too.

If every you wanted to see the family-tree from which your Volkswagen has descended, then Stanford Hall is a must visit - see you there next year.

Nobody likes a thief...

Just giving the van a quick clean before the annual trip to Stanford Hall when I notice this:

It looks to my like a blatant case of 'I want what you've got'; a mindless attempt to remove one of the BBS centre caps. Stuff like this leaves me in a mixture of anger and sadness - what's the point in grafting my arse off to afford a few little luxuries only to have some moronic turd think they can walk up and take your possessions?

My only hope is this didn't happen at Bustypes. I'm hearing more and more on the forums about thefts at shows and it would bother me if it happened there.

So where to go from here? Buy a spare set of centre caps (around £50 with p&p) in preparation for the eventuality? Better security down the side of the house where the van is stored? Go back to steel wheels? Baseball bat?

Bustypes 2011

I suppose with fewer jobs to do on the van and spending more time in the van, I should probably turn my attentions elsewhere. Something that has been close to my heart for many years is the VW show scene - albeit something of a love/hate relationship...

The first foray into the v-dub scene was with a 1966 Beetle. I quickly grew an understanding of the cal-look and resto-cal vibe that our car had fallen into. There were (and still are) awesome show-cars to look-up to and take inspiration from - something to aspire towards. Same when we had the T3; other people's take on style - interior and exterior - what modifications worked, there was always something out there to help raise the bar.

One of the nicest vans at this year's Bustypes

But walking around the camping fields and showground of Bustypes I found nothing in the form of a T5 that made me stop and look (and I mean really look!). Where are the mould-breakers and risk-takers? Is the T5 still too 'new' within the v-dub scene?

I chatted to one guy with a T3 Karmann Gypsy who, when I pointed out my old T3 and my T5 parked in front of it, said 'don't like T4s or T5s, what's the point, hate 'em...'. I laughed, we chatted some more, and as I walked off I said I'm sorry you don't like T5s - more out of pity than for the sake of being apologetic.

The old van, the current van.

I guess this makes me more determined to stick my van in a show line-up some time - I've nothing to lose - it might not be the lowest, shiniest, loudest or most ground-breaking. But I'm passionate about it, it is unique to me, and that's all that matters.

On another note; I always start to worry for a show when it reaches 'AA yellow sign' status. Gone are the 'bit of cardboard with a VW logo and an arrow' days. The show has become almost too popular - will there ever be enough toilets (and enough toilet cleaners) at a show? And what's with people bringing caravans? I don't mean those cute Eriba Pucks but modern, ugly, pikey caravans - they don't really belong - maybe a separate field should be put aside for these?

Finally, it was good to meet Matt (albeit briefly) who tracked me down having recognised the van from the blog. Cheers for the feedback and I'm glad the blog has been of some help. See you again soon, and I'll try and be a bit more awake next time...

Camping Local

The cheapest Bed, Breakfast and Evening Meal in the Dales

So often we take for granted the countryside that is closest to home. Living in Skipton, North Yorkshire, I'm fairly privileged to have the Dales on my doorstep. For that reason (and the added good weather forecast) we decided on a quick overnighter in Kettlewell.

No more than 30 minutes up the road is the Causeway campsite; small and perfectly situated for the village's three pubs, walks by the river and, in my case, a spot of mountain biking.

With Mrs. Stone174 and her mother sampling every cake the WI could offer in the village hall, I grabbed my well-thumbed OS Explorer map and took off... upwards! It's a climb in almost every direction out of the village!

Glorious single-track bridleway

Technical, rocky decent

Needless to say, two beers, a meal and a read of the paper and I was ready for bed.

So next time you start planning that trip or weekend away, take a look closer to home - you may be surprised by what you find...