Getting away: part three

A little bit of planning goes along way.

Now I'm not one of these people that has a detailed itinerary planned-out for a week away, but a small amount of planning (whilst sat at my desk at work) can go a long way to getting the most out of what little time we have away.

We usually take two, week-long holidays a year; one before the kids break up for summer holidays, and one when they've gone back to school. One of these weeks will usually be in my beloved Cornwall, the other will be somewhere different - uncharted waters so to speak.

And for that reason I like to do a bit of planning ahead - how much driving between destinations, campsites for each night, and things to do near those sites. Made so much easier over recent years with the likes of GoogleMaps, Streetview etc.

The holiday will start at the Camping & Caravanning Club site at Blackmore. Close to the Malvern Hills and within a brisk walk of Vanfest for a Sunday visit. We'll stay here until Tuesday morning then set of through Hereford for our destination at Builth Wells where we're hoping to camp by the river close to town.

Wednesday will see us heading up through scenic Wales to one of the C&CC's Forest sites at Beddgelert. I'm hoping this will be a great base for a day (and maybe a night's) mountain-biking with the forest being right on the doorstep. We're also hoping to tackle Snowdon - by means of the rack-railway! Then heading home at the weekend.

You will have noticed that I stipulate 'only minimal planning' as I always find the holidays tend to become organic and we often end up deviating from initial plans - no harm in that I suppose.

Finally, as I don't know this part of Wales at all, I'd be grateful of any tips you can share - places to go, things to avoid etc. Thanks.

Stone in Print

Happiness is a full page feature!

I was merely browsing the forums the other day when I noticed a plea for T5 owners to come forward and give their story for a forthcoming issue of Volkswagen Driver Magazine.

And after my previous foray with fame with the Best looking van competition, I thought I'd chance my luck.

A few emails, attachments and a bit of copy-writing later and here we are, taking up a page of a national magazine. I've got to say, they've done a really good job of breaking the stereotype of campervanners as middle-aged, weekend-hippies who visit National Trust properties and have really boosted the image of the T5 as a high quality, do-it-all, leisure vehicle - something I was keen to get across in my little piece.

And I'm really pleased with it - I admit I'm not the world's best writer (and I thought journalistic license might have taken over with a bit of judicial editing) but the article is pretty much word-for-word as I originally emailed it over - maybe they were up against a tight deadline?!

If you're struggling to find a copy of Volkswagen Driver in the shops, you can purchase a copy here.

Show report: VW Festival

Not so much of a report as a mini-rant.

I can fully appreciate running a show of this size takes a lot of balls. Not to mention commitment of time and resources, but there's a few factors that - when combined - can easily make or break a show.

You never see posters for Vanfest around Malvern or Worcester?

We camped there last year on a trade plot, this year however we decided not to. Aggressive marketing of the show with posters around Leeds city centre and adverts on local radio promoting the event more as a 'festival' than a show (I know, the clue is in the name), we decided that just a Sunday visit was in order.

Sunday would also be a great opportunity to stick the Lupo in cars-for-sale. So, early start, sandwiches packed and away we go. Into traffic queues far greater than previous years - Harewood House is a total bottle neck - something seriously needs to be done about access. After sitting in traffic for over an hour we were through the gate. Stopping briefly at one of the orange hi-viz wearing event staff to ask if we could put the car in the cars for sale area. "Full" was the short reply, "follow everyone else".

Okay, I thought to myself, maybe we had to be here when the gates opened. We parked up in general parking and wandered into the show - straight to the cars for sale area - loads of space!!!

So, over to another hi-viz, this time making sure we found an 'organiser' and not event 'management'. "Is there any chance of getting our car into cars for sale?" we politely asked.
Some muffled walkie-talkie'ing followed. They clearly didn't want the hassle and came up with various reasons why it would be difficult (Still not midday yet - and isn't this a one day show?) so I merely said "fair enough, we didn't have this problem last weekend at Tatton Park" and walked off.

As wonderful a location as Harewood is, I can't help thinking the show shouldn't be there. The event staff seemed overly precious about glass bottles - to the point of coralling my friend back to his trade plot when he went for a walk with a bottle in his hand - now I know there are implications with livestock using the show area etc. but he's a responsible adult - give the man some credit.

Traffic management - as already mentioned, this seems almost non-existent. Trying to get thousands of cars through an archway entrance and a couple of gates is never going to work. This is totally down to Harewood's location and thus needs stronger management - look at the Three Counties Showground and Vanfest - trade gate, camping gate, day visitor gate, exit-only gate and so on.

There's two things that any show can never have enough of - toilets and dustbins - these seemed to be lacking. Whilst queueing to get out (another hour or so) we noticed large amounts of campsite rubbish blowing across empty fields - a carrier bag is just as dangerous to livestock as broken glass. And those tardis-like portaloos, there's never enough of them. Selling out all your tickets then creating more overflow camping means you're going to need much more in the way of facilities.

The show itself is fantastic; a high number of quality show cars, some great trade stands, a good 'vibe' about the place and nice weather all go some way to redeem the negative points. VW Festival is a well organised event. Just not a well managed one. With rumours of it becoming a two-day show next year (and probably a hike in the ticket cost) I'm not sure I'll be attending...

Getting away: part two

So you've arrived on site. Not driving again today? Crack open a beer! One question often asked is how do you keep your pitch on a site when you've driven off for a day out? I guess these days this only applies to sites where you are allowed to go anywhere in the field and aren't allocated a specific area.
There are a few methods; we usually leave a windbreak up, or at least leave a pair of chocks out - being bright yellow they tend to get noticed quite easily. I'm not really a fan of those little signs with your registration number on them, I find them a bit twee...

Next on the agenda is usually food (a subject that is rarely far from my mind). This is where the day's eating is often dictated by the weather - I quite like this style of only planning a few hours in advance - one of the great reasons campervanning is so appealing; flexibility.

For a week in Cornwall we only take basic provisions. These are usually the 'rainy-day' items; a few tins, some pasta, a jar of pesto, bags of crisps etc. It's always worth getting the local papers when you arrive and find out when and where the local farmers' markets are; Truro is Wednesday and Saturday and is a great opportunity to pick local breads and cheeses (and pasties!) good enough for beach snacks and lunchtime grazing. Local butchers and supermarkets are great for picking up items for barbecues, again- depending on the weather!

We'll also decide on a couple of days to eat out. Nothing fancy, although we do like the odd restaurant treat every now and then. Finding a good takeaway chinese or pizza, to be eaten by a beach or harbour, can make a great evening - ask a local which is best. Just remember not to fill the van with pungent aromas just before bedtime!

Cooking inside the van is quite rare for us - maybe the odd pan of boiling water for pasta or new potatoes to go with a barbecue - this is where the twin-slider comes into it's own:

A restaurant with a view: cooking in the car park above Harlyn Bay

Loads of ventilation from sliding the door open makes cooking in the van feel almost like being outside - no mess, no fuss, no smelly interior.
The golden rules (as with most things campervan) are; think small and simple, a little preparation goes along way, and never leave any rubbish behind.

Over the years we've eaten in some great locations, something that just isn't possible with any other type of holiday. Here's to many more great camper meals!

Amongst a different crowd

Diversity. That's the name of the game. It is so easy to become blinkered by the vehicles we see at each and every show, so every now and then it's nice to mix things up a bit - like modern cars? Go to a classic car show. Like aircooled v-dubs? Go to GTI event... and so on.

So this morning we took a trip over to Awesome GTI in Manchester for the DetailedUK Summer Bash. I was expecting a handful of cars, maybe 30 or so. What I was greeted with were several large car parks full of quality motors from the water-cooled scene.

The van drew a few looks from passers-by even though the budget is nowhere near some of the machinery on display. But for a couple of T4s and a Sportline T5 we where the only other van there. Which is cool - it gives the crowd that only ever sees Lupos, Golfs and various Audis something different to look at.

The visit has certainly inspired me to finish off the van in a few areas - some final carpet lining, tidying up the interior, colour-coding the bumpers... and it would be nice if the van was a little lower too!

UPDATE: a few photos of the shiny modified motors here: http://stone174.tumblr.com/

And the runner-up is...

...well, one of five to be precise!

I thought I'd enter a recent competition by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to find the UK's best looking van. Okay, I know grey bumpers and a few scratches and dings are never going to win any beauty contests but I thought a few pictures and a considered entry email which explained the van was built to be used and not just looked at, might have stood my in good stead.

Plus the winning price of £1000 to spend on VW accessories sounded very tempting. So I entered.

Congratulations to Gordon Wood from Scotland for a tasty looking T4 and to all the other runners-up, all good looking vans. Maybe next time...