Campervanning

The roller-home lifestyle of campervan adventuring gives you maximum comfort and the freedom of the road, says

The joy of camping on wheels, aka #VanLife

The hills were hidden in night when I arrived. Rivulets of water ran down the windscreen, were swiped away, then trickled down again. When I pulled over, rain thrummed on the roof. I’d been on the road for five hours and rubbed a tired itchy eye, before wearily kicking off my shoes and clambering into the back of the van. A bed was already made up – a fat roll-out mattress, a couple of blankets and pillows and my puffy down sleeping bag. I got changed, brushed my teeth and climbed into all that softness. Despite the tiredness, a thread of excitement and anticipation ran through my veins, and I smiled and fidgeted in the darkness. I’m in the mountains. And then I was asleep.

I woke with the sun lighting the van. The window showed clouds arching over the highest hills. I pulled open the van’s side door, legs snug in my sleeping bag, and from my little metal cave looked out onto a lake dappled with blue, silver and green. A single goose’s honk echoed off the surrounding hills. This view would be better with tea. Click, woomph, the kettle bubbled as steam filled the van and drifted out the open door to evaporate in the still morning air. It would be better still with breakfast, and I rummaged around in a box full of food. The sun broke the clouds apart. It was getting too lovely to hang around, so I hastily changed into my walking gear, packed a light bag and jumped out. I’d planned my walk for that day but the rest of the trip was an open book. I had a week, a movable home and a road map spread on the dash. My warm van would be waiting when I got back... and who knows where we’d go next?

I PULLED OPEN THE VAN’S SIDE DOOR, LEGS SNUG IN MY SLEEPING BAG, AND FROM MY LITTLE METAL CAVE LOOKED OUT ON A LAKE DAPPLED WITH BLUE, SILVER & GREEN