Fill Her Up

Tank Girl from Wicked Campers (wickedcampers.co.uk) is a cool machine - everyone seems to think so. She is not light on petrol use, that's for sure, but then she's a five seater with a kitchen and sink and bed thrown in too. I was a bit weary about driving her, especially in central London, but she was a dream and much easier to manouvere than any white van I have driven. 

'Are You on the Run?'

With my son in the driving seat, we set off on our adventure. But when we arrived at our campsite I realised how unprepared we were. Darkness had fallen and I hadn't a cable to connect to the electricity. A woman I met outside the bar who was sipping on sweet wine and smoking a cigarette, looked at me in disbelief. 'You do have a torch?' 'No, but I have a light on my phone', I ventured hopefully, at which point she looked me right in the eye, and asked me point blank 'Are you on the run?' before breaking into a deep throaty laugh.

www.wickedcampers.co.uk
@wickedcamperseu

My Bed's Not Bouncy!

My three year old is well used to boutique hotels and the first thing he does on arrival is check out the bed for bounce, invariably asking, 'where are you going to sleep mummy'? But despite his high living, I think his favourite place to sleep has been our oh so cool camper van.

There is something so exciting about having the freedom of the open road while knowing you have your bed with you - whatever your age. We packed his kids oven so he could 'cook' while I brewed a cup of tea roadside and his little bike was safely stored under the big back seat. And he and his little friends spent hours playing inside with 'Tank Girl' parked on our street.

Camping and Caravanning for the New Generation

'Wicked' pronounced one teenage bystander, appropriately enough about my camper van from Wicked Campers. 'Is that you?' a middle age woman asked, rather flatteringly, pointing at the life-size version of Tank Girl on the side of the van. My toddler loves her and the vehicle, begging me daily to get in 'Tank Girl' simply to go to a car park.

In the UK we tend to think of campervanning either as a dull pursuit of retirees or as something that only dirty backpackers do as a way of getting around big countries such as Australia. Wicked Campers (www.wickedcampers.co.uk) is unusual for a rental company in that it lets you take its vans anywhere in Europe, but I was happy to stay in this country, pottering around within a couple hour radius of London with my little one.

Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside...

We jumped in our camper van in east London and were in Whitstable within the hour. Young JJ dined on oysters and haddock and an ice cream as big as he was - nearly. We left on a whim - the weather was beautiful and when we arrived discovered all the hotels were full. No worries, though, as we discovered the wonderful Homing Park, a caravan park complete with restaurant and bar. I managed to get a flat battery (lights left on from the Blackwall Tunnel) but the lovely accommodating Julie let us in after hours. 

The family-owned campsite provides electricity (although I was not organised to have a cable) and boasts award-winning showers it seems. Their family room (shower and toilet) certainly boasted a shower that managed to soak me, JJ and all our clothes, which was a shame as I had only brought a tea towel to dry ourselves with. 

Homing Park,

Church Lane,

Seasalter,

Whitstable,

Kent, CT5 4BU

+44 (0)1227 771777

http://www.homingpark.co.uk

‘Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans’

It's been a long time since I travelled with no plans, just seeing where I ended up. I used to do it all the time as a backpacker but now I am a mother in my 40s, it doesn't seem possible – or is it?
I picked up my camper van with no fixed plan - other than to take to the road, and play it my ear, and perhaps follow the weather.

The fruit and veg stallholder at my local market cheerfully offered to write me an itinerary, rushing off, only to come back with a tattered bit of cardboard with a series of place names written on it (see pic).
I put it on the dashboard alongside a sticker on the windscreen of my van from Wicked Campers (www.wickedcampers.co.uk) that said: ‘life is what happens to you when you are making other plans’ and took off for the open road.

A Very British Road Trip

I have been on road trips in Australia (three months, much of it in the desert) and the States (Route 66 and all that), but never in the UK. Something about the size of our little island doesn't seem to justify it. And anyway, camper vans are for 20 somethings, right?
Well, now I have a three year old and am currently (for complicated reasons) unable to travel outside the UK, I decided to road test this theory. I jumped in a camper van with my  toddler in tow and decided to find out for myself.

Wicked Campers www.wickedcampers.co.uk