The Anxious Book Worm

So, welcome to the travel section of my little corner of the internet.

If you’ve found your way here from my book reviews or poetry, you might be wondering what on earth a VW campervan is doing amongst Kindle recommendations and emotional poems about life. Honestly? I’m wondering the same thing.

But writing has always been my thing.

I love writing book reviews. I love writing poetry. I love getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper (or a screen). And now that campervan adventures have become part of our lives, I want somewhere to document those too.

Will anyone actually read all of this?

Probably not.

But that’s never really been the point.

Sometimes it’s just nice to write things down, look back on them years later, and remember the little moments that would otherwise be forgotten.

And trust me, there are going to be plenty of moments worth remembering.

The Research Phase (AKA: Years of Our Lives)

For those who know me and Ben, you’ll know we’re probably the most organised, over-researching, spreadsheet-loving duo ever to exist.

When I say we researched campervans, I mean RESEARCHED.

We’ve spent years going backwards and forwards over whether a campervan, caravan, or motorhome would suit us best.

We’ve watched every YouTube video known to mankind.

We’ve been to caravan and motorhome shows.

We’ve compared layouts.

Compared costs.

Compared storage.

Compared things we didn’t even know needed comparing.

Honestly, we’ve done everything apart from buying the t-shirt.

The biggest hurdle?

Ben.

Now, Ben is a “what if” person.

What if it’s too small?

What if we don’t use it?

What if we spend all that money and hate it?

What if, what if, what if…

So a few weekends ago, I convinced him to put our bathroom renovation plans on hold for a day and head up to Preston and Leyland “just for a look.”

Because obviously nobody has ever bought a vehicle after saying they’re just having a look…

The One

We spent the day wandering around dealerships.

To be honest, there wasn’t a huge amount available.

Or there was…

…if you happened to have £80,000-£90,000 casually lying around.

We do not.

So after a slightly disappointing morning, we found ourselves sat in a lovely little coffee shop in Leyland.

As you do, we were scrolling through listings when Ben found a place called Todd’s.

We thought, why not?

Let’s have one more look.

We drove over, met a lovely guy called Andrew, and explained what we were after.

He smiled and said:

“We’ve got one in stock.”

Then he walked us over to what can only be described as the most beautiful campervan I’ve ever seen.

The colour? Perfect.

The interior? Gorgeous.

The mileage? Low.

The conversion? Exactly what we wanted.

The more we looked, the more boxes it ticked.

Which was slightly annoying because we’d only come for a look.

We went home to think about it.

Then we put an offer in.

And before we knew it…

…we were campervan owners.

Finally.

The First Trip

Now because we don’t do things by halves, we decided our first night away should be the very same day we picked the van up.

Normal people might have spent a few weekends practising.

Not us.

We booked a campsite near our friends’ evening wedding reception and thought:

“How hard can it be?”

Famous last words.

Missing Millie

There was one person missing though.

Millie.

I wish more than anything that she could have come on this journey with us.

She would have absolutely loved every second of it.

The walks.

The snacks.

The attention from strangers.

The chance to supervise every single thing we were doing.

So I brought her little urn of ashes with me.

And her teddy.

The teddy I sleep with every night, made from her blankets, harness, bed and little steps.

It’s my way of keeping her close and bringing her on every adventure with us.

Because she will always be part of our story.

So… How Did We Do?

Honestly?

Most things went surprisingly well.

The bed was comfy.

(Thank you, Duvalay.)

The food was amazing.

(Thank you, Chef Kate.)

The weather was lovely.

The company was… acceptable.

I only wanted to murder Ben approximately nine million times.

Which, for a first trip in a confined space, feels like a success.

The biggest lesson?

Organisation.

Now this is painful for me to admit because I consider myself the Queen of Organisation.

Labels.

Lists.

Storage systems.

Colour coding.

I love it.

But campervan organisation is a whole different level.

Because the reality is you don’t actually know how you’re going to live in a van until you’ve spent a night in one.

So despite all my planning, every five minutes I was hearing:

“Kate, where’s the tea bags?”

“Kate, where’s the charger?”

“Kate, where’s the plates?”

“Kate, where’s the…”

And I was trying so hard to maintain a chilled campervan vibe while mentally drafting a filing system for every cupboard.

But it taught me something.

Nothing has to be perfect.

Especially not on your first trip.

We learned more in one night than we did in months of research.

And now we know what needs tweaking before our next adventure.

The Public Humiliation Section

Can we also talk about arriving last?

Every other camper looked like a military operation.

People pulling up effortlessly.

Chairs out.

Awnings up.

Drinks poured.

Looking like seasoned professionals.

Meanwhile, there was us.

Standing around looking confused.

Reading instructions.

Moving things.

Moving them again.

Pretending we knew what we were doing.

Knowing full well that we did not.

You know people were watching.

You KNOW they were.

But honestly?

That’s how you learn.

We picked up loads of ideas just by watching what everyone else was doing.

And next time we’ll be the ones pretending we know what we’re doing.

What Will We Change?

A few things became very obvious.

Storage Boxes

Everything needs a home.

We’ll definitely be getting storage boxes so we can simply grab the coffee and tea box when it’s brew time instead of rummaging through cupboards like we’re on a treasure hunt.

A Drive-Away Awning

As much as I love the van, space is precious.

There are some things you don’t need often but still need to bring.

An awning will give us somewhere for all those bits and stop the van feeling cluttered.

Clean space, tidy mind and all that.

Cooking Outside

I don’t mind cooking.

I hate lingering food smells.

The moment bacon is cooked inside, it’s like the van wants to remember it forever.

So if the weather is nice, we’re cooking outdoors.

Simple.

What’s Next?

This is just the start of our little campervan journey.

I’ll be documenting the places we visit, reviewing campsites, sharing local coffee shop recommendations, walks, bike rides, hidden gems and all the things we learn along the way.

There will probably be mistakes.

There will definitely be overpacking.

There will almost certainly be moments where one of us loses something that was “put somewhere safe.”

But that’s all part of the adventure.

So here’s to our first trip.

The first of many.

And here’s to making memories, carrying a little piece of Millie with us wherever we go, and discovering what life looks like from the driver’s seat of a grey and white VW campervan.

See you on the next adventure. 🚐☕