How we got started

Story first sent to Club Magazin:-

Hi Club Magazine,

Last year in August we built a holiday around a trial hire of a VW Campervan, with a basic site, a music festival and a luxury site to finish off. This was our first foray into Campervans, having previously used tents and trailer-tents, but not for years. The idea was to try it out, and build a wish list of criteria for maybe getting our own: we knew we wanted a high top LWB and more storage than the Pop-top we hired, bike rack, awning etc. The last item on the wish list was ‘- Maybe get a Campervan in the next 2 years to coincide with retirement’. So, naturally on the way home from that holiday we viewed and bought ‘Celeste’, a VW T4 Bilbo Celeste, having found a match online to our criteria!

We joined CAMC and there were a few short trips late last year, including Brighton and even a great New Year stay at Black Horse Farm site in Densole. We were both due to retire in 2020, and so set about planning a trip from April when my wife left her teaching job. Obviously the pandemic put a stop to that. However, since then we have done 3 trips including Fairlight Wood and Cirencester Park. It is proving an ideal way to get away in small doses, especially as my wife’s mother cannot now be left for long with dementia. We have trips now planned to Aldersteads Heath and Black Knowl in Brockenhurst, and again plan to use the club right through the year if still possible. One day we’ll put together a long trip including the Norfolk, Wales and North Coast 500, and places in between.