Following falling in love with the idea of VW Campervans, we decided to hire a T6 Campervan and holiday for a week in the Cotswolds to see if it would really suit us. With Angharad being pregnant, this was bound to be a good test!
Decisions, Decisions
So the decision had been made, we were going to try this VW Campervan thing. We sat up most evenings having returned home from our trip to Bristol Volksfest (Read the Blog here), and discussed firstly where we thought we might go.
We had looked online and found a number of local companies that hired out converted VW Campervans for you to holiday across the UK and Europe.
Angharad was now nearly five months pregnant and a trip to Europe was immediately shelved for that reason. We didn't want to be so far from home or even out of the UK in case of any emergency.
So UK trip it was. We looked all across the country and some areas we had visited but not had enough time to stay in. We decided on The Cotswolds. We had listed previously and found some lovely quaint villages and towns but had only been passing through so not been able to stay and explore the local area anywhere near as long as we had wanted.
The Van
Next came deciding where to hire the van from. We had a number of local companies to us in Swansea, South Wales but many were West of us and we had intended to travel East to The Cotswolds in the van. As we would only likely have the van for the week, it seemed counter-intuitive to travel West and then have to travel all the way back past our own home to start our journey.
We settled on Sunshine Campers of Bridgend. Sunshine Campers were a subsidiary of T1 Camper Conversions and hired out vans they had kept for their hire business. We knew the quality would be fantastic as we had heard good things about T1 Conversions and if we were essentially hiring one of their own vans direct from them, we would get a great feel for the quality of conversion they provided.
They met our criteria perfectly. We could assess and 'test drive' for a week, their build quality for our future conversion. They were on the journey we were taking to The Cotswolds. They would keep our car in a secure compound at their site whilst we had the van. It made perfect sense. We decided to view the vans they had available.
At the time, Sunshine had four Campervans available. On the dates we need to travel there were only two left available for hire. We chose 'Summer'. Summer was a 2017 VW T6 Transporter 102hp 2.0l Diesel.
We read through the equipment that came as standard in the van and were suitably impressed;
- 112cm wider Rib altair seat/bed (fully crash tested)
- Double front swivel seat
- Pop-top roof with 2 berth upper bed
- Fiamma F45i wind-out sun canopy (optional Vango awning can attach to this)
- 120w Solar Panel helps keep the leisure battery topped up
- Intelligent split-charge system to leisure battery topped up while driving
- 240 volt electric hookup with lead
- VW GTI Blue Trim
- Waeco CRX 50 fridge
- Wallis Duo Hob/Heater this works off diesel in the tank, no LPG
- Sink with fresh water container and electric tap
- Led lighting
- Curtains to all windows
It had everything we needed. We also then read what else was provided to make the trip easier for us;
- Folding outside dining table
- Folding outside chairs for all party members Cadac gas bbq cooking stove
- Fire extinguisher
- Smoke/co alarm
- Dining and cutlery set for 4 persons
- Can opener and cooking utensils Tea/coffee/sugar/salt/pepper/fresh milk
- Pots and pans
- Tea towel
- Dustpan and brush/cleaning wipes/kitchen roll Washing up liquid
- AA breakdown cover
- Free parking for your vehicle at our unit
All we needed to do was turn up and be able to drive!
We hired 'Summer' for the week at a cost of £350. There was a £750 Bond to place in order to satisfy the insurance company but that was returned upon the safe return of the van.
Van hired, it was time to plan the trip. We registered on PitchUp.com and immediately started looking for campsites in the areas we wanted to visit. We found the Pitch Up site very useful and informative. There were plenty of reviews to help us decide if the site was suitable for our needs. We need an electric pitch for the van and wanted to have something at the sites that could entertain Cerys as she was 3 and starting to really enjoy playing outdoors. Staying at a site simply in a field would not be an option as Cerys would soon get bored.
I can thoroughly recommend signing up to PitchUp.com, it was free to sign up and the reviews of the campsites submitted by other users were very honest and very helpful when deciding where to stay.
We collected the van with no fuss at all and were given a demonstration of all of its features. Following this, we hit the road for our first Campervan holiday!
The journey was very comfortable. As the van had a swivel bench front seat, both Angharad and Cerys rode up front with me. Cerys being the designated Co-Pilot, as I'm sure you will learn over time in this blog, Angharad cannot be trusted to give instructions or directions.
I have lost count of how many times she has been gossiping to me about some scandal from her office when I have had to ask "Are we still going the right way? I was expecting you to give me some directions around now". Only to receive the reply "Hmmm, well, it does say we should've turned left a couple of miles back. I've done it again haven't I?"
She has even been known when being the navigator, to have not updated her Google Maps from a previous search (whilst abroad) and rather than giving me directions home from Devon, I've had to question why we were travelling South to find we were actually being directed to drive to Benidorm! A trip she had been on wit the girls a number of weeks previous!
So Cerys was the Co-Pilot!
The van was very comfortable for the journey and had plenty of power, even with the 102h engine. It was long before we arrived at our first campsite in The Cotswolds.
The Riverside Caravan Park, Gloucester
We finally decided to firstly stay a few nights at The Riverside Caravan Park near Gloucester. The reviews of the site were impressive, it had a children's play area and also had a local Pub which served food on site. This was important because we had no idea how Cerys would react to her first meals camping and wanted to have a safety net just in case she was not a fan!
The first few nights were very pleasant at The Riverside. As suggested, the site traced along the bank of a local river. Each pitch was electric and had a large hedge to separate you from the next pitch to ensure privacy. The pitches were very generous in size and there was plenty of room to extend our sun canopy Fiamma Awning.
The van had come with a Safari Chef 2 inside for us to use. I was dubious to say the least about cooking for a family on a camping stove but boy was I wrong.
The Safari Chef was amazing! It had a ridged BBQ grid, a flat griddle plate, a pizza stone, a lid which doubles up as a huge pan and could be used to boil your own saucepans and kettles etc as well. It was so versatile there was virtually nothing it couldn't be used to cook.
We ended up using it most nights to BBQ meats, boil vegetables, cook pizzas, whatever we fancied we could cook.
And the Campingaz cylinder connected to the sink and hob in the van fitted perfectly. It was very easy to clean and to top it all off, when put back in its handy carry bag, fitted perfectly underneath the bench seat as I fit had been designed to go there.
I was lightly impressed and the Safari Chef 2 went immediately onto my list of items I wanted to pick up for any further van we bought.
The site also had a children's play are which was very useful to entertain Cerys and was easy to exit and enter during the days so we could go out on day trips locally.
Whilst staying at the Riverside. We took a couple of day trips. The first was to a town we had visited before whilst passing through and found so idyllic that we had always said we wanted to return again - Bourton-on-the-Water. We spent the day here and entertained Cerys by feeding the ducks at the river that flows through town. We then spent an hour or two in the Motor Museum where Cerys managed to see Brum, a character she was familiar with from television. In reality, I think I was more excited to see Brum having grown up enjoy his adventures on TV!
We also had ice cream and a lovely lunch before walking over to the Model Village. Cerys was intrigued to see so many small buildings and places she could recognise that she had just seen in the town. She thoroughly enjoyed the day out in Bourton and we managed to spend an entire ay here having always wanted to return.
We also spent a day at Stroud. We hadn’t expected much of Stroud in all honesty and it was only going to be a morning stop off on our way through The Cotswolds. We had intended to stop and go for a coffee on the canal and see if we could show Cerys some barges coming through the locks.
However, having parked the van and had our coffee, we then embarked on a walk along the canal. We had visited the exhibition centre at the canal lock and had found out that the canal was undergoing a lot of restoration and there were some nice walks nearby. We started or trek along the canal and came across plenty of duck and wildlife to entertain Cerys.
When Cerys finally began to complain that her legs were getting tired, we decided to meander up from the canal towards the main road. During our walk back along the road, Cerys predictably became hungry and we decided to stop for lunch at the Clothiers Arms, Stroud. We were treated to a quite exceptional tapas style lunch. It had been quite unexpected as we had just ordered a few pieces to nibble on to tide us over until the evening meal. However, when the tapas dishes arrived, we had a mountain of beautifully prepared fresh home cooked food!
If you are ever in Stroud or passing through, this place is definitely worth stopping. The food was truly outstanding!
Completely stuffed, we slowly walked back to the van which had been parked by the canal and decided that we did not need a large evening meal. We had spent far longer than we had expected in Stroud and decided as it was mid-afternoon and Angharad being pregnant and Cerys having only little legs had walked far enough, we would head back to the campsite and allow Cerys the chance to enjoy the Play area whilst we set up the van to camp for the night.
I found the shower and toilet facilities at The Riverside acceptable but Angharad is a little more fussy and felt although they were ok, they could have been updated and a little cleaner. On reflection, I tend to agree with her having now experienced some far better facilities at other sites. However, they were by no means dirty.
We enjoyed our Stay at the Riverside and after a couple of nights, it was time to move on to a different area of the Cotswolds and try a different campsite.
The Pepper Pot Caravan Park, Dursley
The final few nights of our trip were set at the Pepper Pot Caravan Park, Dursley. This site was wonderful!
Upon arrival, we were greeted in the gorgeous sunshine at the gate by the female owner. She was very pleasant and so accommodating. She took time to talk to Cerys and enquire as to how our holiday had been so far. She was very helpful and started to explain to us about lots of local activities and attractions for children nearby. We were shown to our pitch.
In all honestly, the site was almost empty and we had almost the entire place to ourselves. We chose an easy pitch near the entrance so we could come and go as we pleased without interrupting anybody who did happen to arrive.
The site itself was spotless. The shower facilities were appeared brand new and were clearly being cleaned numerous times a day. In fact, they were actually a pleasure to use after a few days living in the van! As were the toilets. It was clear that the owners took great pride in the site and its facilities as well as the service they provided.
Whilst staying at Pepper Pot, we decided to take a trip, on the owners recommendation, to Cattle Country Adventure Park which was a brilliant day out for the family. Cerys had the time of her life seeing the animals and playing on all of the rides and attractions inside. It was very reasonably priced and had plenty for us to do to fill an entire day! If you have children of all ages, this is most certainly well worth a visitor a great day out!
Upon returning to the campsite, we set up the BBQ and opened up the sun canopy to settle down for our evening meal. We were joined shortly after by the site owner who came over, having remembered our daughters name, and sat with her and asked her how her day had been at the Adventure Park. I was unsure at times who had been more excited during the conversation - Cerys reciting the tales of her day or the wonderful owner who was humouring her with plenty of enthusiastic questions and reacting excitedly as only those who have a gift with children do.
We stayed our last couple of nights at Pepper Pot before starting our journey home.
The journey was again very easy in the van and I got a glimpse of what our future holidays could be with our own van. We loved it! Despite Angharad being pregnant, she had not been uncomfortable in the van at all during the trip and this had shown us that we would easily adapt to having our own van once our second child was born.
We begrudgingly returned the van to Sunshine Campers and drove home in our car, discussing the whole journey home what specification and features we would be looking for on our own van.
The first test was passed and our Adventure had well and truly begun!
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