Days out in my campervan in July 2026

We looked at booking a trip in the van with the awning for a couple of weeks exploring the UK coast line but finding camp sites within a short walk of the beach or within a decent bus ride without us having to pack the van up each day and having to drive back and forth and finding parking without 2m barriers was getting complicated and the cost was running at over £1000 for us to sleep in our own van and share a shower and a toilet so it was a no brainer to fly to Crete for around the same price for our annual holiday.

So we had a couple of short stays in the Forest of Dean and in South Wales to visit family on weekends which is what we purchased the van for and as I've said before that 'days out in the van' was always intended more for the colder months.

I took the cat pole with me to drop at a friend's on the way, but she had to work late so I left it at the back of the van. The little girl next to me was disappointed I didn't have the cat with me.

On the last day I loaded it back in along with the washing up and rubbish which I did sorted when I got to her house.

I do wonder if the cat would like to come for a trip as she loves being in the van when it's on the drive?

We had a night camping in Tredegar in Newport, we have to take the washing up away with us there as they shut the toilet, shower and washing up block for cleaning at 10am till midday which drives us mad as check out is at midday and it means that in reality you have to be packed up before 10am or earlier if you want a shower.

My troll collection travelled with us to Newport. I dropped it off my with 2 year old great niece who I'm pleased to say is loving her new collection.

Back to the Forest of Dean and the awning had an outing. It takes two of us to set it up, so not used often. 

I can do it on my own but too much of a flaff in reality.

Well it's been almost 3 years since we purchased the van and oops we'd not seen since since we bought it. I can't believe the gas bottle has lasted this long, it's been threatening to run out for ages.

We're due a service and habitation check in September so I'll purchase a new bottle and get it all ready.

I've been carrying this around for the past few months as in preparation thinking 'surely it must run out soon'

When I camp on my own I often go off grid as we have solar panels, but it's rare I camp without access to a toilet block. We do have a portaloo. This site had lovely showers also and a little cafe. There was electric hook up available at an additional cost and I could fill the tank with water on site. But there was no grey water waste pit to drive over to empty the tank and I don't have a detachable tank, so I waited till I got home.

The grey waste I have is just from washing and teeth cleaning. I don't do washing up in the van and I use the grey waste to water the plant pots.

The water tanks show the grey and fresh water levels and there is a system that allows you to ensure you're not driving with more than 10 litres of fresh water.

Finally we saw another Nugget in the wild. The top pops at the back of the vehicle unlike the Volkswagen's that pop at the front. Let me know if you see a Ford Nugget Westfalia on the road they are few and far between.

Days out in my campervan in June 2026

There really aren't that many days out in the campervan at all, unless you count the days I take the van to work because Peter needs the car or I fill it up with diesel because the Maple Leaf garage near where I work is one of the cheapest in the UK.

In the summer there's no real need for the van on a day out as we'll take a picnic and not really go back to the van to eat it as the car park is usually too far from the event we're attending and who wants to sit in a car park to eat their lunch. If we're at the beach, you can rarely park anywhere near the sea or where you get a decent view other than looking at an industrial or housing estate or you're in the middle of town, so we tend to take the car where we don't have to think about height restriction barriers either and we can access more parking spaces with multi story and underground car parks.

The van seems to be used more for days out in the autumn and winter months when less people are out and about due to the weather, when we prefer to be out, when we can shelter in the van from the rain and the cold, have a picnic in the dry, out the kettle on and get changed and dry out before heading home and it encourages us to get out the house more in the winter months than we did before.

This year I've challenged myself to camp at least one night every month in the van and this month I almost didn't make it. I managed to sneak a night on my friends drive in Monmouth, literally arriving and asking her to move a car as I was setting up.

She offers me a bed in the house each time I go over, but I sleep so well in the van and honestly it's quicker to set up the van than it is for her to have to strip and change a bed after I've stayed.

My friend's drive has a lovely view, you'd never imagine I was in a housing estate. It's lovely and secluded at the end of a cut de sac.

The other side of the fence is a walkway, rarely used other than the occassionaol dog walker, but in the night there was a bit of a panic with a loud thud and a slump, followed by a second and a third. I quietly pressed the lock button on the keys. No further movement and I went back to sleep.

In the morning there was evidence of squirrels or cats having fallen out the tree and sliding down the roof, the windscreen and scurrying away. I suspect they hadn't encountered a sloped vehicle roof before.

I've been googling and following Ford Nugget groups to try and see if there is a better way to fold the material of the roof. It appears that I;m actually folding it better than most and I've shared a few tips of my own in several places. I can fold the roof down in under a minute and I'm that confident I can do it without trapping any of the material on the outside I rarely check these days. I just there was a way to make it look neater on the inside just for my benefit.

The pink material is my bed sheet, that I forgot to tuck away properly.

July's trip so far was to Newport to visit friends and family. Schools break up soon and we'll be off on more travels soon.

Days out in my campervan May 2026

The post this month is about the campervan rather than where I've been in it.

We belong to the caravan and motorhome club. It costs around £66 a year and the facilities are brilliant. We spent the May bank holiday at East Freshwater in Wales and decided to take the blow up awning as there was two of us and the plan was long walks and chilling at the camp site and not taking the campervan off the pitch, plus we knew the weather wasn't going to be the best.

It was one of the smallest pitches we've camped on and a very tight fit.

We were raided during the night by local wildlife. I had a package to send my son in Australia containing a football program, a bar of chocolate and a letter in the yellow bag.

The chocolate was eaten along with a bag of rice out the pantry and the letter was never found.

After that night we put all the food in a sealed box.

The last time we were raided whilst camping, I was in Kruger National Park with the 2 youngest boys and baboons broke into our tent and stole bread and cereal by opening a crate. They also tried to get in the camping fridge, but I'd sealed that with bungie cords, they'd left paw prints everywhere.

We keep meals simple in the van, but we also have a stove that we cook on in the awning. The club house on the neighbouring Parkdean holiday site had an excellent pub/restaurant so we ate there in the evenings and after a cooked breakfast in the mornings, we just had sandwiches or salads in the day.

Next up was my trip to with half the week camping on my son's drive. My eldest grandson referred to me as 'my granny lives on our drive'

Not the best views, but I only slept in it.

I kept the torch charged but being so far north it didn't get dark until nearly 10pm and was light around 5.30am.

I was running the fridge on low and used the lights when the curtains were closed so had to keep a close eye on the leisure battery.

The can was in use every day being loaded and unloaded, back and forth so I had to pack up every morning. Apart from putting the bedding back under the bench seat and folding the roof down, it wasn't too difficult as I was washing and getting dressed in the house and I was able to keep my day to day stuff in the little cubby hole under the sink. As I wasn't cooking in the van either there was little else to pack away.

I did have some parcels to pack and post and letters to write and I retreated to the van once the grandchildren were in bed for some peace and quiet

I did get the occasional visitor though.

The second half of the week I moved up to the parent in laws. I plugged into the mains and as son's house was now empty and we were now waiting for the keys to be exchanged and I'd woken early I had a chilled out morning.

I was now stealth camping as I was parked on the road. But I had the roof popped upend the van plugged into the mains. I couldn't park on the drive as it was on a slope and front to back I'd have either slid down into the small space or out the bed. I needed to park on the flat.

I really don't like the fridge in the van. I can't understand why it doesn't have a door rather than being a cool box. You have to lift everything out and you lose half the surface area once you open the lid so have no where to put stuff. I bought some cheap baskets from B&M and I've declared myself a genius.

I've done my restock and checked dates on the sauce packets and jars of jam and need to buy a new water bottle as I dropped my current one (again) and the lid leaks. I only fill the water tank on arrival at a camp site as it's extra weight. I did travel home with the waste water on this trip as I had no where other empty it.

In the Ford Nugget Facebook group there is a lot of discussion about the best way to fold the pop up roof. I can close the roof in under a minute without trapping any of the fabric or having to use empty Pringle tubes or the top of my head to rest the roof on while I roll up the fabric to stop it getting caught and ripped in the clip. I open the back door and both side doors, start to lower, pull the sides in and roll the back towards me. Our struts support the roof at this height until I'm ready to close.

However the end result is ugly, but I don't care what it looks like.

Next trip is a night or two at the end of June for my birthday, no idea where, probably somewhere in the Cotswolds and a night on my friend's drive.

Days out in my campervan in March 2026

I only had one camping trip in March, a weekend in Wales.

I stopped a night in Barry ready for a parkrun and a visit to watch Barry Town play football on the saturday before heading off to Newport in the evening ahead of visiting my nephew and his family on the Sunday before heading home via visiting a friend in Monmouth.

The campsite in Barry was approximately 3 miles outside the town so on arrival on the Friday night I drove down to the beach to check out the parking for the morning and back via Jenner Park to check out street parking for the afternoon.

The campsite was on a farm.

There were two sets of toilet and shower blocks. This one for general use and a set for disabled travellers as well as washing up facilities and good wifi. It was a very peaceful site with an amazing sunset.

There was some housekeeping as usual. Peter is left handed and I'm not and between us the electricity cable is getting awfully confused.

I really hate how this door opens where the cable is stored. To put it away properly is such a fluff, either from the outside or climbing in through the side door and manoeuvring in a narrow gap. It would be so much easier if the door was detachable.

The van is 2.07m but we have a solar panel fitted so I avoid anything with a height barrier, especially when the ground is uneven. I found a good spot for parkrun.

With great views of the beach.

And now I've mastered the art of folding the roof within a minute, it's lovely to be able to lie down with a cup of tea and read my book after a run with a spectacular view of the sea.

After the football I drove onto Tredegar in Newport where I stayed at the Caravan and Motorhome Club for a night. It's in the grounds of a National Trust Site which we've explored before.

The only downside is that check out is 12pm and the showers shut at 10.15am and it's a pain when you have to rush to pack up so you can get showered before the drive home. Some sites have two blocks and alternate cleaning times.

I pack all the fridge stuff back into the cool bag so when I get home it's ready to lift straight back into the house.

A clean tea towel sits under the bowl to stop it moving around and the dirty cloths are hung up ready just to be taken into the house. And fresh cloths are put back into the van straight away. All the other items, clothes and shoes are packed into the yellow bag ready to be carried in also.

The only other trip I had out in the van in March was to Bath when I took part in an Ultra Challenge. I could have taken the car but it was a long journey both ways around 2 hours each way with a 5 hour walk, so I took the van so I could brew up after wards and have a lie down for an hour to rest before the long drive home.

Our adventures in April took us to Tenby and May I'm off on my own to visit the grandchildren.