Grecians on Tour

In 1995 Dad took me to my first football match at St James Park, I can't remember who we played and I'm pretty sure we lost, but I was hooked. Soon after that we had season tickets and until the end of uni saw them play in all sort of glamourous places across the country (as well as a few big grounds in cup ties). Although I don't go to many matches now, I still follow them and their results so I was pretty excited when we drew Liverpool in the FA Cup. I decided not to go to the match, and instead let my dad's mate use my membership to get him a ticket, I could watch on TV like I've done in the past with cup ties.

9mins Nichols scores. 1-0 Exeter. The excitement is too much to bear, I can't sit still and get my turbo trainer out. 1-1, 2-1, 2-2 15mins to hang on to get a replay. It was with 15mins to go that I decided if we were going to Anfield, I was going to be there.

A Tuesday night match would be awkward - up on Tuesday, back on Wednesday. A Wednesday night would be far better, up on Wednesday, back on Sunday. The game was confirmed as being on the Wednesday - perfect! The only time I've been to Liverpool before was to Everton on a weeknight from Exeter up and back on a coach so didn't get to see any of the city, so this would be a good chance to have a look round. I was a bit worried about where to park for the match and then where to sleep but a bit of research had that sorted fairly easily.

My last post was titled Winter Camping, but it was actually really mild over new year. In Liverpool I had to scrape the frost off after the van after the match to be able to go and park up somewhere for the night - this was winter camping! I had been a bit worried about how cold it would be and have read about people wearing onesies to keep warm so I decided I would, for the first time since I was a baby, sleep in an oversized Babygro. I'm converted! Fleece onesie, duvet, blanket and a hat are now my winter vanning essentials. Yes, I could sleep in an arctic sleeping bag but this is far more civilised!

I spent a couple of nights parked in Crosby to be able to head into the city the day after the match, went to the National Memorial Arboretum and then a couple of nights on a friends driveway on the edge of the peak district for some walking. And the vital score? Liverpool 3 Exeter 0

Winter Camping

The time between Christmas and New Year is always a bit of a non-event. A bit of rubbish tv, grazing on Christmas leftovers and maybe a walk or two. Before you know it, leave is over and back to work. So this year I decided that I'd make the most of that leave and go on holiday.

Despite growing up in Devon I've hardly been to Cornwall and seeing as I'd be down that way, Cornwall seemed like a good choice. This would be the first winter trip in my van and Cornwall does have a few campsites open so there would always be back up options if the weather was really cold or wild. I planned to spend a few days on the North coast and then a few days on the South.

First stop was Tintagel, determined to make use of my English Heritage membership that I have through work, to see King Arthurs castle. Closed due to high winds. To be fair, high winds was a bit of an understatement, and the whole week was windy making walking on the coast path slightly hairy in places! So I did some coast path walking but had a wander round some of the villages for a couple of days too - Tintagel, Port Isaac, Port Quin and Boscastle. Boscastle being possibly the prettiest village I have been to in the UK. I spent 2 nights car park camping in Tintagel where most of the car parks allow overnight parking for £3. Not the most scenic of stopping places but there was a bit of shelter which was needed.

The next day I headed for Porthluney cove on the south coast to do a long day of south west coast path walking and thought I'd probably spend the night down there. The walking was beautiful but the wind was brutal and I turned back when I thought there was a risk of being blown off the cliff and walked in the other direction until the same happened. The path is tough and so varied, the Cornish section more so than the Devon section it seems - the 600mile walk has made it onto my list. With 60mph winds forecast overnight, I wimped out of sleeping in the beach front car park and instead tucked myself away in a sheltered offroad layby for the night after a swim and shower in St Austell.

The storm was still around the next day so I put my waterproofs on and went to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, reckoning it wouldn't be overcrowded. The woodland and jungles were brilliant, and even better with rain dripping off the tropical plants. It turned out there were 8 visitors to the gardens when I was there and I didn't bump into any of them, just a couple of friendly sheep, adding to the "lost" nature of the place. Then I headed to Megavissy, another typically Cornish town but you can car park camp there for £5 a night so it was an easy option for somewhere to stay.

I'd pre-bought a ticket for the Eden project but going on a damp new years eve turned out to be a bad idea, the place being overrun by grandparents and their unruly grandchildren, and after the day before at the lost gardens it felt packed so I didn't stay too long, instead choosing to do a bit more of the coast path. New years eve was a takeaway curry, a dvd and sleeping on a beach front in Par being battered by the wind and rain - the best NYE I've had in a long time!

A year in

It’s now a year since I bought the van:

 9000 miles

58 nights away

2 driveway sleepovers

 I didn’t really have a plan at the start of the year apart from doing the conversion and getting away as much as possible. I haven’t managed to be away as much as I would have liked to have been, but then I'm not sure any amount of time would be enough. Apart from my plans for next year, then I may be sick and tired of vanning/vanping/camping/glamping, but I very much doubt it!

 Most things are now working, some things that did now don’t and the to do list will always exist but as she didn’t fall apart the minute I drove her away I think I can safely say I didn’t buy a complete lemon.  I’ve learnt a few bits along the way - taking out the right type of insurance first time round would have been a good idea, I now know all about steering racks and power steering fluid and have had to work out a lot of wiring diagrams to get the electrics working. I've had some brilliant holidays, and found that driving half hour to the New Forest can be almost as satisfying as driving 800 miles to Scotland. I’ve had some practice at not being mugged off by a garage and standing up for myself, negotiating at campsites and having to deal with bad decision making (Weymouth, Nov 5^thsprings to mind). I’ve also found out that I have a crafty side. For me, it’s turned out that owning a van has been so much more than just owning a van, and even though I didn’t think I’d keep it long term, I’m quite attached to her now. Never name the pet pig.