With the Easter holiday just around the corner and the media full of news of petrol tanker strikes what is a campervan to do?

We’re so lucky here, we have so many fantastic places on our doorstep.  So, which one shall we explore first?

The Cotswolds with all of its fabulous villages (and pubs!), with quaint little shops and teashops.  Then there are the towns of Cheltenham and Cirencester just up the road for a bit more of a cosmopolitan feel – lovely for a daytrip at least…. Maybe.

Forest of Dean – take the bikes as there are so many trails there and some fantastic scenery. Great fun, whatever the weather as long as you don’t mind getting a bit mudding if you’re cycling in the rain.  There are the lakes and plenty of great campsites nearby… Sounds fun.

Trail along the River Severn – from Tewkesbury a night stopover at Lower Lode Inn, right by the river is a lovely, relaxing start to any break. Then wend your way down the country roads to Gloucester with its historic docks and Cathedral.  Then a little further south to Slimbridge and a visit to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge where you can have the ducks and geese eating out of your hand (fantastic for kids and adults alike), then pop up the road to Frampton on Severn with some great country pubs on the way…. Tempting.

But hang on a second, if we’ve got Dylan for a week…… we could do all of these! From the lovely Cotswold village of Blockley down to Cam, just south of Slimbridge is less than 50 miles.  Tewkesbury to Tetbury iseven less!  And not a motorway in sight…. although the M5 is never far away.

So, why not take up the challenge and see how far a tank of petrol in Dylan can get you. Oh and don’t forget to write all about it in his diary!

Each time Dylan goes out on a new adventure, his guests always go off with a wicker basket packed with goodies for their trip.  Back in September, a family of 3 hired Dylan for a few days and so, as always, I gathered together some treats for them.

Now, I say “basket” but in fact, there are also some bits in the fridge and a box of homemade cakes.  In fact, a break with Dylan could almost be classed as B&B-on-the-go.  “So what do we get?” I hear you shout… Well the basket has fresh croissants and fresh bread or rolls, some miniature jams, half a dozen free range local eggs, a bottle of wine, a couple of juice cartons and the aforementioned cake.  The cakes themselves have become something of a talking point, with sweet delights from chocolate fudge cake decorated with Smarties (red ones only!) for a birthday cake, marble cake, lemon curd muffins and for one couple who weren’t really “cake” people, a special request was made for macaroons. Fortunately a book on making these almond flavoured treats had been among my birthday presents so this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at this particular recipe.  To my relief, the verdict came back quoting them as “Mary’s mouthwatering marvellous macaroons” so I guess they were ok!

Anyway, I digress, back to my family of three… it was a lovely couple and their 9 year old son who had travelled down from the Midlands to take Dylan down to the coast.  An extra treat always packed into Dylan is his goodie bag. This is an indulgence of mine of some Black Jacks, Fruit Salads, Refreshers, Drumsticks, Fizzers, Flying Saucers, Space Dust (yes, remember that stuff…!), Pink Shrimps, Gobstoppers and other such retro sweets.  I call it an indulgence because these all take me back to the Tuck Shop and Corner Shop of my childhood and 1p sweets and flavours and smells that always make me smile.

Fresh local sausages and bacon are in the fridge keeping cool for breakfast as well as local butter and milk.  I try to source as much as I can from local farm shops rather than the big shops and can spend hours browsing around places like my local one http://www.overfarmmarket.co.uk/.  The Tea, Coffee and Sugar jars are all topped up and refreshed each time Dylan goes off and the salt and pepper cellar is replenished. Then in a paper bag is a selection of sachets of mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar and the like.

Yes yes, but where does the title come from?? Well, the 9 year old lad returned in Dylan after his few days away with his Mum and Dad and he had named my wicker basket….”The Basket of Dreams” – who am I to say any different.

This though is where I need your help… What would you add? Or take away for that matter? I try to ensure that I know if my hirers are vegetarians as naturally would not want to offend, but is there anything missing? Would you prefer a bottle of ketchup to sachets? Should I do packets of biscuits rather than homemade cookies or cakes?   Look forward to hearing from you!

On Tuesday we had a lovely time visiting local toddlers at Buttons Kindergarten http://www.buttonskindergarten.co.uk/ which is owned and run by my friend and fellow VW camperfan Natalie Emmerson.

Buttons is actually a small teddy bear that has come down through generations of young-folk, including

Image via Wikipedia

Natalie’s own 2 boys.  Buttons likes to go on holiday with the children from the kindergarten and there’s even a map of where he’s been including Spain, France, Germany and a chilly time in The Shetland Isles on their website!

So it seemed only natural to introduce Dylan and Buttons to each other.  Now you may call it a fluke, I think it’s that fabulous word serendipity that Buttons has a bright red jumper, practically the same shade as Dylan, so the two of them were bound to get on well.

As for the children, well they had been preparing for Dylan to visit them by doing pictures and models of campervans, so when he turned up it was fabulous to see so much fun had already been had, even before we got there.  But Natalie wanted the children to see for themselves why she has such a passion for VW campers and I don’t think Dylan disappointed…. After a few slight reservations, they all trundled out on, what has to be said was, a rather drab day and it wasn’t long before they had all climbed in and were taking turns at “driving”.  Though it was when they all sat down in Dylan, some on the back seat, some on the floor and I sat outside in Dylans red executive camping chair (it has padding…) and I read an extract from a fabulous new childrens book that I had found that they all became really engaged.  Mind you, I think this was helped by the break in the middle when they all got to have a dip into Dylans sweetie box and despite Natalie’s best attempts, one little lad did go back for seconds…and I think thirds!

It was a lovely way to spend the morning and Dylan and I hope to go back often to read to them and maybe have adventures together.  We’ll keep you posted!

oh, ps. the book that I read from was the brand new, not even released yet, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again http://www.chittyfliesagain.com/ which is being released by http://www.panmacmillan.com on 7th October 2011.

Image by Pikaluk via Flickr

When I’m getting Dylan ready for his next adventure, I love all the prep – checking the tea and coffee supplies, cleaning all the windows inside and out and giving him a really good spruce up. Then I set about getting all the provisions for his hamper…. well ok it’s actually a wicker basket, but with all the goodies I put together it could all easily fill a hamper!

Now for me one of the lovely things when I’ve had a break anywhere (not necessarily in Dylan but maybe in a holiday cottage or something like that), I absolutely love it if there are some personal touches and that is what I aim to give each of my customers – something to help make their adventure even more memorable.

So, what’s included then? Well in the fridge I get fresh, locally produced bacon, sausages and free range eggs, as well as local butter and when I can local milk too.  On the morning of hire, I pop out nice and early and get fresh croissants and bread rolls too – if I can get them while they’re still warm, all the better!!  Together with strawberry and raspberry jams, well there’s definitely enough to get your day off to a cracking start.

Ah and then there’s the sweetie bag – remember pink shrimps? aniseed balls? flying saucers? drumsticks?? fizzers and parma violets? Oh lovely! Mind you the temptation not eat them myself is hard at times and I’m sure that they do disappear mysteriously when my kids find my hiding places! J  I’ve even had requests before now – Black Jacks and gobstoppers to name but two… Not forgetting the fabulous Space Dust… you know, the stuff that zings and pops on your tongue, lol!

But my piece de resistance is fast becoming my home-made cakes.  I started off doing these for special occasions – birthdays mainly – with the choice of marble cake or chocolate fudge cake, no one has taken up the option of banana cake yet, but I can assure you it’s good! Well, my most recent customer booked a weekend away with Dylan as a surprise for his wife so naturally I offered to bake, but he confessed that neither of them were really “cake-people” but they were partial to a macaroon…. oh this was like words from heaven to me.  I had been given a book of macaron (the French spelling!) recipes for my birthday earlier in the summer so this would be the perfect opportunity to really test it out. Now these little mouthfuls of almond meringue may look like a simple little delight, but believe me they are more tricky than you think – leaving the egg whites overnight, bringing them up to room temperature, grinding the already ground almonds to make it really fine… but I loved the challenge and the outcome was a bag of almond and vanilla macaroons – or as Freddie very kindly described them (my customer) “Mary’s Magnificent Mouth-watering Macaroons?? Once bitten .. forever smitten ♥♥♥”  So, that’s something else to add to the hamper then I guess!

A campfire almost epitomises the ideal of outdoor living –  it immediately conjures up images of good company around glowing embers with big, thick woollen cardigans and large glasses of red wine, or whatever your tipple may be… But in these days of health and safety, and let’s not underplay it’s importance – brush fires can so easily take hold if due care and responsibility is not used, has the reality of this wonderful image disappeared?

Well, no!

In fact, as long as you follow sensible guidelines there are still plenty of campsites that allow campfires, but just what do/should you do?

Firstly, do check that where you are staying allows fires (there’s a link below to a really helpful website).  Many of these will have fire bowls or pits you can use or hire. Never start a fire on grass!

Do go appropriately prepared befprehand.

Do start small – better to have a small fire that you can build up than starting out with a sprawling one that fizzles!

Do make sure you choose your spot carefully – avoid any nearby trees or bushes which may have low hanging branches.  Also do make sure it’s a fair distance away from anything flammable – your tent, and gas canisters or bottles

Do have a go the boy-scout way – start with a few small twigs and set them up in a wigwam shape.  Light them with matches or a magnifying glass, OK or a lighter!mage by hodgers via Flickr

Do add larger sticks gradually and with care not to disrupt the ongoing fire – sparks may literally fly.

Image by Murky1 via Flickr

Do be aware of the weather conditions, especially if it’s likely to be windy.

Do have items close by to put your fire out – plenty of water*, sand or dirt, a shovel, a fire extinguisher even.

Do make sure any younger folk know the “Stop, Drop, Roll” technique – better to be prepared.

Do make sure your fire is completely out before retiring for the evening.  Ideally you want it to have reduced down to ashes, but it can be surprising how long embers can flicker away, so if you are going to bed or leaving your fire for any reason, douse the fire with enough water to be certain that it is completely out. My personal word of caution here would be to remember that water and hot flames create steam, so do be careful! When the flames have died down, pour on more water. Stir the fire around gently with the shovel to make sure all of the wood or coals are covered. Keep pouring water on until it has stopped hissing and smoking.  Add more water.  Make sure everything is cold and soaked through – you can’t be too careful eh?!  And check any rocks or such nearby to make sure they aren’t hot, in fact, douse them with water as well… fire can smolder away under rocks.  Check around for any fly away sparks or embers and soak these too.

Do dispose of the ashes properly – your site will have advice on their own preferences for this.

So, that’s the “do’s”….

Don’ts

Don’t forget the marshmallows (which co-incidentally are included in Dylan’s goodie bag)!!

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=4 – campsites which allow fires.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive guide and do check with your site warden on any specific rules they may have.

Oh and if you’ve got any tips, please do leave them here

Since going into business with Dylan, I have been amazed at the number of festivals that are being held throughout the UK these days…. everything from Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in the Brecon Beacons (which was just last week), to the stalwart Glastonbury festival at the end of June to others that until now were unknown to me.

This coming weekend, I am actually taking Dylan out myself.  My children and I are taking a short jaunt down to Bristol to go to our very first VW festival at http://www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk/!  Since starting my business venture, I’ve encountered so many friendly, helpful and supportive people, but most of this has been via Twiter and Facebook so I’m really hoping to put some faces to the names there as well as ogle at other gorgeous vans and have a bit of fun in the mix.  These types of weekend take place right throughout the year with a fabulous sounding one in October, and many of them are held at coastal resorts and include a drive along the beach – oh yes, that’s what I wanted a VW for!

But here’s a teeny round up of some of the other festivals around the UK this year……

Then in July, there’s a new kid to the festival scene in London at http://londonsurffestival.com/ which, although this is just a one-day event, (so no camping I’m afraid) it certainly sounds interesting to think of a beach being brought to the big city!  Go on Boris, get your socks and sandals on…

On the other hand, if you’re a bit of an Abba fan, then you could try the http://www.holeinthewallfestival.co.uk which takes place in the middle of July where a real ‘80s vibe is due to happen on the Saturday night, with multi-tribute bands really wishing you’d brought that big frilly shirt and doning the Adam Ant black stripe across your nose!  This has to be one of the most reasonably priced music festivals and although it may not be major headline acts, it really does sound like being some major fun!

Then there is http://bugjam.co.uk/ on 22^nd July weekend…. it’s 25^th anniversary this year brings together not only VW’s, music and comedy but also professional drag-racing throughout the weekend and the obligatory “Show and Shine”!

http://www.wildernessfestival.com/ in August promises to be a celebration of the arts and the outdoors where camping is done amongst ancient oak trees, giving a fabulous feel to a weekend away.

Then there is the ultimate family festival at http://www.justsofestival.org.uk/ – this award winning festival conjures up lovely images and thoughts of not only children being enthralled by everything around them but also allowing you that wonderful chance to be a child again yourself!  Set in 65 acres of woodland, enjoy a weekend of being just so….

And now for something completely different  (no, not Monty Python I’m sorry!) with Wakefield’s Rock n Wrestle festival! http://www.rocknwrestle.co.uk/

Then, just before your beloved van is given a bit of time off, there is the spectacular Oktoberfest down in lovely Cheddar, Somerset on 7^th October weekend, with a trip to the seaside aimed at the ever increasing population of VW campervans  http://www.oktoberfestuk.com/

So, where will you take Dylan……

So the journey starts, everyone is in high spirits and singing Cliff Richards songs heartily.  Lovely.

It’s not usually too long before the usual holiday drive produces those famous (or infamous!) words “Are we nearly there yet?”  The reply to which can vary from “No” to “Yes” to “we’re 3 minutes closer than the last time you asked!”.

How do you break up the monotony of a long journey then without resorting to dvd players – which can be distracting for the driver unless earplugs are used – and keep EVERYONE happy at the same time?

Well, me and the kids play games – our favourite at the moment is one we do even on the school run.  The car registration game – we use the 3 letters at the end of the car registration and have to come up with a phrase with them. For example, one this morning was NVF which gave the suggestions of “NOT VERY FLOWERY” and “NOW VAST F&RTS” which produced lots of giggles!  No, they don’t make much sense, but that’s half the fun, if not more, of it.  Everyone has to come up with something and then you move onto the next car you see.  This can keep going for a good while.

84 miles to go…

Next there’s the alphabet game. Choose a topic, girls names, boys names, surnames, colours, musical instruments, animals, pop bands, cartoon characters etc etc and each person takes it in turns to come up with a word that starts with the next letter in the alphabet.  Now you do have to be clear that it is a TAKE IT IN TURNS game so no shouting out, unless you want to of course!

61 miles to go…

First person to spot – simpler than I-spy.  The driver chooses what is to be “spotted” and everyone else has to “look”.  You can use things like a black car, blue car, red car, a river, a cow or other animal. The person to sees “it” first, just shouts and points the object out. Simple can hey, if it helps pass the time on a long journey, don’t knock it!

47 miles to go…

The driver can’t really take part in this one, but it’s great fun – it’s cloud shapes.  This works really well on a day with broken clouds and each person has to try and make out what a cloud looks like. You will be amazed at the imagination that can come out of this and if there are little ones in the back, it can keep them happy for ages trying to explain that “it looks like an elephant, see that bit is the trunk!”

Image by roarpett via Flickr

36 miles to go….

This is where I usually need a map reader, sorry no Sat Nav for me.  Give the passengers the road map, get them to figure out where you are on your journey (a little preparation can help – pencil dots on the Starting point and Arrival point can help).  When they see how far you’ve come already and that there really isn’t that much further to go, it lifts the spirits some more.  Then you can ask them to identify landmarks and such on the map for everyone to look out for.  Not only does this occupy them, but it’s helpful for the driver too, especially if you’re like me and prone to going the wrong way (No, I’m not getting a Sat Nav!)

This can hopefully bring you pretty close to your destination, HOORAY! But if you’ve still got some way to go, then you can go back and play some of the above

Alternatively, Hawkins Bazaar have some fab books with ideas in http://www.hawkin.com/20670-14830-HBBOOKS-4/books/are-we-there-yet-travel-games-book and http://reviews.hawkin.com/4035-en_gb/14846/i-spy-on-the-motorway-reviews/reviews.htm?reviewID=9728259 are just two of them!  Just go to their website and search under “Travel”.    You need never hear those 5 words again.

Happy travelling

After the almost obligatory camping cooked breakfast, what could you rustle up in Dylan? Well, his hob and grill can be put to amazingly good use to give a meal to remember.  Spag bol and chilli are the obvious options, but what if you really don’t want tomato stains on your clothes??

My favourite at the moment is pasta with pancetta – give it a go! (Inspired and adapted from the fabulous Nigella)

Ingredients

250g Linguine (you could use any other pasta but this is my fave and great for slurping!)

2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil

250g pancetta cubes

(Yes, that’s it for the ingredients!)

Fill the large saucepan with water and bring it to the boil. When it’s bubbling nicely, add the linguine, and boil until just al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, put the pancetta cubes in a bowl and mix with a little of the oil.  Put the frying pan on the other ring and cook the cubes off til they’re lovely and golden brown.  (You may want to open the windy as it gets wonderfully smoky)

Drain off the linguine and pour it back into the big pan, add the pasta to the pancetta and the rest of the olive oil, stir and serve! Ta da!

Now you could add a little grated parmesan if you like it – too stinky for me though.  I do, however, love having this dish with ciabatta or walnut bread and a small dish of balsamic dipping oil and a simple salad.

PS. yes, cooking this tonight so will take a piccie and post it up

Well that’s Dylan off for a short break but oh this was fun!

In the course of taking a booking, I always email the person a few days beforehand just to check all is well and give them a checklist of things to bring (or more to the point, things they don’t need to bring!).

Yesterday morning I had a call from the chap who was hiring Dylan from today for a couple of days.  He said he was going to be in the area that afternoon so would it be good to pop by and do the paperwork – “yes, of course” I said.  On meeting, I showed him round Dylan – how to put the pop top up (and back down again), how to move the chair forward, fit the electric hook up, using the gas etc etc and it was during the course of conversation that he mentioned that this particular trip was a surprise for his girlfriends birthday. “Aha!” I said. Without even thinking I offered to make a birthday cake to make the trip even more memorable.  The offer was very nicely accepted but with the condition that it had to be chocolate and so last night was spent mixing eggs and flour and cocoa powder.

We also plotted to tease her on their arrival, as she was of the impression that they were going camping, as in tent camping.  Like a pair of naughty schoolchildren, we looked at my red pop-up tent and agreed that we could say that he was borrowing my tent.  I did offer to wash the tent bag but then we both looked at each other and said “Nah” – I could see that we both had a rather wicked sense of humour, but all in good and gentle jest. I should point out, I suppose, that until then I had never met this chap, so to get around any confusion, I was going to be labelled as the mum of a friend of his…. now even I’m confused now!

Anyway, this morning with Dylan all shiny, the petrol tank filled, the picnic basket filled with goodies and a bottle of wine in the fridge, he was ready.

In spite of his own wonderful boyish excitement, Ed – the hirer – had managed to keep the secret overnight and all the way to me, though how he got around telling his lovely girlfriend that they should find a campsite with electric hook up I do not know, let alone why they wouldn’t need to pack and bring along a cool box.

Well, Ed and I carried on with the game, up to the point of him picking up the tent bag.  It was then that he said “Oh wouldn’t it be nice if we were going in the campervan?” at which point I took the keys out of my pocket and held them out to her.  Her face was a picture of happy surprise and she spent the next 15 minutes letting it sink in that her boyfriend had got her good and proper with his practical joke  - albeit a nice one.

Having shown her around Dylan and let her explore the goodies in the wicker basket, there was one last surprise – the smartie decorated chocolate marble cake….. 

I love my job! Happy holidays.