It’s Lockdown. There’s a fatal virus on the loose. People are dying. So going out has been forbidden. 

The camper van is just sitting there – on the parking area. We walk past it every day, and remember that it used to be our home on wheels enabling us to get away and discover places. 

Then I spotted something called The Great British Campout. I’m not sure where I saw it first.. was it Instagram, or Twitter, or Facebook? I’m not sure… But I read that it was started by a campervanner like us, who just had the idea that you could camp out in your van (or caravan, or tent) on your drive. So, in effect, go away and have the camping experience – but stay at home.

I liked the idea. So did Sara. So we paid our ‘site fees’ (via JustGiving – to the NHS charity) and then waited patiently for Saturday 4th April to arrive. 

On the day, the weather was really nice. So we had the first barbecue of the year, with our young adult offspring before Sara, Bowie and I retired to the van. We got the awning cover out (for the first time) and our camping chairs (also for the first time – so they were still in their wrapping). Then poured ourselves drinks, and watched the sun go down…

Then it got a bit chilly, so we moved inside the van – and put the heating on. The TV signal at home is quite good so the telly worked. we watched ‘Why Him’ with Bryan Cranston and James Franco. We’ve found in the past that if we leave the heating on all night, we get too hot in the van, so we turned it off. Luckily the duvet is really warm because the temperature went right down and was really quite cold.

In the morning we had some tea, then coffee. Then we packed the chairs and awning away before walking back to our house for breakfast.

It was fun. Even though we were yards from our front door, it felt like being on holiday. (The dog was definitely confused!) Our learning from this? 1.) When someone comes up with an idea and people support it, you can make a real difference. 2.) Not to wind our awning out fully – or if we do, we then need to wind it back in a bit otherwise it flaps around and it’s noisy. 3.) Our chairs are really comfortable – good choice. 4.) Our parking area (with the power availability and the annexe toilet) makes a great little campsite.