The Art of Living: Campervans

We grew up with campervans in all different colours and we even had an old orange VW splitscreen as our playbus in the garden! Although we adored our vans some of our most multi-coloured campervans became an embarassment to us when we were teenagers wanting to be dropped off at school ' Oh Mum, please drop us around the corner' we would say. Yes, they were true 'hippy buses' but they served a family of 4 kids well with all our camping holidays and festival-going. They really are the ideal family vehicle, and that's why we have one today!

Unlike the beautiful example of a splitscreen above, we have a modern VW model in a rather boring white, not as romantic but a lot more reliable.  Along with the bell tent we feel that after years of trial and error with various tents and equipment, we have finally found the perfect camping set up.

What's good about camping with a van is that it's easier to deal with the inevitable rainy British Summer.  With a kitchen, dining space and bedrooms it's like a B&B on wheels! It provides a bit more comfort than a tent and an inflatable bed as the back seats become one big bed and there's a double bed in the pop-up too.  And it's warm! 

There's a reported rise in people taking British Camping Holidays and it's heart-warming to hear it - it's inexpensive and good for the soul to embrace nature and the elements and to be in locations where the kids have space to run free. Featherdown Farm Holidays is part of the revolution of family camping with comforts - glamping - where you enjoy the wild but with some luxury too.  Kat at Bambino Goodies give us a great insight into Featherdown Farms here

For those who don't have a campervan but long for the experience of camping with a van, there are quite a few Campervan Hire places around these days.

My friend Emma in Orkney has a passion for camping and campervans that led her to set up a campervan hire business  Orkney Campers, which includes 3 characterful and classic T25 campervans called Poppy, Mr. Bumble and Ivy.  Orkney looks like such a stunning place and if you're going to experience the elements and be close to nature it's definitely the place to travel to - ideal for the all the romance of a campervan experience.  I'm always hearing stories and seeing pics of Emma's adventures up there and I know Emma gets to see some amazing skies travelling about in a campervan and sitting under the stars. It's on my wishlist to join her up there for a magical holiday.   Join the Orkney Campers Facebook Group here

Visit Orkney Campers here

For further south there's Jolly Campervans who have a fleet of the new retro look VW campervans - styled the old way but completely modern.  Even though they don't have the history and travel stories of the old VWs they still have all the charm and a bit of luxury too.  I know these new vans are really pricey to buy, so it's great to see Jolly Campervans giving people a chance to experience them by hiring them out for trips around the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District or beyond.  You can follow them on their blog here

NEWS! Jolly Campervans are offering readers of the Sisters Guild blog 20% off if they mention Sisters Guild when making a booking.  
Take a look at the vans and availability here  Penfold looks ready to rock and roll!

Visit Jolly Campervans here

There's still a bit of the summer left...I'm holding out hope for an Indian Summer with some September and even October camping trips planned, though big duvets in the campervan will be on the list!

Happy camping people!
Do tell us your camping tales & tips

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This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.

In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.

We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.

And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here 

www.sistersguild.co.uk