Let me set the scene….

A good few years ago my best mate and I decided to go do a bit of sea fishing on the Isle of Skye. In March. We spent a week clad in Gore-Tex and down pretty much 24/7 without actually seeing the sun but seeing any amount of rain.

This mission was done in my old Ford Mondeo, using our tents as accommodation. Ideally we would have used campsites, but having done absolutely no research for the trip beyond deciding when we were both off work we were soon enlightened with the fact the majority of campsites were shut out of season. This presented no real problem as we are both experienced wild campers and regularly camp in sub zero conditions / pissing rain in all sorts of unsuitable places.

As part of our mission to catch pretty much nothing for the week (the bin men we talked to laughed at us and said we were f**ed) the search for flat enough ground to put a tent up on was at the front of our minds. We found a forestry commission carpark near the Fairy Pools and based ourselves out of there. One problem with this location was the ground was well compressed hardcore, and unamenable to your average tent peg.

On our last night, things were getting close to the nadir. We were both knackered, and as we’d been in and out of the car for a week in wet Gore-Tex the Mondeo was growing mushrooms. We’d procured some beers and once parked had enthusiastically ingested them.

We both fell asleep in the car…… At around four in the morning we woke. I decided to pitch on the bit of grass shown above. My mate went further into the wood for a better pitch with better peg placement. By sheer bad luck he camped right on top of some human faeces! Not laughing at all!

The next morning we were as both as rough as toast. We noticed we has some neighbours – who were not as tested as we were. The contrast between their cheerful and dry demeanour and our damp, knackered and wore out presence was marked. What cheered us up even more was the smell of cooking sausages coming from their CAMPER VAN!

At that moment I decided I would like a campervan too! While I really enjoy being inside a tent, especially on a fell top or other inaccessible venue I immediately saw the utility of such a vehicle and resolved to procure such a craft.