Highs and lows of our motorhome trip part 2

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After the first night shenanigans things went a lot more smoothly. Partner got unnecessarily stressed about all sorts of things: The storage compartments at the back wouldn’t always lock at the first attempt. Not a big deal, I don’t know what all the fuss and swearing was about! We hadn’t booked stopping places ahead (not sure how far we would go in a day, or even what direction!) so he was constantly convinced that all the sites would be full. In fact in most places we were one of two or three vehicles or in a couple of places, the only one. Related to this, he also found finding places to stop incredibly stressful. Of course this was our fault for not organising ahead and could easily be avoided another time. He was utterly convinced that the operator’s only aim was to rip us off by claiming we had caused damage to the vehicle. This wasn’t helped when a big van hit our wing mirror on a narrow road, apparently causing a crack in the plastic surround and leaving a black mark on the light (and of course these modern moulded plastic mirror and light assemblies are unbelievably expensive!). However Little One quickly noticed that the crack clearly showed signs of having been glued together in the past, and this was confirmed by examining photos of the outside of the van taken at pick-up, so it was already there and had just opened up again. And I got the black mark off by polishing it with toothpaste. Everyone leaving their boots and shoes in the doorway (so as not to spread dirt all around the inside on wet days) – easily solved by putting footwear in a big tote bag. The hassle of making up the beds each night. This was a bit of a pain but was partly our fault because we chose the ‘mystery vehicle’ option. This particular layout had a bed made out of the dining area, a bed made from the lounge area at the back, and another bed that lowered down from the ceiling. If we had chosen a different specific design it might have been less hassle. The absence of oven gloves. Our fault again because we did get a comprehensive list of what equipment was included, and we had checked it (so we knew to bring a coffee pot and a cheese grater!) Just hadn’t thought of that. I can’t remember what else, but honestly he announced many times how much he hated the vehicle. He definitely hated driving it because of its size, especially on narrow roads, but I didn’t find that a problem at all. I think I have better proprioception. And I like driving on interesting roads, whereas motorway driving sends me to sleep. Good points: Not having to get to accommodation (e.g. hotel) at a specific time. Not having to put a tent up in the rain (we did get some torrential rain!) The ability to decide where to go and when to stop on the day. Experience of being all together. Not having to remember what to take with you on a day trip – because you already have it all with you. On the whole we had a good week, visited some interesting places, saw some new parts of the country and also called in on friends, although of course all those things are not related to the mode of transport - more on those later! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2025.