#campervan ing with kids

[dirtdiggersanddinosaurs]

This year has been tough (I think we can ALL agree on that!) and getting away to the Lake District for October Half Term was just the tonic we needed. You may think that anything past September in the UK is a no go for staying in a campervan but trust me, we had the perfect home from home in the shape of Rooby Doo from Cosy Campers. It had everything we needed including a full heating system to keep us cosy and warm. Isn’t she a beaut?

The campervan of dreams!

Rooby Doo is quite rightly the pride and joy of Rich, Dani and Reuben the family behind Cosy Campers who are dedicated to making your campervan holiday one to remember. You can choose to keep it simple, or you can add in optional extras for a little luxury, tailoring your bespoke campervan experience to your needs.

We fell somewhere in the middle, it was our first time staying in a campervan with the boys (aged 2,3 and 6 years) so I desperately wanted it to go smoothly, and be a holiday to remember. I was also aware that because we were booking an October break that we’d need an outdoor but dry area. So I hired the drive away awning too, hoping that it would give the boys a bit of extra space and free up some room in the van. We were mindful of the fact that Rooby Doo is absolutely beautiful inside, so the awning actually proved to be invaluable for keeping our muddy boots outside and the van lovely and clean.

At the time of booking I had planned to pack light for this trip (which we did) but outdoor wet weather gear for the 5 of us was bulky and took up a lot of room so after a last minute phonecall to Dani I arranged to include the additional lockable storage box too.

Cosy Campers is based in our home town of Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, on the edge of the Peak District. After a run through of all things campervan, Ben drove Rooby Doo home and we loaded her up with small boys and luggage.

Adventure Awaits

I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to our staycation adventure. Autumn is my favourite time of year, I love all the colours as the leaves turn and the lake district is absolutely beautiful at this time of year.

Perfect for those Autumn getaways

Ben took to driving the van with ease, helped by the automatic transmission – we cruised up the motorway until the cars became fewer and the scenery expanded before us. Two out of the three boys snoozed most of the way. Stanley was in the back with Eli, he did a great job passing him his bottle and generally entertaining him until he fell asleep. As Rooby Doo has 3 seats upfront, we had James between us, which worked well as I could keep a check on his bloods (he’s type 1 diabetic) and care for him on route, he wasn’t much company though!

You know how I mentioned loving Autumn, the crisp sunny days with misty starts…yeah, well scrap that because I came back down to earth with a bump! We arrived at our pitch to high winds and torrential rain, you’ve got to laugh! Luckily we’re not put off by bad weather.

Our first job was to put the awning up so that we had a little extra room for storage. Cosy Campers had previously sent us two YouTube video tutorials on how to erect and attach the awning to the van which we’d watched a couple of times in the run up to our holiday. Unfortunately we had little phone signal on site so we’re unable to access the videos again.

Rooby Doo with driveaway awning

I’m not going to lie, we struggled to suss the awning out at first but the cold horizontal rain hitting us square in the face didn’t help, neither did world war 3 breaking out in the van because apparently we weren’t going quick enough. We did get to grips with it eventually and not needing poles etc was a lifesaver, the inflatable structure of the awning went up quickly and with little effort. We took extra care to peg everything down securely because of the gusting wind. It didn’t end in divorce, and the boys didn’t kill each other so I’m calling it a win.

We unpacked and put the non essential items into the awning to give us a bit more space inside. We then threw the boys into the awning to play with transformers while we popped the kettle on. We had made the decision not to take any screens with us apart from our phones so there was a lot of chucking the boys into the awning throughout our stay, they even made a den in there at one point, so I definitely recommend adding it to your holiday if you have children.

One of life’s finest views, kettle on!

We saw some other campervanning pros on our site that had put up fairy lights and bunting inside their awnings, one even had a disco ball and lights! They looked so lovely in the evening it would definitely be something to think about, especially for a Summer trip.

Home From Home

The interior of Rooby Doo is just stunning. Everything from the pale blue units to the tan leather seats. The cupboards look small but were tardis like and contained everything we would ever need….from tea and coffee, to a torch and first aid kit.

The attention to detail was breath taking. From branded mugs that looked the part, to the fact that Cosy Campers just wanted us to have the very best experience possible. We were left a hamper packed with goodies, including two bottles of prosecco, luxury cookies, chocolates and jellybabies.

Our hamper and treat bags were a lovely surprise!

There were also 3 Halloween themed treat bags for the boys. One of which was completely diabetic friendly. Homemade monster crispie cakes, stickers, sweetie cones and a game of spooky snap were amongst the ghoulish goodies! There was also a lovely handwritten card wishing us the best holiday. I expect the jellybabies in our hamper were intentional too, as they are our preferred hypo treatment for James and I think I had mentioned it to Dani during one of our ‘mum’ conversations prior to the holiday. It made us feel very cared for and pampered, the planning around James’s diabetes was just so thoughtful and special. It was a very personalised experience which in turn made it feel luxurious.

The pop top roof was easily the bit the boys enjoyed most, and where two of them slept. Most of our time spent in Rooby Doo involved a view of a little head or legs dangling down from the roof. The fact they had to climb up there was everything small boys dream of. When the boys weren’t chilling ‘upstairs’ as they liked to call it, the base of the roof can be pushed up to give added head height in the living space of the van. We had one morning of lovely sunshine so we fully made the most of it and put the roof up and opened up the scenic windows. I can just imagine what it would be like in the Summer, the front of the pop top canopy can be completely removed too, it would be the best seat in the house.

We would love to experience this in the Summer too

By far the best feature in Rooby Doo for our trip anyway, was the heating system. We had horrendous weather and came back from every day trip out soaking wet, mud splattered and ruddy cheeked. Dark nights in Rooby Doo were warm and cosy however thanks to the diesel heater. We took our normal bedding, deciding against sleeping bags and we were lovely and warm at night.

Summary

When I booked our holiday with Cosy Campers I was slightly concerned that a campervan holiday with such young children would be a bit of a nightmare if I’m honest. I was proved wrong thankfully, apart from a bit of impatient bickering while we sorted out the awning the boys seemed to take to the campervan life with ease. They were happy to stay ‘upstairs’ or in the awning while we put the beds away or cooked etc. You do have to be quite organised though, and do things in a certain order when there’s so many of you in a relatively small space.

Would we do it again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat. If we had such an amazing time with the worst weather imaginable, then a Summer trip in Rooby Doo would be out of this world. We loved everything about our Half Term holiday, even the trips to the toilet block in the middle of the night gave us some great views of Mars, although you can add a porta loo to your booking if trekking across a field in a fetching wellies and pj’s combo isn’t your thing.

Autumn is so beautiful

It was an exciting adventure, and a perfect way of seeing the beautiful Lake District. I’ve decided that lying in a campervan bed, all snuggled up with my babies and listening to the wind and rain on the roof has become one of my favourite things to do, and something we WILL do again.

What sets Cosy Campers apart from other hire companies is the fact that when you book with them you feel like you are part of the family right up until you return Rooby Doo. Nothing is too much trouble and they go out of their way to create the perfect experience for you. Little touches, make a big difference fo example they included a wild guide to the area where we were staying which helped to make it a stress free experience. We could look up outdoor scenic places to visit which was especially helpful during these ‘covid-19 times’ and being a clinically vulnerable family.

Just driving around in Rooby Doo taking in the beautiful countryside was a treat in itself, and there’s nothing better than finding a quite spot to pull over and enjoy a cuppa with a view.

We are absolutely hooked on the campervan life!

Booking a Cosy Campers holiday definitely gets the thumbs up from us!

*As we are now in a second national lockdown unfortunately non essential travel is prohibited*

But, what better time to plan YOUR campervan adventure in the beautiful Rooby Doo for next year? You can get 10% off your off peak Cosy Campers booking by quoting DIRTDIGDINO when you make an enquiry. What are you waiting for?

Disclosure: we were gifted part of this holiday in return for an honest review and promotion across my social media channels. All opinions and words are my own.

Images are my own unless otherwise credited and must not be used without permission.

Our Autumn Campervan Adventure in Rooby Doo. This year has been tough (I think we can ALL agree on that!) and getting away to the…

[yohehoneymoon-blog]

Day 1

I’m sitting in the communal room of a small campsite and “room” rental place in Marfa, TX called El Cosmico. The “rooms” are converted trailers parked around with names like Royal Palace and Imperial Mansion. It’s not a “trailer park” though. The whole place has a Mad Max-chic vibe that we both like a lot. Everything is clean and quiet.

The common room smells heavily of incense. From the counter you can buy a sachet of smokable herbs called “Marfa Shag,” but I only smoke Marfa Shag when I drink so I’ll keep my $12. It was 1/3 of the price to camp here for the night compared to the cheapest hotel and we get to park the campervan close to the bathrooms which is a blessing and a curse. The Wi-Fi password was “marfasky!” and, instead of pronouncing it “Marfa sky,” Diana said “Mar-fass-key” and it was funny and cute.

We left Austin, TX this morning at 10:09 AM CST in a cloudy, misting 55 degrees Fahrenheit. We headed West along Highway 290 through Dripping Springs where we realized we were hungry. We stopped in a coffee shop that supposedly had breakfast tacos called “Mazama Coffee Co” and when we realized they had no tacos left. Down the block was a tiny, is-this-place-even-open? taco joint called “Flores Breakfast & Lunch” where we got some damned good breakfast tacos. We sat on a bench outside, as there was no actual inside to this place. We warmed up with a nondescript green sauce that packed a punch.

Bellies full of egg, cheese, chorizo, and four tortilla, we bade Dripping Springs goodbye and continued West.

About an hour into driving as we approached Fredericksburg, TX I realized that I was falling asleep at the wheel. We pulled into a Dollar General for paper plates and York Peppermint Patties. Diana took the wheel from there and I climbed into the back of the campervan, laying horizontally. That was probably a dumb idea, as an accident would see my Superman-ing my way through the windshield. But I was tired and it’s our Honeymoon and we’ll die horribly the way we very well please. I dozed off.

I woke back up when we were turning onto Interstate 10.

Finally, the road opened up and the sky cleared, mostly. The cars dispersed and gradually, things went from rolling hills to slightly taller rolling hills. Eventually, it became rolling megalithic formations covered in a thin sheet of green. (Why are all the tops flat? I have no idea. If only there were a rectangle with all recorded human knowledge in my pocket.) We both marveled at how small we felt. We thought about what impossibly ancient courses of events had to occur to cause all of this, and then also have us driving a campervan through it at that moment.

We listened to Blind Guardian.

We stopped at a Love’s in Sonora, TX for gas and bottles of water. They had a super long squeegee that would make any Hill Country panhandler jealous. I used it. I have no idea if Sonora exists beyond that Love’s. There was only a sign and a gas station.

We got back on I-10 and my squeegee work was immediately rendered unnecessary as bugs the size of fun size Milky Ways assaulted the windshield for the next five hours.

We stopped for gas and a leg-stretch at the only Sunoco/Burger King combo I have ever seen in my life in a dump of a town called Ft. Stockton. Diana tried to use the bathroom but it smelled more like Ft. Stinkton and we left. We went to a Stripes and used their bathroom instead. I bought a bottle of water and a pre-packaged dill pickle. It was crunchy as hell.

I made an illegal u-turn in front of a police officer who either was blind or very, very tired.

We saw a dead boar on the side of the road the size of a Saint Bernard. Its tusks were no joke.

We pulled into Marfa, TX at 06:16 PM CST. We stopped at a small Tex-Mex place called “Mondo’s” and learned the difference between green and red enchiladas. We both prefer green. The salsa was exceptional and everything else was reasonable. The iced tea had a not unpleasant smokiness to it. The waitress knew everyone in there. A table of townies sat down. She asked about their kids as they ordered “the one with the holla-peenyer peppers on it.” We paid $24 and left.

We pulled into El Cosmico and paid for our stay. We took a brief all around, hearing mostly birds and the occasional passing car. People talked, but never too loudly. Everyone is just hanging out or sleeping. We found some hammocks and had a lie down, sitting in silence and just listening. We played with the camera a bit.

We spoke to the woman at the front counter about seeing the Marfa Lights, a supposedly paranormal event that happens pretty regularly with colored balls floating in the sky above the Chihuahuan Desert. They don’t always show. Sounds like the bats under the Congress bridge, except aliens instead of bats.

We drove 10 miles out to the “Marfa Lights Viewing Station” where a few dozen or so people gathered to look for anything that wasn’t an airplane in the sky. It was cold and uneventful besides the one shooting star we saw. I commented on how nice it was that everyone there was courteous, only mostly whisper-talking. Fifteen minutes later a bunch of teenagers showed up. We left shortly after.

After much finagaling the we fell asleep in the back of the campervan. I woke up in the middle of the night to light rain on the roof. It was cold, but not colder than that one night we spent in the back of the Toyota Highlander parked at a hotel parking lot in Nashville, TN during the east coast blizzard of January 2015.