Camping in Pevensey

This August we took the van to Pevensey for the bank holiday weekend. We decided that as there were no sleeping facilities in the van we would take the small 2 man tent and sleep in it but use the van for living in - when we weren't outside.

We arrived at the campsite to be told we couldn't bring a van onto the site. Quelle Disaster! But after chatting to the landlady for a while it dawned on her that we had a Kombi, not a panel van, and suddenly all was well with the world. We booked into a lovely campsite and found our way to a pitch overlooking the duck pond. As you can imagine, it being August bank holiday it was very crowded.

We pulled up, threw the tent up, chucked the blow up matress and duvet inside it and were set within about 2 minutes flat. Got to love that Kyam tent with the built in poles that virtually puts itself up! We took the table and chairs out and arranged them so that they overlooked the pond and the nice view and then took the bikes out of the back and tied them to the fence next to us. That left the van mostly empty on the inside. But we still had a bike box and a couple of camping boxes and a bag with our clothes in strewn about the back of the van. This led us to realise that a box rack which we would slot our bike/camping/surfing boxes into when we needed them would be very handy. I need to get on to Terry and see about making one.

The captain chairs in the front were swivelled and with the rear doors opened they also afforded a view over the duck pond. This was when it was apparent that rear windows would be a good idea. However at £330 plus an extra £60 for tinting they weren't cheap!

We spent most of the evenings either sat outside cooking, or sat in the captains chairs inside. The table was easy to move in or out and it was simple to eat at it when it was inside which was a bonus. Our camping light lit up the inside nicely and the Blue Cat heater took the chill off when it got cold.

It was quickly apparent that a raising roof would have been a real bonus. Forget sleeping in it, just being able to stand would have made a huge difference. Also, we missed curtains, for cosyness and privacy both. And a rack to tidy the back of the van from boxes and bags would have been useful. In fact, I think had we such a rack it would have been easy to throw the blow up matress in the back and sleep in there once all the bits were off the floor out of the way.

The one thing which was quickly apparent would have been most welcome when camping was a Leisure Battery. It would have been nice to have been able to have the van lights on, although our camping light was handy, and it might have been nice to have the radio on at times. Also, I had to unplug the side door light to stop that draining the battery when the door was open - which was often.

All in all our first camping trip with the van was a great success and it showed us exactly which things we needed to get for the van to make it more comfortable.