All change
It was great meeting Leslye and Tina yesterday afternoon in their campers, but today I was Billy no mates on the shingle bank by the sea. Last nights little storm seems to cleared everyone else away apart from a few hardy night fishers and some early morning swimmers! Last night certainly helped clear the air and bring a fresher feel to the day.

Shellness by name
After a relaxed breakfast by the sea, it was the campers turn to get filled up. Time to top up with some petrol today. I was going to explore further south on the Isle of Sheppy. Today’s destination was a camp over area near Shellness beach. I was told to try and get their fairly early as it gets very popular with the locals.




I arrived and could see what people meant. Already it was fairly wall to wall motorhomes by the sea. Being much smaller than some of these beasts, I managed to find myself a spot to park up by the sea wall. Quite a change of location from this morning that’s for sure!




Trangia o’clock
I had arrived at my favourite time of the day, Trangia o’clock. It might even be time to cook up some chilli too for afternoon lunch.




My motorhome ‘neighbours’ were fascinated to see my old skool Trangia stove and AeroPress coffee maker in action. The kitchen areas inside their motorhomes were kitted out pretty much the same as you’d find in most houses!




Bus quotes continue…
As I was making my coffee and getting the chilli ready, it was interesting to hear passer-by comments about the bus. Some people would want to come and chat to you about it, others were made comment when passing by the other side, but still just within earshot.
1 – ‘A perfect looking VW camper, don’t ever change it’
2 – ‘A weapon, proper gangster!’
Today I got a couple more cracking quotes about my camper to add to the list from this road trip.
3 – ‘Those old VWs are worth loads of money, but not in that condition’
4 – ‘That’s as cool as f***’
It’s fair to say, it sometimes divides opinions. They both made me laugh!
Mega motorhomes
One cool Carthago motorhome even had its own motorbike garage in the rear. I guess a bike is much easier to get around and park in town. The owner used it as a pretty much full-time home in the UK and Europe.




I guess if you want all the luxuries of home life on four wheels, there is a motorhome out there for you. Not sure they’re quite me.




Odd one out
It reminded me of my road trip to Ben Pon when I parked up in Belgium amongst some big Motorhome units. The scale of some of these vehicles is pretty huge. It makes my bus look tiny, like a little toy car!




Mind you, the owners did say they loved the simplicity of mine. This probably meant they loved the idea or look of mine. I suspect in reality, they may not be quite ready to fully embrace the simplicity that comes with camping in a fifty, nearly sixty-year-old camper van!




Fun times
It’s been a fun few days on the road. Easy to forget how much I enjoy being on the road. As it looks like the heatwave weather is over, ideal time to head back tomorrow. I’ll make a quick detour to visit my mum in Whitstable before then heading back to Hastings.
2 thoughts on “Odd one out”
I live near the beach dunes at Ynyslas, Wales. See many of these ‘beasts’ parked up for the day. Someone described them as Tupperware on wheels. Whilst the comfort is obvious, it’s our VW old skool that rock with quirkiness. I park my Bay VeeDub in a quiet spot away from the Tupperware owners. And….It’s nice when passers by come and chat I agree. Shutdown and safe distancing sees beach, lake and forest visits reduced though. Interiors? Home from home? Give me a meths filled Trangia, Turkish coffee in the fresh air and a rock and roll sleep experience every day of the week. Beautiful rat look bus by the way. All the best.
A nice part of the world 🙂 Hoping to visit Wales once all this lockdown/Covid 19 calms down a bit! Yep, when I get away, I want a different experience from living within four walls. I love a more simplified lifestyle when out and about, that’s the whole attraction, otherwise, I might as well go in a B+B or Hotel.