It was only when I got back to Bromley and Orpington that it really hit me: I was actually homeless. I did not own or rent a property in the UK. When I wasn’t staying with friends or family, I had to find a quiet, safe place where I would park my campervan. Now in Bromley, I had to find a place to park for the night near the street where I used to live in my own house.
There is an app showing parking places, which other campers have found and deemed useful. There was nothing listed in the Orpington/Bromley area, so I was left to my own devices. Parking such a large van inconspicuously takes experience. I first parked in a side street that had a van hire firm on the corner. There were several white vans there, and Matilda blended in. She looks like an ordinary transport van, apart from having a security camera at the back and an air conditioning unit on the roof.
A restless night
My first night sleeping in my van on a street was a bit restless. Although it is not illegal in the UK to sleep in one’s vehicle, local residents might not like it and ask the police to move you on. Thankfully, this didn’t happen to me during the nights in Orpington, and apart from my heating playing up on the coldest of autumn nights, I slept quite well on my comfortable double bed in the van. There are curtains all round to cut out lights, and the van walls are well insulated. It was just a question of letting go of any irrational fears. I have two dogs with me, who make a lot of noise if somebody comes near the van, and the security camera shows me who the ‘potential intruder’ is.
My plans for this first UK trip in my campervan
It has been two months since reporting on the shaky start to my van life, which is slowly growing on me. As I described in my previous article, I was stuck in Budapest due to the floods in Austria. However, after a few days’ delay, I managed to visit my brother in Mödling, near Vienna (which I will report on separately, as the election in Austria deserves a closer look), and in around three days I made it safely back to the UK. I needed to come back for a GP appointment, a vaccination and the National Rejoin March of 28 September. I also wanted to see family and friends before I set off to Spain to spend the winter months there.
Visiting friends and family: Norwich first
My first visit took me to Norwich, where a good friend offered to put me up for a few days with my two dogs. In the course of the very pleasant stay in her beautiful house, she took me to a highly enjoyable concert by a Senegalese musician at one of the local arts centres. Norwich, being a university city, seems to have a lot to offer the art and music lover. My friend was pleasantly surprised by the social scene when she moved there.
Then Oxford
When planning my visits, I had not considered that Norwich and Cardiff are five hours’ drive away from each other. My sister lives in Cardiff, and in order to arrive there rested, I decided to cut the journey in half. I booked a room near Oxford, which was around halfway between Norwich and Cardiff. I wanted a nice shower and a break from driving. I found a reasonably priced bed and breakfast that allowed dogs, and I was pleasantly surprised by the booking. The White Hart is a cosy country pub, with an annexe housing three en-suite bedrooms. I cannot recommend the place enough. Clean room, comfortable bed and friendly locals. In fact, I ended up staying in the pub until closing time and maybe should have said no to the last round.
Daisy and Rosie were not impressed by their first visit to a pub. As people enjoyed their drinks, I suppose the noise level must have gone up a bit. I got told off.
Cardiff next
Cardiff, with its lovely parks, was much more fun for my dogs. I love the majestic buildings of the castle and hidden gems, such as the stones arranged in a circle in the park like a miniature Welsh Stonehenge. As always, my sister knew which pub had a live band and where her large circle of friends met to drink and dance the night away. I suppose I must be getting old: after a four-hour drive, I didn’t seem to have the usual energy and enthusiasm for rock and roll and ‘twist and shout’.
Of course, we could have done without the heavy rain, which pelted down on most days. This also made my journey back to Kent slow and exhausting. The quiet street there, which had worried me to start with, seemed much more welcoming when all I wanted was to take my hands off the steering wheel and close my eyes.
And on to Bexleyheath
There followed a couple of nights staying with a friend in his luxurious Bexleyheath house. There was a garden for the dogs and a warm bed for me. I also discovered Danton Park, a couple of minutes’ drive from my friend. A beautiful mansion house with an enormous park for a large walk with the dogs. My final meet-up in the UK was at High Elms country park, one of my favourite dog walking places with a superb cafe for a lunch made from local produce. There is nothing to equal Kent country parks in their splendid autumn colours.
And now off to France, heading for Spain
We took the midnight train to Calais and did not make it to my planned next stop, Lille. I felt tired after a couple of hours’ drive in heavy rain, and we stopped at an ‘aire’, a parking area on the motorway. Lille could wait: I looked forward to fresh baguettes with my coffee in the morning.
My next article will report on our journey to Lille and Reims, to be followed by a stay in Strasbourg. My colleague Chris Hammond has written about the vital institutions in Strasbourg, whereas I shall report on our stay in its central camping place.
A bientôt!
