45 / 116
JULY 2019
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Flight Time
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45
Inspiration
he first time it happened,
we weren’t expecting
it. Did he just…? We
looked at each other with
surprise as we clocked
what we’d just seen. Next
time, though, we were
ready. Scanning the Devon country road
ahead of us, we saw a cool VW van coming
our way. Tense with adrenalin but determined
to go with my gut and commit early, I
ventured a hand from the steering wheel and
went for it, high-fiving in the direction of my
fellow VW van driver. Would he leave me
hanging? No! My wave was returned and I
was beyond thrilled – only just managing to
resist the urge to punch the air with delight at
becoming part of the VW van gang.
We hadn’t converted our VW
Transporter ourselves, though – and that
was clear from the Rockin Vans branding on
the side of our shiny white van. I’d always
thought it would be the epitome of cool to
own (or just drive) a campervan one day,
so when we were invited to go on a Rockin
Vans road trip, we were soon planning a
jaunt around Devon and Cornwall.
We picked our van up from a countryside
showroom not far from Birmingham, where
we were shown all of the van’s merits and
how they worked, including a pop-up roof
with sleeping space for children, a back seat
that converts into a double bed, a fridge, a
two-ring hob, a heater, fancy spotlights and
the gas and electricity that powers it all – plus
plenty of room in the boot for our luggage
and loads of kitchen equipment.
It had been a while since I’d driven such
a large vehicle, but the campervan was
reassuringly easy to drive, and we had a
smooth, comfortable cruise in our new home
down the M5 to Devon.
T
EMILY GRAVENOR TOOK A CONVERTED
VW CAMPERVAN TO DEVON AND CORNWALL
FOR A RELAXING ROAD TRIP FULL OF PRETTY
HARBOURS, GOLDEN BEACHES AND MORE
THAN HER FAIR SHARE OF PASTIES
A
Rockin
road
trip