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Walking off the weekday worries

Fitness tips, Relaxation, Mind and Body
kiloran
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#228926

Postby kiloran » June 12th, 2019, 12:49 pm

I think the principle is fine, but the idea of driving from London to Scotland's hills for a weekend is not what I would class as de-stressing. Doing that in the friday rush hour would turn me into a gibbering wreck.

--kiloran

bungeejumper
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#229160

Postby bungeejumper » June 13th, 2019, 10:36 am

Snorvey wrote:In order to increase our range, the wife wants us to get one of those smaller overnight type campervans which means we can extend our 'wilderness' days out - and I can kinda see the point....but that sounds a bit old fart-ish and I'm not sure I'm ready for that just yet. And camping with a tent in Scotland is often a hellish experience.

I have several friends who've gone down that road since they retired - my cohort are heading for their seventieth birthdays - and I suppose that sounds like a good idea if it suits them. The wife and I walk 100 miles of hills most summers, and we do it from a tent. But - you guessed it - not in Britain but in France. If I were going to use a campervan I'd probably find it easier to hire one than to buy it, maintain it and keep it on the drive.

But what sort? For myself, I have no wish to be the bumbling old git in the oversized ice cream van who gets in everybody's way, because we already have too many of those clogging up our local roads in the south west. Maybe a sleek little VW campervan, then? Pricey (for a good one), but at least you can install yourself on your site until the very moment you need to go shopping or down to the pub.

At which point the "oh sh1t" factor kicks in. Sigh, back to the drawing board. :(

BJ

bungeejumper
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#229192

Postby bungeejumper » June 13th, 2019, 12:40 pm

Snorvey wrote:As for hiring a van, last time I looked it was quite expensive.

You're not wrong. The thick end of £500 for a three day weekend, at least in high season. Somewhat less if you can do midweeks. But you could Airbnb it for quite a lot less than that. ;)

But the ownership thing still appeals, for obvious reasons. You don't mind a bit of dirt if it's your own dirt, and the same goes for scratches and small things that don't work. And its there on the drive any time you fancy grabbing a good-weather break.

Somewhere out there, there must surely be joint ownerships for these things? An old friend living in car-unfriendly Cambridge used to share a sizeable family car with his next door neighbour - with a booking-ahead option, obviously, and with a cost split that was based on their respective mileage or day usage. And with a formal agreement that if they both wanted to have the car on the same day, one of them would hire a car and they'd both pay half the rental fee.

It worked for them, anyway. Don't ask me whose turn it was to wash the car. :lol:

BJ

colin
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255029

Postby colin » September 30th, 2019, 9:51 pm

kiloran wrote:I think the principle is fine, but the idea of driving from London to Scotland's hills for a weekend is not what I would class as de-stressing. Doing that in the friday rush hour would turn me into a gibbering wreck.

--kiloran

Take the sleeper train.

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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255059

Postby redsturgeon » October 1st, 2019, 8:05 am

Wherever you live in the UK there will be decent walking territory with an hour or two's drive...it doesn't have to be Scotland, does it?

The Lake district? Peak District? Yorkshire Dales or Moors? Brecon Beacons? Snowdonia? All must be on a par with most of Scotland.

Further south then the South Downs are wonderful walking territory right on the doorstep of millions of people.

I too have been looking at camper vans, I am quite handy so would do my own conversion (part of the fun) and there is a huge amount of stuff on YouTube showing people converting their own vans and travelling the world over weekends or years. Inspiring stuff!

I once travelled the US for two years in a camper and it was an amazing and life changing experience. However I do wonder, like you whether the hassle is worth it and also whether my 60+ year old body is as well equipped as my mid 20's body was for the rigours of van life.

If you consider how much B&B, hot showers, comfy beds and hearty dinners that £30K could buy at say £200 a time then 20 trips a year would probably cost you less than a van for the next 10 years!

John

Dod101
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255063

Postby Dod101 » October 1st, 2019, 8:20 am

colin wrote:
kiloran wrote:I think the principle is fine, but the idea of driving from London to Scotland's hills for a weekend is not what I would class as de-stressing. Doing that in the friday rush hour would turn me into a gibbering wreck.

--kiloran

Take the sleeper train.


From reports we get about the Caledonian Sleeper that would not be much of an alternative to driving.

Dod

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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255065

Postby UncleIan » October 1st, 2019, 8:25 am

Dod101 wrote:From reports we get about the Caledonian Sleeper that would not be much of an alternative to driving.


Go on....

Dod101
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255079

Postby Dod101 » October 1st, 2019, 9:42 am

Very poor service on board, like bed linen not being changed, lack of food for the catering, late, cancelled, over running at stations etc. Maybe they have improved in the last month or two but that was the reports we were getting over the summer.

I use the Scotland to London services quite often but only daytime and actually since they were nationalised as LNER they seem to be better although the catering is pretty poor. At least they have been on time more or less.

Dod

didds
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255094

Postby didds » October 1st, 2019, 11:14 am

Caveat : Biased position here :-)

Me and Mrs D are 56/57. We've had a campervan for about 5 years now and its "my vehicle" wrt day to day stuff. Its a converted VWT5 - we replaced our VWT4 conversion this year mainly because we came into some money so future proofed ourselves. Its brilliant. If we are going away for one night or one week we don't have the hassle of finding a suitable hotel or B&B that isn't a rip off for the price versus facilities. Instead we find a campsite (which TBH tend to be somewhat sterile and not really to our taste, but they do have facilities needed), or a spot to pull in out of the way.

By campervan here I mean a van - not some huge 60K motorhome - I just say that as its clear to me that many people don't appreciate the distinction (no reason they would necessarily of course). Ours doesn't have a loo, a shower, satellite TV, full ovens etc. Its a place to sleep and if needed cook a decent basic meal (two rings), have a wash and a brush up and do the washing up - even launder our smalls. Our new van is posh cos it has a fridge and little freezer compartment (!) - before we used polystyrene boxes from the market with a bag of ice in it for summer trips and of course buy daily etc where appropriate.
Costs ? Well, our newer replacement cost is 16K pretty much courtesy of Mrs Didds' dad dieing and leaving her some money, but you can get a suitable converted camper for well under 10K. They tend to hold their price though - out T4 "lost" £1750 depreciation in five years in effect - £350 a year. It works for us.

Sites cost anything from dirt cheap (fiver) to quite a lot - we paid £25 last Friday night and Ive heard of £60 nightly charges.
Charging policies are a bit like no frills airlines ... the up front poitch charge seems OK but then its X fooer adult extra, plus Y for an awning, plus Z for electric + Q for a dog + T if you want to breath etc...

Stealth camping is great - but I accept not for everybody. However there are issues around stealth camping - it isn't some rose tinted experience of just driving up to some idyliic spot and heaving to for the night. Many car parks and even street parking areas have no o/night sleeping rules and while there are endless debates about the actual legality of wording used and whether they actually are enforceable few want to be the test case with endless appeals and court appearances - and its fair to say there are some campervanners and motorhomers that do not respect the opportunities that are available and give the fraternity a bad name and its understandable if councils/locals resent people tipping up when the last lot dumped their toilet cassette in a corner of a car park and left their rubbish strewn everywhere.. Then there's the concerns around accidentally selecting a dogging spot (though the word here is that doggers leave you alone if its clear you are not interested!) or the place where the local yoofs hand out of a late night in their cars (though our one experience of that was that the lads left us well alone).

But again - it works for us. We've been invited to stay on people's drives, we kipped in pub car parks for a tiny bit of custom we would have made anyway somewhere. We've even been told to park on a slipway to a beach on the double yellow lines by the tourist information office 50 metres away from it to wake up with the beautiful beach and rising sun before us, and a cafe a short walk away. Parked by a remote lighthouse with a stunning sea view etc.

So - campervans are a good solution for some people. But there are caveats to their effective use etc that may not be obvious until youve got one :-)

didds
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255136

Postby didds » October 1st, 2019, 1:58 pm

Snorvey wrote:Is it typically one night at a time you're away for or do you have longer trips?

I'm wondering what campervan folk do wrt to bathroom facilities with these smaller vans? 24 hour supermarkets in the wee small hours would be the obvious place to go for a poop and a quick wash up.

I'd assume takeaway food would come into play on longer trips.



very relevant questions Snorvey.

Toilet requirements - around and about towns and villages even toilets are generally available - and yes supermarkets. Out in the wilds there is the front bumper (ie not an audience to see you). Or mahy have a small lidded bucket or similar for #1s at least which can be disposed off suitable later. TBH Ive never been caught short for a #2 somewhere where a loo wasn't available. Maybe Ive got lucky :-)

wash and a brush up - our two bans have had a sink so that can be done as adequately. We usually also have a bucket with us so that's another "sink" for suitable use. Dirty water gets drained into a grey waste container for suitable disposal - there's no chemicals in it etc.

Food - no different as when you tent camp - only campervans usually have some in built cooking facilities - both our vans (have) had a two ring gas hob. Like camping we tend to shop daily or have had a polystyrene box with a bag of ice to keep perishables cold/cool for a day or so - though we do now have a small fridge which is a bit of a luxury! Then there are salads/sandwiches/picnic style meals - but that's no different than home. And the occasional take away/pub meal .. but again for us we are typically on "holiday" so may well do that even if we have a airbnb with cooking facilities anyway.

If we are away for several days we would usually end up on a site for some reason or another and of course facilities there cover more fullsome needs wrt showers etc. Sports centres/clubs are usually also available for a shower if you ask nicely/pay a small fee. I can't honestly say I've ever felt gruesome or unable to be in a public space because I don't have access to a full shower twice a day - but of course OMMV (and is why I caveat my earlier response with its not for everybody)

The big motorhomes have very adequate facilities on board - I've even seen them with full showers and ovens.

didds

Dod101
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Re: Walking off the weekday worries

#255904

Postby Dod101 » October 4th, 2019, 4:07 pm

Motor homes are generally very unpopular in Scotland at least, partly because they take up a lot of room on relatively narrow roads, they contribute (or at least the occupants contribute) very little to the local economy, and as for loos, they apparently are inclined to discharge the contents of their on board facilities in places they consider suitable! Mind you, Scotland does not exactly encourage them, but there are I would have thought adequate sites available.

Personally I would prefer any time to find a comfortable hotel but we are all different.

Dod


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