The problem with having a van is having enough leave days to enjoy her! Only, I think I’ve come up with the solution…

My employer has offices all over the country – what if I worked out of the different offices and camped nearby? Then I could have a road trip without taking any leave at all!!

Such a simple idea, but more complicated to plan than I thought. Once you’ve taken out the days when personal commitments require you to be at home, and days when work commitments require you to be somewhere in particular, and discovered some of the campsites you were hoping to try out are only open at weekends, the logistics take some thinking through.

Finally I came up with a plan to camp near Ropley for the weekend and then head into the Basingstoke office. Then after work to drive to Horsley and stop for the night before working in Guildford the following day. Then finally driving to Yalding and working out of the Maidstone office.

The site at Ropley was nice and I was joined by a friend which added to the fun! We went to Jane Austen’s hours on Saturday afternoon and explored Alresford on Sunday. Right by our campsite was a little church on it’s own in the woods built in 1883 to give charcoal makers and seasonal workers access to church. Services are still held twice a month and we were lucky that our trip coincided with being able to join them.

The Horsley site is luxurious with good facilities and situated round a lake. It was busy even though it was mid-week. I enjoyed being able to have my breakfast sitting at the lakeside before venturing into the office – where I was relieved that Nessie fitted in the basement car park safely!!

The trip to Maidstone was the one I thought would be most stressful as the campsite said check in was only between 5pm and 6pm and I wasn’t sure the M25 would be compatible with that level of precision at rush hour! Fortunately my meeting finished early so I could set off early, and arrived at the campsite 5.45pm. It was quiet, being as it was a Tuesday evening, so I was able to park by the river, and being there early meant I had the whole evening to enjoy it. I even got to watch a kingfisher through my binoculars from the van.

In the end, this leg felt the most like a proper holiday, waking up to a view of the river and, after my day in the office, popping in to Maidstone for an ice cream. Delaying my journey home also had the benefit of meaning I wasn’t on the M25 at rush hour.

This is definitely something I’d do again! Maybe venture further afield and try out some other offices.

L

PS Reviews of the campsites I stayed in will follow in a seperate post