Get Shortlink Below is a longer version of a piece I wrote for the Yorkshire Post about our 3,000-plus mile trip around Europe in a Mazda Bongo van – me, my partner Ellie and our baby son, Harry…. Link here – http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/travel/nappy-campers-1-4850991 IF you could have six weeks off work, where would you go? For me, it would be hiking in the Himalayas with the promise … Continue reading 40 nights in a Mazda Bongo van
Driving right onto the beach is really handy when you have small children and lots of things to carry. Ainsdale beach near Southport, on Merseyside, is just perfect for kids – big dunes to play hide and seek, a huge sandy beach and plenty of shells and pebbles to collect. There were two ice cream vans when we visited for a day trip in August. … Continue reading The perfect beach
How many disastrous trips away with the kids do you have to suffer before throwing in the towel? One? Five? More? We spent two weeks on a Bongo trip to France which was pretty much non-stop chaos. Harry, three, spent a lot of his time trying to break the van. He had some success in his quest when the registration plate snapped off in … Continue reading Another disastrous trip in the campervan
“@AndyRobinsonYP: Bongo versus vw pic.twitter.com/rvGn8HFQdw” Go Bongo!!! — Michael Smiley (@mrmichaelsmiley) October 25, 2014 Continue reading Bongo versus VW
Planning on camping with young children? We discovered the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ the hard way during two weeks under canvas in France. AFTER a journey by sea and road lasting over 24 hours – including a punishing drive from Zeebrugge to Saint-Malo – I find myself wrestling solo with a tangled mass of tent poles and guy ropes as dusk falls on Britanny. Not … Continue reading Bongo trip to beautiful Britanny, France
* Oddly, we didn’t see a single Bongo or Ford Freda in six weeks on the Continent. * If you buy wine for 2 euros (often in a 1.5 litre plastic container) from a budget supermarket, you may not enjoy it. * Do not leave France without having eaten at least a dozen tarte aux fraises. * Some camp sites are popular with mice. We … Continue reading Tips & comments – Bongo trips in Europe
The 3,000-mile route, which took in Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Germany. We returned through France and then Belgium, sailing to Hull from Brugges. Continue reading 3,000-mile route we took through Europe in our mini campervan
Wales, and Snowdonia in particular, have been favourite destinations since I was a 10-year-old lad into skateboarding, going to cub scouts and reading the Beano comic. Wales still has the power to draw me out of Yorkshire all these years on. Our latest Wales venture took us to a campsite called Cae Du on the edge of Beddgelert, a small village in the Snowdonia area. … Continue reading Beddgelert, Gwynned, Wales
Old-style Mazda Bongo that I spotted on a trip to Cyprus Continue reading Van spotting – is it yours?
Our 2012 trip round Europe in our trusty Mazda Bongo Friendee has just received a mention in the Huddersfield Examiner, our local newspaper. I emailed the paper after reading about Examiner writer Denis Kilcommons’ attempt to drive round Europe in an old VW van which, in his words, blew up. Link here: http://www.examiner.co.uk/lifestyle/lifestyle-opinion/denis-kilcommons-imminent-demise-campervan-6120331 Continue reading Our Bongo in the Huddersfield Examiner
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