If you think that campervan holidays are for the summer season only, then we’re here to convince you otherwise! Come on a real-life autumn campervan journey with us, as we journal what being in one of our campervans for hire is really like when the sun isn’t shining. SPOILER ALERT- it’s just as wonderful (if not better).
Whilst we could sit here and tell you the ‘Top Five Autumn Destinations To Visit’ or give advice on ‘Autumnal Family Fun’ (stayed tuned for upcoming blogs), instead, we wanted to share with you a snippet of one of our favourite autumn-inspired campervan adventures that we enjoyed last year in our 4-berth campervan for hire, ‘DANI’.
With this blog, we’re hoping to drop you straight into the scene of what an autumn campervan holiday is really about, and prove that campervan hire is for all seasons of the year, not just summer!
A cosy campervan adventure
October, 2021
For this adventure we decided to take a trip to the Lake District, renowned as one of the most beautiful places to visit during the autumn season. We wanted to tick this destination off our road trip bucket list and we’re so glad we did. The drive through the hills and dales was breath-taking, the contrasting colours of orange, yellow, red, and brown made the surrounding forests look like they’d been sprinkled with paint.
We’d been driving for a little while so the campervan was nice and toasty, Rufus (our dog) was happily snoozing away, safely strapped in on one of the front seats. A drive during the autumn season is one of our personal favourites (and not just because there’s less traffic) but because we love the sense of cosy peacefulness and stillness that follows you around. Everyone is breaking out their raincoats and it’s all starting to get a bit colder.
Enjoy the peace and quiet
Rather than going to one of the bigger, potentially busier Lake District villages like Windermere, we decided to head to Grasmere, a smaller village nestled in the centre of the Lake District, known mostly as the home of William Wordsworth, and we could easily see why. Grasmere sits at the foot of the most breathtaking fells, which means that phone signal isn’t great, but we were grateful for this (it’s good to switch off!).
After parking up, we decided to explore the town with our umbrella and raincoats in hand and when we tell you that Grasmere is designed to for the autumn cosiness… we aren’t kidding. The village is full of quaint little shops filled with trinkets galore and somewhere towards the centre of the village we stumbled across- or more likely our noses led us to- ‘The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop.’
Established by Victorian cook Sarah Nelson in 1854 we promise you; you’ll never want to ordinary gingerbread again, our mouths are watering just thinking about it!
Stay warm and cosy in a campervan this autumn
After our walk around and with the evening rolling in we headed back to our 4-berth campervan for hire ‘DANI’ and proceeded to dry off Rufus with a nice warm fluffy towel. We hung our coats on the door to dry, and changed into our comfy clothes. Mark’s job was to heat up the homemade chilli con carne we had brought with us, a staple in our house at this time of year. My job was to butter the fresh crusty baguette we had bought whilst in the town, and to pour two glasses of red wine. ‘DANI’ comes with a HD TV with built-in DVD player and so we popped a movie on and cuddled up for the night, enjoying the views of the countryside out of the windows and planning what tomorrow will bring.
Enjoy the drive and save on fuel costs
After a good night’s sleep (the beds in ‘DANI’ are memory foam mattresses after all!) it was time for the most important part of any morning; a good coffee. If you didn’t already know, we have partnered with the fantastic humans at Ginger Monkey No.31, an award-winning coffee shop and home roastery in Chester, Cheshire. Trust us when we say they make a delicious coffee. That’s why we stock their home roasted coffee beans in our campervans, for our customers to enjoy free of charge. Did you enjoy their coffee when you hired from us? If so, you can order your own directly from Ginger Monkey Coffee Roasters today.
Coffee completed, we packed up and headed off, travelling south from Grasmere and knowing where our end destination was going to be, but not knowing where or when we would stop along the way.
Along our drive to Bowness-on-Windermere, we stopped in Ambleside and Troutbeck, just to stretch Rufus’s legs and pop in to the local, independent shops. We carried on to our overnight spot, the Bowness on Windermere Camping & Caravanning Club Site (formerly known as Braithwaite Fold). We like this campsite because it is right in the heart of our favourite place in the Lake District, you are camping literally on the shoreline of Lake Windermere and from the site, you can walk and explore everywhere near to you at ease. Don’t forget, now that Calico Campers are members of The Camping & Caravanning Club, you could get up to 30% off pitch fees. It goes without saying that once we were plugged in using our electric hook-up cable, we headed straight to our favourite bar and tapas restaurant in Bowness, Bodega Bar.
Choose Calico Campers For Your Cosy Campervan Experience
This was our experience, and it’s one of many that we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy in our 4-berth campervan for hire, ‘DANI’. But since the start of this year, we have also loved getting out and about in our 2-berth campervan for hire, ‘ARCHIE’, mostly because ‘ARCHIE’ is extremely fuel-efficient, and is very easy to drive which is useful when you’re driving along narrow country lanes and when you want to park in tight spots.
If you liked the sound of our cosy campervan experience, then don’t hesitate to Contact Calico Campers today to learn more about our campervan rentals and start planning your own cosy campervan experience! Don’t forget, we’re always on hand to help you plan your journey.
