So last week, we went on our travels, an epic adventure in Wilma, our VW transporter conversion that my lovely hubby has painstakingly turned from ply lined builder’s van into amazing home on wheels. He even cut out the hole for the pop up roof and windows and built the kitchen etc! It was a labour of love and we’re all so happy with the way she’s turned out!
Not the best photo but here is Wilma in all her glory! The kids sleep up top and we sleep down below.
This was our maiden voyage in her, (bar a few nights sleeping in her on my parent’s drive!), so obviously we planned a little trial trip, close to home right? Erm, no! We drove from England to Venice in her. Yep! It was quite some journey. We worked out in the end that we had covered in all, a grand total of 2,300 miles, in eleven days!
There is a two ring hob, sink and fridge. She also has a fold out table and the front seats swing round so we can all sit round it. There are cupboards under the hob.
Loads of people have been asking, so I thought I’d write up the trip with some useful hints and tips about camper vanning with kids. Obviously, there will be some hilarious anecdotes about the absolute disasters that befell us too! After all, it would be a Pink Pear Bear post without a bit of comedy drama!
Let me take you back to Thursday, the day the kids broke up and The Day Of Total Disasters! I had been working my butt off to get everything ready for the trip. I wanted to have a real break from blog work, (and feared my husband may chuck my phone out of the moving van window if I didn’t!!!), and so I was scheduling and sorting like a mad woman. I finally felt serene and in control until Thursday rolled around and I realised I’d done absolutely no holiday prep. None.
Ok, no biggy, I had all day….except, I didn’t. Our cat Pablo was supposed to be going into kennels and as she was 11, hadn’t been vacc’d for years, (the vet had advised against it just so you don’t think I’m just a mean cat owner!), so we’d taken her to the vet for a booster. As it turned out, it was one of a two part-er, so the kennel couldn’t take her. I spent a good hour phoning round and finally found someone to come in and feed her. Phew! Packing then!
This gorgeous lady caused me some stress! All my fault though!
Er, no! Mr PB expressed concern that the van had a slow puncture. Luckily he had the day off work, so we went to get my car, (which was in a garage across town), and drop the van in. Along the way, we stopped at a supermarket and I accidently spent way too long buying entertainment supplies for the kids. In the spirit of making this a useful post and not just my dramatic retelling with much waving of arms, (you shall have to imagine that bit!), I will tell you that this was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I bought each child a sticker book, a shape one for big girl and a Thomas one for small boy. It was a bit wasted on small boy though. I also got a princess colouring book for BG and a Paw Patrol one for SB, (also wasted on him!), two identical packs of colouring pencils, (my thinking went, ‘felt tips?’ hell no! ‘wax crayons?’ cheap ones don’t really make a mark and are a nightmare to get off seats and ‘paint?’ oh dear god woman are you freaking mental?!’), I also got two packs of cheap foam stickers. Letters and numbers for BG and different expression faces for SB. These ended up stuck to every surface imaginable and I feel like we did a total Hansel and Gretal and if you so wished, you could follow our exact trip simply by looking for brightly coloured smile and frown stickers as they fell out at every stop and both children were covered in them everywhere we went!
Sticker books! Happy kids equals happier parents! 😀
Anyway, they all came in very useful and I kept them in a rucksack up front and every time boredom overwhelmed and they started to squabble, (‘he touched me with his toooooeeee!, ‘she put a finger up my nose!’), I would whip something out and buy us some peace for ooooh, about 10 minutes! 😉
In the spirit of being upfront and ‘real’ though, I’ve got to say that the best thing we had ever ever, were the dvd players we bought to attach to the back of our headrests. We didn’t use them that much, but when things were really tight and we had to push on, (we were stuck in a traffic jam for an hour and a half near Milan), they were a godsend. Although I did curse them when I was trying to operate something that was effectively attached to the back of my head, with both children keeping up a running commentary on what was, or wasn’t happening on screen. ‘There’s no picture Mummy, it’s all blue Mummy, it’s not coming on!’ sentences that still haunt me! 😀
You’re going to laugh at me forever more but I genuinely belted up a tank of worms!!
Back to disaster day! (This is absolutely going to be a two parter I think! At least!!) After my the lengthy stop in the supermarket, we went to drop the van in and then went to deliver the wormery to my son’s nursery. As I’d had it to review, I thought it might be nice to pass it on to them, plus I wasn’t sure how they’d cope with being left. (Not that I am under any illusion they would miss me, but a return to a tank of deceased worms really would be a rubbish home coming!)
Despite being ridiculously stressed before we left, I still made time to sew two ‘sleep’ cushions for them as I hate seeing their heads lolling when they doze off. They didn’t work quite as I’d expected! (Utter fail!)
I asked Mr PB to drop me home to start packing while he took my door keys over to the cat sitter. So home we went to drop me off so I could hurriedly start throwing things into bags. Another tip! We have these very handy rectangle ‘pods’ that my husband bought on a popular online auction site, that come in packs of four different sizes. They zip all the way round 3 sides and each member of the family has a different colour. I packed tops in one, bottoms in another and underwear and pjs in a third for the kids. I needed a few more as my clothes are so much bigger.
These pods then stack one on top of the other in the wardrobe and it’s easy to find whichever person’s clothes by the colour. Until the inevitable happens and all clothes end up in the laundry bag! (Another tip, take a bag specifically for washing! A big one!) I also used the smaller sized ones to put the afore mentioned pencils and stickers in. Also in the child’s own colour.
Co-driver no 1!
When he returned, he told me that the garage had phoned to confirm that the van did indeed have a puncture, but they couldn’t fix it, or get a new tyre until the next day. Eek! Oh, and also that he’d somehow managed to loose his own keys along the way, leaving us utterly keyless! I then had to drive my him back over to the get the van, which he then took to a third garage for the new tyre. (Seriously, you couldn’t make this up, I promise you that no artistic license has been used in the writing of this blog post!) By this point it was 1.30pm and we wanted to leave in two hours at the latest.
Co-driver no 2!
In the subsequent hour and a half, I did the nursery and school pick up and we walked home, rounding the corner to our house on tenterhooks, to see the van waiting on the drive! Hurrah!! We hurriedly threw everything into it, and after just a few tense moments(!), we were ready to leave…..the back door and gate open for my friend to come in and lock up later!! Trusting in our neighbourhood, he headed off. Excited to begin our adventure.
Excited to start our travels! He was asleep within about 3 minutes of leaving the house!
In the spirit of true adventure, we hadn’t booked anything, we just had several books of ‘Aires’ that we could find along the way, and a rough idea of where we wanted to end up. France has a real abundance of these Aires, unlike Britain, (who don’t let you even slow down anywhere other then a paid for campsite!), vanners are welcomed with open arms, every few feet you seem to spot a sign for one. They are pull in places, some with loos and showers, (many without though so do check), some just motorway laybys really, but lots with views, picnic areas, even kiddy playgrounds and all either free or just a few euros from our experience that you can just arrive at at any point and set up.
We negotiated maybe the worst roads of the trip, (M25 I’m looking at you!), and arrived at the tunnel at 7.20, about 10 minutes late for our check in, but we’d been advised, (by people I shall no longer trust about anything!!), that you get an hour either way. Merrily popping our ticket in, buzzing with excitement…….we got a time of 10.50pm! Oh noooooooo! That meant over three hours in the terminal, what were we going to do?! Were our travels as doomed from the outset as it felt at this moment?!
…….To Be Continued!!……..
I am so excited to read what happens next. I love Wilma and The PB family adventures. I am also fascinated by how Wilma works as a living space. She must be like the Tardis? I’ve been puzzling over the photos of you all driving trying to work it out. Please can we have a video tour next time?! Hope you had a wonderful holiday. Xx
I’ll have to start writing it!!!!! ooh ok, I’ll draw a floor plan later for you but a video tour is a great idea. I must clean her out from the trip first though. Slummy mummy!!!! She is amazing! Seriously genius. I am baffled by how we can all drive/sit/eat & sleep in just a van! xx
I am looking forward to it already! I always wanted to live in a camper van as a child and I am such a big kid about them. #bigpinklink
Wow Wilma is incredible! I would absolutely give anything to have a camper van and be able to just jet off at weekend if we wanted to! Can’t wait to read part 2 #bigpinklink
It’s honestly so fab! Would highly recommend if it’s ever possible. 🙂
A wormery!!!!! Ha ha ha ha!!! That is brilliant. Just FYI; husband and I are literally starting to chat about a holiday later in the year down here in Oz…you may have just inspired us!! Looking forward to the next installment! #bigpinklink
Oh it’s brilliant! Can highly recommend!!
Oh my days, with a start to the holiday like this I can’t wait to read what happened next! Would love to see pictures of how you all fit in the van i’m imagining a big american style RV but obviously it’s not! #bigpinklink
I’m planning to do a video! It’s no longer then my estate car. It’s a standard short wheel base transporter van.
I love Wilma! I want one! Looking forward to reading the next installment x #bigpinklink
She’s special alright!! 🙂
love that Transporter 🙂 #bigpinklink
She’s ace! 🙂
Ooooh I can’t wait to read the next post! Sounds like it was a tiny (massive understament) bit stressful to start with. Also I am in love with Wilma and want one of my own! #bigpinklink
Wilma is so popular! She might need her own SM accounts! 🙂
Oh my goodness, I was stressed just reading this…!! What a start!! But I’m super impressed by the fact that you made pillows, and chose lots of very appropriate entertainment, all whilst under this immense stress! We also bought headrest tv’s for our holiday (nearly 3 hours for the journey there,) and they were also our standout best purchase!! The children loved them, and they saved us a lifetime of screams, fights and ‘are we there yet?’ However, I remain totally, utterly impressed by your husbands skills in converting that van by himself!! Just so epic!!!! We hired a VW camper for a week last year, and went to Devon, we absolutely loved it! We want to buy one, but at the moment don’t have enough funds! I can’t wait to hear more from this epic adventure!! xx
It’s been a year in the making! Adding bits as we could afford them! We’ve tried to do a lot on the cheap, easier as we could do a lot, (ahem, ok HE could do a lot!), ourselves! I highly recommend the tvs too, and camper van life too. You can hire them out for a test, which is what we did.xx
Oh my goodness Wilma is amazing!! I can’t believe your husband did it himself – and I can’t believe you travelled all that way in Wilma – Mother and Father went to Milan for their honeymoon on the train and that took ages! The pics are fab, you all look so happy – and I can’t believe you had time to sew some cushions! Incredible. Can’t wait to read the second part of your travels x #bigpinklink
Incredible…..or a bit insane!!!! 😀 Milan by train must have been a fabulous experience for them. Maybe they will do it with you………..ahahaha! Or maybe not! 😉
When is part two? I’m in! #bigpinklink <3
You’ve just reminded me I need to start writing it!
🙂 Can’t wait to see what happens next! You guys are brave, I couldn’t imagine travelling from England to Venice with my little one 😀 #bigpinklink
It was definitely something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of when they were younger!
Eeeeep I felt stressed reading that! I can’t wait to hear what happens next. Definitely agree with Nursery Whines that I need a visual to work out how this all functions!! Wilma does look very impressive. I’m glad you got the wormery taken care of too haha. Thanks for hosting #bigpinklink
Sorry! I’m very good at conveying the stress I think!!! 😀
Oh wow I want a Wilma of our own!! My friend has just got one and I am super jealous!! It does sound very stressful but your photos are fab, cant wait for the next installment! #bigpinklink
It is so much fun! I’m working on part two!xx
Wilma looks awesome love your co drivers fab photos can’t wait for next instalment thanks for hosting #bigpinklink
I did offer to drive but I’m much happier map reading and taking copious photos really! 😀
Travelling never goes exactly as planned, does it? Wilma looks fab, though – and you’re brave for attempting a journey that long with kids. Can’t wait to read more about your travels! #bigpinklink
Never!!!!! 😀
Sounds like my kind of holiday… and the pre-pet sortout. Oh blimey, I feel your pain. Looking forward to the next installment #bigpinklink
I know! It always happens to us!!!!
Oh I am so envious of Wilma, she is fabulous. Looking forward to the next installment… Don’t envy you having to wait so long at the terminal though.
All will be revealed in part two! When I get round to writing it!!! 😀
Looking forward to part 2 #bigpinklink
😀
Wilma is amazing!
We have just recently bought a vw transporter and now I’m thinking oooooooooh weeeee could so do that! But jon has just cut me down in my prime.
Love the pillow ideas too, I hate it when the boys fall asleep in the van and
their heads roll all over the place and look like their about to drop off!
Looking forward to instalment no.2
xx
Oh it’s so good! There are companies out there that convert them for you, return them in a few weeks all finished! The pillows didn’t work really! I’m still hunting for a solution!
Wilma is bloody glorious!
Oh thank you!!
The van looks awesome! That little kitchen area looks nicer than the one in our house! I’m so with you on portable DVD players too. Whoever invented them should have been given a medal.
Just reading the puncture and lost keys stressed me out – every year as a kid going on holiday meant some disaster or other. I blame this for turning me into the most stressy traveler ever! My partner refuses to tell me what times we’re supposed to be somewhere lest I start panicking and nagging him three days in advance. xD #bigpinklink
Oh no! I’m just glad the kids were at school and nursery and missed all the stressy bit! I get pretty stressed in the lead up to going anywhere. I think you can see why though!!! 😉
I am fascinated by camper vans. My other half had an old VW one when we first met which we sold before kids…they have never forgiven us. Mind you it had no heating and you couldn’t hear yourself over the roar of the engine. You are very brave and I look forward to the next instalment! #bigpinklink
I’d love an old one but hubs is far too tall and the unreliability is off putting! Wilma is so modern.
I will have to join everyone else with their comments on the van – what an achievement and loving the name too. When I was reading this I was feeling stressed and excited all in one go. I think you handled the series of crises before you even left amazingly, I would have crumpled and postponed for another day. Absolutely can’t wait to read the next breathtaking instalment. #bigpinklink
That wasn’t an option! We were leaving that day and That. Was. The. End. Of. It!! I’m as stubborn as I am disorganised!!!! 😀
I’m on tenterhooks waiting to hear what happens next. I love your writing style. Very fun post!
PS – I think travelling with kids is like this all the time, no matter where you’re going or how organized you think you are… 🙂
#bigpinklink
Phew! I always feel it’s just me!!!
You have managed to evoke an array of emotions in me! I actually gasped when I read you’d driven to Venice (WITH CHILDREN!) you’re so BRAVE (or your kids are maybe less fussy than mine), then i despaired with you and chuckled along the way.
Also love a good cliff hanger, it was like watching a particularly exciting episode of Neighbours!
I feel the need to say how truly magnificent Wilma is too. Mr PB has done an awesome job. My fiance isn’t very handy, he just about changed a light bulb on his own… once!
Oh thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! I think I managed to grip everyone with our disastrous day!! 😉
That should have also said:
#bigpinklink
The conversion looks great – you can’t beat VW camper! That’s an epic journey and we’ve been similarly delayed at the tunnel because of traffic – it’s a nightmare. Really looking forward to part 2.
Oh thank you! It was our fault for being late really!! 🙂
Apologies, I missed the #bigpinklink off the end.
That’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this!
L X
http://workingmumy.blogspot.com
#bigpinklink
Wilma is awesome!!! What a great way to travel and see places! I look forward to reading the next instalment! x #bigpinklink
Oh thank you! We love her!
Can’t wait to read the next instalment, I would have strapped in the worm farm too haha 🙂 I usually end up leaving the packing to the last minute too- oops! Wilma looks amazing, very impressed! Thanks for linking lovely #bigpinklink xx
I’m so glad it’s not just me!!!! I was thinking about a car full of earth and worms!! 🙂
What an absolute cliff hanger!! I want more, I need more haha! Your van is fantastic, we really fancy the idea of a camper but I’m not sure my husband is quite as handy as yours. Looking forward to the next instalment #bigpinklink xx
I need to write it!! There are companies that do it all for you, or you can hire them for a try out. 🙂
I need to read the next bit now………#bigpinklink Lifeinthemumslane
*Gets writing*
Wow! Just driving from MA to MD here in the States can be stressful, especially with kids in tow but you went even further! I love road trips though so even though the sound of your trip makes me think of a lot of stress, I think I would have enjoyed it because its all about the adventure, and the site seeing! Thanks so much for hosting #thebigpinklink
It was just brilliant! Doing another American road trip is the big dream.
Wilma! I LOVE it!!! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures, I would love to do this one day x #bigpinklink
It’s so wonderful! Seriously! Highly recommend.
It’s so fab! Highly recommend!
OMG This is my husbands dream he would love a Wilma! I’ve always been so against it but having read this…. you may have converted me ha ha xx #bigpinklink
Seriously, I can’t recommend enough!!
Ooh this seems very exciting despite the hugely stressful start! I’m not sure I could have coped with all that worry. Wilma looks amazing and must be some van to drive you all to Venice! Look forward to hearing more in the next instalment. #BigPinkLink x
It was all worth it, honest!
Oh no! You can’t leave me hanging like this! Hurry up and type the next installment please lovely. (PS: I want to kit my entire house out in colour coded cubes now – I’m feeling inspired!)
Thanks for hosting #bigpinklink xx
Haha, I’ve not even started yet, sorry!! 😀 The cubes are AWESOME!
I love it! What a great way to travel, it always reminds me of Peppa Pig but that is probably because I have seen far too much of that programme,haha! X #bigpinklink
Haha, I wish it converted that quickly! The kids love it when that one comes on. 🙂
Oh gosh I was always relatively relaxed about traffic but now I have kids I hate it. If the kids are in the car I panic that I don’t have any drinks or snacks or blankets. We had a caravan when our eldest was one but sold it when we had number two as we just knew we wouldn’t use it. I still miss it a little bit! Hope part two is a bit more ‘happy camper’ than your disaster day at the beginning! Thanks for hosting #bigpinklink
It definitely gets better! Promise! Traffic and kids is terror inducing!
You are so on to something here with the Wilma – just brilliant – your husband is ridiculously talented – the memories that your children will have will be awesome. Oh you did make me laugh about the dvd on the back of your head – oh i’ve been there – and that sentence that will haunt you – blue screens! Is it wrong that I’m looking forward to the next post at your expense?! #BigPinkLink great photos too lovely – your family looks such fun!
Haha, I shall definitely add in drama to the follow up for you! We’ve had such fab times already, the memories are only going to get better. (I tell myself! 🙂 )
Full respect to you, I couldnt do camping with kids van or not!
Oh it’s so fun, I know I don’t make it sound it but it really is!
Wow, sounds like you were really tested during part 1, Im so excited to hear all about part 2 and good tips so far, were planning a little UK camper break, so taking notes. thanks for sharing #bigpinklink
Oh it’s fab! I can’t recommend it enough. Part 2 is under construction!
Ah, possibly more excitement than you’d hoped for but very, very entertaining for us 🙂 Genuinely lol at the running commentary on the DVD players as I go through this on long journeys with my two ” Mummy it’s just black, no it’s doing something, oh no it’s gone back to the blue with the white thingy” 🙂 Can we just take a second to appreciate how amazing your man is?!!! Jeepers he’s a clever thing to be able to convert a van into a Wilma?!!! Looking forward to the next post already x #bigpinklink
Oh I’ll tell him, he’ll be so puffed up at all the kind words! The dvd thing is a mixed blessing, I’ve had all those comments! 😀
Hi Louise, your other half is sooooo clever (as if you didn’t already know!). Wilma is beautiful. Just preparing for a road trip like must have left you in need of a holiday.
The pillows were a good idea, but I’m not sure that anything would stop the lolling of a sleeping child’s head (a neck splint maybe?).
Look forward to the next installment!
#BigPinkLink
I definitely came home in need of another break!!! 😀 I am on the hunt for a solution for this problem, I worry so much about their necks!!
Eeek! I hope part two has less mishap!
Your cat looks very, very like the cat I had as a child, who’s still going strong at 18 with my parents.
#bigpinklink
Totally gets better!! She is a beautiful lady. 🙂
Sounds amazing! I wish my family could do something like this! Cant wait to read part 2 #bigpinklink
It’s so fun, you could always hire one for a weekend. 🙂
Oh my goodness what a start to your hols! Looking forward to.the next installment xx #bigpinklink
You couldn’t make it up!!
LOVE the photo of the carefully buckled up wormery! Looking forward to part 2. #bigpinklink
I’m glad people get it!!! It was the idea of a car full of worms and earth!!!
DId the worms have a good time too?I love that they are belted! Next, lttle worm seats and boosters for bigger worms. #bigpinklink
Haha, can you imagine?!
That looks super fun! What an amazing experience it must of been for you all! Talented hubby. #bigpinklink
It gets so much better!
Oh goodness! It does sound like you had a really eventful time getting going. This is something we would love to do when the kids are just a tad bigger (camper van across europe that is!) so will be watching your exploits with interest! #bigpinklink
Oh it gets loads better! I deffo recommend!
Oh my god I’m so stresses after reading this haha. I really hope things got better after disaster day, I can’t wait to find out. Love the idea of taking sticker books on long journeys and yes I agree..the m25 is evil!I would love a camper van xx #bigpinklink
Haha, sorry! It gets better! Sticker books are brilliant.
Wilma is amazing! And I love that you belted up the worms. I look forward to reading the next part, good cliff hanger there at the end 😉 #BigPinkLink
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
I must start writing it!
Oh I would love to have a camper van, looks like so much fun! I look forward to reading part 2! xx #bigpinklink
It really is fun!
Amazing start to your adventures! I laughed out loud at the DVD attached to the back of your head part – I’ve been there so many times! I also envy your packing ability, it takes me forever! Look forward to the next part. #BigPinkLink
Quickly doesn’t always mean effectively!!!!!!
Wilma looks awesome! It does sound like you had an epic preparation to the start of your holiday…staying tuned for the next instalment.
It was definitely memorable!!
Wow – the stress! Loving Wilma! My two love sticker books, but we also end up with them & everything covered and a trail of stickers when they come out. The packing pods sound like a great idea – must look into them! Love the seatbelted worms! Look forward to hearing more! #bigpinklink
Part two coming soon! They were a lot better with the sticker books then the packet stickers, I won’t be taking them on any road trips again!
Sorry, sorry, sorry, only just catching up on last week’s #bigpinklink reading but loving this adventure already! And no, no, no, you definitely DO NOT have an hour’s leeway at the tunnel!! I should know this from the check in queue being so long during one trip – when I was 16 weeks pregnant – that we missed our train! Busting for the loo springs back to my memory!!
Oh goodness, what a day! I hope this story turns out well! 🙂
#bigpinklink