Our first night in the camper van

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Three weeks out before we take the ferry from Dover to Calais and start our European adventure, Chris and I had our first night in the camper van. It was a success!

We spent the evening of Saturday 2 March here - http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/england/new-forest/setthorns-campsite - a sprawling, wooded campsite in the New Forest. We camped at a site with an electric hook-up so we could try the gas cookers, grill and oven. Everything worked.... However, a hiccup before we had even set out was that (after filling the huge water tank) we discovered the water pump wasn't working. This meant that we had water on board but wouldn't be able to use the taps in the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Only slightly deterred we decided to take a large jerry can of water with us and sort out the water pump afterwards.

It was dark when we got to Setthorns but found a pitch without a problem. We parked and that was it! We were officially using our camper van and were buzzing with excitement. The first thing Chris did was open the red wine and I proposed a toast to our travels. We cooked a simple meal of ravioli in a tomato sauce with garlic bread, and hot chocolate puddings for dessert. After getting used to eating meals in front of the TV on the couch back at our flat (due to space constraints) eating together at a table with mood lighting was delightful! Overnight the temperature dropped to close to freezing. We rugged up with sleeping bags and a huge duvet plus an electric heater for the first part of the night. I was too hot and thrashed around a bit - sorry Chris! In the morning after packing up the bed and having breakfast we went for a walk around the campsite. We saw a massive camper van with several annexes that I wish I had taken a picture of. Then we packed up - which is not as simple as it sounds because the waste cassette needs to emptied and other boring, slightly tedious jobs...

Here are some things we discovered on our first night:

1. It's really cosy in the camper van at night!

2. Bridge Constructor is fun to play together and will test your theoretical civil engineering skills - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bridge-constructor/id503190232?mt=8

3. Surfaces get hot so be careful where you place things (especially hands and i pads)

And now back to planning our route!

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