BANGERNOMIC
Buying & selling modern Classics in the real world
James drives the entire Welsh coast in a £300 camper
The boom in holidays at home in the past few years has caused camper van values to rocket and sparked a surge in van conversions for camping use. It’s something I got into with the purchase of a ‘boot jump’ for my £300 Berlingo. It’s essentially a lightweight hinged wooden frame that tucks away in the boot when not in use – yet folds out down the car just about enough to accommodate a six-footer like me.
And the point? Freedom. After such long periods stuck at home in 2020, me and my old van have since travelled the country to see friends and family ‘on the cheap’ and in relative comfort. Although there are some clever ‘mini-camper’ conversions out there with a multitude of ingenious cooking, washing and sleeping configurations in the tiniest spaces, this most basic of arrangements has suited me well. It is camping without the flapping canvas.
‘Rupert’ is a former Bangernomics star – bought as an MOT failure in 2020 – and it has served as a superb workhorse. Among the numerous adventures, I decided recently it would be perfect for a long weekend to see friends in wintry Wales. Trouble was, one lives in Anglesey and the other is in Monmouth.
Naturally, I have decided to go the long way around, via Pembrokeshire, travelling almost the entire length of the country’s beautiful coastline.
My Friday morning run from Northamptonshire to Anglesey is an enjoyable motorway blast to Llandudno. The fitment of Dodmat sound deadening throughout and addition of cruise control and an engine remap has turned this into the most refined Berlingo in existence, I reckon.
The views are superb, the enormous windscreen and deep windows giving me an outstanding view across the Irish Sea after crossing the Menai Straight, dropping into the oddly flat Anglesey landscape to see my friend Paul. My first night is at a camp site nearby, where I’m battered by stiff winds and heavy rain. It’s chilly enough for me to consider how I might consider fitting a diesel night heater in the future, but otherwise I sleep well.
Next day, I’m back across the Menai Bridge and down the Llŷn Peninsula to Nefyn, where I catch up with another friend. Katie looks bewildered. ‘Why are you driving a van?’ A day walking the coast in blustery November and some hot pub food ends with me parked up at a campsite overlooking Cardigan Bay – and a vista down the coast I’m about to navigate. I sucker my home-made blinds to all windows except one, snuggle up for the night and fall asleep watching distant lights blinking across the water.
