Continuing our 2020 Social Distance Summer Road Trip, we left Wales and headed north to
Scotland, but we had to reach the border first and decided to spend a night in the Lake District
on our way north to break up the journey. The journey from Wales to the Lake District was long and uneventful. 200 miles in a VW Camper at 55mph is quite a slog, but we are used to long durations on the road and somehow in the camper it never seems as bad as being in a car. Maybe that’s because the camper feels like being at home? At least you can pull over pretty much whenever you like and make a cuppa!
On arrival at the Lake District, we hit Windermere. We aren’t staying here, but it’s the starting point for a road through the mountains that I have wanted to drive ever since coming to this location by accident four years ago; the Kirkstone Pass! For those who know the Lake District well enough, you may know there are two places called Troutbeck.
One of them is close to Penrith and has a campsite, the other is near to Windermere and doesn’t! Four years ago I drove to the wrong Troutbeck and haven’t been able to live it down. The Kirkstone pass pretty much runs between the two, but we weren’t brave enough to take on the pass last time we visited (first time towing the camping trailer and didn’t know if we would make it!… bearing in mind one of the roads on the pass is called “The Struggle!” and so we took the long way round instead.
From the Windermere side of the pass in the south, it’s a long uphill jaunt along harsh mountain roads with tall, threatening, exposed rock faces, narrow sections and tight bends. After what seems like a lifetime with my foot flat on the throttle (I don’t dare back off in case we can’t get going again!) we make it up to the summit of the road, which is surrounded by even taller mountain peaks and rocky landscape

The area is partly submerged in cloud, but there is a cafe at the top and there are bikers gathered
(cars too) who have been enjoying the twisty black stuff. The road back down the other side towards the
North is very similar; steep, twisty and narrow! One main difference now is the pedal choice. Instead of the right one being hard to the floor, I am covering and pumping the middle one in the hope that we don’t get brake fade! (That’s a story for another day!) The route down treats you to magnificent views over Ullswater in the distance and when you do eventually reach it, the road follows the undulating contours of the shoreline, providing a few places along the way where you can stop and enjoy the views over the water, maybe even have a paddle.
We don’t stop as we are keen to get a decent pitch secured for the night and head to our campsite at Troutbeck Head. To get to the site from Ullswater you have to climb the hill at Aira Force waterfall, which is understated at steep. Don’t forget to look in your mirrors to appreciate the stunning views!
We have visited Aira Force waterfall in the past. It’s a very popular National Trust attraction and has a sizeable car park, but on a day with decent weather it gets extremely busy.

Here’s a top tip: Visit the waterfall on a really rainy day. It will be virtually empty and the falls will be even more spectacular! Just make sure you pack your waterproofs as you will get wet!

After checking into the site and enjoying a cuppa, we head back out down to Ullswater and see if we can find a spot to stop on the shoreline to let Ruby (our springer spaniel) have a paddle. It’s rammed. It’s summer, it’s the school holidays and people have been in a covid lockdown for 4 months!
We follow the road around Ullswater and up to Penrith to get some supplies. If you’re in the area, this is a great spot to pick up essentials before heading off into the wilderness for a few nights. Within 5 minutes of each other, there is a Morrisons, an Aldi and a Booths! There’s also a Pets At Home and a Go Outdoors. So everyone, including travelling pets, should be well catered for.
With stocks of essential supplies and the fridge filled with dog food (should really be cold alcoholic beverages in there), we head back down to Ullswater again and Bingo!.. The crowds and families have now left as it’s tea time, so we park up and head down to the shore. I pack a towel and my swim shorts… just in case.

When we get down there, the views are simply stunning. There are some beautiful and picturesque places in the UK, but this has got to be up there. It is hard to believe that we are still in England, this could easily be the Italian lakes! The sun is shining on the mountains on the other side of Ullswater, which is flat calm and quiet. Ruby needs no persuasion and is straight in the water. I follow in my flip flops… wow! That is seriously cold!!
Feeling brave, or possibly just delirious from driving all day, I don my swim shorts and head in. After 5 mins of walking up and down up to my waist with excuses about how it’s too cold and how I will develop hypothermia, I go for the dunk. I’m in. It’s freezing! As I paddle I start to loosen up and feel the refreshing water washing over me. After 5 minutes or so I realise that the water is so cold it is making my skin tingle and I feel bits of me going numb. I carry on a while before making the decision to get out whilst I am not shivering with teeth chattering together like one of those wind up toys!
I dried myself off and we headed back to the camper. Ruby got to have her favourite towel dry and we head back to base at the campsite for dinner. We have a short walk in some nearby footpaths before the sun goes down and head to bed in preparation of another long day that will take us further north and across the border into Scotland!
Phil Aldridge
“Tales From The Driving Seat” is on Instagram
@talesfromthedrivingseat and blogspot
www.talesfromthedrivingseat.blogspot.com

We head into Aberystwyth to pick up some
essentials; dog food, milk and petrol! Not
wanting to waste the trip into town, we head
to the seafront and take a drive along the
promenade. We are pleasantly surprised by the
lovely Victorian buildings and a funicular cliff
railway too!
Stocked up with supplies and the tank full to
bursting with petrol, we head north and are
looking forward to today’s route which will take
us on a B road that follows the coast around the
southern part of Snowdonia rather than going
through it and then into the National Park to
camp for the night.
The start of the coastal road happens
immediately after crossing the river/estuary at
Machynlleth via an old stone bridge and then
turning left off the main A road and following
the river on your left. As roads go, this one is
beautiful. The surface is smooth, with a stone
wall on one side and a cliff face the other, it
undulates over and around the coastal features,
giving us amazing views over the river and sea.
As we get closer to the coast, the road becomes
lined with old oak trees, growing out of the cliff
and hanging over the edge.
Our first stop on this route is a small seaside
town called Aberdovey. There is a golf club, a
beach and beach related stuff. We drive through,
noticing people pointing and commenting at
the camper… this often happens and I sometimes
wonder if they are pointing at something falling
off! But you get used to it and you soon realise
that driving a bright blue camper van with an
exhaust that announces your arrival everywhere
you go is going to get you attention.
The road picks up as it comes out of Aberdovey,
but its only a short run before the next small
town called Tywyn. On our way in we notice
the large amount of static caravans surrounding
the area. The town is pleasant and has all the
makings of a seaside location, with a decent
looking Co-Op if you need supplies! The beach
is clean and there is also a narrow gauge steam
railway here too.

From Tywyn the road heads inland to avoid
another river estuary and make the crossing via
a bridge.

There is a ferry that can take you across, but
we took the road to save time. Once you cross
over the river, the road heads back towards the
coast and is it does, starts to climb. As the road
meets the coast you are met with one of the
most beautiful coastal roads we have driven.
There are numerous lay by areas to pull over and
appreciate the view, which we did.
We followed the coastal road until reaching
the larger town of Fairbourne. To continue
from here there are a few options; a ferry direct
to Barmouth, a modern road bridge several
miles inland or an old rickety wooden bridge
that resembles a seaside pier… guess which
option we went for?! The old wooden bridge
at Penmaenpool is a toll bridge, costing 80p for
cars and £1 for motorhomes. We are technically
driving a Motorhome, despite being car sized,
but I don’t mind paying the extra 20p to keep
the bridge maintained. The crossing is bumpy as
the wooden sections are uneven, but we make
it across safely without encountering any trolls
who want to eat us for their supper!
After crossing the bridge we head into Barmouth.
Barmouth is a seaside resort with everything
you would expect; amusements, chip shops,
sandy beaches and a long promenade. It was
busy. Really busy. We stopped for a while on the
promenade and watched the crowds but didn’t
venture out of our own space inside the camper.
From Barmouth we follow the road all
the way to the end of the coastal route at
Penrhyndeudraeth and make our way up to the
campsite which is only 5 minutes up the road.
Nearby is the village of Portmeirion; a tourist
village, designed and built by Sir Clough
Williams-Ellis in the style of an Italian village,
which is now owned by a charitable trust. We
didn’t visit as we didn’t have any time left in the
day, but it’s worth a look if you’re in the area!

In the evening we pop back into
Penrhyndeudraeth to look for some dinner
and find several takeaway options including
a Chinese, Indian, kebab and chippy. What a
fantastic selection. We opt for the Indian and
head back to the site to rest up in preparation
for the next day – Snowdonia!

We set off from our site the next morning
heading for Anglesey. It’s a shorter trip today,
taking in the sites that Snowdonia has to offer.
On the route we pass through Beddgelert,
which has an interesting story. The town is home
to a legendary site called Gelert’s Grave. In the
legend, Llywelyn The Great returns from hunting
to find his baby missing, the cradle overturned,
and his dog Gelert, with a blood-smeared
mouth. Believing the dog had savaged the child,
Llywelyn draws his sword and kills Gelert. After
the dog’s dying yelp Llywelyn hears the cries
of the baby, unharmed under the cradle, along
with a dead wolf which had attacked the child
and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is overcome
with remorse and buries the dog with great
ceremony, but can still hear its dying yelp. After
that day Llywelyn never smiles again.
You can park in the village and walk to the site,
however the morning has brought much rain
with it and so we decide to carry on with a
journey.

We follow a road that takes us past a beautiful
lake called Llyn Dinas, there are a few spots
along the side of the road to stop and if you’re
brave enough, take a paddle

The road starts to meander and climb slowly,
this becomes more apparent as you come past
Llyn Gwynant. There are some tight bends on
the climb and I notice views in my mirrors!
We eventually come to a small car park
which boasts a view of Snowdon. The Peak of
Snowdonia and the highest peak in England
and Wales at 1085m. We get a few snaps here
as the clouds break over the mountain and also
take advantage of the ice cream van parked here
too… it’s never too cold or wet for an ice cream!
We continue our journey through Snowdonia,
past Snowdon, and Pen y Pass, where there were
many cars being turned away as it was so busy.
We climb up and over the pass that flows in the
valley on what started as a miners track, down to
the village of Llanberis. You can walk Snowdon
from here as well and if your legs aren’t up to it,
take the train up too!
From Llanberis we make our way out of
Snowdonia, the landscape changes quickly
from Mountains to flat land and trees. We arrive
at Bangor, singing the famous song as we do
and then travel over to Anglesey on the Brittania
Bridge. We notice the large amount of farming
and gorgeous rolling countryside. We stop at
some beaches at Cemaes in the northern part of
the island and on our way to our campsite stop
off at a lovely harbour in Amlwch Port.
The next part of our journey will see us leaving
Wales and heading north towards the Scottish
border, stopping over in the Lake District
en route.
Phil Aldridge
“Tales From The Driving Seat” is on Instagram
@talesfromthedrivingseat and blogspot
www.talesfromthedrvingseat.blogspot.com

It was a real treat to head north in Dennis the Dormobile last month. We had three glorious weeks in Scotland in July (despite the roadside Yellow Storm Warnings on route!). We broke journey in Crianlarich and travelled on to Skye the next day. Probably busier than usual, the island was far from overwhelmed and Dennis loved the rolling single track roads. We did notice a huge expansion of motorhome hiring since last year.
We were surprised by our 1978 T2 having become a rarity and a conversation piece; several people asked to take his photograph! All of which made the campsites even more sociable than usual. Set up in Glen Brittle, we hiked up onto the rugged Cuillin Ridge and got our only soaking of the trip on the way down. From Dunvegan, we used our bikes to explore a landscape that is still only a generation or two away from the crofting life. There was a whole trail of makers and artists on Skye and we dropped in on a weaving shed and a print and glass gallery.

We had been keen to follow the last stages of Euro 2020 despite being away, which meant listening to a crackly quarter-final radio commentary on the road to Crianlarich (did they just score??) and also the semi-final at Dunvegan (the only pub in the village wasn’t open on a Wednesday…).
At the small site near Staffin, we asked about the nearest pub for the Sunday night final and the lovely owners told us that they had a couple of spare TVs and they could lend us one to set up in Dennis. So with a low tech but safe hook-up and a bent wire aerial, we watched the match! A first for us.
More hiking and cycling to explore the stunning Trotternish ridge and the coastline, before heading down to Loch Rannoch and a campsite near a remnant of the ancient Caledonian forest and some hot and sunny Munros. The evening midges were repelled successfully with some Miss Haversham-style headnets!
Three nights with friends and family around Glasgow and north Ayrshire also gave us the chance to do a washing load (!) before our final week down in Galloway in Scotland’s overlooked southwest. If you get the chance, see if you can book a space at quirky North Rhinns campsite. It’s not many miles from Stranraer, but it’s another world; 12 or 15 pitches tucked among a small wood, well looked after by the enthusiastic and sociable owners, who would love to host a T2 rally sometime!!
Linda and Stewart Shuttleworth

For this edition of Member’s Motor, we look at Rachel’s Bay, called “Skye”. This is what she had to say about it.

We have a blue T2 called Skye. We originally found her in May 2018 when someone local to us used to hire her out, so we hired her for a trip to Scotland. We took the van around the highlands, including to the Isle of Skye. My husband Kyle (then boyfriend) proposed to me on the trip, which was a total surprise, so that trip and the van had some very special memories for us. In June 2019 we got married and I was waiting for my wedding car to pick me up, instead of the car arriving with my dad in it, Skye the T2 arrived
with our friend as the driver! I was shocked as I had not seen Skye since we had got engaged and I thought “How lovely, he’s hired her again as a surprise”. He had decorated her with wedding ribbons and bunting inside etc. When I got in the van (with my dad inside) Keith our friend who was driving, passed me a note which had the typical wedding phrase:
Something old: Skye is from 1975.
Something blue: Skye is blue.
Something borrowed: She is borrowed for the wedding.
Something new: actually she’s not borrowed, Skye is yours!

Unbeknown to me, the guy who owned Skye was selling her and Kyle bought her as a surprise for our wedding day, so that’s how we came to get her! What a surprise. Since then we have had a lot of trips away, even in current circumstances. We took her to Glastonbury 2 weeks after our wedding and then managed to do the NC500 in September last year, as well as lots more local weekends to the Lake District and Northumberland where we got married. We have a rescue fox terrier called Delilah who loves van life as much as us 😍

We learnt a valuable lesson in September when doing the nc500; we broke down in one of the most northerly areas of Scotland and had to wait 8 hours for recovery to be towed back to the campsite, which was so embarrassing. The problem was a snapped clutch cable, which we have since learned is quite common and should have carried a spare!

Typically the day we had to wait for 8 hours at the side of the road was also the sunniest, warmest day of our whole NC500 trip and we spent it at the roadside! By the time we had been recovered we were just grateful to get back to the campsite and get it temporarily fixed, celebrating with a big glass of well deserved wine!
We have been having problems finding someone decent and reputable in the north east to fix our van, there’s a few things we needed done and ideally wanted it done before this summer. We’ve been trying to find someone since last year, but no one wants to touch it, so it’s getting a bit stressful.

For this edition of Member’s Motor, we look at Helen’s Bay, called “Delilah”. This is what she
had to say about it. Why would any sane person want to buy, let alone suffer the ongoing trauma of owning a VW T2 camper van? Firstly, as well as the initial hit of buying the thing, they cost a ridiculous amount of money to keep on the road. They simply do not go uphill unless they are in 2nd gear and
labouring at 10mph. They break down in the most embarrassing and inconvenient of places and no matter how many gaskets and cables and bits and bobs you carry on board – you never seem to have the part you need to get them going again.

Then there is the small matter of hypothermia, induced as you’re trailing along the road at 22mph. There are indeed two sliding things on the dash for hot air – a red thing and a green thing but what do they do? By the time the warm air gets from the back to the front to warm you up, it’s gone stone cold anyway and you end up chugging down the road in a vintage refrigerator wearing a full ski suit and matching bobble hat. The exception is when it’s a baking hot day. On baking hot days, your air-cooled engine serves as a stifling sauna and even reaching for the air conditioning that exists in the form of a window winder, you definitely still get a good sweat on. Not only that, but on hot days, you have to pause your journey, not for a coffee or even a toilet break, but to let your engine cool down! Generally, this happens about ten miles from your home! Perhaps these monsters were indeed designed for travel on the back of a low loader!
The answer is that T2 owners tend to think ‘outside the box’. Perhaps we are slightly insane, but T2s’ tend to be driven by ‘freedom seeking’ folk with such a sense of adventure and love of more simplistic times gone by, that even the hours spent on the side of the motorway waiting for the low loader to arrive are an experience to be cherished.

It’s like owning a grown-up’s Mechano set. Everything on your beloved T2 can be taken apart with a spanner (or some tool or other) and easily bolted back together again. Rusty panels can be cut out, replaced and lovingly repainted to match the original colour. Everything can be restored to original. Who would even want to travel at 70mph and be nice and warm, when you can pootle and be freezing and wave to folk at a top speed of 45mph? And as an added bonus, when you do stop, your gorgeous T2 leaves behind it a gloriously, glossy puddle of oil. Nothing could be better!

I’ve had the best adventures in Delilah. Delilah is my pride and joy. I can’t even look at her without grinning maniacally. She is a 1973 Westfalia Continental. Everyone has a story about how they ended
up owning a T2. I ended up single at the tender age of 50 and rather than trawl through dating websites looking for a new fancy man, I decided to push the boat out, fulfil my pipe dream and get myself a VW camper instead. Delilah was being stored in a garage and although sad and rusty, she was in ok shape for her age and was fitted out with most of what turned out to be a Westfalia Continental interior. The interior did have denim and Barbie pink fluffy fabric glued all over it and it did smell of mould but nothing that couldn’t be sorted out.
The basic restoration to get her back on the road took around ten months. I wanted to keep her as original as possible but also needed her to be reasonably practical and reliable. With that in mind, I had a
new air-cooled engine fitted with the larger twin Weber carbs, jetted correctly. It gives just that little bit more oomph going uphill and on motorways I can pootle at around 55-60mph. Everything else mechanical wise was cleaned up, checked and put back. A must have, is an oil temperature gauge. It is definitely worth having one. The needle only ever moves on hot days, but it gives peace of mind!
The bodywork was stripped back, rusty panels replaced and a full respray and triple Waxoyl underneath had her looking ship shape. The next step was to get the interior restored and put back. I love the look of the 1970’s original interiors. Westfalia literally thought of everything. To have a full-sized double bed, a wardrobe, sofa, cooker, sink, kitchen cupboard, overhead locker, storage cupboards, a “not quite a fridge” and an upstairs bedroom with a double bed in such a tiny space is a remarkable piece of interior design

The interior all got scraped, cleaned up and put back in. New cheerful orange canvas completed the pop top. Sadly, the original mustard upholstery did not survive restoration. My travel companion is a crazy collie called Dobbie. He likes sitting on the furniture with muddy paws. Therefore, I took the furniture to be
covered in dog proof pale grey vinyl and I did give strict instructions to keep the mustard fabric on underneath. The poor lady doing the stitching job couldn’t cope with the rancid smell of the mould and
removed the mustard fabric….and burned it! I had to agree with her that it did smell awful! Over the course of the following year, I acquired a door for the wardrobe, a primitive hand pump, water tap contraption for the sink and even a table to sit and work at and eat my beans on toast off. (Martin Dorey would be horrified at my campervan cookery.) Original Westfalia Continental items are difficult to find, so I was really chuffed to have been able to source some of the pieces I was missing via the T2 forum on Facebook.
Finally, just to get it completed, I actually bought a complete interior and sold on the pieces that I didn’t need.

In 1973 people must have been hardier or perhaps we had warmer weather back then. I could not cope with the cold journeys. It was no fun rolling out of the van in a frozen lump at the end of a long drive. So, after looking at the various options including the diesel heaters, I finally went for what I felt was the safe option and got a Propex heater installed in the cupboard under the buddy seat with a digital thermostat fitted to the back of the wardrobe unit above the driver seat. It is a real game changer. Pricey to buy, but it doesn’t seem to be desperately greedy with the Camping Gaz and having heat when driving and when camping without electric hook up has made it worth every penny. Even on the coldest of days, the van is beautifully toasty in a matter of minutes and it keeps everything onboard dry. Whilst on the subject of comfort, I like my comforts. I can live without hot running water in the van but there were a couple of creature comfort things that I needed to sort out. Sleeping on a bed with gaping cracks in the mattress where the cushions fit together isn’t great. Nor is waking up tied up in an impossibly twisted sleeping bag. The back of my van stores a memory foam mattress topper, decent pillows and a goose down duvet. I slumber in comfort, all nicely tucked up between the dog and the spare wheel!

I learned the hard way not to sit up and crack my head on the overhead locker. I keep my bottle of gin in the wine rack under the driver seat. And as for a toilet, I decided that being on my own, I needed a toilet on board. I very accurately measured the space between the two front seats and after some diligent research found that the smallest chemical toilet that Thetford makes, fits perfectly. It was the final thing I wanted. Imagine my joy at finally having onboard toilet facilities and my despair when I realised that although the toilet fitted in the space between the two seats, my backside would not! Naïve, I was at the beginning. I thought after this wonderful restoration and new engine, there would be no further problems and I’d just sail off into the sunset. This was far from the truth. Delilah had lots of little problems. One of the rocker cover gaskets was loose, resulting in oil dripping onto the exhaust and rancid smoke belching
everywhere. Being a newbie, I thought I was on fire! Thankfully not! I eventually limped home and replaced the spring cover with a bolt on one and by tightening everything up every few journeys, the oil leaks are a thing of the past. Then she was pulling to the left. Every little problem takes a bit of investigating and trial and error to sort out, but it turned out that the pulling problem was the brake callipers binding. New brake callipers were fitted to keep her on the straight and narrow and new Spax shock absorbers made the ride more comfortable. Her battery died and no sooner than I replaced it, her starter motor gave up. Fortunately, some kind soul pushed me and her down a hill to bump start and we managed to get home.
To be honest, I lost confidence in her. I could never figure out what was wrong with her and I did consider selling her. Then I realised that my VW coping mechanism was relying on the RAC. This was no good! I bought ‘How to Keep Your VW Alive’, navigated the Haynes manual and got a genius mechanic to do the impossible and teach me! To own a T2, you have really got to have some understanding of the mechanical side. Although my knowledge is somewhat limited, it has meant that I now know enough to have confidence in what needs to be done to keep the old dear on the road.
I love to hike, so Delilah is a welcome sight for me and Dobby at the end of a long day of walking. Somewhere to sit and chill, cook, eat, watch beautiful sunsets and sleep. You are always guaranteed to meet other VW owners to chat to. Just being able to jump in the van on a Friday night and go on an adventure. What’s not to love about owning a T2? I’ve had so many absolutely wonderful adventures in mine that I could write a book! It keeps me sane.

Helen Brown