The Tin Tent

Welcome to The Tin Tent - I bought a Peugeot Expert wheelchair access van to do a bit of stealth camping , kite flying , fishing and walking. Being in declining health at the moment the time was right to get out and about . More to give my wife Jo a break too if the truth be known. Why the small van rather than a normal sized camper ? well most of the places I want to get to , have 2m access bars to deter travellers and caravans from getting in . Plus there is a fuel saving . There is only me so the front seat has been removed and a single bed put in the back . No cupboards have been installed as it is more a tent on wheels , all the space is taken up with kites and cameras .

2024 - A trip along the gorgeous west coast of Scotland started the year off . The Isle of Arran and the Mull of Galloway ticked off the list. Where next , and more to the point how can I top that Winter trip? Still got to do Devon and the South Coast ? and of course Wales with Jo and and Alfie in June.

The van has slowly been chipping away at the UK coastline for nearly 3 years now. On a rainy Thursday morning I plotted out the roads and routes its done so far. With the latest run to the Mull of Kintyre and Ardnamurchan point , that is Scotland mostly done. Some places have been visited a number of times , like Portgordon , Skye , Sheringham and of course the Cumbrian coast. Apart from one night at Sheringham all the parking spots have been free and nearly all by the sea.

The van has not missed a beat , two punctures and one bottle of antifreeze is sum of the mechanical needs . Granted its getting harder to get it through its MOT but not impossible. It is still as flat as a fart up hill , but that is only to be expected .It sips fuel like a fine wine on a motorway but guzzles it like a alcoholic on Mad Dog 20/20 on the country roads.

The May 2024 trip to Wales - I started at Fleetwood and carried on down through Blackpool , Formby, Birkenhead and on into Wales.First stop was Flint and Flint Castle , then on to Conwy and Conwy Castle. Over to Anglesey for a few days . Move on down to Trefor then onto Porth Colmon. Portmerion was next after Cricieth . Onwards to Harlech , Aberystwith , and along and down the coast to Fishguard . Over to St Davids then down to Pembroke , across to Swansea and Port Talbot , up to Pontypool and Breacon then home!

Just shy of 1000 miles - I did not enjoy the South as much as the North , way too many people for my liking , and way to many parking restrictions. Pembroke was awesome . I had been there as a driver in my HGV  , but never took time out to explore the full Napoleonic forts. Porth Colmon as always stole the show.