The imminent demise of the VW campervan, which ceases production at the end of the year, had me reminiscing about the attempt of Maria and me and our nine-month-old daughter to go trekking round Europe as hippies 40 years ago.
We failed and the van engine blew up.
Andrew Robinson from Longwood enjoyed the piece and tells me he had better luck last year when he and his partner, Ellie, and their nine-month-old son, Harry, toured Europe in their wonderfully named Mazda Bongo campervan, which proved far more reliable than mine.
“We slept in the van for 40 nights in total and covered around 3,000 miles,” he said. “We even took it over one of the highest Alpine passes.
“We made it all the way to Slovenia, only to find it far too hot for our liking – about 40°C.”
Which, in old money, is 104°F.
“So we slogged through Austria and Germany and back to France, the country we originally avoided as being too ‘safe’. Dawdling up through France was the best part of our six week break.
“The campsites were far cheaper than Slovenia and Germany and we finally found a pace to suit us.
“We ended the break with a week or so in Belgium. It's maligned as being a bit boring but we absolutely loved Belgium – the people, the architecture and, above all, the varied types of beer.
“A wonderful way to spend summer.”
