We escaped the daily grind of London for van life – with a newborn baby
When our first child was born, my wife Zoe and I were blessed not only with a beautiful little girl, but with six months of simultaneous parental leave. With so much time on our hands, we decided it would be entirely sensible to buy a campervan, strap baby Grace in a car seat, and roam Spain and Portugal[1] for two months.
In fact, the idea of a big trip with the baby was conceived long before the baby was. Both keen travellers, Zoe and I relished the prospect of seeing the world as a family. So when Grace came along in November 2021, we applied for her passport while the ink was still wet on her birth certificate.
With one foot rocking Grace in her bouncer chair, I sat at our kitchen table in London, scrolling through used campervans for sale online. The next stage was family outings to inspect the vans in person. England’s industrial estates in winter seemed a far cry from the dreamy photos[2] of #vanlife we’d seen on Instagram.
William’s wife Zoe with baby Grace in their Mazda Bongo
Having rented a campervan for a week in Scotland before Grace was born, we stuck to the model we knew: the Mazda Bongo. A people carrier popular in Japan in the 1990s, Bongos are now imported privately to the UK and converted into campervans. In other words, they are given a bed, sink, fridge, gas hobs and cupboards. They have roughly the same wheelbase as an SUV (albeit taller), so this is about as small as a campervan gets. That means it’s easy to drive and park, but the living space is as dinky as a doll’s house.
We finally found the Bongo of our dreams: low mileage; good condition; a back seat belt long enough for a child seat; a “pop top” (lifting roof) for standing room inside; and a six-foot long “rock’n’roll” bed (a back seat that unfolds into a bed). Once we had bought our new home-on-wheels, we booked a ferry ticket to Santander. There was no turning back.
William Everett’s Mazda Bongo
Loading the van was a moment we had eagerly anticipated. Packing light is crucial in such a compact vehicle, so we had to be ruthless. You’d be amazed how many household items are available in collapsible silicone. Bowls, colanders, tubs – if it folded up concertina-style, we bought it. Camping pots and pans nested in each other like a Russian doll, and carabiners worked wonders as hooks.
One cubby hole contained Grace’s clothes and kit – vests; onesies; cardies; nappies; wipes; muslins – plus toys: rattle; wooden spoon; rubber teething disc. Her pram stayed at home, so for day trips we’d be using a baby carrier. Instead of a Moses basket, we made do with a cushion on the reclined passenger seat.
Grace’s pram stayed at home, so for day trips the couple used a baby carrier
We stuffed the biggest cupboard with a duvet, pillows and plenty of blankets, and tucked toiletries in a nifty organiser that hangs on the back of a car seat. In went a gas can, tools and cables, plus a camping table and chairs, a surfboard and 200 tea bags. We were ready.
A typical day in the Bongo began around 6am with Grace waking and demanding to be fed. While Zoe moved her from the passenger seat to our bed, I’d sit up to fill the kettle from the sink and put it on a gas hob to boil. Next we’d stow the bedding and push the bed into its seat position. With no toilet or shower in our van, we relied on campsite facilities.
5 things I learnt from travelling with a baby[3]
With the morning’s chores complete, Grace would be ready for a nap, so one of us would don the baby carrier and we’d set off to see the sights. We strolled along ancient lanes and peered up at cathedral spires, Roman columns and Moorish arches. As our new human slept, the history of our species unfolded around her. We met the ghosts of gladiators in Mérida’s amphitheatre, and long-lost matadors on Salamanca’s great Plaza Mayor. Past battles came to life on Porto’s azulejo tiles, and tired pilgrims arrived at Santiago de Compostela – as they have done for a thousand years.
Taking in a view of Porto from across the Douro river
Cafes became a safe haven, a place with a real roof and walls, plus tasty pastries and toilets. They also offered WiFi, so we could plan where to stay that night using a handy app called Park4Night. For lunch, there were countless tabernas (taverns) to entice us.
With no need to book accommodation in advance, we could meander as we pleased and decide where to stay day by day. This blissful freedom, so rare in everyday life, took us back to the halcyon days of backpacking as students. The only time commitment we had was our inbound ferry crossing from Santander to Portsmouth. Beyond that, we had a rough route in mind and a big appetite for serendipity.
‘We had a rough route in mind and a big appetite for serendipity’
When we found a place we particularly liked, we’d choose to stay for a few nights and simply move on when the mood took us. In the Picos de Europa, we disappeared for five days among giant fingers of rock that seemed to burst from green velvet gloves. In Ericeira, a coastal town near Lisbon, we found a cheap campsite by the beach and lingered for five days, surfing gentle waves, mooching about the colourful old town, and browsing the market for pastéis de nata and ginjinha (cherry liqueur).
We also had time to take diversions on a whim. One day as we drove along a motorway south of Salamanca, a snow-capped mountain hove into view. As we got closer, we made out a ski slope at the summit. The next road sign depicted a skier. Before we knew it, we had swerved off the motorway at the next exit, and taken a switchback road to La Covatilla, a one-lift resort we never knew existed. We rented skis and spent a smug afternoon taking it in turns to ski while one of us stayed with Grace in the cafe.
During their first months, babies are at their smallest, lightest and most portable, making them perfect for travel
Of course there were less heavenly moments, not least the occasional bout of in-van claustrophobia, when we felt like personal space and privacy were a thing of the past (though perhaps all parents feel that, even in a real home).
And now that we are back to the daily grind in London, are we tempted to join those digital nomads who live full time in a campervan? No way. I’m six foot one and have no intention of living permanently in a space the size of a broom cupboard. Yes, this trip reminded me how much I love the great outdoors, but it also reminded me how much I love a TV and sofa.
However, when I share our tale with other parents, many of them agree that the first months are the ideal time to travel with a child. At that age, they are at their smallest, lightest and most portable. They also stay where you put them on the whole – unlike the toddling rascal she has now become. “Now is the best time to do it!” is the consensus – a good motto for travels at any stage of life.
How to do it
Expect to pay anything from about £20,000 for a decent second-hand campervan. Goboony[4] offers campervans to hire for £300–£1,100 per week depending on the season. Brittany Ferries[5] has regular sailings from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander; a return crossing with a campervan costs from £1,000.
References
- ^ Portugal (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ the dreamy photos (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 5 things I learnt from travelling with a baby (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Goboony (goboony.co.uk)
- ^ Brittany Ferries (brittany-ferries.co.uk)