Our family campervan holiday in Spain that didn't go to plan
This summer we packed up our Trouvaille Classique MWB High Roof with Atek Pop Top and set off on a family campervan holiday in Spain.
The plan was two weeks on the north coast, starting in San Sebastián with my sister's family. We came home four weeks later, after an emergency operation, a total solar eclipse and a lot of calamares. It wasn't the trip we had in mind, but it's the one I'm most grateful for, and the 'van played a far bigger part in it than any of us expected...
Portsmouth to Bilbao, and straight into the sea
We took the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao. It left at 10pm on the Sunday and we rolled off into 8am Spanish sunshine, which is a lovely way to start any holiday.
My sister, her husband and my two nieces were out there for the week too, so we drove straight over to meet them. Our campsite wasn't ready until midday, so we did what we always do – we parked up right next to La Concha beach and got straight in the sea!
It was 30 degrees, and the water was completely still. Charlie and I swam out to the slides in the middle of the bay. Halfway out, I did have a small moment of wondering whether he was a strong enough swimmer, but he was absolutely fine. The boys spent the rest of the afternoon flinging themselves off the slides with their cousins.
Tapas in Gros and fish finger sarnies in the 'van
The family were staying in an area called Gros, which is full of Spanish life and has some really lovely tapas bars, right next to Zurriola beach. We ate our body weight in calamares, and Charlie discovered he loves a Spanish omelette.
Then one lunchtime the boys asked for "a proper meal", so we made fish finger sarnies in the 'van. It wasn't very Spanish, but it filled them up, and that's one of the best things about having your own kitchen with you wherever you park.
How our campervan coped with the heat in Spain
It was hot. Our campsite was up in the hills by a river, so it was humid too, and that meant the mosquitoes were out in full force.
We used the fly screen every evening and we shut the 'van up and ran our Total Cool portable air con overnight. It made a real difference, and we all slept properly the whole time we were there.
The pitches were small and tight, which is where the size of the 'van really helps. At 5.4m long, our MWB fits onto pitches that a bigger motorhome would struggle with, and it still sleeps all four of us.
The shower that kept the sand out of my sister's apartment
This is where our new campervan shower really came into its own.
We'd been on the beach all day, and none of us wanted to traipse sand through my sister's apartment. Richard nipped back to the 'van and put the hot water on, and we all showered right there in the beach car park. Everyone got de-sanded, and the beds stayed (mostly) sand free. It was so convenient.
Back at the campsite, the boys had their showers in the 'van instead of trekking over to the shower block. On a pitch that tight it made life much easier. You can never fully avoid sand in a 'van though, and it wouldn't be a holiday without it.
Where we all slept, and the little "annex" we built
Richard and Billy slept up in the Atek pop top, and the new folding ladder made getting up and down easy. Charlie and I had the two singles downstairs.
That was the plan, anyway. Charlie decided he wanted his own bed, so Richard came up with a rear bedroom annex.
He took a Fiamma rear door awning and had an upholsterer extend it so it would clear the cranked double hinge on the back doors. Inside it, he set up a prototype CabBunk, which gave Charlie a little room of his own.
You never quite know which sleeping arrangement you'll end up with, because it changes with everyone's mood. That's rather the point, though. It doesn't matter who sleeps where as long as we've all got a bed and we're all comfy.
We didn't bother putting the big awning up this time. We just hung the mesh screen under the wind-out awning, which gave us plenty of privacy and kept the odd shower of rain off.
A lot of what we took to Spain started life as an idea on the workshop floor. We take our own 'vans away every year so we can find the things that aren't quite right and improve them properly, and this trip has given us a good list to work through. Richard gives you the full tour of the pitch in the video below.
A pintxo-pote, a shut taxi rank and a midnight parade
Our last night with the cousins turned into a fun one. There was a pintxo-pote on in their street, which is a weekly neighbourhood night out where the bars serve a drink and a tapa together for a set price. We ate and drank until we were fit to burst.
Charlie was flagging, so Richard took him home early, and Billy and I said we'd get a taxi back. When we got to the taxi rank, it had shut, of course.
Then a procession came past. San Sebastián holds a tamborrada for San Ignacio, which is a huge parade of drummers through the streets, and we walked straight into the middle of it. It was completely unexpected and a real spectacle. It did mean we didn't get home until gone midnight, though!
Is it easy to park a campervan in San Sebastián?
People always ask us about taking a 'van into a city, so here's the good news: parking in San Sebastián was easy. We parked at Ondarreta beach in the mornings and Zurriola in the afternoons, and we never once had a problem.
Richard also turned the bike rack upside down so it would carry our two surfboards and two body boards. I thought that was rather clever, because it meant nobody had to climb up on the roof every time we wanted them.
We even managed pancakes for breakfast, using a little USB blender we'd picked up. The boys do get a bit homesick sometimes, so it's nice to bring the odd thing from home that helps them feel settled.
On to Asturias, and a change of plan
Next we moved along the coast into Asturias and went back to Camping Arenal de Morís, where we stayed last year. The weather was glorious, and we went straight back to the beach. It felt like a lovely way to wind down.
It didn't last. We spent our next couple of days at the hospital in Oviedo, where Billy had an emergency operation to have his appendix removed. That was not the ending we'd planned! He's absolutely fine now, and the staff there were wonderful with him.
I have to say, the 'van was an absolute godsend through all of it. We slept in it at the hospital while Billy was in, so one of us was always right there with him and nobody was trailing back and forth.
When he came out, he couldn't manage the walk to the campsite showers, so he used the shower in the 'van instead. Being able to get him washed and comfortable in his own space, without any trek, made all the difference. It isn't why we brought the shower along, but it's the thing I'm most grateful for from the whole trip.
Slowing right down in Llanes
We had to slow the pace right down after that, and it was no bad thing at all.
Once Billy was up to it, our first proper outing was to nearby Llanes. We got lucky and found a 'van parking space right next to the beach. Billy could slide the door open and watch the world go by from inside, until he felt brave enough to head out onto the sand with his beach chair for a bit of jellyfish spotting.
Calamares and ice cream at the beach bar seemed to cure all ailments. In the evenings, football was swapped for Mölkky, of Campout fame. It's light and easy to move about, which made it far better suited to a boy with stitches.
Watching a total eclipse from the pop top
We very nearly came home early. We'd lost a big chunk of our holiday to illness and wondered whether to stay or go, but the eclipse was only days away, and Asturias was one of the best places in Europe to see it. So, we decided that staying would rewrite the end of the trip and cheer us all up!
We chased the area with the least cloud cover, but we didn't quite go far enough. We saw the beginning before the clouds took over, and we still got full darkness. Totality was amazing and such a unique experience. We parked up in a layby, made our dinner and watched the whole thing from the pop top, simply because we could.
Back on the River Sella
We had a couple more beach days after that. On our final day we went back to the descent of the River Sella. We waterproofed Billy, made very sure he wouldn't fall in, and took to our canoes for the 7.5km to the first stop on that well-known route.
What four weeks in Spain gave us
This trip has been all about making memories for us. Being together as a family and living somewhere new, in a home from home, really is the greatest privilege.
It also reminded me why we take our own 'vans away every summer. You learn things about a 'van on a trip like this that you would never learn in the workshop. Some of that is what Richard wants to tinker with next, and some of it is simply how much the little things matter when life doesn't go to plan.
Come and see the 'van for yourself
If you'd like to see the Trouvaille Classique MWB High Roof with Atek Pop Top, try out the shower or have a look at what Richard's been working on in the workshop, come and visit us. You can have a proper look round, see live builds in progress, meet the team and talk through how you want to travel.
Book a workshop tour and you'll get a free Orange Campers mug set as a little thank you. It's the best way to see the innovation, design and quality that goes into every 'van we build.
Please note: Information in this blog was correct at the time of publishing. Links, offers, specifications and product availability may change over time.
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