If you are following this blog (yes, you). Then you’ll have noticed it’s been a hot second since the last post. What a period we have had too. So bare with me here – there’s a bit to dive into and here I’m going to discuss our first outing!
Let’s take you back to July 9th. The day after the terrible evening in which the Van arrived and returned. Distraught, my weekend was ruined. The plans I had dissolving in front of my eyes. This was until late Saturday evening, around 6pm. The mighty White beauty had arrived! Praise the Lord there was still hope. Without hesitation, we gathered what minimal things we needed and got in the Van. Like a bat out of hell (RIP Meatloaf), we sped off towards Barry to gather some things we could steal from Ashley’s parent’s house. Arriving at 19:30 we managed to get hold of a mattress, bedding, and surfboards from mi casa. A quick trip to Asda procured us a water container, food, bbq, alcohol, and most importantly, fairy lights. We were set.
It was 9pm. It was too late to make it to Pembroke like originally planned, but Ashley had a backup idea: Southerndown beach. He did in fact, “Know a Spot”. The drive back towards Southerndown was a glorious ride, racing the orange sunset to their destination. We arrived with about 30 minutes of daylight left. We got a spot at the top car park where the doors opened up to the beautiful sea view. Grabbing the BBQs and food we jogged down towards the beach to set up a cute ass sunset date. Complete with beer, burgers, and banging songs it was easily one of the most romantic dates we’ve ever been on. Topping the night off with a moonlight slow dance to “Ma belle Evangeline” from the film “Princess and the Frog”. Love was well and truly in the air.
The romantic evening did not stop there. There was still one more surprise left in store for us that nature had to offer. Returning to the van, we set up the fairy lights which were absolutely perfect – See here – https://amzn.to/3d0VFf9 – and opened up the back door (not that one, get your head out of the gutter) As you’ll see below we were presented the most beautiful and most relaxing view anyone could ask for on a first Van outing. The moon, almost full, shone down onto the calm sea leaving a trail all the way to the Van. The sky was completely clear and every star was visible. The pictures speak for themselves here but it was one of the most relaxing views we have ever encountered and will live on in our memory forever. After enjoying the view and each other’s company a little while longer we decided to hit the sack and get some sleep.
As far as first sleeps go, this wasn’t half bad. The mattress was comfy and we had plenty of covers to keep us warm. We were a little on edge, to begin with, due to the fact there was a sign stating “No overnight stay” so our anxiety was a little high but luckily enough we were left undisturbed all night. The Van did get a little cold outside of the blanket which made for a hot, condensation, filled sleep but it wasn’t too problematic. The only issue we had was a few noisy neighbours in the form of seagulls who decided to stomp on the van roof once or twice, little shits. All in all, it was a good night’s sleep and a lot easier than we thought it was going to be considering all we had was a mattress and duvet.
We awoke early the following morning to quickly jump up and pay for parking. We had successfully stayed overnight at this car park without any issue, hooray! Getting up from bed we moved towards the door and opened up to the blinding daylight. Our eyes took a few seconds to adjust and then the beautiful view hit us. What a way to wake up. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the weather was warm. The sea was blue and calm and everything felt right in the world. It was easily one of the most amazing ways to wake up, honestly. This elated feeling was soon over as we had run into our first problem. Toilet. It was 8am and the public toilets were yet to open and wouldn’t be open for another hour or two and Bethan had to pee. Oh dear. We quickly jumped in the front seat and headed for a shop for a bucket. Yep, my idea was a bucket. Safe to say we did not get a bucket, thank god. We luckily came across a McDonald’s and grabbed breakfast and Bethan was able to pee. Disaster averted.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the sunshine on the beach. Using the second bbq for some sausage sandwiches and just really enjoying having the Van. It was really convenient to take time away from the beach to relax in the Van and have a Nap. Or for us to hide from the sun to avoid becoming a lobster.
We headed home in the evening and jumped straight into our comfy bed. We took the time to reflect on how the weekend had gone and how amazing it was. We made the most of a bad situation, to begin with, and really made it the most romantic weekend we have ever experienced. We learned a lot in terms of the Van as well. We knew we had to get some form of toilet. We needed dishes and cutlery, something proper to cook on, and so on. This paved the way to the beginning of our van journey and it was off to the best start possible. Now to find £6-8k to complete the conversion. Any helpers?
Vanlife - Welsh Wanderers 