A revelation in Stratford

I doubt if many people know the precise length of their drive but, in the summer of 2021, this became a preoccupation for me. Neighbours must have assumed I was planning to have the space in front of my house block-paved or re-tarmacked but, in fact, the reason I was busy with my tape-measure was to check if a campervan would fit. Calling it a drive is an exaggeration. It’s more of a parking space, big enough to fit two small cars side by side or, as is usually the case, a larger one on its own. I knew that a full-size campervan would be too long and would jut out into the pavement and, although plenty of people don’t seem to worry about their vehicles sticking out beyond the boundaries of their properties, I didn’t want to be too obtrusive.

What I had in mind was a motorhome that could double as a run-around car so that I wouldn’t need to own two vehicles, and the thing I had in mind was the type of compact camper called a Romahome. A Romahome is based on a small Citroen van and I thought this might serve as a practical day-to-day car as well as a campervan when needed.

I visited AEG Motorhomes in Stourbridge to take a closer look at a Romahome. That familiar smell and feel of a caravan instantly reminded me of childhood holidays and the comfortable interior had everything I could need, including the proverbial kitchen sink. But there were a couple of things to consider. Although it had plenty of seating in the back, because of the lack of seatbelts it wouldn’t be practical to take more than one passenger (not ideal for transporting little grandchildren.) Second, the length of the ‘living area’ ­- with the sink and cooker extending beyond the sleeping area - means that a Romahome is longer than an average car. In fact, most Romahomes are almost 5m long (too long for my drive.) The only type that would fit at the front of my house is, I learnt, the Romahome Rio at only 3.75m, but these don't come up for sale very often and there would still be the problem of a lack of passenger seats.

I was beginning to have second thoughts about a Romahome.

Then, in September 2021 I learnt that there was to be an International Campervan ‘Late Summer’ Show at the racecourse in Stratford-upon-Avon. I booked a ticket in the vague hope that it might give me some ideas or, at the very least, help me to come to terms with the fact that the dream of owning a campervan was not to be.

As I wandered round Stratford Racecourse I was greeted by a dazzling array of motorhomes – from the medium-sized to the enormous. While many of the punters seemed to be most interested in the impressively large vehicles I was the opposite, scouting around to see if anyone had anything even smaller than a Romahome. And then I spotted it - a Fiat Doblo Freedom that was obviously not just a car or a van but a very compact campervan. I discreetly took a photo of it and looked for clues as to where these exotic creatures might originate from. A closer examination of a similarly-appointed Citroen Berlingo revealed a windscreen sticker that referred to a company called Micro Campers UK. So, that was what they were called – microcampers. Whether my ideal vehicle would be based on a Peugeot Partner, a Fiat Doblo or a Citroen Berlingo I wasn’t yet sure. But at least I now knew the kind of vehicle I needed. What would fit on my drive and still be suitable for picking up my grandchildren from school was not a Romahome at all, but a thing called a microcamper...

Coming soon: Dulcimers explained, Malcolm Saville and spying, a meeting with an Italian saviour in the Cotswolds, and what exactly is a micro-adventure?