By William Coleman and Emma Lomas
This week we have a guest article from a continental touring 16 year old who has been been taking caravan holidays since she was 12 weeks old. It just goes to show you that the touring holiday has no age restriction or limits. From newborn to adult we can all have an amazing time full of new experiences by using a caravan for your holidays.
Emma’s Summer Tour To Scandinavia
Having never been on such a long road trip in a motorhome before, a new way of exploring the world had been opened up to me. To add to this, I was visiting Denmark and Sweden, both places I had never been to before.
The ability to drive off anywhere because we had everything we needed in a small house on wheels, radiated euphoria. It enabled us to take a spontaneous detour into Norway, have wondrous views of several countries and travel over remarkable bridges, which spiced up long journeys. To actually get to Denmark, it would take 3 days (see the itinerary for further information) but we made sure to cycle or walk around the local area or visit tourist attractions such as Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark, upon arrival. On longer travel days lunch was a luxury, we could toast crumpets fresh and eat at a table rather than being cramped in a car seat.
A motorhome is not too dissimilar to a caravan when staying on-site; both have kitchens, bathrooms, and awnings, but when only staying for a few nights at each site, set up was far easier and we only had to fill up or drain water when we arrived.
Although Scandinavia is more pricey, we still managed to keep costs down by making our meals, rather than eating out all the time. So if you’re looking to go to Scandinavia but worried about the price, make use of the resources you have and cook on-site or use the camp kitchens.
Being a young person myself, I don’t want costs to limit the places I can travel to, so finding ways to reduce costs can significantly affect where and how long I can travel for. Another plus of Scandinavia and surprisingly Stockholm is how easy and enjoyable it is to cycle around and use public transport. Furthermore, you don’t need to drive and find parking. Some of my favourite parts of our holiday were to cycle because we could leisurely view the local area.
Highlights from Denmark were the Aros art museum, more specifically the rainbow panorama view of the city, in Aarhus, an up and coming city, Mons Klint Cliffs and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, by far the prettiest street I’ve been to. Its postcard look leaves an astonishing impression. It must be said that Denmark surprised me, I enjoyed visiting far more than I thought and everywhere we went was absolutely charming and effortless to just walk around. The oldest town in Denmark, Ribe is the perfect example of this. It is a quaint little town with quirky coffee shops and a beautiful cathedral.
With long summer nights and alluring sunsets, Sweden is a spectacular country and full of variety. I went from Sunbathing on the beaches of the Koster Islands to being caught in a hail storm surrounded by evergreen trees.
The architecture is stunning, especially in the old part of Stockholm, Gamla Stan. Buildings are tall and narrow, coated with colours of yellow and red. Yet modern Stockholm does not fall short either.
Museums such as the Fotografiska, leave an insight into the modern wave emerging in Stockholm. Generally, I like to do a mix of tourist and non-tourist activities, but we had to visit the ABBA museum in Stockholm and although it was very cheesy it was great fun for everyone in my family, especially watching people ‘dance with ABBA’.
A boat trip at some point is a given when visiting Sweden. You could visit a royal palace, a car-less island full of cyclists or even visit Tallinn, Estonia. In Sweden, you can have a bustling city break or have a relaxing few days soaking up the sun on the archipelagos.
Emma’s 20 Day Itinerary
Day 1- Folksetone, England. Black Horse Farm CAMC Club site. Drove to Black Horse Farm site
Day 2- Ommen, Netherlands, Resort de Arendshorst Campsite. Droveto Ommen site, Dinner and walk on site.
Day 3- Mogeltonder, Denmark. Mogeltonder Camping. Drove to Mogeltonder, Walked around village and church
Day 4- Laven, Denmark,Terrassen Camping, Laven. Visited Ribe, Drove to Laven
Day 5- Aarhus, Denmark, Terrassen Camping, Laven. Day trip to Aarhus by train
Day 6- Laven, Denmark,Terrassen Camping, Laven. Cycled to Himmelbjerget
Day 7- Hillerod, Denmark, Hillerod. Drove to Hillerod, Visited Fredriksborg Castle
Day 8- Copenhagen, Denmark, Hillerod. Day trip to Copenhagen by train
Day 9- Stromstad, Sweden, Lagunen Camping. Drove to Stromstad, Sweden
Day 10- Stromstad, Sweden, Lagunen Camping. Day trip to Koster Islands with bikes
Day 11- Karlstad, Sweden, Swecamp Bromstad-Badens. Drove to Karlstad site with detour through Norway, Walked around site
Day 12- Stockholm, Sweden Bredang Camping. Drove to campsite in Stockholm, cycled to Gamla Stan, Stockholm that evening
Day 13- Stockholm, Sweden, Bredang Camping. Walked around Gamla Stan, Parliament, Royal palace, boat trip to islands
Day 14- Stockholm, Sweden, Bredang Camping. Boat trip to Drottingholm Palace, Fotografiska
Day 15- Stockholm, Sweden, Bredang Camping. ABBA museum, Vasa museum
Day 16- Markaryd, Sweden, Camping Park Sjotorpet. Drove to site, Walk around lake
Day 17- Mons Klint, Denmark, Mons Klint Camping. Drove to site, Cycle to cliffs and walk around clifftops and shore
Day 18- Gyhum, Germany, Waldcamping Hesedorf. Drove to site, relaxed afternoon
Day 19- Bruges, Belgium Camping Klein Strand. Afternoon cycle to Bruges, spent the evening and dinner there
Day 20- Home
