We Have a Shared Campervan with my Brother

Pauline and Jeff own a shared campervan - a blue Paradise Compact from Sussex Campervans - with Pauline’s brother and his wife, who live in South Africa

Pauline and her brother David bought their blue Paradise Compact from Sussex Campervans together in 2016 - and named her Joyfree after their parents Joyce and Godfrey. Although David and his wife live in South Africa, they visit regularly and use the campervan whenever they come home to Britain.

And when they’re not in the UK Pauline and Jeff head off in the shared campervan on their own adventures!

Jeff and Pauline enjoy a mixture of wild camping and campsite pitches in the Paradise from Sussex Campervans

Jeff said, “We had a fantastic holiday in the campervan in September. We travelled from London to Northumberland, exploring the whole of the East Coast, then drove across the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District before heading home to Keynsham, just outside Bristol. We were away for almost a month, doing a mixture of wild camping and staying on campsites.”

What were the highlights of their tour? Pauline said, “We discovered some fantastic beaches in Northumbria - they were really lovely sandy beaches. Then in York we walked all around the city wall. We also loved Beverley - there’s a Minster there which is like a small cathedral and is well worth visiting. Some friends told us about it, because they go there regularly. We diverted from our route especially and were glad that we had been there.”

Home from home - when Pauline's brother and his wife return from South Africa they usually explore Britain in their camper - a Paradise Compact like this one

Jeff continued, “Those were probably the best of the highlights from the trip, but we also enjoyed visiting Cambridge - we looked around one of the colleges and it was very interesting. We also enjoyed visiting Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral, and we went to Grimsby and Hull, the City of Culture and drove over the Humber Bridge. It’s a great bridge, but it’s quite hard to impress us, because we live near the Severn Bridge!“

For our next adventure we'll cycle coast-to-coast!

Pauline enjoys cycling. She said, “We usually take bicycles with us. We stop outside a city and cycle in. Luckily lots of cities have canals, so we like to cycle along the towpath, which is nice and flat. This worked really well in Birmingham and in Cambridge.”

During another holiday, the couple drove from Keynsham to the South Devon Coast, then followed the coast route along to Dorset. 

This year, though, both couples are planning a joint trip in the shared campervan. Pauline explained, “We’ve got a driveaway awning and we have now just bought an inner tent for it to provide more accommodation. This summer my brother and I will cycle the Way of the Roses coast-to-coast cycle route. It’s a spectacular 170--mile cycle route, which will take us from Morecombe on the north west coast to Bridlington on the east coast. My brother is a keen cyclist, so I will ride with him while Jeff and my sister-in-law follow in Joyfree, the campervan.”