Keith Gooden
It’s another Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And me, Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
I ask the stupid questions, and Matt – he gives the stupid answers!
Matt Sims
Sometimes.
Keith Gooden
It’s brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com Now, welcome along. But first of all…
Matt Sims
We would love you to subscribe to our content. You can do that on YouTube or any of the podcast platforms. Just click follow and subscribe and away you go.
A proposed levy for tourist vehicles around the NC500
Keith Gooden
So let’s go straight into the news, shall we? There’s a proposal for a vehicle levy up in Scotland. That’s my accent, by the way…
Matt Sims
That was good.
Keith Gooden
… which would mean motorhomers being charged, much like ULEZ in London, but it’s not based on emissions. It’s based on the fact that you’re just having fun.
Matt Sims
It’s not just motorhomers. It’s all tourists. So it’s a former SNP MP who’s come up with this idea. The idea is that all tourists who are staying in the region get charged a fee for doing so overnight every day. What do you think of that?
Keith Gooden
Well, lots of people around the world pay tourist fees. You go to the Caribbean and they won’t let you out unless you pay the fee. And I said to them, “Fine, I’ll stay!” I suppose it makes sense if the locality wants to make some money, and it goes some way, I suppose, to recouping some of the costs for the fabulous facilities that they provide for us.
Matt Sims
I guess the question is, what’s it going to be spent on? And what’s more, the same guy wanting to introduce this tourism tax has suggested that motorhomers should be stopped from travelling in convoy when in Scotland.
Keith Gooden
Do people travel in convoy?
Matt Sims
Yeah, of course they do. I mean, not necessarily on purpose, but motorhomers tend to group together. It’s interesting when you’re travelling a route like that, you end up meeting the same people because you spent a couple of days here, move on, and there they are again. So you kind of end up travelling in a bit of a group.
And people do go up as multiple motorhome groups to enjoy each other’s company and the scenery. So he was saying, “No, we don’t want that. We want you travelling individually.” And I guess it’s about oncoming traffic being able to pass. Motorhomes have an impact on any place that we visit. We know that and we accept that. But certainly being down south, we have these tales of woe and horror stories about the NC 500. And are they true?
New travel books available at That Leisure Shop
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com with me, Keith Gooden, and Motorhome Matt, the expert himself. We’ve got some new books from Siobhan Daniels and highlands2hammocks.
Matt Sims
We have, yeah. This is Siobhan’s book, Retirement Rebel. I loved a quote from Siobhan recently – “You don’t retire, you refire.” I love that. There’s one for you, Keith. So Siobhan – she won’t mind me saying this. She’s a really dear friend and supporter of the podcast. It’s been great to get to know her over the last couple of years at all the shows. But she is 64.
I think she’s been living in a motorhome now for four or more years. She sold her house, bought a motorhome, Dora the Explorer, and she is off travelling the country and speaking at loads of events. And she’s trying to inspire women who get to an age where you think, well, I’m not really sure what to do next. She’s on her own and is off in her motorhome, just travelling and living in a motorhome full-time.
And this is her book, Retirement Rebel, and it’s how she’s basically looked at retirement as an ex-BBC journalist and gone, “You know what? I don’t want to retire and just be at home and knit,” or whatever was on the table. She’s gone off travelling and she really is embracing life, I have to say. It’s a lovely book. So it’s one to look out for – Retirement Rebel. You can buy it www.thatleisureshop.com.
Keith Gooden
Okay. And the other book from highlands2hammocks?
Matt Sims
Yeah, there’s a whole series here. These guys have been super busy. Destination NC 500 – this is all their words and all their photographs. It’s stunning. I mean, I love a book like this.
Keith Gooden
They’ve put them together themselves. That’s the incredible thing about it. It really looks the business. I mean, usually when you see self-published stuff, it can be a bit raggedy. This isn’t. This is a coffee table book. It’s brilliant.
Matt Sims
It definitely is. Yeah, you’d want to keep this, and you really would read it. And Destination Skye – again, beautifully illustrated. There are thousands of photographs. It must have taken them some time to do this. And this, we love this. This is the North Coast map.
So people often ask, “Where do we go?” This opens out into a full map. There’s every pinpoint on here of campsites, places to eat, places to empty your water, places that you can legally empty your toilet, fuel stations and so on. It’s a really, really handy glovebox map.
Keith Gooden
Do you sell these books, by any chance?
Matt Sims
We do. Yeah, we bought them off them. I couldn’t really not buy them, could I We do sell them at www.thatleisureshop.com.
Are motorhomes and caravans welcome in the NC500 anymore?
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And with me, Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
Okay, our main topic of the conversation today is with highlands2hammocks and we are talking Scotland. Let’s talk about the NC 500. We touched on that, didn’t we, Matt, in the news. Are motorhomers and caravanners welcome with these ideas of charging extra and stopping people from forming a convoy? What’s that three, motorhomes? Five, 10, 15?
Matt Sims
That’s a good question. I mean, certainly living down south here, I hear horror stories all the time of people who apparently have had their motorhomes egged. They’ve had dog faeces thrown at the windscreen, abusive notes left on the motorhome saying, “Go home.” Is this true? How prolific is this?
So I discussed this with Gemmaand Campbell because they have a view that it’s not prolific. COVID, of course, created a massive surge in motorhomes going to the NC 500 because people couldn’t fly. And people thought, “Well, we’ve never been to Scotland. Let’s go to Scotland.”
Keith Gooden
“Let’s see a beautiful part of our own country.”
Matt Sims
Yes, and the NC 500 had really, really good PR. I believe it was a name created by a motorhome hire company up there. And it had really good reports, and it is stunning. But we’re hearing really conflicting views. And I guess it’s always the horror stories that make the press – that picture of a toilet cassette being emptied over a grass verge. Just awful.
Keith Gooden
No news like bad news.
Matt Sims
No, absolutely. You’d know, with years and years in radio.
Keith Gooden
Well, people aren’t interested in good news.
Matt Sims
Well, how many of the stories you read out were good news on morning radio?
Keith Gooden
Well, quite a few of them, to be honest with you. But like I said, people aren’t interested in good news. You know, 15 people have been kind to each other today. It doesn’t make the headlines. You’ve just got to accept it’s human nature. They like conflict.
Matt Sims
And I guess, like we said before, the total number of people using a motorhome and certainly going to Scotland has increased, but that just means the percentage of bad apples, if we call them that, hasn’t changed. Probably there’s just more of them now. Do you know what I mean? So if it was 100 before and it’s now 10,000, it’s the same percentage that are the people who are abusing it.
How Highlands2hammocks began
Matt Sims
So I asked Gemma and Campbell for their view as Scots living in Scotland, now living full time in a motorhome and doing a lot of travel, but people who have expertise and experience.
Gemma Spence
It all started as a way of us documenting our travels. So Campbell and I have been together now for nearly 11 years actually. One of our first trips was going across to Australia, and Campbell came over and met me after doing a placement in San Diego. We travelled a bit of Australia together.
Campbell Kerr
This was our first experience of renting a campervan, the East Coast. It was the Gold Coast, Brisbane up to Cairns. It was amazing
Gemma Spence
And we were like, “Right, finish uni, get some money, get some experience behind us, and we’re going to come back to Australia and convert our own campervan.” So that happened I’d say two years later. We got over to Australia and converted our little campervan. We were over there for a year and lived in our campervan. It was amazing. She was a little Toyota Hiace called Roxy.
Campbell Kerr
Tiny, tiny, with a little roof. We had to stand outside to cook our dinner. We were doing farm work. We actually showered from a bucket. So we would boil a pot of water, mix it with some cold water. And then that was our shower for three months. Very, very basic.
Gemma Spence
Yeah. And I guess how highlands2hammock started, sort of just prior to that, we were living in London before we went on this big Australia trip. And we just decided to document our travels online. People always asked us, “How much did it cost and blah, blah, where did you go?”
Campbell Kerr
“What tips do you have for visiting these places?”
Gemma Spence
Trying to recall all these memories and we thought, why don’t we just document it? Then we’re not texting our parents every day to let them know that we’re alive. So we started it. The name came from going from the highlands of Scotland to the hammocks of Fiji. So we’ve gone to Fiji after our very first Australia trip together, sitting in a hammock thinking…
Campbell Kerr
“This is the life.”
Gemma Spence
We’ll be coming back to the hammocks one day. So it’s that journey from the highlands to hammocks.
Campbell Kerr
Back to the hammocks of Fiji again.
Matt Sims
Yeah, it’s a great name. I love it. So then you came back to the UK?
Gemma Spence
Yes.
Matt Sims
Where did you go then?
Gemma Spence
So that was Christmas.
Campbell Kerr
2019, yeah.
Gemma Spence
So just before COVID. The plan was to come back and surprise our families in between our Australian visas. We left our little campervan in our friend’s garden.
Campbell Kerr
We said we’d be back in three months.Don’t worry, it can just sit there! And 16 months later we still hadn’t gone back because COVID happened. So unfortunately, we had to sell Roxy because she was going to collapse from the rust.
Gemma Spence
And we had worked over and Guernsey in health care over there during that time. We were working shifts, hardly seeing each other, just constantly working. And also working on highlands2hammocks at the same time because prior to that, I guess we were kind of doing it full-time. It wasn’t really running as a full business but we were still doing collaborative things with people and we were still really keen.
Matt Sims
And so was your ambition then, to be travel gurus? Can I call you that? Was that always the vision to be what you are now?
Campbell Kerr
It hadn’t always been. As Gemma said, it started off as a hobby, a way to share our stories with friends and family. And then the more we travelled, the more we met people that were doing this kind of thing as a full-time job. And we thought, that looks amazing.
You know, you can travel, you have the flexibility to go where you want in the world, and you don’t need to get tied down and not be able to see each other working full-time jobs. So when we came back from Australia to Guernsey, it was only supposed to be for three months, and we said, we’re going to work during those three months on our website, really build it up and try and launch it to take it full-time.
And then obviously, we got stuck in Guernsey during the pandemic for about 16 months. And by the end of that we were just like, right, that’s it. We’ve got a good amount of savings, because we worked the entire time. And it’s time to actually go two feet into this. So we quit our jobs then.
Matt Sims
So then you went and bought Ellie.
Campbell Kerr
We did indeed.
Matt Sims
Which is your motorhome.
Campbell Kerr
Yeah, our home now for the past two years.
Gemma Spence
Funnily enough, we actually just met up with a couple of friends yesterday. And we were just talking about the story of how we got our motorhome, because we had actually planned to come back across from Guernsey, back to Scotland. And we’d had some ideas whilst we were working in Guernsey about providing more information on the North Coast 500 because we had seen a lot of bad press up there.
And we thought, you know, how can we help? How can we help educate people who are going up there in a campervan or a motorhome or a tent or even just people who are going up as tourists on how to travel responsibly. We’d always wanted to buy our own van, hadn’t we?
Campbell Kerr
Yeah, we wanted to live in it. Yeah, we thought the only way to actually facilitate writing this book and being able to educate people was actually spending a good length of time around the route. And originally we planned to buy a van and convert it, because that’s what we did in Australia.
And then, going back to what Gemma said about our friends, when we were travelling up from Guernsey back up to Glasgow, we stopped our campsite, met our friends, and they lived in their motorhome. And we just went inside and we were just like, “Okay, we need to get a motorhome. This place is huge, like a mansion on wheels.” Our little Roxy, we couldn’t even stand up in it, let alone put our arms out without touching the roof.
Gemma Spence
And at that point, we were camping in our tent out of Campbell’s Corsa. That literally was jam packed full of all of our life from the past 16 months. So we took one look at each other. And we were just like…
Matt Sims
“We need a motorhome!”
Gemma Spence
So that was it. We were sold. And yeah, it took a bit of hunting, but we knew exactly what we wanted. We wanted a fixed bed. We wanted to have an oven. We kind of knew the layout we wanted.
Campbell Kerr
And a shower we didn’t need to go outside for. In Scottish winters, it wouldn’t have really worked out very well!
Highlands2hammocks’ view of the NC500
Matt Sims
As Scots, what is your view of the NC 500? You’ve alluded to some of the bad press it’s had. What do you think of it?
Campbell Kerr
So we first visited the northern coast of Scotland just before we went to Australia. The first thing was we’d just quit our jobs and we planned to go backpacking. We thought, well, we can’t go all the way over to Australia and not visit our own back garden in Scotland.
So we went up there in our tent and our car and we camped around, wild camping around there for two and a half weeks and on campsites as well when we had to do laundry or when we had to charge up our laptops or whatever. And we just absolutely fell in love with it.
There’s nowhere really like it that we’ve been to in a world such as Scotland. And when the sun is shining, it’s just like nowhere else, really. It is most beautiful, pristine, tranquil place you’ll ever go to. And it really hurt us when we started to hear about this bad press. We were in Guernsey and we wanted to try and help to educate people. And we thought the only way to do that was by actually educating and by writing a book on something.
And looking at it now, I think it is definitely something that we would still recommend to people. I don’t see as being a bad thing, to be honest. The number of people we’ve spoken to whose lives have been changed by the tourism that is provided, and also whose lives have been changed by the people who’ve actually gone there and visited. How many people have we spoken to who’ve said they went up to the north coast of Scotland and now are looking at buying a house, just because everyone just falls in love with it.
Gemma Spence
Yeah. People now have opportunities up there to actually start a business whereas before they might have had to move to Inverness or somewhere.
Matt Sims
Because of the growth in tourism, yeah. There was a huge boom that was created. People couldn’t go abroad and the NC 500 became this huge must-go destination. And there were stacks of reports of it being overcrowded, people everywhere, no room at campsites. You couldn’t pass each other on the road because they were so narrow. Was that true? Is that what it’s like now?
Gemma Spence
I mean, we weren’t up there at the time, so it’s hard to comment on that. But we’ve been up a lot since then.
Campbell Kerr
I think since we came back, we’ve possibly spent close to 12 months in total up there in all seasons, through winter to summer. It is busy, probably busier than it was 10 or 15 years ago. But the entire world is busier in that sense.
Gemma Spence
We went to Cornwall in summer and it’s been jam packed. Yeah, I guess there are a lot more people out there on the roads. A lot more people have the money for vehicles, particularly motorhomes and caravans.
Campbell Kerr
And more people are choosing to holiday at home, whether that’s just because they’ve discovered the beauty of their home country or other budget restrictions that are going on at the moment. And I don’t believe we’ve visited the country since we started travelling again. That wasn’t affected during that period of over tourism in their own back garden.
And speaking to people again since then, it seems like it’s gotten a lot quieter. We’ve actually spoken to a few people up there who are a little bit worried after the season because 2020 was the year it all blew up. 2021, things started to relax. It was very busy. Same with 2022.
Whereas this year, it’s starting to see that decline again, where I guess a lot more people are choosing to go abroad again because of the sunshine and whatever else, or just maybe they can’t afford to actually go up there anymore, unfortunately.
Are people really trashing the landscape and environment in Scotland?
Matt Sims
But Gemma, you drew a comparison to Cornwall, which has got massive infrastructure and campsites everywhere. It’s not like parts of the Highlands. I did it several times 10 years ago. And you’re right, I agree with you, Campbell. It’s much busier now from the photos I’ve seen than it was then. But isn’t it the case that people are emptying their toilet cassettes on every corner? That’s what we hear on Facebook. Is that happening?
Campbell Kerr
It’s definitely not.
Gemma Spence
We’ve never seen that.
Matt Sims
You spent a year there. Did you ever see it happen?
Campbell Kerr
Never. Not once. I’m not denying that it has happened, unfortunately. And there’s obviously the photographic evidence of it. It’s just if it was going to be happening every single week on every single corner, we wouldn’t be seeing the same photo that’s been circulating for the past six months.
Gemma Spence
I don’t believe people are doing this out of being bad people. People are doing it because they’re not educated on how to do it properly.
Campbell Kerr
People will choose the right thing to do as long as it is easy enough, or if it is the easiest thing to do, people will choose it. So if you can just make the right thing to do easier than the wrong thing, that’s the only solution to these problems. And education is part of that. If people know where the right place to dump their toilet is, then they’ll go and do that.
Gemma Spence
And that was another reason for our book that we wanted to make sure that we included places around the route that you could dispose of your waste and places that you can top up your water, because these are things that people need to know.
Matt Sims
Yeah. And when you’re in a motorhome, it’s really important that you know where you can do that and you do it right. That’s exactly it.
What is wild camping in Scotland
Matt Sims
So let’s talk about that favourite buzzword on the podcast – not toilets, wild camping.
The number of people that come into the hire business here at Motorhome Holiday Company and say, “We want to go to Scotland. We want to do the NC 500. We haven’t booked any campsites but we’re going to wild camp our way around.” Just explain for us wild camping in your experience and your understanding in the Highlands.
Campbell Kerr
So wild camping, I believe, refers to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which is talking about private land. And it says no motorised vehicles on private land, basically, without prior permission. That’s what wild camping refers to in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
So wild camping in that sense means that you hike out to somewhere, stay a tent in the middle of nowhere, beautiful scenery all around you. And then you hike back to your vehicle or hike back to your house without leaving any trace. That’s the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. And we love that as well. We’ve done our fair share of that as well.
And it’s one of the reasons why we love Scotland, because we have that freedom to just be able to go out and enjoy the wilderness of Scotland that it has to offer, because there’s so much land up there. You could go for maybe 20 kilometres and not see a single other person in some places. And so when it’s spoken about in terms of the motorised vehicles, technically it is not wild camping.
It would be more referred to as off grid parking, which is equally as legal because according to, obviously, the Highway Code, if you are tired and you are in need of a rest, you can pull in as long as you’re parked safely, as long as you’re parked in a designated parking area. And you can stay there until you’re fit enough to drive again.
What you can’t do is do your activities outside of the vehicle, and I think that’s where a lot of this kind of confusion and a lot of the backlash comes from, because all of a sudden you’ve got people setting up their motorhomes with their awnings, deckchairs and barbecues out, you know, and that’s where it starts to rub people the wrong way.
Because if it’s in the middle of nowhere, people usually just keep themselves to themselves. But if you’re doing it in the middle of a busy carpark where people can’t get access to walk their dog or just enjoy the beach, obviously people are going to take offence to that.
Gemma Spence
And overstaying your welcome, I would say, staying in one place for too long. That can also cause a bit of upset.
Campbell Kerr
So the code that we would always recommend is to arrive after dark and leave before light.
Matt Sims
You did that last night at a local farm shop up the road.
Campbell Kerr
Yeah, exactly.
Matt Sims
Arrived late in the evening and left early.
Campbell Kerr
We didn’t cause any problems. No-one had anything to say. If someone came along and knocked on us, we’d apologise and move on. It’s just respect. If you’re not wanted somewhere, there’s plenty of other places.
Matt Sims
You’ve been living in your motorhome for two years. How often have you had that knock on the door?
Campbell Kerr
Not once.
Gemma Spence
Never.
Campbell Kerr
We were talking about that last night again. I was saying, I feel like every time we park up in a place like this, as YouTubers we should probably have the camera ready, because that’s the golden title and thumbnail, “We got the knock!” That’s one way to guarantee clicks. We’ve not once been able to use that.
Matt Sims
Tell me where you’re staying tonight. I’ll be there.
Should there be a vehicle levy on vehicles travelling the NC500?
Matt Sims
Now, I want to bring this to your attention – a portal called Van Life Matters and this is Lochcarron. Is that how you say that? That’s my best Scottish. Okay. A beautiful place. Well, Robin Pettigrew lives there and he is calling for a vehicle levy on all vehicles travelling the NC 500. So locals are going to be exempt from this. But he is suggesting that this tourism tax, if I can call it that, is introduced on vehicles wishing to travel the NC 500. What do you think about that?
Gemma Spence
Any vehicle?
Matt Sims
As I understand it, yeah. So, “A report entitled, ‘Tourism, but not any price,’ states the success of Visit Scotland and other agencies in delivering an ever increasing number of visitors to Scotland has unfortunately not been matched with sufficient infrastructure investment to accommodate them.”
“This is having a massive environmental impact across Scotland, extensive litter and human waste pollution, destruction of and damage to flora and fauna. Erosion of road verges by parked cars and vans, obstruction to other road users including emergency services, fouling of water causes by chemical waste, barbecues and campfires.” It sounds awful.
“Pettigrew argues that a vehicle-based tax is not only fairer, but it will bring in a similar level of revenue. He proposes that vehicles of residents and businesses and the Highland Council area should be exempt. Should he do it?
Campbell Kerr
I am on the fence with it in the sense that as long as that kind of revenue is used appropriately, I do believe that it is actually necessary. I think we’re one of the only countries that doesn’t use some kind of tourism tax. You go anywhere across Europe, it’s maybe a pound a night or something like that. And even down in Southeast Asia, we went there all over last winter and it was the exact same. I think it was Malaysia that had just introduced a tourism tax.
And it’s the same with any kind of tax. As long as it’s used appropriately for the local businesses to try and assist it, I’ve got absolutely no issue with that, especially when it is as fair as every single vehicle apart from locals and local trade. Because I think that’s the key part, there’s no reason that locals should have to pay for it.
But if it’s used to try and increase infrastructure, such as provide wider roads, provide services for people to dispose of their toilet waste properly and increase the amount of parking that can be used, and even, I guess, encourage local businesses to reduce their fares because they might be getting a little bit of a helping hand to get their businesses off the ground.
There’s a cost of living crisis just now. There’s constant things about local restaurants and cafes talking about how either they need to either charge £5 for a coffee or they need to shut down. So maybe a little bit of a helping hand to them would, I think, be a very good move.
Gemma Spence
Yeah, over the past couple of years, we have noticed as well a lot of changes in terms of road developments and more chemical waste disposal points. They are putting money into it. So yeah, I suppose if the money goes into the right areas, then yeah.
Campbell Kerr
I did read online that the Scottish government had dedicated… I think it was about £20 million. Don’t quote me on it. But it was in the tens of millions over the next five or 10 years to local development for the NC 500. And I think it comes back to that conundrum of the chicken and the egg. This place was the most remote place in the UK. Why would it have the tourist facilities before you have the tourism? You’re not going to have tourist facilities until you get the traffic.
So it will come over the next decade or so. We just need to have a little bit of discomfort, I guess, in the meantime. But I think that something like that would greatly help it and help the local businesses out. I know people who have had their lives changed by it. I think it’s worth it.
Matt Sims
Well, let’s see if we have to pay to get around the NC 500. It’s like a toll road I suppose, isn’t it? How much do you think they should charge? What would be a reasonable fee, do you think?
Campbell Kerr
I think a pound a day would be would be reasonable. The number of cars that visit – that could be millions of pounds every year.
Matt Sims
Interesting.
Find out more about highlands2hammocks
Matt Sims
So guys, where can people find out more about the amazing website you’ve got, highlands2hammocks, and the products on there?
Campbell Kerr
We’re www.highlands2hammocks.co.uk. And we’re also on YouTube as well, where we release weekly vlogs about our van life adventures. And then as Gemma spoke about, we do have a book on the NC 500, which is mainly aimed at trying to spread traffic around and to educate people on how to travel responsibly. And I guess it’s aimed at van lifers specifically because we list where to get water, where to dispose of waste, and just tips and advice about driving the NC 500.
Gemma Spence
We do sell that book as well as our other books and also our North Coast map as well, which we’ve just released. We also sell them on our www.destinationearthguides.com website, which is our self-publishing company that we publish the books through, and there’s also more information about travelling on there as well.
Matt Sims
Now, I happen to know that you’re heading off overseas by plane because we’re storing your motorhome! In a weird twist of fate, Jet2 have booked your motorhome into our storage business. And I saw the name and thought, “That’s Campbelll and Gemma!” So where are you off to? What’s next?
Campbell Kerr
So we’ve got a couple of holidays planned. We realised that the only way we actually take a break is if we go abroad separately, because we’re so inspired to always try and share and create content, so I’m going away to Spain with my friends. And then you’re going away to Spain with your friends. And then we’re going to Turkey on our press trip.
Matt Sims
Okay, so you’re having a proper holiday and then you’re reuniting to write some content on Turkey?
Gemma Spence
Yeah. So that’s a content project too.
Campbell Kerr
Definitely. It’s our first time in Turkey, and it’s over my 30th birthday. So it was the perfect time.
Matt Sims
Brilliant. Turkey feels like it’s the new must-go destination for Brits. Do you know what I mean? It’s a real push. I don’t know who’s driving it.
Gemma Spence
And for van life as well.
Matt Sims
Really?
Gemma Spence
Yeah, we have friends who say, “You need to go to Turkey in your van.” But we’ve seen these videos on Instagram, where the van door opens and there’s a little puppy sitting outside.
Campbell Kerr
It’s a local stray.
Gemma Spence
And we’re like, we will go to Turkey when we’re in the position that we’ve finished all our long-term oversea travels and can actually have a dog.
Matt Sims
Okay.
Campbell Kerr
The number of people we meet who have a van and have adopted a Turkish street dog… if we ever want a dog, we’ll just drive to Turkey, because they’re beautiful.
Matt Sims
Well, we’ll look out for that. We look forward to reading all about Turkey. Have a great trip and enjoy your holiday. And a very happy birthday.
Campbell Kerr
Thank you very much.
Highlands2hammocks’ first visit to the NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show
Keith Gooden
And who should Matt bump into at the big show at the NEC just a few days ago?
Matt Sims
You guys have been on stage today, haven’t you?
Campbell Kerr
Yes. Yeah, absolutely exhausted from it. But yeah, it was really good fun talking all about Scotland, road tripping in Scotland and why you should come to Scotland. So yeah, it was brilliant.
Matt Sims
Lots of reasons. There was loads of positive feedback here on your presentation. So well done. Now, you are show virgins – you said that phrase to me!
Campbell Kerr
I don’t remember saying that.
Matt Sims
So you’ve never been to this show before. Gemma, what’s it been like for you?
Gemma Spence
Well, I have to say on the first day, we were both in bed by seven, eight o’clock because we were absolutely exhausted. It was quite overwhelming on the first day. It’s absolutely massive. I mean, if we were coming here to buy a van, I think you would almost need a couple of days to actually see how many of them there are and make a decision, because it’s crazy how much there actually is here. Yeah, we’re loving it. Loving it so far. It’s been great.
Matt Sims
It’s a great vibe, isn’t it? There’s lots of positive energy, lots of smiley people. It’s a lovely crowd. What’s been a highlight for you, Campbell?
Campbell Kerr
I would possibly say the people as well. Just being able to actually network with so many people in the same industry as us, put some names to faces of the brands that we use all the time and get to know the people who actually represent those brands. And then it was really cool coming along and seeing the newer models, because it’s obviously all 2024 models that are here. So coming along, seeing what’s new, see what’s changed.
We were laughing about the difference in even just the heating element between our van and the latest Autoquest 155. There was an entire storage space that we would have opened up, because they use a new tiny model for heating. So obviously it was a tiny little unit. And we would have so much more storage if we had it compared to our big combi boiler. So it’s amazing to see how much their technology is advanced.
Matt Sims
You sound like a man that’s tempted to change your motorhome. Are you going to change it?
Campbell Kerr
I don’t know. I mean, I would say the price tag’s definitely offputting. Ellie will always have our hearts, I think. We just need to upgrade her, I’d say, more than anything.
Matt Sims
You’ve done loads to her already, though. What else are you going to do?
Gemma Spence
Well, we really want to winterise her for winter, because winter in a van in Scotland is actually quite cold, would you believe? So we want to get a space heater and refillable gas so we’ve got enough gas to run that. Because I would love to wake up in the morning with a little timer that means I don’t wake up with a freezing nose. So that’s the plan!
Matt Sims
A freezing nose. Well, it’s great to see you here. And it’s lovely to see you on stage at the show. You’re a new act and fresh young faces at the show, which is really exciting. So I’m glad you’ve had a good time. You’re back tomorrow.
Campbell Kerr
Yes, we are, 15:20, I believe, the last show. So make sure you hang around if you’re at the NEC. And yeah, we’re talking all things Scotland all over again.
Matt Sims
Yeah, well, we look forward to hearing it. And we’ll see you soon. Take care.
Gemma Spence
Thank you.
Keith Gooden
So that’s Gemma and Campbell from highlands2hammocks. You can see them on www.highlands2hammocks.co.uk, and as we mentioned earlier, Matt, some of the books are magnificent.
Matt Sims
They are. You can buy them at www.thatleisureshop.com. Their website is phenomenal if you’re looking for travel inspiration. I was blown away after spending 10 minutes looking through – nowhere near enough time. But it’s an amazing travel guide with so many blogs and vlogs on there of their experiences.
But yet they managed to escape – they actually managed to break down outside the shop. Campbell had left the hazard lights on on his motorhome. Then we went and recorded the podcast, went back to it and… click!
Keith Gooden
Oops! See, everybody does it.
Matt Sims
Our team came to the rescue and off they went.
Audience Q&A
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And me, Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
I ask the silly questions and Matt – well, he’s the star of the show.
Matt Sims
Really?
Keith Gooden
Again, my favourite part, as I say every week, of each podcast – it’s our Q&A. Questions and answers from you. First of all, Mike Saunders from Bristol has been in touch.
Can I add another leisure battery to my motorhome?
Mike Saunders
I’ve got a Chausson C656. I’m pretty sure it’s only got one leisure battery under the passenger seat. It looks like there’s space for another one. Can I add another one, do you know? And does it need to be the same type? What kind of connections do I need to do? Thanks!
Keith Gooden
Thanks for the question. I think what happened there is he put a pillowcase over his head to ask the question and took it off at the end.
Matt Sims
Do you think he was being mugged?
Keith Gooden
Mike, we’re sorry for taking the mickey. Mike Saunders from Bristol – have you got an answer for him?
Matt Sims
So a Chausson 656 – yeah, a big seven berth motorhome. I’m familiar with those. We’ve got them on the hire fleet. You can get a second leisure battery under there, Mike, but it’s really important they’re matched. So they need to be exactly the same type. My suggestion would be one of two things – firstly, go and buy two batteries that are identical.
So if you’re going for AGMs, make sure that they are the same type and the same amp power. In terms of connecting them, the thickest cable you can possibly buy. Certainly no thinner than the cables coming from the batteries. It’s really important – and as short a cable as possible. So if you’re sitting them next to each other, it’s very easy to have a very short cable. If you’re not sure, get someone to professionally install it. And if you’re fitting two batteries, I would consider a plastic cover so there’s no chance of the seat base shorting them out.
Why don’t campsite showers have normal taps?
Keith Gooden
Ian Rainford’s from Poole. “Hi, Matt and Keith. Why do campsites, mostly clubs sites, use push/timed showers and not allow us to use a normal tap? You wouldn’t see them in the most basic of hotels. So why do campsites still insist on them?”
Matt Sims
Well, it’s a good question. It’s a fair point as well. It’s true.
Keith Gooden
It’s because people forget to turn the tap off. That’s why. It’s a waste of water.
Matt Sims
I’m guessing if the campsite is on a water meter, it could get very expensive if someone left the tap on. Mind you, I was at the Malvern show and at all these shows they have these trailers with showers in. They’re really good, nice and hot, and I pressed the button and it wouldn’t turn off.
Keith Gooden
You broke it?
Matt Sims
No! Well, it was broken. I’m not sure I broke it. I couldn’t turn the damn thing off. So I’m there trying to get out the shower and dried, and I kept my towel – I gave up in the end. Just put my dry robe on and walked out. It’s a Ddipp robe. I went back to the van soaking wet.
Keith Gooden
So you did remember the robe this time?
Matt Sims
I did.
Keith Gooden
You’ve caused quite the stir in Malvern in the past.
Matt Sims
I guess it’s to save water. And the club is very environmentally aware. And yes, they can be annoying because halfway through rinsing the shampoo out of your hair, the tap goes off or the shower goes off and you’ve got to press it again. But it will be a water conservation installation manifestation.
Keith Gooden
Iain from Poole, thanks very much. But let’s face it, how difficult is it just to turn the shower back on again?
How do I change the LED strip lights in my Bailey Autograph?
Keith Gooden
Claire’s in Wakefield. “Hi Matt. We have a Bailey Autograph 68-2 2017 and there is an LED strip light above the sink and you touch it to turn it on. It’s flickering and needs changing. I don’t suppose you know how to change it? There are no screws and I’ve tried all ways to take it off. I’ve asked PRIMA Leisure and they can’t help. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us. I watch you on YouTube.”
Matt Sims
Hi, Claire. I’ll give you a wave. Thanks for your question. You know what? You’re not the first person who has reported to me that one of these lights has failed. And I’m surprised PRIMA didn’t have one. To my knowledge, they pull out. There are no screws, you’re right, but it could be bonded in.
I would suggest to take it to a Bailey dealer or go and Google the NCC approved workshop scheme where an engineer who is probably familiar with working on Baileys will know how to get it out, and they may be able to source one for you or find your local Bailey dealer and they will be able to source one for you and supply.
Keith Gooden
Cheers, Claire from Wakefield.
Ask Matt your question on the podcast
Keith Gooden
By the way, if anybody wants to ask you a question, Matt, what should they do?
Matt Sims
It’s very easy. Go to mhmp.info/askmatt.
Keith Gooden
Or you could leave us a review. What address is that one?
Matt Sims
We would love that too. It’s mhmp.info/review.
Keith Gooden
What a lovely Scottish feel to the podcast this week, Matt. I’ve had a whale of a time.
Matt Sims
Will you take that kilt off now, please?
Keith Gooden
I haven’t got anything underneath!
