If you’re a lover of barbecue cooking over a campfire with as little equipment and fuss as possible then MUURIKKA could have the product for  you.

We received a Leisku and a tube of silava cooking fat, to seal the pan, and couldn’t quite believe the simplicity of it. As a result it is now our favourite cooking accessory for the campsite, walks on the beach and whatever else takes our fancy.

It comes in a handy cover bag with handle so its easy to transport and needs little else for a successful mobile barbecue.

We took a stroll with a bag full of food, dry kindling and matches and that was all we needed. The children collected the fire wood and  made a perfect campfire in minutes.

The Leisky has a thick metal base which heats quickly, but also seems to regulate it so the food doesn’t burn easily. Try as I might I found it very difficult to ruin the bangers, which I have to say makes a change where my cooking is concerned!

As well as being simple it is also ergonomically designed, easy to clean and lovely to look at so it gets a big thumbs up from us in our review.

The Summary;

This is our new favourite product at the moment and comes with a well deserved 5 stars from us.

For more information about MUURIKKA UK products and prices visit their website.

Copy and picture credits: Sarah

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

Camilla Barnard, co-founder of food business Rude Health, knows a thing or two about easy camping food. Whether it’s serving porridge to a queue of hungry festival-goers over the summer or setting her family up for a weekend of exploring she has a number of easy camping food recipes up her sleeve to keep everyone brilliant all day – come rain or shine.

In celebration of the approaching camping and festival season, Rude Health are giving away 1 large food bundle and 2 smaller porridge and muesli bundles to Inspired Camping readers. You can click to enter this competition at the end of the article.

Large Food Bundle Giveaway

Eggy Cheesy Toasty

This lunch is ideal for using up leftovers. If you have ham or bacon too it works really well.

Butter the bread slices and make cheese sandwiches. Beat the eggs in a bowl that has plenty of room. Add the milk, to make the mixture thin enough to soak into the bread, and season.

Now clamp the sandwiches between tongs or hold them tight and prepare to get eggy hands, dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture and make sure they soak up the egg mixture.

Then fry on each side for a couple of minutes on each side until golden and oozing cheese. Serve with chutney.

No Flamin’ Raisins Bircher Muesli

The night before, put the No Flamin’ Raisins muesli in a tub with a lid and pour the coconut water over it, then mix together and put the lid on.

Leave somewhere cool overnight. Just outside your tent is usually perfect in the UK.

In the morning grate the apples, complete with skin, mix them into the yoghurt and then swirl the apple & yoghurt mixture into the oat mixture so that it is hardly mixed.

Put the muesli in 4 bowls and serve with honey or maple syrup.

Morning Glory Flapjacks

Small 15-18cm square baking tin, buttered

I make these flapjacks before we leave and the idea is that there are enough to last a couple of days as this mix makes 10-12 flapjacks.

I always forget that we are extra-hungry when living outdoors and they all get eaten on day 1.

I use Morning Glory because the seeds add so much texture to the flapjack, but you can use porridge oats.

One of the easiest recipes I know, simply put the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan over a low heat and stir until the butter has melted.

Then add the oats and mix thoroughly to make sure they are coated.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin and even it out with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake at 150 for 40 mins.. Leave to cool in the tin before removing and cutting into squares or oblongs.

Seasonal veggie pilaf

You can use whatever vegetables are to hand and if you don’t have stock, water is fine because there are plenty of other flavours in the dish.

I usually take frozen stock and keep it in the coolbox, so it acts as ice until I’m ready to use it.

Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook slowly until golden.

Then add the other knob of butter, let it melt and add the rice and red pepper. Stir for a minute. Add the harissa. Stir in the stock, add the raisins and season.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. At this point all the stock should have been absorbed.

Garnish with roasted sliced almonds, yoghurt, orange zest, or whatever is left in your coolbox. Serve and scatter with coriander.

Rude Health are giving away 1 large food bundle (image above) and 2 smaller porridge and muesli bundles to Inspired Camping readers.

So to stay in Rude Health on your next camping trip with a bundle of their award winning cereals and snacks, enter here:

ENTER the Inspired Camping giveaway HERE

Copy, picture & giveaway credits: Rude Health

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

Trish MacCurrach

The secret of a great camping trip is a list of camping meals made easy. Particularly good are one pot meals and easy camping food over the camp fire.

This is where the Kotlich Cook’s Scrap book can help as its full of camping food ideas and healthy recipes… but it’s also so much more than that. Imagine the smell of wood smoke from an open fire, the plop-plop of a stew cooking over the crackling wood, and the friendly chatter of friends drawn to the smells like moths to a flame.

This is what you get as you browse through the Kotlich Cook’s scrap book. It’s an inspiring collection of pictures, stories, advice and tips to help you make the most of this type of cooking that fits the activity of camping like a glove.

The kotlich is a Hungarian cooking pot that is suspended over a wood fire by a chain. This is one pot cooking at it’s very simplest. Used by heardsmen to cook hearty stews as they worked away from home, this helped them survive the harshest of winters. Sometimes called bogrács – which means kettle, caldron or stewpot – its distinctive round shape makes it very recognisable. It is made with either stainless steel, porcelain, cast iron, or cooper with some pots containing an enameled coating.

The Kotlich cook, Trish MacCurrach, became an avid outdoor cook while working in Serbia for several years. Her experience with this style of cooking was “love at first sight”, and she hasn’t looked back since. Her scrap book is an expression of her desire to motivate others to explore this very enjoyable way of cooking outdoors. In it she shares useful tips for beginners, seasonal healthy food ideas, jam and jelly recipes and inspirations for the different places the kotlich can be set up. She even includes a recipe for our favourite tea… Chai.

Since returning to the UK she has been selling outdoor cooking kits and demonstrating the benefits of getting outside, and growing and cooking fresh food. Ideal for camping meals you can find a kotlich, tripod and colourful enamel cookware at her site Outdoor Kitchen. During January 2013 if you order kotlich set of two or more pieces you will get a free copy of the scrap book thrown in (worth £8 including P&P). Simply quote ‘Inspired Camping’ in the customer note section at the end of the buying form.

The Summary;

This is a scrap book full of cooking adventures and inspirations, with useful and practical introductions for first time users of the Kotlich kit. We’re inspired… 4 stars.

Inspired Camping

Picture Credits: Outdoor Kitchen

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

If you hadn’t noticed in the UK there’s a cool campervan and caravan food revolution going on. Many owners of these fantastic vehicles are helping to make their obsessions pay by offering unique, stylish and entirely satisfying food straight out of their pimped-up trailers.

From Airstreams to VW Campervans and from chips to Mexican street food there’s definitely something for everyone. In fact we’re beginning to see a banquet of dishes from these unique camper vans and caravans offering just as unique edibles, leaving us in no doubt that if you’re ready to hunt them out then there’s a feast to be had on a street corner or festival near you. Here is a small selection of our most mouth watering finds so far.

Lulabelles 

An award winning camperlicious catering company (featured image) that operates from Lulabelle, a pink VW splitscreen campervan. For outdoor events, children’s parties and  vintage tea parties with a difference, they offer high tea, cakes and muffins, with a huge dollop of VW campervan love thrown in.

Chilli Gone Barmy

Operating from an Australian VW Splitscreen, Chilli Gone Barmy knows they have a unique selling point – there are only three ever made in the world and this is the only one they know of in the UK.

In their beauty they offer mobile catering for festivals, parties and events and always make sure this VW Splittie made food has plenty of chilies.

Luardos

Luardos offer Mexican street food from two Citroen H Trucks. These trucks used to be a favourite for converting into campervan because of their retro and vintage beauty. However, since then their parts have been harder to come by. This is why we think Luardos burritos and their gorgeous converted and painted Citroens deserve a place here on our list.

Pitt Cue Company

Pitt Cue offer American BBQ food from an american styled converted caravan. This is a proper meatwagon offering smoked pork in Soho, London. Their burgers are mouth wateringly delicious to look at and the next time we’re in the Soho area we’ll definitely be hunting them down.

Do you have a food company that uses a unique vehicle to sell your products? Let us know in the comments section below, and remember to drop your email address in the updates box to sign up for our regular inspirations and giveaways. It’s free, you can unsubscribe at any time and we never share your information with anyone else. You’ll also get access to bonuses we only offer our subscribers.

Our next bonus is particularly juicy. It’s a DVD copy of The Bus, a Damon Ristau film about the VW Bus (Campervan), a vehicle that’s an icon in the US, UK and many other locations around the world. This is a gift of freedom, love, youth, breakdowns and adventure… and this free copy is only available to our subscribers.

Inspired Camping

Picture Credits: The companies featured

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

Organising food for the campsite no longer needs to be a chore. There are now loads of resources out there we can use to find healthy ideas for camping meals that can take the stress out of any camping trip.

Classic Camping Cookbook and Meal Planner – Apple App

This is high-end luxury camping and glamping app that allows glampers to find the perfect meal based on food type, category, and ingredients. You can also plan your favourite meal and search for a perfect recipe based on the type of food and ingredients you have. It also allows you to plan meals for an entire camping trip, so it is ideal for large families or campers who simply want to take it easy. All you have to do is choose the number of days you will be camping and let the app do the rest. It will even help you generate shopping and equipment lists so you never forget essential ingredients again.

Camp Recipes – Apple App

For a list of over 700 camp recipes this is a great App if you forget your cook book or need a bit of extra camping food inspiration. The app has 10 ways to cook based on recipes recommended by campers. Including quick recipes, long recipes, backpack recipes, large recipes, meat recipes, veggie recipes, dessert recipes, and even survival recipes, all you have to do is search and tap to get the advice you need to make it. It’s all easily searchable by category, time, and keyword giving you plenty of ideas to make it the ideal electronic accessory if you want easy and relaxing camping food.

Camping And Outdoor Recipes – Android App

If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad then don’t worry, there’s a great little Android App you can use to get access to more than 80 camping and outdoor recipes.

The Camper Van Cookbook: Life on 4 Wheels, Cooking on 2 Rings and The Camper Van Coast: Cooking, Eating, Living the Life

Two brilliant camper van cook books that inspire us every time we open them. Written by the BBC Presenter and Author, Martin Dorey, they are stuffed full of cooking tips, tricks and recipes when you are in a small camping space. This is written for the camper van audience but there’s no reason why it can’t be used in a tent or caravan. You can read more about Martin and his books in our interview articles in our Food And Drink section.

The Camping Cookbook – Love Food

This book is packed full of quick and easy recipes for outdoor eating and advice on cooking styles. It also helps you decide what to do when the weather is bad to help make your camping trip a success no matter what the weather brings.

Family Camping Cookbook

A practical time-saving cook book that clearly shows the time, effort and hard work Tiff and Jim Easton have put into it, which in turn will help save time and effort when camping with the family, and just for the shopping lists alone it deserved a 4 Star from us when we reviewed it.

100 Easy Camping Recipes – Kindle Book

This Kindle Book is full of recipes and advice to help you cook using a grill, campfire, foil packet or Dutch oven. If you like electronic Kindle books then this is one to add to your library for the next time you go camping.

Cooking Outdoors – Kindle Blog Membership

Cooking Outdoors Kindle Blog will show you how to cook using BBQ’s, Dutch ovens and Fire Pit’s to enjoy everyday outdoor cooking. It shows the secrets of foil cooking, campfire cooking, Dutch oven cooking, barbecuing and open fire cooking.

Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you’re not linked to the Internet, and when you are they are updated wirelessly throughout the day.

So over to you. What’s your source for easy camping recipes?

Inspired Camping

Picture Credits: Martin Dorey, Classic Camping Cookbook App, Tiff & Jim Easton

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

All you need is a bit of cheeky know-how and a cocktail shaker kit to have yourself the perfect campsite schmoozing gear. So get to know your neighbours and start your camping trip off with a bit of a glamping cocktail party with these very cheeky ideas.

“The Martini Dorey”
We all know who he is… and now he even has his own cheeky cocktail!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 1 green olive or lemon twist for garnish, orange or Angostura bitters (optional)
Preparation:
Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add a dash of orange or Angostura bitters if desired Garnish with the olive or lemon twist. Add some fizzy ginger for a final twist (optional).

“The Pina Coladavan”
Try a glass of our Coladavan before climbing into your nice tent, caravan or campervan.
Ingredients:
2 oz pineapple juice, 2 oz light rum, 1 1/2 oz coconut cream, pineapple wedge for garnish, maraschino cherry for garnish
Preparation:
Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Pour into a chilled cocktail or collins glass. Garnish with the pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Preparation:
Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass. Garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherry.

Ingredients:
3 oz tomato juice, 1 1/2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1 dash of Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, ground pepper, hot pepper sauce to taste, celery stalk and/or pickle spear for garnish, lemon and/or lime wedge for garnish
Preparation:
Build the liquid ingredients in a highball glass over ice cubes. Mix well. Add the seasonings to taste. Garnish with the lemon and/or lime wedge and celery stalk.

“The Sleeping Bag Sling”
A good old-fashioned Singapore Sling is one of our all time favourites.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz gin, 1 oz lemon juice, 1/4 oz sugar syrup, 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar, 2 oz club soda, 1/2 oz cherry brandy, lemon slice for garnish, maraschino cherry for garnish
Preparation:
Pour the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and powdered sugar into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass with ice cubes. Pour in the club soda. Float the cherry brandy on top by pouring it over the back of a bar spoon. Garnish with the lemon slice and cherry.

“Morning Awning Sunrise”
An early risers view on this Tequila Sunrise classic.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz triple sec, 1/2 oz grenadine, 1 oz orange juice, 1/2 oz sour mix, 1 cup ice, lime wheel for garnish, salt for rimming
Preparation:
Pour the ingredients into a blender if you have one, or use a fork if you don’t. Blend / mix until smooth. Pour contents into a chilled margarita glass rimmed with salt. Garnish with the lime wheel.

“The Moscow Millets Mule”
For those festooned in this seasons utility leisure wear.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 oz vodka, 1/2 oz lime juice, ginger beer, lime wedge for garnish
Preparation:
Pour the vodka and lime juice into a highball glass with ice cubes. Top off with the ginger beer. Garnish with the lime wedge.

“Sloe Hard-Standing Screw”
Not for the faint hearted… we were worried we might be getting a bit close to the bone with this classic option…
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Sloe Gin, orange juice, orange slice for garnish
Preparation:
Pour the Sloe Gin (or Sloe Gin and vodka) into a highball glass filled with ice. Fill with orange juice. Garnish with an orange slice.

“The Portaloo Wallbanger”
The perfect drink for those not-so-perfect private moments!
Ingredients:
3/4 oz vodka, 1 1/2 oz orange juice, 1/4 oz Galliano, orange slice for garnish, maraschino cherry for garnish
Preparation:
Pour the vodka and orange juice into a collins glass with ice cubes. Add the Galliano. Garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherry.

Inspired Camping

Picture credits & (very) cheeky ideas: Roy

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

We’re now going to reveal our secret camping meal, which gives you healthy camping food the whole family can get involved in. It’s a camping food idea we came up with when we were struggling to set up the camper van at the campsite with children at our feet who kept complaining of being hungry.

It’s easy camping food with no frills, but it quick, cheap and healthy and a ready to eat meal you can get the whole family involved in. It would even make ideal backpacking food and hiking food as you don’t need to cook it, which makes it ideal for the trail. So let us show you this easy camping food that we love to get out of the bag whenever we visit the campsite. Our garlic and basil crisp bread special!

All you need is:

Then the whole family can get involved in first rubbing the garlic clove lightly along the top of the crisp bread. Then take a piece of ripe tomato and do the same making sure you rub quite a bit of the flesh, seeds and juice to add flavour. Finally top it with fresh basil. It really is that simple… but massively tasty.

You can eat it on it’s own, or add a bit of protein and some salad and you have some healthy camping food to put a smile on everyone’s face, so it’s definitely one for the camping list you keep in your ready bag.

This delicious and satisfying camping meal is our personal favourite and we hope you enjoy it as much at the campsite as when you’re at home.

Inspired Camping
Picture Credits: Sarah Riley

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

One of the best things about summer is the chance to chill outside at the campsite with friends, your favourite drink and a red-hot BBQ. There’s nothing quite like the smell and sound of campers enjoying one of the greatest pleasures of camping.

Whether you fire up the coals for communal burgers, steamed mussels or take the time to gut, marinade and cook a fish, anything goes with this type of cooking, and the added bonus is the regular cook usually gets the night off as everyone always wants to get involved.

So we decided to think about our own favourite burgers and come up with a list of 5 we felt (in our humble opinion) were the best. We even believe if made in this way they make perfectly respectable and healthy camping food, especially if layered with tomatoes, cucumber, gherkins, avocado, BBQ’d pineapple, grated carrot, onions or campfire roasted peppers. Yummy!

Sizzle the onions and chillies in the oil until tender. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes. Then whizz up in a blender until its smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and whizz again until it’s the consistency you like (we like ours crunchy).

Now all you have to do is sit in that comfy camping chair, put your feet up and sunglasses on, take your burger in both hands, look at it for a while… then… enjoy!

Inspired Camping

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

These days we are spoilt for choice when it comes to recipe books but it can still be a challenge to find those with the best and most versatile dishes for camping. We all want quick, easy, cheap and cheerful, but we also want the ability to produce a “Wow!” from friends and family.

Inspired Camping was given a copy of the Family Camping Cookbook to flick through and sample some of the camping food recipes in return for an honest book review and we wondered if it would do the job of helping us produce a tasty yet simple camping menu for all to enjoy at the campsite, that was neither too simple or ambitious. The book contains 85 family friendly feasts that all work on a gas stove, barbecue or open fire and even gives shopping lists and advice on how to make the most of cooking outdoors, so we were off to a good start.

Our first observation when we received the book was that it is not a coffee table book as it seems to have been designed to be taken out and about on camping trips. It seems durable and hard-wearing, so we don’t think it will suffer much from being stuffed into a bag with the rest of the camping gear. It’s of a medium size and full with useful information and healthy recipes so, as the title suggests, it’s perfect for families who camp and don’t have the need to travel light. As such it’s definitely not a book for backpacking or wild camping away from the shops.

The meal planning sections are fabulous. A super example is on page 63, when the reader is provided with a very bright and easy to read menu for kids, with references to pages where the recipes can be found. It then gives the reader a shopping list to take to the store so you don’t have to be bothered with the chore of writing one out yourself. These lists are incredibly useful and take away the burden of thinking about what to cook and what to stock up for. Anything that saves time when camping giving more opportunity to enjoy activities with the kids gets a BIG thumbs up from us. Actually this book would be useful at home too and not just on camping trips… now there’s a thought!

There are recipes for all ages, so even the kids could have a go at making a yummy sticky finger mess! For example on page 66 there’s Chapatis with fruit & honey and on page 169 chocolate fondue. However, mum and dad might want to think carefully about getting involved in this type of activity with the kids if they don’t want to spend the rest of their camping trip with sticky honey all over the tent and sleeping bag!

The Summary;

So in summary this is a practical time-saving cook book that clearly shows the time, effort and hard work Tiff and Jim have put into it, which in turn will help save time and effort when camping with the family, and just for the shopping lists alone it deserves 4 stars.

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.

We’ve already had the pleasure of talking to one of our favourite camping experts… Martin Dorey, BBC Presenter of One Man And His Camper Van. We’ve also delved into his first book The Camper Van Cookbook: Life on 4 Wheels, Cooking on 2 Rings which we consider to be one of our camping essentials. So we couldn’t believe our luck when we were also given the opportunity to interview Martin during the very busy launch of his new book The Camper Van Coast: Cooking, Eating, Living the Life. This book, which he wrote in partnership with Sarah Randell and published through Salt Yard Books, is available right now! Images in this article are from the book, which encourages you to immerse yourself in camping, camper vans, the UK coast and every kind of activity associated with them. Take it from us… its inspiring stuff!

We’ve met Martin and his lovely family before as we live in the same part of the UK, and that’s what made our interview with him particularly poignant and moving, as in it he reveals the moment their lives changed completely when they heard some devastating news that set them all off on a journey… a journey that was heartbreaking, but has now been turned by Martin and his family into a positive one… and that’s why he’s featured right here talking about The Camper Van Coast: Cooking, Eating, Living the Life.

When and how did your journey as ‘The Camper Van Man’ start?

It’s hard to say, although being known as the ‘camper van bloke off the telly’ definitely came about as a result of being on telly, which was a result of my book!!! Having said that I have always camped and have owned VW camper vans on and off since 1994. But before that I had a little Renault van I converted to a camper and before that I slept in a 2CV on some surf trips (don’t – very uncomfortable). Before that I stayed in friends’ vans on surf trips as far back as 1986. But then again my Grandfather was a Scout leader and influenced me an awful lot, so maybe I’ve been building up to it all my life!

Where did your inspiration for your books come from?

The idea from The Camper Van Cookbook: Life on 4 Wheels, Cooking on 2 Rings came about as a result of all those years of larking about camping. I wanted to celebrate the joy of hitting the road in a camper van with tips on how to do things and what to eat. Lots of it came from when I surfed in North Wales with the North West Surf Club. They all had vans and I picked up a lot of stuff from them – particularly exploding egg banjos and the seagull alarm clock. Then again a lot of the food and foraging influences came from living here in Devon. Picking mussels after a surf set me off with that aspect of it.

How long did it take to research and write your books?

I am a professional writer so it doesn’t take me long to get stuff down on paper when I know all about it but it’s the research that takes the time. I finished the Camper Van Cookbook in a few months because I knew what I wanted to write. The Camper Van Coast took longer simply because I wanted to put new and exciting stuff in it. For me it’s important to go places to write about them so I made an effort to go on a few strategic forays to experience and photograph as many of the places in the book as I could. I learnt how to sail, took a dry suit diving course, went on a seaweed course, entered the World Belly Boarding Championships, spent a day with my fishmonger and even drove all the way to the Outer Hebrides in the name of research. So, all in all, writing took about a year from deciding on the idea and handing in the manuscript. Then it was 10,000 words too long!

What was the best bit of writing The Camper Van Coast: Cooking, Eating, Living the Life

I loved the Outer Hebrides. We found a wild camping heaven overlooking a fabulous deserted beach with good surf. It was wonderful. The only problem with that was that my daughter Maggie broke her arm falling off a play park just after we got there!! So we had to adjust our plans a little and stayed for less than I would have liked. But in the week we took to get up there we had a ball and went on the UK’s oldest rollercoaster in Blackpool, saw Anthony Gormley’s beach statues at Crosby, made pizza at Loch Lomond and I dived in Oban. We packed a lot in!!!! Even though it doubled as our summer holiday it wasn’t like work!

 You presented a BBC series based on your first book – What was it like to film, how long did it take and what was the best and worst part of it?

Having the chance to have my own TV series was incredible and sometimes a little overwhelming. It seems a little surreal even now, as it wasn’t something I ever expected or hoped for. It took about 5 weeks to film in total, including rest and travel days between locations. On every filming day I slept in the van. I also carried all my own kit everywhere so all the camping and ‘living on four wheels’ stuff is genuine. The best bits were the evenings after the crew went back to their hotels. We’d film for about 12 or 14 hours each day, finishing with the big meal (which was also my tea) at some fab location. Then I’d be left alone with my van and maybe a fire and a few beers. So it wasn’t too bad at all. The most difficult part of filming was cooking as I’d never cooked for the cameras before. I’m not a trained chef so everything I do is a little bit by the seat of my pants. Happily most of the meals were ok, even though I got to eat them only when the crew finished filming them. That meant, on the whole that my evening meal was cold!

What do you think is the next big thing in the world of camping?

I’d like to see a change in attitudes towards camper vans and motor homes. I’d like to see local councils open up their beachside and beauty spot car parks to responsible campers. For me, being crammed into an overcrowded and soulless camp site can be a little like hell. I prefer to go wild, where I can feel free. The trouble with this is that historically there have been problems with people who litter, over stay their welcome and have no care for the countryside. It turns people off. What we need to do now is to be wild and responsible campers – so if we stay somewhere we should leave it better than it was when we got there – if we can. If everyone who wild camped spent ten minutes picking up other people’s rubbish things would soon change. It’s not a lot to ask but sadly it seems – from knowing the problems they have had with a few wild campers in Loch Lomond – that some people aren’t up to it!

What’s the best and worst thing that’s happened to you in a camper van?

When our eldest was just over a year old she was diagnosed with leukaemia. She and Jo were whisked off in an ambulance to Bristol and didn’t make it home for six months. It was a rough old time and there were moments when Maggie was very ill indeed. We didn’t have a camper van at the time and we swore that if she got through we’d buy another one and take off. Maggie got better so we bought a lovely 1981 T25 and went off to Ireland in it to tour a bit and visit family. Maggie’s little sister Charlotte was born during her time in Bristol so we hit the road with a three month old sleeping on the front seat and a bald 18 month old who was just out of hospital!!! The weather was so bad that we actually gave up and checked into a hotel for a few nights (one of the few times we have done it) but there were moments when it was utter bliss. We were intact and happy and extremely grateful for the life we had. I can remember one day we parked up on the cliff edge at Spanish Point. We put a rug out on the grass and had a family picnic. I went for a surf and Jo dozed in the sun whilst the girls played and slept. I remember feeling ecstatic that we had come so far. Those are the moments we live for. Actually, in a funny way, Maggie being ill may have been what set me off to become the camper van man!!!!

Worst moments? Apart from cracking my head really hard on the TV show and worrying they would cancel the rest of the episodes, not much. We’ve had breakdowns, blown up engines, smashed windscreens and even dashboard fires. But we still love every minute of it. It’s heaven and hell. You appreciate the good times because of the bad. When you realise that, the bad aren’t bad at all. We are lucky people.

What’s next on the horizon for The Camper Van Man?

I really don’t know. The BBC didn’t want to do any more shows so we’re looking for someone else to take me on. But if that doesn’t happen it doesn’t matter. I have to promote the new book and then we’re off to Ireland in the van to meet up with friends for a couple of weeks in May. After that we have plans to take off for most of the summer if we can. Not sure when or where exactly yet but it will be in the van that’s for sure.

You can buy The Camper Van Coast: Cooking, Eating, Living the Life  from Amazon (with 38% off the retail price of £16.99 at the time of writing this article), however, if you don’t already have a copy of Martin’s first book The Camper Van Cookbook: Life on 4 Wheels, Cooking on 2 Rings  we have 5 gorgeous copies to give away to lucky readers. All you have to do is add your name to the free updates and bonuses box and we’ll automatically enter you into our prize draw (remember it’s free, you’ll get updates before everyone else, we never share your details and you can unsubscribe at any time). If you already have… then you’ve already been entered. We’ll be pulling names out of a hat on Friday 20 April and we’ll email the 5 lucky winners shortly afterwards.

Just think… it could be you!

Good luck and happy inspired camping!

Picture Credits: Martin Dorey, Georgia Glynn Smith and Nico Chapman

Visit the site today for loads more free camping tips and tricks. Inspired Camping.