The camper question for Waterford

I’m writing today from just outside Pamplona in the north of Spain. 

We are wandering in our camper van (more van than camper) and thinking yet again about our home town of Tramore where there are none of the facilities for campers that we are enjoying here. 

The question will come up again this summer as to why there is nowhere to officially and safely park for a night or two if you are a wanderer like myself?

Dipping into the Facebook groups of locals, I haven’t seen anyone express negativity about the camper van sector. 

It would be far better to create a space for these touring tourists than to constantly block and move them on.

Dungarvan has a wonderful set up! It is simply a clean safe place to park along the seafront with close access to the town. 

There isn’t much to it as most campers have all the overnight facilities they need on board. 

There are certainly a few options in or around Tramore that could be developed. 

I feel sure that the town would benefit from these easy to please roamers.

My van life story is a long one, but suffice to say once I had experienced camping at the age of twenty I was hooked. 

It began when a group of us crossed Europe as a troupe of artists and musicians. We gradually created a little street act that funded our journey across France, Germany and Scandinavia.

That summer an American academic, who met us busking in Cologne, literally just gave us his old VW banger and we were away.

Since then and through many iterations our vans have come and gone. 

Packed with kids and their friends at one stage and now just the pair of us, we know the ropes and the do’s and don’ts. 

One on the list is to stay away from Tramore!

There isn’t a village or town here in Spain that would turn a camper away.

Facilities vary for sure, everything from 5 star campsites with pools and tennis to a safe place to overnight with water and the comradery of other travellers. 

In France it’s easy to find the local hose pipe for a quick clean up and some villages will even have public toilets and showers!

I totally understand that although there is a romantic notion about campervanning it is not for everyone. 

In our case it takes about a week to adjust to the tiny space and all of the moving and manoeuvring that it takes to find a flow. 

We start the journey feeling cramped but by the end are saying to each other, “wow, the old van is very spacious all the same!”. There are daily jobs to be done, beds folded away and then beds opened up again, ablutions attended to, dishes washed and stashed. 

There is a messy reality and it’s something you have to take into consideration. 

It’s important to learn as you go along and adjust to a completely different way of life.

On the plus side, you can literally go anywhere, anytime. 

You can follow your nose and dip in and out of places along the way. You can indulge in a kind of slow travel following the coves and beaches along any given coastline. 

Or if the weather lets you down you can get onto a big road and head for a different country or region. (In our case, I’m the slow travel type and not at all keen on motorways.

In general all rushing is to be avoided!) Northern Spain is wonderfully complex and varied. 

We often forget that Spain has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. 

It is a huge country with many languages and cultures, steeped in rich history and architecture. 

The landscape and climate are very varied from region to region.

We can associate Spain with the package sun holidays which many people love. 

I have tried that once or twice but camping folk are more my tribe then the sun worshippers are! On this trip we have explored the coastal villages and towns of the Basque country (Euskadi) as well as the wine region of the Rioja Valley, and today Pamplona, the city of the bulls. 

We have wound our way up mountains, seen a collection of dolmens and walked around churches.

During Easter Week when the whole country goes mad, we joined in a fairly sinister Good Friday procession of hooded trumpeters (think Klu Klux Klan) and the parade of the Crucifiction and the Holy Family. 

Everywhere there are churches, monasteries, cathedrals and of course the famous Camino of St. James. 

As we crisscross the Camino, weary peregrinos (pilgrims) make their way along sandy and rocky paths to Santiago de Compostela. 

Galicia is a magical place and to walk into Santiago is a wonderful experience.

We have used the ferries to France and now Spain over the years. 

The latest ferry from Rosslaire to Bilbao is quite luxurious in comparison. 

While we used to spread out in a corridor and sleep on the floor in the old days, now there are comfortable cabins with en suites and showers. 

On this trip although the Salamanca has a capacity of 1000 there were only 300 on board and the sea was like a pond, calm and still. It was like a cruise.

Come on Waterford Council, time to provide a neat location for camper vans in Tramore!